It was twilight hour at the close of a beautiful Sabbath day, and two women, a mother and daughter, were watching the fadng glory of the setting sun. They had been exchanging thoughts fitted for such a quiet hour, while the daughter leaned upon the mother's knee. Now a silence had fallen softly. Idly turning the flashing rings upon her mother's gentle hand, Grace suddenly asked: "Mother, why do you wear this quaint old-fashioned little ring, when you have such lovely jewels?"

"I thought you knew, dear, that is my wedding ring, the gift of your dear father on our marriage day. To me it is dearer than all the jewels in the world."

"But why did he not give you for your wedding ring one of these diamonds you wear, instead of this plain circlet?" persisted the girl.

"My child, this was your father's choice, and for that reason I hold it sacred. It's simple band of gold is the symbol of the purity, the unchanging and precious character of the love between us. As a sign of that bond I wear it, and the richest gem could not embellish that. When he placed it on my finger, the words of the marriage covenant were said which bound us together as husband and wife, and thus it became the sign of the covenant between us. I shall wear it till death."

"No wonder you love it, mother." answered the young girl softly. "I never realized it had so deep a meaning." Then musingly she added, "The pastor called the Sabbath 'the sign of the covenant' in his sermon this morning. What did he mean by that?"

"He was referring to Exodus chapter six: 'And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD... I have also established my covenant ...And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God'. Doesn't that sound like a marriage service?"

"Why, yes, mother, it does. And I remember Jesus calls Himself the Bridegroom. And look here in Exodus 31 it says, '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. Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: ...Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD...'Oh, mother, that makes the Sabbath day like a wedding ring, doesn't it?"

"Most assuredly, dear girl. God chose this 'wedding ring' -not rich jewels which only the wealthy could afford, but the seventh day of the week which comes to everyone, rich or poor, as the sign of His covenant and only asks that we keep it unsullied and holy."

"What a beautiful meaning that is, dear mother. It makes the Sabbath a new and sacred thing to me," said Grace tenderly." But then a cloud slowly gathered over her radiant face. "But these verses are from the Old Testament. Do they apply to us today?" she asked. "I've heard some Christians say that we shouldn't keep the Sabbath because we are not under the law, but we are now under grace."

"Why would you think that being under grace, it would be all right for us to lie and steal and kill? Remember that Paul said in Romans chapter six, 'What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. ...our old nature is crucified with him, ...that henceforth we should not serve sin.' And the apostle John wrote in First John chapter three, 'Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law ...Little children let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil...' Remember you mentioned that Jesus said He was the Bridegroom.

"It was Jesus who also said. 'the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. ...I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?' Do those verses sound like the Sabbath is no longer to be observed? And in the New Testament book of Hebrews it says. 'I will make a new covenant.... This is the covenant that I will make says the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God and they shall be My people.' Through the New Covenant God is developing a deeper love for Him and for others by writing the Ten Commandments, which includes the Sabbath, on the hearts of His people."

"Oh, mother!" the little girl exclaimed, "It, is just like your wedding! Just like you treasure that one ring above all the others, we should not substitute a different day for the one God made holy. I will try to keep holy God's Sabbath day all my life and I will treasure it just as if it was God's wedding ring for me."