The Signs of the Times, vol. 13

January 27, 1887

“Things We Should Know.—No. 1” The Signs of the Times, 13, 4.

E. J. Waggoner

As finite beings, our knowledge is necessarily limited. There are many things that it is impossible for us to know. In fact, that which we know is a very small amount in comparison with that which we do not know; and much of that which we think we know is only conjecture. People sometimes think they know a great deal about nature, but such ones only think so because of their ignorance of the vastness of God’s works. Sir Isaac Newton, after a lifetime of contemplation of the works of nature, and investigation of physical phenomena, said that he was like a child playing with pebbles on the shore of the ocean, while the vast expanse was still before him unexplored. And when we come to things supernatural, our knowledge is still more limited. We can know nothing of them, except they are revealed in God’s word. It is idle for us to conjecture concerning the size of the throne of God, the height of the tree of life, the width of the streets of the New Jerusalem, or of the river of water of life. These things have not been revealed to us, and hence it is not necessary that we should know them. SITI January 27, 1887, page 54.1

But there are some things which are very plainly made known, and these things it is our duty to know. If we remain ignorant of them, it is a sin. In a few articles we shall consider some of the things that we may and should know without any mixture of doubt. SITI January 27, 1887, page 54.2

In Deuteronomy 4:30 Moses says: “Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord he is God in Heaven above, and upon the earth beneath; thee is none else.” SITI January 27, 1887, page 54.3

This may be called the first element of knowledge, because whoever says “There is no God,” is a fool. Psalm 14:1. A man may be ignorant of a great many things and yet not be a fool; but one who is ignorant of things existing around him, who is unconscious of the existence of the sun, the air, the blue sky, the towering mountains, or any of the works of creation, and who looks upon all with indifferent eye,-such an one we say is a fool. But that is virtually the condition one must be in if he denies the existence of God, for God is known by his works. Says the psalmist, “For all the gods of the nations are idols; but the Lord made the heavens.” Psalm 96:5. Again, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork.” Psalm 19:1. SITI January 27, 1887, page 54.4

A knowledge of God is inseparably connected with a knowledge of his creative power. The psalmist says again: “Know ye that the Lord he is God; it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” Psalm 100:3. This is shown still farther by the fact that the heathen lost their knowledge of God through failure to recognize his creative power. Thus Paul says that the heathen who know nothing of God are without excuse, because ever since the creation of the world the eternal power and godhead of God may be seen from the things that are made. And then he says that darkness came upon them “because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful.” What would it be to glorify him as God? Evidently to properly recognize him as creator, for it is that which distinguishes him as the one true God. Thus the psalmist, after declaring the power of God above all gods, says: “Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name.” Psalm 90:8. SITI January 27, 1887, page 54.5

But if we acknowledge God as creator, and consider it in our heart, to what will that lead? It will lead to the perfect doing of his will. Obedience is due only to superiors by inferiors. It is a principle of law that one who is dependent on another is in duty bound to obey the will of that other just to the extent that he is dependent on him. Man is dependent upon God for everything-“in him we live, and move, and have our being,”-and therefore he is in duty bound to yield obedience to the will of God in every particular. And if a man recognize this supremacy of God, and his own dependence, he will do the will of God. That obedience to God is a necessary consequence of a recognition of his supremacy, or, rather, is the only way in which his supremacy can be recognized, is shown by the following verses, one of which has already been quoted:- SITI January 27, 1887, page 54.6

“Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath; there is none else. Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments.” Deuteronomy 4:39, 40. SITI January 27, 1887, page 54.7

The same thing is still further seen by the fact that ignorance of divine truth springs directly from disobedience. Paul says that strong delusion shall come upon men, so that they shall believe a lie, for the reason that they receive not the love of the truth. 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12. And again he warns the people to watch lest they be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Hebrews 3:13. SITI January 27, 1887, page 54.8

It will not be denied that a knowledge of God is of the utmost importance, and that it is a primary duty; and since we can retain our knowledge of God only by doing his will, how important it is that we keep his commandments. In obeying any precept of God we recognize his authority, and increase our knowledge of him; but there is one duty, the performance of which leads especially to the knowledge of God. In Exodus 31:13, 17, we read these words of the Lord:- SITI January 27, 1887, page 54.9

“Verily my Sabbaths 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.” “It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.” SITI January 27, 1887, page 54.10

Here the reason is given why the keeping of the Sabbath leads to a more perfect knowledge of God. The Sabbath commemorates the completed creation. The Sabbath is given for this very purpose. It can be properly kept only when we consider the wonderful power and goodness of God. In the ninety-second psalm, which is for the Sabbath day, the psalmist speaks of the necessity of praise to God, and says: “For thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy work; I will triumph in the works of thy hands.” Verse 4. SITI January 27, 1887, page 54.11

The same thing that is stated in Exodus is repeated by the Lord through the prophet Ezekiel: “Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.” “And hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.” Ezekiel 20:12, 20. In these words the Lord expressly declares that the Sabbath is the only means that he has given whereby men may preserve a knowledge of him. And so when we read the command, “Know ye that the Lord he is God,” it is equivalent to a command to keep the Sabbath. SITI January 27, 1887, page 54.12

“The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.” This is the day which commemorates creation. No other day calls attention to the power of God. Changing the day of rest is the first step toward complete loss of knowledge of God. When we read that the heathen became what they are because “when they knew God they glorified him not as God,” and remember that the glory of God is his creative power, and that keeping the Sabbath is the means by which we recognize that power, we do not see how the conclusion can be avoided, that the first step toward the degradation revealed in Romans 1:23-31 was the refusal to keep the Sabbath which God had sanctified. SITI January 27, 1887, page 54.13

The “man of sin” became such by thinking to change the times and the laws of God. The attempted change of the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week, is the boast of the Catholic Church. To this she points as the badge of her authority. And this fact marks the Papacy as essentially heathen. Thus: By the act of changing the Sabbath it claimed the place and authority of God. Paul says of the Papacy: “Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:4. One power can usurp the place of another only by changing, or attempting to change its laws. But if the Papacy puts itself in the place of God, showing itself to be God, it must necessarily ignore the existence of the only true God; and thus it is that by changing the Sabbath the Papacy becomes essentially heathen. It matters not that the Papacy counts for nothing unless the action corresponds. Paul says of certain ones: “They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him.” Titus 1:16. SITI January 27, 1887, page 54.14

It is the rejection of the truth that is going to land the mass of the people of the last days in the worst kind of infidelity. See 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12. The Sabbath of Jehovah was, so far as we have any record, the first truth revealed to man (see Genesis 2:1-3), and it is the primary and most essential truth, since it pre-eminently teaches the existence and power of God. It is this truth which the Papacy has sought to overthrow, thus putting itself in the place of God; it is against this truth that Satan, the arch-enemy of God, exerts all his hellish arts, that he may lure men from allegiance to God; and it is the rejection of this truth which will make men an easy prey to Satan’s strong delusion, and bring them under the wrath of God. SITI January 27, 1887, page 54.15

Let us then keep the Sabbath of the Lord in spirit and in truth. Let us not substitute a way of our own choosing, thus exalting ourselves to the place of God. If by the faith of Christ we earnestly strive to keep the commandments of God, we shall “follow on to know the Lord;” and in the earth made new, where all shall know the Lord, from the least to the greatest, we shall be permitted every Sabbath (Isaiah 66:23) to see God and to worship before his throne, acknowledging his goodness and power, in that he hath made all things new. W. SITI January 27, 1887, page 54.16

“Laborers in the Vineyard” The Signs of the Times, 13, 4.

E. J. Waggoner

A friend asks us to give an explanation of the parable of Matthew 20:1-16. It is the parable of the vineyard, in which the householder went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard, agreeing with them for a penny a day. Afterward he went out at the third hour, the sixth, the ninth, and the eleventh, each time finding some unemployed persons whom he set to work, agreeing to give them what was right. When the evening came he told his steward to give the laborers their hire, beginning with the last and ending with the first. To the last he gave a penny each. The others who had worked the entire day, seeing this, supposed that they should receive more, but they received just what they had been promised,-a penny each. When they murmured at this, the householder said to one of them: “Friend, I do thee no wrong; didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way; I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?” SITI January 27, 1887, page 54.17

In explaining this parable all difficulty will be removed if we remember that those who were hired at the sixth, the ninth, and the eleventh hour came as soon as they were called. When the householder found men standing idle at the eleventh hour, and asked them, “Why stand ye here all the day idle?” they answered, “Because no man hath hired us.” The parable, therefore, gives no countenance to the idea that men may delay the acceptance of the gospel until the last hour of their lives, and then fare as well as those who have served the Lord all of their lives. It has no reference whatever to men who have had a knowledge of the gospel but who have put off accepting it. It refers to those who have not received the light of truth until late, but who accept it as soon as they receive it. As Jesus spoke the parable, it no doubt had its specific application to the Gentiles, who had not enjoyed equal advantages with the Jews. SITI January 27, 1887, page 54.18

Now as to the payment. The householder made a fair bargain with those whom he had hired first, giving them good pay, as wages went then; therefore when they received a penny apiece they received all that was their due, and had no reason to complain. If the master wished to give others the same amount for half an hour’s labor, he had a right to do so. Indeed, if he had wished to give money to those who had not labored at all, it would have been doing no injustice to those who had received all that they had been promised. Applying the parable to those who are called to labor for the Lord, we learn that it is not so much the amount of labor that men do as it is the readiness with which they labor, that is taken into account. God promises eternal life to all the faithful, and those who labor faithfully from the time they are called, even though they are not called until the eleventh hour, will receive the same reward as those who have labored a longer time, but with no more faithfulness. SITI January 27, 1887, page 55.1

“The Day of Salvation” The Signs of the Times, 13, 4.

E. J. Waggoner

A subscriber asks, “What day is the psalmist speaking of in the twenty-fourth verse of the 118th psalm?” The text is easily answered if we consider the context, which is as follows:- SITI January 27, 1887, page 56.1

“Open to me the gates of righteousness’ I will go into them, and I will praise the Lord; this gate of the Lord, into which the righteous shall enter. I will praise thee; for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Verses 19-24. SITI January 27, 1887, page 56.2

The subject under consideration is salvation, for which the psalmist is praising the Lord. This appears still more clearly when we read the entire chapter. He recognizes the fact that salvation comes through Christ, by saying: “The stone which the builders refused is become the head-stone of the corner.” The fact that the subject of salvation is under consideration, and that he says, “Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go into them, and I will praise the Lord,” is evidence that the psalmist is not speaking of any special literal day, but that he uses the word “day” in the sense of a period of time, as in Proverbs 24:10; Ecclesiastes 7:14, and other places. Just as there is no special day of the week when men may have prosperity or adversity, so there is no special day when men may enter the gates of righteousness or may seek salvation. Ever since the fall, men could enter the gates of righteousness at any time they chose. Thus it will be until probation ends. SITI January 27, 1887, page 56.3

And so the day spoken of here by the psalmist, is the day of salvation of which Paul speaks in 2 Corinthians 6:2, for he says: “For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee; behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” That this is not limited to any particular day, nor even to what is called the Christian dispensation, may be seen from the fact that these words were written seven hundred years before Christ, and are quoted by Paul. See Isaiah 49:8. SITI January 27, 1887, page 56.4

Again, the day spoken of is the day in which the stone which the builders rejected becomes the headstone of the corner. It is the day of salvation, that is, the whole period of time in which God’s grace is manifest toward sinners, that Christ is the head of the corner, because the entire plan of salvation centers in him. Paul says to the Ephesians: “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone.” Ephesians 2:19, 20. This shows that Christ was the corner-stone in the days of the apostles and prophets, and this is only in harmony with what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:11: “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” SITI January 27, 1887, page 57.1

Again Christ refers to the same day to which David does, in John 8:56, where he said of the Jews: “You father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it, and was glad.” Abraham saw the day of salvation, and entered into the gates of righteousness. The gospel was preached unto him (Galatians 3:8) and he rejoiced in it as did David. To say that John 8:56 refers to a certain day of the week, would make nonsense of the text; but no more than it would to limit Psalm 118:24 in like manner. SITI January 27, 1887, page 57.2

With the above explanation it is unnecessary to enter into an argument to show that the day to which David refers is not the first day of the week. Indeed, that has been shown already. It is not on Sunday or upon any other special day of the week alone that men can enter into the gates of righteousness and rejoice because of salvation. But “now”-that is, the present time, this period of probation-“now is the accepted time;” “now is the day of salvation;” therefore Paul says: “Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say, Rejoice.” W. SITI January 27, 1887, page 57.3

“Christ the Archangel” The Signs of the Times, 13, 4.

E. J. Waggoner

In hymns and prayers and exhortations we often hear of “angels and archangels.” In the Bible we find no such expression for it is not an admissible one. Archangel means the chief or head of angels. Now while there must necessarily be among the armies of Heaven many angels who are high in authority, there can be but one who is chief of all. The same people who use the term “archangels,” often use the term “arch-enemy” or “arch-deceiver.” In this case they have reference to Satan, the chief enemy of God and men. Knowing that Satan is the prime instigator of all evil, they do not think it necessary to specify who is meant when they say “arch-enemy.” There could be but one. So there could be but one archangel. SITI January 27, 1887, page 59.1

The Scriptures enable us to tell with exactness who the archangel is. In 1 Thessalonians 4:16 Paul says: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.” In John 5:26-29 we read the words of Christ. “For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth.” Here we learn that it is the voice of the Son of God that calls the dead from their graves. The previous text says that it is the voice of the archangel; therefore, the archangel is the Son of God. Then certainly there can be but one archangel; for in all things Christ has the preeminence. SITI January 27, 1887, page 59.2

Again we come to the same conclusion by a comparison of Jude 9 and Daniel 10:21. Jude says: “Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation.” In the book of Daniel (chap. 8:16; 9:21) we find that the angel Gabriel was commissioned to interpret the visions of the prophet. In chapter 10:21, before he begins a most important revelation, he says: “There is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.” Here the expression, “Michael your prince,” has undoubted reference to Christ, but we have already learned (Jude 9) that Michael is the archangel. Daniel 10:13 strengthens the position that Michael, the archangel, is Christ, for we there read (margin) of “Michael, the first of the chief princes.” This is in harmony with what was said before, that although the armies of Heaven must have many leaders, there could be but one head over all, and that is Christ. W. SITI January 27, 1887, page 59.3

“Christ, Angels, and Men” The Signs of the Times, 13, 4.

E. J. Waggoner

Last week we noted that angels and men are two different orders of beings. Man was made “a little lower than the angels.” Psalm 8:4, 5. Paul says of Christ that “he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.” Hebrews 2:16. This shows a difference between the nature of angels and the nature of men. But it shows also a difference between the nature of Christ and that of angels. Christ did not take the nature of angels; that statement would be uncalled for, if he already had the nature of angels. He was higher than the angels, and when he humbled himself, he came down, not to the nature of the angels, but was made a little lower than the angels, even to the level of man. Hebrews 2:9. SITI January 27, 1887, page 59.4

That Christ is higher than the angels, is plainly stated in Hebrews 1:4, where, speaking of the exalted position which the Son occupies, at “the right hand of the Majesty on high,” Paul says: “Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” “For unto which of the angels said he [God, the Father] at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?” Verse 5. The angels are sons of God by creation; Adam was also, but now that the race is fallen, we can become sons of God only by adoption (Romans 8:14-16; Colossians 4:4-6); but Christ is the Son of God by birth. He is the only begotten Son of God. He is the archangel, not because he is the highest angel, but because he, as Son of God, is head over all the angels. Jesus is the first of the creation of God (Revelation 3:14), not that he is the first of created beings, but in the sense that he is the head of all created things. “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” Colossians 1:16, 17. W. SITI January 27, 1887, page 59.5

“Back Page” The Signs of the Times, 13, 4.

E. J. Waggoner

The Independent says: “It is curious that the Westminster Confession of Faith knows nothing whatever of the millennium, and provides no place for it.” There is something curious in that, because it happens to be exactly the Bible position. SITI January 27, 1887, page 64.1

A lady, evidently a Spiritualist, writes in an exchange as follows, about Christianity and Buddhism: “I see nothing to prevent fusion, conciliation, and unification of the two faiths, if rightly understood.” One who has that idea may be very well informed concerning Buddhism, but certainly knows nothing about Christianity. And it is altogether a mistake to call Buddhism a “faith.” It is really the absence of faith. SITI January 27, 1887, page 64.2

“Much reading of German metaphysics and theology has opened windows for many a soul; but it has also opened cellar doors leading to unfathomable depths of darkness.” So says the Christian Union. But we remember that the same fountain cannot yield both sweet water and bitter, and therefore we believe that the so-called windows of German metaphysics and theology are cellar doors leading to unfathomable depths of darkness. The simple Bible truth never leads men to darkness. SITI January 27, 1887, page 64.3

A Methodist minister in Pennsylvania caused a sensation a few days since by declaring that he did not believe in the divinity of the Bible and did not know anything about immortality or whether there is a God, and that he had finally concluded not to preach what he did not believe. It would be a good thing for the cause of genuine Christianity if all the ministers who are in the same state of doubt would be equally candid. Infidelity in the pulpit, though concealed, makes infidelity in the pew. SITI January 27, 1887, page 64.4

In the trial of the Andover professors, Professor Churchill, “in allusion to the slight connection of his chair of elocution to the theological instruction, remarked in pleasantry that he never allowed his pupils to pronounce sheol with a circumflex. It must always be with the downward and grave accent.” There are many ministers who would have people believe that sheol means a place of torment, when it means simply the grave, the place of the dead. Such would do well to learn from Professor Churchill. When he gives sheol a grave accent, he is certainly orthodox. SITI January 27, 1887, page 64.5

Elder Jones writes from the College: “The present term may fairly be counted as the most prosperous in the history of Healdsburg College. There are now about one hundred and fifty students in attendance. The family at the Students’ Home now numbers ninety-two. There are two Bible classes, one numbering sixty-six, and the other fifteen. There are also two missionary classes numbering together about the same as the largest Bible class. All in the Bible and missionary study seem to enter into it with a will. The spiritual condition of the school is quite good-in the family at the Home it is very good. The teachers and managers are all of good courage, and are thankful to the Lord for the favor which he has bestowed upon the institution.” SITI January 27, 1887, page 64.6

Said Christ: “I am come that they might have life.” John 10:10. To the Jews he sorrowfully said, “Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.” John 5:40. These texts prove that if Christ had not come, men could not have had life; for he would not come to give men what they already had. And it proves that although Christ has come to give life those who do not come to him cannot have life. Christ said: “All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers.” That is the truth to-day. All who come between men and Christ, who teach men that they may have life without accepting Christ, are thieves of the worst sort. They steal from their deluded victims their only hope of life. If the man who takes from his neighbor that upon which he depends to sustain his life shall receive sevenfold, surely the one who takes from his neighbor that upon which he depends to sustain his life shall receive sevenfold, surely the one who takes from his neighbor the Bread of eternal life shall receive seventy and seven fold. SITI January 27, 1887, page 64.7

Let is be understood that life and death are exactly opposite terms. Life means existence. So long as a man has breath, he has life, no matter what his circumstances may be. He may be in poverty, or suffering the utmost agony, yet he is alive. Eternal life is simply eternal existence. The statement that the righteous are to have eternal life does not necessarily imply that they will be happy. That they will have perfect happiness is true, but it could not be learned from the simple statement that they shall have eternal life. When we are told that they shall dwell eternally in the presence of God, we know that they will have fullness of joy. But we are told by men, not by the Bible, that the wicked are to suffer eternal torment. If that were true, they also would have eternal life; for man cannot be in torment unless he is alive. The Bible tells us, however, that “he that believeth not the Son shall not see life” (John 3:36); and further that they “shall be punished with everlasting destruction.” 2 Thessalonians 1:9. So then he who rejects Christ does not simply reject happiness, but dooms himself to everlasting destruction,-death from which there is no resurrection,-“the blackness of darkness forever.” SITI January 27, 1887, page 64.8

Sunday before last the South Street Presbyterian church, Morristown, N. J., received eight persons by letter, as follows: One from the High church “House of Prayer,” Newark; one from St. Thomas Episcopal Church, New York City; one from a close communion Baptist Church; one from a Lutheran Church; two from the Church of England; and two from Congregational Churches. The Independent sees in this “an indication of the great advance of the lay masses who compose the Christian churches of this country, toward the obliteration of denominational lines, and a practical church union.” True; and when there is this church union, and the State by its laws upholds religion, what will we have but union of Church and State? SITI January 27, 1887, page 64.9

“Driving to Church on Sabbath” The Signs of the Times, 13, 4.

E. J. Waggoner

The old question of riding to meeting on the Sabbath is up again. A good sister who thinks that people ought not to drive their horses to meeting on the Sabbath, quotes a part of Exodus 20:10: “Thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle;” and says, “I would ask why one part of the fourth commandment is taken up, and the other part is left out, by Seventh-day Adventists?” SITI January 27, 1887, page 64.10

We would reply that such is not the case, except by here and there an individual. The sister who asks the question has herself done this very thing, for she quotes the commandment as though it entirely prohibited work of any kind, both for man and beast; but this is not the case. The clause preceding the one which she quoted reads: “Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work.” Now in view of this part of the commandment, it is evident that when the Lord says, “But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God, in it thou shalt not do any work,” he means that we shall not do any of our own work, but does not mean that we shall not do his work; for the commandment teaches that the Lord’s work is to be done on that day. Christ said: “It is lawful to do well on the Sabbath day,” thus showing that to do something is in accordance with the law of the Sabbath; only that which we do must not be our own work. SITI January 27, 1887, page 64.11

If, as is very evident, the commandment, “thou shalt not do any work,” means simply that we shall not do any of our own work, then the same thing follows in regard to our son, or daughter, or cattle. They must not do any work of a purely secular nature. Now to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together for exhortation, is a divine command. But it is absolutely impossible for people to assemble together on the Sabbath day without doing some work, for it is often a good deal of work to walk two or three miles. The work necessarily involved in walking to meeting, is, therefore, allowable, for it is not for worldly profit; and, therefore, by the same rule, it is allowable for a man to drive his team to church, if he or his family are not able to walk. The Lord does not require that cattle shall keep the Sabbath more strictly than their masters. SITI January 27, 1887, page 64.12