Page:Sermons on the Ten Commandments.djvu/77



explained, in the preceding discourse, the true foundation of the holiness of the Sabbath, namely its being representative of the glorification of the Lord and the regeneration of man, we are now to consider in what manner the day itself should be observed.

Under the Jewish Dispensation, the requirements in regard to the outward observance of the Sabbath were of the strictest kind, and the penalty for the violation of them was no less than death. This ordinance we find in the thirty-first chapter of Exodus, as follows: "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my Sabbath ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy unto you. Every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be done; but on the seventh is the Sabbath of