Statute 67

1Concerning rest on both Sabbaths: Every believing man and woman shall rest on the Sabbath and on the first day. They shall be kindly disposed toward their servants, as we have already taught. We also commanded this in our Epistle: “You, your slaves, and your servants shall do your work for five days. On the Sabbath and the first day you shall do no work. Instead, they shall have opportunity to go to church, to receive instruction in the religion of God, and to receive the teaching of the Holy Spirit, which grants an inheritance in the kingdom of heaven in the world to come and, in the present world, bestows great honor and blessings upon those who fear God, honor his Sabbaths, and rest on them.”

2For on the Sabbath day God rested from all his work, after he had made and completed heaven and everything in it, earth and everything in it, night and day, the sun, moon, and stars, the times and the quantities, and after he had gathered the waters into their receptacles. Having done all this throughout the days and completed his work, God rested on the seventh day. He named it the Sabbath, hallowed it, magnified it above all other days, and blessed it.

3See and understand that it is a memorial of his glory and of his work, and that he made it a day of rest. He said, “God rested from all his work.” He revealed this so that he might grant us also to honor his Sabbath and to say that, when he had created and completed all creation, he rested on the seventh day and made it the Sabbath—holy, blessed, honorable, and pure.

4Therefore he said in the book of the Law concerning creation, “God blessed the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, and hallowed it, because on it he rested from all the work that God began to do.” See that the rest, being sacred to God, was named Sabbath.

5Hear and learn the honor of the Sabbaths. The Sabbath was not first honored by human beings, but by God, its maker and creator. He honored and blessed it, and it was instituted as a rest for human beings and animals, and chiefly as a memorial of his glory and his work, so that it might be known that he is the maker and creator of all.

6He said, “Keep my Sabbath, because it is my sign between me and you and your children, so that you may know that I am the one who sanctifies you.”

7The first day is the day of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The first day was also named Sabbath, and both days were named Sabbaths. In the prophets also he plainly declares that both are Sabbaths, saying, “Honor my Sabbaths, and continue in my law and in my statutes.”

8Thus God spoke to those who gather to him from another people, serve him, and love the name of God: “Truly, these become my servants and handmaids. All those who honor my Sabbaths and do not profane them, and who continue in my ordinances, I will bring to my holy mountain and make them rejoice in my house of prayer. Their sacrifices and offerings shall be acceptable and pleasing to me, and my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples,” says God.

9“If they keep my commandments and my Sabbaths, choose what I desire, and continue in my ordinances, I will give them the house of my sanctuary and, in my court, a place that he names, which is better than sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name, which shall neither pass away nor perish.”

10Pay attention and understand: when he said, “My Sabbaths,” he spoke of both days. When he said, “Those gathered from another people,” he spoke of the Christian people and not of Israel alone. Therefore observe both days for our Lord Christ, and honor both with great care. When you have fulfilled the whole law, you shall find the honors, glories, and blessings that God has prepared for those who love him, both in this world and in the world to come.