Discussion on the Sabbath Question

Third Session

ELD. GRANT’S SEVENTH SPEECH

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen: Glad to see you again, and to enter upon an investigation of this subject. There is one question I wish to repeat: Of what law did Christ pay the penalty? Was it the ten-commandment law? DSQ69 61.3

Now I come to the last point in my brother’s speech. He says, on Galatians 3, the law that was added was the ceremonial law. Proof is what is wanting. Four hundred and thirty years after brings us to the giving of the law on Mt. Sinai. There is not a word in the Bible about a ceremonial law. The word “ceremonial is not in the Bible, and the word ceremony only once Numbers 9:2, 3: “Let the children of Israel also keep the passover at his appointed season. In the fourteenth day of this month, at even, ye shall keep it in his appointed season; according to all the rites of it, and according to all the ceremonies thereof, shall ye keep it.” This is all we find in the Bible about ceremonies. The manner of keeping it constitutes the keeping of it. So of the Sabbath; no fire was to be kindled; man servant, and maid-servant, and strangers, were all to rest; no man was to go out of his place on the seventh day. Does any one keep it now? DSQ69 61.4

Again, I call up Galatians 3:16, and onward, and inquire, what scripture has he for saying it is ceremonial law? “The law which was four hundred and thirty years after cannot disannul [the Abrahamic covenant] that it should make the promise of none effect. “It is the law. What law? According to him, what is not in the decalogue is ceremonial? What law is this in Luke 10:25-27? “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering, said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.” What law is that? It is not ceremonial law, nor is it in the decalogue. Where shall it be classed? DSQ69 62.1

Romans 13:8: “He that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.” What law is that? Not ceremonial. The fact is, the word law covers all that was given in the old dispensation. Let us read on, “For this, Thou Shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet;” these are in the decalogue. If there is anything of more consequence than these, I should think he would say it now. But he goes on, “And if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” But he does not mention the Sabbath. DSQ69 62.2

He remarked that Christians are not under the law; good. And the old covenant was made at Sinai; very good. And the old covenant is abolished; better still we are together. And I propose to show what the old covenant is. The old is gone, and the new is made. He says there is nothing in the ten commandments referring to Jerusalem. There is no reason why there should be. Let us see about that law again. Galatians 4:21: “Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?” Verses 24, 25: “For these are the two covenants; the one from Mount Sinai,”—there it is again—“which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is Mount Sinai in Arabia;” this gives the place where the law was given. That gendered to bondage, and the Sabbath was a part of that old covenant; but that is done away, and we are under the new. DSQ69 63.1

Now I come to the remark that Israel had long been breaking the Sabbath. I cannot see it so. Nor does it appear that it was kept thirty days before they came to Sinai. They came to the wilderness of Sin on the fifteenth day of the second month, and some time elapsed before the Sabbath arrived after the falling of the manna. In the third month they wore at Sinai. But that is not essential; I let it pass. DSQ69 63.2

Another remark: the wife of Joseph was not a Jew. But she was taken into the family, and she was married over two hundred years before the old covenant was made. Ruth was of Moab, a descendant of Abraham’s family, a relative. DSQ69 64.1

Now to the day: he says the identical day must be kept. Then he don’t keep it, unless he sits up all night to keep it. He asks why find fault with him for keeping the seventh day if no particular day is indicated? I do not find fault with him for keeping it; but I do find fault that I must be made to receive the “mark of the beast” if I do not keep it. I find no fault with any for keeping it; but that covenant gendered to bondage, and I would rather be free. DSQ69 64.2

He said I required the keeping of the first day. No; I do not. On Exodus 16, he said “how long” referred to their breaking the Sabbath. It does not read so; but “How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?” DSQ69 64.3

Now I come to that interesting text, Romans 7. I thank him for his illustration. He says Paul was slain by the law several years after it was abolished, according to my position. Not so; but he kept it while persecuting the church. See Philippians 3:6:“Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.” He continued to keep it until he was made alive by Christ. Now let us look at Romans 7 again. Let this inkstand represent the law, this the man, and that the woman. Put these together; when married they become one flesh. The man died; here he is dead, taken away; and now the woman is loosed from the law of her husband. Not loosed from moral obligation; but from the law of her husband—to obey him. Now for the application: “Ye, brethren, are become dead to the law.” What law? That one. Before he is married to another, he is married to the law, is he not? [Time.] DSQ69 64.4

ELD. CORNELL’S SEVENTH SPEECH

I have a few points to notice from last evening. He says there is no love in the ten commandments. There is nothing but love in them. I will read what he left out. When the Saviour spoke of the two commandments, “Love God with all thy heart, and thy neighbor as thyself,” he said, ‘“On these two hang all the law.” These are not all the law, but all the law grows out of these. In the second commandment the Lord said he would show mercy to them that love him and keep his commandments; and John,” said, “This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.” 1 John 5:3. We cannot separate the love of God from the keeping of his commandments; for our Saviour placed them all on love. Now look at the commandments, and see if is not so. Love to God leads us to honor him alone; to avoid idolatry; to reverence his name. There are two sacred things to be guarded by the law; God’s holy name, and his holy day—his memorial. Love to God leads us to regard his honor and his claims. And love to man leads us to honor our parents; then to regard our neighbor’s life—not to kill; the chastity of his family—not to commit adultery; and his property—not to steal; and his reputation—not to bear false witness; to avoid impure desire—not to covet. This covers all our duty to man. This law, founded on love, grows right out of our relations to God, our creator, and our fellow-creatures. It is a law of love, and “love is the fulfilling of the law.” DSQ69 65.1

He replies to my argument, that the Sabbath was made for the race of man, by another syllogism. But there is no parallel; his syllogism is defective. Where is the scripture saying that the passover was made for man? He is a stickler for Scripture on the Sabbath. Let him show his proof to sustain his syllogism. The Sabbath was made for man, for the race; for it was made at creation. Again, it was made in Eden, in Paradise; the passover was not. The Sabbath was placed in the moral law, spoken by the voice of God; the passover was in a law of types and shadows. He does not deny the morality of the other nine. Did God make a mistake, and get it in the wrong code? God spoke the ten commandments, and no more. The laws given to the people through Moses, were different. After speaking these, with a voice that shook the earth, God wrote them in the stone. There the Sabbath was engraved by the finger of God. Was the passover there? No; that was temporary, and related only to that people. We are to make a difference where God does. My opponent jumbles all together, and regards no distinction in their nature. This will not do. DSQ69 66.1

He asks what law it was of which Christ bore the penalty. I answer, The law that condemned man. He says that no fire was to be kindled on the Sabbath. The commandment does not say so. The priests offered more offerings on that day than any other, but it was not their own work. While in Arabia, under peculiar circumstances, they were to build no fire; but the connection shows that it referred to cooking, etc. After they came into Palestine, where it is often very cold, Dr. Clarke says people have even frozen to death, in some parts of it; they were never prohibited from having fires for their comfort. But how does he regard God’s commandments? Does he think God laid a duty on them which would subject them to continual suffering? Works of mercy and necessity were always lawful on the Sabbath. DSQ69 66.2

“No such thing as ceremonial law.” Well, there are two distinct laws, as the Scriptures plainly show: The moral law on tables of stone, put in the ark, 1 Kings 8:9: “There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb;” the ceremonial law, put beside the ark, Deuteronomy 31:26: DSQ69 67.1

“Take this book of the law and put it in the side of the ark.” “Not in the ark, but in another box by the side of the ark.” Comp. Com. “Laid up by side of the ark.” Dr. Clarke. The moral, proclaimed and written by God in person; the ceremonial, given through Moses. One, the royal law, James 2:8; the other, the handwriting of ordinances, Colossians 2:14. One, to break which is enmity to God, Romans 8:7,“and the keeping of which is the love of God, 1 John 5:3; the other, which is itself called enmity, Ephesians 2:15. One law is spiritual, Romans 7:14; the other, the law of a carnal commandment, Hebrews 7:16. One, from which one jot or tittle shall in no wise pass, Matthew 5:18; the other, of which there is made of necessity a change, Hebrews 7:12. One, the law of liberty, Psalm 119:45; James 2:12; the other, a yoke of bondage, Galatians 5:1. One, which Christ magnified and made honorable, Isaiah 42:21; the other, he blotted out, Colossians 2:14. One law is holy, just, and good, Nehemiah 9:13; Romans 7:12; the other, statutes that were not good, Ezekiel 20:25. One, which, if a man do, he shall live, Leviticus 18:5; Ezekiel 20:21; the other, of judgments whereby they shall not live, Ezekiel 20:25. One, in keeping of which is great reward, Psalm 19:11; the other, weak and unprofitable, Hebrews 7:18. One, in which the apostle delighted, Romans 7:22; the other, a yoke which they were not able to bear, Acts 15:10. One, that is perfect, converting the soul, Psalm 19:7; the other, which could never make the comers thereunto perfect, Hebrews 7:18. One, that is not made void by faith, Romans 3:31; the other is abolished by Christ, Ephesians 2:15. Now, by mixing this all up, and making it refer to one and the same law, the Scriptures are made to appear contradictory and unreasonable. I object to such a use of the Bible. But to apply them to the two different laws, all is plain and consistent. DSQ69 67.2

He says, The old covenant was made with the Jews; but the new covenant is made with the Gentiles, as well as the Jews. I deny it, and call upon him to prove it. See Jeremiah 31:31; Hebrews 8:8: “I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.” But he says, Paul kept the law till he was converted. Indeed! Will he tell us how many of the ten commandments he broke after he was converted? Is that the mark of a Christian, a converted man, to break the law of God? DSQ69 68.1

He says, Paul was not converted by the law; that no one can be converted by the law. But Psalm 19:7, says that the law is perfect, converting the soul. No one can be converted without knowing that he is a sinner; but Paul was convinced of sin by the law, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. No one is converted without the law. [Time] DSQ69 68.2

ELD. GRANT’S EIGHTH SPEECH

How did Paul find himself a sinner? touching the law he was blameless. He learned it of the Lord on the way to Damascus, not in the commandments. DSQ69 69.1

He says there is love in the commandments. I admit all God’s commandments are given in love. But Christ says, A new commandment I give unto you that ye love one another. This is not in the old; else why call it new. And he says, if we love God, we will keep the commandments I love God, but I don’t keep Saturday. Many say they began to go astray when they began to break the Sabbath, meaning the first day of the week. Now if Saturday was right, they would feel condemned for not keeping it. Now I don’t feel condemned, and the great body of Christians do not keep it, nor do they feel condemned. DSQ69 69.2

He notices my syllogism, but I cannot see that he helped himself any. Let that go; but was not the passover made for man? He says the Sabbath was not a memorial of their deliverance from Egypt. We will read it once more; it could not be plainer. Deuteronomy 5:15: “And remember that thou was a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched-out arm; therefore”—here is the reason given; therefore—“the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day.” And when we find the feasts described in Leviticus 23, we find it there with the feasts or memorial days: “Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them concerning the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts. Six days shall work be done; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, a holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings.” Here the seventh-day Sabbath is one of the feasts. Next comes the passover. Verses 4-8: “These are the feasts of the Lord, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons. In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord’s passover, and on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the Lord; seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. In the first day ye shall have a holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work therein. But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord seven days; in the seventh day is a holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work therein.” This is enjoined just as much as the Sabbath. It is put in there among the feast days, and I shall show they are all abolished. Does the Lord abolish moral precepts? But he has abolished the Sabbath. DSQ69 69.3

I ask him to tell us what law it was that condemned man. He says the ceremonial law came by Moses. It came from the Lord just as much as the other. How did Moses know about them if the Lord did not tell him. He refers to the royal law. Well, what is it? James 2:8 “If ye fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well.” There is the royal law; but it is not in the decalogue. The Lord told Moses that they should love God and their neighbor, but it is not in the decalogue. He admits there is a law abolished. Agreed, and we shall find it as we proceed in the investigation. And he says the law converts the soul; but it did not convert Paul. DSQ69 70.1

He denies the covenant was made with the Gentiles, and says it was made with the Jews. Does he deny that the Gentiles have the privileges of the new covenant? When was it made with Israel? Let him tell us when the law was put into the; hearts of Israel. DSQ69 70.2

He still holds to, the particular day. If I were in Paris, I should, with other Americans, celebrate the Fourth of July, but not at the same time they do here. If the same latitude is allowed on the Sabbath it over throws all he says. DSQ69 71.1

Now to the marriage. This represents the law; the brethren are married to the law before they are married to Christ. Here I want to say when we are dead to anything it has no control over us. We are dead to sin; it has no more dominion over us. And Galatians 5:24: “They that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh, with the affections and lusts.” They no longer control them. 1 Peter 2:24: “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness.” DSQ69 71.2

Now let us go back again to the marriage. “Ye also are become dead to the law.” Now they are removed—no longer under its control. But, then, we have no law now. Wait for a moment till we see. We are married to Christ, which we could not be if married to the law. And Paul says we are married to another, that we should bring forth fruit unto God, that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. [Loud shouts of, Amen, and laughter.] Now look a little further: Colossians 2:16, 17; holy days, new moons, and sabbath days, are shadows of things to come; but the body is of Christ. We have got up to the body now. Don’t go back to the bondage. Now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held. Christ is our lawgiver. We do not go to the law. That was not sin. It was good as far as it went; but it does not make people live as good as Christ does. Hear him; we have got to the great Teacher now. The law took hold only of the outward acts, this of the thoughts and intents of the heart. It is better than that. [Cries of, Amen.] We are dead to that wherein we were held, and now serve in newness of spirit. It is inside—in the heart. If a man sinned in his heart, the law did not touch him; must have the act first. What are we free from? The law says, Thou shalt not covet. That is the law Paul was talking about. If we are married to Christ, let the union stand. [Cries of, Amen.] If ye keep my commandments. John 15:10. This is my commandment; that ye love one another. Verse 12. That is, the new one. Now we will come to the covenant and see what it was. DSQ69 71.3

[Time.]

ELD. CORNELL’S EIGHTH SPEECH

We are now ready to advance in our argument. But first I will notice the fallacy of his positions taken, and then proceed to show, by direct proof, that his view is not right. DSQ69 72.1

He says there was no love in the old covenant, but is in the new, and then quotes Deuteronomy 6:5; and Leviticus 19:18, the great commandments to love God and our neighbor. Was the new covenant made before this? I assert there is just as much love there as here. He said the law did not convert Paul; but Paul did not say so. Romans 7:7:“I had not known sin but by the law; for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.” Now read on. Verse 9: “For, I was alive without the law once; but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.” And in verse 11: “For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.” Then the law was living. He was slain by that law which said, “Thou shalt not covet;” and the Sabbath also was in that law. DSQ69 72.2

Deuteronomy 5:15. He cannot see the difference between a specific reason why they were called upon to keep the Sabbath, and a general reason reaching to all mankind. There is no reason for the institution in their coming out of Egypt. They were to keep all His statutes and judgments because they came out of Egypt; yet that was not the ground of the obligation. See Deuteronomy 24:17, 18; not to pervert judgment, for the same reason; and Leviticus 19:35-37; do no unrighteousness in judgment, have just weights, balances, etc., because, they were bondmen in Egypt; and he delivered them, therefore they were to do this. But would not this have been duty for them if they had remained in Egypt? or was it not binding on others who never came out of Egypt? So of the Sabbath; there was a general reason dating back to creation, as stated in the commandment, applying to all men; for all are alike interested in creation. DSQ69 73.1

But he says he cannot tell how to keep the Sabbath by the fourth commandment. Well, I am astonished. They knew how to keep it at the time of the crucifixion Luke 23:56: They “rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment.” Let us read the commandment. “Remember the Sabbath day to keep holy.” Now for the directions how: “Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work.” Abstain from all thy work, from common labor. Is not this plain enough? At least, if we were quick to take a hint, we might learn something from it. DSQ69 73.2

He says the royal law is not the ten commandments Let us see what James says: “If ye fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well.” The “royal law” is one thing, and “the scripture” “according to” which the royal law is kept, is another thing. Now let us read on and see if it is identified: “For he that said [or that which said—that law] Do not commit adultery said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.” There it is; the ten-commandment law. DSQ69 74.1

Married to Christ, and now delivered from the law Amen, cried a dozen voices. He denies my construction of being delivered from the law. Well, what does he mean by it? Is he delivered so as not to keep it? Do you claim a right to break it? Do Christians break the ten commandments? What does he mean by being delivered from the law? Will the affirmative tell us? The apostle shows, verse 5, that before we died to the law, “we were in the flesh,” obeying “the motions of sins.” Of course the law holds every one under condemnation who is in the flesh—in sin. But from that hold we are delivered when pardoned; and it holds the sinner now till he is pardoned; therefore the law is not dead. Suppose a man is sentenced to the penitentiary for five years. The law puts him there and keeps him three. But after he has been there three years, a man comes to him with a pardon. See him spring up with delight. As he leaves the walls he says, “Now I am delivered from the law; I am free man; free as any of you who have not broken the law; now I rejoice in the pardon of the Governor. But is he therefore free to break the law? if he breaks it again he puts himself right back there again, under condemnation. But when we get free from the law, by pardon from its condemnation, and free from sin so as to break the law, or sin no more, then we can shout Amen! [Loud applause.] Hear Christ? Yes, we will hear him. He says, Matthew 5:17, 18: “Think not that I am came to destroy the law, or the prophets;, I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled.” [Applause.] DSQ69 74.2

But he says there is nothing in the law against false speaking. See the ninth commandment. “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.” This pretty closely relates to that subject, certainly. DSQ69 75.1

A few words about the covenants. In Romans 9:4, 5, Paul says: “Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; whose are the fathers, and of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came.” Here are eight distinct honors or blessings to the Jewish people. Among are the covenants—plural, the old and the new. Again I call upon him to show his Gentile covenant. The Gentiles have nothing but what they get through the Jews. Why should the Sabbath be despised because it was given to the Jews? It had divine honor before it was given to them. What else did they have? Christ came of them. It is a mistake—the Sabbath is not Jewish; it is never called the Sabbath of the Jews, but always the Sabbath of the Lord. First, It was made two thousand years before there were any Jews. Second, It was based on reasons not at all peculiar to the Jews. Third, It was separate from Jewish rites and part of that law which is established by the fait of Christ; but my brother says it was abolished. God was the God of Israel; is he therefore the God of the Jews only? Paul says he is the God of the Gentile also. [Time.] DSQ69 75.2

ELD. GRANT’S NINTH SPEECH

All the commandments are of the Lord; they did not any of them originate with the Jews. Leviticus 19:8 says, Love thy neighbor as thyself, and Deuteronomy 6:5, Love God with all thy heart; but are they in the decalogue? No. They are in the Old Testament, but not in the decalogue. He says there is as much love in the old covenant as in the new. True; but not in the ten commandments. Paul did not keep the ten commandments; he was dead to them. Where does he find ceremonial law? he has got a kind of whip-row, so speak; he can have it moral law or ceremonial law just as he wants it. DSQ69 76.1

Romans 7:7: “Thou shalt not covet.” That was the law; and the law was living then, so far as knew, but in regard to it he was blameless. DSQ69 76.2

He says the Sabbath was instituted for another reason. Don’t know as I got the idea. DSQ69 76.3

I don’t know but I was too strong in saying we could not tell by the fourth commandment how to keep the Sabbath. It says, “Keep it holy,” yet I do not know what that means. DSQ69 76.4

He says there is an hour’s difference in time in Palestine. It may be so, but I don’t know about it. But can time be cut up, and passed round to different parts of the earth? When he admits that we do not begin as soon as they in the East, he gives up his claim on the same time. But are we not under obligation to keep law now? Oh yes; let us have the marriage back again. “That being dead wherein we were held.” That is the law; you can’t get away from that. This shows we are delivered from the law: it is dead. Are we delivered when pardoned? That does not make the law dead. If the law is binding, then we are cursed if we do not keep it all. Then I am cursed, for I do not keep it. I was pardoned twenty-six years ago, without keeping it; and I have had many good times and blessings of the Lord since, not keeping it. Some who have kept it say they are out of bondage when they leave it. See the dream in the last Crisis. If keeping another day is the mark of the beast, then all should feel condemned who do not keep it But nobody keeps it, yet they are not cursed on that account. DSQ69 76.5

Now we come again to the covenants. A number of covenants were made with his people, but two special. First, the definition of covenant: “Any disposition, arrangement, institution, or dispensation; hence, a testament it, will; Hebrews 9:16, a covenant, i.e., mutual promises on mutual conditions, or promises with condition annexed. By metonymy, a body of laws and precepts, to which certain promises are annexed.” It is claimed that the first covenant is in Exodus 19:5-8: this claim was made by my brother in a former discussion. The word occurs three times in Exodus before, that time. Chap. 2:24: “And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham with Isaac, and with Jacob.” And in chap. 6:2-5: “And god spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord. And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and Jacob, by the name of God Almighty; but by my name Jehovah was I not known to them. And I hare also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers. And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant.” My covenant. What covenant was that? It was the covenant touching the inheritance. Let us go carefully; we shall soon unravel the whole subject, and clear some minds on some passages in the New Testament. I now read the nineteenth chapter: DSQ69 77.1

“In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount. And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people; for all the earth is mine; and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.” DSQ69 78.1

Moses laid before them these words. The most magnificent display of divine glory was soon to come; but he would see first if they will agree to it. If they do then he will come and make the covenant. DSQ69 78.2

“And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him. And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee forever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to-day and to-morrow, and let them wash their clothes, and be ready against the third day; for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.” DSQ69 78.3

He is going to do what he never did before; make a covenant with his people, with his own voice. DSQ69 79.1

“And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it; whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death; there shall not a hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live; when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount. And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes. And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day; come not at your wives. And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, land a thick cloud upon the mount, and a voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.” DSQ69 79.2

There never was another such scene as when the Lord made this covenant. DSQ69 79.3

“And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. And the Lord came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount; and the Lord called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up. And the Lord said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the Lord to gaze, and many of them perish.” DSQ69 79.4

They were so anxious to see, that he gave directions to restrain them from giving way to their curiosity. DSQ69 80.1

“And let the priests also which come near to the Lord, sanctify themselves, lest the Lord break forth upon them. And Moses said unto the Lord, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai; for thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it. And the Lord said unto him, Away, get thee down, and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee; but let not the priests and the people break through, to come up unto the Lord, lest he break forth upon them. So Moses went down unto the people, and spake unto them.” Chap. 20: “And God spake all these words saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” DSQ69 80.2

First, the proposition, and then he speaks the ten commandments. After they were given, he goes on to say: DSQ69 80.3

“And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die. And Moses said unto the people, Fear not; for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not. And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was. And the Lord said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from Heaven. Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold. An altar of earth shalt thou make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.” DSQ69 80.4

Another point: The first covenant had offerings and sacrifices connected with it, and they will continue with it till its close. [Time.] DSQ69 81.1

ELD. CORNELL’S NINTH SPEECH

We have now come to the gist of the matter. The covenant is an important point in our investigation. Much depends upon a correct understanding of it. DSQ69 81.2

Again, he says, There is no love required in the decalogue. I wonder if he ever read the second commandment. It is as plain as in the New Testament. He ridicules the idea that time, or the day, passes around. But is it not a fact that time does pass around? Wiser men than he and I, have spoken of the rolling round of time; and the poet said, DSQ69 81.3

”—he is but a dunce Who thinks the day begins all ‘round at once.” DSQ69 81.4

Christians enjoy as much that do n’t keep the Sabbath, as they that do. Wonderful! Bro. Grant was converted believing in the immortality of the soul, and endless misery; Wesley was blessed of God, teaching that which we could not teach and be innocent. God accepts people if they are honestly conscientious by living up to the light they have, and accepting further light and truth as it comes to them. [Cries of, Amen.] DSQ69 81.5

He quotes the scripture where Christ was charged with Sabbath-breaking. Does he mean to say that Christ broke the Sabbath? If not, why does he quote it? He will confess that it was binding at that time; and if he broke it, we have only the sacrifice of a sinner. But he says, “I have kept my Father’s commandments. John 15:10. Why accuse the Saviour of sin, to place disrespect on the Sabbath? There was no law which forbade what Christ did; it was always lawful. DSQ69 81.6

Now, in regard to the covenants: Both were made with Israel. See Jeremiah 31:31-34. He has read the description of the making of the first covenant. Moses was the mediator between God and the people for this covenant. Both the old and new covenants were made with Israel. No chance for men now to say, “We accept the new covenant because it pertains to the Gentiles, whereas the first covenant was to the Jews.” DSQ69 82.1

We find that the new covenant was made with the same people that were the subjects of the old covenant. Thus Jeremiah declares, in the name of the Lord, “I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah.” “Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers, etc. Again, “This shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel,” etc. DSQ69 82.2

Paul, in the eighth chapter of Hebrews, quotes this entire statement of Jeremiah concerning both covenants’ being made with the Hebrews; and, as if he would have no mistake in the point, he makes the following sweeping statement in Romans 9:4, 5: “Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; whose are the fathers, and of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, God blessed forever.” DSQ69 82.3

Thus we see that everything valuable comes to the world through the seed of Abraham, or by the means of the Hebrew people. As a nation they were adopted, because they were the only nation that served the true God. And, for this reason, the oracles of God were intrusted to their hands. Shall we scorn the law because given to the Hebrews? Shall we despise the new covenant as Jewish, because, like the old covenant, it is made with Israel? Is it best to reject Jesus as the Messiah, because he pertained to that despised race? And shall we desire another God than the God of Israel? And, finally, shall we neglect salvation, and choose to be lost, because Christ said, “Salvation, is of the Jews”? John 4:22. DSQ69 82.4

We have seen what the advantages of the Jews were, and we will now inquire, What was the condition of the Gentiles before they were grafted into the stock of Israel?. Ephesians 2:11-13: “Wherefore, remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: but now, in Christ Jesus, ye who sometime were far off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” DSQ69 83.1

They were Gentiles “in time past,” but now they are Israelites. They are adopted, and now share in the name and advantages of Israel. The apostle illustrates the change by the figure of grafting. Romans 11:17-20: “And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not high-minded, but fear.” DSQ69 83.2

What is a covenant? In the books of the New Testament, covenant and testament are used interchangeably, meaning the same thing. They are from the same Greek word, diatheke. DSQ69 84.1

Webster defines covenant: “1. A mutual consent or agreement of two or more persons, to do, or to forbear, some act or thing; a contract; stipulation. 2. A writing containing the terms of agreement or contract between parties.” DSQ69 84.2

The old covenant must be according to one of these definitions. It is clearly stated that the two contracting, covenanting parties were God and Israel, and that it was made when God took Israel by the hand to bring them out of Egypt. DSQ69 84.3

Let us now trace the several steps of making the covenant according to the first definition above. Exodus 19:5-8: “Now, therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people; for all the earth is mine: and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him. And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord.” DSQ69 84.4

Now, the people having agreed to obey God’s voice, the Lord proceeds to speak the ten commandments; and then, before the covenant is ratified and sealed, he gives the people another chance to say whether they will accept it. Having heard the voice of God, will they now stand to their pledge to obey it? Now, that they may have a chance to refuse to close the contract if they see cause for so doing, Moses repeats in their hearing the words of the voice of God, the ten commandments. This being done, observe the final answer of the people, Exodus 24:3: “And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do.” DSQ69 84.5

Next, all is committed to writing, and a sacrifice made to God by the people. Verses 4 and 5: “And Moses Wrote all the words of the Lord, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the Lord.” DSQ69 85.1

Now comes the final dedication or sealing of the covenant. But before that is done, the people must hear a rehearsal of the whole transaction from the first. Verses 6-8: “And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient. And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words.” DSQ69 85.2

Now, that this agreement between God and Israel concerning the ten commandments, is the first, or old; covenant, is proved by Paul in Hebrews 9:18-20: “Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood. For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book and all the people, saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.” DSQ69 85.3

Now, with these facts before him, no man can say that the ten commandments constitute the old covenant. The words of Moses, at the dedication of the old covenant, settle the question: “Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord made with you, concerning all these words.” DSQ69 86.1

The ten commandments were the thing concerning which a covenant was made. All must agree that Moses uses the word covenant, in this text, not as signifying the ten commandments, but the agreement made concerning them. The ten commandments, containing no contract, can be called a covenant only by virtue of the fact that contracting parties enter into agreement concerning them. Between the opening and closing acts of making said covenant, God proclaimed his law of ten commandments, which, by metonymy, are called his covenant, because the parties covenant together concerning them. DSQ69 86.2

In whatever sense the ten commandments are called a “covenant,” they are a complete covenant in that sense. But this cannot be identical with the “old covenant” of Jeremiah and of Paul, for that consisted in acts of covenanting, whereby God became their husband, and espoused the people to himself as his peculiar treasure. Proof: Jeremiah 31:32: “Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers, in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was husband unto them, saith the Lord.” The words, “married,” and “espoused,” are used to show this covenant relation. Jeremiah 2:2; 3:14. All this shows clearly that the first covenant was such in the sense of a contract. DSQ69 86.3

But the Apostle Paul makes a distinction between the covenants and the law. In enumerating the advantages conferred on Israel, he says, “To whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law” etc. Romans 9:4. Here, is proof positive that the law was distinct from the covenant. DSQ69 87.1

Again, the first covenant was weakened, waxed old, and was finally null and void, because the, people failed on their part to keep it. But could the disobedience of man weaken the ten commandments, or render them null and void? The idea is absurd. The law of God does not depend upon the obedience of the people for its strength, but upon the authority of the Lawgiver. When it is disobeyed, it still makes known sin. Says the apostle, “The strength of sin is the law.” 1 Corinthians 15:56. DSQ69 87.2

Again, that the old covenant and the law of God are not identical, is seen in the fact that, when the old covenant is dissolved and vanished away, the law of God still remains, to sustain under the new covenant even a more important relation than it did under the old. See Jeremiah 31:33: “But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts.” Observe, he does not say that he will make a new law and write it on the heart, but the same law that under the old covenant was upon tables of stone, is under the new written upon the fleshly tables of the heart. DSQ69 87.3

What, then, is the relation of the new covenant to the law of God, or how does the making of the new covenant affect the law? What is the promise respecting the law? Is it, “I will abolish my law”? No. Is it, “I will change my law”? No. Is it, “I will supersede my law by a better code”? Verily not. It is entirely different from such as these. Mark the promise. “I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts.” DSQ69 88.1

The law of God remains, under the new covenant, more binding than before. It is magnified and made honorable. Instead of being done away, it is exalted more than ever. With this view agree all the Scriptures. Romans 3:31: “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid! Yea, we establish the law.” DSQ69 88.2

[Time called—Loud Applause.]