Signs of the Times, Book 1 - Ellen G. White

himself, and upon that he places his blessing, and sanctifies it. He requires
man to sacredly observe that day, not using it for his own worldly advantage
or pleasure. It is the tribute God requires men to render him for the benefits
he has given them.
We should spend a portion of the Sabbath in religious meditation, and in
considering the blessings and wonders of God in his created works,
manifested alike amid the rugged mountain scenery, where mountain top
rises above mountain top, where terrible ravines, and rocks broken apart by
the earthquakes, and the lightnings, bear the unmistakable marks of One who
has trodden the mountains in his anger; and in the softer aspect of nature,
where the lofty trees, the babbling brooks, the green grass and tinted flowers
express the love of the Infinite God. When we behold rugged mountains, the
lesson of Sinai should be repeated to us, and we should contemplate that
scene when Jehovah spake his law in the hearing of all the vast army of
Israel.
The foundation of the Sabbath was laid in Eden, and it is to be
perpetuated through all time and eternity. The sin of Adam caused his
expulsion from Eden. Fearful indeed was the curse pronounced upon the
transgressor of the law of God. While we deplore the sin and fall of Adam,
let us beware of following his example of disobedience. Thank God that the
Sabbath institution was not included in the blessings lost with Eden. That
sacred institution does not rest upon vain speculation; the authority and
evidence sustaining it are strong and irresistible; Infidelity may assail it, yet
it remains incontrovertible.
God in mercy has sent light and messages of warning to the world in
reference to his law which has been trampled upon. There is a people who
reverence and fear God, and who respond to his messages of warning, who
repent of their transgression of the law of God, and, through faith in the
merits of Christ, receive pardon for their transgression. God, through his
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