O PRINCETON, N. J. an can annul ; and they have penalties which no transgressor can evade. He may seem for a time to escape, and even to prosper ; but judgment will come. If he continues his course of transgression, he will wither and droop, or, long before the proper time, and often suddenly, will come to his end, and have none to help him. The memory of many a man can recall instances among his own acquaint- ance which have been striking illustrations of this truth. Mind, as well as body, must have rest^ and the more regularly it has it, according to the divine appointment, other things being equal, the more perfect will be the health, and the greater the capa- 44 bility of judicious, well-balanced, long-continued, and effective efforts. Clergymen, whose official duties require vigorous and toilsome efforts on the Sabbath, must have some other day for rest, or their premature loss of voice, of health, or of life, will testify to them and to others the reality and hurtfulness of their transgressions. Distinguished scholars, jurists, and statesmen, have often fallen victims to the trans- gression of this law. Students, literary and pro- fessional men, who have thoroughly tried both ways, have all found that they could accomplish more mental labor, and in a better manner, by abstaining from their ordinary pursuits on the Sab- bath, than by employing the whole week in one continuous course of efforts. But the great evil of transgressing the law of the Sabbath is on the heart. Man is a morale as well as an intellectual being. His excellence, his use- fulness, and his happiness, depend chiefly on his character. To the right formation and proper cul- ture of this the Sabbath is essential. Without it, all other means will, to a great extent, fail. You may send out Bibles as on the wings of the wind, scatter religious tracts like the leaves of the forest, and even preach the gospel, not only in the house of God, but at the corner of every street, — if men will not stop their worldly business, travelling, and amusements, and attend to the voice which speaks to them from heaven, the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the pride of life, will choke all these means, and render them unfruitful. Such men do not avail themselves of the institution which God has appointed to give efficacy to moral influence, and which he blesses by his Spirit for that purpose. On the other hand, men who keep the Sabbath feel its benign effects. Even the ex- ternal observance of it is, to a great extent, con- 45 nected with external morality ; while its internal, as well as external observance will promote pm'ity of heart and life. Of twelve hundred and thirty-two convicts, who had been committed to the Auburn State Prison previously to the year 1838, four hundred and forty- seven had been watermen, — either boatmen or sail- ors, — men who, to a great extent, had been kept at work on the Sabbatfi, and thus deprived of the rest and privileges of that day. Of those twelve hun- dred and thirty-two convicts, only twenty-six had conscientiously kept the Sabbath. Of fourteen hundred and fifty, who had been commhted to that prison previously to 1839, five hundred and sixty-three had been of the same class of men ; and of the whole, only twenty-seven had kept the Sabbath. Of sixteen hundred and fifty-three, who had been committed to that prison previously to 1840, six hundred and sixty had been watermen, and twenty- nine only had kept the Sabbath. Of two hundred and three, who were committed in one year, ninety- seven had been watermen, and only two out of the whole had conscientiously kept the Sabbath. Thus it appears, from official documents, that, while the watermen were but a small proportion of the whole population, they furnished a very large pro- portion of the convicts ; much larger, it is believed,, than they would have done, had they enjoyed the rest and privileges of the Christian Sabbath. It appears, also, that nearly all the convicts were Sab- bath-breakers — men who disregarded the- duties and neglected the privileges of that blessed day. The watermen had been kept at work, in many cases, under the delusive plea, that, should they be permitted to rest on the Sabbath, they would be- come more wicked, — an idea which facts, under the means of grace, show to be false. 46 On the Delaware and Hudson Canal, on which are more than seven hundred boats, the experiment has been tried. The directors were told, at first, that, should they not open the locks on the Sabbath, the men would congregate in large numbers, and would become more wicked than if they should continue to pursue their ordinary business ; but the result is directly the reverse. Since the locks have not been opened, and official biisiness has not been . transacted on the Lord's day, the men have become more morale as well as more healthy, and the in- terests of all have been manifestly promoted by the change. Let any class of men enjoy the rest and privileges of the Sabbath, and the effects will prove that it " was made for man," by Him who made man ; and who, in view of all its consequences, especially as the great means of giving efficacy to moral gov- ernment, with truth pronounced it, "very good." On the other hand, take away from man the in- fluence of the Sabbath and its attendant means of grace, and you take away the safeguard of his soul ; you bar up the highway of moial inffiience, and lay him open to the incursions and conquests of Satan and his legions. Thus man becomes an easy prey, and is led captive by the adversary at his will. Of one hundred men admitted to the Massachu- setts State Prison in one year, eighty-nine had lived in habitual violation of the Sabbath and neglect of public worship. A gentleman in England who was in the habit, for more than twenty years, of daily visiting con- victs, states that, almost universally, when brought to a sense of their condition, they lamented their neglect of the Sabbath, and pointed to their viola- tion of it as the principal cause of their ruin. That prepared them for, and led them on, step by step, to the commission of other crimes, and finally 47 to the commission of that which brought them to the prison, and often to the gallows. He has letters almost innumerable, he says, from others, proving the same thing, and that they considered the viola- tion of the Sabbath the great cause of their ruin. He has attended three hundred and fifty at the- place of execution, when they were put to death for their crimes. And nine out of ten who were brought to a sense of their condition attributed the greater part of their departure from God to their neglect of the Sabbath. Another gentleman, who has been conversant with prisoners for more than thirty years, states that he found, in all his experience, both with re- gard to those who had been capitally convicted and those who had not, that they referred to the viola- tion of the Sabbath as the chief cause of their crimes ; and that this has been confirmed by all the opportunities he has had of examining prisoners. Not that this has been the only cause of crime ; but, like the use of intoxicating liquors, it has greatly increased public and private immorality, and been the means, in a multitude of cases, of premature death. Another gentleman, who has had the charge of more than one hundred thousand prisoners, and has taken special pains to ascertain the causes of their crimes, says that he does not recollect a single case of capital offence where the party had not been a Sabbath-breaker. And in many cases they assured him that Sabbath-breaking was the first step in their downward course. Indeed, he says, with reference to prisoners of all classes, nineteen out of twenty have neglected the Sabbath and other or^ dinances of religion. And he has often met w^ith prisoners about to expiate their crimes by an igno- minious death, w^ho earnestly enforced upon survi- vors the necessity of an observance of the Sabbath, 4S and ascribed their own course of iniquity to a non- observance of that day. Says the keeper of one of the largest prisons, '' Nine tenths of our inmates are those loho did not value the Sabbath^ and were not in the habit of at- tending public worships It is not so strange, then, if human nature were the same, and the effect of Sabbath-breaking the same, under the Jewish dispensation as it is now, that God should cause the Sabbath-breaker, like the murderer, to be put to death. Sabbath-breaking prepared the way for murder, and often led to it ; and it would not be possible to prove that Sabbath- breaking, now, is not doing even more injury to the people of the United States than murder. Should every person in this country habitually keep the Sabbath, and attend public worship, murders would, to a great extent, if not wholly, cease ; and pris- ons become comparatively empty. Sabbath-keepers very rarely commit murder, or perpetrate other heinous crimes. The secretary of a Prison Discipline Society, who has long been extensively conversant with prisoners, was asked how many persons he sup- posed there are in State Prisons who observed the Sabbath and habitually attended public worship up to the time when they committed the crime for which they were imprisoned. He answered, " I do not suppose there are any." An inquiry into the facts, it is believed, would show, with but few ex- ceptions, this opinion to be correct. Men who keep the Sabbath experience the restraining, if not the renewing and sanctifying, grace of God. While they keep the Sabbath, God keeps the??!. When they reject the Sabbath, he rejects them ; and thus suffers them to eat the fimit of their ow?i ioay, and to be filled with their own devices. A father, whose son was addicted to riding out for 49 pleasure on the Sabbath, was told that, if he did not stop It, his son would ba ruined. He did not stop it, but sometimes set the example of riding out on pleasure himself. His son became a man, was placed in a responsible situation, and intrusted with a large amount of property. Soon he was a de- faulter, and absconded. In a different part of the country he obtained another responsible situation, and was again intrusted with a large amount of property. Of that he defrauded the owner, and fled again. He was apprehended, tried, convicted, and sent to the State Prison. After years spent in soli- tude and labor, he wrote a letter to his father, and, after recounting his course of crime, he added, " That was the effect of breaking the Sabbath when I was a boy.''^ Should every convict who broke the Sabbath when a boy, and whose father set him the example, sjieak out from all the State Prisons of the country, they would tell a story which Avould cause the ears of every one that should hear it to tingle. A distinguished merchant, long accustomed to extensive observation and experience, and who had gained an uncommon knowledge of men, said, " When I see one of my apprentices or clerks rid- ing out on the Sabbath, on Monday I dismiss him. Such an one cannot be trusted." Facts echo the declaration — "Such an one can- not be trusted." He is naturally no worse than others. But he casts off fear, lays himself open to the assaults of the adversary, and rejects the means of divine protection. He ventures unarmed into the camp of the enemy, and is made a demonstra- tion to the world of the great truth that " he that trustelh to his own heart is a fool." Not a man in Christendom, whatever his character or standing, can knowingly and presumptuously trample on the Sabbath, devoting it to worldly business, travelling, 5 50 pleasure, or amusement, and not debase his charac ter, increase his wickedness, and augment the dangei that he will be abandoned of God, and given up to final impenitence and ruin. It was on Sabbath morning, while out on an ex- cursion for pleasure, that he who was intrusted with great responsibilities, and was thought to be worthy of confidence, committed an act which was like the letting out of great waters, which ceased not to flow, till, wearing their channels broader and deeper, they overwhelmed him and others in one common ruin. Many a man, setting at nought the divine counsel with regard to the Sabbath, and re- fusing, on that day, to hearken to his instruction or reproof, almost before he was aware of it, has found himself abandoned of God, in the hands of the enemy, chained and fettered by transgression, sinking from depth to depth, till he was suddenly destroyed, and there was no remedy. Let every young man^ especially he who has gone out from, his fathefs coimsels and his mother^s prayers, remember the Sabbath, and keep it holy, he found habitually in the house of God, and under the sotmd of that gospel which is able to make him wise unto salvation, through faith m Christ Jesus. Let him avoid worldly business and amusements on that day, as he luould avoid the gate of hell. Even where they do not lead to abandonment in crime, they harden the heart, pollute the affec- tions, sear the conscience, and prevent the efficacy of all the means of grace. They carry the soul away from God on the rapid stream of time, to- wards eternal perdition. Their language is, " No God — no heaven — no hell ! No human accounta- bility for the things done in the body ? Who is Jehovah, that I should serve him ? I know not Je- hovah, neither will 1 obey his voice." In its progress, Sabbath-breaking sometimes seems 51 to become a trial of strength between the Sabbath- breaker and his Maker. So besotted is he, that he acts as if he thought he could outwit or overcome the Ahuighty, and gain something vahiable by op- posing his will. A man in the state of New York remarked that he intended to cheat the Lord out of the next Sab- bath, by going to a neighboring town to visit his friends. He could not afford to take one of his own days, and therefore resolved to cheat the Lord out of his. On Saturday, he went with his team into a forest, to get some wood. By the fall of a tree, he was placed in such a condition that he did not attempt to carry his intended fraud into execution. He was willing to stay at home. But another man, in the same state, who had spent the Sabbath in getting in his grain, said that he had fairly cheated the Almighty out of one day. He boasted of it as a mark of his superiority. On Tuesday, the lightning struck his barn. He gained nothing valuable by working on the Sabbath. Another man acted as if he thought all the evil of working on the Sabbath consisted in its being seen. He went out of sight, behind the woods, and spent the day in gathering his grain, and put- ting it into a vacant building near his field. But the lightning struck the building, and, with the grain, it was burned to ashes. He who made the eye saw what this man did, and so ordered things, in his providence, that he gained no real good by his transgression. Men are not apt, in the end, to gain in that way. Seven young men, in a town in Massachusetts, started in the same business nearly at the same time. Six of them had some property or assistance from their friends, and followed their business seven days in a week. The other had less property than either of the six. He had less assistance from others, and worked in his business only six days in a week. He is now the only man who has property, and has not failed in his business. A distinguished merchant, in a large city, said to the writer of this, " It is about thirty years since I came to this city ; and every man through this whole range, who came down to his store, or suf- fered his counting-room to be opened on the Sab- bath, has lost his property. There is no need of breaking the Sabbath, and no benefit from it. We have not had a vessel leave the harbor on the Sab- bath for more than twenty years. It is altogether better to get them off on a week day than on the Sab- bath." It is better even for this world. And so with all kinds of secular business. Men may seem to gain for a time by the profanation of the Sab- bath ; but it does not end well. Their disappoint- ment, even here, often comes suddenly. The writer of this, in a late journey, passed near the houses of four men, who started together for the Far West. On Sabbath morning, they discussed the question whether it was right and best for them to travel on the Lord's day. The result was, three of them went onward, and reached the city of Buffalo in time to take the steamboat Erie, on her last voyage. On that same Sabbath morning, a com- pany of travellers, in another place, discussed the same question with regard to the propriety of their travelling on that day. And they separated one from another. A part went on their journey, and a part stopped and attended public worship. Those who went on arrived in time to take the same boat. But they had not proceeded far, when it took fire, and was soon in a blaze. Some were consumed ; others jumped overboard, and were drowned. "Never," said a man who went out to their assist- ance, — "never shall I forget the sound that struck upon my ear, when I first came within hearing of that boat. They were hanging on the sides, and 53 the burning cinders were pouring down on their heads, and they were dropping off, and dropping off. O, it was like the waihng of despair." Those who stopped and attended pubhc worship arrived in safety, took another boat, and live to testi- fy not only to the duty, but the utility'-, of remember- ing the Sabbath day and keeping it holy. '^ My own brother," said a man who heard the above statement, "■ was in that very company. He stopped, and saved his life." How many other men may have saved their lives, and how many may have instrumentally saved their souls, by keeping the Sabbath and per- forming its appropriate duties, none but the Lord of the Sabbath, and the Savior of souls, can tell. Cer- tain it is that in the keeping of his commands, though it should not exempt men from sudden death, there is great reward. A man and his wife were very desirous of ar- riving in New York in season to take the steamboat Lexington. They were so anxious that they trav- elled a great portion of the Sabbath. They arrived in season, took the boat, and were among the mul- titude who, on that dismal night, perished in the flames, or found a watery grave, A man, on the previous Sabbath, requested his neighbor to go with him to New York, for the purpose of taking the same boat. His neighbor re- fused, because it was the Sabbath. He was urged, but would not go. The other man then went to his son, and urged him to go. He was reluctant, but, being strongly urged, he finally consented. They started on their journey. They reached the boat ; but it was to die, and go to judgment. They did not gain what they expected by travelling on the Sabbath. Great numbers have often, very often, when they expected to gain an important object, been disappointed, suddenly and awfully disappointed. That company of persons who went out on the 5* Sabbath, in a pleasure-boat, expected to be gainers. But the tumult within, before the tumult Avithout, told them that all was not right ; and when the boat upset, and the hapless victims sank to rise no more, new testimony was added to that of thou- sands, that disobedience to God is not the way to gain, even for this world. A distinguished mechanic, in a part of the country where the Sabbath was disregarded, had been ac- customed for a time to keep his men at work on that day. He was afterwards at work for a man who regarded the Sabbath, and who, on Saturday, was anxious to know what he intended to do ; and therefore asked, " What do you expect to do to- morrow ? " He said, " I expect to stop, and keep the Sabbath. I used to work on the Sabbath, and often obtained higher wages than on other days. But I so often lost, during the week, more than all I could gain on the Sabbath, that I gave it up years ago. I have kept the Sabbath since, and I find it works better." It does work better. And all who make the experiment will, in due time, find it so. Melt who woi^k against the comTiiandment of Godj work against the providence of God; and that providence loill be too strong for them. *' I used," said the master of a vessel, "some- times to work on the Sabbath ; but something would happen, by which I lost so much more than I gained, by working on the Sabbath, that on one occasion, after having been at work, and met with some disaster, I swore, most profanely, that I never would work again, or suffer my men to work on that day. And I never have." He finds it works better. He does not swear now. He has induced many others not to swear, and not to break the Sabbath. He finds that in the keeping of God's commands, there is great reward. All who obey them will find the same. 55 An old gentleman, in Boston, remarked, " Men do not gain any thing by working on the Sabbath. I can recollect men who, when I was a boy, used to load their vessels, down on Long Wharf, and keep their men at work from morning to night on the Sabbath day. But they have come to nothing. Their children have come to nothing. Depend upon it, men do not gain any thing, in the end, by working on the Sabbath." In another part of the country, an old man re- marked, " I can recollect more than fifty years ; but I cannot recoHect a case of a man, in this town, who was accustomed to work on the Sab- bath, who did not fail or lose his property before he died." There are some cases, however, where men who habitually break the Sabbath do not fail ; they make property, and keep it till they die. A case of this sort came to the knowledge of the writer. The man was notorious for disregarding the Sabbath, and prosecuting his worldly business on that day. He increased his riches till he thought that he had enough, and began to make preparation to retire and enjoy it. But before he was ready for that, he lost his reason, and died a maniac. But ail Sabbath-breakers, who make property and keep it, do not lose their reason. Some con- tinue to enjoy it while they live, and transmit their property to their children. But it is less likely to be a blessing to them, than if it had been acquired in obedience to the laws of God. It does not wear well, and, while it lasts, often appears to be under a curse. "Those views," said a man, ''are all supersti- tion ; the idea that it is not as profitable or safe to work on the Sabbath as on other days is false. I will prove that it is false." So he attempted it. He ploughed his field and sowed his grain on the 56 Sabbath. It came np and grew finely. Often, during the season, he pointed to it, in proof that Sabbath-day labor is safe and profitable. He reaped it, and stacked it np in the field. His boys took the gun, and went out into the woods. It was a dry time, and they set the leaves on fire. The wind took the fire ; it swept over the field, and nought bat the blackness of ashes marked the place where the grain stood. " Let not him that putteth on the harness boast himself, as he that putteth it off." He could not prove, though he tried long and hard, that it is safe or profitable to work on the Sabbath. But another man thought he had succeeded better. He even boasted that he had found, by experiment, that it was more profitable to work on the Sabbath than to rest and attend public worship. The Sab- bath on which he had finished the gathering in of his crops, he told his neighbors, who had attended public worship, how much wiser he had been than others. He had worked on the Sabbath all the year, and had thus gained more than fifty days, which his neighbors had lost by their superstition. But that very day the lightning struck his barn, and his Sabbath-day gains and his week-day gains were burnt together. His neighbors were not con- vinced that it was profitable or safe to work on the Sabbath. It was not in his power to convince them. They were more disposed than ever to confine their secular business to the six days which were made and given to men, and to which alone they have a right for that purpose. Though this is not a state of full retribution, yet Jehovah is ''a God who judgeth in the earth^^'' and sometimes, even here, he visits certain sins with his curse ; causing a fearful looking-for of judgment and fiery indignation, which are to come hereafter. The intemperate man cannot compete with the 57 temperate, nor, continuing such, can he escape the drunkard's grave. Notorious rebels against earthly parents will look in vain for those smiles of Provi- dence which fall upon filial virtue. " The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it." And he that contemneth his Father in heaven, and openly trampleth on that institution which he hath appointed for giving efficacy to his moral government among men, and diffusing the bless- ings of his parental love over the great human family, will find that, though his long-suffering is amazing, while his sun rises on the evil and the good, and his rain descends on the just and the unjust, judgment, in due time, lingereth not, and damnation slumbereth not. In many cases, before it comes, there are indications of violated laws, by attendant retributions. Every intemper- ate man is an evidence of this truth. A man of remarkable talents for business, and good opportunities for the acquisition of property, was confident that he could succeed, and keep what he gained, without regarding the Sabbath, or obeying the natural and moral laws of God. He had no idea of being confined in his efforts to six days in a week. He would take all the days, and employ them as he pleased. For a time he succeeded. Property flowed in upon him, and he grew increasingly confident that the idea of the necessity or utility of keeping the Sab- bath, in order to permanent prosperity, was a delusion. The last year his property was sold for the benefit of his creditors by the sheriff; and he now seems farther than ever from being able to prove that ungodliness is profitable even for this life. It sometimes, for a season, appears, to superficial observers, to be so. But the end 58 corrects the mistake ; and sometimes the retribu- tion Avhich follows convinces the transgressor him- self that it comes from God, and leads him to aban- don his violations of the Sabbath. A man who ridiculed the idea that God makes a difference in his providence between those who yield visible obedience to his laws and those who do not, had been engaged, on a certain Sabbath, in gathering his crops into his barn. The next week, he had occasion to take fire out into his field in or- der to burn some brush. He left it, as he supposed, safely, and went in to dinner. The wind took the fire, and carried it into his barn-yard, which was filled with combustibles, and, before he was aware of it, the flames were bursting out of his barn. He arose in amazement, saw that all was lost, and, fix- ing his eye on the curling flames, stood speechless. Then, raising his finger, and pointing to the rising column of fire, he said, w4th solemn emphasis, '' That is the finger of God." Do you say, Barns sometimes are burnt w^hose owners do not break the Sabbath ; buildings are struck with lightning while their owners are en- gaged in public worship ; steamboats take fire, and good men are burnt up in them ; or their prop- erty takes wings and flies away, as well as the property of notoriously wicked men ? That is some- times the case. Calamities in this world come, to some extent, upon all. But do they come as often, and to as great an extent, upon those who obey the natural and moral laws of God, as upon those who openly and habitually violate them ? Do the intem- perate, the thief, and the murderer ordinarily secure and retain as many blessings in this world, as the temperate, the honest, and the pious? Do notorious and habitual Sabbath-breakers, who devote the day to worldly business, travelling, and amusement, acquire as much property, keep it as 59 long, and as often transmit it, as a blessing, to tlieir children, as those who conscientiously abstain from those practices, and regularly attend the pubHc worship of God, on the Lord's day ? Let the Bible, and facts determine. Look at the men who, for the last forty years, have disregarded the Sabbath, and pursued their course of business or amusement seven days in a week ; look at their children and children's children, and compare them, as a body, with those who kept the Sabbath, and trained up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord ; and let the convictions of every sober, candid, and reflect- ing man determine. Aged men, in great numbers, after extensive observation, through a long course of years, have expressed a strong conviction that facts echo the declarations, '■ Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work ; but remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy." Any man may die suddenly by fire or water, lightning or disease. It is not a part of the Sa- vior's promise, even to his friends, that they shall not die suddenly. He evidently teaches that they may, and, in view of it, says, " Watch therefore, for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man com eth." " And what I say unto you, I say unto all. Watch ! " No man, whatever his character, can b'. sure that he Avill not, the next hour, be in eternity. That is a reason why no man should break the Sab bath, or in any way knowingly disobey God. He may die while doing it. That is a reason why every man should, at all times, be found doing the will of his Father in heaven, in dependence on his grace, for the purpose of promoting his glory, and the good of men. " Blessed is that servant whom his Lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing. If he shall come in the second watch, or in the third watch, blessed is that servant." While " the wicked is driven away in his wickedness," "the righteous 60 hath hope in his death." However suddenly, in whatever way, he is removed from earth, thougli to live were Christ, through him that loved him and gave himself for him, to die shall he gain. Let each o?ie, then, in every co7idition, fear God and keep his commands ; for this is the duty, the right, the privilege, the wisdom, the safety, the ex- cellence, and the blessedness, of man. RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY NUMEROUS BODIES OF MEN IN VARIOUS PARTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 1. Resolved^ That, as but six days in a week have been made for secular business, and no more have ever been given to men for that purpose, if they take more, it is without right, in opposition to the revealed will of God, and in violation of his law, the penalty of which "will show that "the way of transgressors is hard," 2. Resolved, That, as the Sabbath was made for man, and the ob- servance of it is essential to the higiiest social, civil, and religious interests of men, it is not only the duty, but the right and the privi- lege of all men to remember it and keep it holy. 3. Resolved, That the loading and unloading of vessels, the sailing of vessels from tJie harbor, the running of stage-coaches, rail-cars, and canal-boats, and the travelling in them, the visiting of post- offices, reading-rooms, and other places for secular reading, business, or amusement, are not only unnecessary, but are violations of the law of God, and ought to be abandoned throughout the community. 4. Resolved, That it be recommended to all families to supply themselves with some good Sabbath Manual, that the rising genera- tion may all understand the reasons for the universal and perpetual observance of the Christian Sabbath. 5. Resolved, That all persons who are acquainted with facts which illustrate the duty and utility of observing the Sabbath, and the evils of violating it, are requested to cause them to be published and circulated as extensively as possible, that the voice of God in his providence, as well as in his word, with regard to this subject, may be heard by the people. 6. Resolved, That, such is the fundamental importance of the Christian Sabbath, and such its influence upon all the great interests of men, that its due observance ought to receive the earnest atten- tion, the fervent prayers, and the hearty, active, and jxTst^vering co- operation of all friends of God and man throughout the world. SECOND PEHMANENT DOCUMENT Oy THE 5lmencan anb Jorctgn SabbatI) Union. CONTENTS Page. The Sabbath not made for the Jews only 3 The original Law of Creation .4 No Period of Duration holy in itself. 5 The Sabbath not chronological Identity 6 Illustrations of keeping the Fourth Commandment 7 The great Principle as to Time. 8 The new Creation 9 Effects of the Knowledge of Jehovah 10 Prophecy applied to Christ... 11 The Practice of the Redeemed 12 The Practice of the Redeemer. 13 The Joy of his Disciples 14 Their Meetings on the Lord's Day 15 Interview with Thomas 16 Agreement of Prophecy and Facts 17 The Day of Pentecost 18 Conduct of Apostles and first Christians 19 The Sanction of God 20 Testimony of Ignatius and others 21 Testimony of Clement and Tertullian 22 Directions and Conduct of Paul 23 The Sanction of Jesus Christ. 24 Page. Testimony of Pliny 25 Testimony of Justin Martyr.. 26 Testimony of Ambrose and others 27 Correctness of Mosheim's Tes- timony 28 Character and Testimony of Eusebius 29 Sanction of the Holy Ghost.. 31 Perpetuity and Effects of the new Creation 32 Warning of the Savior 33 Moral and Ceremonial Laws. 34 Two Kinds of Sabbaths 35 One Kind only abolished 36 Testimony of Dr. Chalmers ..38 Opinions of the Reformers.. .40 Causes of their Mistakes 41 Consequences of Truth and of Error 42 Testimony of Luther and Calvin 43 Testimony of Bullinger 44 Testimony of Melancthon and others 45 Opinion of Ursinus 46 Calvin on the Manner of keep- ing the Sabbath 47 Opinions of Viret and Bucer.48 Conclusions of Fairbairn 49 Testimony of Vitringa, Cow- drey, and Owen 51 Destructive Effects of Error.. 52 No. II. PERMANENT SABBATH DOCUMENTS, '•Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy," is the declaration, not of the Bible only, but of Provi- dence. Both utter the voice of nature, and proclaim the will of nature's God. It was because the nature of man, as a physical and moral being, required the Sabbath, that the day was made for him. Without the observance of it, he can never obtain the good of which he is capable, or avoid the evils which he has reason to fear. Some contend that the Sabbath was made for the Jews only. But this is in opposition to the testimony of the Infallible Witness, the Lord of the Sabbath. His decision is, (Mark ii. 27,) ''The Sabbath was made for man." Man^ as used in this connection, and in other places in the Bible, does not mean Jews only : it means the human family; as when it is said, "Man that is born of a woman is of ie^^ days and full of trouble. He cometh forth as a flower, and is cut down." It does not mean Jews only : it means the human race. When it is said, " Man lieth down, and riseth not again till the heavens be no more," does it mean Jews only ? No. It means man, to whom it is appointed once to die. And the Sabbath was made for man — that man to whom it is appointed once to die, and after that the judgment. And it was designed, and is adapted, to aid him in preparing for those inevitable and momentous events ; as well as to cheer and animate, sustain and comfort him, as he goes forward to meet them. It comes, by divine appoint- ment, to ease him of his burdens, and soothe him in his sorrows, pour light on his darkness, and point him upward to that rest which remaineth for the people of God ; so that for him to live may be Christ, and to die may be gain. Whenever and wherever it is kept by any of the human family, in accordance with the divine will, it has, through grace, that benign ef- fect. The word Sabbath means rest — " The rest was made for man." The rest spoken of by our Savior is a day of weekly rest from secular business and cares, for the purpose of devoting it especially to the worship of God, and the promotion of the spiritual good of men. And, in order to this, and with ref- erence to his benefit here, as well as hereafter, it was designed to give him one day in seven, in addition to the nights, as a season of rest from physical toil, in order to promote his health and comfort, his longevity, and his usefulness to himself and others. In this respect, it is not an original and primary in- stitution, standing out alone ; but it is based upon another, that lies back of it, viz. " Six days shall thou labor, and do all thy work." This was the original law for man ; and to it, in order to make it known, and give it sanction, Jehovah himself conformed, in the making of the world. Hence the reason why the first great exhibition of himself, in the beginning, and that which meets us at the opening of revelation, is that of " Divinity in action ; " working " six days," and " six days " only. Hence the reason, also, why, having wrought " six days," the next great exhibition of himself, recorded for the instruction of all ages, is that of " Divinity in repose ; " resting one day, after six days of labor. And hence, too, the reason why he sanctified the day, 5 or set it apart from other days, for a special and pecu- liar purpose, to be employed, not as a day for worldly business and cares, but as a day of rest. The nature of man and beast would need it; the glory of their Maker would require it, and the good of the uni- verse would be promoted by it. Hence the reason, also, why he blessed the day, for the purposes, and for those only, for which it was made, — for which it was in all ages to be occupied, — to which it had, by his great example, been thus solemnly devoted. To these great facts he himself appeals, as reasons why men should keep the Sabbath. " 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, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daugh- ter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; " — that is, under thy control ; — '' for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day ; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day" (or the day of rest) ''and hallowed it." Their observance of it would, in all ages, be a sign that they acknowledged him as their God ; and it would secure his acknowledgment of them as his people. Hence the command, (Ez. xx. 20,) " Hallow my Sabbaths, and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am Jehovah, your God." Some have supposed, that, by this arrangement, a definite period of duration was made holy in itself, and that all persons must keep that identical period, or they could not acceptably obey the command. But this is a mistake ; and it arises from looking at the surface of things, or regarding their sound and ap- pearance, and is a striking illustration of the law maxim, ^'Hceret in litera, hceret in cortices The primary and essential idea in the numbers " six " and " seven," as used in the command, is that 1* of proportion. It marks the number of days to be devoted to secular concerns, compared with those to be devoted to rest and spiritual duties. " Six days shalt thou labor ; " and the next day, which, of course, reckoning from the first working day, is " the sev- enth," thou shalt rest, and not do any work. Men who call their first working day the second day of the week, and who, on the seventh day from that, keep the Christian Sabbath, do as really comply with the spirit and the letter of the fourth commandment, as men did who of old kept the Jewish Sabbath. " Six days they labor, and in them do all their work ; and the seventh day they rest, and do not do any work ; " and that is the spirit^ as well as the letter, of the com- mand. It is based on the arrangement made for man, whose nature requires, after working, with suitable diligence, six days, that the seventh should be devoted to rest and to spiritual duties. That it is not chronological or numerical identity, that is referred to, or is the primary and essential idea in the Sabbath law, is evident from the fact that every spot on the earth is constantly changing its position with regard to the sun; and that day and night, the first day and the seventh, in different places, and to different people, come at totally different times. They may be a half a day, or even a whole day, apart ; and yet each may obey the law. Six days they may la- bor, and in them do all their work. The seventh, whether they call it seventh in their week, or not, they may rest, and both keep the Sabbath, according to the commandment. The Christians in New Holland, or in China, keep the Sabbath at a very different time from the Chris- tians in America. And even should a people lose the original reckoning of time, as some people may have done, still they need not, and, if pious and enlight- ened, would not, live without a Sabbath, nor without obeying the Sabbath law. Six days they would la- bor, and in them do all their work ; and the seventh day they would rest, and worship God ; and would thus acceptably keep the Sabbath. No identical period of duration is, in itself, intrin- sically holy ; but one seventh is set apart by Jehovah for sacref/ purposes. On that account it is called holy ; as the temple and the sacred vessels were called holy, because devoted to holy purposes. Two pious colonies start from the same place : one goes east, and the other west. They continue their journey till they meet on the same parallel of longi- tude, and in different latitudes : they settle for life. They are now a whole day apart ; and, should they continue till they should reach the longitude from which they started, they would be two days apart. And yet each might, all the way, though at different times, be obeying the spirit and the letter of the fourth commandment, and in a manner equally acceptable to God. When the English sailors first visited Pitcairn's Island, they arrived on Saturday, and found the islanders, with John Adams at their head, keeping the Christian Sabbath. They had gone to the island in different directions. The consequence was, that the Saturday of the one was the Sabbath of the other, and the Sabbath of the one was the Monday of the other. And yet each company might continue to keep the Sabbath, according to its own reckoning, if they were not to live together, and might do it with equal acceptance ; though, if they were to live to- gether, it might be their duty to change ; and either company might change its days of labor and of rest, so as to conform to the other ; and whichever party should change, they would continue, as they had done before, to conform to the spirit and to the letter of the Sabbath law. Is it, then, of no importance which of the six days m a week men occupy for labor and secular concerns, and which for rest and for spiritual duties ? May each select his own time, without regard to the divine sanction, or the general good ? No. In the first place, there should be agreement as to the time, that each may not incommode, but may assist, the others in the enjoyment of the privileges, and the performance of the duties, of the Sabbath. And that there may be agreement, each should inquire Avith regard to the will of God, and observe the day which is indicated, in his word and by his providence, as suited to the end for which the Sabbath was appointed. When the great object was to celebrate the mani- festation of Jehovah as Creator, it was suitable that the day selected should be that on which he fin- ished the work of creation, and on which he rested himself, and thus, as Lord of creation, gave to the observance of the Sabbath the sanction of his example. Should the time ever come, when he should make greater and more glorious displays of himself, than were made in the physical creation, reason would seem to require — we should naturally expect — that those displays would be celebrated; not, indeed, to the exclusion of the other, but in addition to the other, and in proportion to their magnitude and im- portance. Has he ever made any displays of himself, which he represents as more glorious than those which were made in the physical creation ? The heavens declare his glory, and the firmament showeth his handy- work. These are, indeed, bright manifestations of glory, and are worthy of a weekly celebration. Is there any thing which exceeds in glory ? which shows, not only wisdom, power, and goodness, but, in addition, unsearchable riches of kindness, compassion, ajid grace ? which displays justice and mercy meeting together, righteousness and peace embracing each other? What saith the prophet, the man inspired of God, to speak for him, in this matter? "Behold! I create new heavens and a new earth ; the former shall not be remembered nor come into mind. There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots." " Righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb ; the leopard shall lie down with the kid ; the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling, together ; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall feed ; their young ones shall lie down together. The sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child put his hand on the cockatrice's den ; and they shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain : for the earth shall be full of the knoxoledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea^ What is that knowledge of Jehovah, which is to work such wonders ? Is it the knowledge of him as Creator merely ; stretching out the heavens as a cur- tain, and the earth as a tent, to dwell in ? Is it that in six days he created heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is; and that men, from week to week, have celebrated these displays of his glory ? Are these the principal displays which are to be celebrated, when men shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks ? when the lion and the lamb shall lie down together, and there is nothing to hurt or destroy ? What saith Jehovah himself in this matter ? " Be ye glad, and rejoice forever in that which I create.^^ And what is it ? The physical creation ? " Behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicings and her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people ; and the voice of weeping shall no more- be heard in her, nor the voice of crying. No more shall there be an infant of days, or an old man that hath not fulfilled his days ; for he that dieth at a hundred years, shall die a boy ; and the sinner that 10 dieth at a hundred years, shall be deemed accursed. For as the days of a tree shall be the days of my people ; and they shall wear out the works of their own hands. The wolf and the lamb shall feed to- gether ; and they shall not hurt nor destroy, in all my holy mountain, saith Jehovah." Such are the glories which are to be celebrated, when the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters fill the seas — the glories of Jeho- vah not as Creator merely, or principally, but the glories of Jehovah as Redeemer. No sooner does he appear as God, manifest in the flesh, than suddenly there is with the angels a multitude of the heavenly hosts, crying, " Glory to God in the highest." Why ? Because that in six days he created the heavens and the earth ? No ; not that merely, or prin- cipally ; but because there is " peace on earth, good- will to men," through those wondrous manifesta- tions, into which angels desire to look, of a just God, AND YET A SaVIOR. The first creation made men creatures, and placed them where, by their voluntary rebellion, they became sinners, and exposed to endless death ; the second creation makes men saints, and prepares them to be kings and priests unto God, and to reign with him forever and ever. No wonder the inspired penman, in view of it, broke out, " Open to me the gates of righteousness ; I will go into them and praise Jehovah ; this gate of Jehovah into which the righteous shall enter. I will praise thee ; for thou hast heard me, and art become my sal- vation.^^ And how was this done? "Behold, I lay in Zion, for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone, a sure foundation. He that be- lieveth on him shall not be confounded." This is the stone which was set at nought of those builders, and which is become the head-stone of the corner. This is Jehovah's doing preeminently, and it is marvellous 11 in our eyes. This is the work which excites their highest admiration, and calls forth their loudest praises. And this is the day which the Lord hath made, on which especially to celebrate this glory ; and we will rejoice and be glad in it. O, give thanks unto Jehovah, for he is §ood, for his mercy endureth forever. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name ! for thou only art holy^ for all nations shall come and worehip before thee. Blessed he the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christy who hath blessed its loith all spiritual blessings in heavenly 'places in Christ; in ivhoni loe have re- demption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of grace, wherein he Jiath abounded towards ns ; that in the dispensation of the fulness of time he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both lohich ore in heaven, and which are on earth, even in him. This was peculiarly to be the theme for Christian celebration, from week to week, on the Christian Sabbath. Six times in the New Testament are the passages concerning this foundation laid in Zion applied, by inspired men, to Jesus Christ. He was the stone set at nought of those builders, and by his resurrection, the demonstration of his Messiahship, he became the head- stone of the corner. That was the day which the Lord had made, in which sinners who should believe on him would rejoice and be glad. And they would express their joy in public and devout thanksgiving. Hence, when this is accomplished, we should not be surprised, should they say, " O come, let us sing unto the Lord, and let us make a joyful noise unto the Rock of our salvation ; nor if we hear them actually singing, " This is the day the Lord hath made ; He calls the hours his own ; Let heaven rejoice, let earth be glad, And praise surround the throne. " To-day he rose, and left the dead, And Satan's empire fell ; To-day the saints his triumphs spread, And all his wonders tell. " Hosanna in the highest strains The church on earth can raise ; The highest heavens, in which he reigns, Shall give him nobler praise." Such have actually been the facts. Ever since He who had power to lay down his life, showed that he had power to take it again, by bursting the bands of death, and rising triumphant, leading captivity captive, his disciples have assembled on the day of his resur- rection to worship and adore. For eighteen hundred years has been sung, by the church on earth, a neio songj and one which the physical creation merely could never inspire. " Thou art worthy, for thou wast slain, and hast re- deemed us unto God, by thy blood, out of every kin- dred, and tongue, and people, and nation." This is now their practice ; and such it will continue to be, till this song of the church on earth is swallowed up in the song of the church in heaven. ♦' And when their feeble, stammering tongues Lie silent in the grave, r/iew, in a nobler, sweeter song. They'll sing his power to save." God has blessed this practice in every age, and made it instrumental in extending the boundaries of his kingdom, multiplying the number of his subjects, and preparing them to dwell in his presence, behold his glory, and rejoice in his love. This number is now increasing, and they will continue to increase, till they shall become a multitude which no man can number, out of every nation, and kindred, and people, and tongue. Have they done right in this? And are men now doing right in keeping the day of the resurrection of the Savior, and the finishing of his atoning work for their salvation, as the Christian Sabbath ? — the day when 13 the business of this world shall be suspended, and they not forsake the assembling of themselves together to worship and adore Jehovah, not as their Creator, merely, but as their Redeemer and Sanctifier ? and in view of those new heavens and new earth, which he creates, and makes so much more glorious, that the former, in comparison, are hardly remembered, or come into mind ? Have they divine warrant for this practice ? Has it been sanctioned by the Lord of the Sabbath ? What are the facts ? When he became incarnate for the purpose of work- ing out for men this great salvation^ he was made under the law, which was written by God on tables of stone, and proclaimed by Moses to the people. It be- came him,iu that condition, to fulfil all righteousness, and to yield obedience both to the moral and to the ceremonial laws. He kept the weekly Sabbath, on the day which, according to their reckoning, was the sev- enth ; and his custom was, to go with others into the synagogue for worship. Hence we find him, on one of those occasions, reading, in the hearing of the peo- ple, a part of the prophecy of Isaiah concerning him- self ; and then, as a public teacher, giving them in- struction with regard to his character and kingdom. This continued to be his custom till his death ; when was fulfilled in him the prophecy of the Psalmist, and he was as a stone set at nought of those builders. But after his resurrection, when, according to the same prophecy, he became the head-stone of the corner, we hear no more of his going into the synagogue, or any other place for public worship, on that seventh day^ (the day in which he had lain in the grave,) or even of his meeting with his disciples. It had been to them a day of sadness, of darkness, and gloom ; while, although he had all power, he had suffered his body to remain a lifeless corpse in the tomb. But on the morning of the first day of the week the darkness fled NO. II. 2 14 away. The angel of the Lord descended and rolled back the stone. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow. For fear of him, the keepers, who had been stationed to prevent his rising, or being stolen away, became as dead men. The women who assembled to anoint his body, are told that he is not there, that he has arisen, and if they go into Galilee, they shall see him. But hardly have they turned to bear the tidings, when he meets them, say- ing, " All hail !" And they hold him by the feet and worship him. Thus opened the day which the Lord had made for this glorious consummation, and on which the future millions of his people, in coming generations, would rejoice and be glad. The news was soon spread that he was risen, and his disciples were at the sepulchre, but he was not there. As he died for their sins, according to the Scriptures, so he rose again for their justification, according to the Scriptures. And four times on that day did he appear to his disciples. The last time is recorded by the Holy Ghost with special particularity. " The same day, at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut, where the disciples were assem- bled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus, and stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto YOU. And when he had so said, he showed them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. It was the day which he had made, and they began to rejoice and be glad in it. Then said Jesus unto them again, Peace be unto you. As my Father hath sent me^ eve?i so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whoseso- ever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them ; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained." Thus, according to his promise, though, on account of his departure, their hearts, on the Sabbath of the old cre- ation, had been sorrowful, yet now, on this day, which 15 commemorates the new, he meets them again, and their sorrow is turned into joy, and their joy no man takes from them. For he himself would be with them. And even where two or three only should be gathered together in his name, there would he be, in the midst of them, to bless them. Thus, on that first day, he not only met with his disciples, — a thing which we have no account of his doing, after his resurrection, on that seventh day, — but he blessed them in their meeting, saying, " Peace be unto you^^'' — evidently approving of what they were doing. And he appointed them as his ambassa- dors, to go forth in his name, and establish the new dispensation ; and he gave them the Holy Ghost, to fit them for their work ; thus fulfilling towards them the great New Testament promise, and marking, in a strong and peculiar manner, in his providence, and by his grace, that first day of the week. The resurrection of the Redeemer, the assembling of his disciples, the manifestation of himself to them, the approval which he bestows upon them, the com- mission which he gives them, the Holy Ghost, which he imparts to them, — all give to this day, in view of his disciples, a grand peculiarity, and strongly mark it for their future guidance. And, as he has given them the Holy Ghost to teach them, and to bring all things to their remembrance, whatsoever he has said unto them, and to lead them into all truth, as far as is needful to declare authoritatively his will, and adopt those practices, and establish those in- stitutions, which he will approve, — if it is his will that his followers should observe the first day of the week for public worship, we may expect, when the day comes, to find those disciples together again. And what is the fact ? We have no account of any meet- ing during the week. But after eight days, — that is, according to the Jewish mode of reckoning, on the first day of the week, — the disciples are assembled ; and Thomas, who was not there before, is now with them. 16 And then, too, though the doors were shut, came Jesus, and stood again in the midst of them. And again he said, " Peace be unto you." What stronger marks of his approbation could he give them? or of his sanction of the course which they were taking ? And to Thomas, who had not before seen him after his resurrection, and who had declared that, ex- cept he should see in his hands the print of the nails, and put his finger into the print of the nails, and thrust his hand into his side, he would not believe, he said, ** Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands, and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side, and be not faithless, but believing." And Thomas said unto him, " My Lord and my God." And he said, '' Thom- as, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed ; blessed are they that have not seen me, and yet have believed." And many other signs did Jesus, in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded. But these are recorded, that men might believe, and that, in believing, they might have life through his name. Thus ended the second first day of the week. In what way could it end more suitably, if that was, in future, to be the day when his disciples were to as- semble together in his name, and he was to meet with them, and grant them his blessing ? And what more suitable than for the Holy Ghost to record, with such minuteness, those meetings of Christ and his disci- ples, and what took place at them, while he says not a word of his ever meeting with them, or even of their meeting together on that seventh day, during all the time of his continuance with them on earth ? They were recorded, and with such minuteness, for our instruction, that we might have all needed evi- dence of his will in this matter, and that, in follow- ing him and his disciples, whom he inspired by the Holy Ghost, we do not err. All things, thus far, seem to correspond with the 17 idea awakened by prophecy, and realized in fact, that this, and not the old Sabbath, commemorating the physical creation, when he lay in the grave, and his disciples in sadness were scattered, each one to his own, was, in future, to be the day for their religious rejoicing and praise — the day when they were to as- semble, and hear of God in Christ reconciling the world mito himself; not imputing their trespasses unto them, but forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. The old state of things was not, comparatively, to be remembered, or to come into mind. The new crea- tion was to occupy its place ; and the Church, and her ministers, her ordinances, her Sabbaths, and her worship, were all to be organized with reference, not principally to creation, but to redemption, and to the time when not Jews only, or Gentiles, but all flesh, should come to worship before Jehovah, and the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the king- dom under the whole heaven, should be given to the people of the saints of the Most High God, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and of whose do- minion there is no end. But although, in meeting together on that first day, they were blessed by their Savior, and their hearts were replenished by his spirit, yet they had not re- ceived all things that were needful to furnish them thoroughly to disciple all nations, and teach them to observe all things whatsoever he had commanded them. For this they must be miraculously taught a knowledge of the foreign languages in which they would be called to preach and to teach in his name ; for this they must wait at Jerusalem ; and for this they did wait, not merely till the seventh day, as might have been expected, if that were in future to be the day for the special manifestations of his grace, but till the first day — the day of his resurrection, and of the gift of his Spirit. Then suddenly there was a sound from heaven as 2* 18 of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared cloven tongues like as of fire, and sat upon each of them ; and they were filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Parthians, Medes, Elamites, dwellers in Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, in Egypt, in parts of Libya about Gyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Gretes and Arabians, — all heard them speak, each in his own tongue, the wonderful works of God. And what were these wonderful works, which, on that great day of divine manifestation, they pro- claimed ? Were they the wonders of creation ? No ; the wonders of redemption ; the death and res- urrection of the Savior ; his exaltation to the right hand of God ; the gift of the Holy Ghost in fulfilment of prophecy — "I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh ; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy ; your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. And on my servants, and on my hand-maidens, I will pour out my spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I will show won- ders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, be- fore the great and notable day of the Lord come. And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall he saved.^^ These were the wonderful works of God, which they proclaimed — salvation through a crucified, risen, glorified Redeemer. And what day could be more suited to that, than the day which God selected for that purpose ? But did he accompany their preach- ing on that day with his spirit, and render it efficacious to the salvation of men ? Were those who had been born of the flesh, on that day born of the spirit, and 19 induced to live, henceforward, not unto themselves, but unto Him who died for them, and rose again ? What saith the Spirit? They were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter, and to the rest of the apostles, ''Men and brethren, what shall we do?" (that is, to be saved.) He said unto them, '' Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of the Lord Jesus, for the remission of sins." They did so ; and the same day were added unto them three thou- sand souls. So mightily, on that first day of the week, grew the word of the Lord, and prevailed. What was afterward the conduct of the apostles in this matter ? They had been commissioned by the Savior, and were now furnished by the Holy Ghost, to go into all the v.^orld and preach the gospel to every creature. They went out and preached according to his direction. And, as men embraced the gospel and were gathered into churches, they commanded them not to forsake the assembling of themselves together to worship God, to sing his praises, to hear his gospel, to celebrate the Lord's supper, and to contribute of their substance for the benefit of the poor. They did assemble from week to week, for these purposes. On what day did they do this ? On the seventh day, or on the first, of the Jewish week ? Mosheim says, (vol. i. p. 45,) "In the first century, all Christians Avere unanimous in setting apart the first day of the week, on which the Savior arose from the dead, for the solemn celebration of public worship. This pious custom, which was derived from the church in Jeru- salem, was founded upon the express appoiritment of the apostles, who themselves consecrated that day to the same sacred purpose ; and it was observed uni- versally, as appears from the united testimony of the most credible writers. " The seventh day was also observed as a festival, not by Christians in general, but by such churches as were principally composed of Jewish converts." 20 That the Jews, the enemies and rejectors of the Messiah and his salvation, continued to observe the seventh day as the Sabbath, is evident. And to some extent, some of them, and such as followed them, con- tinued to do this after they had embraced the Chris- tian religion. But at the same time, even they ob- served the first day of the week for Christian worship. Hence Theodoret, {Hmret. Fab. ii. i.,) speaking of the Ebionites, a party of Judaizing Christians, says, " They keep the Sabbath according to the Jewish law, and saiictify the Lord's day in like manner as we do.^^ "■ This," says Professor Stuart, *' gives a good historical view of the state of things in the early ages of the church. The zealots for the law wished the Jewish Sabbath to be observed, as well as the Lord^s day ; for about the latter there appears never to have been any question, among any class of Chris- tians, so far as I have bee?i able to discover. The early Christians, one and all of them, held the first day of the week to be sacred.^'' And whence did they derive that practice, but from the apostles themselves ? And as they had been ap- pointed by God and replenished with the Spirit for the express purpose of making known his will in this mat- ter as well as other things pertaining to the establish- ment and welfare of the Christian church, we have in this the sanction of God himself In observing the first day of the week for religious worship, they fol- lowed no cunningly-devised fable, but the known will of their Lord ; and that practice has been continued in the Christian world from that day to this. So gen- eral was it, even before the death of the apostles, and under their direction, that the day, by way of dis- tinction, was called the Lord's day ; that is, the day especially devoted to his worship. As the supper which commemorated his death was called " the Lord's supper," so the day of his resurrec- tion, on which they met for his worship, was called 21 " the Lord's day." And so universal was the habit of observing it, that it was, without explanation, evi- dently understood at that time throughout the Chris- tian world. Hence the apostle John says, " I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day." What day that was, all Christians knew. It was the day of his resurrection, when they assembled to worship their Lord. Hence Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, A. D. 101, only about half a dozen years after the death of the apos- tle, speaks of the Lord's day familiarly and without explanations, as if every body understood it. And he gives this title to the first day of the week exactly after the manner of the apostle himself "Let us (Christians) no more sabbatize," he says, (that is, keep the seventh day, as the Jews did,) " but let us keep the Lord's day." "Let every one that loves Christ keep holy the Lord's day, the queen of days, the resur- rection day, the highest of all days." This shows what was meant by the Lord's day ; it was the resurrection day ; and also why it was called the Lord's day. It was the day when Chris- tians assembled for public worship, and. which they kept holy, as the Christian Sabbath. Theophilus, bishop of Antioch, about A. D. 162, says, "Both custom and reason challenge from us that we should honor the Lord^s day, seeing on that day it was that our Lord Jesus completed his res- urrection from the dead." Hence Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons, a disciple of Polycarp, who had been the companion of the apos- tles, A. D. 167, says, that the Lord's day was the Christian's Sabbath. His words are, " On the Lord's day, every one of us Christians keeps the Sabbath^ meditating on the law, and rejoicing in the works of God." And Dionysius, who lived in the time of Irenaeus, in writing to the Romans, A. D. 170, says, "We cele- brate the Lord's day ; " and he informed them that the Epistles of Clement, their late bishop, were read in the church at Corinth, *•' while they were keeping the Lord's day holy." Clement of Alexandria, A. D. 192, says, " A Chris- tian, according to the command of the gospel, observes the Lord's day^ thereby glorifying the resurrection of the Lord." And again he says, " The Lord's day is the eighth day ; " that is, according to the Jewish reckoning, on the day that came next after the Jewish Sabbath, viz. the first day of the week. TertuUian, about the same time, says, '' The Lord's day is the holy day of the Christian church." " We have nothing to do with the Sabbath," (that is, the Jewish Sabbath.) " The Lord's day is the Christian's solemnity." Such are the testimonies of men, who knew, con- cerning the meaning of the Lord's day, the reason why it received that designation, and the manner in which Christians, commencing with the apostles, and con- tinuing for the next hundred years after their death, viewed and treated that day. It was to them a holy day ; a day for religious worship ; the Christian's Sab- bath. And it was with reference to that, that the apostles directed them not to forsake the assembling of themselves together, as the manner of some was, but to exhort one another, and so much the more as they should see the day of their salvation approaching. And when the whole church were come together in one place, he tells them what to do, and the manner in which they should do it. " Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup," which showed forth the Lord's death. That was one part of their business, on the Lord's day, to partake of the Lord's supper. They were also to speak and to hear according to the oracles of God; that God in all things might be glorified through Je- sus Christ. And they were to teach and admonish one 23 another in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in their hearts unto the Lord. In short, they were to worship God, learn his will, sing his praises, pray to him for the blessings which they needed, and commemorate the dying love of Him, who, though he was rich, yet for their sakes became poor, that they, through his poverty, might be rich ; and to manifest his spirit, by contributing, on those occasions, as God should hav^e blessed them, for the relief of their poor and suffering brethren. And such, we learn, not only from men who were companions and the immediate successors of the apostles, but from the apostles themselves, was the fact. Hence Paul says to the Corinthians, "Now, con- cerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye : upon the first day of the week, let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come." This laying by in store was not laying by at home, for that would not prevent gatherings when he should come. This could be done only by putting it into one com- mon stock, that it might be ready on his arrival. Why was that to be done regularly on the first day of each week ? Because that was the time when they reg- ularly assembled together. And it was suitable, when they were assembled to praise God for his goodness and mercy to them, that they should manifest some- thing of the same spirit, by showing mercy and doing good to others. It would be a means of cultivating a merciful spirit in themselves, and a good way to manifest it to their fellow-men. It was the conve- nient and proper time for that object. Hence also at Troas, on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together, as their custom was, to break bread, Paul, having tarried, it would seem, a number of days for that purpose, preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow. And it being the only 24 opportunity he might have, he continued his speech till midnight. After that, he administered to them the Lord's supper, and departed, and went to Mitylene. Thus it appears that they went, according to their commission, from city to city, preaching the gospel, as they had opportunity, and teaching men to observe all things whatsoever Christ had commanded them. And as churches were gathered, they, according to their directions, assembled together for the purpose of hearing the gospel, for the breaking of bread, and for prayer ; for the singing of praises, and making con- tributions for the relief of the destitute. And in the doing of this they continued steadfastly in the apostles^ doctrine. And as they were the accredited ambassa- dors of Christ, inspired by him to make known infalli- bly his will, and establish things according to it, in the New Testament church, we have in this the sanc- tion of Christ himself. And this practice, commen- cing with the apostles, continued not only while they lived, but after they were dead, and extended not only to one, or to a few, but to all Christian countries. Hence the testimony of Ignatius and Irenseus, Dio- nysius and Theophilus, Clement and Tertullian, and others which we have noticed, and all within one hun- dred years of the death of the apostle John, and some of them living in the days of the apostles, and must have known, with infallible certainty, what were their teaching and practice in this matter. Hence, too, Barnabas, who, if not a companion of the apostles, lived in the apostolic age, says, " We " (Christians) "keep the eighth day," (that is, the first day of the week,) "as a joyful holy day, on which day, also, Jesus arose from the dead." Pliny the Younger, who was governor of Bi- thynia, A. D. 107, not ten years after the death of the apostle John, wrote to the Emperor Trajan, and gave him a statement of the practices of the Christians, as he had received it from some who, on account of the 25 extremity of their sufferings under persecution, had apostatized from their religion. He says, '' They," (the Christians) " were accustomed, on a stated day, to meet before daylight, and to repeat hymns to Christ, as to a God, and to bind themselves, by a sacred obligation, not to commit any wickedness, but, on the contrary, to abstain from thefts, robberies, and adulteries ; also, not to violate their promise, or deny a pledge ; after which, it was their custom to separate and meet again at a promiscuous and harmless meal ; " that is, for the celebration of the Lord's supper. Here, then, we have, almost immediately after the death of the last apostle, the Christians in Bithynia meeting on a stated day for public worship, for enter- ing into solemn covenant with God, and with one another, and for commemorating the sacrament of the supper, as they did at Corinth in the days of Paul, when he commanded them, ''if they wished to eat an ordinary meal for the satisfying of hunger, to do it at home, where, for that purpose, they had houses to eat and to drink in, and that, when they came together to eat the Lord's supper, they should tarry one for another, that they come not together to condemna- tion." It seems they came together — that this was their custom, and on a stated day. And what was that stated day ? We have seen, both from the New Testament and from the Christian fathers who lived in the second century, and in the first after the death of the apostles, that it was the day of the resurrection, the first day of the week, the Lord's day, the Chris- tian Sabbath. Hence the fact, that their persecutors, when they wished to know whether men were Christians, were accustomed to put to them this question, viz. " Do- minicum servasti ? ^^ — "Hast thou kept the Lord's day ? " If they had, they were Christians. This was the badge of their Christianity, in distinction from Jews and pagans. And if they said they had, and NO. II. 3 26 would not recant, they must be put to death. And what, when they continued steadfast, was their answer ? " Christianus sum ; intermittere non possum''^ — "I am a Christian ; I cannot omit it." — It is a badge of my religion, and the man who assumes it must of course keep the Lord's day, because it is the will of his Lord ; and should he abandon it, he would be an apostate from his religion. It was also then, as it is now, a standing evidence of his resurrection, the demonstration of his Messiah- ship, a testimony of their faith in him as their Re- deemer, an emblem of the rest that remained for them, and a season of special preparation, that they might be partakers of its joys. It was the day when he manifested himself to them, even two or three of them, who were gathered together in his name, and took up his abode with them, and they commemo- rated that love to them which was stronger than death, which many waters could not quench, and which floods could not drown. And so it has been ever since. " Christiani fueru7it ; intermittere non potuerint.^^ Justin Martyr, in his '^ Apology for the Christians," addressed to the Emperor Antoninus, A. D. 147, (Apol. i. chap. 67,) gives the following account of the practice of the Christians in his day : "On the day called" (that is, by the Romans) " Sunday, there is a meeting in one place of all the Christians that live either in the towns or in the country, and the memoirs of the apostles," (that is, their memoirs, as is sup- posed, of the Savior, in the four Gospels,) "or the writings of the prophets, are read to them, as long as is suitable. When the reader stops, the president pro- nounces an admonition, and exhorts to an imitation of those noble examples ; after which, we arise and begin to pray." He then describes the celebration of the Lord's supper, and the collection which was taken up for the poor, and closes by mentioning several 27 reasons why they selected that day of the week for public worship. One of them is, that it was the day on which Jesus Christ, our Savior, arose from the dead. Thus they continued evidently to follow sub- stantially the same course which was adopted under the eye, and by the direction, of the apostles, as shown by their Acts and Epistles. Ambrose, bishop of Milan, says, " The Lord's day is sacred, or consecrated, by the resurrection of Christ." Augustine says. " The Lord's day was by the resur- rection declared to Christians ; and from that very time, it began to be celebrated as the Christian fes- tival." Athanasius says, " The Lord transferred the Sab- bath to the Lord's day." Yet, as we saw in the case of the Ebionites, some — especially the Judaizing Christians, and those who followed them — kept both days as more or less sa- cred. And, although this was connived at for a time, it was not considered by the most enlightened as either needful or right. It was not in accordance with that previous law, on which the sabbatical law was founded, viz. " Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work." And the council of Laodicea, about the year 350, said, " Christians must not Judaize," (keep the Jewish Sabbath ;) " rather must they prefer in honor the Lord's day, and, if it be in their power, must rest in it, as Christians." Constantino, when he came to the throne, A. D. 316, enjoined the religious observance of the Lord's day, not only on all his own household, but com- manded that it should be kept as a day of rest through- out the Roman empire, with the exception of what he considered works of necessity. He decreed, also, that the religious soldiers in his armies should be per- mitted to perform their religious duties, on that day, without molestation. This he allowed, also, to such 28 as desired it, on the Jewish Sabbath. But the ob- servance of the seventh day, though it had been con- nived at, and was by the emperor permitted, was not, as we see by the doings of the council of Laodicea, considered to be proper ; and they even went so far, though improperly, as to say, " If they be found Ju- daists," (keeping the seventh day,) " let them be ac- cursed." Leo, bishop of Rome, in behalf of the church, about the year 440, said, '' We ordain, accord- ing to the true meaning of the Holy Ghost, and of the apostles, as thereby directed, that on the sacred day wherein our own integrity was restored, all do rest and cease from labor ; that neither husbandmen nor other persons on that day put their hands to forbidden works ; for, if the Jews did so much honor their Sabbaths, which were but a shadow of ours, are not we, who inhabit the light and truth of grace, bound to honor that day which the Lord himself hath hon- ored, and hath therein delivered us both from dis- honor and death ? Are we not bound to keep it sin- gular and inviolable, well contenting ourselves with so liberal a grant of the remainder, and not encroach- ing upon that one day which God hath chosen to his own honor ? Were it not reckless neglect of religion to make that very day common, and to think we may do with it as with the rest ?" Thus the keeping of the first day of the week as the day sacred to religious worship, is interwoven throughout the history of the church, from the days of the apostles ; and we might, were it needful, con- tinue the history down to the present time. It was in view of such facts, that Mosheim stated that, in the first century, all Christians were unanimous in setting apart the first day of the week for public wor- ship, and that this was founded upon the appointment of the apostles, — who themselves consecrated the day to the same sacred purpose, — and that it was ob- served universally, as appears from the united testi" 29 mony of the most credible writers. And in this he agrees with Eusebius, the great historian of the ancient church. He lived in the third century, was a man of vast reading, and was as well acquainted with the history of the church, from the days of the apostles, as any man of his day. Till he was about forty years old, he lived in great intimacy with the martyr Pamphi- lus, a learned and pious man, of Cassarea, and founder of a very extensive library, to which Eusebius had constant access. He was a learned and accurate his- torian, and had the aid of the best helps for acquiring information upon all subjects connected with the Christian church. In his " Commentary on the Psalms," he says, " On each day of our Savior's resurrection," (that is, every first day of the week,) " which is called Lord's day, we may see those who partake of that conse- crated food, and that body" (of Christ) '^ which has saving efficacy, after the eating of it, bowing down to him." ''I think that he" (the Psalmist) ''describes the morning assemblies in which we " (Christians) " are accustomed to assemble, throughout thexDorld.^^ And again : '• By this is prophetically signified the service which is performed very early and every morning of the resurrection day," (the first day of the Aveek,) " throughout the whole worlds In commenting on the ninety-second psalm, which he calls a psalm for the Sabbath, and refers it to the Lord's day, he says, ''It exhorts to those things which are done on the resurrection day." And, after observing that the sabbatical law was addressed to the Jews, and that they often violated it, he says, " The Word," (Christ,) " by the new covenant^ trans- lated AND TRANSFERRED THE FEAST OF THE SaB- BA,TH TO THE MORNING LIGHT, AND GAVE US THE 3* 30 TRUE REST, viz. THE SAVING LoRd's DAY ; the fir St^^ (day) " of the light, in which the Savior of the world, after all his labor among men, obtained the victory" over death, and passed the portals of heaven, having achieved a work superior to the six days' crea- tion. " On this day, which is the first of light and of the true sun, we assemble, after an interval of six days, and celebrate holy and spiritual Sabbaths, — even ALL NATIONS REDEEMED BY HIM THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, — and do those things, according to the spir- itual law, which were decreed for the priests to do on the Sabbath ; for we make spiritual offerings and sacrifices, which are called sacrifices of praise and re- joicing. We make incense of a good odor to ascend, as it is said, * Let my prayer come up before thee as incense.' We also present the show-bread, reviving " (by the observance of the Lord's supper) " the re- membrance of our salvation, the blood of sprinkling, which is the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, and which purifies our souls." Also, " We are diligent to do zealously, on that day, the things enjoined in this psalm, by word and work making confession to the Lord, and singing in the name of the Most High. In the morning, with the rising of the light, Ave proclaim the mercy of God towards us, and his truth by night, exhibiting a sober and chaste demeanor. And all things lohatso- ever that it was the duty to do on the Sabbath,^^ (meaning the Jewish seventh day,) ''these we have TRANSFERRED TO THE Lord's DAY, as morc appropri- ately belonging to it, because it has a precedence, and is first in rank and more honorable than the Jewish Sabbath. For on that day, in making the world, God said, ' Let there be light,' and there was light ; and on the same day" (the Lord's day) " the sun of righteousness arose on our souls. Wherefore, it is de- livered to us that we should meet together on this day, 31 and it is ordered that we should do those things an- nounced in this psalm." Such, according to his testimony, was the course of Christians throughout the world. And he adds, ''that this scripture teaches that we are to spend the Lord's day in leisure for religious exercises, and in cessation and vacation from all bodily and mortal works, — which the Scripture calls Sabbath and rest.'' It is not to be forgotten, that this testimony comes from the great ancient historian of the church, who had searched more thoroughly into its customs and antiqui- ties than any other man in the early ages. And it is decisive, as are the other testimonies, as to the reli- gious observance of the Lord's day ; and they carry back the practice to the days of the apostles. As we have seen, it was the practice of the apostles themselves, under the guidance of the Holy Ghost, and of the Christians in their day, who followed their direction, and imitated their example. Of course it has the sanction of the Holy Ghost himself. As such it has been continued in the true church of God to the present time. It is the original institutio?i, es- tablished i7i paradise, and enjoined in the moral laio, in its spirit, its essential features, and its ends. It commemorates still the wonders of creation, and, in addition, the greater wonders of redemption ; and for that reason, it was transferred, by the Lord of the Sabbath, to the day of his resurrection, when he broke the silence of the tomb, and rose the acknowl- edged Conqueror of earth and hell, and the pledge of the resurrection and eternal life of his people. That was the day which he had made, in which they were to rejoice and be glad. Then he met with his dis- ciples, as they were assembled together, spoke peace to their souls, and gave them his Spirit. Then, in fulfilment of prophecy, and of the great New Tes- tament promise, the Holy Ghost descended upon them 33 in tongues of fire, and furnished them to go forth unto all nations, and preach the gospel to every creature. On that day, to the first sermon he gave such power, that three thousand, and among them crucifiers, were converted to God. On that day, in all ages, when his people have assembled to pray, hear the gospel, cele- brate his love, and communicate for the benefit of the poor, whom they have always had wit?i them, that, whenever they would, they might do them good, he has, by his Spirit, met with them, — even with two or three thus gathered in his name, — and has blessed them. And so he will continue to meet with those who on that day assemble to worship Him who is a Spirit, in spirit and in truth, and will manifest himself to them, and take up his abode with them, so that they shall dwell in him, and he in them. Through his mighty power and abounding grace, their numbers will continue to increase, and increase, till, in the language of the prophet, " from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come and worship before Je- hovah." For, as the new heavens and the new earth which he creates shall remain, so shall their seed and their name remain ; and, from the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, the Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier of men shall be praised, and the whole earth be full of his glory, as the waters fill the seas. And great voices will be heard, saying, " The king- doms of this world are become the kingdom of our God and his Christ." Then men will labor six days in a week, and rest on the seventh day. In it they will not do any work, nor will their children, or servants, or cattle, or the stran- ger that is under their control, except as the appro- priate duties of the Sabbath may require. But they will say, " O, come, let us worship ; let us kneel and bow down before the Lord our Maker, for we are the sheep of his pasture, and the people of his hand." " Let us enter his gates with thanksgiving, and tread his courts with praise." '' O, come, let us sing unto the Lord, and make a joyful noise unto the Rock of our salvation." And the rising anthem will greet the morning sun from the farthest shores of Japan, and be echoed by millions on millions, as he passes over China and Hindostan, Europe, Africa, Amer- ica, and the western isles ; while New Holland- er and Hindoo, Arab and Turk, Hottentot and Ta- heitan, with every islander of every sea, and all on earth, and all in heaven, who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, will swell the chorus, " Unto him that loved us, and hath washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father to him be glory and dominion forever and ever." But it is asked. Did not our Savior, when warning his disciples concerning their escape from Jerusalem, say, '' Pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day," meaning the Jewish Sab- bath ? He did; and the reason was, some might have scruples about the lawfulness of travelling on that day, as far as it might be needful, in order to make their escape. And as the Jews were so tena- cious of the external observance of their Sabbath, that they would even suff*er themselves to be cut in pieces, by their enemies, rather than defend themselves on that day, the disciples might find it difficult, if not impossible, to travel among them, and thus be hindered from making their escape. The direction was therefore pertinent and kind, though their custom was, to meet for public worship on the Lord's day. It is again asked, Did not the apostle go into the synagogue, and preach on the Sabbath? and did not the Gentiles, on one occasion, after the Jews were gone, request him to preach to them the next Sab- bath ? and on the next Sabbath, did not almost the whole city come together to hear the word of God ? And did he not, on another occasion, go out to the 34 side of a river, where prayer was wont to be made, and, on the Sabbath, speak to the women that resorted there? And when at Corinth, did not Paul reason in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuade both Jews and Greeks? He did. And it all shoAVs, what no one who is enlightened doubts, that the Jews met together on that day, and that Gentiles sometimes met with them. And the apostles embraced those occasions, as good ministers would now, to preach the gospel. It was a good opportunity for doing it. But this is perfectly consistent with all that has been said about their observing the Lord's day. Missionaries now, among Jews and pagans, preach on any day, when the people assemble, and are willing to hear ; though they meet for public worship, and keep sacred the first day of the week. The Jewish converts, and those who followed them, kept for a time, with more or less strictness, the sev- enth, as well as the first day, and the apostles did not at once forbid it. They directed, as they did with regard to some other things, that they should avoid harsh judgments of other Christians, and whereunto they had attained, walk by the same rule and mind the same things, with the expectation that in time God would give them more light, and lead to still further agreement. But does not the apostle say, that under the gospel there was to be no distinction of days, and that all Sabbaths were to be done away ? No ; he says no such thing ; though this has sometimes been attrib- uted to him. Under the Jewish dispensation were incorporated two kinds of laws. One was founded on obligations growing out of the nature of men, and their relations to God and one another ; obligations binding before they were written, and which will continue to be binding upon all who shall know them to the end of time. Such are the laws Avhich were written by the finger of God on the tables of stone, and arc called moral laivs. The other kind, called ceremonial laws, related to various outward observances, which were not obliga- tory till they were commanded, and then were bind ing only on the Jews, till the death of Christ. There were also two kinds of Sabbaths, or days of rest. One was a day of loeekly rest ; and the com- mand to keep it holy was placed by the Lawgiver in the midst of the m,oral laws. It was called, by way of eminence, " The Sabbath." The command to keep the other Sabbaths was placed by the Lawgiver among the ceremonial laws, because it was likeiheva., as the command to keep the weekly Sabbath was like the laws with which it was associated. One class were fundamental, permanent, universal, moral laios ; the other class were local, temporary, ceremonial laws. One had their origin in the nature and relations of man, the other in the peculiar circumstances in which, for a time, a peculiar people were placed. One would be binding in all ages upon all who should know them, and the other would be binding only upon the Jews, till the death of the Messiah. The Jews, at the coming of Christ, being in a state of great spiritual darkness and grievous apostasy from God, did not well understand the nature and ob- jects of their laws. Often they overlooked the spirit, and were superstitiously devoted to the forms. Some, after they embraced the gospel, thought that the cer- emonial, as well as the moral, laws were binding. Others, more enlightened, thought that they were not. This led to contention among them. Paul, in the fourteenth chapter of Romans, presented such consid- erations as were adapted to lead them, in this matter, to a right decision. '' One man," he says, " esteemeth one day above another. Another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He 36 that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto tlie Lord ; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it." Both mean to honor God, and he will accept them. But what day does he speak of? ''The Sabbath" of the fourth commandment, associated by God inseparably with the moral laws 1 Read the connection. What is it ? One man believ- eth that he must worship Jehovah ; another, who is weak, worshippeth idols? One believeth that he must not commit murder, adultery, or theft, and another thinks he may ? Were those the laws about which they were contending ? and with which were connected the days that he speaks of? No ; about those laws there was no dispute. But, " One believeth that he may eat all things," (which are nourishing, whether allowed in the ceremo- nial law, which regulated such things, or not ;) "another, who is weak, eateth herbs. Let not him that eateih despise him that eateth not ; and let not him that eateth not judge him that eateth, for God hath re- ceived him." Those were the laws about which they were contending, and with regard to which the apostle was giving them instruction. It was not the morale but the ceremonial^ laws ; and the days spoken of were those which were connected, not with the former, but with the latter. So in the second chapter of Colossians — " Let no man judge you in meat or in drink, or in respect of a holy day, or of the new moon, or of the Sab- baths." The Sabbaths spoken of are not "the Sab- bath" associated with. Thou shalt not commit mur- der, or adultery, or theft, but the Sabbaths associated with meats and drinks, and new moons, which were, indeed, shadows of things to come. But to take what he said about those Sabbaths, which were associated by God with ceremonial laws, and which the apostle himself, in this very discourse, associates with them, and apply it, as some have done, to " the Sabbath" which God associated with moral laws, is wrong. 37 " Blotting out," he says, " the hand-writing of ordi- nances that was against us, which was contrary to us, nailing it to his cross." Bat the day of weekly rest from the business and cares of this world, for the purpose of worshipping God, and promoting the salvation of souls, is never spoken of in the Bible as being against men, or contrary to them. No ; it always was, and always will be, for them. That Sabbath was made for man, not against him. Miracle after miracle was wrought by the Lord of the Sabbath, to enable his ancient people to keep it ; and whenever and wherever it is duly kept, it is a " Day of all the days the best, Emblem of eternal rest." It commemorates creation and redemption, and cele- brates the wondrous works of their Author. Its ob- servance is required, not only by the Bible, but by the nature of both man and beast. To take what the apostle has said about those Sabbaths associated by God — and by Paul himself, also, in the very dis- course in question — with ceremonial laws, and apply it to "the Sabbath," about which he was not speak- ing, and which God has associated with moral laws, is utterly ivrong. No honest lawyer, that understands his business, will ever interpret laws in that way. Concerning those " carnal ordinances " which the apostle speaks of, which were agaiiist men, and which stood in meats and drinks, and new moons, and divers washings, sabbaths, and other things, which were not designed to be permament, we say, with Paul, " Touch not, taste not, handle not." While, with regard to spiritual ordinances, '' the Sabbath,^^ and the moral law, of which it forms an inseparable part, we say, and we feel with the Lord of Paul, " It was made for man." The Savior came not to destroy that law, but to fulfil it; and, in preaching the gospel, neither he, nor Paul, nor any minister who preaches like them, ever makes void that NO. II. 4 38 law, but always establishes it. And till heaven and earth pass away, it will not pass away. (See Appe7i- dix. ) God sent his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, not that the moral law should be abolished, but that the righteousness of the law should be ful- fuUed in them that walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. And thus only will the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus make them free from the law of sin and death. Thus it has been, and thus it will be. Those men, wherever found, will delight in the law of the Lord after the inward man. God, accord- ing to his promise, will write it upon their hearts, and they will have respect to all his commandments. The Sabbath will be to them a delight. The holy of the Lord will be honorable, and they will honor him by devoting the day, not to purposes of worldly business, travelling, or amusement, but to his worship, and to the spiritual good of men. Says the celebrated Dr. Chalmers, " We never, in the whole course of our recollections, met with a Christian, who bore upon his character every other evi- dence of the Spirit's operation, who did not remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy. We appeal to the memory of all the worthies who are lying in their graves, that, eminent as they were in every other grace and accomplishment of the new creature, the religiousness of their Sabbath day shone with equal lustre amid the fine assemblage of virtues which adorned them. In every Christian household, it will be found that the discipline of a well-ordered Sab- bath is never forgotten among the old lessons of a Christian education ; and we appeal to every individ- ual who now hears us, and who carries the remem- brance in his bosom of a father's worth and a father's piety, if, on the coming round of the seventh day, an air of peculiar sacredness did not spread itself over that mansion where he drew his first breath, and was 39 taught to repeat his infant hymn, and Hsp his infant prayer. Rest assured that the Christian, having the love of God written in his heart, and denying the Sabbath a place in his affections, is an anomaly that is nowhere to be found. Every Sabbath image, with every Sabbath circumstance, is dear to him. He loves the quietness of that hallowed morn. He loves the church-bell sound, which summons him to the house of prayer. He loves to join the chorus of de- votion, and to sit and listen to that voice of persuasion which is lifted in the hearing of an assembled multi- tude. He loves the retirement of this day from the din of worldly business and the inroads of worldly men. He loves the leisure it brings along with it ; and sweet to his soul is the exercise of that hallowed hour, when there is no eye to witness him but the eye of Heaven, and when, in solemn audience with the Father, who seeth him in secret, he can, on the wings of celestial contemplation, leave all the cares and all the secularities of an alienated world behind him." And sweet especially is the hour when his com- munion and fellowship are truly with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ. Then, in joyful anticipa- tion of the time when, with the general assembly and church of the first-born, whose names are written in heaven, he shall see Him as he is, and be like Him, his joy may emphatically be said to be full. And in the keeping of his Sabbaths, with their attendant means of grace, and in the discharge of the various and appropriate duties of life, God will guide him by his counsel, and afterward receive him to glory ; and then he will raise him from glory to glory to endless ages. 40 OPINIONS OF LUTHER, MELANCTHON, CALVIN, AND OTHER REFORMERS, CONCERNING THE CHRISTIAN SABBATH. The writings of the reformers have sometimes been quoted by opposers of the Christian Sabbath, as if they were in opposition to the views of evangelical Christians at the present day. Thus, in the Augsburg Confession, drawn up by Melancthon, (A. D. 1530,) and sanctioned by Luther, it is said, " They who think that the observance of the Lord's day was instituted by the church in the place of the Sabbath, as a necessary things do completely err. Scripture grants that the doctrine of the Sabbath now is free ; for it teaches that, since the introduction of the gospel. Mosaic ceremonies are no longer necessary." The mistake here was in speaking of the weekly Sabbath as if it belonged to Mosaic ceremonies, and was confined to them. But, as we have seen in the foregoing documents, the fact was, it belonged to the moral law. The command to remember it, and to keep it, was placed by God with the commands, " Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain," " Thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother," and " Thou shalt not kill." The reason why it was placed there was, it was like them. Calvin says, " When certain days are represented as holy in themselves, when holy days are reckoned as a part of di- vine worship, these days are improperly observed." And again : " We do not reckon one day to be more holy than another." His meaning was, that he did not reckon it to be more holy in itself, not that he did not think it to be proper to devote one day in seven especially to sacred purposes. Similar expressions may be found in the writings of other reformers. The fact was, their attention was not particularly called to the subject of the Sabbath, to the difference between ceremo- nial and moral laws, and between the Jewish and the Chris- tian dispensation. They were occupied principally with the doctrines of the gospel ; especially depravity, regeneration^ 41 justification by faith and not by works, the sufficiency of the Scriptures as a rule of faith and practice, and other kindred doctrines. They paid very little attention to many important subjects, and among others, to the Sabbath. A few minutes would suffice to read all that they ever wrote about it, espe- cially about its moral nature and permanent obligation. Besides, as the gigantic system of error and corruption, against which they were called to contend, consisted much in a superstitious observance of days and forms, they were led, in the heat of contest, to speak sometimes disparagingly of all days and forms. That, together with their other error above mentioned, will account for the manner in which they sometimes speak of the Christian Sabbath. The false methods of salvation by works and outward ob- servances, which the Papists had inculcated, and which had ruined such multitudes, led the reformers sometimes to repre- sent all outward observances as worthless; but they meant when placed as a substitute for Jesus Christ, and depended on for salvation. But they did not mean that they were all to be dispensed with, as some isolated passages of their writings, taken out of their connection, might seem to imply. Hence, in the Augsburg Confession, difference of days, and distinc- tions of food, are classed together as things about which so many false opinions had been entertained, that, " although they were in themselves indifferent, they had become no longer so." Hence Melancthon, in his defence of that Confession, says, " The apostles did not wish us to consider such rites as neces- sary to our justification before God." They did not wish that righteousness and sin should be placed in the observation of days, of food, and such things. And Calvin says, " There ought to be amongst Christians no superstitious observance of days." We say the same. But the question is. What is the superstitious observance, and what is the proper observance of days } Similar expressions are often found in the writings of the reformers, and they are easily accounted for. They were educated Papists ; and, situated as they were, the wonder is, not that they did not inculcate more truth, but that they were enabled, through grace, to inculcate so much. They were nobly reformed with regard to many things, while, with regard to other things, they needed still further reformation. This was the case, in some respects, with regard to the Sabbath ; 4* 42 and the great battle concerning the doctrines of the gospel having been fought and gained by the Continental reformers, the next generation, especially in Scotland and England, had more time to apply those doctrines to practical purposes. The consequence was, they gained higher and better views of many things, and among them of the Christian Sabbath. Great Britain and America are now feeling the benefit of that fact, while the whole Protestant church on the Continent is suffering from the errors, with regard to the Sabbath, under which the first reformers lived and died. Errors on the sub- ject of the Sabbath — that great fundamental institution for giving efficacy to moral government — they undoubtedly had ; but they were not such as Sabbath-breakers often represent. They had no such views on the subject as would lead them to justify devoting the day to secular business, travelling, or amusement. Their error respected one of the grounds on which the obligation to observe the Sabbath rests, or one of the reasons why all men should keep it. It was not incon- sistent with their believing, and it did not, in fact, pre- vent their believing, that it is the duty^ the right, and the privilege of men to devote one day in seven especially to the worship of God and the promotion of the spiritual good of men. They loved the Sabbath themselves, and delighted in its holy duties, thus showing the work of the law written upon their hearts. They inculcated the same duty upon others, and maintained that men ought to consecrate the whole day to sacred purposes. Sabbath-breakers, when they understand the subject, will find the opinion of the reformers, in the days of Luther and Calvin, as well as that of evangelical Chris- tians in our day, to be against them. Concerning the Lord's day, Luther himself says, " Keep it holy, for its use sake both to the body and the soul." He would have it kept holy, on account of the benefits of thus keeping it to the bodies and the souls of men. We would have men keep it holy for the same reason, and also because it is the will of God that they should. It was making the day holy for the mere day''s sake that Luther opposed. It was the Papal idea of holy days ; and he expressed a preference that it should be employed even in amusements, rather than that it should be kept in that way, for its own sake merely, and in superstitious reliance on it for salvation. But he was not opposed to its being kept, as Irenaeus says that the Chris- tians in his day kept it, viz. : " On the Lord's day every one of 43 us Christians keeps the Sabbath, meditating on the law, and rejoicing in the works of God." It was his delight to keep it in that manner ; and he actually kept the day holy himself. And what he meant was, that the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, that there is no inherent sanctity in days and out- ward observances, separate from the use which is made of them, and the object that is accomplished by them ; while he and the other reformers believed that the glory of God and the good of men required that secular business, travelling, and amusement, should be suspended, and one day in a week be devoted to sacred jjurposes, as the Sabbath. Hence Luther says, " If Adam had continued in innocence, he would have kept the seventh day sacred. After the fall, he kept that day sacred, for he taught his children on it, as is testified by the offerings of his sons, Cain and Abel. There- fore the Sabbath was, from the beginning of the world, ap- pointed to the iDorship of God.'*'* And Calvin says, " Every seventh day was peculiarly set apart. God, therefore, first rested, then he blessed that rest. That h might be sacred among men through all coining ages, he consecrated each seventh day to rest, that his own example might continually serve as a rule. The end is always to be kept in view. God did not simply command men to spend every seventh day in leisure, as if he delighted in idle- ness, but that, being discharged from all other employments, they might the more freely direct their minds to the Creator of the world. It is a sacred call, withdrawing men from the entanglements of the world, that they may yield themselves wholly to God. Afterwards, in the law, a new precept was given concerning the Sabbath, which was peculiar to the Jews, and to them only for a time ; for it was a legal cere- mony, adumbrating a spiritual rest, of which the truth ap- peared in Christ. Therefore the Lord frequently testifies that he gave it to his own ancient people, as a sign of sanctifi- cation. So, when we are told that the Sabbath was abolished by the coming of Christ, we must distinguish lohat belonged to the perpetual guidance of human life, and what was pecu- liar to the ancient figures, which were no longer needed when the truth was fulfilled. Spiritual rest is the mortification of the flesh, that the children of God may no more live unto themselves, or gratify their own will. So far as the Sabbath prefigured that, I say it was temporal ; but, as being enjoined on men from the beginning of the world, that they might exer- 44 cise themselves in the worship of God, it undoubtedly ought to continue, even to the end, of the worhV Such was the opinion of Calvin. When he speaks of the fourth commandment as being ceremonial, or as being abol- ished, he never means that there were not other and good reasons for keeping the Sabbath, before the ten command- ments were written on the tables of stone, and reasons which continued through the Jewish dispensation, and which will continue to the end of time ; while he supposed that there were some reasons which were peculiar to the Jews. It was in those respects only which he viewed as peculiar to them, that he speaks of it as abolished, not in the general aspects which apply to all the world. Hence he says, " What was said before as to the rite of keeping holy day being the figure of a spiritual and impor- tant mystery, and that the precept is, on that account, to be regarded as a ceremonial one, is not to be understood as if there were not other and different ends of it. Unquestionably, God assumed to himself the seventh day, and consecrated it when he finished the creation of the world, that he might keep his worshippers entirely free from all other cares, while they were employed in meditating on the beauty, excellence, and splendor of his works." " Because our minds are unstable, and are thence liable to wander and be distracted, God, in his own mercy, consulting our infirmity, sets apart one day from the rest, and commands it to he kept free from all earthly cares and employments, lest any thing should interrupt that holy exercise. For this reason he did not simply wish each to rest at home, hut also to meet in the sanctuary, that they might there attend to prayers and sacrifices, and might make progress in spiritual instruction, from the interpretation of the law. In this respect, the necessity of a Sabbath is common to us with the people of old, that ive may be free on one day"^"* (of the week,) " and so may be better prepared both for learn- ing and for giving testimony to the faiths The decalogue he calls " the moral law," " the rule of per- fect righteousness," and gives as a reason why it is set up in writing before us, '-'■ that it might testify with more certainty what, in the law of nature, was too obscure, and might more vividly, as by a palpable form, strike our mind and memory." So Bullinger says, " Sabbath signifies rest, and is taken for that day which is consecrated to rest. But the observance of that day was not invented and brought forth for the first time 45 by Moses, when he introduced the law ; for in the decalogue it is said, ' Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy ; ' thereby admonishing them that it was of ancient institution." Such was the language of the reformers. They consid- ered the ten commandments as moral, illustrating moral du- ties ; duties growing out of the nature of man, binding before they were written, and written to make them more plain and impressive. The law of the Sabbath they considered as one of them, and binding on men from the creation, and, as a moral duty, to the end of the world. It was also, as were the other moral laws, incorporated into the Jewish economy, as moral laws must be into every economy. But it was only the aspect in which they thought the fourth commandment was Jewish^ and not that which they considered as moral., that they speak of it as abolished. This, by many Sabbath-breakers, who claim affinity with them, has been overlooked. Hence Melancthon says, " In this commandment there are properly said to be two parts — the one natural, the other moral, the one the genus, the other the species." Of the former it is said, that the natural part or genus is perpetual, " and can- not be abrogated." And Luther says, " It is still good, and even necessary., that men should keep a particular day in the week for the sake of the word of God, on which they are to meditate, hear, and learn ; for all cannot command every day, and nature requires that one day in a week should be kept quiet, without labor either for man or beast.'''* And Calvin, after stating that, even among the Jews, the Sabbath was not designed merely to prefigure spiritual rest, but was also designed to afford opportunity for respite from labor, and for engaging in religious exercises, adds that " these two latter reasons ought not to be numbered among the shadows., but alike concern all ages.'''' And he afterwards speaks of " the apostle having retained the Sabbath,"*^ so far keeping up the distinction ; and the danger of superstition be- ing almost taken away by the substitution of another day of the week for religious purposes, instead of that which the Jews held to be peculiarly sacred. This shows what were Calvin's fears, viz., that they would superstitiously observe days and forms as if they were in themselves inherently holy ; while he, and Melancthon, and Lu- ther, all thought it right, and a duty, to devote one day in seven especially to holy duties. Beza calls the first day of the week " the Lord's day," on 46 which he says Christians, in the days of the apostles, " were accustomed to hold their own regular meetings, as the Jews were wont to meet in the synagogue, on the Sabbath, for the purpose of showing that the fourth commandment was ceremo- nial as far as it respected the particular day of rest, and the legal services ; but that, as regards the worship of God, it was a precept of the moral laio, lohich is perpetual and unchanging^ during the present life. That day of rest had stood, indeed, from the creation of the world to the resurrection of our Lord, which, being as another creation of a new spiritual world, (according to the language of the prophets,) was made the occasion (the Holy Spirit, beyond doubt, directing the apos- tles) for assuming, instead of the Sabbath of the former age, or the seventh day, the first day of the world, on which not the corporeal and corruptible light created on the first day of the old world, BUT this heavenly and eternal light, hath SHONE UPON us." In his view the ceremonial part of the fourth commandment consisted in the particular day, while the moral part required one day in seven to be set apart for the worship of God. So Ursinus, the friend of Melancthon, says, " That the first part of the command (that which enjoins the keeping holy of a seventh-day Sabbath) is moral and perpetual, appears from the end of the institution, and the reasons assigned for it, which are perpetual. They relate to no definite period, but to all times and ages of the world. It follows that God wished to bind men, from the beginning of the world even to its end, to keep a certain Sabbath." But how did the reformers think that the Sabbath ought to be kept ? Although all supposed that the day should be de- voted to public worship and religious duties, did they think that there should be, when not engaged in religious worship, entire cessation of labor and secular concerns .'' On these points some of them speak as if to abstain entirely from worldly business would be to Judaize* It should not be forgotten, however, that they thought that the Jews were pro- hibited even from all preparation of food, and from the kin- dling of a fire. But the Jews were never blamed for preparing needful food, or kindling a fire, or doing any work of neces- sary mercy. And when the disciples of our Lord were ac- cused of violating the Sabbath, because they, in crossing a * See Fairbairn, on the opinions of the reformers, of which free use has been made in this article. 47 field, rubbed out, and ate for the supply of hunger, a little grain, he vindicated them, on the ground of a necessity simi- lar to that which justified David in partaking of the show-bread and the priests in ministering at the altar. So, when he was ac- cused of breaking the Sabbath by healing the sick, he appealed to what they did for the refreshment and relief of their cattle. Thus he showed them that works of necessary mercy, and those which were required for the discharge of the appropri- ate duties of the Sabbath, were not forbidden by the sabbati- cal law. And in objecting to such lawful things, the Jews showed that they had degenerated from the spirit, and become superstitiously devoted to the forms. Still, some of the reformers sometimes speak of the Jews being forbidden to engage in any worldly employvient^ or to bear a burden for any purpose ; and of Christians as being re- leased, to some extent, from the prohibition of labor. But that their views were not what has sometimes been ascribed to them is evident from their writings. Calvin says, " I grant it (the Sabbath) as the bark of a spiritual substance, the use of which is still in force, of denying ourselves, of renouncing all our own thoughts and affections, and of bidding farewell to all our own employments, so that God may reign in us, then of em- ploying ourselves in the worship of God, learning from his vvord, in which is to be found our salvation, and of meeting together to make a public profession of our faith ; all of which differs from the Jewish shadows, for it was so servile a work to the Jews, that they were bound on one day of each week to abstain from all vjork, so that it was even a capital offence to gather wood or bear a burden." In another place he says, " The Sabbath should be to us a tower, whereon we should mount aloft to contemplate afar the works of God, when we are not occupied or hindered, by any thing besides, from stretching forth all our faculties in consid- ering the gifts and the graces which he has bestowed on us. And if we properly apply ourselves to do this on the Sabbath, it is certain we shall be no strangers to it during the rest of our time, and that this meditation shall have so formed our mirids, that on Monday and the other days of the week we shall abide in the grateful remembrance of them." " It is our duly to devote ourselves wholly to God, renoun- cing ourselves, our feelings, our affections, and then, since we have this external ordinance, to act as becomes us, that is, to lay aside our earthly affairs and occupations, so that loe may ■>- - ,-.,%^7^ f^gg ^^ meditate on the works of God; may 48 exercise ourselves in considering the gifts which he has af- forded us, and, ahove all, may apply ourselves to apprehend the grace which he daily offers us in his gospel, and may be more and more conformed to it. And when we have em- ployed the Sabbath in praising and magnifying the name of God, and meditating his works, we must through the rest of the week show that we have profited thereby." And Viret, one of Calvin's colleagues, says, " Since we have from God every thing we possess, — soul, body, and out- ward estate, — we ought never to do any thing else, all our lives, than what he requires of us, for the true and entire sanctifi- cation of the day of rest. Nevertheless, we see that he as- signs and permits us six days for doing our own business, and of the seven he reserves for himself only one, as if he had contented himself with the seventh part of the time, which was specially given up and consecrated to him, and that all the rest was to be ours. What ingratitude is it, if, in yielding us six parts of the seven which we owe him, we do not, at the least, strive with all our power to surrender the other part, which he exacts of us as a token of our fidelity and homage ! " And in regard to devoting such portions of the day as are not occupied in public worship to secular concerns, he says, " Since we are permitted all other days of the week, except- ing this, to attend to our bodily concerns, it seems to me we hold very cheap the service of God, and the ministry of the church, on which we ought to wait more diligently on that day than on any other, if we cannot find means for employing one whole day of the week in things which God requires of us upon it ; for they are of such weight and consequence that we must take care in every manner possible lest we occupy our- selves with any thing that might turn our attention elsewhere." And Bucer, the friend of both Luther and Calvin, says, "Since God, with singular goodness toward us, has sanctified one day out of seven for the quickening of our faith, and so of life eternal, and blessed that day, that the sacred exercises of religion, performed on it, might be effectual to the promoting of our salvation, he verily shows himself to be a wretched despiser of his own salvation, and of the wonderful kindness of our God -toward us, and therefore utterly unworthy of our living among the people of God, who does not study to sanc- tify that day to the glorifying of his God and the furthering of his own salvation, especially since God has granted us six days for our works and employments, by which we may sup- port a present life to his glory." 49o And with reference to the maintenance of daily family prayer, he asks, — " Who, therefore, does not see, how advantageous it is to the people of Christ, that one day in seven should be so con- secrated to the exercises of rehgion, that it is not lawful (fas) to do any other kind of work than assembling in the sacred meeting, and there hear the word of God, pour out our prayers to God, make profession of faith, and give thanks to God ; present sacred offerings, receive divine sacraments, and so, with undivided application, glorify God and make in- crease in faith ? For these are the true works of religious holy days." And Melancthon, in his Catechism, numbers among the vio- lations of the sabbatical law, as now obligatory, " spending the day in feasts and sports, not in pious meditation, (for as we ought on the .sacred day to wait upon the solemnities, and the preaching of the gospel in public, so we must take heed that we be sober, and in a fit state for pious meditation,) the lead- ing away of others by our example from the public solemni- ties, and giving occasion to them for thinking lightly concerning these, the obstinate performance of works which form imped- iments to the ministry of the word and religious services." So Ursinus, in his Catechism, says, " The Sabbath is sanc- tified when holy works^such as God commands to be done, are performed on that day. On the other hand, it is profaned when either holy works are neglected, or profane works are engaged in, tending to impede the ministry and contrary to those works that belong to sanctification." Thus it appears, contrary to what some insulated passages from their writings would seem to indicate, that they incul- cated the duty of keeping the Lord's day holy, not in part only, but wholly as a sacred day ; not devoting it to needless worldly business, but to rest and spiritual employments, to at- tendance on public worship, and the performance of the various duties which would promote their sanctification and salvation. In the language of Fairbairn, (to whose work all are re- ferred who wish for a more full view of the opinions of the reformers,) " It appears, then, upon a full and careful exam- ination of the whole matter, that the reformers and the most eminent divines, for about a century after the reformation, were substantially sound upon the question of the Sabbath, in so far as concerns the obligation and practice of Christians. A very large proportion of them held that the fourth com- mandment strictly and morally binds men, in every age, to NO. II. 5 50 set apart one whole day in seven for the immediate worship and service of God. They all held the institution of the Sab- bath at the creation of the world, and as a primeval ordinance carrying with it, through all coming ages of the world, an obligation to cease every seventh day from the works proper to the other six days of labor, and to hallow it as a portion of time peculiarly connected with the glory of God. Finally, they held it to be the duty of all sound Christians to use the Lord's day as a Sabbath of rest to him, — withdrawing them- selves, not only from sin and vanity, but also from those worldly employments and recreations which belong only to a present life, and yielding themselves wholly to the public ex- ercises of God's worship, and to the private duties of devo- tion, excepting only in so far as any urgent call of necessity or mercy might come in the way to interrupt them. We avow this to be a fair and faithful representation of the senti- ments of those men upon the subject, after a patient consid- eration of what they have written concerning it. We trust we have furnished materials enough from their writings for en- abling the Christian public to concur intelligently in that repre- sentation ; and they will henceforth know how to estimate the assertions of those, who, after glancing into the works of the reformers, and picking up a few partial and disjointed state- ments, presently set themselves forth as well acquainted with the whole subject, and as fully entitled to say, that the re- formers agree with them in holding men atliberty, if they only went to church, to work, or travel, or enjoy themselves as they please, on other }»arts of the Sabbath. Such persons may be honest in representing this as the mind of the reformers ; but it must not be forgotten that their credit for honesty in this matter rests upon no better ground than that of ignorance and presumption. " There has been a wonderful agreement among all serious and godly men, in every age, regarding the spiritual and de- vout observance of the Sabbath ; and whenever great talents and learning have been combined with genuine and devoted piety, the practical result has been the same, whatever differ- ences may have sometimes existed as to the precise moral import of the fourth commandment. The keeping of the weekly Sabbath as a day of bodily rest from the cares and turmoils of life, and of undistracted application to the public and private duties of God's service, they have ever delighted in as an ordinance of life and refreshment to themselves, and regarded sis essential to the very being of vital religion in a 51 community. They have ever identified the neglect or dese- cration of the Sabbath with the dishonor of God and the de- cay of piety. Viret, who differed from the majority of his brethren in regard to the fourth commandment, not consider- ing the moral part of it to stand in the obligation to keep holy one day in seven, not only held the existence of such an ob- ligation on other grounds, and gave directions, as we have seen, for its proper discharge, but also deplored the prevailing disregard of the day, as one of the crying evils of the times, and laments its frequent desecration by worldly employments and sinful pleasures. Vitringa (on Isa. Iviii. 13) raised the same lamentation in his day. And Cowdrey (in his treatise on the Sabbath, published in 1652, p. 652) tells us that the prof- anation of the Lord's day was so notorious then among the Lutheran churches, and so much a matter of concern to their best ministers, that they could not help regarding it as one of the great provocations of the wrath that had lately be- fallen them. In short, what Owen said of the most pious divines of England in his day, may be regarded as of universal applica- tion to such divines in all countries: ' For my part, I must not only say, but plead, whilst I live in this world, and leave this testimony to the present and future ages, that, if ever I have seen any thing of the ways and worship of God, wherein the power of religion or godliness hath been expressed ; any thing that hath represented the holiness of the gospel, and the Author of it ; any thing that looked like a prelude to the everlasting Sabbath, and rest with God, which we aim through grace to come unto, — it hath been there, and with them, where, and among whom, the Lord's day hath been held in highest esteem^ and a strict observation of it attended unto, as an ordi- nance of our Lord Jesus Christ. The remembrance of their ministry, their walking and conversation, their faith and love, who in this nation have most zealously pleaded for, and have been in their persons, families, parishes, or churches, the most strict observers of this day, — will be precious with them that fear the Lord, whilst the sun and moon endure. Their doctrine also in this matter, with the blessing that attended it, was that which multitudes now at rest do bless God for, and many that are yet alive do greatly rejoice in. Let these things be despised by those who are otherwise minded ; to me they are of great weight and importance.' " It were wrong to bring our remarks on this subject to a close, without pointing to the solemn lesson furnished both to private Cliristians and to the church at large, by the melan- 52 choly consequences which soon manifested themselves as the fruit of that one doctrinal error into which some reformers did certainly fall regarding the Sabbath. For, though there was much in their circumstances to account for their falling into it, and though it left untouched, in their opinion, the obligation resting on all Christians to keep the day of weekly rest holy to the Lord, — yea, though some of them seemed to think that one day in seven was scarcely enough for such a purpose, — yet their view about the Sabbath of the fourth commandment as a Jewish ordinance, told most unfa- vorably upon the interests of religion on the continent. I have no doubt that this was the evil root from which chiefly sprung, so soon afterwards, such a mass of Sabbath desecra- tion, and which has rendered it so difficult ever since to re- store the day of God to its proper place in the feelings and observances of the people. So long as men of such zeal and piety as the reformers kept the helm of affairs, their lofty principles, and holy lives, and self-denying labors, rendered their error meanwhile comparatively innoxious. But a colder age both for ministers and people succeeded ; when men came to have so little relish for the service of God, and were so much less disposed to be influenced by the privileges of grace, than to be awed by the commands and terrors of law, that the loss of the fourth commandment, which may be said to be the only express and formal revelation of law upon the sub- ject, was found to be irreparable. The other considerations, which were sufficient to move such men of faith and piety as the reformers, fell comparatively powerless upon those who wanted their spiritual life. Strict and positive law was what they needed to restrain them, which being now in a manner removed, the religious observance of the day of God no longer pressed upon them as a matter of conscience. The evil, once begun, proceeded rapidly from bad to worse, till it laid fearfully waste the heritage of God, and scarcely left in many places so much as the form of religion. No doubt many other causes were at work in bringing about so disastrous a result ; but much was certainly owing to the error in question. And it reads a solemn and impressive warning to both ministers and people, not only to resist, to the utmost, all encroachments upon the sanctity of the Lord's day, but also to beware of weakening any of the foundations on which the obligation to keep that day is made to rest ; and here, as well as in other things, to seek with Leighton, that they may " be saved from the errors of wise men, yea, and of good men." THIRD PERMANENT DOCUMENT OF THE 5lmcrtcan anb Ioycxqw SabbatI) Hnlon. CONTENTS. Page. The great Object of the Sabbath,. . .9 Two great fundamental Institu- tions, the Family and the Sab- bath 9 Both established at the Creation,. .9 Both made for Man, and adapted to his Nature, 9 Not good for Man to be alone,. . . .9 The "Help-meet" which God made for him, 10 The Reason why he made but one. 10 The Object of making her, and giving her to the Man, 10 Its Effect on him, 10 Some not satisfied with God's Ar- rangements, 11 Reasons why for a Time God suf- fered them to depart from it,.. 11 Regulations to lessen the Effects of Wickedness no Sanction of that Wickedness, 11 Children the Property of God,.... 12 The Object of committing them to Parents, 12 The official Character of Parents,. 13 The primary Lesson of Moral Gov- ernment, 13 The Manner of teaching it to Chil- dren, 13 All Children of Common Sense can learn it, 14 God's Way of teaching it the best Way, 14 The Dictate of the Heart of God, 16 Family Government a divinely-ap- pointed Means of Grace, 17 Its Effect on the Conscience, ....17 An Introduction to, and Prepara- tion for the Government of God, 18 Sources and Mode of verbal In- struction, 18 The Voice of Nature 18 The Teaching of Revelation,... .19 The Influence of Facts from the Works and Word of God, 19 The Influences of the Holy Ghost, 21 Given by God to those that ask him, 21 The Failure of a Man's Salvation his own Fault, 22 Page. The Right, the Duty, and the Object of teaching every Child to read, 22 The Right and the Duty of readmg the Bible daily, 23 Duty, Benefits, and Necessity of Parental Example, 23 The Right and Duty of Family Prayer, 23 Its Effects on Children, 23 Echo of the Reasoning in Heav- en, ....23 Influence of Faith in God on Char- acter and Prospects, 24 The Sabbath a Family Indiiution. 25 Not good for the Family to be alone, 23 God made a •' Help-meet'' for it,. .25 A Gift to the Human Race, 25 Object and Value of that Gift, 26 Diligence in Business, if continued seven Days in a Week, destruc- tive, 26 Dissipation, Amusement, and Sloth on the Sabbath destructive,... .27 Importance of Honesty, 28 Form of the Sabbatical Command, 28 Parental and divine Government coalesce 29 Parents punished by Sabbath-break- ing Children, 29 Parents blessed by Sabbath-keep- ing Children, 29 Material and Spiritual Laws, ....30 Influence of the Sabbath on Chil- dren, 30 Influence on the Fatherless and the Widow, 34 071 Young Men. — Its Voice when a Young Man leaves, for Life, his Father's Dwelling, 35 The most hazardous Period of human Probation, 36 The Description of a Young Man,36 His making himself a Fool, 37 His voluntarily going to Hell, when he might go to Heaven,. .37 Influence of Marriage and the Sabbath, when properly treated, on Youth, 39 The final Results, 40 THIRD SABBATH DOCUMENT. One great object of Jehovah is to make known himself, and thus promote his own glory and the highest good of men. In pursuance of this object, and in the best way to promote it, he established, at the creation, two great, fundamental, and permanent institutions. The first was that of Marriage, or the union, for life, of one man and one woman, as the head of one family. The next was the Sabbath, or a day of weekly rest from worldly business and cares, and of special devo- tion to the worship of God and the promotion of the spiritual good of men. Both were established in Par- adise, before the fall, and were ^' made for man." Both are suited to his nature, adapted to his capaci- ties, and essential to the supply of his wants. They were so at the beginning ; they are so now ; and they will continue to be so, in all countries, to the end of time. They are parts of one whole, and mutually aid and sustain each other. Though created in the image of his Maker, and surrounded with every thing beautiful to the eye, charming to the ear, and delightful to the taste, it was not good that man should be alone : he was not made to be alone, with no companions but the fishes of the sea, the fowls of the air, and the beasts of the field. Though very good for the purposes for which they were made, they could not be companions for him : they could not sympathize with him ; they could not understand his feelings, or enter into and be partakers of his joys. Yet he was social, and 10 needed a friend on earth as well as in heaven ; one seen as well as one unseen ; one who would be a helpmeet for him. So God made one, and gave her to him. He received her as the gift of God, to be henceforth united to him in bonds so tender, lasting, and kind, that he said, " This is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh ; " this is a part of me. Now I am complete as a whole for the purpose for which I was made; viz., to receive the knoioledge of God, and to communicate it to others ; and thus to reflect the image and show forth the glory of Jehovah. For this cause shall a man leave his father, who begat him, and who brought him up as a child ; his mother, who nursed him, who dandled him upon her knees, and whom he loves as his own soul ; and he shall be joined to his wife, and they two shall be one — one head of one family, composed of one man and one woman. And wherefore one only ? With God was the res- idue of the Spirit ; he had all power, and could have created many women for each man : why did he create but one ? Because one was enough — all that was needed, and all that would consist with the ac- complishment, in the best manner, of the end which he had in view : — the communication of the knowl- edge of himself by parents to children, the train- ing of them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and the spreading of the blessings of salvation through the world. For this there must be one head, composed of one man and one woman, and one only ; that there may be oneness of afl"ection and judgment, oneness of counsel and eff'ort. This could be secured so perfectly in no other way. Therefore God made but one, and established marriage with but one ; for- bidding any husband to put away his wife except for that cause which he himself specified. This arrange- ment, like all the works of God, was very good — PERFECT. 11 It was, however, afterwards departed from by- wicked men, and even by some of the friends of God. In the darkness of human apostasy, and under the influence of sin, some took many wives. But God never approved of it. He never sanctioned it, or even permitted it in any such sense as to imply ap- probation. He merely suffered it on account of the hardness of their hearts, and adopted regulations suited in some measure to lessen its evils. He suffered a man to put away his wife, even the wife of his youth, by writing a bill of divorcement and putting her away that he might take others. And he suffered them, in some cases, to take many wives. But it was only on account of their wickedness that he suffered it. In the beginning it was not so : it ought never to have been so ; and had they followed the appointment of God^ it never would have been so. He always hated that putting away of one's wife, and that taking of many wives. And his adopting regulations to counteract in some measure its evils, was not designed to show that it was right, or to express any approbation of it ; but only to lessen its mischiefs till the time should come, when, by increasing light and love, it might, through grace, be forever done away, and all men return again to the good and right way of the Lord. The fact that God sometimes adopts regulations to lessen, in some measure, the evils which a wicked practice would otherwise occasion, is not to be con- strued as an approbation of the practice. It means no such thing. All that it means is, that he would in some measure counteract its evils ; while in some measure, too, he lets those evils come upon the trans- gressors, that both mercies and judgments may lead them to repentance and newness of life, that so they may escape final condemnation. That, for a time, was the case with pol^^gamy, di- vorce, and other evils, which, on account of the hard- ness of men's hearts, he suffered in days of darkness 12 and ignorance which he winked at ; but of which sins he now commandeth all men every where, on whom the true light shines, to repent, and do works meet for repentance. " And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning, made them male and female ; and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife ; and they twain shall be one flesh ? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away ? He saith unto them, Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, suff"ered you to put away your wives ; but from the beginning it was not so. And I say unto you. Who- soever shall put away his wife, except it be for forni- cation, and shall marry another, commiteth adultery ; and whoso marrieth her which is put away, doth com- mit adultery." (Matt. 19:4 — 9.) And all who repent, and follow the true light, will return to the original arrangement of one woman for one man, united for life, as the head of one family ; that they may raise up " a godly seed," and be blessed in him, in whom the families of the earth were designed to be blessed. Children are the creatures, and, as such, the prop- erty of God. He commits them to their parents as his representatives and ofiicers, to receive and train them for his service. For this purpose they are, from the beginning, privately and publicly to consecrate them to him, and early to teach them the first great lesson of his moral government — " Not my will, but thine, be done ; " that they must not be permitted to have their own way, to govern themselves, or others. They are not qualified to govern. They have not Uved long enough ; they do not know enough ; they are not good enough ; they are not strong enough. Their interest, safety, excellence, and usefulness, their 13 happiness and the happiness of others, all require that they should not govern, but be governed. Parents are God's officers to teach them this truth, which lies at the foundation of his moral government, and the practical experimental knowledge of which is essen- tial to the excellence, usefulness, and happiness of every human being. And yet every child is disposed at first to govern himself — to have his own way. No sooner does he possess and manifest desires than he is disposed to gratify them, and to oppose all who undertake to con- trol him. Yet he must be controlled, and taught to submit his will to the will of his parents. And it is an instructive fact, that there is not a child in the world, of common sense, that cannot be taught to do this ; and so early that he will never remember the time when he began to do it ; and so perfectly, too, that he will not forget it ; and so constantly, that it will, by habit, become a kind of second nature ; and so kindly, that it will, by and by, be his delight. And among his highest joys will be that of the appro- bation of his parents. He can be taught not to disobey them, as he is taught not to put his finger in the candle, which burns so brightly, looks so beautifully, and so strongly tempts every little child that sees it to take hold of it. He is warned of danger. He is told that it will burn. But having no faith and little experience, and not choosing to submit his will to that of another, he tries it, and he firids a law there — the law of God ; and a penalty — the penalty which God in love has established, prompt, uniform, and efficacious. It is a penalty suited to the nature of the child, is appro- priate to his condition, and exactly meets his wants. He does not try it again ; certainly, not often. The way of transgressors is found to be too hard to be often tried, and he learns a lesson for life : you must not touch the fire. You may look at it, and have all 2 14 the benefit of its light and heat, but you must not put your hand in it. If you do. it will burn you. There is a law there, and a penalty. These God has joined together, and no man can put them asunder. Fire will burn, and burn hard enough to make any child of common sense, very early, keep out of it. It has left its impress, and a burnt child ever after dreads the fire. This obedience to natural laws is an apprenticeship for obedience to moral laws. So, when that child is old enough to understand what is meant, and is told not to disobey his mother, or his father ; that it is not safe ; that it will give him pain, — suppose he tries it, and the parent does his duty, the child will find a law there, and a penalty, both of God's appointment ; namely, this — " Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying." If it be needful, and nothing else will do, " withhold not correction from the child, for though thou beat him with a rod he shall not die : thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt save his soul from hell." This is the great object of family govern- ment, to save children from hell, and fit them for heaven. " He that spareth the rod," when it is neces- sary to keep his child from knowingly and wilfully disobeying his parent, " hateth his child ; " that is, he acts as if he hated him ; he takes the way to ruin him. But the parent that loveth him with the love that God requires, and acts according to the dictates of heavenly wisdom, " chasteneth him betimes." He does it early — as soon as it is needed. He does it uniformly and kindly. He does it promptly and firmly. He does it thoroughly, and thus he does it effica- ciously. He does not wait till the child has become a rebel of long standing, and, by fixed habits of treason against lawful authority, become obdurate, and his heart like the nether millstone. He takes him while young and tender, before he has learned the tactics of war, or acquired by practice the arts of self-defence. 15 III no pitched battle does he ever allow him to con- quer, or to come off doubtful as to the result, both parties claiming the victory, and both provoking each other to wrath and future contests. No ; he settles the question, once for all. The parent has the power, he has the right, he has the authority, he has the opportunity ; upon him rests the obligation ; and his Avili be the guilt, and his the condemnation, if he does not have the victory ; and so decisively that the conquered shall feel it, and ac- knowledge it, and henceforth understand that to con- tend with Heaven-appointed parental authority, power,, and love, is hopeless. The wisdom and the goodness, the strength and the patience, the firmness and the perseverance, are all comparatively, when the parent does his duty, on one side. If the little, selfish, imbecile thing will contend with any hope of success, it must be with his equal ; but woe to him that contendeth with parents, the di- vinely-appointed representatives of his Maker, in the great, the glorious, the everlastingly momentous work of applying the great principles of Jehovah's govern- ment, according to his will, to the souls which he has made, and by the blood of his only-begotten Son re- deemed, that they may be forever to the praise of the glory of his infinite grace. In that contest is torment — prompt, continued, and great enough to lead every child of common sense, early, very early, to cease from pursuing it. And if for a moment it is tempted to renew the conflict, it foreseeth the evil, and escapeth it. Or if it be so simple as to pass on and renew the contest, the parent that suffers it to usurp and retain the reins of government, is recreant to his duty to the child, to himself, to the community, and to God ; and nought but grace divine, triumphing over guilt of a crimson dye, can save him or his children from per- dition. Nor does the teaching of a child even by the rod, No. 3. 6 16 if it be necessary in order to lead it promptly and habitually to submit its will to the will of its parent, imply any want of wisdom, or affection, intelligence, or refinement. It is the dictate of them all. As well might a man contend that the law of fire and its pen- alty indicate a want of wisdom or kindness in their Author. They are the dictate of both, and are adapted to the nature and condition of every child of Adam. So with family government. The voice comes from the heart of God, saying, " Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his cry- ing." That is, do this if it be necessary to take the government out of the hand of the child, and place it, by mutual consent, permanently in the hand of the parent, where God designed and commanded that it should be placed, and where the good of the universe requires that it should be continued, in order that^he government of God in due time may have its legitimate effect on the children, and through them on their chil- dren, and all who in time or eternity may feel their influence. Parental government is sometimes treated as if it were a small or trivial affair. Through carelessness, or imbecility, false affection, or sloth, or on account of covetous devotion to the world, it is suffered to slip out of the hands of parents, or they neglect to use it, and suffer it to be taken and retained by the children. This is treason against the King of heaven, and against the welfare of the universe. Here is an heir of immortality starting on his course of endless being, to rise forever higher and higher in excellence, usefulness, and bliss, or sink deeper and deeper in debasement, infamy, and woe. All for eter- nity depends upon his saying voluntarily, cheerfully, and habitually to his heavenly Parent, " Not my will, but thine, be done." Earthly parents are his repre- sentatives, who, by teaching the child thus to submit 17 his will to theirs, are to prepare hitn to submit his will to the will of God. One is an apprenticeship for the other ; and if not secured, all may be lost, irre- trievably lost. It is to be secured without correction, if it can be ; but if it cannot be, no needful correction is to be withheld. Secured it must be ; and, wherever parents obey God, secured it will be, and there be in each family but one head ; and that, not the children, but the parents — that united and divinely-appointed head of father and mother. Their voice, echoing the voice of God, will come as one having authority. And though uttered in meekness, and answered in love, it will govern. That government, administered in love, will awaken, secure, and perpetuate love ; and the family, under its guidance, with the blessing of God, will become a nursery for heaven. The effects of it will show that parental government " was made for man." It is adapted to his nature in the morning of life, and essential to his present and future good. Obedience on the part of the children, by habit, uniform and kind, will by and by become easy, and even delightful. They will not need, like the horse and mule, to be held in and guided with bit and bridle. They may be guided by the eye. A look, or a motion, a wish expressed in any way, is suffi- cient. They hear a voice within echoing the voice of God, '^ Children, obey your parents, for that is right." Conscience echoes, " That is right." And the soul, if it does not obey, feels guilty. Though surrounded with the darkness of midnight, and seen by no mor- tal eye, if it does what it knows is forbidden by its father or its mother, it condemns itself. The foot- steps of its parent make it feel somewhat as Adam felt, when he heard the voice of his Father among the trees of the garden, and sought to hide ; and per- haps it will try to sew fig-leaves together to cover its shame. Moral government has begun; the govern- 2* 18 ment of God ; a preparation for, and an introduction to, which is, by divine appointment, the government of earthly parents. Oq the basis of this, when they come to know Him who made them, and who has nourished and brought them up as children, a voice from heaven will be heard, saying, " If I be a father, where is mine honor ? and if I be a master, where is my fear ? " And they will be much more likely in future life to have that fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom, and that good understanding which is imparted to all who obey him, than they would have been if they had not been taught thus early, promptly, habitually, and conscientiously, to obey their earthly parents. The question of government having thus been settled, another part of the duty of parents towards their children, in order to accomplish the end for which families were made, is oral instruction, or the communication of knowledge by word of mouth, es- pecially the knowledge of God their Creator, Re- deemer, and Sanctifier ; the knowledge of themselves, their relations and duties, and the consequences of performing those duties or of neglecting them. The mode of communication should be, not in set forms, or at stated periods merely, but "line upon line and precept upon precept, here a little and there a little," as they are able to bear it. In the house and by the way, when they lie down and when they rise up, parents must communicate knowledge as there is time and opportunity, and as the children are prepared to receive and use it to advantage. These instructions must be drawn from the works, the word, and the providence of God. To the child as well as the man, when rightly taught, " the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handy work. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge." Though they do not speak in audible language, yet they speak to 19 the mind and the heart, and in such a manner that *' the invisible things of God, from the creation of the world, may be clearly seen by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead ; " so that they will be left " without excuse," who do not love and adore him. The wondrous facts which meet them at the opening of the Bible, that ''in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that in them is ; " that " the things which are seen were not made of things which appear," but were created ; that *' he spake, and it was done, he commanded, and it stood iast," saying, " Let there be light, and there was light," — let there be a firmament, and there was a firmament, — cannot be communicated to children, and believed by them, without producing a strong im- pression. They will feel what the revelation of these facts was designed to make them feel, — that " Jehovah is a great God, and a great King above all gods : in his hand are the deep places of the earth : the strength of the hills is his also : the sea is his ; he made it, and his hands formed the dry land." The consequence is, as the little child may see. ''the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." He owns them by the highest possible title, and he has a per- fect right to govern and dispose of them according to his pleasure ; for he is not only great, but also wise and good. The earth is full of the riches of his goodness ; so is the great and wide sea wherein are things creeping innumerable, and where goeth that leviathan which he hath made to play therein. These all wait upon him, and he giveth them their meat in due season. All his works praise him, and those who know his character and ways are bound to bless him; for he openeth his hand, and supplieth the wants of every living thing. This children, even little children, in view of the 20 facts, may feel. He thought of them before he made them, and thought of them in love. He provided kind arms to embrace them when they came into the world ; kind hearts to love them, and hands to feed and to clothe them. The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works. He is good to them, as every parent may and ought to show them, and thus, through nature, lead them up to nature's Ood. All the blessings which they receive through their parents come from him. Thus, day by day, he gives them their daily bread ; watches over them in health, heals them in sickness, and takes care of them as his children : when they slumber, and their parents are asleep, unconscious, and can protect neither them- selves nor their children, their Father in heaven, who never slumbers or sleeps, takes care of them. Never for a moment, since they were born, has he ceased to do them good. Though they have often forgotten him, and sinned against him, — have done those things which they ought not to have done, and left undone those things which they ought to have done ; though they have evil hearts of unbelief in departing from the living God : and though all men have gone out of the right way, and there are none naturally dis- posed to do what is spiritually good, no, not one, yet he has not destroyed them. But when through their rebellion against him they were lost, and there was no eye to pity and no arm to save, his eye pitied, and his arm brought salvation. He so loved them, even in their enmity against him, that he gave his dearly-beloved and only-begotten Son to die for them, the just for the unjust, that whoso- ever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life. And now he offers them all the blessings of his salvation, freely, without money and without price. The wicked of every description may forsake their ways, and the unrighteous their thoughts, and turn 21 unto the Lord, who will have mercy upon them, and unto our God, who will abundantly pardon. Though their sins were as scarlet, they shall be white as snow ; though they were red like crimson, they shall become as wool. From all their filthiness and their idols he will cleanse them ; a new heart he will give them, and a new spirit put within them : he will take away the heart of stone, the hard, unfeeling heart, and give them a heart of flesh, one that is easily moved by the knowledge of his truth ; that is penitent for sin, and grateful for mercies ; that looks unto Jesus, who bore our sins in his own body on the tree ; and, trusting in him for salvation and all needed good, finds rest, and peace, and joy. Thus is God in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, but forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. And the more the soul of the child knows of itself, the more it will feel its need of Christ and his salva- tion ; and the more it will appreciate the truth, that he is exalted to give repentance and remission of sins. The Holy Ghost also is provided, to take of the things of Christ and show them unto men ; to work in them both to will and to do, and to fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, even the work of faith, love, joy, peace, long-sufi"ering, gentleness, goodness, meekness, and temperance, with great power. These things may all be in them, while young, and abound, and be manifested to his glory, their good, and the good of all who may feel their influence ; and through their instrumentality multitudes may be led to glorify their Father in heaven. Thus out of the mouths of babes and sucklings he may perfect his praise. Ready as earthly parents are to give good gifts to their children, as such children have often experi- enced, more ready is God to give the Holy Spirit, and all needed good, to them that ask him. " He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us 22 all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things ? " The consequence is, every individual, as soon as he knows these facts, is bound to believe on him, and to ask, that he may receive the Holy Spirit ; to seek, that he may find ; and to knock, that the door of mercy may be opened unto him. And so ready is God to give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him, that every one that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh the door is opened. Of course, if any one to whom the way of life is made known fails of being converted from the error of his ways to the wisdom of the just, and obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, it will be his own fault. It will be because he did not choose the fear of the Lord, would none of his counsel, and despised his reproof. He will eat the fruit of his own way. And it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon, and even for Sodom and Gomorrah, in the day of judgment, than it will be for him. The angels will come forth and sever the wicked from among the just, and cast them into a furnace of fire, and there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. All that are in their graves shall hear his voice and come forth ; they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil to the resurrection of damnation. Such are some of the truths of the Bible, which m due time, in suitable proportion, and in proper ways, parents are bound to communicate to their chil- dren ; that they may have that fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom, and that good under- standing which is imparted to those that obey him. But they must not rest satisfied with the communi- cation of those truths, or any of the truths of the Bible, by word of mouth merely, or on their own authority. They must teach their children to read, that they may search the Scriptures for themselves, 23 and thus hear the voice of God in his word, declaring the same great truths ; that their faith may stand, not in the wisdom or on the authority of men, but on the testimony of God. They must also teach them to read some portion of his truth daily ; and ask him by prayer and sup- plication for the teaching of his Spirit, that they may understand, believe, and obey it, and that it may thus be spirit and life to their souls. In order to secure the performance of these duties by their children, parents must daily read the Bible themselves, and pray, not only in secret, but in their families. All the family must assemble and hearken to the voice of their common God and Father ; bow before him in confession of their sins, and in humble supplication for his mercy ; render thanks for his benefits, and ask of him the blessings which they need for the body and the soul, for time and eternity, especially the blessings of his grace, that they may all be made wise unto salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. And in the duties and events of the day, parents must manifest those feelings of supreme regard to God and good-will to men, the duty of exercising which they inculcate on their children ; and must set them an example of living, not unto themselves, but unto Him who died for them and rose again. Under the influence of such government, instruc- tion, and example, they may expect, with the blessing of God, that their children will know him, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent ; and will become followers of those who through faith and patience are now in- heriting the promises, where they hunger no more, neither thirst any more ; where the Lamb leads them to fountains of living water, and wipes away all tears from their eyes. For having been enlightened and trained up in the way they should go, by the good government, instruction, and example of parents, ac- 24 cording to the will of God, conscience will speak for him ; and the children will learn to reason as they do in heaven, and as those who are tiiere did when on earth : '' If we have had fathers of our flesh who cor- rected us, and we gave them reverence, shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits, and live ? " not merely for fifty or seventy years, as men sometimes exist on earth, but forever and ever — heirs too, not to that which shall perish with the using, and which parents often toil day and night to lay up for their children, but to an inheritance uicorruptible, undefiled,and which shall never fade away ? And, if rebellion against earthly parents, who have nourished and brought up their children, is guilt so awful, that " the eye that mocketh at his father and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it," of how much sorer punishment will they be thought worthy, who, amidst the overflowings of infinite kind- ness and the wonders of boundless grace, continue to rebel against their Father in heaven ? Surely it must be a fearful thing for them to fall into the hands of the living God, who hath said, " Vengeance is mine: I will repay." And as, through faith m his word, they see him bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly, and setting forth the inhabitants of Sodom for examples, suff'ering the vengeance of eter- nal fire ; and see the wicked at the day of judgment going away into everlasting punishment, and the right- eous into life eternal ; and at the same time see Jehovah, now on a throne of mercy, inviting even the chief of sinners to come unto him and live, — they may through grace be moved to flee for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before them ; to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly ; looking unto Jesus, the Author and Fmisher of faith, who, for the joy set before him, endured even the cross, despising the shame, and is now at the right 25 hand of Majesty on high. Of his fulness they may receive, even grace for grace. He will then guide them by his counsel, and afterwards receive them to glory, where they will see him as he is, be like him, and with him rise from glory to glory, through end- less being. . Such are the effects of family government, instruc- tion, and example, accompanied by the Spirit of God ; and eternity will not be too long to illustrate his wis- dom and goodness in the establishment of families, and in the grace manifested through them to the souls of men. But, were there no other institution but the family, there icould he no such government, instruction, and example, as have been above illustrated, nor icould their blessings ever come upon the world. Though wise and good, and worthy, in all respects, of its divine Author, the family arrangement alone would fail of accomplishing its high and mometitons purpose. Of the fatnily, therefore, as well as of individual man, it may be said, it was not good that it should be ahne. It would not, in that state, accomplish the end for which it was established, viz., the raising up of a '•godly seed,-' increasing from generation to genera- tion, till they should be a multitude that no man can number, bearing the image, reflecting the likeness, and showing forth the glory of their redeeming God. God, therefore, in prosecution of his plan of mercy, made '' a help meet " for the family, and gave it to the race ; that, under its influence, men might be fitted for the purpose for which they were made : To know Jehovah as their Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier, and communicate that knowledge to others, that through its influence they may be prepared for his service on earth, and the joys of his presence in heaven. That help meet for the family was the Sabbath. " I gave them my Sabbaths to be a sign between me 3 26 and them, that they might know that I am Jehovah, that doth sanctify them." This was what they needed, and what, to accomplish the end for which they were made, they must have. And they must observe it, or they will fail of its benefits. Hence the command, '' Hallow (that is, keep, observe in a sacred manner) my Sabbaths, and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that 1 am Jehovah your Gody The proper observance of that day will be instrumental in communicating this knowledge, and in rendering it efficacious over their hearts and lives ; especially when, from earliest child- hood, they have been, by their parents, uniformly trained up in that way. But let men work seven days in a week, or be employed continuously in worldly business and cares, from month to month, and year to year, without days for rest and spiritual duties, and they will remain igno- rant of God as their Sanctifier, and destitute of that holiness without which they cannot enjoy him. Their children will not be governed or instructed ac- cording to his will ; nor will they be trained up in the way they should go. You may give them the Bible, but they will not read it. You may preach the gos- pel, but they will not hear it. You may circulate religious tracts, but they will be neglected ; or, if they are sometimes read, and seem for a moment to make an impression, unless they lead men to keep the Sabbath, the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches., and the pride of life, will choke all, and render it unfruitful. The good word of the kingdom will be as water falling upon a rock, and making no im- pression. It will be as seed sown by the wayside, which the fowls of the air pick up ; or among thorns, which spring up and choke it; or on stony places, where it has no depth of earth, and it will wither away. '-Si Jocrrs r' Though diligence in business^ useful, appropriate 27 business, six cays in a week, is a duty, and, next to true religion, is the great safeguard of man, especially in youth, — although it is required by God, and is the appropriate manifestation of true religion, — yet ^/, against the known xoill of God, it is continued unin- terruptedly seve?i days in a loeek, for the purpose of making money, it will, notwithstanding all the means of grace, drown m.en in destruction and perdition. Or, if they stop their business on the Sabbath only to spend the day in idleness and sloth, in travelling, amusements, dissipation, and wickedness, this will work out damnation. All the efforts of infinite kind- ness for their restoration to holiness, and preparation for heaven, will be counteracted ; worldly-minded they will live, and worldly-minded they will die. With carnal hearts they will go to the judgment, and reap the fruit of everlasting enmity to God. Hence the command, obedience to which was re- quired by all that is blissful in heaven, and all that is agonizing in hell : " My Sabbaths ye shall keep ; for it is a sign between me and you, throughout your generations, that ye may know that I am Jehovah, that doth sanctify you." ''Ye shall keep the Sab- bath therefore, for it is holy unto you." " Six days may work be done, but on the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord." "For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed." To hedge up the way against the violation of the Sabbath, and to make it not only the duty, but for the interest of men, physically and morally, to keep it, God has made both man and beast with a nature that cannot be employed continuously seven days in a week to advantage, or without the diminution of health and the curtailing of life. He has also made but six days in a week for secu- lar business and cares; has given to men no more, and has rendered it impossible for them to take any No. 3. 7 28 more, without taking what is not theirs, and thus showing that they are at heart dishonest ; and by acting out that dishonesty, exerting a most deleteri- ous influence on themselves and others. In addition to this, he has written with his own finger, and placed on a permanent record, among fundamental, unchan- ging and universal laws, the moral obligation which grows out of this nature of things, which he has es- tablished ; and has proclaimed, in the most explicit and positive manner, his command, saying, " Remem- ber the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy luork ; but the seventh day " (which is the day that comes next after the sixth working day) "is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God : in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid ser- vant, nor thy cattle, nor the stranger that is within thy gates," or under thy control. From the form of this command, addressed as it is to the head of the family, requiring all under his con- trol to keep it, it is evident that it is a family insti- tution. Like the obedience of children to their parents, God has made it the duty of the head of the family to see that it is observed. And one great object that God had in view in the establishment of family government was, that through its influence the obser- vance of the Sabbath might be secured, and thus its benefits be obtained by the children. Hence, before they are old enough to know that there is a Sabbath, or even a God, they must be taught to obey their parents; and the habit must be so firmly fixed, that Avhen they come to know God and the Sabbath, obe- dience to their parents, as well as obedience to God, will lead them to keep it. If they do not, but openly violate it, sentence against that evil work must be ex- ecuted speedily, as it must be when they disobey the known command of their father or their mother, and as it is when they put their hand into the fire. 29 If nothing else will prevent it, parents who obey God will cJiasten them betimes, while there is hope, and not spare for their crying. With regard to the Sabbath, the government of the parents and the government of God coalesce : one is the means of preparing the children for , and securing their obedience to the other. It is the great institu- tion, through the influence of which those who have been trained into the habit of obeying their parents are to be initiated into the habit of obeying God ; so that by practice, while they are young, it may become so firmly fixed, that when they become old they will not depart from it. And it is the institution which God blesses for that purpose, and without the obser- vance of which they will never become accustomed to obey him, or receive those blessings which that obedience confers. Of course, parents who do not require their children to keep the Sabbath, but who suffer them openly and habitually to profane it, are not only disobeying God themselves, but are taking the course which is adapted to perpetuate everlasting disobedience in their children. If it be continued, he may say of them as he did to Eli, ^' I will do a thing at which the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle ; " because their children made them- selves vile, and they restrained them not. On the one hand, many a parent, as a punishment for his sin in allowing the breaking of the Sabbath by his children, whom, when young, he did not restrain, in after life has had his gray hairs brought down with sorrow to the grave. On the other hand, parents not a few, who accus- tomed their children, when young, promptly and uni- formly to obey them ; and who, when they became old enough to understand, communicated to them a knowledge of the character and will of God, and of their relations and duties to him who set them a good example, and who accustomed them to keep the 3* 30 Sabbath holy, and spend it in worshipping Jehovah, and in learning, for the purpose of doing, his will, have had the unspeakable joy of seeing them, in after life, walking in the truth, growing up in the fear and love of God, and in the esteem and confidence of men, to be ornaments to society, pillars in the church, and benefactors to the world. There is something in the nature of the Sabbath, and in the effect which the proper keeping of it has on the minds of children, which is adapted to produce these results. In addition to this, there is the special blessing of God which he bestows upon those who thus observe it, in fulfilment of his promise, "Those who honor me I will honor." As the earth, prepared of God, and treated by men according to his appointment, brings forth fruit, first the blade, then the ear, and then the full corn in the ear, so the Sabbath, with its means of grace, in the closet, in the family, in the house of God, treated ac- cording to his appointment, under his blessing, is in- strumental in bringing forth and maturing fruits of righteousness to the praise of the glory of his grace. Sons and daughters are born of the Spirit, and pre- pared for glory, honor, immortality, and eternal life. No one can witness the effects of the keeping of the Sabbath on little children, and follow its influence up through youth and riper years, without feeling that it was made for them by Him who made them, and understood perfectly their character, condition, and wants. As a means of making known God, and of enlightening, renewing, and sanctifying souls, it is, indeed, '' very good." It speaks as with a thousand tongues of the wisdom and goodness of its Author ; and in harmony with angelic strains, proclaims, "Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good-will to men." Its calm and heavenly stillness, when, after six days of labor and amusement, the activity, bustle, noise, and tumult of worldliness die away, speaks of 31 God. And as the Sabbath sun rises in his glory, and no man goes forth to labor, and all creation seems to listen, there is not an obedient child in the world, who knows the reason of this, and has been taught his duty, who does not feel more than he did before the omnipresence of Jehovah, and have a more operative conviction that he sees every thing, and hears every thing, and knows every thing, and is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity. Earth becomes like the house of God, and the Sabbath like the gate of heaven. It seems to raise a ladder like that of Jacob, and to show him angels ascending and descending upon it. He can hardly forbear to say, " Surely God is in this place." For him, in keeping the Sabbath, so to play the fool as to say even in heart, '' No God," is next to impossible. It would be like clinging to dark- ness when the sun shines. The darkness will flee away ; or if on any spot it stops, the light shows the contrast, and makes the darkness look darker. Many a one who, in the business and sports of the week, has forgotten his Maker, or knowingly sinned against him, on the Sabbath has felt guilty. And if he would not repent, he wished to^ break its stillness, for it condemned him. Above, around, beneath, all seemed full of God. Whither could he go from his Spirit, or whither flee from his presence? Should he go up into heaven, God is there ; or descend into the depths, he is there ; should he take the wings of the morning, and fly to the uttermost parts of the earth, there would his hand lead him, and his right hand would hold him. Or should he say that the darkness would cover him, the darkness would shine as the day : the darkness and the light are both alike to Him. Hence, to one who is wicked, knowingly and pre- sumptuously wicked, and means to continue so, the Sabbath, with its sacred stillness and its holy duties, is a burden, and a burden often too great to bear. He throws himself down, and tries to forget all in 32 sleep ; or he engages in worldly conversation or reading ; or walks abroad ; goes to the livery stable, and gets a horse and carriage for a ride ; or plunges into dissipation, vice, and folly ; or if that is wicked- ness too gross, he sits uneasy, sighing, " O, what a weariness ! " " when will the Sabbath be gone, that we may buy, and sell, and get gain ! " But in such cases, there has ordinarily been light long resisted ; or such persons have not been rightly taught to obey their parents, or instructed by them into the duty of obeying God. They have not been trained in the way they should go. It may be that the parents have not daily prayed with them, and for them ; have not from the beginning accustomed them to keep the Sabbath, or set them the example, and gone with them habitually to the house of God. Or they may not have duly felt their dependence on him, or sought the blessings of his Spirit, to render their efforts for the salvation of their children suc- cessful. But where parents do their duty, and children, in affectionate kindness, hearken to instruction, the Sab- bath is "a delight^ the holy of the Lord, and honor- able." Its stillness assists them in their contempla- tions, and in their efforts to learn his will. As they assemble around the family altar, and bow with their parents in adoration and praise, and think, it may be, of the loved one who once was with them, but is now in heaven, they anticipate " the rest which re- maineth for the people of God." The cleanliness of person, the tidiness of apparel, as they implore the blessing and partake of the boun- ties of their heavenly Father ; the sound of the church-going bell, the congregating assembly, and the union in songs of praise ; the voice of prayer, the reading and hearing of the Scriptures, the exposition by the minister of the oracles of God, and the in- structions drawn from them which he communicates 33 to the people, giving to parents and to children, to old men and matrons, young men and maidens, their por- tion in due season ; all are calculated to make a salu- tary, an all-pervading, and a lasting impression — one that goes deep in the formation of character, and which neither time nor eternity will efface. It is like the influence of a pure atmosphere upon physical health. It awakens and invigorates, deepens and renders per- manent, moral and religious impressions. Like good seed on good ground, it springs up, and brings forth thirty, sixty, and a hundred-fold. Not a few have said in truth, of the place in which they worshipped with their parents, " I have been there, and still would go ; 'Tis like a little heaven below ; At once they sing, at once they pray ; They hear of heaven, and learn the way." Nor do they, trained up under that influence, merely " learn the way ; " often, very often, they are in- clined to take it ; and they find it by experience to be a way of pleasantness and a path of peace. It grows, as they proceed in it, brighter and brighter, till the light of the moon becomes like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun as the light of seven days. They obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing flee away. And even if, as is sometimes the case, while young, their father, protector, and guide is taken from them, their mother is a widow, sorrowful and desolate, and her children are fatherless, yet '* a God of the widow and father of the fatherless " is Jehovah in their habitation. Though their father has forsaken them, He takes them up, and is often more to them than what he has taken from them ; and he does more for them than their earthly father could have done, or God would have done through him, had he lived. Through the influence of their mother, whom they are now accustomed to obey as the head of the fam- 34 ily ; with whom they unite in daily devotion, think of their father, and feel their need of a Father in heaven ; with whom they go on the Sabbath to the house of God, and sit where their father sat, hear the pastor, and worship the God whom he loved, God has raised up, without the father, in every generation, some of the inost worthy and most useful of the hu- man family. The Sabbath was made for the fatherless and the widow, the orphan, and those who have no earthly helpers. It is the day for communing with the Father of their spirits, the Former of their bodies, and the Giver of all their blessings ; when he communes with them, manifests himself to them, and teaches them so to seek him that they shall not want any good thing. So with all the families of the earth. Let parents govern their children, teach them the will of God, and set them a holy example ; let them keep the Sabbath and reverence the sanctuary, not forsak- ing the assembling of themselves together, but saying, in word and in deed, " O, come, let us worship ; let us kneel and bow down before Jehovah our Maker ; for we are the sheep of his pasture, and the people of his hand : " let them conscientiously abstain from worldly business, travelling, and amusements, habitually at- tend public worship, and keep the day, from the be- ginning to the end, holy to the Lord ; let them hear and obey his will, and, through his grace, the great object which he had in view in the establishment of families, will be accomplished. They will know him as their God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent. They will be sanctified by his Spirit, and made meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints. Under this influence, and by the operation of his Spirit, " The gospel bids the dead revive ; Sinners obey the voice and live ; Dry bones are raised and clothed afresh, And hearts of stone are turned to flesh." 35 This is God's way to communicate to men, especially to the young, that knowledge of himself and of his Son which is life eternal ; causing that knowledge to be efficacious in giving such views, awakening such thoughts, inspiring such feelings, and leadxUg to such conduct, as shall promote excellence and useful- ness on earth, and endless life and glory in heaven. Nor is the influence of the keeping of the Sabbath confined to families, or to children while under the guidance of their parents. It accompanies the youth when he leaves his father's house, and goes out, for life, into the world. In his plans and his efforts, his business and his cares, his dangers and his duties, his trials and his joys, it is a guardian angel ; whispering continually in his hearing, concerning intelligence and virtue, truth and right, " This is the way ; walk ye in it." '' Keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother ; bind them con- tinually upon thy heart, and tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead thee ; when thou sleep- est, it shall keep thee ; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee." " The Lord giveth wisdom ; out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understand- ing. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous, and is a buckler to them that walk uprightly." " Keep his commandments ; for length of days, and long life, and peace shall they add to thee. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee ; bind them about thy neck, write them upon the table of thy heart ; so shalt thou find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man." " In the way of righteous- ness is life, and in the pathway thereof there is no death." A youth leaves his father's dwelling for a distant city. There he enters into business, and soon finds himself involved in all the labors, and cares, and anxieties of active life. Buoyant with hope, borne on by expectation, and flushed, it may be, with sue- 36 cess^ he presses forward in his enlarged and enlar- ging schemes of business, till he is in danger of being swallowed up in them. Occasionally, for a moment, he turns his eye towards home, and thinks of his father and his mother ; but by no means with that frequency, steadiness, and intensity with which they think of him. They wonder how he does, when far away from the society of parents, brothers, and sisters ; in company only with strangers or new-made acquaint- ances. They do not forget him at the throne of mercy, in their private or family devotions, but com- mend him to the merciful guidance and keeping of Him from whom they received him, and to whom, from his birth, he was devoted. If a person arrive from that city, he is met with the anxious inquiry, " Do you know ?" "Yes, I know him well ; he resides but a few doors from me." " How is he doiug ? " "I believe well — very well." And suppose they hear in addition, " There is one thing which I have observed always promises well for a young man. He never opens his store, or goes down to it, on the Sabbath. He never goes out to ride, or visits places of amusement or dis- sipation on that day. He is always at church, morn- ing and evening." How safe, comparatively, those parents feel, and how delighted! They do not expect to hear any thing very bad of their son. While he keeps the Sabbath, they hope and expect that the God of the Sabbath will keep him. For that is God's way to keep men, and even young men, in that tnost trying and dangerous of all periods^ from the titne lohen they leave their father'' s dioelling^ and the endearments and restraints of home, to the time when they obtain that last best earthly gift — a prudent wife from the Lord, and have a family of their own to throw its kind endearments around them, and Jill them with the riches of its bliss. But suppose they hear the following answer to 37 their affectionate and anxious inquiry : '' I do not know. I am not much acquainted with him. He does not reside near me, nor does he associate much with our sort of people. There is one thing, how- ever, which always makes me fearful about a young man — he does not keep the Sabbath. I observe, he sometimes opens his store on that day, or goes down to it. He sometimes rides out, or goes to places of amusement. He is not in the habit of attending church." What will those parents hear next? None can tell. It may be, that he has failed in business ; or that he has become intemperate, or licentious, or in other respects abandoned ; that he is a gambler, or a thief, or has committed some enormous crime. There is no safety to the young man who does NOT keep the Sabbath. He has forsaken God, and turned from his ways. He is on the devil's ground, tempting that old murderer to tempt him, provoking God to leave him in his hands to eat the fruit of his own way, and to be filled with his devices. Thus many a youth, before whom was opened the path of life, that " way of pleasantness," that " path of peace." has voluntarily turned aside and gone down to death. He had within him an evil heart of unbelief, in de- parting from the living God. He may have uttered or echoed to himself the old serpent's lie. " Thou shalt not surely die ; " or flattered himself that it was the part of manly independence to trample on the Sabbath ; to look upon the wine when it is red, and giveth its color in the cup ; or indulge those propen- sities which God has implanted in our nature for wise and beneficent purposes, but the gratification of which he has restricted to the limits which his wisdom and goodness have prescribed, and lohich he has solemnly commanded should be confiiied to inarried life. In defiance or forgetfulness of God, the heedless youth may have chosen — foolishly, meanly, and wickedly 4 38 chosen — to follow her "whose mouth is smoother than oil, bat whose end is bitter as wormwood ; " " whose feet go down to death, and whose steps take hold on hell ; " "whose house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead ; " whose " house is the way to hell, leading down to the chambers of death." But he will find that as the fishes are caught in an evil net, and as birds are caught in a snare, so he has been taken by the destroyer, and snared with a bait, which " at the last biteth like a serpent and stingeth like an adder." Her voice was "the poison of drag- ons, and the cruel venom of asps ; " " the adder's poison was under her lips." " The dead are there, and her guests are in the depths of hell." " None that go in unto her return again, neither take they hold of the path of life." Let any man^ young or old, despise or trample on Marriage, that great fundamental institution ivhica God established to secure a?id perpetuate the existence and social purity of our race, and through which to make known himself and majiifest his goodness to man ; and let hi?n seek those gratifications without^ which it is his revealed will should be enjoyed only loithin its sacred enclosure ; or let him openly and presumptuously neglect and desecrate the Sabbath, that other great and fundamental institution, which, like marriage, God established at the creation, as a help meet for families, and through ivhose halloived influences they can alone accomplish the end for lohich they were established ; and as certainly as God reig7is in heaven, who judgeth upon the earth, such men, eve7i here, will be visited with his curse. He has es- tablished laws, fixed as the pillars of his throne, which no mortal can annul or evade, by which those sins, continued, will work out destruction. If they do not lead, as is often the case, to other gross outward crimes, which bring the culprit to an untimely end, they will keep him away, ordinarily, 39 from the remedial influences of the gospel, and all the appointed means of grace, or, if continued, will counteract their efficacy and prevent their saving eftects — an evil infinitely greater than the loss of all merely earthly things. Such men may expect to live in impenitence, and in impenitence to die ; in hard- ness of heart and blindness of mind to go to the judgment, and under accumulated treasures of wrath to sink to an awfully aggravated condemnation. But let a man, even a young maUj in this most perilous period of his probation, keep in mind the lessons of heavenly wisdom ; let him hear God say, " Whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and. be quiet from the fear of evil ; " and to the inquiry, '' Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way ? " let him hear his answer, " By taking heed thereto ac- cording to thy word; " let him treat the word of God as " a lamp to his feet, and a light to his path ; " let him keep the Sabbath day holy, as a day of worship and of spiritual improvement ; let him regard mar- riage as the institution of God, a holy union of one man with one woman for life ; let him seek of the Lord, and use proper means to obtain a suitable com- panion for himself, and enter into that state early after he is settled for life in his appropriate business, — and he will find that he has indeed, beyond what he could in any other course, "obtained favor of the Lord." He will know, from their blessed effects, that both Marriage and the Sabbath were " made for man," and are conducive, in the highest degree, to his present and future good, and the good of all who may feel his influence. While those who despise either of these institutions despise their own mercies, con- temn the wisdom and goodness of Jehovah, and oppose the advancement of his glory and the great interests of the universe. But they who regard these institutions, and treat them according to the revealed will of God, will more and more taste and see con- No. 3. 8 40 tiniially of his wisdom and goodness, and will be- come co-workers with him in promoting the great object for which he stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, made man, gave his Son as a Savior, and the Holy Spirit as a Sanctifier, and appointed the preaching and ordinances of the gospel, and is carrying on all his operations in the kingdoms of nature, providence, and grace. And when the final results shall be unfolded, and great voices shall be heard, as the voice of many waters and of mighty thunderings, from multitudes that no man can number, crying, "Glory to God in the highest," they will be witnesses of his ^^ good-will to men,^^ and will mingle their ascriptions with those of all who have believed on and obeyed him, of blessing, AND HONOR, AND GLORY, AND POWER, UNTO HiM THAT SITTETH ON THE THRONE, AND UNTO THE LaMB FOR- EVER AND EVER. FOURTH PERMANENT DOCUMENT or THE 3lmeruan anb Joretgn SabbatI) Hnlon. CONTENTS. PAGE Objects of preceding Numbers, 1 Directions of God with regard to the proper mode of keep- ing the Sabbath, 6 His care for servants and beasts of burden, 7 The nature of man and beast,. . 8 The penalty of death, tempo- rary, 8 Law maxim, ' Noscitur a sociis,' 9 Difference between laws and penalties, 10 Effects of keeping the Sabbath, 11 Momentous question answered, 13 Effects of breaking the Sabbath, 14 Reasons why the Sabbath is so important, 15 The doctrine of Christ with re- gard to the Sabbath 16 Reasons why the Jews opposed him........... 22 Jewish traditions, 23 The manner in which Christ treated them, 25 The teachings of Paul, 2 Cor. iii. 2, etc., 26 Difference between the Jewish dispensation and the moral law, _.. 27 Increased obligations, under the Gospel, to keep the Sabbath, 32 Law maxim, ' Quifacit per ali- um, facit per se,' 32 Owners of mills, 33 Sabbath labor unprofitable,... . 34 Sabbath-breaking manufact's,.. 35 No necessity for disobeying God, 36 Evidences of facts, 38 Sabbath-breaking detrimental to the poor, 38 Sudden and unexpected provi- dences, 40 Farmers in haying-time, 41 Farmers in time of harvest,.... 42 Young man in a thunder-storm, 42 The man who defied the light- ning, 43 'It happened so,' 45 PAGE Merchants and bankers, 46 The state of the markets, 47 The sayings of a merchant, .... 49 Cases of failures, 50 The course of lawyers, 51 Merchants on arrival of vessels, 52 Travelling in order to get home, 54 The mails, 57 Cases of sickness and death,... 58 The right course for travellers, 59 Travelling with a family, 60 Two young ladies, 61 The man who had been absent a long time, 61 The sailing of steamships and packets, 62 'The Sabbath castaway,' 63 Breaking a Sabbath for health, 64 The cases of apprentices and clerks, 65 Men employed on ferry-boats,.. 67 The keepers of livery stables,. . 68 Butchers, bakers, and printers, 71 Family arrangements, 72 Whaling, 43 Secular reading, 76 Ministerial exchanges, 77 ' A man of principle, no doubt,' 80 Conscience takes the side of the Sabbath, 81 ' I have lost my child,' 82 ' It is bad, very bad,' 83 Connection between Sabbath- keeping and piety, 84 Active duties of the Sabbath,.. 85 The study of the Bible, 86 Reading of other good books,.. 87 Attendance on public worship, 87 Acquisition and communication of biblical knowledge, 89 The business of Saturday, 90 Case of a distinguished minis- ter of the Gospel, 91 The way to do most, 92 Sabbath Schools, etc., 93 ' Not my will, but thine be done,' 94 Public worship essential, 95 Conclusion, 97 FOURTH PERMANENT SABBATH DOCUMENT, THE PROPER MODE OF KEEPING THE SABBATH. In the first Sabbath Document, it was shown that the Sabbath is founded on natural laws, and that the command in the decalogue to remember and keep it holy, is an expression, not merely of the will of God, but also of the moral obligation which arises from the nature and relations of things. In the second Document, it was shown that God, in his word, and by his providence, has clearly designat- ed the first day of the week as the day to be observed as the Christian Sabbath, from the resurrection of Christ to the end of the world. Those passages in the New Testament which speak of Sabbaths as being done away, refer, as the connection shows, not to the weekly Sabbaths of the moral law, but to the annual Sabbaths of the ceremonial law. Hence they are placed by the Lawgiver, not with moral precepts, like '' Thou shalt not kill," and '' Thou shalt not steal," but with outward ceremonies, such as meats and drinks, fast-days and feast-days, new moons, divers washings, and carnal, that is, outward ceremonial or- dinances. These never were binding except on the Jews, and not on them till they were commanded, and then only till the resurrection of Christ and the No. 4. 1 establishment of the gospel dispensation. The weekly Sabbath was made for man, was established at the creation, and will be of sacred, moral, and religious obligation upon all who shall know the will of God to the end of time. In the third Document, it was shown that the Sab- bath is a FAMILY INSTITUTION. It was designed by God to enable parents rightly to educate their children, to train them up in the way they should go, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, so that they may serve him on earth, and enjoy him in heaven. Like the institution of marriage, it was coeval with the creation, and was in operation hundreds of years before the Jewish dispensation was established. Like marriage, it has outlived all past dispensations, and will go down as a help-meet for the family, to bless the children, and through them the church and the world, to all generations. It will be, also, what it was established to be, a perpetual sign between God and his people, that, in the keeping of it, they may be known as his people, the worshippers of Jehovah, the one living and true God ; who, in six days, made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and on the Sabbath rested from his labors ; as, in im- itation of his example, and obedience to his com- mands, they do from theirs. The keeping of the Sabbath is a public demonstra- tion that they are not worshippers of idols, or any of the multitudes of false gods which many people wor- ship ; and that they do not belong to the people who worship no God, and thus show that they are without God, and without that hope which purifies the soul, and will be as an anchor, sure and steadfast, and not as the spider's web, at the giving up of the ghost. But they are the people who worship Jehovah. They show this by keeping his Sabbath, and through the influence of its means of grace, attendance upon which is a part of the proper mode of keeping it, they know him as their God, and the God of their children, and manifest this to the world. This influence of keeping the Sabbath, though it begins in the family, does not stop there. It goes out with the youth when he leaves his father's house and engages in the active duties of life. It is felt in the church and on the state, as one grand means of that godliness which is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and also of that which is to come. Under its influence, not only individuals and families, but states and nations, are permanently prosperous, useful, and happy. " If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable ; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words ; then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord, and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father ; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." Isa. 58 : 13, 14. The great principles, by the applica- tion of which these blessings would be secured, are still in operation, and will secure to those who rightly keep the Sabbath similar blessings in all countries and in all ages. In view of the above truths, a momentous question arises, and one of deep personal interest to every hu- man being, viz. What is the proper mode of keeping the Sab- bath ? In what manner must the day be kept, in order most fully to promote its objects, and ob- tain its benefits ? In order rightly to answer this question, we must understand what are the objects of the Sabbath, and the manner in which it is the will of God that men should keep it. The great object of the Sabbath is to make known Jehovah, to perpetuate the acknowledgment and wor- ship of him, and to promote the spiritual and religious interests of men. The manner in which it is to be kept, in order most fully to accomplish these objects, is indicated by the directions of God in the Scriptures. Some of these directions are the following, viz. '' Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 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, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid- servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is with- in thy gates," that is, under thy control. ^' For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day ; where- fore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." That is, he set it apart from other days, to be devoted, not to secular, but to sacred purposes. Ex. 20: 8— IL Hence his directions, Deut. 5 : 12 — 15, " Keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee. Six days thou shalt labor, and do all thy work ; but the seventh day," which is the day that comes next to the sixth working day, '' is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God ; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor the stran- ger that is within thy gates ; that thy man-servant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.^' Servants are creatures of God, as well as masters. They are also sinners, and need his grace. They have been redeemed by the blood of his Son, and may obtain salvation through him. They are bound, on the Sabbath, to unite with others in acknowledg- ing and worshipping Jehovah, and in promoting their own spiritual good, and that of their fellow-men. Of course, it is their duty and their right to rest from labor. Yet, as they are in some respects depend- ent upony and under the control of others, they may be urged, and placed under peculiar temptations to continue their work. God, who is no respecter of persons, and regards the souls of servants as well £is masters, has, therefore, especially noticed their case. It is worthy of attention that the reason he gives why masters, and parents, and children, and cattle, and strangers, should rest, is, that the servants may rest also. It is, therefore, evidently his will that all classes of persons should rest from worldly business on the Sabbath. It is equally plain that this is his will with regard to BEASTS OF BURDEN. It manifcsts the kindness of Jehovah, and also his intention that none should be forced to invade the sacredness of the Sabbath, that he should mention thus particularly the case of ser- vants and of cattle. Though heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain him, and he has ten thousand times ten thou- sand round about him, he does not forget the poor or the dumb. Not a servant escapes his notice, nor a beast is beneath his care. He never for a moment overlooks the defenceless, who cannot protect them- selves, or plead their own cause. He compassionates their condition, and sympathizes with their wants. When, after six days of labor, they need, in addition to the rest of the nights, the rest also of one day, he guaranties it to them. And it was with reference to them, as well as others, that he made the Sabbath, set it apart for sacred purposes, gave it to men, forbade them to labor during its hours, and commanded them to keep it holy. To keep the Sabbath day, then, in a proper man- ner, oxen and owners, servants and masters, children 1* 8 and parents^ workmen and employers, sojourners and citizens J all, on this day, must rest from worldly busi- ness, except so far as works of necessary mercy, ajid the best discharge of the appropriate duties of the Sabbath as a holy day, m,ay require. " Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh thou shalt rest, that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stran- ger, may be refreshed." Ex. 23 : 12. Such is the nature of both man and beast, that, after six days of labor with suitable diligence, their most healthy re- freshment — that which is needful for their greatest comfort and usefulness, that which will be most for the honor of God and the good of the world — requires one day of rest. They have a right to it, and one which does not come from men, or from human gov- ernments, but from God. No man can knowingly, under ordinary circumstances, or for purposes of gain, deprive them of it without great guilt. It is injus- tice towards the creature, and rebellion against the Creator. "Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest ; in earing-time and in harvest," those seasons when men are most urgently pressed, and most strongly tempted to continue their employments, " thou shalt rest." Ex. 34: 21. " Six days may work be done, but the seventh is the day of rest, holy to the Lord. Whosoever do- eth any work shall surely be put to death." Ex. 31: 15. Death to the open, presumptuous Sabbath-breaker, by the hand of the magistrate, was a penalty in force among the Jews while God was their civil ruler. It was adopted by his direction, and was designed to make them a peculiar people, and keep them so till the death of Christ. But it was not designed to be binding on other people, or on them after the close of the Jewish dispensation. 9 Of course, it was not, like the Sabbath law, written by the finger of God on the tables of stone, or pnt in the decalogue with the moral laws. It did not belong there, as it was not to be a permanent regulation. But the Sabbath law did belong there. It was, like those associates, a moral law. It expressed an obli- gation which grows out of the nature of things, and which will continue to be binding to the end of the world. Of course, it was placed in the moral code, in ac- cordance with that great law maxim, " Nosdtur a so- CMS ;"'' it is known by its associates." Like them, it is a moral, permanent, universal law ; while the penalty — death by the hand of the civil magistrate — was adapted to the object which was then to be ac- complished, in making the Jews a peculiar people. Of course, it was placed in the ceremonial code, among other local and temporary regulations, and was itself local and temporary. The fourth command- ment was, in its nature and in its penalty, like the first commandment and the fifth. Those were both moral laws of perpetual obligation. Both had a civil penalty annexed to them, which was only of local and temporary application. The man that set up an idol, and attempted to induce the people to worship it, whether he succeeded or not, and the son that openly and presumptuously rebelled against his father, were, by God's direction, put to death by the magistrate. But those penalties were not written on the tables of stone, nor placed in the permanent moral code ; Avhile the laws for the violation of which death was the penalty, were placed there. They belonged there : they are there now ; and, till heaven and earth pass away, they will remain there, and bind all who know them, to the end of time. So with the fourth com- mandment. It is like its associates, in being a moral, permanent, universal law ; and also in its violation, 10 having had, for a time, by God's special direction, death as its civil penalty. Because the obligation to inflict that civil penalty is done away, some have contended that the obligation to keep the command is done away. This is a great mistake. The law is one thing, and stands upon its own immovable basis ; the civil penalty, introduced for a time to accomplish a special purpose, is a very dif- ferent thing, and may be, or may not be, connected with it, according to the appointment of God. As well might men argue that the first command and the fifth command are not binding, because the civil pen- alty once attached to them is done away. The civil penalty for theft in some countries has been death. That penalty has afterwards been ab- rogated. But are the people of those countries re- leased, on that account, from their obligation to obey the command, " Thou shall nol steal " ? The civil penalty attached by God, for a time, to the violation of moral laws, showed how essential he considered the observance of those laws to the civil, as well as moral welfare of a people. The record of that fact shows the same now, as far as that record is known. Though sentence against a similar evil work is not executed so speedily now as it was then, yet, as the Lawgiver is the same, and the moral obligation to keep the statute the same, it is certain, that if the crime be not forsaken, judgment in due time will come, and destruction will follow. ''Ye shall keep my Sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary. I am the Lord." Lev. 26 : 2. " Six days may work be done ; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, a holy convocation," or public as- sembling. '' Ye shall do no work : it is the Sabbath of the Lord." Lev. 23 : 3. '' Thus saith Jehovah, Take heed to yourselves, 11 and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem." Jer. 17 : 21, etc. To bear a burden is a phrase for worldly business, es- pecially mercantile business, the removing of goods from one place to another. " Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day." The same principle applies to warehouses, stores, wharves, railroad depots, and all places where men transact worldly business. '' Neither do ye any work." "Works of necessary mercy, and those which are needful for the proper discharge of the appropri- ate duties of the Sabbath, are of course excepted. '' But hallow ye the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers." That is, keep the Sabbath as a sacred day, in distinction from secular days, according to the fourth command, which has ever formed a part of the moral code, and is not made void, but is established, by the gospel. " But they," their fathers, " obeyed not " his com- mand with regard to the Sabbath, '' neither inclined their ear." To incline one's ear, is a biblical phrase for a desire to hear and be instructed. It is taken from the well-known fact, that when a person is spo- ken to, if he wishes to hear and be instructed, he in- clines his ear towards the sound, that he may hear it more distinctly, and better understand the meaning. But they who devoted the Sabbath to worldly busi- ness, " inclined not ; " showing that they did not wish to hear the voice of Jehovah, or to have him instruct them. This is the case with all persons who, for purposes of gain or pleasure, devote the Sabbath to worldly business, travelling, or amusement. They show that they do not wish to hear God, or to have him instruct them. Their conduct is understood in heaven to mean, " Depart from us ; we desire not the knowledge of thy ways." That is its real meaning. Hence they do not assemble in those places where God is worshipped, and where, through the instru- 12 mentalities of his appointment, he makes known his will. They act out the principle, '' Not thy will, but mijie, be done." Thus the Jewish fathers '' made their necks stiff, that they might not hear nor receive instruction." So it is with Sabbath-breakers now. Their conduct says, ^' It is a vain thing to serve the Lord." This is utterly false, and the practice of this falsehood tends to produce a lying spirit among men ; as dishonesty towards God tends to produce dishonesty towards men. Hence the fact, that more than ten times as many Sabbath-breakers are convicts in state prisons, as men who have uniformly and conscientiously "re- membered the Sabbath day, and kept it holy." Rob- bing God tends to produce robbery and other heinous crimes among men. On the other hand, honesty towards God produces honesty towards men, and tends to secure all needful blessings for this life and the life to come. Hence the declaration, Jer. 17 : 24, 25, " It shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith Jehovah, to bring in no burdens through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work therein, then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David," — they would have lawful and good rulers, who would fear God, and promote the best interests of the people, — "riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Je- rusalem." That is, the rulers and people would be wealthy, and the nation be in a prosperous condition. "And this city shall remain forever." Their bless- ings would be permanent. Instead of being the means of corruption and consequent ruin, they would render the people grateful to the Giver, more obedient and virtuous, and thus they would be perpetuated as long as the sun and moon should endure. " They shall come from the cities of Judah, and 13 the places about Jerusalem," the central parts of the country, ''and from the land of Benjamm," the east, " and from the plain," the west, " from the moun- tains," the north, " and from the south," from all parts of the kingdom, should they keep the Sabbath, they would come together, '' bringing burnt-offerings, and sacrifices, and meat-offerings, and incense, and bring- ing sacrifices of praise unto the house of the Lord." They would be not only a very prosperous, but a very pious people ; and this they would show, not only by resting from worldly employments on the Sabbath, but also by reverencing the sanctuary. They would assemble together according to God's appointment, and offer to him their united, humble, and grateful devotion. He would graciously accept them, and grant them abundantly and permanently the blessings of his favor. Here is solved the 9nomentous question with regard to the purity and permanence of free institutions. How can a nation be very prosperous, and at the same time pure and holy ? How can they promote that intelligence and virtue which are essential to the purity and permanence of free institutions, and thus perpetuate their blessings ? By keeping holy the Sabbath day. Let them confine their secular busi- ness and cares, their travelling and amusements, to six days in a week, and sacredly devote the Sabbath to the worship of God and the promotion of the spirit- ual good of men, and the blessings of the Lord of the Sabbath, in copious abundance, will continue to descend upon them. Their prosperity, instead of rendering them more wicked through its abuse, and ripening them for ruin, will make them more holy, and, through grace, fit them for permanent blessings on earth, and for endless life in heaven. " But, if ye will not hearken unto me," saith Jeho- vah, "to hallow," that is, keep holy, the "Sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at 14 the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched." Such are the representations of God in the Scrip- tures concerning his will with regard to the keeping of the Sabbath. They show most clearly that it is his will, that all men should rest from their labors, and keep the day holy. Yet his ancient people did not, and would not, thus keep the Sabbath. They de- voted it to worldly business and pleasures. He, ac- cording to his threatening, kindled a fire, or in his providence suffered one to be kindled, in their palaces, which they could not quench. Their city was made a desolation, and the inhabitants were carried into captivity, according to his declaration : " I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you. Your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste. Then shall the land enjoy her Sab- baths ; as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies' country, even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her Sabbaths. As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest, because it did not rest in your Sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it." Lev. 26: 33, etc. After their return from captivity, and their settle- ment in their own land, when they began again to break the Sabbath, Nehemiah, their leader, who knew the cause of their captivity, said to them, •' What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the Sabbath day ? Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city ? Yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the Sab- bath day." Nehemiah 13: 17, 18. Thus he represents the profanation of the Sabbath as the grand cause of their ruin, as the prophet Jere- miah had foretold that it would be. Inspired men, speaking and writing under the direction of the Holy Ghost, represent abstinence from worldly business, cares, and pleasures, on the Sabbath, and the keeping 16 of the day holy to the Lord, as the great means of permanent temporal and spiritual prosperity, and the desecration of the Sabbath as the sure cause of ruin. What is the reason of this ? Why is the keeping of the Sabbath so vital to human welfare ? Because without it men cannot act in accordance with the na- ture of things as manifested in creation, providence, and grace. They cannot obey the revelation of God's will, or secure the blessings of his favor. If they continue to disobey him with regard to the Sab- bath, they will disobey him in other things, and thus draw down upon them his curse. And if they do obey him in this, they will, under his blessing, be led to obey him in other things. The Sabbath-keeping people, according to the will of God, will be an obe- dient people. Of course they will be a holy, a useful, a happy people. Keeping the Sabbath day holy tends to make them holy. Such is the nature of men, such the nature of the Sabbath, and such the blessing which the Lord of the Sabbath bestows upon those who, out of regard to him, keep it holy, that tempo- ral and spiritual prosperity are its sure results. " The Sabbath was made for man," in order that, by the keeping of it, he might be instrumental, through grace, in securing these blessings. On the other hand, as the abuse of the best things is productive of the greatest evils, the desecration of the Sabbath tends to infinite mischief It operates on the character like the poisoning of the atmosphere on bodily health. It is like the letting out of great waters, to flow over fruitful fields, become stagnant and putrid, and spread disease, contagion, and death through the land. Hence it is spoken of as the sum of wickedness, the procuring cause and sure precursor of personal and national ruin. But it is eisked, " Did not our Savior teach a dif- No. 4. 2 16 ferent doctrine with regard to the lawfulness of worldly business and amusements on the Sabbath ? Did he not teach that the Sabbath law, if not abro- gated, is relaxed in its obligations, and that, if men find it inconvenient or expensive to rest on that day, they are at liberty to pursue their business ? " No : he taught no such doctrine ; nor did he imply, in any thing he said or did, that the obligations to keep the Sabbath as a holy day were, or under the gospel would be, diminished. In proof of this, let us examine his teaching and conduct with regard to the Sabbath. " Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the corn, and his disciples were an hungered, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat." — Matt. 12 : 1, etc. They were going, it is supposed, to public wor- ship. The word rendered corn is a general name for grain. It might have been barley, or some other grain. The disciples might not have had their usual meal, and been annoyed with hunger. They there- fore took some heads of grain, rubbed out the kernels m their hands, and ate them, as any one might have done, under like circumstances, on any day. The Pharisees, a sect among the Jews, idolatrously devot- ed to their own traditions, who tithed mint, anise, and cumin, and omitted the weightier matters of the law, — judgment, mercy, and faith, — objected to the conduct of the disciples, and said to Jesus, '' Why do thy disciples do that which is not lawful on the Sab- bath day ? " They had not done what was not law- ful. What they had done was allowed in the Scrip- tures. It was contrary to the traditions of the Phari- sees, but it was not contrary to the law of God. He had said, " When thou comest into the stand- ing corn of thy neighbor, then mayest thou pluck the ears with thy hand ; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbor's standing corn." Under the cir- cumstances in which they were placed, it was lawful to do ihis on the Sabbath. This Jesus showed, not 17 by intimating that the Sabbath would be abrogated or relaxed, but by appealing, in justification of their conduct, to the Bible, and the example of holy men. '' Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungered, and they that were with him ; how he went into the house of God, and did eat the shew- bread, which it was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them that were with him," that is, on ordinary occasions, " but only for the priests ? " And " have ye not read in the law, how that on the Sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless ? " That is, they do what would be profan- ation, if it were done for secular purposes, and not re- quired by the appropriate duties of the Sabbath. But the Sabbath has always permitted the satisfying of hunger, and the performance of such labor as the duties of the Sabbath require. Of course David, and the priests, and the disciples, had done nothing im- proper. The blameless example of the former fully justified the latter, and the Pharisees had no good reason for complaint. Nor have modern Sabbath- breakers any better reason for thinking that Jesus in- timated that the obligations of the Sabbath law are done away or diminished ; or for appealing to his in- structions or example to justify themselves in secular business, travelling, or amusement on the Sabbath. He teaches no such doctrine. He added, '' But I say unto you, In this place is one greater than the temple. If ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless ; " as they had done in condemning his disciples. " For the Son of man," said he, meaning himself, " is Lord even of the Sabbath day." If it was proper for David and his men, when they were hungry, to eat even the shew-bread, which ordinarily it was not proper for any to eat except the priests, much more was it prop- er for his disciples, when they were hungry, to eat 18 common grain. And if it was proper for the priests on the Sabbath to do all that was needful to prepare and offer the sacrifices in the temple, as it evidently was, much more was it proper for his disciples, in ministering unto Him who was greater than the tem* pie, in whom dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, to do what was needful for that purpose. The objection of the Pharisees was therefore groundless. It only showed their ignorance of what the Sabbath law and the example of holy men always sanctioned. Had they been as well acquainted with the spirit of the Scriptures as they ought to have been, they would have known this, and not condemned Jesus or his disciples. Such is the argument of our Savior, and such the instruction which it affords us. But not a word did he utter, not an intimation did he give, that the Sabbath law would be abrogated or relaxed. The circumstances did not require this ; for his disciples had done nothing amiss. This he clearly showed ; and, but for the ignorance of the Pharisees, or their malice, or both, they would have seen it. " And when he departed, he went into their syn- agogue. And behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day ? that they might accuse him.^^ Here was the spring of their inquiry. They did not ask for information, but to obtain grounds of accusation. "He answered and said. What man shall there be among you that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath day, will he not lay hold of it, and lift it out ? " They knew that any man would : they would do it them- selves. He added, '' How much better, then, is a man than a sheep ? " If it is proper to restore a sheep on the Sabbath, how much more proper to restore a man ! He therefore said to the man, " Stretch forth thine hand." He did so, " and it was restored whole, like as the other." " Then the Pharisees went out, 19 and held a council against him, how they might de- stroy him.^^ But there was no good reason why they should do this. He had said nothing about the Sab- bath being done away, or the obhgation to keep it being relaxed. He had said something which was adapted to correct their errors, while all his sayings and doings had been in perfect accordance with the meaning and spirit of the fourth commandment. The next case which we will examine is recorded Luke 13 : 11, etc. He was teaching in one of their synagogues, or places of public worship, as his cus- tom was, on the Sabbath. '•' And there was a woman who had had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up her- self. And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath day, and said to the people. There are six days in which men ought to work ; in them, therefore, come and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day ; " as if healing were a work which was forbidden by the fourth commandment ; whereas the fact was, it was forbidden only by their traditions. Had they felt and acted rightly, they would have known this. Our Lord therefore an- swered and said, " Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass, and lead him away to watering ? " No doubt they did j it was proper that they should. And if it was proper to relieve a beast from the inconvenience of thirst, it was proper to relieve this woman, when it could be done with much greater ease, and with far less labor. " Ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abra- ham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, to be loosed from that bond on the Sabbath day? And when he had said these things, all his 20 adversaries were ashamed." Well they might be, for they were engaged in a shameful business, and were prosecuting it in a shameful way. But '• the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him." They rejoiced, not because he was breaking the Sabbath, as the Pharisees contended, and as Sab- bath-breakers now contend, but because, in perfect accordance with the Old Testament, he was doing well in relieving distress. Wherefore he said, " It is lawful to do well on the Sabbath day." Equally unreasonable were his accusers, and equal- ly wise and good was his conduct at the pool of Be- thesda. John 5 : 2, etc. '* A certain man was there, who had had an infirmity thirty and eight years. Jesus saw him, and knew that he had been a long time in that condition, and he said to him, Wilt thou be made whole ? The impotent man answered him. Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool ; but while I am coming, another step- peth down before. For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool, and troubled the water, and whosoever then first stepped in was healed of what- soever disease he had. Jesus saith to him. Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. Immediately the man rose, took up his bed, and departed. The same day was the Sabbath. The Jews therefore said to him that was cured. It is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. He answered, He that made me whole, the same said unto me. Take up thy bed, and walk. They asked him. What man is that which said unto thee. Take up thy bed, and walk ? But he knew not who it was ; for Jesus had removed himself away, a multitude being in that place." The man went up to the tem- ple, where Jesus found him, and said unto him, " Be- hold, thou art made whole ; sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon thee." The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him whole. Therefore the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to 21 kill him, because he had done these things on the Sabbath day. But they had no good reason for seek- ing to kill him ; for the Sabbath law did not forbid what he had done. It was not work, or labor, or worldly business, in the sense which was forbidden in the fourth commandment. It was bestowing money upon the needy, in the sense of the declara- tion of Jehovah, " I will have mercy, and not sacri- fice," and it was part of that " doing well " which was always lawful on the Sabbath. Nor was the carrying of the couch by the man that was healed, carrying a burden in the sense which was forbidden. That was bearing burdens, goods, or produce, in the prosecution of worldly business, for purposes of gain or pleasure ; not, at the command of the divine Savior, carrying a couch in evidence of having been by him miraculously healed of a pro- tracted disease. This was perfectly consistent with the most intelligent and sacred regard to the Sabbath. And when the facts were known, it was not adapted in the least to relax a regard for the day, or to indicate that the Sabbath was ever to be devoted to worldly concerns. So with all that Jesus ever said or did. He came, not to abolish or lower any part of the moral law, but to fulfil it, rightly to explain it, and faithfully to obey and apply it. In this, he set an ex- ample that we should walk in his steps. And till heaven and earth pass away, not a jot or tittle of the moral law will fail. The faithful preaching of the gospel, instead of making any part of it void, always establishes it. This Paul declares concerning his preaching, and it may be declared in truth concerning the preaching and the writings of all men who are like him. But if Jesus Christ did not break the Sabbath, and did not say or do any thing which showed that it would be abolished, or the obligation to keep it holy be relaxed, why were the Pharisees so constantly at 23 variance with him on this subject ; and why did they so often accuse him of breaking the Sabbath ? Be- cause they hated him, and because he violated their traditions about the Sabbath. The fact was, they had. added to the Sabbath law, as they had to other laws, numerous traditions of their own, and they re- garded these more than they did the law itself. Thus they often made void the law through their traditions. These traditions Jesus disregarded, and showed by words and deeds that they were vain. He thus de- monstrated that they were false teachers ; blind lead- ers of the blind. This greatly enraged them, and led them to watch occasions of accusation against him. For instance ; they said, that if a son should say of that portion of property with which he ought to assist his parents, "It is corban," that is, a gift de- voted to the Lord, he was released from his obligation to assist them, though God had commanded him to do it. Thus they made void the law of God through their traditions. So it was with the fourth command- ment. They had added to it numerous and cumbrous errors, which tended to lead the mind to a blind and superstitious regard for them, and to overlook and dis- regard the spiritual meaning and real object of the Sabbath. They enumerated about forty primary works, which they said were forbidden to be done on the Sabbath, Under each of these were numerous secondary works, which they said were also forbidden. These were so explained as to include works of mercy performed by Jesus, and thus to make him a Sabbath-breaker. Hence, they said, he could not be the Messiah, for he did not, in the sense of their traditions, keep the Sab- bath. Among the primary works which were forbidden, were ploughing, sowing, reaping, winnowing, clean- ing, grinding, etc. Under the head of grinding was 23 included the breaking or dividing of things which were before united. Of course, when the disciples broke off the heads of grain, and rubbed out the ker- nels in their hands, and ate them, it was a dividing of things which were before united, a species of grind- ing, which was, in their view, forbidden, and unlaw- ful on the Sabbath day. Another of their traditions was, that, as threshing on the Sabbath was forbidden, the bruising of things, which was a species of threshing, was also forbidden. Of course, it was a violation of the Sabbath to walk on green grass, for that would bruise or thresh it. So, as a man might not hunt on the Sabbath, he might not catch a flea, for that was a species of hunt- ing. As a man might not carry a burden on the Sab- bath, he might not carry water to a thirsty animal, for that was a species of burden ; but he might pour water into a trough, and lead the animal to it. It was on this ground that they objected to the man's carrying his couch from the pool of Bethesda. Yet, should a sheep fall into a pit, they would readily lift him out, and bear him to a place of safety. They would also loose an ox or an ass on the Sabbath, and lead him away to watering. Yet they objected to our Savior's loosing a woman from her infirmity, though she had been bound by it eighteen years, and he could loose her by a word. Thus they '^ strained at a gnat, and swallowed a camel." They said a man might minister to the sick for the purpose of relieving their distress, but not for the pur- pose of healing their diseases. He might put a cover- ing on a diseased eye, or anoint it with eye-salve, for the purpose of easing the pain, but not to cure the eye. Hence the eagerness with which they watched the Savior, to see whether he would heal on the Sab- bath, that, if he should, they might accuse him. And when he did heal, and did it on purpose to show the futility of their objections, as well as his power to 24 remove diseases, they were filled with wrath, and sought to kill him, though he showed from the Scriptures, and from their own admissions, that he had done nothing wrong. He stripped the Sabbath of the false appendages which they had attached to it, vindicated its divine authority and permanent ob- ligation, pointed out its true objects -and the proper manner of observing it, that his disciples, guided by his teaching and example, might in all ages remember it and keep it holy. One of the Jewish doctors said, '' Let no one con- sole the sick or visit the mourning on the Sabbath." And so scrupulous were they, that sometimes they would not even defend themselves when attacked by their enemies, but would suffer themselves, without resistance, to be cut in pieces rather than violate their traditions. In one case, a thousand persons were thus destroyed. 1 Mac. 11: 34, etc. Though they afterwards admitted that men might defend them- selves if attacked, still they contended that they might not do any thing to hinder their enemies from making preparation to attack them. Pompey, the Roman general, knowing this, when besieging Jeru- salem, would not attack them on the Sabbath, but spent the day in constructing his works, and prepar- ing to attack them on Monday, and in a manner that they could not withstand; and so he took the city. They would not on the Sabbath even take down the bodies of those who were crucified. Hence they besought Pilate that the death of Jesus, and of those who were crucified with him, might be hastened by the breaking of their legs, so that their bodies might be taken down before the Sabbath began. But, with all this scrupulosity, they could, with wicked hands, crucify him, and impiously say, "His blood be on us, and on our children." With good reason, therefore, did he say, " Ye hypocrites, ye gen- eration of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation 25 of hell ? " Without repentance of their sins, and faith in him as their Redeemer, they could not escape. " But, if the Sabbath was to be remembered and kept holy, according to the requirements of the moral law, why did Jesas not say more about the keeping of it ? Why did he not exhort them to rest from their labors ? " Because it was not needful. As to external rest, they already kept it, and with supersti- tious exactness. Those who would not on that day heal the sick, walk on green grass, take water to a thirsty animal, carry a couch, or catch a flea, did not need to be exhorted to abstain from worldly business. They knew that to be a duty, and of permanent obli- gation. What they needed was, to have the keeping of it stripped of the false glosses and superstitious observances with which they had encumbered it ; to have the true object of the day, and the spirit with which it should be kept, pointed out. This was what he did, by word and deed, even at the hazard of his life. Did they contend that hunger should go unap- peased rather than that a man should pluck heads of grain, rub out the kernels, and eat them ? He suf- fered his disciples to do this, and from the Bible vin- dicated their course. Did they contend that the sick should not be healed, even by Him who could do it with a word ? He repeatedly did it ; saying to the woman who had been eighteen years ill, " Thou art loosed from thine infirmity ; " to the paralytic, " Stretch forth thine hand ; " and to the man at the pool of Bethesda, after thirty-eight years of confinement, "Rise, take up thy bed, and walk." They immediately did so — a most conclusive testimony from God that the silly traditions of the Pharisees were in opposition to his will. The blind received their sight, the lame walked, lepers were cleansed, the deaf heard, the dead were raised, and the poor had the gospel preached to them ; thus demonstrating that he was the Messiah, that the Pharisees, in opposing him, were of their father the devil, and that the hists of their father they would do. At all points he rebuked their superstitions, stripped off false glosses, and trampled down their traditions. But he never broke the fourth commandment, or vio- lated any of the moral laws. He never said or did any thing which countenanced the idea that there was not to be a weekly Sabbath under the gospel, or that it was not to be kept in as holy a manner as under the law. But all that he said and did was adapted to show that " the Sabbath was made for man ; " not for the Jews only, or for any particular part of the human race, in one age or country, but for the whole human family. Of course, in propor- tion to the light which men have, as to the will of God, they are bound to remember it and keep it holy, not to do any work, they, or their children, or ser- vants, or cattle, or any under their control ; hut to hallow the Sabbat Ji and reverence the sanctuary, ab- staining conscientiously from worldly business, trav- elling, and amusement, and devoting the day to the ivorship of God and the promotion of the spiritual good of men. But does not Paul say or imply (2 Cor. 3 : 2, etc.) that the moral law is done away under the gospel ; and that thus the obligation to keep the Sabbath has ceased ? No ; he says and implies no such thing. All that he says, here or elsewhere, instead of making void the moral law, goes to establish it ; not as a ground of justification, but as a rule of duty ; not as a part of the Jewish dispensation, — for that was abol- ished at the death of Christ, — but as a part of the moral government of God, which is binding under all dispensations. The obligation to obey this law, in- stead of being diminished, is increased by the gospel. 27 One of the peculiar glories of the gospel, and that which renders it so far superior to the Jewish dispen- sation, is, that under the gospel the Holy Spirit much more extensively writes this law upon the hearts of m,en, inclining them to obey it, not outwardly, or in the letter m^erely, but in spirit and in truth. It is not having the letter of the law on tables of stone, or in their hands, that will save men, but it is having the law written upon their hearts by the Holy- Spirit, as is done to a much greater extent under the gospel than it was under the law. It is this that con- stitutes the superior glory of the gospel. And it is this superior glory of the gospel, as the dispensation peculiarly of the Spirit, that Paul sets forth in the third chapter of the second Epistle to the Corinthians. The Jews were prone to place a high value upon the former dispensation, and to glory in it, while they set themselves in opposition to Christ, saying, " We know that God spake to Moses ; but as for this fellow, we know not whence he is." " This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the Sabbath day." "Give God the praise, for we know that this man is a sin- ner." There was, at the giving of the law, and the in- troduction of the Jewish dispensation, great visible glory, and much that was calculated to impress the senses. It caused the face of Moses so to shine that the people could not steadfastly behold it. But there was under the gospel much greater glory ; not mate- rial, impressing the outward senses, but spiritual, af- fecting the feelings and dispositions of the heart. The one was as much superior to the other, as its effects would be more durable and glorious. Under the one, the moral precepts were written on tables of stone, and their observance was inculcated by out- ward forms and ceremonies, numerous and burden- some, called, in the New Testament, " carnal ordi- nances." The other taught them with greater clear- No. 4. 3 28 ness and fulness, and proclaimed them with greater effect ; writing them on the fleshly tables of the heart, in fulfilment of the promise, '' I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and will be their God, and they shall be my people." But this, instead of doing away the law, established it, and gave it practical power over the hearts and lives of men. As this was done to a greater extent under the gospel, it was, on that account, in view of the apostle, a more glorious dispensation. There was another reason why the gospel dispen- sation, of which Paul speaks, is more glorious than that in which the Jews trusted, viz., that the latter was temporary. Like the shining of the face of Moses, it was to pass away. The other would be permanent, and go down to the end of the world. In the lan- guage of the apostle, " If that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious." This dispensation is lasting, and the beau- ty with which it clothes the soul will endure and shine with increasing lustre forever. There was still another reason. The Jewish dis- pensation, while it enforced by ceremonies the obli- gations of the law, shadowed forth but faintly the way of deliverance from its curse, through faith in the Redeemer. And this it did to the Jews alone ; while the gospel proclaims clearly to all people Jesus Christ and him crucified, " tasting death for every man ; " and urges all, with new motives, to believe on and obey him ; declaring that there is now no condemna- tion to them that are in Christ Jesus ; and that the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus frees them from the law of sin and death. At all points was the gospel superior to the Jewish dispensation. Under its ministrations much greater numbers were led to be- lieve on Christ as the Lord their righteousness, and were justified from all those things from which they could not be justified by the law of Moses. 29 To set forth this great superiority of the Christian or New Testament, over the Jewish or Old Testa- ment dispensation, was the great object of the apostle in this chapter. In prosecution of this object, he says, " Our sufficiency is of God, who has made us able ministers of the New Testament,''^ or the gospel dispensation ; " not of the letter, but of the spirit." They did not merely utter the words, but were instru- mental in producing great effects. They spoke in demonstration of the Spirit, and with power. Their words were attended with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, and were received, not as the words of men, but as the words of God ; which, by being be- lieved and obeyed, became spirit and life to their souls. "For the letter," he says, " killeth, but the spirit giveth life." The letter merely, even of the gospel, as well as the law, without the Spirit, would be a savor of death unto death, by being neglected or abused ; while, with the Spirit, it would be embraced, and thus be a savor of life unto life. Therefore he says, '^ If the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses, for the glory of his countenance ; which glory," of his countenance, •^ was to be done away ; how shall not the ministra- tion of the Spirit," that is, the gospel dispensation, " be rather glorious ? If the ministration of condem- nation," the Old Testament dispensation, " be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness," the New Testament dispensation, '' exceed in glory." " For even that," the introduction of the Jewish dispensation, " which was made glorious, had no glory in this respect," that is, comparatively, "by reason of the glory which excelleth ; " that is, the superior glory of the gospel, by which, according to his promise, the law of God was written, not with m his finger on tables of stone, but by his Spirit on the hearts of men. '' For if that which is done away," the Jewish dispensation, " was glorious, much more that which remaineth," the gospel dispensa- tion, which writes the law upon the hearts of men, ''is glorious." Of course, the ministers of this gos- pel, as he contended, ought to be received as the messengers of God, and their messages to be regarded as those by which he sanctifies and saves the soul. Such is the object, and such are the reasonings and conclusion, of the apostle in this chapter. But not a word is said here, or elsewhere, and not a hint is given, that the obligation to keep the moral law is abolished. The superior glory of the gospel is rep- resented as consisting in the fact, that, under it, the Holy Ghost inclined men to obey that law, through faith in Jesus Christ, who is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth ; and de- livers them from its condemning power. The Jewish dispensation was one thing. The moral law, which was in being and obligatory before that dispensation began, is quite another thing. As the law was in being and obligatory before the intro- duction of the Jewish dispensation, so it is in being and obligatory after that dispensation is abolished. It was incorporated for a time with that dispensation, and formed a part of it, as it must of every divine dispensation. But it was not dependent on it for its beginning, or its end. Though only the moral law was written on stones, yet it formed so important a part of the Jewish dispensation that the dispensation itself is characterized as the one ''written and en- graven on stones," in distinction from the one written and engraven on hearts. And it was the dispensation so characterized that the apostle speaks of as being done away, and not the moral law, which for a time formed a part of it. This law remains ; and, till 31 heaven and earth pass away, will remain, as an ex- pression of the revealed will of God, and the perma- nent obligations of men. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth this law, or something which is implied in it. By that law is the knowledge of sin, and through its influence the Holy Ghost, under the gospel, convinces men, that by the deeds of it no man can be justified, because all men have broken it ; and thus he leads them, while they regard it as a rule of duty, to look away from it as a ground of justification, to the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world. While the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of a heifer, and divers washings, under the Old Testament, typified the necessity of an atone- ment and of spiritual cleansing, and answered to the purifying of the flesh, the blood of Jesus, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot unto God, made a real atonement, and answers to the purifying of the conscience from dead works to serve the living God ; not, as of old, in outward rites and ceremonies, but in love, joy, peace, long-suffer- ing, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temper- ance. Thus the righteousness of the law, under the gospel, is fulfilled in them who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit, and who, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are, through faith in Christ, changed into his image from glory to glory, by the Spirit of the Lord. Such, according to Paul, is "the glory that ex- celleth ; " the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth ; manifested not in types and shadows, but by the sacrifice of himself, whom Paul preached, warning every man, and teach- ing every man in all wisdom, that he might present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. This perfection j as to character, would consist in obedience to the moral law J which was the pattern after which the character 3* 32 of Jesus was formed ; and in proportion to their like- ness to hitn they would he perfect, as their Father in heaven is perfect. And though the connection of this law with the Old Testament dispensation is done away, because that dispensation is abolished, it is in full force as a rule of duty. Men are under as much obligation as ever to have no other gods before Jehovah, not to bow down to graven images, or take the name of the Lord their God in vain, or dishonor their parents, or commit murder, adultery, or theft, or bear false witness, or covet. And they are under as much greater obliga- tion than they were under the Old Testament, as they have greater light. So they are under as much greater obligation to remember the Sabbath day, and to keep it holy ; in it not to do any work, they, nor their children, nor servants, nor cattle, nor any under their control. And here let it not be forgotten, that it is as real a violation of the Sabbath to employ others in worldly business on that day, as it is to perform such business ourselves. The man who is found regularly on the Sabbath in the house of God, but has men employed in his manufactory, on the railroad, his canal-boat, steamboat, or packet, which leaves the wharf on the Sabbath, on the farm, in the shop, or in any place en- gaged in secular business, is himself a Sabbath-break- er as really as if he performed that business with his own hands. Here the law maxim applies — " Qm facit per alium, facit per se." '' What a man does by another, he does himself." It is his act in law, and he is responsible. This applies to the Sabbath law ; and it condemns all who employ other men in worldly business on that day, as really as if they performed that business themselves. But it is said, A man is sometimes " peculiarly sit- uated." and he must labor on the Sabbath. The labor in question is not indeed required for the relief of sickness or distress, nor by the appropriate duties of the Sabbath, yet it is ''necessary." What kind of necessity is it — a vohmtary, self-imposed necessity ? If so, it is a wicked necessity^ and compliance with it is a wicked act. For instance, a man is the owner of certain mills. He expresses to his agent the expectation that he will continue to run these mills on the Sabbath, as on other days. The agent objects. He says he has not been accustomed to work on the Sabbath, and refuses to do it. The owner acknowledges that it is not a good thing to work on the Sabbath, but says he is ^^pe- culiarly situated.^'' What is the peculiarity? He has been accustomed, in violation of the laws of God and man, to run his mills seven days in a week. He knows how much flour they can in that way make in a year. He has been to the city ; and, for the sake of gain, has engaged to furnish to certain merchants, in the course of the year, as much flour as his mills have ever made. Of course, to fulfil his engagements, and maintain his credit, he must keep his mills running on the Sabbath. " There is a necessity for it." But it is a voluntary, self-imposed necessity, for the purpose of making money ; shoiuing that the inan regards money more tha^i God^ and thus has another god before Je- hovah^ viz., Tnoney. He violates the first, as well as the fourth commandment, though he should himself every Sabbath be in the house of God. He is also foolish, as well as wicked : because the same number of men who work but six days in a week, will ordinarily, in the course of the year, do more work, and do it better, than the men who work seven. That experiment was tried in a flouring establish- ment, and the difference in the amount of flour man- ufactured in one year, with the same hands, was sixty 34 thousand bushels. But suppose men could not do as much by working only six days in a week as they could by working seven, and suppose that a man can- not fulfil his engagement without working on the Sabbath, what must he do ? Must he break his en- gagement, or work on the Sabbath ? Break the en- gagement. His engagement to work on the Sabbath is a wicked engageinent ; and a wicked engagement is not valid, and must not be fulfilled. No man can bring himself under moral obligation to do a wicked thing. Nor can he do it and be innocent. He must repent of his wickedness in having made such an engagement, and, by reformation, bring forth fruits meet for repent- ance. Several companies build a number of manufac- tories. They are all dependent upon the same canal for water. They construct them in such a manner, that, if the water is drawn off from one, it must be drawn off from all, and they must all stop. Some of the machinery in each mill, or some part of the work, when it gives way, cannot be repaired unless the water is drawn off ; and, of course, can be done only when all the mills are stopped. But they are not ordinarily stopped, unless at night, or for very short periods, except on the Sabbath. What shall be done ? May not a company, or its agents, in such a case, have the machinery repaired, or work done, on the Sabbath ? No. When shall it be done ? Let it be done at night, after the mills are stopped, and let them on the Sabbath '' not do any work." But they do not stop long enough at night to accomplish it. So it was said by Sabbath-breakers in a number of mills where they had repaired the machinery on the Sabbath. But when they tried it honestly, and in earnest, they found that the nights were long enough. All the machinery has been kept in repair for years, without working an hour on the 35 Sabbath, and it has been kept in better order than be- fore. They have actually had to stop a less time on account of breakages, than when they made repairs on the Sabbath. The repairs, in the course of the year, have cost less money. The workmen are more moral and trustworthy. Neither the amount of labor, nor the profits of the establishment, are diminished. " But suppose, in any given establishment, the nights are not long enough to make needful repairs, what shall be done ? May not the agents take the Sabbath ? " No. Let them take one of the six work- ing days, Saturday, or Monday, or any other day, but not the Sabbath. That is the Lord's day, not man's. Let not man rob his Maker for the purpose of accu- mulating wealth, or to obtain any earthly good. " But the mill cannot stop on a week day." That is not true. It can stop on a week day as certainly as it can stop on the Sabbath. When the Lord cuts oif the supply of water, it does stop on week days. Should he send a pestilence, and scatter the work- men, it would stop. Of course, the running on every working day is not a matter of necessity, but solely of choice. " That would be the case," says the owner, " if my mill and water-privilege were independent. But should the water be drawn off from my mill, all the other mills must stop ; and, as I do not own, I have no right to stop them." And, as you do not own the Lord's day, you have no right to take that. Has your mill been so constructed, that you cannot draw oflf the water without stopping the mills of your neighbors ? You have no right to keep your property in such a state that you must injure your neighbor, or rob God. The necessity of doing either, so far as it exists, is a self-imposed necessity — a wicked neces- sity, which God requires should be removed ; which can be removed ; and which, to obey God, and meet his approbation, must he removed. 36 Neither individuals nor companies are under any necessity of so constructing, and they have no right so to construct, their works that they must take the Sabbath for repairs or injure their neighbors. If they have made such a mistake, or done such a wrong deed, they are bound forthwith to correct it. But is it said, " That cannot now be done " ? Their busi- ness, then, is an unlawful business, and they are bound to relinquish it. The works are constructed on an unlawful spot, or on an unlawful plan, and ought to he abandoned ; for, to make money by robbing God or injuring men is wicked. '' But I do not mean," says the owner, '^ that it cannot be done : all that I mean is, that it would cost too much. The business would no longer be profit- able." Then it ought, in that place, and on that plan, to be relinquished. The individuals or com- panies who expect to be gainers by a continued violation of the known command of God, will, in the end, find themselves wofully mistaken. An agent was about to make repairs on the Sab- bath. He was asked why he made them on that day. He replied that it was necessary. He was then inquired of what he should do, if he knew that, should he make the repairs on the Sabbath, he would lose ten thousand dollars. He said he should make the repairs at some other time. The necessity, there- fore, was only a moneyed one ; a known, deliberate transgression of the law of God, for the sake of mak- ing money. What is the necessity that manufactories should run from morning to night, six days in a week, throughout the year ? Why can they not stop, after running five days, or five days and a half, whenever it is needful to make repairs ? They can stop on Fast days, on Thanksgiving days, on Christmas days, on the Fourth of July, and at any time when the owners choose to have them. Why can they not 37 stop on Saturday, when they must do it or break the Sabbath ; or on Monday ; or, if needful, on both ? Is there any necessity that manufacturers should make any more money than they can, and obey God? None at all. With what they can gain, without re- pairing machinery, mending bands, cleaning boilers, or doing any work on the Sabbath, they are bound, by their high obligation to God, themselves, and their fellow-men, to be content. Suppose there are twenty manufactories, all de- pendent for water on one canal. They are so con- structed that, if the water should be drawn off from one, all must stop. Should it be announced to them by the Almighty, that, if they make repairs on the Sabbath, all their works shall be destroyed, and the first-born of every owner be found the next morning dead, is there an individual who doubts that, with their great mechanical skill, and their immense wealth, they would devise and execute a plan by which they could make all needful repairs during the days which they have a right to take for that purpose ? If they could not do it, one thing is certain — should they believe God, and act as wise men, they would abandon that business, and go into some other more moral and safe, by which they could get a liv- ing, and not destroy their children. Men have no right to carry on any business, by which they will destroy even the temporal life of any of their chil- dren ; much less have they any right to incur the wrath of the Almighty. But such sacrifices need not be made. All the manufacturing which the highest good of individuals or of the world requires, can be carried on without taking any portion of the Sabbath. In one of the largest establishments, in which are employed more than a thousand persons, " There has not been," said the agent, " an hour's work done on 38 the Sabbath for more than three years." Previous to that, they had made their repairs on that day. The mechanics said it was necessary. They could not get along, and keep the works in order, without doing so. The agent said they would try. They did try ; they succeeded well, and have found it in all respects the better course. "Now," said the agent, '^ the workmen who make the repairs like it better. They say the sticks of timber somehow come to- gether better." They do come together better, and they stay better after they are together, because the men who never work on the Sabbath can put them together better. Since the adoption of this course, the establishment has been more profitable to the stockholders than ever before. " But in our establishment," says one, " are hun- dreds of poor people, dependent upon their daily labor for their support. Should we stop during the week to make repairs, they would be thrown out of employment, and would suffer. Charity, therefore, to them, requires that we should make our repairs on the Sabbath, that they may have their wages during all the week." But they can stop on Thanksgiving, on Christmas, on the Fourth of July, and they do not have to work on the Sabbath to make up lost time. Why can they not as well stop when it is needful to make repairs ? They can ; and if they obey God, they do stop every Sabbath ; and, instead of being losers, they are gainers by so doing. If they can stop one day every week, and yet be gainers, why can they not sometimes, if needful, in order that others may have the rest and privileges of the Sab- bath, stop two days in a week ? If they do not re- ceive wages enough to enable them, without suffer- ing, to do. this, then the owners ought to give them more. The profits of the establishment ought to be somewhat more equally divided. " Yes," says a farmer, " this working in the man- 39 ufactories on the Sabbath is wrong, and ought to be stopped. But what shall be done in time of haying? The weather has been bad, and much hay is out. For a number of days it has been rainy ; the Sabbath comes, and is a fair day. What shall be done ? Shall the farmers rest, as on other Sabbaths, attend public worship, and let the hay lie ; or shall they go into the field, take care of the hay, and secure it ? " Let thein rest, attend public worship, and perform the ap- propriate duties of the Sabbath. Let them be con- tented with what hay they can secure in six days. '' Six days shalt thou labor," and in them, saith Jeho- vah, '' do all thy work." " Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy ; in it do no work." God makes no exception for haying time. '' But it may rain on Monday, and the hay be in- jured, perhaps spoiled." That is true. It is also true, that a man may be sick on Monday, and he may die. If he does not work on the Sabbath, he may not be able to work at all. On the other hand, it may not rain on Monday, and the man may be alive and well, and better fitted to work than he would be should he labor on the Sabbath. Or, if it should rain on Monday and Tuesday, and his hay be injured, or even spoiled, that is no good reason why he should work on the Sabbath. God did not say. Thou shalt not do any work except in haying time, or unless it is likely to rain on Monday ; and men have no right to make that addition. He that addeth to the word of God, or taketh from it, will fall under his curse. Men have no right to gain any more property, or secure any more, in their ordinary business, than they can by keeping the Sabbath day holy. In that way they can get all that they need, or have any right to possess. But it is said, '' If a house is on fire, you will allow a man to put it out. If visited with a sudden and unexpected inundation, which threatens to sweep No. 4. 4 40 away his house, you will allow him, if he can, to secure it, though his family might flee from it, and thus not lose their lives, if it should be carried away." These are sudden providences, against which no foresight or prudent care daring the week can guard. They do not come under the head of ordinary busi- ness ; and what is done, must be done at the time when the provideiice occurs, or not at all. This is known. Very diiferent is it with the tending or the getting in of hay. That is a part of a man's regular employment. There is no certainty that, if he does not do it on a particular Sabbath, he cannot do it at all. Facts show that it ordinarily may be done on other days, and as well done ; nay, that, in the long run, it may be better done, and often more may be secured, by not working, than by working on the Sabbath. It is, on the whole, better, for this world as well as the future, ?iot to violate this day. A number of men, at one time, had mowed a large quantity of hay. For a number of days it had been rainy. The Sabbath came, and was a remarkably pleasant day. One man staid at home, opened his hay, took care of it, and in the afternoon got it into his barn. His neighbors did nothing of the kind, but went as usual with their families to the house of God. On their return, one of them met the man who had been getting in his hay, who expressed his regret that his neighbors should be so superstitious as to go off, and leave their hay exposed to be again wet. He said that he had been more wise, and had secured his. "Now," said he, "it may rain again on Monday, and you not be able to get in yours." That was true. His neighbors knew it. But they concluded to leave that with God. One thing was certain — that it would not rain without good reasons for it. Another thing was equally certain — that, if it should rain, and the hay be injured, and even spoiled, that would not be so great an evil as to do what they knew to be wrong. 41 Monday came, and it rained. It rained also on Tues- day and on Wednesday. Thursday was remarkably pleasant. All who had hay out, went busily to work. Friday was fair, and also Saturday. All the hay that had been out in the rain was thoroughly dried and housed. The Sabbath came. The first part of it was pleasant. In the afternoon a cloud arose, looked dark and scowling. It extended and moved on to- wards the barn into which, on the previous Sabbath, the man had put his hay, and where he thought he had '' secured it." The lightning darted here and there, and by and by went down into the barn. " I knew," said a man who was near, " that it struck, from the feehng. I started up, and ran to the window, and the smoke was issuing from that barn. They rang the bells, got out the fire-engines, and did all in their power, but they could not stop the fire. They saw that the barn must go. Nor was that all ; his neighbors' barns on each side were so near that it seemed impossible to prevent them from being burned. But as the flames burst out, and the sparks began to fly, the rain poured down in sheets, which, with the engines, kept those barns so perfectly drenched with water that neither of them took fire, and the Sabbath- breaker's barn was burnt out between them." '• Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work." That man did not gain any thing by disobeying God, nor did his neighbors lose any thing by obeying him. There is that gathereth at a time and in a way that is not meet, and it tendeth to poverty. Men are de- pendent upon God, and in the keeping of his com- mands there is great reward. Regard to his will about the Sabbath, as well as other things, is profit- able. " But it may be harvest-time. Grain may be scarce, and a man may need all he has for his family. If it is cut, and is dry, and on the Sabbath it looks 42 likely to rain, shall he not get it in, and thus preserve it for his family ? " What saith Jehovah ? ^^ In ear- ing-time and in harvest thou shalt rest.^^ He knew that the temptations to break his law at this season of the year would be strong ; and that, if he said noth- ing in particular about it, men might make this ex- ception, and think that the case was so peculiar that they might do that part of their work on the Sabbath. He therefore set the matter at rest, by explicitly say- ing, *' In earing-time and in harvest," as well as at other times, " thou shalt rest." Besides, if a man works on the Sabbath to secure his grain, when it is going to rain, it is by no means certain that he will succeed. Jehovah told his ancient people that, if they should desecrate the Sabbath, he would kindle a fire which should not be quenched. He can at any time do this. Sometimes he does do it ; and not un- frequently in connection with the breaking of the Sabbath. A young man in a thunder-storm, after a vivid flash of lightning, came out of his room, and said to his friends, that he did not like to stay alone when it light- ened so, and that he never had since his father's barn was burned. That started the question as to when the barn was burned. He said they were at meeting at . on the Sabbath, in harvest-time, and the father came to his sons at noon, and said they must go home and get in that wheat, which was in fine order, for it looked likely to rain ; and if it should, and the wheat get wet, it would almost spoil it. They there- fore started ofl", went home, and engaged in get- ting in the wheat. They worked hard, and just as the last load reached the barn, the shower came. " There," said the old man, " now we have secured our wheat, without having it wet. Let us go in and get something to drink." They went in, and were hardly seated before the lightning, which had been playing about, struck the barn, which, with another 43 barn adjoining, both full, was burned to ashes. ''I have never liked to stay alone," said the young man, '-when it lightens so, since that." The grain was not so secure as the father thought ; not so se- cure as it might have been had it been left in the field. The man had better have staid at church and worshipped God according to his command- ments, and regarded him more than the wheat. He giveth rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, fill- ing our hearts with food and gladness. He alone maketh us, our friends, and our property, to dwell in safety. The best way is to trust in him, follow the path of duty, anxious for nothing ; but in every thing, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, m;jke known our requests unto God ; and thus he will sup- ply all our need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Godliness with contentment will be found to be great gain. If men will not take this course, but will trust to their own wisdom, in opposi- tion to that of God, he can thunder marvellously with his voice, can shoot forth his lightnings and discomfit them, and so consume their treasures that nothing but blackness and ashes shall mark the place where they stood. Or he can suffer them, as he sometimes does, to remain ; their owners to accumulate rapidly by transgression ; and then, through them, illustrate his truth in another aspect, viz., that, "as the par- tridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not, so is he that getteth riches, but not hy right ; he shall leave them in the midst of his days, and in the end thereof shall be a fool." A man in the state of New York was accustomed to work on the Sabbath, and was eager to get other men to work for him, because he could get them cheaper than on other days. He boasted of his free- dom from those restraints with which other men were hampered. He was such an annoyance to his neigh- bors by his wickedness, that one, who wished to keep the Sabbath, said to^him, "I should think you would 44 be afraid that you would be struck by lightning." He defied the lightning, and said it could not hurt him. While in his field upon the Sabbath, treading down hay upon the stack, the lightning struck him, and he was a corpse. A respectable gentleman, who gave the writer this account, said, '' I saw the funeral procession of that man as they were carrying him to the grave." His gains, which he obtained on the Sabbath, he left in the midst of his days. But it is not always so. Sentence against such evil works is often not executed so speedily. God waits with much long-suffering, not willing that even such men should perish, but that they should come to repentance ; while he continues to make his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and to send rain on the just and on the unjust. Yet ungodliness, even in such cases, on the whole, is not profitable. Dishon- esty towards God, in robbing him of his day, as really as dishonesty towards men, is had policy. It pro- duces a bad effect on the man's own mind, on his children, and on his neighbors. It is dishonorable to God, and injurious to the world. Where it is con- tinued, it never ends well, and often it meets with premature death. Yet, if it were not so, and men could, on the whole, make more money, and obtain other earthly enjoyments to a greater extent, by working on the Sabbath, than by keeping it holy, still, it would be unwise and wicked, because it is a known violation of the express command of God, "Yes," says one, "it is evidently wrong to work in a manufactory, or go out into the field and labor on the Sabbath, even in haying-time, or in harvest ; and the men who do not do it, on the whole, save as much, and get along quite as well, as the men that do. Generally, they prosper better." Facts, the voice of God in providence, say the same. At one time, in a certain part of the country, there was much grain down. The weather, for a number 45 of days, had been stormy. The Sabbath was fair. A part of the farmers went into the field, opened their grain, and before night put it into the barn. The others spent the Sabbath as usual, in the discharge of its appropriate duties, leaving their grain in the field. On Monday the day was fair, and also on Tuesday. The grain was thoroughly dried, and put into the barn in good order. The others, who, through impatience and want of trust in God, had housed their grain on the Sabbath, when it was only partially dried, found that it began to heat and to mould. They were obliged to take it out again and dry it more, and were thus put to great labor and trouble, from which their Sabbath-keeping neighbors were saved ; nor, after all, did they keep their grain from injury. In another neighborhood, a number of farmers got in their grain on the Sabbath, in good order. It did not mould, and their barns were not burned. No judgment came upon them, and they enjoyed the fruit of their labors. They sowed their grain for the next year ; it came up, flourished well, and prom- ised an abundant harvest. But, just before it was reaped, a violent hail-storm passed over that part of the town, and destroyed the crops, confining itself principally to those farms from which the grain was gathered on the Sabbath, the year before. " But," says one, " it happened so." It did happen so. But no such thing happens without reasons, or without good reasons. '' Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing ? and one of them shall not fall without your Father." Nor shall a storm of hail. "Fire and hail, snow and vapor," stormy winds and tem- pests, "fulfil his word." Men are dependent on God for the things of this life. It is on this ground that he has commanded them to pray daily, " Give us day by day our daily bread." He openeth his hand, and they are filled with good. What he giveth, they 46 gather. He hideth his face, and they are troubled. He taketh away their breath, they die, and return to dust. Their interest therefore, their safety, their all, re- quire that they should obey his commands. In doing so, he has promised all needed good. With what they can gain and secure by doing his will, they are bound to be content. What they cannot so obtain and secure, they should choose to be without ; saying, in this, as well as other things, " Not my will, but thine, be done." But suppose a man is a merchant or a banker. He has so much business that he cannot finish it in the week time ; may he not post his books, write a few letters, and finish up his business on the Sabbath ; especially if he can do it out of sight, before the morning service, during the intermission, or after the close of public worship ? No. He cannot do it without disobeying God. He who made the eye will see and condemn him. A man has no right to have any more business than he can do in the six working days. Or, if he has more, he has no right to attempt to do any more. What he cannot close up before the Sabbath begins, he must, if he would obey God, postpone till after it is ended. Nor is it to be forgotten that the Sabbath begins as early, and is as long, as any other day of the week. On the six working days men are to do all, and on this none, of their work, but to employ the whole in preparation for the performance of God's work, in distinction from man's ; or, in the language of God, to keep the day holy. By its constant recurrence every week, he gives men opportunity to see and to show which they most regard, God, or the world ; their own will, or his. Writing letters, posting books, looking over ac- counts, reading secular newspapers, and examining prices current, shipping news, the state of stocks and 47 markets, even alone in one's office, counting-room, or chamber, is as real a breach of the Sabbath, and as decisive evidence of supreme devotion to this world, as if it were done in the sight of men ; and it may be as ruinous. " Could it be known what was done in that bank on the Sabbath," said a man, after the bank had failed and the stockholders lost their money, " you might see a reason why the bank has failed." Said an old man to his neighbor, concerning another bank, " If you have any stock there, I advise you to take care of it. The officers go down to the bank on the Sab- bath." Not long after that, sudden as a clap of thun- der, the news broke upon the stockholders, that the bank was ruined, and the property lost ; and it has not since been found. '^ But the times are precarious ; the markets are subject to sudden changes ; a man hears, late on Sat- urday night, that there has been, in a distant city, a great change ; that his property there is in jeopardy. His agent inquires what he shall do. May not the man go there if he can ; or, if not, may he not write a letter, and send it to his agent on the Sabbath ? " Not if he would obey God ; and if he does send, it may not benefit him. A distinguished merchant was called on to decide this question with regard to him- self At first he was in doubt. His practice through life had been to do no such things on the Sabbath. He would not take a letter to, or receive a letter from the post-office. But this was a special case. A great amount of property was at stake, and it might be de- cided before a letter could arrive, should he wait till Monday. He had a letter prepared, and started with it himself, on Sabbath morning, for the post-office, so as to be sure it would go, and also to avoid employing others to do that on the Sabbath which he had taught them was wrong. But on his way this thought oc- curred to him: " This is a new thing for me to be 48 going to the post-office on the Sabbath. But," he reasoned, '' it is a special case ; a large amount is at stake ; if I wait till Monday, it will be too late." He passed on. But the thought occurred again : " This is a violation of what you have always considered and taught to be right. Would it not be better, more consistent, more useful, to hold on in what you have always thought to be the right way, and trust the property with God ? You cannot secure it without his blessing." He stopped and hesitated ; turned round, and looked this Avay and that, and began to tear up the letter, which he scattered to the winds. He went back, and kept the Sabbath. Soon after, he received another communication from his agent, saying that there had been another change for the better, and that all things were going well. From that communication he learned, that, had his letter gone on the Sabbath, and the agent followed his di- rections, he would have lost a large amount, w*hich was now saved. But had it turned out otherwise, and the property been lost, which, by sending his letter on the Sabbath, he might have saved, that would not prove that he ought to have sent it, or that he did wrong in not sending it. It might have been the will of God that he should lose his property, and that he should be contented without it. Some men have inore property than is com,patible with preparation for heaven. God sees that they will not use it for good purposes, and that their keeping it will injure them and others. In kindness he takes it away, or so orders events, in his providence, that they lose it. On the other hand, the fact that this man saved his property by not sending his letter does not, of itself, prove that Avhat he did was right. But it illustrates this truth, that men, with regard to property, are dependent upon God. It is safe, as well as right, to trust him, and in obeying his commands, to leave all cheerfully to his disposal. He 49 will then give men as much property as it is best that they should have. With that, every man is bound to be content, and every wise man will be. He knows that a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth ; and his first inquiry is, not, How can I make or save most money ? but, What is the will of God? That being ascertained, his course is fixed. With regard to the Sabbath, the will of God is, '• In it thou shalt not do any work ; " " not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasures, nor speaking thine own words." Men are not to occupy their minds about property, stocks, markets, and worldly pursuits ; nor will they find it profitable, on the whole, even for this world, to do so. '' O," said a merchant, " you cannot make men thus keep the Sabbath. You may get them to stop their work, keep their hands and feet still, hut their minds will be employed about their business. I know they will, for I have tried it." He had tried it, and that was his folly. While abstaining with his hands, he had kept his mind on the making and saving of money. His great estate has vanished, and he is now a poor man. He had better have let his mind, as well as his body, rest on the Sabbath. " I once," said a merchant, '^ made out an invoice of goods on the Sabbath, to send out on Monday by the steamer, and with as fair a prospect, I thought, of making money as I ever had in my life. Upon those goods I lost ten thousand dollars. I have been pretty careful since how I take the Sabbath for business." The man who acts wisely, as well as the man who acts piously, will be careful not to occupy his mind on the Sabbath about worldly concerns. " When at church," said a man, " while others are thinking about religion, I am thinking about making money. That is my business, as much as it is the business of the minister to preach. His business is to preach ; and mine, to make money and support him, 50 and aid in benevolent objects." For a time, he made money, and became possessor of a great estate. But it took wings, and flew away, as an eagle towards heaven. His character went with it, and vast amounts of property, which he had in his hands be- longing to others. It is not safe to trust with money a man who takes the Sabbath for worldly business. " But a man may be in failing circumstances. His creditors may not know of it till Saturday night. If each one- does not take measures to secure himself, others may anticipate him, the whole property be taken, and he may lose his debt. He may be a poor man, and need this amount for his family ; or he may be in debt himself, and, if this is lost, not be able to pay. Unless he secure his debt, he may injure his creditors. What shall he do ? May he not take measures, on the Sabbath, to secure his debt ? " That would not be ^^ remembering it," in the sense of the Bible, nor would it be keeping it holy. Nor is it certain that in so doing he would promote his own interest. A number of men were thus situated. Several of them employed the Sabbath in efforts to get what they could out of a failing concern. One, after ma- ture consideration on Saturday night, came to the conclusion that he would do nothing on the Sabbath, but rest contented with what he could obtain on Monday. The result was, that he secured the whole of his debt, and the other creditors only a part of theirs. The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. Truth, duty, and right, are bet- ter safeguards, under the government of God, than human wisdom and power can be, in opposition to him. In doing right, men may not obtain the great- est possible amount of earthly treasures, but they will secure the greatest desirable amount of what will pro- mote their highest good. What man, not an enemy 5i to himself and his Maker, would knowingly do wrong to obtain more ? "Here is a lawyer, who has engaged to defend his client. He is under oath to give him the best de- fence in his power. The case is to be tried on Mon- day. May he not take the Sabbath for preparation ? '^ Not unless he is disposed knowingly to disobey God ; and facts, in great numbers, would seem to add, not unless he would increase the prospect of failing to ac- complish his end. A lawyer of distinguished talents, on his death-bed, said to his friend, " Charge every young lawyer not to do any thing in the business of his profession on the Sabbath. It will injure him, and lessen the prospect of his success. I have tried it. I do not know why it is, but there is something about it very striking. My Sabbath efforts have almost always failed. I found, unexpectedly, that my clients had deceived me, and that the evidence was- very different from what I had expected ; some of my witnesses would be absent ; my own efforts would fail ; the judge would go against me, or the jury could not agree. Something would always occur which would make the result most unsatislfactory. Tell all the young lawyers that, if they would succeed, they must not take the Sabbath for business. It is the way to faiV No sound lawyer of upright mind, who has tried both methods for a course of years, has, it is believed, come to a different conclusion. But, whether it is so or not, no enlightened man, on his death-bed, has ever rejoiced that he took so much, or regretted that he took so little, of the Sabbath for secular business. There is one consideration which sets this matter forever at rest. The day belongs to God, iri an espe- cial and peculiar sense, and, not to man. It is " The Lord's Day," to be devoted to his business, in distinc- tion from theirs. In his language, they are to do '' all No. 4. 5 52 their work " in the six working days. " Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy woi^k.^'' This settles the question about doing a part of their work on the Sabbath, even when pressed with business. The lawyer's oath binds him to render only such services to his client as he can consistently with obeying God And this is all that any man's duty binds him or permits him to attempt. '•I admit/' says one, -'that work is forbidden. Men cannot engage, in body or mind, in secular busi- ness, without disobeying God. But may they not TRAVEL on that day, especially under peculiar circum- stances ? My vessel has just arrived in a distant port ; I have no agent there ; the markets are ex- tremely fluctuating. Unless I am there to take charge of the cargo, and take advantage of the mar- kets, I may lose all, and be ruined. May I not, in that case, travel on the Sabbath, at least a part of the day ? May I not start from Boston at four o'clock on Saturday afternoon, get into New York at six or seven o'clock on Sabbath morning, attend church, and at four o'clock on Sabbath afternoon start for Philadelphia; so as to get into Baltimore Monday noon ? I can spend Saturday evening in the steam- boat, reading the Bible and preparing for the Sab- bath ; and I can spend Sabbath evening in reflecting upon what I have heard from the pulpit during the day. May I not, in that way, while 1 am asleep, in- nocently be carried forward a few hundred miles on my journey ? " Suppose, while on your way, God should meet you, and inquire, " Whither goest thou ? " You an- swer, " To Baltimore." " For what purpose ? " "To see to my vessel, that has just arrived, and to take advantage of the market." " But who gave you liberty to be seeking on the Sabbath to take advan- tage of markets, in order to make or save money t Have you not six days in the week for such purposes, and are not these enough ? " What would you an- swer ? That you were at a distance from the market, and needed the Sabbath in order to arrive the sooner ? But does the glory of God, or the welfare of the uni- verse, require it, or even permit it ? Is it a good example ? May not every other person at a distance travel for the same purpose, and thus the benefits of the Sabbath be lost ? Are the Sabbath and its blessings to be set aside, the glory of God and the good of the world to be sacrificed, that you may make money? And suppose a fellow-traveller, having heard your replies, should ask, *• When did your vessel arrive ? where has she been ? what is her cargo ? what amount did she bring ? how much is the cargo worth ? what will you take for it ? " But you wish to keep the Sabbath, and you know that such conversation would profane it. So you tell him, " I do not wish to talk about such matters on the Sabbath." "But did I not hear you say," he inquires, '• that you were going to Baltimore to take advantage of the markets ? Is your object a good one, and yet one that it is wicked to talk about ? " INIight not the Lord add, " Thou hypocrite ! out of thine owm mouth will I judge thee. Thou acknowledgest that thine object is such that it is sinful even to talk about it ; much more is it wicked to pursue it." If it is wicked to make bargains, it is wicked to be travelling for the purpose of making them. Who does not see that your ow^n heart would condemn you ? You are throwing the whole weight of your example in favor of travelling on the Sabbath in prosecution of world- ly business, when the example of every man ought to be, and that of every enlightened and consistent man will be, against that practice. " Yes, I see," says another, '^ and I acknowledge, that travelling for worldly objects on the Sabbath, to make money, or to save money, even if a person does stop and attend worship, is wrong. It is a bad exam- 54 pie, and tends to do evil. Should all pursue it, the Sabbath would be destroyed ; and the example of those who do pursue it is as really wicked as it would be if all others should imitate it. But my travelling is not on worldly business. I finished my worldly business at three o'clock on Saturday afternoon. May I not take the steamboat which starts at four, and get home at six o'clock on Sabbath morning, so as to be with my family, and attend public worship in my own church ? " If you may do so, every other man may do the same. The minister of the gospel may do it, in order to be with his family, and preach to his own church ; and the minister with whom he exchanges may also do so. The clerk in a store may go home, and attend church with his parents. At six o'clock on Sabbath afternoon, he, and the minister who preached on exchange, may take the steamboat and go back again, two hundred miles, so as to be, the one in his store, and the other with his family, on Monday morning ; for it is evidently no more really wicked to travel on the last part of the Sabbath than on the first. One part is as holy as the other. And the day is twenty-four hours long. Who cannot see that this would tend to destroy the influence of the Sabbath, to set in motion every steamboat and rail-car that could get patronage, and to deprive all the men who are employed on them of the rest and privileges of the day ? Those men have an inalienable right to the benefits of the Sabbath. And should they con- sult their true interests, they would not, for any amount of money, give up that right, or cease to en- joy the privilege. They cannot do it without curs- ing themselves and their children. The evil will go down to their children's children. No friend of God or man can consistently aid in producing such evils. But does not every man who travels on board the boat or in the cars, on the Sabbath, do this ? Does not he encourage the owners to run, and thus know- 55 ingly become a partaker in their sins ? Does he not lend his influence to keep those workmen in the prac- tice of habitually profaning the Sabbath, greatly to their injury, and the injury of the community ? Is this right ? No, it is not right. It is a sin — a great sin against God and man. " That might be the case," says one, " provided my stopping would lead to the stopping of the boat. But others will travel, if I do not ; and, as the boat will run at any rate, I may go." So the rumseller says, The business is bad ; yes, destructive. He would stop, if all others would. But, as rum will be sold, whether he sells it or not, therefore he may sell. But the question is, and that which is to settle the whole matter. Is it right 7 Is the example good ? Would it be useful for others to follow it ? Would it promote piety, morality, and religion ? If not, it is wicked. Suppose that others will commit wickedness if he should not ; will that justify him in committing it, and thus adding his influence to that of others in pouring the flood of desolation over the land ? His object is, not the good of society, but the making of money. And, as others will make money by wicked- ness, therefore he will, and thus be as wicked as they. And is it not so with the man who will travel on the Sabbath, or the first six hours of it, to get home to his family ? Is not his great object to make money, or to save money, by doing his travelling on the Lord's day, and that he may have one more day to attend to business ? Or is it not his own pleasure, in being with his family, which he seeks, above the glory of God and the good of mankind ? '^ No," a man says, '•' it is not so with me. By being carried on Saturday night, while I am asleep, from New York to Boston, or a considerable portion of the way, and going the rest early in the morning in the cars, I can keep the Sabbath better than I could at a tavern, or 5* 56 with a friend in New York." What is the meaning of this ? Is it any thing more than, '^ I think I should enjoy the Sabbath better myself, and make it more useful to me"? '' Yes," a man says, ''my family need my presence. By being with them, I can lead them to keep the Sabbath better, and in a manner more useful to others." If that is the case, and it is on that account your duty to be with them, then it is your duty to go to them during the week time, and set them an example of keeping the Sabbath at the beginnings as well as in the middle, and at the end of the day. One part is as holy as another. By going home on Sabbath morning, you set the example of Sabbath-breaking, which they may follow after you are dead. You teach them that only a part of the Sabbath is to be kept holy ; and is that the right way to induce them properly to observe it ? You are found in company with the most notorious and shame- less Sabbath-breakers, helping to deprive those em- ployed of the rest and privileges of the Sabbath, that your family may the better enjoy them ; and you are setting an example, which, if followed, would destroy the Sabbath itself. If you may travel the first six hours, or the first two, others, whose convenience, in their view, requires it, may travel the next two, or six ; and others, the next. The whole day may be occupied by different parties travelling to and fro, and the day become subject to general desecration. To such desecration your example inevitably tends. On the whole, instead of benefiting your family, or leading them, as they grow up, better to keep the Sabbath, it will operate powerfully the other way. The scream of the rail-car tells to all who hear it, that men are trampling on the Sabbath. This tends to break down its sacred enclosures, and lead others to trample upon its holy hours. And when the pas- sengers get out, it is seen that you are among them. That scream of the cars gave notice of your arrival, 57 and your own conscience condemns you. Why else did you wish to arrive in silence, before it was light ? Why step so quietly along that private back way ? Why hope that your neighbors would not see you, and that you might arrive before your children should be up ? Why wish to have them meet you first in the stillness and quiet of the day, rather than coming in with your baggage from a distant journey ? You know that it is wrong ; hence the eifort that you make to satisfy yourself and others, that in your peculiar case it is allowable. You acknowledge that it would, on the whole, be better for the community if no steamboat or rail-car should run, and if all the work- men should be allowed to have the rest and privileges of the Sabbath. '' But THE MAIL, the mail must run on the Sabbath. Of course, somebody must go with it ; and, if others may go, why may not I ? " This reasoning, if it were sound, and the statement, if true, would not justify any one in travelling, except those who must aid in carrying the mail. But the statement is not true, and the reasoning is not sound. It is not necessary for the mail to go on the Sabbath. It goes far enough, and quick enough, during the week. What have men to do with moneyed letters, stocks, and markets, on the Sabbath ? It is a violation of the day to go to the post-office for such letters ; and it would be a violation of it to read them if a man had them on his table, or to occupy his thoughts about them. The Sabbath was made and given to men for a different purpose — a sacred and religious purpose. Men are forbidden on that day to occupy their minds, no less than their bodies, about worldly things. After God has been so kind, in his providence, as to furnish steamboats, and rail-cars, and electric telegraphs, to send information all the six days with almost light- ning speed, for men to rob him of the seventh, for the 58 purpose of conveying to merchants, from city to city, information about trade, is ungrateful : it is wicked, and it ought not to be suffered by a free people. It is wholly unnecessary. No mail leaves London, the mercantile metropolis of the world, on the Sabbath. None need to leave any city, town, or village. And when men obey God, none ordinarily will. A late postmaster-general acknowledged, that the running of the mails in the United States on the Sabbath is wholly unnecessary ; that nothing but the cupidity of merchants creates the seeming necessity ; and that the government would be glad to have them stop. It would save a vast amount of money, which, without increasing the revenue, is now paid out for Sabbath- breaking mails ; and it would be better for the coun- try if all should be stopped. But, it is said, there are sometimes cases of sickness or death, where it is convenient, if not necessary, to have the mail on an emergency, which, if there were no mail on the Sabbath, would call forth an express, and it might be proper to send one. In such a case they might, on the Sabbath, should it be needful, use the telegraph, or send an express. The evil of so doing would be nothing, compared with the evil of an open, systematic, habitual violation of the Sabbath by the transportation of the mails for mercantile and moneyed purposes. No law of Congress requires such transportation. It is only a regulation of the post- master-general, which becomes a law because he has adopted it. He can at any time annul it. Within the last ten years, more than eighty thousand miles of Sabbath-breaking mails in the United States have been stopped, and what were stopped at one time saved to the government more than sixty thousand dollars a year. They may all be stopped, when the people desire it ; and all the great interests of the country be promoted. And while they run, nothing but the mail, and proper persons to attend it, need to go, or ought to go. Of course the fact that the mail runs, justifies no one in pursuing his journey on that day. Let all travellers stop, and soon, very soon, the mails will stop. In order to this, let no good man travel at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of the Sabbath, even to get home to his family. If he is absent, and ought to be with them on the Sabbath, let him return to them on a week day. If he cannot do that, let him rest where he is, and leave them with God. His business is to keep the Sabbath day holy where he is. Is it a wicked place ? So much greater is the need that he should set a good example. Do others trample on the Sabbath ? He is bound to hal- low it, and he may have been called to stay there for that very purpose. None can tell but that he may there, in the discharge of his duty, be more useful than he could be, at that time, at home, or in any other place. Of course, all shadow of reason, on the ground of usefulness, why he should take the Sab- bath for travelling, is removed. All good reasons are on the other side. As to enjoyment, he must, if he would obey God, sometimes deny himself, take up the cross, and seek, not his own gratification, or that of his family, but the glory of God and the good of mankind. These will be promoted, not in the viola- tion of, but in obedience to, his commands. His own good, and that of his family, and, in the end, their highest enjoyment, will be increased in the same way. " But I am on a journey : I have my family with me : we are removing to a distant part of the coun- try : I have but little money, and must be economi- cal. May I not harness up my team, go to the next town, and there attend church ; in the intermission go to the next town, attend church in the afternoon, while the horses are eating, and, after meeting, drive on till evening ? " This would be an attempt to 60 * serve God and Mammon, which our Savior has de- clared to be impossible. If the Lord be God, follow him ; but if Mammon, then follow him. On that plan, should there be no church on the road, the fam- ily might, except when refreshing their teams, travel all the time. Those who are removing from one part of the country to another, and who travel but six days in a week, ordinarily arrive at their journey's end as soon as those who travel seven, and with their teams in better order. Two families were removing to a distant part of the country, when the Sabbath came. One of them stopped, and kept it holy. The other went on for the purpose of getting forward on their journey, and thus saving time and money. In the course of the day, one of the children fell out of the wagon, and was run over. They were obliged, on account of it, to stop three weeks. The other family stopped but one day, and that was needed to refresh themselves and their horses. The rest of the time they travelled safely, and with success. A number of men started together on horseback for a distant state. A part stopped every Sabbath ; the others were pressed with business, and thought that they could not afford the time. The Sabbath-keepers arrived at on Saturday, a little after noon. On Sabbath evening, just before the going down of the sun, the Sabbath-breakers arrived, with their horses so jaded and worn out, that, in the language of one of the other party, "they were hardly fit to be used." *' But sometimes ladies are travelling alone, or those under Avhose protection they are will not stop on the Sabbath." That was the case with two ladies who were travelling from one of the Eastern to one of the Western States. On Saturday afternoon, they stopped, and went alone from the boat to the public house, where they spent the Sabbath. The gentleman and 61 his daughter, with whom they were travelling, thought they had not time to stop, and went on. The boat that night sprung a leak. The daughter got wet, took a violent cold, which occasioned a fever, and both father and daughter were detained for some time at a public house on the road. The two ladies who stopped and kept the Sabbath, in the course of a week passed by the others, and went on in safety and without interruption to their journey's end. The stage-coach arrived, on a certain occasion, on the top of one of the Alleghany Mountains on Satur- day night. A lady on board requested the driver to take off her trunk, as she did not travel on the Sab- bath. He said he would if she insisted upon it, but she had better go on. The coach was going direct- ly on : the other lady was going ; all the passen- gers were going, and she had better go ; for, if she stopped, she might have to stay there a week. There had not been a coach along for many days that was not crowded ; and no way-passengers could get in, unless there was a vacant seat. She, however, stopped, and the coach departed. In descending the mountain, it was overturned. The lady who went on was killed, and a number of the passengers were badly injured. On Monday another coach arrived, with one vacant seat, which the Sabbath-keeping lady took, and reached her friends in safety. She did not, on the whole, lose any thing by stopping ; but she had reason to bless her Father in heaven for the Sabbath, and also for a disposition rightly to keep it. " But I have been absent from home a long time ; I have not heard from my family ; and they may be sick. By riding on the Sabbath I may see them a day sooner. Or, I may have arrived on Saturday within half a day's journey. May I not finish my journey on the Sabbath ? " It is not certain, if you attempt it, that you will see your family any sooner j 62 or, if you should, that would not prove it to be right. A man similarly situated travelled on the Sabbath. The last steamboat which he took, and the one which he supposed would convey him safely to his family, took fire, and was consumed. Only a few solitary passengers remained to tell the mournful story. He never again saw his family. Had he stopped on the Sabbath, he would have escaped this catastrophe. He might, indeed, have met with some other. But sup- pose he had ; if that was to be the last Sabbath he was ever to spend on earth, would it not have been better to spend it in resting, according to the com- mandment, and in preparation, by religious duties, for that rest which remainetli for the people of God, rath- er than in giving his sanction to the running of steam- boats on the Sabbath ? " But THE PACKET IS TO LEAVE THE PORT OH Sab- bath morning for a distant voyage. If I do not go then, I must wait a long time — perhaps lose my voy- age. What shall I do ? " Persuade the captain to stop, if you can, till Monday ; and, if you cannot, stop yourself, till some future opportunity. Let every captain know, not by words merely, but by deeds, that, if he would have the patronage of good men, he must not leave a port on the Sabbath, and the evil of such practices will soon be done away. One man took the packet for a distant port. He started on the Sabbath because he thought he must do it in order to arrive in season. Another refused to start, and waited for a boat that left on a week day. Yet he arrived in port a number of days before the other. Another vessel was about to leave a harbor on the Sabbath. A gentleman tried to induce the captain to stop till Monday. He said he should like it, but the owners could not wait. They pressed him, and he must go. He started. Soon the wind arose, and 63 after tossing in great danger for three hours, the vessel was thrown upon a rock. There she lay for three days. Then, to repair her damages, she was detained in port for three weeks. So that it was proved by facts that those owners who said they could not wait for one day, though it was the Sabbath, could wait, for they did wait three weeks. The writer of this recollects well taking leave, on Sabbath morning, of a captain who was very rekic- tant to depart. But he was pressed off by the own- ers, because the vessel was ready, and the wind was fair. But neither he nor his vessel was ever again heard of. A number of families were very desirous of taking passage on board a new and elegant steamboat that was to start on the Sabbath for a voyage of about a thousand miles. They urged the captain to stop till Monday, and offered him a large sum of money, in addition to the fare, if he would stop. But he refused, and they refused to go in his boat. They returned to their lodgings, and kept the Sabbath. The cap- tain started on his voyage ; but he had not proceeded half the distance, when his boat was blown up, and the captain and numerous passengers were killed. The fragments of the shattered boat were scattered far and wide over the waters. Those who had re- fused to go in her, took another boat in the course of the week, and arrived in safety at their place of desh tination. While writing this document, the following state- ment came to hand : — ^' At a meeting of the Lord's Day Society in New- castle, the Rev. J. Longmuir, of Aberdeen, delivered an address on the evil of ' Sabbath-sailing.' The in- terest manifested induced the chairman of the meet- ing to relate some deeply-affecting circumstances per- sonally known to himself. This gentleman, a few years ago, was owner of a fine vessel. Her captain No. 4. 6 64 had been brought up by him from his youth, and, when sufficiently qualified, had been sent to sea as captain of this vessel, with orders never to sail from port on the Lord's day. For a long time these orders were faithfully obeyed. The captain, honest and in- dustrious in his business, became highly respected by his employer. On one occasion, he was all ready to go to sea. The season was fine, and the captain had determined to take his wife and child with him on the voyage. They were on board. Adverse winds sprung up. The vessel was detained for several days. On the Lord's day morning the scene was changed ; a fair wind and smooth sea tempted him to leave the port. Alas ! the temptation was too strong for his weak faith. He yielded to it. Within little more than twelve hours of their crossing the bar at Shields, every soul on board that vessel had perished. No one was left to explain the circumstances which brought about this melancholy event ; but it was supposed that the vessel had struck upon a sand bank, and that the captain, having lost the moral courage and self- possession arising from a conscience at peace with God, quitted his vessel, and with all on board took to a small boat, which was overturned in the surf, and the whole crew were called to appear in the eternal world. The vessel shortly after floated with the rising tide, and came on shore apparently just as the crew had left it, the cabin not at all disordered. A canary hanging in its cage, full of life and vigor, was sing- ing as if all were well and its accustomed shipmates each occupied his accustomed place." We can never know, when a Sabbath comes, but it may be our last on earth. Wisdom, therefore, safety, interest, and duty, all require that we should spend it in such a manner that, should it be the last, we may spend the next in heaven. Had the men known, when repairing the steamboat, that it was the last Sabbath they would ever spend in port, would they 65 have employed it in repairing her machinery ; espe- cially those to whom, in less than a week, she would be a grave ? *' This journeying for money, or personal conve- nience or pleasure, or the pleasure and profit of friends," says one, "as well as engaging in worldly business, is all evidently wrong. They are a viola- tion of divine commands, and tend to eternal ruin. But I am peculiarly situated. I am engaged in the city all the week, in confined rooms and bad air. My HEALTH requires that on the Sabbath I should go out into the country, take exercise, breathe the fresh air, and recruit my exhausted energies." But how comes it that your health requires you to take the Lord's day for such purposes, rather than one of your own days ? Why not take Saturday afternoon, or some portion of the six days, for going into the coun- try, and give to God his day ? Or, in other words, Why not be honest ? Why must you rob God for your purposes, when you have six parts of the week, through his kindness, for your work, and he but one set apart as holy? Is not his time as precious as yours, and are not the objects of the Sabbath as im- portant as your business ? Or must the glory of God and the good of the universe be sacrificed to you ? No man has a right so closely and continuously to employ himself or others during the week time, that he cannot give to God the Sabbath, or so that his health will not permit him to devote it to spiritual and religious duties. He is bound to take as much of the week time for relaxation as his health requires. But is it not said, "Six days shalt thou labor"? It is so said ; but the meaning is not, you shall labor so much as to injure your health, or unfit you to re- member the Sabbath and keep it holy. If you do that, you violate both commands, one by excess and the other by defect. The meanmg is, confine your 66 secular labors and cares to six days, and give to God the Sabbath. Both, properly attended to, are not only consistent with, but promotive of health ; nor is it necesiiary or right for the one to encroach upon the other. There is time enough for both, if it only be rightly divided. It is the duty of a man to eat; nor does his stopping his business long enough during the week time to do this, break the command, "Six days shalt thou labor," but it helps him rightly to obey it. He could not otherwise obey the command. But if he eats so much as to make himself sick, or unfit him to keep the Sabbath day holy, and make it necessary to take medicine, or ride out into the country, to re- cruit his health, he sijis against God. against his own soul, and against the great interests of the ivorld. He unfits himself for his duty. Besides, he obliges the dumb beasts to labor, if he uses them, at a time when God has expressly commanded that they should be permitted to rest. This is a sin. Nor does the fact that his health requires it, if this is caused by excessive devotion to business, or any species of wrong doing, free him from guilt. " But I am an apprentice, or a clerk in a store. I am under the control of others, and my time is not at my own command. May not I take the Sabbath for recreation, for amusement, for riding or walking into the country, and such exercises as my health re- quires? " " To the law and the testimony." " What saith the commandment ? " Is this remembering the Sabbath as the Lord's day, and as such keeping it holy ? Or is it an exception to this, for which you plead, on account of your being an apprentice or a clerk ? If the latter, your peculiar situation is not a good reason for taking such a course. Your em- ployer is bound to give you as much time for such purposes as your health renders needful, during the week, as really as he is bound to permit you to stop long enough to eat or to sleep. If he will not do this, and you cannot, consistently with your heahh, keep the Sabbath day holy, then you are in an un- lawful situation, and you are bound to leave it. You have no right to put, or to keep yourself in a condi- tion where you cannot obey God, in keeping holy his Sabbath. You are bound to free yourself from it. If you continue voluntarily in it, you involve yourself in guilt. And the fact that you cannot elsewhere obtain as much money, is no sufficient rea- son why you should not change your situation, and go where you can, consistently with your health, keep the command of God. Employers have no right so to occupy those under their care as to cre- ate any seeming necessity, or throw the temptation before them, to desecrate the Sabbath. If they do, they are partakers, if not the principals in guilt, and are violators of that command which extends ex- pressly, not merely to themselves, but to all under their care. They are bound to permit those whom they employ to have as much time as the recruiting of exhausted energies, and also the keeping of the Sabbath, requires. If they refuse to do this, they are guilty ; as are all who tempt others to violate, and all who aid and abet others in the violation of the Lord's day. " But I am employed on board of a ferry-boat. The boat runs every day in the week, and I am ne- cessarily occupied from morning till evening. I can- not, therefore, keep the Sabbath day holy, or even attend public worship." Then you are bound to quit that employment, and engage in one in which you can keep the Sabbath holy. Your present employ- ment on the Sabbath day is a wicked employment, carried on, not to honor God and do good, but to make money, and in a way which he has forbidden. *' But people cross the ferry to attend public wor- ship." That is no good reason why any others 6* 68 should cross for amusement or pleasure. Nor is it £my good reason why those should cross who attend public worship, provided they can attend public wor- ship without it. And if they cannot, that is no good reason why the boatmen should not attend worship as well as they, and the boats stop, except when it is needful to carry over or return the worshippers. ''But ministers cross the ferry to exchange pulpits with their brethren." Yet this is not needful ; for they can preach in their own pulpits, or, when they exchange, can go on Saturday, and return on Monday. It is not needful that you should be deprived of the rest and privileges of the Sabbath to accommodate them in this thing. It is not a work of necessary mercy , nor is it required by the best discharge of the appro- priate duties of the Sabbath. They have no right to require you to disobey God, in order to accommo- date them. And if you do it, the fact that they are ministers of the gospel, and that you carried them over to preach, while you carried others over to en- gage in amusements, will not save you from guilt, or screen you from punishment. " No," says a man, '' this running of the ferry-boats all the Sabbath, and going out with steam-boats, and pleasure-boats, and rail-cars, is evidently wicked, and tends powerfully to promote Sabbath desecration ; but I am the keeper of a livery stable, and if I do not let my horses on the Sabbath, I cannot maintain my business." Then it is an immoral and a wicked business. You are bound to abandon it, because you are aiding the known, open, and habitual violation of the law of God. You are also, and for worldly pur- poses, employing your horses on a day when God commands that they shall not be so employed. You are demoralizing and debasing your own mind, and the minds of your fellow-men. You are exerting an influence which tends to destroy the Sabbath as a 69 holy day, and to rob the world of its inestimable ben- efits. Is that right ? Will it, in the end, be profita- ble ? Will it yield you consolation in the hour of death, and will the reward be such as will cheer and comfort you in eternity ? Remember, that as a man soweth, so shall he reap. The breaking down of the Sabbath, or the devoting of it to worldly concerns, tends to undermine the moral government of God, and is clothed with the guilt of treason against the Most High. Nor is it certain, that, without letting your horses on the Sabbath, you cannot maintain your business. A man who had kept a stable, said, " I had let horses on the Sabbath for a number of years. I thought that, if I should not do so, I could not sustain my- self, and yet I knew that it was wrong. The thought one day occurred, God has been very kind to you ; he has long been doing you good, and for you to be so regardless of his commands as to continue openly to violate his Sabbath, and exert an influence calculated to banish it from the world, is ungrateful. It is wicked. Besides, God has taken care of your family, while you have been openly rebelling against him ; and, should you turn about, and obey his com- mands, is it not likely that he will provide for them still? So I resolved to try. I had advertisements struck oflT and posted up, saying that my stable would not be opened on the Sabbath. At first, some fell off, but others liked it. I began to fill up ; and my busi- ness, on the whole, was quite as profitable as before. One thing was very remarkable. I had been at an expense before, upon an average, for a number of years, of from three to four hundred dollars a year, on account of the lameness and sickness of horses. But afterwards, these expenses were not ten dollars a year." Men who will break the Sabbath will kill horses. They are reckless, as well as vicious ; and many a time, the injury done to horses is far greater 70 than the profits of letting them on the Sabbath. It might not be so in all cases. But, whether it would be or not J if men cannot keep a livery stable without the open and habitual violation of the Sabbath, let them abandon the business, and follow some more moral, even if it should be a less lucrative employ- ment. It is not ^^ the chief end of man'''' to make money. " But other men will let horses on the Sabbath, if I do not." Other men will steal, if you do not ; but that is no reason why you should, nor will it screen you from guilt and condemnation if you do. '' But professors of religion come to my stable, and hire horses on the Sabbath ; and it is no worse for me to let horses, than it is for them to hire them." That may be. Some professors of religion have forged notes, but that is no reason why you should do so. It was wicked in them to do it, and wicked for any one, in order to get money, knowingly to aid and abet in doing it. It would not shield them, when brought before a court of justice, to say, that the men whom they aided in this matter were professors of religion. No more will it shield those who have aided professors of religion in violating the Sabbath. Each man must answer for his own sins, and cannot shield himself under the sins of others, even though they be professors of religion. And he who aids professedly good men in committing sin, is as really guilty as he who aids notoriously bad men j and he may do even greater mischief Sin does not lose its hateful character or mischievous tendency by being committed by professors of religion. Its evils are often greatly increased. If a bad business must be carried on, leave it wholly and exclusively to no- toriously bad men, that every child may see at once that it is an immoral employment. Let all good men, all moral men, all decent men, shun it as they would shun the plague. Let no such man ever be seen in n any business on the Sabbath, except such as is required for purposes of necessary mercy and the appropriate du- ties of that day. Let him never be seen frequenting the Hvery stable, or riding out, or using beasts of burden in any secular business. Then will the light which is in him not be darkness, tendnig to bewilder and de- stroy ; but it may shine in such a manner as to lead others to glorify his Father in heaven. " Go not in the way of evil men ; pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away." Rest on the Sabbath from worldly business, cares, and amusements, and do what in you lies that the man-servant and the maid-servant, and all classes, especially of laboring people, may rest also. " But may I not go from the city into the country, or the country into the city, or from one town to another, to spend the Sabbath with ray father's family, or the family of a friend, and attend public worship with them?" Certainly you may; but be always careful, in such cases, lo go before the Sabbath begins, and not return till after it is ended. Not only the using of horses, but the using of the rail-cars, to go from the city to the country, or from town to town, on the Sabbath, even if the passengers do go to church after they arrive, is a violation of that sacred day, which tends to injure those who are concerned in it, and to injure the public. Be honest towards God, and attempt not, for your profit or pleasure, to rob him of any portion of his day. ''But suppose I am a butcher, and am called to supply ray custoraers with fresh meat for breakfast on Monday morning. May I not kill my cattle and sheep, or dress them, on the Sabbath, that my cus- tomers may have it early on Monday morning ? " No ; not if you would obey God. Better, vastly better, would it be for all your customers, if needful, to go without fresh meat on Monday morning, or be contented with what you can provide for them on 72 Saturday, rather than that you should kill cattle and sheep, or dress them, on the Sabbath. Let all be contented with cold bread on Monday morning, rather than the baker should desecrate the Sabbath to pro-f vide them with warm. As for newspapers, no man has a right to provide any, or to take any, except such as can be furnished without secular labor on the Sabbath day. The workmen in printing-offices, hakeines, and butcheries, need the rest and the privileges of the Sabbath, as much as other men. They have as good a right to them. It is their duty, and it would be for their interest, to enjoy them. Employers and cus- tomers are all bound so to arrange their affairs that they may ; and, instead of hindering, to aid the work- men in all establishments in the enjoyment of the benefits of the Sabbath. And where there is a will, there is a way. No classes of workmen are under the necessity of losing the benefits of the Sabbath ; and none will be found to be innocent, or, in the end, to be gainers, if they continue to consent to do so. As to ARRANGEMENTS IN FAMILIES, thc NAVIGATING OP SHIPS on the ocean, or the conducting of any concerns required by necessary acts of mercy, and by the duties of the Sabbath, or which are permitted by the Sabbath law, no labor should be done except what is needful. Steamboats which leave a city in the evening, to arrive at another city in the morning, should, on Saturday, leave in the morning, and arrive in the evening. Families, if they have not in the house all needful supplies, should provide them on Saturday. For Monday morning, they should be contented with what they have, and what can be provided for them before the beginning and after the close of the Sab- bath. They should not even covet, or be willing to receive, what cannot be furnished but by the desecra- tion of that day, and by depriving others habitually of its sacred enjoyments. *' But there is one kind of employment," it is said, "in which men must break the Sabbath, namely, the taking of whales. The owners give directions to the captains to take whales whenever and wherever they can find them. If captains of whale ships should not follow the directions of owners, they would not be able to obtain employment. Omitting to take whales on the Sabbath would make the voyage one seventh part longer. The crews are absent a long time from their families, and ought to return as soon as they can. They often go for a long time without seeing whales ; and, when they do see them, should they not take them, the crews would become uneasy and mutinous. If they do not take whales on the Sabbath, the sailors would be engaged in something worse. The Lord would not suffer them to see whales on the Sabbath, unless he designed that they should take them," etc., etc. These reasons, and all others, may be set aside by one consideration, namely, '' Thus saith the Lord ; Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work." But " Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy ; in it thou shalt not do any work." Nor is obedience to this command, in the whaling business, imprac- ticable. A number of captains and crews have tried it. They have taken no whales on the Sabbath, and yet ordinarily have obtained as much oil, and pros- pered as well, on the whole, as those who have dese- crated that day. Captain Scoresby, of the British navy, who was afterwards commander of a whale ship in the northern seas, tried it for a course of years, and was especially prospered. He states, in his journal, that he does not recollect a case in which they saw whales on the Sabbath, and yet did not attempt to take them, where H they were not remarkably successful during the sub- sequent week. And although the sailors at first, when they saw a whale on the Sabbath, could hardly be restrained from making efforts to take it, yet after- wards, they not only were entirely willing to refrain, but were in high glee whenever they saw one on the Sabbath, because, from the facts, they expected after- wards to be greatly prospered. The owners, instead of giving directions to their captains to take whales whenever they can find them, can say, as men do with regard to other worldly employments, " Sundays excepted." Captains and crews can agree, when they are engaged, not to work on the Sabbath ; and all concerned be contented, as in other employments, with what they can obtain in keeping the commands of God. Nor is it by any means certain that they will be out any longer, or be in any respect less successful. Captain John Stetson, an experienced shipmaster, and late consular agent at the Sandwich Islands, says, ^' We are far from believing that any man can be a loser by the keeping of the commands of God. We well remember the trial of Captain , after his conversion. He felt the requirements of God to be as binding upon him as upon men on shore. He called his ship's company together, and informed them of his views. They agreed to give up whaling on the Sabbath. The next Sabbath, while Captain was preparing for the forenoon service, a man on deck called out, ' There she blows ! ' It was a large whale, which passed near the ship very slowly. They, however, did not lower the boats, but devoted the day to the worship of God. The next day every eye was strained to catch a glimpse of the whale, but in vain. The week passed away, without seeing any. The Sabbath came, and a whale was again seen. Some of the crew were desirous of going in pursuit, but the captain was firm. Another week passed away, 75 and no whales. The third Sabbath came, and again they saw whales. The crew became clamorous, and almost mutinous ; but the captain assured them they were in the path of duty, and went on with his reli- gious services. This was the last trial. They soon obtained all the oil they wanted, and returned in much less time than many who took whales on the Sabbath. A number of other instances misrht be cited, illustrating the fact that God can and does bless those who keep his commandments." An instance is stated by the mate of a whale ship, in which the captain had been out but a short time before he repeatedly saw whales on the Sabbath, seeing none on any other day. He did not attempt to take them. Soon he fell in with other ships that had been out no longer than he had, and yet had hundreds of barrels of oil, much of which was taken on the Sabbath. He had none. After a time he saw a whale on Monday, and took it. He saw no more whales, after that, on the Sabbath, but was very suc- cessful at other times. He filled his vessel, and re- turned months before those who sailed when he did, and took whales on the Sabbath. Captain Green, of England, who refrained from taking whales on the Sabbath, stated that he had never seen a whale on that day, when he did not see it again, or some other, on the following day. A captain from Massachusetts, who long followed the business of whaling, took no whales on the Sab- bath. Yet he was considered a very successful com- mander ; and his services were eagerly sought for by owners of ships. His death, which lately occurred, was not only peaceful, but triumphant and glorious. " Never," said an old friend of his, " did I see such a triumphant death before." As to the reason given, that the Lord would not permit sailors to see whales on the Sabbath, unless it were his will that they should attempt to take them, No. 4. 7 76 they might as well say, that the Lord would not suffer them to see their neighbor's property, unless it were his will that they should steal it. He suffers men to be tempted to do wrong, for a far different purpose than that they should yield to the temptation. "Let no man say, when he is tempted, I am tempted of God. for God cannot be tempted of evil ; neither tempteth he any man." The fact is, whenever a man does wrong, "he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed." And it is lust, which, when it hath con- ceived, "bringeth forth sin. And sin," knowingly and presumptuously continued in, will, " when it is finished, bring forth death." When Jehovah com- manded, " Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy," he made no exception with regard to the busi?iess of whaling. If men would obey him, and meet his approbation, they must make none, but must rest on the Sabbath, and require all in their employment, and under their control, also to rest from their labors on that day. It is also needful, in order to enjoy the full benefit of the Sabbath, that persons should not indulge in SECULAR READING, CONVERSATION, OR CONTEMPLATION. The mind, as well as the body, must rest from world- ly employments. It was with reference to the soul peculiarily that the Sabbath was made and given to men ; and to keep it in a proper manner, the mind must not be occupied with secular concerns. The merchant may violate the Sabbath as really by the reading of secular newspapers, the planning of suc- cessful voyages, or the contemplation of worldly gains, as his neighbor who is selling wheat or goods. The student may violate it by getting his lesson ; the lawyer by studying his case, consulting his authori- ties, or making out his brief. The farmer may vio- late the Sabbath, by walking out in his fields, and contemplating his crops ; the physician, by visiting 77 his patients ; and the clergyman, by riding to a dis- tant town on an exchange, when the case does not require it, the providence of God does not call for it, and the law of God does not permit it. That there are cases when it may be needful, and be an act of mercy and of piety, for a physician to visit his patient, a man his sick neighbor, or for a minister to ride some distance to preach the gospel, we do not deny. It is not of such cases that we speak, but of cases where the visiting, or the riding on the Sabbath, is not called for by the providence of God, but may be more usefully done on the previous day. With regard to the practice of some ministers, who ride from town to town on the Sabbath, to exchange MINISTERIAL LABORS with their brethren, the follow- ing thoughts are submitted for serious consideration. Some, when they exchange, go, or return, or both, on the Sabbath ; others conscientiously avoid this. When they exchange out of town, they go on Saturday, and return on Monday. Many Christians have expressed deep regret at the practice of the former, and an ar- dent desire that all would imitate the latter. They think it would be more useful, for the following rea- sons, among others ; namely, — 1. It would be more satisfactory to the great body of enlightened and conscientious men. This is evi- dent from their frequent remarks on the subject, the deep regrets which they express at the practice of which we speak, and their desire that it may be changed. They apprehend that it tends to break down the sanctity of the Sabbath in the minds of the people, to lead them less sacredly to regard it, and furnishes occasion to Sabbath-breakers to excuse them- selves in going from town to town, to hear a favorite preacher, or to be employed in some other way; while it lessens the influence of the minister in pro- moting the due observance of the day. A respectable minister starts on Sabbath morning 78 from the town in which he lives, to ride ten miles to another town. After proceeding about six miles, he sees a man at his door chopping wood. He is fired with holy zeal, and instinctively turns up his horse, and says, " Friend, have you forgotten that it is the Sabbath day ? " " No, sir." '' You must be aware that you are doing wrong. It is wicked to emjiloy this holy day in chopping wood." "And pray, sir," says the man, " what are you doing, in journeying on the Sabbath ? " He does not know that the man is a minister, and the minister does not like to tell him ; for he might say, '' If a minister may ride ten or a dozen miles, and occupy, in this way, two hours of holy time, I may occupy half an hour in chopping wood." However, the minister musters up courage, and says, " I am going to to preach the gospel to those who will otherwise be destitute." "And I," says the man, " am chopping wood for my family, who will otherwise, on this cold day, be destitute." " But why did you not chop your wood on Saturday ? " " Sure enough," says the man ; " and why did you not do your riding on Saturday ? " " Had I passed on," said the minister who was once found in a situation like the above, " that man would not have known that I was a minister ; and, thinking he was no worse than I, would have felt supported in his Sabbath-breaking." " Yes," said the friend to whom he related this case, " and perhaps your telling him that you were a minister did not altogether prevent that effect." " So I thought," said the other ; " and I resolved never to be seen again riding from town to town on the Sabbath." Would it not be well for all ministers to make a similar reso- lution ; and not to exchange with their brethren in other towns, except in cases where they can go and return without taking for the journey any part of the Sabbath ? A man spent his Sabbaths in tending a ferry, to the 79 neglect of public worship, and for the purpose of making money. His friend admonished him that it was not right, that it injured himself and his family, and exhorted him to attend public worship. He said he could not do it ; he must be there to take over the Rev. Mr. when he went to exchange. '' I heard of that," said the Rev. Mr. , '' and I resolved, whenever I exchanged in future, to go on Saturday. I have since adhered to this resolution. And, having tried both ways, I am satisfied that the last is the best." Let all ministers of the gospel try it, and see if their experience will not accord with his. " But," says a minister, " I cannot spend the time to go on Saturday." Then is it not improper to take the Lord's time ? '' But I wish a part of the Sabbath to be with my family." Then is it not wrong to spend any part of it in journeying to another town ? Would it not be better that your brother's family, whenever you do exchange, should have all the benefit of your good example with them through the whole of the Sabbath ; and let him come to your house on Saturday, and give to your family the benefit of his instruction and example through the whole of the day ? Your example, it is thought, would, in that case, be more safe and salutary to your family and to your people. If it is useful for you to ride to a dis- tant town to preach, your people may think it useful for them to ride as far to hear you, provided they like to hear you better than they do the man with whom you exchange ; or, if they think his preaching will do them more good than yours, they may ride on the Sabbath to hear him, when you do not exchange. If the minister may ride out of his parish on the Sab- bath once a month, his young people may think that they may do so once a fortnight, or once a week : imagining that they may do weekly, without great guilt, what he may do monthly. 2. Another reason why ministers should go, when 7* 80 practicable, on Saturday, rather than on the Sabbath, is, that they will be more likely to be " in the Spirit on the Lord's day." In going from one's lodging- place, from the closet and the family to the pulpit, the minister will be more likely to be in a spiritual frame of mind, than after riding from town to town, amidst the miscellaneous variety of objects which may occupy his attention. His hearers, also, in see- ing him arrive from a distance, or knowing that he has occupied the morning in riding, will be less likely to be favorably impressed and spiritually benefited by his preaching, than if they knew he had come from his place of morning devotion and communion with God. Facts, it is believed, justify the conclu- sion, and observation will confirm and extend it, that the ministers who travel most on the Sabbath, are the least likely, in their exchanges, to do good. A minister who was travelling, came, on Saturday afternoon, to a very uninviting place, and stopped for the Sabbath. He made his way from the steamboat up to a rum-tavern, the only one in the place. The villagers were assembled, carousing in the bar-room, and it was rumored among them that a preacher had stopped there. Many wondered how he came to stop. It was replied, because he would not travel on the Sabbath. On hearing that, a man said, " No doubt he is a good man ; a man of principle. We had bet- ter have a meeting to-morrow, and hear him preach. I presume he will preach well." No such conclusion would have been drawn, had he come there in the stage, on the steamboat, or in the rail-car, or even on his own horse, on the Sabbath. No one would have presumed, from that fact, that he was a good man, or that it would be very desirable to hear him preach, though it were known that he came only from the next town ; especially if it were known, also, that he might have come the day before. The Sabbath com- mends itself to the conscience ; and even wicked H men know that all, especially professors of religion, and most of all, iniriisters of the gospel, should keep it holy. The more conscientiously and habitually they do this, even if it be at some sacrifice, the great- er will be their influence for good upon their fellow- men. This is an important reason why ministers who exchange should not go from town to town on the Sabbath. Conscience takes the side of the Sab- bath. An enlightened man not only condemns others when they violate it, but also condemns himself. A steamboat came up from Cincinnati, and got into Wheeling on Saturday night. A man on board told his friend he should stop there, and keep the Sabbath, though the boat was going on to Pittsburg, and, if not hindered, would arrive there the next day. He thought they had both better stop ; they could then attend church ; and, on Monday, should another boat pass, they could take that ; and, if not, they could take the stage, go to Cumberland, and there take the rail-car. He had travelled much, and had found that men who stop on the Sabbath seem to get along, on the whole, quite as well as those who travel. At any rate, he should stop. His friend appeared almost per- suaded to stop also. He seemed to know that it was right ; but he was " peculiarly situated." Every en- lightened man who would break the Sabbath, must, to satisfy either himself or others, make out that he is "peculiarly situated." Conscience takes the side of the Sabbath. He must show that his case is an ex- ception to the rule, or condemn himself. What, in this man's case, was the peculiarity ? He had his family with him, coming over from the west, after long absence, to see old friends at the east. That was a reason why he should stop and keep holy the Sabbath, and thus set a good example to his family, rather than a reason why he should travel. But it would cost more. True, it might. Sometimes it does, and sometimes it does not. But suppose it 83 should. God did not say, Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, unless it will cost more ; and why should any man act as if he had said this ? There are two things which no man should ever forget. One is, we have no right to obtai?i any more money than we can by obeyijig God. The other iSj when we have obtained money, we have no right, and it is not tvise, to keep any more than we can and keep holy the Sabbath. All the money which the proper keeping of the Sabbath requires, should go freely. It is a good investment ; and yields often thirty, sixty, and even a hundred fold. Nor can any thing valua- ble be ultimately gained by doing what a man knows to be wrong. But that man seemed to forget this, and he went on. On Sabbath morning, that beautiful morning, one of those sweet little children fell overboard and was drowned. In the course of the week, after the fa- ther got over to Pennsylvania, he met the friend who stopped at Wheeling and kept the Sabbath. O, said he, / did wrong at Wheeling. I ought to have stopped^ as you did, a?id kept the Sabbath. But I went on, and I have lost my child. He might have lost his child, if he had stopped. Men that do right sometimes lose their children, and it is very trying. But it is much more trying, for a father to lose a child in doing what he knows to be wrong, as this father deeply felt, and as every father similarly situated would feel. The spirit of a man, when sound, will sustain his infirmity ; but a wounded spirit who can bear ? There is no safety but in doing right. That fear of the Lord which leads a man to do his duty, whatever it may cost him, is not only the beginning, but also the perfection of wisdom. It is the surest way to the highest ultimate good. It is the best policy in this world, and will bring the most gracious and glorious reward in the world to come. 83 Probably no enlightened minister, after riding from town to town, to exchange on the Sabbath, when he might have gone on Saturday, feels best prepared to preach most effectively from the text, " Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." Seldom, in such a case, wonld a minister take that text. If he should, and then, in view of the congregation, after meeting, ride home on the Sabbath, he would not be likely to do much good. Many a wicked man, if not now and then a good man, would say, '"Physician, heal thy- self.' Thou that preachest that other men should not break the Sabbath, dost thou break it ? " " But I go to preach ; " and says another man, '-I go to hear." " But you might and ought to hear at home." '< And might not you, reverend sir, preach at home ? You did not return home, after meeting, to preach." '' No ; that was to be with my family." '' And I," says the other, " after finishing my business, rode home, on the Sabbath, to be with iny family." The keeper of a livery stable, in speaking about letting horses on the Sabbath, said, "It is bad, very bad, but it is difficult to avoid it. The Rev. Mr. came the other Sabbath morning to get a horse and buggy to go seventeen miles to preach, and it would not answer to refuse him. And if I let him have a horse, I must let the factory people have horses. They say they go to to attend meeting. Some do, perhaps, and some do not. I cannot discriminate, and it is very bad." If the keeper of that livery stable were to receive nothing for his horses on the Sabbath, he could avoid the difficulty. He would say to the Rev. Mr. , when he wants a horse to ride seventeen miles on Sabbath morning, '' I should be very happy to accom- modate you, if I could consistently do it. But if I let horses to you on the Sabbath, I must to other people, especially those Avho say they are going to 84 to attend public worship. I cannot discriminate. Besides, my horses have to work all the week, and it would be wrong to work them on the Sabbath. God forbids it ; the good of the community forbids it. My men and myself wish to keep the Sabbath, and I must be excused from letting horses. Come any other day, Mr. , and I will gladly accom- modate you. If you wish for a horse to ride any distance to exchange, come on Saturday, and I will never refuse you." A certain minister, who often exchanged with his brethren, would not be absent from his family either the night before or the night after the Sabbath. He ordinarily rode from one town to another in the morning, and returned in the evening. Yet his family did not do any better than the families of those ministers who were not accustomed to ride on the Sabbath. And if you observe the families of those ministers who have been most accustomed to this practice, you will find that they do not appear to have benefited their families. They do not keep the Sab- bath any better, and the influence of those ministers, in promoting the due observance of that day, seems to have been lessened. To be most useful, ministers of the gospel, espe-* cially, must avoid not only the reality, but also " the appearance " of evil ; be careful that they give no occasion for their good to be evil spoken of; much more, that they do not, for the Scike of good, do evil. These principles extend not only to their riding from town to town on the Sabbath, but also to their conversation and deportment in the families where they stay. If they are seen reading secular books, periodicals, or papers, literary, scientific, or tasteful merely, or are heard conversing upon general, worldly topics, their example, especially to the young, will be pernicious. The more estimable and interesting their character in other respects, the greater will be the 85 evil which, by such a course, they may occasion. As dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth an offensive savor, so doth a little folly him that is had in reputation for wisdom and honor. The more conspicuous a man's character, and the greater his influence, the greater the importance that he should in all respects set an example which may be safely followed, and which will in the highest de- gree be useful to those Avho shall imitate it. And to no subject does this more strikingly apply than to the keeping of the Sabbath, and to no class of people more than to ministers of the gospel. They are set for the defence of the truth, and their lives should be a living exhibition of it. On few things does the state of their own minds, the influence of their char- acter, or the efl"ect of their labors more depend, than on the manner in which they spend holy time. This applies also to other Christians, and to all persons. There is, in the providence of God, an in- timate connection, and one much more influential than is generally supposed, between the state of mind which is cultivated, the habits of thought and feeling which are indulged, and the courses of conversation and conduct which are followed on the Sabbath, and the condition of a person and the objects which he will accomplish during the week. To experience its highest benefits, the day must be treated as the day OF THE Lord, a day to be peculiarly and openly con- secrated to him. The mind, as well as the body, must be withdrawn from earthly pursuits, and must be employed in those concerns which have reference to God and to heaven, and which tend to prepare men to be partakers of its employments and joys. Of course, prayer, private, social, and public, must form a part, and an important part, of the employ- ments of the Sabbath. All those who would expe- rience its highest benefits must pray especially for the 86 teaching of the Holy Spirit, in dependence on Jesus Christ, and for the purpose of learning and doing his will. The study of the Scriptures is also an employment eminently suited to the objects of the Sabbath. The day of God is peculiarly the time to study the word of God, and become more acquainted with his char- acter and will, with his commands, his promises, his threatenings, and their fulfilment ; and with the evidence which he has furnished that, when the word has gone out of his mouth, it staudeth forever. This is the time, and this is the way, through grace, to in- spire and strengthen confidence in God, to awaken and increase love to him, and in feelings and wishes and eff"orts to become like him, and thus be fitted for every good work. Without prayer and the study of the Scriptures, no person will be likely rightly to keep the Sabbath, or to experience its highest benefits. The Bible must be read with attention on other days ; but on this it should be studied. In producing divine effects upon the soul, the Lord will magnify his word above all his name. " The entrance of thy word giveth light; it giveth understanding to the simple." "I have more understanding than all my teachers, for thy testimonies are my meditation.''^ That employment of mind which the Psalmist here designates as medi- tation on the testimonies of God, is, of all exercises upon the Sabbath, among the most useful. It is the means of life to the soul. By it God quickens, illu- minates, and purifies. '' Through thy precepts I get understanding ; therefore I hate every false way." '' I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts." Never, till a person tries it, will he know the full benefits of treating the Sabbath as the day of God, of studying the Bible as the word of God, in order to understand the mind, apprehend the heart, and be changed into the image of God. Sweet, 87 then, will his Avords be to the taste ; sweeter than honey, even the honey-comb. The Sabbath will be the most delightful of all days. Its influence for good on the body and the soul will be most happy during the whole week, and in all the relations and duties of life. Evidence will shine out like the sun, that, while the day belongs to God, it was made by him for man ; and that in the keeping of it holy there is great reward. Other books, especially those which aid us in rightly understanding the Bible and imbibing its spirit, may to advantage occupy a portion of attention on that day. Conversation, also, on subjects and in a manner adapted to promote the same ends, will be found to be useful. Children and others should he instructed in the principles and precepts of religion, and in the duties which they owe to God, to themselves, and their fellow-men, and such methods be taken as are best suited to interest them and promote their highest good. To experience the full benefits of the Sabbath, persons who have opportunity must also habitually attend public worship. This is an ordinance of God, sanctioned by the example of Christ, and the duty of observing it was taught in the preaching, and exemplified in the practice, of the apostles. It is a duty, the performance of which is essential to the honor of God, and the highest good of men ; reason- able in its nature, and most beneficial in its effects. No one who voluntarily and habitually neglects it, ever properly keeps the Sabbath, or experiences its highest and best eff'ects. But a man says, " I have the Bible and good books ; I can read at home ; I can meditate on divine things, and be more benefited than by hearing preaching." That might be, if preaching were not the appoint- ment of God, and attended with his blessing. But, No. 4. 8 88 as it is, no one can most honor him and benefit him- self by neglecting it. *' Go ye into all the world," he says to his ministers, " and preach the gospel to every creature." If it is their duty to obey him and to preach to all, it is the duty of all who have oppor- tunity to hear. That faith which is the gift of God, which purifies the heart, which works by love, and overcomes the world, through the grace and accord- ing to the appointment of God, comes by hearing the word of God read, explained, illustrated, and applied by his ministers, whom he hath sent forth for the purpose of warning every man, and teaching every man, that they may thus present them perfect in Christ Jesus. Were it true in any particular case, that an indi- vidual might benefit himself as much by taking his own way as by following the divine appointment, still he could not as much honor God, or benefit his fellow-men. His example would be bad ; one which tends to destroy public worship, and deprive the world of its benefits. If one may stay at home, another may, and another, all may ; seeking each one his own in his own way, not the things of God in the ways of his appointment. But the truth is, their own highest good can never, in reality, be permanently promoted, except by the promotion of the glory of God and the good of their fellow-men. It was with special reference to the public worship of God that the Sab- bath was appointed ; and attendance upon it, and en- gagedness in its duties, are essential in order rightly and most usefully to keep it holy, because it is by the preaching of the gospel peculiarly that God saves those who believe. Not that the hearers are to ground their faith upon the declarations of the minis- ter. But, while they are to hear him, and unite with the congregation in public worship, they are to prove all things, and hold fast that Avhich is good. For this purpose they are to search the Scriptures as the 89 only infallible standard, and by them are to judge of the preaching which they hear, and receive or reject it, as it agrees with, or is opposed to, the word of God. This is a reason why they are, on the Sabbath, to study the Scriptures, and become acquainted with their contents, that by them they may be able to judge correctly of what they hear, to prove rightly all things, and hold fast only that which is good. For, should an apostle, or an angel from heaven, preach any doctrine opposed to those contained in the word of God, every man who should know this Avould be bound to reject it. To the law and to the testimony : if men speak not according to these, there is no light in them. And if the blind lead the blind, both will be in danger of perishing. But let all be taught to read, own a Bible, and every day read a portion of it as the word of God, seeking for the teaching of his Holy Spirit, in dependence on the Savior, and for the purpose of knowing and doing his will ; let them spend a portion of every Sabbath in studying it, and in hearing the gospel preached by his ministers, calling no man master, because one is their Master, even Christ, and receiving his truth, not as the word of man, but as the word of God, and they will become wise unto salvation. They will know the truth, and the truth, so far as they are gov- erned by it, will make them free from complacency in and dependence upon themselves, from subjection to human authority, from the fear of man, from the love of the world, and the power of sin. The acquisition and communication of biblical knowledge is an appropriate employment for the proper and most useful observance of the Christian Sabbath. This may be done in the family, in the Sabbath school, in the Bible class, and in all those places and forms which will be most interesting and efficacious ; due regard being had to the ages and characterSj conditions, capacities, and wants of 90 all concerned. With the young and inexperienced a different course, in many respects, may to advantage be adopted, from what would be most suitable to those of more advanced knowledge and years. A lively interest in the exercises of the day is exceed- ingly desirable, especially in the young, and, if prac- ticable, should be secured. The mind should not be overtaxed as to amount or time, on this day of holy rest ; nor should it, on the other hand, be given up to idleness and sloth, much less to lightness and frivol- ity. Nothing should be done which tends to obliter- ate the impression that it is the day of the Lord, an emblem of the rest of heaven, and, by God's appoint- ment, a season of special efforts to be prepared to be partakers of its joys. The end for which the day was 'made and given to men should he kept in view, and such a course he pursued hy all classes of people as is hest adapted to accomplish it. With reference to this, it is not wise to have a great pressure of worldly business and cares on Saturday, or to carry them up to the last moment of secular time. Such a course tends to unfit the mind and the body for the duties of the Sabbath. Not a few, in this way, to a great extent, deprive themselves of its benefits. Let men work, or jour- ney, or write, or sit in legislative or judicial halls, till twelve o'clock on Saturday night, and they will be very likely to have, in spiritual things, a comparative- ly profitless Sabbath. On the contrary, let them re- member in season that the day is coming, and regu- larly close their business, and they will find it highly conducive to the best observance and greatest useful- ness of the day. Ministers of the gospel who close their preparation for the pulpit at twelve o'clock on Saturday noon, will be much more likely rightly to keep the Sabbath than those who continue their labors till twelve o'clock on Saturday night. And they who close their prepara- 91 tion for the pulpit on Friday evening, and have Saturday for a day of rest, will be able to perform more ministerial labor, and in a better manner, than those who have no day of rest. A distinguished divine, who has lately, as is be- lieved, gone to the rest which remains for the people of God, but a short time before his departure told the writer that he had tried effectually both ways. He had, for a number of years, finished his preparation on Saturday night. He had then preached and per- formed the other duties of the Sabbath, and been diligently employed during the following six days of the week. He had afterwards, as exhausted nature began to cry out for help, changed his course. For a number of years he had made it a matter of con- science to finish his preparation for the pulpit on Friday evening, and to have Saturday as a day of rest. He then came to the duties of the Sabbath invigor- ated and refreshed. Instead of being, as before, in feverish excitement, under the exhaustion of previous labors, he could preach with greater vigor and effect. He escaped the subsequent annihilating depression of which his brethren, who have no day of rest, com- plain, and of which he formerly complained. He enjoyed more uniform and vigorous health, and, in the course of the year, could accomplish more busi- ness, and in a better manner. Such, it is believed, in the pursuance of a similar course, with proper training and habits, would be the experience of others. Preachers can no more work with diligence seven days in a week without injury than other men. Annihilation on Monday, ennui on Tuesday, dyspepsia on Wednesday, bron- chitis on Thursday, feverish, apprehensive excitement about the Sabbath on Friday, and unhealthy, ner- vous irritation and efi'ort on Saturday, to be followed by unnatural, and well-nigh supernatural exhibitions on the Sabbath, and ills like the above on the follow- 92 ing week, resulting, not unfrequently, in abandon- ment of the ministry, or loss of health, or premature death, echo the voice of God, ^' Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work." As the appropriate duties of the Sabbath call min- isters of the gospel to exhausting labors on that day, they must have another day for rest. Saturday, if practicable, is the best day, for various reasons. If they cannot have that, let them take Monday. But it is said, there are sick to be visited, and various im- perious duties, which must occupy Monday. Then let them take Tuesday. One day in a week they must have, if, with proper diligence, they obey the command, '' Six days shalt thou labor," or they must eat the fruit of their own labor, and be filled with their devices. But a man asks, '' Would you have ministers of the gospel do less work ? " No, I would have them do more ; and more than they can do by working seven days in a week ; and I would have them do it in a better way. I would also have them set a better ex- ample to their people. Instead of opposing their wis- dom to the wisdom of God, I would have them, in the duties of their calling, six days in a week, give themselves to reading, to meditation and to prayer, to the ministry of the word and the administration of the ordinances of God's appointment, stirring up the gift of God that is in them, and what their hands find to do, doing it with their might ; and one day in a week I would have them, in accordance with the nature which God has given them, and the obliga- tions thence arising, cease from their labors, as God did from his, and, like him, be thereby refreshed. ^^ But the custom is such that this cannot be done." Then let the custom be changed, and the sooner the better ; and you may be instrumental, under God, in changing it. Be not conformed, in this respect, to the world ; but be ye transformed by the renew- 93 ing of your mind and the changing of your conduct, that ye may thus prove what is that good, and accept- able, and perfect will of God. '' But I," says one, " am a private Christian. I have to work all the week in a laborious employment, in order to support my family. On Saturday night I feel exhausted and in need of repose. On Sabbath morning I have to rise early, attend to personal and family duties, then go to Sabbath school, which is held before meeting, and at the intermission. We have three public services, or two and a prayer-meet- ing in the evening. The Sabbath is to me as ex- hausting, physically, as any day of the week." But this, in a free country, is a matter, not of coercion, but of choice. It is not required by the nature of man, or by the command of God. No man who labors all the week is called to exhaust himself physi- cally on the Sabbath, but so to employ it in such holy rest and duties as to be refreshed. This the command of God requires, and a sound Christian dis- cretion dictates. By excess in amount of labor on a week day, a man may so exhaust himself that he will be obliged to lie by the next day. But his constitu- tion does not require this, neither does the law of God or the good of men. They do not permit it. A wise man will not do it. If an unwise man does it, he must reap the fruit of his folly. If he errs in excess of bodily or mental effort on the Sabbath, he will suifer as really as on a week day. The laws of nature, which are the laws of God, are too good to permit a man to violate them with impunity even in religious efforts. He must, to obey God, — and if he feel and act rightly he will, — strive to enter in at the strait gate, and to walk in the narrow way, and also have others do the same ; yet he will suffer even in this, unless he strive lawfully, according to the laws of God. He must take the Lord's way in preference to his own, or the way of others, even though they 94 should be great and good men ; saying to God in this as well as in other things, " Not my will, but thine, be done." Hence the necessity of going to the Bible in order to learn the will of God about the Sabbath ; to learn the end for which the day was made, and the way in which it is to be kept. We must also know our- selves, and the laws, natural and moral, by which we are to be governed, that we may not, through igno- rance, or for the purpose of doing good, violate them. We see also the necessity of observation and expe- rience, and especially of prayer, for the teaching of the Holy Spirit, that by the word, the Spirit, and the providence of God, we may be furnished with all needful light to discern, and all needful wisdom and grace to pursue, the manifested will of God. The duties of the Sabbath, rightly understood and properly performed, instead of tending to unfit, all tend better to prepare a man for the discharge of the subsequent duties of the week, and, like godliness in all other respects, they are profitable unto all good things. '' Bat why is it necessary, in order rightly to keep the Sabbath, that men should habitually attend pub- lic worship ? " Because without it the great object of the Sabbath can never be accomplished. That object is, to com- municate to men the true knowledge of God, and statedly to present to them the motives which he has revealed to induce them to love and obey him. That there is a God all nature shows ; of course it is the duty of all men to acknowledge and adore him, not only as individuals and in private, but as social beings and in a public manner. This God requires. " Ye shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanc- tuary. Give unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of people, give unto the Lord glory and strength, give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name ; bring an offering 95 and come into his courts. O, worship the Lord in the beauty of hohness." ''Not forsaking the assem- bling of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as ye see the day approaching. For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery in- dignation, which shall devour the adversaries." Without public worship the Sabbath itself will be neglected, and the true knowledge of God will be lost. The gospel will not be preached, or, if preached, will fail of its effects. If one may stay away, another may, and another, — all may. The day will be de- voted to secular business, or to amusement and dissi- pation. The ordinances of the gospel and the means of grace will be neglected. The Bible will not be read, and those instrumentalities which God has ap- pointed to make men wise unto salvation will cease to operate. Common schools and general education never pre- vail without public worship, nor that intelligence and virtue which are essential to the purity, and even the existence, of free civil and religious insti- tutions. So that those who neglect public worship not only rebel against their Maker, but exert an influence which tends to banish all true and saving knowledge of him from the world. They would blot out the manifestation of his glory, especially that which shines in the face of Jesus Christ. They would stop the sound of his mercy, and prevent the reconciling of men unto himself. They therefore do a great injury, not only to themselves, but also to their fellow-men. Though some individuals of peculiar structure and temperament, or in a peculiar condition, may for a time neglect public worship, and not become openly vicious, yet with the masses of men it would be far otherwise. Let the public worship of God be aban- % doned, and family prayer and private devotion would cease. Impressions made by truth, and restraints which it imposes, would be done away. Passions would become rampant, and vice stalk abroad. All that is holy in possession, and all that is lovely and cheering in prospect, would be forever lost. Nor would the contemner of public worship him- self escape. He would lose the favor of God, the approbation of an enlightened, approving conscience, the pleasure of doing good while he lives, and of set- ting an example which will be carrying blessings to others after he is in the grave. On the contrary, his own mind would suffer, and be like the heath in the desert, not seeing good when good comes. His children would fail of the benefit which they might receive, and the prospect be in- creased that, as the parents refuse to do their duty, their children would grope in darkness through time, and the blackness of darkness would rest upon them for eternity. Generations that succeed them would experience the deleterious influences of their having lived, and would add, in long succession and accumulating pressure, to the weight of their tor- ments. Who, then, that is a friend to himself or his race, will neglect the obvious and reasonable duty of pub- licly and habitually worshipping his Maker ? And who that is a friend to God will not delight in uniting with his fellow-men in acknowledging and adoring Him who is over all, blessed forevermore, and mingling his voice with those who from Sabbath to Sabbath say, '' O come, let us worship, let us kneel and bow down before Jehovah our Maker, for we are the sheep of his pasture and the people of his hand. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise, be thankful unto him and bless his name. Bless the Lord in all places of his dominion ; bless the Lord, O my soul." And who, that loves his chil- dren, will not pour upon them, and his children's chil- 97 dren to all coming ages, the tide of blessings which will flow from his example ? Let all, then, who would be the friends of their Maker and benefactors of their race, confine their secular business, travelling, and amusement to six days in a week, the only days which God has made or given to men for that purpose, the only days which they can take without taking what is not theirs, and thus showing themselves to be at heart, towards God, dishonest men. Let them remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy as the day of the Lord, devoting it from beginning to end cheerfully to his worship, pri- vate, social, and public, and to the promotion of the spiritual good of men. Let them cease from secular cares, from worldly, scientific, and literary reading, conversation, visiting, and pleasure. Let them hear- ken diligently to the voice of God in his works, his word, and his providence, and as echoed by their own conscience ; let them make it a part of their employment every Sabbath to study the Bible with attention, docility, and prayer, to hearken to it as illustrated, expounded, and enforced by the pious, learned, and faithful ministers of the gospel, and then let them search the Scriptures for themselves, and judge whether what they hear is confirmed by the unerring word of God ; and if so, let them receive it, not as the word of men, but as the word of God, treasure it up in their hearts, and exemplify it in their lives. Then will they shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life, and letting their light so shine that multitudes will be led to glorify their Father in heaven. Life will be pleasant, death will be peaceful, and eternity glorious. Their children, who walk in their steps, will rise up and call them blessed. Posterity will honor their memory, and unborn gen- erations, to all future time, reap the benefit of their labors, and add to their exceeding and eternal weight of glory. FIFTH PERMANENT DOCUMENT OF THE ^Immcan anlr Ioxt\%n SabbatI) Hnion. CONTENTS. Developments of Providence on THE Sabbath, 3 1. Tlie deacon and liis vessel, 6 2. The Boston merchant, 6 3. The New York captain, 7 4. The Joseph Starbuck, 8 5. The first chance, 8 6. " A useless, solitary thing," 9 7. No gain to liie family 9 8. " 1 shall take care," 10 9. Nothing lost, 11 10. Eight lost to save two, 11 11. Two companies from New York, ..12 12. A trial of fourteen years, 12 13. The man and liis mother, 13 14. The two canal boats, 13 15. The statesman's lamentation, 13 16. Starting too soon, 14 17. Steamboat disaster, 15 18. Statement of Henry Schoolcraft,. .15 19. The father and his son, 16 20. Sabbath-breaking and crime, 17 21. Fifteen young men, 17 22. Afraid to follow their example,. .. .18 23. The reckless man, 16 24. Cheating the Lord ]9 25. Listen to him, 20 26. Vessels in the Mississippi, 21 27. Making haste to be rich, 21 28. He was afraid, 22 29. Twenty-five per cent, lost, 22 30. Unreasonable irritation, 23 31. Card-playing and smoking, 24 32. The governor's reply, 24 33. Discussion of the bishops, 24 34. Boat or no boat, 25 35. Four young men, 25 36. It seemed to vanish, 26 37< The infidel and his horses, 27 38. Three weeks' experiment, 27 39. Travellers from the Pacific, 28 40. Six days and seven,. 29 41. The Buffalo schooner, 30 42. The three vessels, 30 43. The farmer and his men, 31 44. " You were right, and I wrong, "...31 45. They all failed, 32 46. The powerful young man, 33 47. Not ready, 34 48. Q.ui facit per alium facit per se,...34 49. Nine etagemen, 35 60. Three experiments, 35 51. Two men and their windmills, 30 52. " He shall not have my money,".. .36 53. Not send him to Sabbath School,... 37 54. " Will not run on the Sabbath,". ..38 55. Make haste slowly, 38 56. The young and the old merchant,. .39 57. Two young men, 40 58. The fruit tree, 40 59 " Go back, or i will shoot you,". ..40 60. "Without warning," 41 61. I would sooner go to hell for shingles,41 62. Two lines of wagons, 42 63. " He did not wish to see anybody," 42 64. A great change, 43 65. The steam flour mill, 43 66. Three manufacturers, 44 Two families, 45 The conscientious clerk, 45 The successful captain, 46 New England young men, 47 Four per cent, and twenty-five, ...48 The whirlwind 49 The traveller at Natchez, 49 The West India captain, 50 The traveller at Mackinac, 50 The young man at New Orleans, .50 Fish caught too soon, 51 The way to save time,. 51 " Now let it rain," 52 They tried it, 53 Better than before, 53 " Don't say any thing," 54 Profitable reflection, 55 The new shuttle, 56 The rich family, 56 An entire change, 57 Mark the end, 57 "It will not bear," 57 A week for each Sabbath day,. . . .58 The broken resolution, 58 " I am glad of it," 59 " I saved my money," 59 " It is good enough for us," 59 The mechanic and his apprentice, 60 The Rev. Mr. , 60 Duelling fashion, 61 The bankrupt act, 61 The insolvent postmaster, 61 The cask of sugar, 62 Testimony of Boston civilians,. . .62 A respected citizen, 63 The captain, 63 The lawyer, 64 The forwarding house, 65 The fault of his mother, 66 The enterjirising manufacturer,.. .66 1'he deep valley 66 The inconsiderate lady, 67 The nineteen merchants, 67 The decided sailor, 67 The oyster vessel, 68 " You are the cause," 69 The captain who prayed, 69 My uncle, 70 From a clergyman, 71 The mill dam, 71 The loaded gun, 72 Repair on Sunday, break on Mond. 72 Atheists and infidels, 73 Another warning, 74 Niagara Falls, 74 " You can trust him," 76 Charles Turner, 76 " I would let her lie there," 76 Statement of a father, 77 Tlie elder and his neighbor, 78 " I must earn my doll.ir a day,".. 78 " By observing the Sabbath, sir,". 79 The Pennsylvania drover, 79 All his children pious, 80 The man and his horse, 80 " If sinners entice, consent not, ".83 Don't leave port on the Sabbath, ..84 The last Sabbath in port, 85 FIFTH PERMANENT SABBATH DOCUMENT AMERICAN AND FOREIGN SABBATH UNION. DEVELOPMENTS OF PROVIDENCE ON THE SABBATH. In the previous numbers of the Sabbath Documents, it has been shown that the Sabbath is based on nat- m-al laws, and that the command of God to remem- ber it and keep it holy expresses the obligation which arises from the nature and relations of things ; that the first day of the week is the day which God, in his word and his providence, has plainly designated as the day to be kept holy, under the gospel dispen- sation ; that the Sabbath, in one of its most important aspects, is a Family Institution, designed to aid parents in training up their children in the way they should go, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and that the keeping of it holy is the great safeguard of children and youth, while under the care of parents, and from the time they leave their parents to the time when they become parents themselves. The proper mode, also, of keeping the Sabbath, in order to realize its highest benefits, has been pointed out, and the objections answered, which are often made, to the keeping of it in this way. This number will exhibit some of the developments of Providence on the Sabbath, by the statement of a number of facts, which have been communicated to the Secretary of the Union, in the course of his journeys of more than forty-eight thousand miles, through twen- ty-five of the United States. It has not been the ob- ject of the writer in this and in previous numbers, in all cases, to state facts in the exact words in which they were communicated, but to state the sense, according to notes taken at the time or soon after- wards. These facts are not stated to prove that the Sabbath is a holy day, or that, as such, men ought to keep it ; nor are they stated to lead any to say, " These men were sinners above all men because they suffered such things ; " but, the divine authority and perpetual ob- ligations of the Sahhath havings in previous numbers^ been proved by appropriate and conclusive evidence^ these facts are stated because they form a part of the history of Providence with regard to the Sabbath, and one which is adapted to convey important instruction to mankind. Like thousands of other facts, which might be mentioned, they serve to illustrate and en- force the following truth, viz. : When men^ in op- position to the known will of God, openly trample down a great institution of his appoint^nent, the ob- servance of which is essejitial to the promotion of his glory and the welfare of men on a state of probatio7i, he will in his providence so often thwart their plans ajid disappoint their expectations, that for them to pursue such a course is not wise. It is not good pol- icy for this world. It does not produce a good influ- ence on a man's own mind while he pursues it ; and it does not work well on his children. It is not the best way to obtain property, and receive from it the greatest benefit, and it does not end well. A son may sometimes increase his possessions for a season by robbing his father. But it is not a good way, even to get rich. If a man had no higher object in view than to make money and enjoy it, he had better take some other way. Because, such is the character of God, and such are the laws of his provi- dence, that children who openly and presumptuously trample on the rights of their parents, will be more likely, than if they were just and kind toward them, to be disappointed in this world, and come to a woful end. So Avith the man that tramples on marriage, and violates the revealed will of God with regard to that sacred institution. He will be less likely than he otherwise would be to rise to respectability, use- fulness, and bliss, and more likely to become a vaga- bond on earth, an outcast from heaven. So with the man that tramples on the Sabbath, and desecrates its sacred hours to purposes of worldly business, travel- ling, or amusement. There are laws of nature and of providence, as well as of the Bible, which he can neither annul nor evade, and which will tend, in many ways, to work out his ruin. It is not wise for this world, for men openly and presumptuously to re- bel against God. He is too strong for them ; and he has too many ways at his command in which he can show them, and through them show the universe, that the way of transgressors is hard. The same principles apply, not only to individuals, but to com- munities, to corporations, to states, and to nations. The following facts are stated, among multitudes of others that might be stated, in illustration of the above mentioned truths ; and to impress more deeply upon the minds of all who may peruse them, es- pecially on the minds of the young, the conviction, that obedience to the will of God, revealed in his works, his word, and his providence, " is profitable unto all things ; having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come." (1 Tim. 4: 8.) 1* FACTS. 1. The Deacon and his Vessel. — A deacon in was engaged in the coasting trade. His vessel, in the spring, was ready for sea. For a num- ber of days the wind was contrary, and he could not get out of the harbor. On the Sabbath, the wind was fair. Other vessels, that were ready, put to sea. His remained, because it was the Sabbath, and he attend- ed church as usual. On several succeeding days, wind and weather were unfavorable ; and he still remained in port. At length the weather changed ; he left the harbor; and no man from that place, in the course of the season, made a greater number of voyages, or more profitable ones, than he. He did not appear to be a loser by remembering the Sabbath day and keeping it holy. 2. The Boston Merchant. — He was called to Charleston, S. C, in a vessel owned by himself. Having finished his business, he was ready to return. But the vessel was detained a number of days, by contrary winds. On Sabbath morning, the captain came to his lodgings, and told him the wind was fair, and that all the wind-bound vessels were getting under way. He replied, " You must not go to sea to-day ; it is the Sabbath, and I cannot permit my vessel to leave the port." The captain remonstrated, but in vain. The next day the wind was contrary, and it was not till Thursday that they could leave the harbor. They then took a favorable breeze, and were soon wafted to their desired haven. On reach- ing Boston, the captain found that not a vessel which left on the Sabbath had arrived ; nor did they arrive till several weeks after. They encountered a violent gale : some of them were wrecked ; others were blown off to the West Indies, and in various ways they suffered great hardships, dangers, and losses, which, had they staid in port on the Sabbath, they might have avoided. The owner returned by land. When he had arrived within a few miles of Boston, the Sabbath came. He stopped and attended public worship. The vil- lagers were anxious to know who the stranger was. And when they learned, that, after his long absence from his family, he had stopped because it was the Sabbath, notwithstanding he was so near home, they concluded that he must be an upright, honest man, with whom it would be safe to do business; and the number of his customers from that circumstance, in that town, was greatly increased. In after life, he often spoke of it. and remarked that, had he intended to promote only his own worldly interest, he could not in any way have done it more effectually ; for afterwards he had a great portion of the town for his customers. 3. The New York Captain. — Captain was in a southern port, with his vessel. He had engaged a number of passengers for New York, and was ready to sail ; but the wind was contrary, and he was detained a number of days. On the Sabbath, the wind was fair. The other vessels bound to New York put to sea. His passengers became very un- easy, and urged him to sail. He refused, because it was the Sabbath. On Monday he sailed. Some of his passengers were grumbling all the way, on account of their detention a whole day, through the superstition, as they called it, of the captain. But when they reached New York, not a vessel that sailed on the Sabbath had arrived. They had encountered a violent gale, been driven off far into the Gulf Stream, 8 and did not arrive till a considerable time afterwards. The complainers were ashamed, and expressed their regret to the captain that they had so abused him ; while he had new evidence of the wisdom, as well as the duty, of not violating the command of God. 4. The Joseph Starbuck. — This was a strong and beautiful ship. She was towed out of the har- bor on the second Sabbath of November, 1842, to be taken about thirty miles, and fitted for a four years' voyage. About thirty seamen, and five ladies, rela- tives of the officers, were on board. Soon after crossing the bar, the wind was contrary, and in- creased, till it was necessary to cast anchor, and wait till it should abate. Night came, and the wind increased to an awful tempest. Few acquainted with their condition slept that night. In the morn- mg, she was seen about four miles off, driven back upon the bar, a melancholy wreck. She lay on her side, bilged, and full of water, with the wind un- abated, and the weather intensely cold. A steam- boat put off for her relief. As they approached, they saw numbers clinging to the icy sails. Others, bare- footed, and nearly naked, prepared to plunge into the water, should the vessel, as was momentarily expected, go to pieces. But through the mercy of the Lord, and by the efforts of their friends, with great difficulty and danger, they were all rescued, and brought safely into port. '- O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men." (Psalm 107: 8, 15, 21, 31.) 5. The First Chance. — A merchant, on Satur- day, asked his friend, when he was going to . He said, '■'■ To-morrow." '-'■ What," said the merchant, " on the Sabbath? " " Yes," he answered ; *' a ves- sel of fruit has just arrived, and I wish for the first chance to purchase for this market." He went on the Sabbath, had the first chance, purchased his fruit, and put it on board a vessel. But the vessel got aground, was detained a number of days, and much of his frait was lost. Those who started on Monday- purchased fruit, returned, and sold it before he arrived. On his arrival, he was asked how much he had gained by taking the Sabbath. His reply was, '^ I have not gained, but lost one himdred dollars ; and I am resolved never again to start on business on the Sabbath." It would be well should all adopt a simi- lar resolution, and before they have made the experi- ment ; for "the way of transgressors is hard." (Pro v. 13: 15.) 6. "A USELESS, SOLITARY Thing." — A numbcr of years ago, a dam was to be erected across a large river. The work was difficult, and it proceeded slowly. The owners were fearful that the river would rise, and the difficulty be increased before the dam would be completed. They therefore continued their work, for a number of weeks, on the Sabbath, greatly to the annoyance of those who wished to keep the day holy. The dam was finished. A large mill, with numerous saws, was erected, and nearly prepared for operation. But the rain came in great abundance, and continued several days. The river rose rapidly to a great height ; but the dam withstood its pressure till the Sabbath. Then the river cut a channel around the dam, carrying away houses, gar- dens, mills, and the walls on which they stood, with an immense amount of property, forming a chasm nearly one hundred feet deep, through which flowed the river, and leaving the dam on the other side, in the language of an eye-witness, "a useless, solitary thing." 7. No Gain to the Family. — During the late war, a gun-ship was to be launched. It was Satur- 10 day, and multitudes assembled to witness the sight» A few minutes before the time, she began to move, but soon stopped ; and with all their efforts, through the day, they could not again start her. The Sab- bath came, and all hands were summoned to come and get her off. One man had a great conflict in his mind about working on the Sabbath. But he was afraid that, if he should not do it, he would lose his place. He had a large family, and he did not know, in that case, how he should support them. He there- fore went and engaged in such labors as were needful for the launching of the ship. While thus employed, something from above fell, struck him on his head, and killed him. Of course his place was vacated; his family were not gainers, and the course which he took to provide for them, deprived them ever after of his aid. It had been better to have exercised faith in God, obeyed his command, and committed himself and his family to the gracious care and disposal of Him who hath said, '^ They that seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing." (Ps. 34 : 10.) 8. "I SHALL TAKE Care." — "I am determined,'^ a man said, " not again to break the Sabbath. I believe that the judgments of Heaven have followed me. My sloop got aground ; there was no danger, and no necessity, as she was in a safe place, of work- ing on the Sabbath. And yet I worked nearly all day to get her off. I succeeded ; but afterwards she grounded again, and I lost a week. In getting into the harbor, she was driven ashore again, where she lay another week. At length I succeeded in reaching the port ; but it was so late in the season that I was fro- zen in, and another week was lost. On my return, just before I entered the harbor, a heavy easterly gale drove me out to sea ; and after a night of dreadful suffering and danger, my vessel was driven high and dry upon the rocks on the opposite side. She could 11 not be gotten off, and was sold for a mere trifle. Thus, to save a day by working on the Sabbath, I lost more than twenty days, lost my vessel, and came near losing my life. I shall take care, in future, how I violate the Sabbath." 9. Nothing lost. — The Rev. Mr. E. was going down the Ohio River in a steamboat. On Satur- day night, he arrived at M., and although strongly tempted to go on, as others did, he concluded to stop, and went on shore. On the Sabbath, he preached. His labors were greatly blessed. Num- bers were awakened, who afterwards became hope- fully pious ; and he will be remembered with grati- tude by that ]5eople to the end of life. Let all good men, when they travel, as well as at home, keep the Sabbath day holy ; and as they have opportunity, do good, and they will become eminently benefactors of mankind. Another boat arrived in season, carried him safely to his place of destination, and in time to accomplish the object of his journey, as well as if he had not stopped on the Sabbath. Nothing was lost to him- self, while to others his stopping was the occasion of infinite gain. 10. Eight lost to save two. — Two men started from A. to go to C. ; they arrived at D. on Satiurday night. On Sabbath morning, one appeared to be making preparation to prosecute his journey. The other reminded him that it was the Sabbath. He said he knew it, and did not like to travel ; but he was " peculiarly situated." He must be at C. by such an hour, or he should forfeit two hundred dollars. He could not arrive in season without travelling on the Sabbath. Of course it was a matter of necessity. He 7nust go. He did go. The other stopped and kept the Sabbath. On Monday, he started and ar- rived in safety at C. A number of days after, he unexpectedly met his companion. " Ah," said the Sabbath-breaker, " I ought to have stopped, and kept the Sabbath, as you did. I got down in season, and saved my two hun- dred dollars ; but I lost my pocket-book, which had in it eight hundred. So I lost eight hundred and saved two. I ought to have stopped." 11. Two Companies from New York. — These two companies went by way of Philadelphia, Balti- more, and Pittsburg to St. Louis. From that place they returned, by way of Chicago and Buffalo, to New York. One company uniformly stopped on the Sabbath. The other often pursued their jour- ney, without regard to this day, and were found trav- elling on the Sabbath. In several instances, after one company had spent the day in travelling, and the other had rested, the latter, in the course of the week, passed by the former, and arrived first at their place of destination. The Sabbath-breakers seemed not to have any advantage, as to the distance they travelled, over the Sabbath- keepers. But the advantage was manifestly on the other side. This was so often and strikingly the case, that they all returned with a deeper conviction than before of the utility, as well as duty, on a journey, of resting on the Sabbath. 12. A Trial of fourteen Years. — For fourteen years. Captain ran a steamboat on the Ohio Canal. He uniformly lay by on the Sabbath, while other boats were accustomed to run on that as on other days. Often, when he started on Monday, he states that, in the course of the week, he passed by the boats that started on the Sabbath ; that he ordinarily made more trips in the season than they ; and that, during the whole fourteen years, it was his opinion that he was not detained by accidents or disasters, upon an average, an hour in a year. 13 13. The Man and his Mother. — A man and his mother, late in the season, were travelling up the Ohio River, on their way to Baltimore. They were afraid that the river would freeze up, and concluded, on that account, to continue their journey on the Sabbath. Another man, wh(9 was on board the same boat, stopped every Sabbath, and, in the course of the journey, six other days to attend to business ; and yet he arrived in Baltimore as soon as they did. Men are dependent upon God ; and the race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. Let them do right, and God will give them all needed success. 14. The two Canal Boats. — Two canal boats were owned by one man. He kept them running upon the Pennsylvania Canal on the Sabbath, as on other days. The reasons for this, which he was able and disposed to offer, seemed to satisfy him. And so they continued to do, as long as he con- tinued to be in health. But when he became sick, they lost their power. He denounced them as futile ; condemned himself for giving way to them, and died, bitterly lamenting his wickedness in having suffered his boats to run, and thus set an example not only hurtful to himself, but ruinous to those who might follow it. Sabbath-breaking gives no comfort on a death bed. 15. The Statesman's Lamentation. — On one of our railroads, a majority of the stockholders were opposed to the running of the cars on the Sabbath. But a distinguished statesman contended, and with great earnestness, that the public good required it. He had influence enough with the Board of Directors to carry his point. They decided that the cars should run, and thus they aided all who wished to break the Sabbath by travelling in their cars on that day. Not No. 5. 2 14 many years after, as the statesman advanced in years, and looked more seriously at himself and his influence in relation to eternity, he changed his views. He saw and confessed the error of his former course, and lamented the mischief which it had occasioned, and was then occasioning, Iq his fellow-men. If it were possible, he said, he would gladly wash it away with his tears. But it was too late. Before he could counteract the mischief, or induce the directors to stop their cars, he was summoned to the bar of God ; and notwithstanding his lamentation, the cars which he had been instrumental in setting in motion, con- tinued to run on the Sabbath, trampling on the rights of God, and injuring the souls of men. Influence outlives its authors, and blesses or curses those who succeed them, long after they are dead. Let all bear this in mind, and especially when tempted to do evil. 16. Starting too soon. — A number of farmers started from the upper part of New Hampshire, in the winter, with loaded sleighs for Boston. They arrived at Concord on Saturday evening. During the night, there was a great thaw. In the morning, the snow was very much gone, and was rapidly diminishing. A part of them started off" with their loads in the rain, and waded through the mud and water, during the Sabbath. Their progress was slow ; their horses were fatigued ; their harnesses were broken ; and a variety of troubles followed them through the day. On Monday, the snow was so much gone, that they had to unload and take wagons, where it was much more difficult to procure them than it would have been at Concord. On their return, they had at this place to unload again, and take their sleighs and go back the distance which they travelled on the Sab- bath, and principally on the bare ground, and where wagons would have gone with much greater ease ! 15 Those who stopped and kept the Sabbath, on Monday, with their teams refreshed, took wagons, and went on with ease to Boston, They got their loads, and came back to Concord, at much less ex- pense than the others. There they found more snow ; took their sleighs, and were on their way home before the others had arrived. Thus the Sabbath- breakers suffered loss of time, and loss of money, and were at much trouble and fatigue, all of Avhich might have been avoided, if they had not, in their haste, started too soon. 17. Steamboat Disaster. — On Sabbath morning, November 21, 1847, as the steamboat Phoenix was passing up the lake, she was discovered to be on fire. It was soon found to be impossible to extinguish the flames. The utmost consternation prevailed among the passengers. Some plunged into the lake, and were drowned ; others rushed into the flames, and were consumed. On board were three hundred per- sons, viz., two hundred and seventy-five passengers, and twenty-five of the crew. Forty-five, it is stated, were saved, and two hundred and fifty-five perished. {Detroit Free Press Extra.) They hoped to be gainers by travelling on the Sabbath ; but they were sadly disappointed. Is it said they might have per- ished had they stopped ? Admit it ; and how forcible is the declaration of Christ, " Watch, therefore, for ye know not what horn- your Lord doth come." " There- fore be ye also ready ; for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of man cometh." (Matt. 24: 42, 44.) 18. Statement of Henry Schoolcraft. — In his narrative of an expedition to the sources of the Mis- sissippi, Schoolcraft states, "No Sabbath day was employed in travelling. It was laid down as a prin- ciple to rest on that day ; and whenever it overtook b 16 us, whether on land or on water, the men knew that their labor would cease, and that the day would he given to them. Such of them as had an inclination, had the further opportunity of hearing a portion of the Scriptures read, or expounded, or of uniting in other devotional exercises. It may, perhaps, be thought that the giving up of one seventh part of the time employed on a public expedition in a remote region, and with many men to subsist, must have, in this ratio, increased the time devoted to the route. But the result was far otherwise. The time devoted to recruit the men replenished them with strength. They commenced the week's labors with renewed zest. And this zest was in a measure kept up by the reflection that the ensuing Sabbath also would be a day of rest. It was found, by computing the whole route, and comparing the time employed with that which had been devoted on similar routes in this part of the world, that an equal space had been gone over in less time than it had ever been known to be per- formed by loaded canoes, or by light canoes, before." The Sabbath was not designed, and the keeping of it holy is not adapted, on the whole, to hinder men^ but to help them, in the prosecution of their vv^orldly business. 19. The Father and his Son. — Mr. was a man distinguished for his disregard of the Sabbath. He often employed his men to carry on his business as on other days. On a certain Sabbath morning, he had laid out his business for the day ; but while eat- ing his breakfast, a bone lodged in his throat, and caused his death. His son followed his example. He visited his farms, examined the state of the cattle, and in various ways desecrated the Lord's day. One Sabbath morning, as he was on his way to his farm, an assassin waylaid and killed him. Not long before this, he was visited by a Sabbath-keeping friend, who, 17 observing the wickedness of his people, asked him why he did not build a church, and have his people attend public worship, adding, '' I should be afraid to live among them, lest they should murder me." Not long after, he was murdered, and the assassin was hung. Thus were two men ushered into eterni- ty for want of that moral influence and Christian in- struction which the Sabbath day, with its means of grace, is adapted to impart ; and for the want of which, multitudes, every year, are brought to an un- timely grave. 20. Sabbath-breaking and Crime. — A distin- guished gentleman of the bar, who has long been ex- tensively engaged in the business of courts, — himself a member of no Christian church, but exemplary in his deportment, and free from all outward vices, — re- marked that he did not recollect a case of a criminal, found guilty in a court of justice, who was not an ha- bitual Sabbath-breaker. He knew of no one thing in which criminals were so universally agreed, as in their disregard of the Sabbath. And he added, <' There is no moral integrity in a Sabbath-breaker." A distinguished police officer, of long experience, in determining in his own mind whether persons sus- pected of crimes were guilty or not, was accustomed, he says, to inquii'e, first of all, " How do they spend the Sabbath ? " If he found that they spent it in dissipation and amusement, he prosecuted his inquiries with vigor, expecting, from extensive observation, that he should find them to be guilty. What, then, are the men doing who break the Sabbath or induce others to do it ? Undermining their moral integrity, incresising their liability to the comrnission of crimes, and waiTing against the great interests of man. 21. Fifteen Young Men. — At a respectable boarding-house in New York, a number of years ago, 2* 18 were fifteen young men. Six of them uniformly ap- peared at the breakfast table on Sabbath morning, shaved, dressed, and prepared, as to their apparel, for attendance on public worship. They also all actually attended, both forenoon and afternoon. All became highly respected and useful citizens. The other nine were ordinarily absent from the breakfast table on Sabbath morning. At noon, they appeared at the din- ner table, shaved and dressed in a decent manner. In the afternoon, they went out, but not ordinarily to church ; nor were they usually seen in any place of public worship. One of them is now living, and in a reputable employment ; the other eight became open- ly vicious. All failed in business, and are now dead. Several of them came to an untimely and awfully tra- gical end. Many a man may say, as did a worthy and opulent citizen, "The keeping of the Sabbath saved me." It will, if duly observed, save all. In the language of its Author, " They shall ride upon the high places of the earth," and he will feed them with the heritage of his people. 22. Afraid to follow their Example. — A man asked his neighbor why he did not follow the example of certain persons who had ceased to support the gos- pel, and withdrawn from public worship. He said, " I am afraid to do it." " Afraid ! What do you mean by that ?" ''I have for a long time," said he, "been ac- customed to observe the condition of the men who take that course ; and when I see how generally and rapidly, from that time, they go downward, / am afraid to folloio their example.''^ "Them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed."'' (1 Samuel 2: 30.) 23. The reckless Man. — A man who was reck- less with regard to the means of grace, professed to 19 believe that it was not wicked to disregard the Sab- bath. One time, when he heard of a person being killed by lightning, while at work on this day, he was particularly profane, and defied the Almighty to try his lightning on him. He was afterwards at work in the woods, and there came up a thunder shower. He started for home, and as he came out into the field, the lightning struck him, making two holes through his hat, scathing in a shocking manner his breast and different parts of his body, and passed off at his feet. He fell to the earth, and for a time was senseless. He afterward revived, and was able to get to his home. " There," said a distinguished and excellent man, who gave the writer this account, " I saw him : he is still alive. But whenever a thunder storm is com- ing, he begins to feel a burning sensation throughout his body, which, as the storm increases, becomes so intense, that they are obliged to keep him covered with water, till the shower subsides, in order to miti- gate his torment." 24. Cheating the Lord. — A man in Massachu- setts, regardless of the Sabbath, had been engaged on this day in gathering in his grain. He afterwards remarked to his neighbor, that he had fairly cheated the Lord out of one day. But on Tuesday of that week, his barn was struck with lightning, and with its contents was consumed. It is not so easy to cheat the Lord as some men imagine ; nor is it in the end so profitable. He who made the eye, shall he not see ? he who made the ear, shall not he hear ? and he who has the universe at his disposal, shall he not maintain his rights and vin- dicate his honor ? If not now, will he not hereafter ? Though for a time he let his enemies prosper, though they set their mouth against the heavens, and say, " Where is the promise of his coming ? " yet in due time will he come. And for every idle word which 20 men have spoken, he will call them to give account. (Matt. 2: 36.) 25. Listen to him. — In a seapart town, notice was given that a distinguished preacher would deliver a discourse on the observance of the Sabbath. A large congregation assembled, and the preacher, after the usual introductory exercises, named his text, and seemed about to proceed, when he suddenly leaned down upon the pulpit, and remained silent. The audience supposed that he was unwell. But he soon rose up, and said, " Before entering on my discourse, I will relate an anecdote. It is fifteen years since I was last in this place of worship. The occasion was then the same which has now brought us together. Among those who then assembled were three young men, who came for the purpose of insulting and abusing the preacher. They had stones in their pockets to throw at him, as he stood in the pulpit. They listened for a time, when one of them said, ' Throw.' ' Stop,' said another ; ' let us first see what he will make of this point.' His curiosity was soon satisfied, and he said, ' Confound him, it is as 1 expected: now throw.' But the third interposed, and said, they had better give up their design, and not do any thing. At this, the other two took offence, and left the house. This one remained to the close of the service. Now, mark," said the preacher, with strong emotion, " what was the fate of these young men. The first was hanged for forgery. The second is now lying in the jail, in this city, under sentence of death for murder. The third," said the preacher, as he wiped the great drops from his face, " is he who is about to address you. Listen to him.''^ Must not every heart in that immense congregation have been ready to echo, '' Listen to him " ? One is taken and others are left ; and prominent among the 21 influences that work these opposite results is the dif- ference in their treatment of the. Sabbath. The due observance of it is a savor of hfe unto Hfe ; the desecration of it, of death unto death. 26. Vessels in the Mississippi. — With adverse winds, against a strong current, and with many difficul- ties, a number of vessels were trying to ascend the Mis- sissippi. The Sabbath came, and the men on board one of these vessels ceased their efforts, and lay by through the day. The others continued their efforts. All hands were employed, hoping thereby the sooner to reach New Orleans. On Monday, the vessel that lay by started again, with all hands refreshed and in- vigorated by their day of rest. Before their arrival, she passed the others, was the first to reach the city, with her men in high spirits ; while the others were lagging behind, with their men jaded and worn out, for Avant of rest. He who has the winds in his fists, and the waters in the hollow of his hand, has not com- manded men to rest from their worldly employments on the Sabbath for the purpose of hindering them, or in any way doing them hurt ; but for the purpose of aiding them, and promoting their success in all their lawful and proper concerns. Those who rebel against wise and good arrangements despise their own mercies. 27. Making Haste to be rich. — A young man in New England, of industrious habits, and a strong desire to be rich, let himself to work by the month, to a farmer in the neighborhood. Six days in a week he labored for his employer, and on the seventh he la- bored for himself, on a piece of land which he owned in the vicinity. He hoped in this way to gain prop- erty faster than he could by resting on the Sabbath. He sowed his field with grain. It grew finely, and he expected an abundant crop. In harvest time, he procured assistance, and went out on a certain Sab- bath to reap it, and put it into a stack in the field. They brought it together, and there was the appear- ance of a storm. It began to thunder and lighten. They made haste ; but before they could so stack as to secure it, the rain came. They ran for home. But they had not gotten out of the field wlien the lightning struck the stack, and the grain was con- sumed. " He that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent." (Prov. 28 : 20.) 28. He was afraid. — A gentleman in Boston wished to go to London to attend a great sale of goods which was advertised to take place on a certain specified day. The steamer in which he wished to go was to leave on the Sabbath. That he knew was wrong, and he did not like to go in her. But he was afraid, that, should he wait for another opportu- nity, or take a packet, he would not arrive in season to attend the sale ; so, notwithstanding his reluctance, he took the steamer, and left Boston on the Sabbath. Soon they were enveloped in fog, and exposed to great danger. The boat broke her machinery, and they were detained a number of days. The voyage was long and tedious, and he did not arrive in London till the sale was past, nor as soon by a number of days as he might have done, had he waited and taken the packet, which sailed on a week day. When men do what they know to be wrong for the sake of making money, they are often disappointed, and find it to be bitterness in the end. '•' A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished." (Prov. 22.) 29. Twenty-five percent, lost. — A gentleman, living in a large city, dealt extensively in the article of pressed hay. At one time, there was a very great scarcity, and of course the article was very high. A vessel loaded with hay arrived at the wharf on 23 Sabbath morning. Had it been on any other day, this man would have been there, among the first, anxious to buy. But as it was the Sabbath, he did not appear, but staid at home, kept the Sabbath, and attended church as usual. A number of his neigh- bors raUied around the vessel, and bought the hay, though at a very high- price. Soon after, knowing the high price of hay, a number of other vessels arrived, with hay equally good. The market being partially supplied, it was sold at a much lower price, and those who bought their hay on the Sabbath lost upon it about twenty-five per cent. It is often best to make haste slowly. 30. Unreasonable Irritation. — A man of great wealth and influence became exceedingly angry with certain of his neighbors, on account of their efforts to promote a better observance of the Lord's day. He violently opposed them, and such was his great influence, that he was successful. Their efforts were counteracted, and failed to accomplish much of the good which they had hoped. Not long after, this man became exceedingly unhappy. Without any apparent cause, he was distressed. His appetite failed ; his sleep departed ; he could get scarcely any rest, day or night. He became emaciated, and finally apparently insane. The account which he gave of himself was, that the hand of the Lord had smitten him, because of his profanation of the Sabbath, and of his opposition to those who were making efforts to promote its observance. Sabbath desecration, for a time, in health can be borne, and sometimes is a source of present pleasure ; but at the last, like known sin of every sort, it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder. Multitudes have closed life lamenting, with exceedingly bitter lamentation, their desecration of this holy day, while none are known to experience joy from it in death. 24 31. Card Playing and Smoking. — A number of young men went out, on the Sabbath, to a barn be- longing to a large stage tavern, for the purpose of playing at cards. After playing for a considerable time, smoking cigars, and carousing, the barn was discovered to be on fire. Great efforts were made to save it, but all to no purpose. The fire raged with great fury, and the barns, out-houses, tavern, stage- -coaches, horses, and numerous other things, were destroyed. They had a sort of momentary pleasure in their Sabbath day sports, but it was bitterness in the end ; and one of the condemning traits of Sab- bath-breaking is its wofully dismal end. 32. The Governor's Reply. — The governor of one of the United States, the Saturday after he came into office, was asked, by his cook, how many plates he should put upon the table, for guests, on the Sab- bath. The governor replied, " I do not have guests on the Sabbath." The cook then inquired, " What will your excellency have for dinner to-morrow ? " The governor I'e plied, " We will have cold what is cooked to-day. 1 attend public worship on the Sab- bath, and I wish to have you attend too." 33. Discussion of the Bishops. — A number of bishops and elders of the churches were on their way together to attend an ecclesiastical meeting. On Saturday, they discussed the question whether it would be right for them to continue their journey on the Sabbath. It appeared to them to be exceed- ingly important that they should be present at the opening of the meeting, but they thought that they could not, unless they should travel on the Sabbath. A part of them stopped and kept the day holy. The other part concluded that, as they were on the Lord's business, they might continue their journey on the Lord's day. They did so. But they did not arrive at the place of meeting so soon as the others by 25 about fifteen hours. There was no miracle in this ; but there were laws which God has established ; and there was providence over which he presides, and which he controls. And there were events which they could neither foresee, withstand, nor evade, which hindered them and carried the others forward before them to their place of destination. 34. Boat or no Boat. — Two gentlemen were at a distance from home, and both were anxious to re- turn as soon as practicable. A steamboat, on which they might go, was to start on Sabbath morning. One of the men was determined to go in her, and he strongly urged his companion to accompany him ; but he refused, because it was the Sabbath day. The other repeated his solicitations ; but he still refused, saying that it was contrary to his principles to travel on the Sabbath. " But what is the use," said his companion, " of being so particular, and losing a good opportunity ? No one knows when another boat will go, and you may have to stay here, nobody knows how long." " Well," said the man, '^ boat or no boat, I will not go on the Sabbath." So tliey parted. One went on board the boat, and soon after she left the wharf, the boiler burst, and he was killed. Nothing was gained by him in leaving on the Sabbath, and nothing lost by his companion in consequence of his inflexible determination, boat or no boat, to refrain from its violation. 35. Four young Men. — One of them deter- mined to go to a stream of water, at a distance, on the Sabbath, and bathe. His friends dissuaded him, and induced him to accompany them to public wor- ship. After service, however, without the knowledge of his friends, he went to the river, and was after- wards found in the water, dead. Another went on Sabbath afternoon to bring home No. 5. 3 26 the cows. On his way, he came to a creek, and went in to bathe. After wading some distance from the shore, he saw, or thought he saw, a large snake com- ing after him, and he ran with the utmost haste toward the shore. His feet became entangled in a thicket of weeds, and he fell on his face into the wa- ter and was drowned, although the water there, when he stood upright, was not up to his chin. A third took his gun, and went out on the Sabbath to shoot some game. On his way he came to a fence. He put over the gim, keeping hold of the top of it with his hand ; and while getting over himself, his gun unexpectedly went oiF, shot him through the body, and killed him. His expected pleasure in hunt- ing vanished as a dream when one awake th. A fourth stole some powder on the Sabbath, and put it into his pocket. He afterwards put into the same pocket part of a cigar which he had been smok- ing. The powder exploded, and he was so burnt that he died the next evening. 36. It seemed to vanish. — = What seemed to van- ish ? The property of a man who was noted for his disregard of the Sabbath. He worked on this as on other days, and required those whom he employed to do the same. He finally went so far that he would not hire a man unless he would work on the Sabbath. He was active and enterprising, and acquired a large property. He owned a sloop, and went in her up the river, by which he lived, to a distant place. Having finished his business, he set out on Sabbath morning to return. The wind was high, the water rough, and in changing the sails he was knocked overboard. He sank, but rose again, and cried loudly for help. They heard him also calling upon God, and beseeching him, whose day he had desecrated, to have mercy upon him ; but before they could stop the vessel and get back to him he had sunk, and it was a number of days before his body was found. Said his friend, in relat- 27 mg this case, ^' After his decease, his great houses went into other hands, and his property seemed to vanish." 37. The Infidel and his Horses. — An infidel was the owner of a large number of horses. He had been engaged for many years in extensive business, and had observed the effects of working horses six days in a week only, and also the effects of working them seven. Some of his acquaintances were making special efforts to promote the observance of the Sab- bath. He favored their object, and aided them in their efforts. They maintained that the Bible requires men to keep the Sabbath, He said he did not know about that ; he did not know much about the Bible ; but one thing he knew — " Horses require a Sabbath, and they cannot live and be healthy without. They must have a day of rest, or they will be sickly, weak, and will soon die." So say the facts ; and also that horses which are permitted to rest one day in a week, according to the command of God, will, in the course of their lives, do more work, and in a better manner, than those can do that are kept at work the whole seven. The nature of man and beast requires obedi- ence, on the part of man, to the command of his Maker ; and in obeying it he will find great reward. 38. Three Weeks' Experiment. — In constructing a canal through one of the United States, the work- men on one part of it uniformly rested from their la- bors on the Sabbath. At one time, however, as they went forward with their work, they came to a point where it was thought by the director that it would be needful to let in the water in about three weeks. Fearing that the necessary work would not be done, he gave orders not to stop on the Sabbath, but to keep both men and teams at work. The first week, as related by a man employed in the work, things went on well, and they made good progress. Before the close of the second week, men and teams began 2S evidently to falter, for want of the day of rest and re- freshment to which they had been accustomed. They, however, continued their labors through the second Sabbath, as they had done through the first. By the close of the third week they were so jaded and worn out that they could not do in a day what they had been accustomed to accomplish with ease ; and the man gave it as his opinion that they had not accom- plished, in those three weeks, as much as they would have accomplished had they continued, as before, to rest on the Sabbath. What, then, would be their condition, should they continue to work on the Sab- bath for three months, and through the year ? When the French atheists, for the sake of banishing from the French mind the idea of a God, decreed that their periods of labor should be ten days each, instead of six, — after trying it, the French farmers became very much dissatisfied with it. They said it injured their cattle. And it was found that neither men nor beasts could do as much work on that plan as they could on the plan of divine appointment. 39. Travellers from the Pacific. — A number of men who had been engaged in the fur trade, trav- elled from Oregon to St. Louis. For some weeks, they travelled without regard to the Sabbath, and without any day of rest. The men became fatigued, enfeebled, and sickly. They were obliged to stop. They were apprehensive that they should not suc- ceed in accomplishing their journey. After consul- tation, they concluded to rest every Sabbath. They did so. Their health became better. Their strength was increased. They made greater progress, and with less fatigue, and were all convinced that one prominent cause of their former difficulty was their want of rest. '' Indeed," said an old man of eighty, who was himself one of the company, " I do not believe, if we had not altered our course, that we should have reached St. Louis." However that 29 might have been, one thing was certain — they had practical demonstration that the Sabbath was made for man, not as a day of secular business, or travel- ling, but as a day of rest ; and that in devoting it to its appropriate use, men are gainers. A number of loaded teams, on a certain occasion, started from Baltimore for Providence. A part of them lay by on the Sabbath, and the other part trav- elled every day in the week. The former were the first to arrive in Providence, and with their teams in much better order than were the teams of their neighbors. The number, variety, and uniformity of such facts show conclusively that the foundation for the Sab- bath is laid in the nature of things ; and that when God commands men to remember it, and keep it holy, he only requires what their own nature demands ; and that when he forbids men, on this day, to employ in worldly business their beasts of burden, he does it for their good. It is saying, in the kindest and most emphatic manner, ''Do thyself no harm." 40. Six Days and seven. — A young man estab- lished himself in one of our principal cities in the business of a physician. He was told, by a friend, that his earnings, by needful attention to the sick on the Sabbath, he ought not to lay up for himself, but he ought to devote them to charitable objects. He, however, thought it not best to do so, and he put them in with his other earnings. He had a good run of business, and for a time prospered. But there was a change, and he failed, lost his property, and was still in debt beyond his ability to pay. He, however, continued the business of his profession, but changed his course with regard to his earnings on the Sabbath. Instead of appropriating them to his own use, as before, he devoted them to charitable objects. He paid off his debts, acquired a handsome 3* property, and when he related to the writer the above facts, was in business which was worth to him sev- eral thousand dollars a year. In his vicinity, he said, were two brothers, who started in good business about the same time. One of them followed it diligently six days in a week, the other seven. The latter failed, and lost all ; the other continued to do well, and is still in prosperous business. Through the whole street in which the physician above mentioned lives, embracing a large number of business establishments, every man who has prose- cuted his business on the Sabbath has failed ; while others, who confined their efforts to six days in a week, have succeeded, and are doing well. 41. The Buffalo Schooner. — A schooner lay at Buffalo. Her papers were made out, and her cargo was ready on Saturday night. On Sabbath morning before she left the harbor, a gentleman went on board, to distribute among the sailors religious books. They treated him with scorn, and harshly drove him from the vessel. He went away, and prepared a letter to be delivered to them on their return. But they never returned. They met a tremendous storm, ran into port, and cast anchor, but were driven out again into the lake, and were afterwards not heard of The vessel was found blown upon the beach, but nothing was heard of the men. They had, probably, all found a watery grave ; which, had they remained in the harbor of Buffalo till Monday, they might have escaped. 42. The three Vessels. — They were all, at a certain time, during the war of the United States with Great Britain, in the same harbor, and were bound to the same port. They were loaded and ready for sea. Two of them sailed on the Sabbath ; the other waited till Monday. She had a good voyage, and 31 arrived in her destined port a number of days before the others. They sold her cargo to great advantage, loaded again, and returned in safety. The other/;, not arriving till the market was partially supplied, could not do as well. They, however, sold their car- goes, and loaded again. But on their return, they were both taken by the enemy. The owner of the other vessel, in relating the above to the writer, expressed a strong conviction, after many years' experience, that men are not ordinarily losers by keeping the Sabbath. Extended and long-continued observation has led multifudes to the same conclu- sion. If no vessel left a harbor on the Sabbath, it would, it is believed, greatly promote the benefit of all. 43. The Farmer and his Men. — A wealthy farmer was accustomed to send his hay to market by water. When his sloop returned, the latter part of the week, he would, if possible, have her loaded so as to start on the Sabbath. He seemed to make his calculations in order to keep his men at work. For a time he prospered, and acquired property. It, how- ever, afterwards began to diminish. One thing after another Avorked against him, and occasioned losses, til], without any great calamity, or surprising judg- ments, he became poor. He strove with all his might to avoid poverty ; but it came upon him. He laid out great plans, but they did not succeed ; while his neighbors, with apparently fewer facilities for the acquisition of property than he had, but who confined their efi'orts to the time which God had made for this purpose, continued to prosper. " The blessing of the Lord maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it." (Prov. 10: 22.) 44. "You WERE RIGHT, AND I WAS WRONG." A gentleman at the south had engaged a New England mechanic to build him a carriage. Before it was as done, the gentleman came into the town where the mechanic lived. On Sabbath morning, he sent him a note, saying, that, as he must leave early on Mon- day morning, he wished to see him, and make some arrangements about the carriage. The mechanic, knowing that he was a high-spirited man, appre- hended that if he should not see him, he would be offended ; and that he might not take the carriage. As he was a man of great wealth and influence, he might injure his business in the part of the country where he lived. He, however, had adopted and acted on the principle of not ' attending to any secular business on the Sabbath. He therefore determined to adhere to his former practice, and risk the conse- quences. He sat down and wrote the gentleman a note, acknowledging the receipt of his, and inform- ing him that it was not his practice to transact business on the Sabbath, and that he could not see him for that purpose, but that he would see him as early as he might wish on Monday morning. Early on Monday morning, the gentleman called. But in- stead of being angry, as the mechanic feared, he met him kindly, and politely apologized for his troubling him with the note on the Sabbath, saying, '' You, szV, ivcre right, and I was wrongs He did his business, took the carriage, and became his special friend. He was a man of discernment, and he evi- dently respected the mechanic the more for his prin- ciples, and his decision in doing what he thought to be right. The mechanic prospered, and became a man of wealth. '' Trust in the Lord, and do good ; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed." (Psalm 37: 3.) 45. They all failed. — In the town of , it was customary for the men who were engaged in certain kinds of business to continue their operations 33 through the Sabbath. They contended that it was necessary, and that the good of the community re- quired it. The business was lucrative ; and yet every man engaged in it failed. Many lost not only their property, but their character. Several of them aban- doned their families, and absconded. One went on board a steamboat, which took fire and was consumed. Most of the passengers were lost, and he was never afterwards heard of. 46. The powerful young Man. — A young man of great bodily strength, intellectual vigor, and capa- city for business, was so eager to get rich, that he en- gaged in a concern where, in his own estimation and that of his employers, it was needful to work on the Sabbath. For a time he prospered, and his profits answered his expectations. But he broke his leg very badly, and was for a considerable time confmed on expense. He, however, recovered, and returned to his business. He prosecuted it with industry and skill, till he obtained property enough to become a partner in the concern. But not long afterwards, the company failed, and he lost not only all that he put in, but, being responsible for the debts, he lost his whole estate, except a little which he contrived to turn into money. He then removed to a new and distant part of the country, bought a farm, and commenced life again. It was suggested to him, by a friend, that perhaps some of his calamities had come upon him in consequence of working on the Sabbath, and that, as he was now beginning in a new place and a new employment, he had better change his habit. But, as many others do, he ridi- culed the idea, and continued, as before, to work on the Sabbath. He was industrious and economical. His property again increased ; but in one year, his finest cow and six other cattle died. Two of his horses were killed. Afterwards, owing, it is supposed, to his 34 great and unremitted exertions, he lost the use of his limbs ; and he now sits from day to day helpless, not able even to feed himself, and dependent upon his friends for his daily bread. He looks back with regret upon the course which he has pursued, and acknowledges that in his calamities God is just. 47. Not ready. — A man who had no special need of any extraordinary amount of property, was never- theless exceedingly anxious to obtain it. He labored with uncommon diligence and success. When he thought he could be a gainer, he did not scruple to occupy the Sabbath. In the midst of life, health, and prosperity, a friend admonished him of the evil of his course, and urged him to abandon it. He said he knew that it was wrong to work on the Sabbath, that he had often thought of it, and that he meant to give it up. His friend replied, that he had better give it up now. But he was not ready. And before he got ready, he was attacked with a violent disease, and suddenly died. What became of his property is not known, but it is plain that his Sabbath day gains were to him of no lasting advantage. 48. Q,ui FAciT PER ALiuM FAciT PER SE. — A man in large business was accustomed regularly to rest on the Lord's day, and to attend public worship. But he as regularly kept a number of men at work, who were engaged in his employment. He was re- proved for his inconsistency, and told that he was doing great injury to his fellow-men. He acknowl- edged that it was not right, and gave encouragement that he would change his course. He, however, still continued, till his aifairs became very much embar- rassed ; and, finally, his whole establishment, houses, lands, and all, were sold to pay his debts. Men are accountable^ not merely for what they do themselves, hut also for what they lead others to do, who are 35 under their control. Owners of steamboats, directors of railroads, agents of manufactories, who themselves rest on the Sabbath, and sit quietly in the house of God, but who permit others, in their employ, to run their conveyances, or pursue their business, are as really guilty, and expose themselves to divine re- buke as much as if they did this business themselves. Though they may escape the condemnation of men, they cannot escape the righteous retribution of God. 49. Nine Stagemen. — We have the names, says a writer, of nine stagemen, all of whom, except one, have pursued their occupation in the same section of country, and were often reproved for violating the vSabbath, but to no apparent benefit, for they refused to let their horses rest on that day. Long since they have all been bankrupts, and some of them over and over again ; a few are dead ; a few, it is hoped, have repented and found mercy ; and a number are strolling about without character or friends. 50. Three Experiments. — A company of fur traders started in their canoes, from Mackinaw, for the upper end of Lake Superior. A part of them sailed without regard to the Sabbath, and made what prog- ress they could, by working hard seven days in a week. The others sailed only six days, and uni- formly rested on the Sabbath. The latter arrived at their place of destination about half a day sooner than the former. The next time they went, they made the same experiment ; and the Sabbath-breakers did not arrive till about a day and a half after the others. Still they were not convinced that it was best to rest on the Sabbath ; and they tried the experiment the third time. Then the difference between them and the Sabbath-keepers was greater 36 still. In view of the above facts, and after having thus made the experiment for three successive years, they gave up, and all agreed to confine their sailing in future to six days, and to rest on the Sabbath. They did so, and experienced, as they believed, great benefit from the change. 51. Two Men and their Wind-mills. — Mr. A. was the owner of a wind-mill. His custom was, without regard to days, to grind when the wind blew. His excuse was, that this was needful to supply the people with bread ; and, of course, it was a work of necessity. But after he became a pious man, he did not be- lieve this. He recollected that he was commanded to keep the Sabbath day holy, and not to do any work, even if the wind did blow ; and that work in a wind-mill was not excepted. He therefore, confined his grinding to the six working days, and devoted the Sabbath to the worship of God and the discharge of spiritual duties. He who holds the winds in his fists, so ordered things, that none of his customers suff"ered for want of bread. In the course of the year, he ground as much as he had done before ; and in all respects, as he himself stated, he seemed to be, as to his worldly afi"airs, in a more prosperous condition. Another man tried the same experiment, and uni- formly abstained from running his mill on the Sab- bath. He acquired property, and was highly esteemed for his good character. He afterAvards sold his prop- erty, and removed into the city. There he engaged in the business of a baker; and, to supply his customers with new bread, worked on the Sabbath. His wife sickened and died, he lost his property, lost his char- acter, became openly vicious, and died a vagabond. 52. "He shall not have my Money." — An aged man of large property, extensive observation, and 37 much experience, was applied to, by an industrious mechanic, for a loan of money. The man said he would consider of it, and let him know. In the mean time, he inquired of an acquaintance with re- gard to the business and habits of the young man. The man represented him as in good business, and very industrious, and added, I do not know but one thing against him. '' What is that ? " said the old man. He replied, " He sometimes works on the Sab- bath." The old man answered, ^^ He shanH have my money. ^^ He was industrious and in good busi- ness. But the old man had lived long enough to know that it would not answer to lend money to a Sabbath-breaker. It would be unsafe. Not long after, the old man learnt that the young man had failed, and he had new evidence of what he had often witnessed before — that it is not safe to lend money to a man who works on the Sabbath. 53. "Not send him to the Sabbath School." — A poor woman had a son. She offered to give him to one of her neighbors, and urged him to take him ; and she said that he might do any thing he pleased with him, only " not send him to the Sabbath schooV^ The man took the boy. He was not sent to the Sabbath school. Yet he must be somewhere. And if boys, on the Sabbath, are not occupied in what is good, they will be peculiarly exposed to be employed in what is bad. He took a boat, and attempted to cross the river above a mighty cataract. The cur- rent was too rapid and strong. After passing out into the river, he found himself going down the stream. He tinned the boat, and pulled for the shore. For a time, it hung in suspense, whether he would succeed or be carried over and plunged into the awful gulf below. They saw him from the shore struggling for his life, but they could not help him. For a moment he seemed to gain, and then No. 5. 4 38 to lose. His strength became more exhausted, and the current more rapid, till he saw that he was going. He plunged into the water, and with his boat made the awful leap over the mighty cataract into the yawning gulf below, and was seen no more. Had he been in the Sabbath school, or, as he should have been, engaged in the appropriate duties of the Sabbath, he had escaped this awful death. 54. "Will not run on the Sabbath." — On one of the canals in the United States was built a large and splendid boat. They called her by the name of a very conscientious and pious lady in the neighborhood, and said that she should run on the Sabbath. They loaded her, and sent her off to mar- ket. On her way, it was needful to pass down a long inclined plain. As she with her heavy load was descending, the chains broke, and down she went, with awful violence, to the bottom. Such was the pressure of the water, that the embankment of the canal gave way, and she was precipitated, with all her load, into the deep ravine below. The spectators stood in amazement, till one broke the silence, and, calling her by name, said, " will not run on the Sabbath." 55. Make Haste slowly. — A number of men were on a journey, and were in great haste to reach the place of their destination. They travelled on till Saturday night, when the question arose, and was discussed, whether they should continue their jour- ney on the Sabbath. Yarious reasons were offered on one side and the other. The result was, one stopped and kept the Sabbath ; the others proceeded on the^r journey. On Monday, he was not able to fiiidrSL passage ; but on Tuesday he started, and in the course of the week he overtook his companions, who had been detained till his arrival. They then started 39 off, and kept together till Saturday night. He stopped again and kept the Sabbath. They, as before, con- tinued their journey. On Monday, he went on, and he was the first to reach their place of destination. Thus, though he stopped two Sabbaths and one week day, and they stopped none except what they were obliged to, he was the first to reach their journey's end. 56. The young and the old Merchant. — A young man rented a store in a neighborhood where it was common to keep stores open on the Sabbath. He resolved that his should be shut, and that he would confine his business to the Aveek time. An old merchant in the neighborhood told him that that would never do ; he must keep his store open on the Sabbath, or he would fail ; for many people were not at leisure to do their trading at any other time. He, however, persevered in his determination. The old merchant then told him he had better give up his lease, for he would certainly fail. But he was not to be frightened, and on Saturday he shut up his store. The Sabbath came, and with it many customers. He told them that he should be happy to see them on any other day, but he could not accommodate on the Sabbath. Some were angry, and said they would supply themselves at other stores. They did so ; and not a few of them at the store of the old man who had admonished the young one of his danger. Both, however, continued to prosecute their business, each in his own way. The young man acquired property, and became wealthy. The other, after a time, began to decline, and continued to go down, till he had lost all. He became poor and helpless ; was supported by the hand of charity ; and lived in one of the tenements belonging to this very young man, whom he had warned of the danger of keeping the Sabbath. '* There is a way that seemeth right d 40 unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." (Prov. 14: 12.) 57. Two YOUNG Men. — On a certain Sabbath, when the writer was on the banks of the Hudson, two young men went into the river to bathe. After washing themselves near the shore, one said to the other, <'Let us swim out into the river." Being expert swimmers, they started ; but they had not proceeded far, when one of them began to cry for help. He found that, notAvithstanding all his efforts, he was sinking. The other could not help him, for he was ready to sink also ; and he made for the shore. After long and desperate efforts, he reached the shore. The other was drowned. The great numbers of those who are drowned on the Sabbath should operate as a warning not to go out upon, or into the water, for amusement, on the Sabbath. In many places, more have been drowned on the Sabbath than on all the rest of the week. 58. The Fruit Tree. — A young man, on the Sabbath, climbed up a tree to get some fruit. While plucking the fruit, he slipped, lost his hold, and fell upon a sharp-pointed stake. It pierced his body and killed him. There he hung, with the stake through his body, a monument of the folly of breaking the Sabbath. 59. ''Go BACK, OR I WILL SHOOT YOU." TwO young fellows went out on the Sabbath with their guns for the purpose of hunting. A little boy, con- trary to their wishes, followed them. They told him to go back ; but he would not, and continued to follow them. He might have wished to enjoy the sport of seeing them discharge their guns. At length one of them said, " Go back, or I will shoot you." And to 41 frighten him, he put up his gun and flashed some pow- der. But the boy, finding that it did not hurt him, kept on ; Avhen the other said, " I had as lief shoot him as not." He pointed his gun at him, and shot him dead. Such is the recklessness of Sabbath-breakers. 60. "Without Warning." — A man in Massachu- setts, who neglected public worship and was intem- perate, who profaned the Sabbath, and in various ways was openly vicious, told his friend that he was willing to die at any time if the Almighty would only take him away without learning. What he wanted was, to die suddenly. Late at night he started from a rum-selling tavern to go home. On his way, he lost the road, fell over a precipice, struck his head upon a rock, and in the morning w£is found dead. The writer of this examined the spot where he fell, and where, " without warning," he was taken away sud- denly, according to the wish which he had expressed to his neighbor. 61. "I WOULD SOONER GO TO HeLL FOR S MINGLES." — A man in the state of New York went to a certain place for the purpose of buying some shingles. He inquired the price, and found it to be much higher than he expected, or thought that they were worth ; and so much higher that he resented it, grew angry, and said, " I would sooner go to hell for shingles, than give such a price." He went away in a rage. On a subsequent Sabbath, he started with his wagon and went to a more distant place for the shingles, and where he thought he could get them cheaper. He obtained the shingles and set out for home. On his way, he fell from his wagon into a small hollow in the road. The wagon passed partly over him, and stopped. In that condition he was found, dead, with one of the wheels of his wagon standing on his neck. 4* 42 62. Two Lines of Wagons. — A number of yesirs ago, two lines of freight wagons were started to run from one of the New England states to another. They were owned by the men who drove them. One of them drove his teams six days in a week, and the other seven. The six days' team generally returned as soon as the other, and often it returned sooner. The goods also came more safe and in a better con- dition. The Sabbath-breaking line failed, and the owner became a bankrupt. The Sabbath-keeping line did a good business, and continued to prosper. Horses that are driven in stage-coaches six days only in a week are found to be more healthy, to live longer, and, in the course of the year, to be able to travel farther, than those that are driven seven. All experiments fairly made show a similar result ; thus proving that the command to rest on the Sabbath only expresses an obligation that grows out of the nature of things. 63. • " He did not wish to see Anybody." — A man from the country came down, on Saturday, to the city of Troy, with a load of wheat. He offered it for sale, but could not obtain as much as he wanted, and he would not sell it. A steamboat was to leave, that evening, for New York, and the thought occurred to him that he could put his wheat on board the boat, get into New York on the Sabbath, and on Monday morning, early, could probably sell it at a higher price. He put his wheat on board, and arrived in safety at New York on Sabbath morning. But when he arose, he found, to his great vexation, that his pan- taloons were gone, probably stolen, and carried off by some one that had left the boat, and in the pocket were eighty dollars in gold. He was no richer, on the whole, than he might have been, had he sold his wheat in Troy and kept the Sabbath. The news got back to Troy, and when he returned, in the language 43 of him who gave the writer this account, "He did not wish to see anybody. ^^ 64, A GREAT Change. — A gentleman in the state of New York, who had been a very successful merchant and farmer, died, and left a large estate to his sons. They were sober, industrious, active, and enterprising ; they prospered in their business, and rapidly accumulated property. The accumulation increased the desire for more, and they made haste to be rich. They grew uneasy at resting on the Sab- bath, and began to continue their business on that day. They hired laborers to work on the Sabbath, and in some cases could get them cheaper than they could on other days. Their whole souls seemed to be swallowed up in the one idea of accumulating wealth. But they had not continued long, after they began openly to do business on the Sabbath, before it was evident that they were losing as to character. They began also to lose as to property ; and one loss followed another, till, through mismanagement and losses, they became bankrupts, and finally abandoned, vicious, and miserable. Said an intelligent and most respectable observer, " Few men ever seemed to pros- per more, while they continued to observe the Sab- bath ; and iew ever ran down faster, as to character and property, after they began openly and habitually to profane it." ' 65. The Steam Flour Mill. — A gentleman, 'in a wheat-growing district, built him a steam flour mill. For a time, he run it only six days in a week but afterwards he began to run it on the Sabbath. Some of his neighbors warned him against this, and told him that he would not be likely to prosper. Soon, while running his mill on the Sabbath, thQ machine- ry gave way, and it took two days to repair it. The next Sabbath, while he was running it, it broke 44 again ; and to repair it took two days more. For a time after that, he let it rest on the Sabbath. But being pressed with business, he began to run it again. The man who tended it having drunk freely of in- toxicating liquor, as Sabbath-breakers often do, fell asleep. The steam however, did not sleep. The grist run out, and the steam increased, and the ma- chinery continued to operate with increasing force, till it was raised to the highest pitch of endurance. The tender awoke, and, seeing the state of things, half distracted, ran to the hopper, and crammed in such an amount of grain that the works could not clear themselves ; they clogged up, the crank broke, wheels flew in various directions, and so shattered were the whole works, that it cost over a thousand dollars to repair them. The owner afterwards failed, and his concern went to ruin. 66 Three Manufacturers. — Three manufac- turing establishments, near to each other, were started, about the same time. The agent of the largest, and the one that seemed to have the greatest facilities for permanent prosperity, was accustomed to work on the Sabbath. If not abroad on business, he was in his counting-room posting his books and attending to the concerns of the company. This course he con- tinued till the company failed, and became bankrupt. The agent of another went on the Sabbath into the mill, to attend to some business, when a wheel, that had become disengaged, fell, and came near to killing him. He soon after failed, and the establish- ment was closed. The third was conducted by a man who paid a strict and conscientious regard to the Sabbath. He would not suffer any work to be done about the establishment. At one time, when some machinery from a distance, without his consent, was brought to him on the Sabbath, he would not suffer it even to 45 be unloaded ; but told the man that he must wait till Monday before it could be done. He seemed to have no peculiar facilities, except his character, for perma- nent prosperity, above his neighbors; yet they both failed, and he continued to prosper; and after years of experience, he expressed his strong and un\va,ver- ing conviction of the great utility, in manufacturing and in all other kinds of business, of the uniform and conscientious observance of the Sabbath. 67. Two Families. — A gentleman, with his fam- ily, was going in a canal boat from Pittsburg to Phil- adelphia. He arrived at a certain place on Saturday afternoon, about two o'clock. Finding, from the progress of the boat, that he would not arrive at the place which he had in view till the Sabbath, he con- cluded to stop where he was. Another family on board thought that they could not aiford to stop so early in the day, and hoping to get in before the Sabbath, as the captain promised them they should, continued their journey. During the night, there was a great rain. They did not arrive till the next day; then they had to land in a violent shower, with their things thor- oughly drenched with rain, and under the mortifying reflection, that they were breaking the Sabbath, and setting a bad example to all who beheld them. The other family, who stopped, were comfortably housed during the storm, and quietly kept the Sab- bath. On Monday, they took another boat, and before the close of the day, came up with their com- panions from whom they parted on Saturday, having lost nothing and gained much by their obedience to the command of God. 68. The conscientious Clerk. — One of the shrewdest merchants and best financiers was engaged in a profitable business with which he was well ac- quainted, and in which he had acquired a large estate. At a certain time, when pressed with business, he directed two of his clerks to spend the Sabbath in the counting-room. After trying it one or two Sabbaths, one of them, under the conviction that it was wrong, positively refused any longer to continue it. He is now an intelligent, active, and respectable man. The other, in compliance with the wishes of his employer, continued^ thus to desecrate the Sabbath. Before long the employer found that this clerk had defrauded him to a large amount. The merchant himself failed, and his extensive business passed into other hands. His neighbors in the same business, and with appa- rently less mercantile ability and skill, but who have kept the Sabbath, continue to prosper; a number of them have acquired large estates, and are still doing an extensive business ; and the conscientious clerk now ascribes no small share of the difference between their condition and that of his old employer to their different modes of treating the Sabbath day. 69. The successful Captain. — A captain of a vessel says, " When I was about to sail from New York on my first voyage as master, there was a ship ready to sail from Boston for the same port. As she was a swift vessel, my owners were fearful of her arriving first ; and as the profit of the voyage might depend in some measure on that, they were anxious to get me away as soon as possible. On Saturday night we were ready for sea. One of the owners, on Sabbath morning, urged that we should sail, as the wind was fair. I remonstrated and prevailed, and went with most of my crew to the Mariners' Church. On Monday, the wind shifted to the southward, and we could not get out. But the owner was so anxious for me to sail, that he employed a steamboat in the afternoon of that day to tow us out to sea. But on reaching Sandy Hook, the wind was very fresh at the south-east, so that I lay in the roads till Tuesday 47 morning, and then made sail. The Boston vessel sailed on Sabbath morning, getting the start of us forty-eight hours, besides being several degrees to the eastward. But I arrived at port three days before she did. I discharged, and took in my return cargo, and sailed for Boston, and arrived in the Vineyard Sound after a passage of forty-nine days. Thence I went to Boston and discharged, took in another cargo for the same place, and on my arrival home, after the second voyage, found that I was twenty-five days in advance of the other ship." 70. New England young Men. — A number of young men started from New England, by land, for New Orleans. One of them had invested his property in merchandise for that market, which he had shipped, with directions to the captain, that, should he not find him there by such a time, he should store the goods. In Pennsylvania, the question came up whether they should travel on the Sabbath. He and one other concluded to stop, though strongly urged by their fellow-travellers to go onward. A number of the next coaches which arrived were so crowded that they could not obtain a passage, and they were delayed for some time. But they finally succeeded in obtaining a private conveyance to Pittsburg, for about twenty- five dollars. The cost, had they continued in the coach, would have been about six dollars. On their arrival, they found that the Sabbath-breakers had ar- rived just in time to take the only boat that would go down the river for a number of days. They finally obtained a passage to Cincinnati. Here they were delayed a number of days more, while their fellow- travellers had departed, without delay, a number of days before. They finally, however, obtained a pas- sage, and arrived safely at New Orleans. The young man who had shipped his goods found that the vessel had arrived ; and, the captain not finding him at the 48 appointed time, his part of the goods were stored ; and, what seemed unfortunate, the rest of the cargo was sold to a man who took it from the vessel, and wanted what belonged to this young man, and at a handsome advance upon the cost and charges ; but as he was not there, his goods had been stored, and thus the expenses much increased. So far every thing seemed to be against him, but no farther. Soon there was a great advance upon the price of such goods, and he sold to great advantage, and obtained his money, while the man to whom the rest of the cargo had been sold, failed before the notes became due, and all was lost. Had he sold to him, as he doubtless would have done had he not stopped on the Sabbath, he would have lost the whole. So what seemed to be his loss, turned out to be his gain. "Judge nothing before the time." (1 Cor. 4: 5.) " And let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not." (Gal. 6:9.) This is often the case, to some extent, in this world, and will be fully, always, in the world to come. 71. Four per Cent, and Twenty-five. — Captain was at Rio Grande after a cargo of hides. He refused to have them loaded on the Sabbath, and, in consequence of that, he had to wait twenty days, till all the other vessels that were ready had been loaded. That time he spent in cleaning and drying his hides, while several other vessels sailed. He also had op- portunity to purchase more hides, and prepare them to be stowed away to the best advantage. At length, his turn arrived. His vessel was loaded and prepared for sea on Saturday night. Sabbath morning, instead of sailing, he raised his Bethel flag, and spent the day in the appropriate duties of the Sabbath. On Monday he set sail ; and when he arrived at the bar, he found the vessels that had sailed before him lying there, wind-bound. They could not get over the bar. On 49 his arrival, a master pilot rode up from the country, and asked him if ha- wished to be taken out. He told him he did ; and his was the second vessel that was taken over the bar. His was also the second vessel that arrived in New York. His hides, in consequence- of being so finely dried during those twenty days that he was detained, were in such good order that he lost on the cargo only about four per cent. ; while others, that were loaded before their hides were properly dried, lost twenty-five per cent. 72. The Whirlwind. — Two neighbors, near the Mississippi River, had each a quantity of wheat which he wished to send to New Orleans. One of them wrote to the captain of a steamboat, up the river, that, on his arrival, he might take his wheat, provided he should not come for it on the Sabbath. On the Sab- bath the captain came, and the owner would not let him take his wheat. His neighbor, however, permit- ted him to take his, to the amount of about two thou- sand bushels. It was placed upon the deck of the boat. On their passage, they were met by a violent whirlwind. It struck directly across the deck of the vessel, and the wheat which lay there was swept away. Thus the man who refused to have his wheat put on board on the Sabbath, saved it ; and the man who consented that the Sabbath-breaking captain should take his, lost it. 73. The Traveller at Natchez. — A traveller at Natchez, was wishing to go to Memphis. On the Sabbath, a boat came along. He was urged to take it, but refused. On Monday, another boat arrived, which he took. On Tuesday, they passed the other boat. He arrived at Memphis in season to take the stage-coach through Kentucky, which ran only twice a week ; and thus he saved three days, which he would have lost had he taken the other boat, as it did not No. 5. 5 60 arrive till after the stage-coach had taken its de- parture. 74. The West India Captain. — A sea captain in the West Indies was very careful not to have work done on board his vessel, while in the harbor, on the Sabbath. But on a certain Sabbath, it was thought to be very important for the vessels in the harbor to take a new position. They all did so, except his own. He was strongly tempted to move his also ; but he told his men that as it was the Sabbath, and they were not accustomed to work on that day, they would let her lie. A violent storm arose, and every vessel except his own was wrecked or driven high upon the shore ; while his outrode the storm in safety. " On the Sabbath," said he, " they laughed at me for my superstition ; on Monday, I pointed to their vessels, and said, ' See the effect of Sabbath-breaking.' " 75. The Traveller at Mackinac. — A gentle- man, at Mackinac, was wishing to go to Chicago. There was only one steamboat in port, and that was to go on the Sabbath. All the passengers were going in her, and they m^ged him to accompany them. He was in great haste, and it was uncertain when another boat would arrive. He, however, refused to go, stopped, and kept the Sabbath. On Tuesday, another boat arrived; and before they reached Chi- cago, they passed the boat that started on the Sab- bath ; and he arrived sooner than he would have done, had he taken the Sabbath-breaking boat. 76. The young Man at New Orleans. — A young man, from Massachusetts, went out as shoe- dealer to New Orleans. He kept his store shut, and regularly attended public worship on the Sabbath. From time to time, he transmitted money to his brother, till he had deposited a considerable sum. 51 Some of his neighbors, however, laughed at his Puri- tanical habits, and told him that, as men could not stay long in New Orleans, it was best to make money as fast as they could, and then go home and enjoy it. He began to think himself that he might be too strict. He therefore opened one half of one shutter on Sab- bath morning, and sold shoes to such as called for them. By-and-by, he opened a whole shutter ; then all his shutters and the door. He neglected public worship, and soon, instead of sending money to his brother, as he had done before, he began to draw upon him for what he had sent. Thus he continued to do, till his funds were exhausted ; and in the course of a few years, he came back himself, a poor, reckless vagabond, and died. Had he continued to keep his store shut on the Sabbath, and to attend public wor- ship, as before, he might have become a wealthy, respectable man, and avoided his miserable end. 11. Fish caught too soon. — A number of fish- ermen went out to fish for halibut. On the Sabbath, they found themselves in the midst of great numbers. All the boats were employed in taking them, except one. The men on board that boat remembered the Sabbath day, and kept it holy. The former soon obtained their supply, and set sail for the market. The latter commenced on Monday, and when they had obtained their supply, they also sailed for the market. The former were met by a calm, and were detained till, the weather being very hot, many of their fish were spoiled. They had to throw them overboard ; and when the latter were going in, under a prosperous gale, the former, having lost many of theirs, were going back for another load. Had they let the fish stay in the ocean till after the Sabbath, they might have escaped the loss. 78. The Way to save Time. — In the town of are two manufactories. In one they mend bands, clean boilers, and repair machinery, on the Sabbath. In the other, they do nothing, but con- fine all their labors to the six working days, or per- form them in the night. That manufactory has to stop less time, during the week, to make repairs, than the other. They meet with fewer disasters, and have a more moral and trustworthy set of operatives. Similar, it is believed, should the experiment be per- severingly made, would be the result in all other establishments. 79. ''Now LET IT RAIN." — A farmer in R , who had a large farm, often had a quantity of grass cut so near the close of the week, that, with good weather, it would be dry and ready to get in on the Sabbath. There was a large manufactory in his neighborhood, in which the hands did not work on that day. Nor did they attend public worship. As they were at leisure, the farmer could hire them to help him at a less price than he could ordinarily hire laborers on other days. In that way he thought he could be a gainer. On a certain week, he had mowed an extraordinary quantity of grass. He took care of it with the help he had, till the Sabbath. On that day, he got the factory hands, and they went to work. In the course of the day, it began to look rainy, and he began to fear that the hay would be wet. He urged on his men, and they worked with great vigor. Load after load was put on and driven off in haste. The clouds continued to gather black- ness, but the rain did not come. With great efforts they succeeded, and the last load was driven into the barn. Then said the farmer, in great exultation, ^^ Now let it rain.^^ It did rain; and with the rain came the lightning, and struck his barn. The hay was on fire, and all which on the Sabbath day, and on the week days, he had put into his barn, was con- sumed. 53 80. They tried it. — In a manufactory in M , they were accustomed, for years, to confine their ordinary business to the usual working days. But when any thing gave way, or got out of order, they repaired it on the Sabbath. But, notwithstanding this, such were the number and variety of disasters, that they often had to stop for repairs during the week. Afterwards they changed their policy, con- fined all their repairs and labors of every kind to the six working days, and let the workmen enjoy the rest and privileges of the Sabbath. The result was, as the overseer testified to the writer, that they had to stop their mills less during the week to make re- pairs, than they did when they made them on the Sabbath. Similar is the testimony of others who have tried it. Different men may account for this in different ways, but no man can in truth deny the facts. 81. Better than before, — An agent of a man- ufactory employed a mechanic to keep his machinery in repair. He was an excellent workman, well ac- quainted with his business, and gave good satisfac- tion to his employers. After a number of years, he was transferred to a larger establishment ; the man who before was in this establishment, had been in the habit of repairing machinery on the Sabbath, and had found it, as he said, necessary to employ at least a third of all his Sabbaths in this way. This man resolved not to work on the Sabbath, but to make all his repairs in the week time. The first man told him that he would not succeed, and that if he should not work on the Sabbath, he would lose his place. Then he said he would leave it. But he did not leave it, nor, as he told the writer himself, did he work an hour on the Sabbath. For years he kept the machinery in order — gave the utmost satisfac- tion ; and all concerned acknowledged that all things were conducted ''better than before." 5* 54 82. '' Don't say Anything." — '' T have not been absent from church on the Sabbath," said a man, " ei- ther morning or evening, for more than thirty years." When young, he often broke the Sabbath, and some- times neglected public worship. On a certain Fri- day, when his first child was about four months old, he sat with his wife, and in the course of conversa- tion he told her that his business was very pressing, and that he must start the next day for New York. " What," said she, " start on Saturday, and be out on the Sabbath?" " Yes," he said, "I must do it." *' O," said she, "I hope you will not ; you had better stop till Monday." '* What," said he, " lose a whole day? " She replied, " Perhaps it will not be a loss. Men do not generally gain any thing by stealing." " Stealing ? " said he. '' Yes," she replied, " stealing. The day does not belong to you, but to the Lord ; and you had better not steal his day." '' O wife," said he, " do not talk so, I shall go! " She said, " I hope not. It would grieve me much to have you go and travel on the Sabbath." He left the room, and, somewhat disturbed, went out into another alone. He sat down, laid his head back on the chair, and fell asleep. In his sleep he dreamed that his little babe came into the room. At that he was surprised, as he did not know before that it could go alone ; and it said to him, " Pa, are you going to New York on the Sabbath?" He answered, '« Yes." The child re- plied, with great emotion, " O pa, I hope you will not. It would grieve me much to have you steal." He awoke, and, not being conscious that he had been asleep, supposed that it was all real. He looked round for the child, but he could not find it. He rose up in haste, went out to his wife, and asked her, " Where is the child ? " She told him, " In the cham- ber, asleep." " Asleep !" said he : ''has it not been into my room since I went out ? " She told him '' No." " Don't say any thing," said he : " I shall not go to New 55 York to-morrow, and I will never travel again on the Sabbath." After relating the above himself, he added, with great emphasis, '' I never have ; and I have not been absent froin church on the Sabbath, either morn- ing or evening, for more than thirty years.^^ As might have been expected, he is now a wealthy, respectable, and useful man. 83. Profitable Reflection. — The statement given below, in a business letter from Michigan, may furnish profitable reflection to those who think to in- crease their wealth by trampling upon the Sabbath. It may not be uninteresting to your readers to learn a few facts in reference to the steam mill, on which the proprietors, though professors of religion, were making repairs on the Sabbath last season, some ac- count of which was given in the Puritan by your correspondent " R. W." " That mill took fire last spring, and was consumed, together with about a thousand dollars worth of lum- ber. The cost of the mill was about four thousand dol- lars ; this, with the loss of the lumber, would be five thousand dollars. The engine, in a state considerably damaged, and also some lumber, which was not de- stroyed by the fire, were shipped for a port on Lake Erie. On the voyage, a storm arose, which was so tem- pestuous, that the captain of the vessel threw overboard the lumber and a part of the machinery. This was an additional loss of some hundreds. But this is not the last of the disasters. One of the owners, in order to go on with his operations, loaned an amount of money on a bank, which shortly after failed. The mill and a lot of lumber are in ashes; a part of the engine and some of the lumber are in Lake Erie, and the money borrowed for the purpose of rebuilding, is about as worthless as rags ! " Now, it is not said that these disasters have come in consequence of a violation of the fourth command- merit, and that, too, by professors of religion. Yet how many, regardless of consequences, rush on in a way that is not good, in order to gain wealth ! The words of the Holy Scriptures are forgotten — ^^He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and con- sidereth not that poverty shall come upon him." 84. The new Shuttle. — The following is the account which a man gave of himself: ''I was engaged in a manufactory. On the Sabbath, I tried to rest, but I never regarded God in doing it. On one beautiful Sabbath morning, while the noise was hushed, and the day was all that loveliness could make it, I sat alone in my piazza, and I went to work to invent a new kind of shuttle. I stopped not to eat or drink till the sim went down. By that time, I had the invention completed. The next day I exhibited it, boasting of my day's work, and was applauded. The shuttle was tried, and it worked well. We branched out, enlarged our business, and the curse of God was on me from that day forward. And that Sabbath-day's work cost me thirty thou- sand dollars." 85. The rich Family. — A minister of the gos- pel was settled over a country congregation. On his way to church, he often passed the house of a rich family, who spent the Sabbath in secular business and amusements. With the man he often conversed on the impiety and impolicy of such a course. Yet the family continued it. The man died a drunkard. His son became a maniac. His daughter killed her- self, and every member of the family came to an untimely end. Could the history of each member of that family be distinctly traced, it would, probably, be found that Sabbath-breaking had no small influ- ence in working out their ruin. 57 86. An entire Change. — A man, in Massachu- setts, went down into his meadow on the Sabbath to stack some hay. As he was high upon the stack, he stumbled, and fell over backwards, upon a sharp- pointed stake, which pierced through the fleshy part of his thigh. There he hung, in awful agony, and utterly unable to extricate himself By the aid of others, however, he was relieved. He recovered from his wound, and afterwards lived a number of years. But from that day forward, he would never himself work, nor would he suffer any one to work on his farm, on the Sabbath. Some may call this super- stition, but he thought it loisdom. 87. Mark the End. — A man who often worked on the Sabbath, lost a great estate, and died in an almshouse. Before his death, some one, in free con- versation with him about his past life, asked him if he thought he had ever gained any thing by working on the Sabbath. He answered, "No;" and added, " something would always occur in the course of the week, by which I lost more than I gained by work- ing on the Sabbath ; it was of no profit to me." Such, it is believed, has been the experience of many. For a time, by the desecration of the Sabbath, some may have seemed to gain ; hut mark the end^ and you will generally find that it has been of no profit. In many cases, men have felt this, and in not a few, have, like this man, frankly acknowledged it. 88. "It will not bear." — A number of brothers were for years engaged in the business of boating. Often they kept their boats running on the Sabbath, in order the faster to gain property. At length one of them was taken sick. All practicable means were used to restore him, but his illness increased. When it became evident that he must die, he called his brethren to his bedside, and besought them never to run their boats any more on the Sabbath, for, said he, ^^ It will not hear?^ He had tried it, and found by experience, that it will not bear the decisions of an enlightened conscience ; it will not bear the scrutiny of a dying hour, the awards of a righteous judgment, or the retributions of a dread eternity. The survivors complied with his dying request. From that day forward they ran their boats no more on the Sabbath, and, as they believe, they were great gainers by the change. 89. A Week for each Sabbath Day. — An in- dustrious mechanic found himself so pressed with business, and he was in such haste to be rich, that, contrary to his previous practice, he commenced work- ing on the Sabbath, and continued that course for six weeks. Then a little pimple appeared on his wrist. It increased ; his wrist became inflamed, and he was unable to labor for forty-two days ; equal, he said, to a week for each Sabbath day that he had employed in his worldly business. 90. The broken Resolution. — The captain of a steamboat, whose conscience had often condemned him for running his boat on the Sabbath, resolved that he would, in future, abandon the practice. His boat was put in first-rate order, and he started on Friday to go up the Mississippi. His machinery worked finely, his boat made rapid progress, and every thing seemed to promise a prosperous trip. But, in- stead of stopping on the Sabbath, circumstances were such, that he concluded to continue on his course. About eleven o'clock in the forenoon, his fly-wheel broke, and his machinery flew in all directions. A piece of a wheel, weighing upwards of a hundred pounds, was thrown near the head of the engineer, went through the floor, and fell at the captain's feet. Soon after, two of his flat-boats, loaded with corn, a 59 keel-boat, and his steamboat were sunk ; and all these disasters took place on the Sabbath day. In relating these circumstances afterwards to a friend, " That," said he, '•' was Sabbath day work." 91. "I AM GLAD OF IT." — A farmer was engaged in making maple sugar. The Sabbath came, and the sap ran abundantly. He thought that it would not be best to lose it. So he gathered and boiled it on the Sabbath. After boiling it down into sirup, he turned it into a large trough, which he kept for that purpose. On Monday, this trough, through carelessness, was overturned, and all his Sabbath day's labor was lost. The owner was absent at the time, and when he was informed of his loss, he brought his hands together with great violence, and said, with peculiar emphasis, " I am glad of it ; for my conscience has constantly condemned me, and I have had no rest since I boiled it." Conscience enlightened always takes the side of the Sabbath, and condemns the man who, against knowledge, violates it. And many a man, while he violates the Sabbath and excuses his conduct, knows that it is wrong. 92. " I SAVED MY Money." — On a certain occasion, the lightning struck a large and expensive manufac- tory, and burnt it to ashes. The writer of this, the next morning, after surveying the smoking ruins, called upon an educated and very intelligent gentleman in the vicinity, and remarked to him that he had been examining the ruins. " I," said the gentleman, " was for a time a stockholder in that manufactory ; but they worked there on the Sabbath ; and when I found that 1 could not stop them, I sold out, for I knew that it was not safe ; and so / saved my money.''' 93. ''It is good enough for us." — On one of the most eligible sites in New England was erected @0 a large and expensive manufactory. It was filled with machinery of the first order, and was doing an extensive business. While the workmen were em- ployed in it, on the Sabbath, it took fire, and they were obliged to escape for their lives, in order to pre- vent being consumed. The whole establishment was destroyed. An eminent lawyer, Avho owned stock in it to the amount of twelve thousand dollars, in view of their loss, said, " It is good enough for us ; we ought not to have worked in it on the Sabbath." 94. The Mechanic and his Apprentice. — A mechanic, who had acquired by his industry and economy about twenty thousand dollars, would not permit his apprentice to work, or even to go into the shop, on the Sabbath. He said it would tend to in- jure him in future life. But, as his own character was established, and he knew how to take care of himself, he thought, at a certain time, when business was very good, that he could work on the Sabbath, and not be injured by it ; and that he could make money faster than he could by resting on that day. He tried it. Instead of attending church, he spent the Sabbath in his shop. Not many years after, he became a drunkard. He squandered away and lost his twenty thousand dollars; and, in a fit of delirium tremens, jumped out of the chamber window, broke his bones, and died. His apprentice, who, at first, might not, and who afterwards would not, work on the Sabbath, and who gave the writer the above account, is still living. He keeps the Sabbath, and is prosecuting the same business which he learned from his master, and has become an able, respectable, and useful man. 95. The Rev. Mr. . He refused to go in the boat which started from Pittsburg on Saturday evening, lest he should be out on the Sabbath. On 61 Monday, he took a boat for Cincinnati. Before Tues- day night, he passed the boat which started on Satur- day evening. It had repeatedly gotten aground, and in various ways been hindered ; and he arrived at Cin- cinnati, after a pleasant trip, much sooner than he would have done had he gone in the Saturday evening boat. 96. Duelling Fashion, — A lad in Massachu- setts went out with a pistol, on the Sabbath, in order to shoot some birds. He saw one, and determined to shoot him, as men shoot when they attempt to mur- der one another in a duel. He raised up his pistol, and carried it so far back that it pointed toward his own shoulder. In that position it was unexpectedly discharged, and he was shot through the body. He lingered for a time in great agony, and died. Duelling fashion is not a good fashion, especially on the Sabbath. 97. The Bankrupt Act. — Great efforts were made in , at a certain time, to close all ware- houses, stores, and shops, on the Sabbath, that all employed in them might enjoy the rest and privileges of the day. One man, supposed then to be worth half a million of dollars, violently opposed these efforts, and said he would keep his store open and continue his business on the Sabbath, whether others did or not, and his men should continue their work. He did so, but failed in business, and was one of the first men in that place who took the advantage of the bankrupt act. 98. The insolvent Postmaster. — A postmaster was accustomed to open his post-office on the Sabbath. He became convinced that it was wrong thus to vio- late the command of God ; but as his office was lucra- tive, he concluded to continue in it, and open it on the Sabbath, till he should acquire money enough to pay for his farm, and then he would leave his office. No. 5. 6 62 But before he was ready to leave it, he was found to be insolvent, and to the amount of more than ten thousand dollars. Had he left his office when he be- came convinced that to open and distribute the mails on the Sabbath was wicked, he might have saved his property, and avoided a vast amount of guilt. 99. The Cask of Sugar. — At a wharf in a sea- port, a number of men were unloading a vessel. Hav- ing raised a cask of sugar up over their heads, the rope broke, and down it came, grazing, as it fell, the head of one of the men. He started, and exclaimed, '' That is working on the Sabbath." They all stood astonished at his narrow escape, then went away, and did noth- ing more to unload the vessel on that day. Men who work on the Sabbath know that it is wrong: Their conscience, when awakened, condemns them. Had the cask of sugar fallen a few inches farther one way, that man had been instantly killed ; and what good reason could he have offered to his Judge for breaking his command — " Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work, but remember the Sabbath day, keep it holy, and in it do no work " ? 100. Testimony of Boston Civilians. — With re- gard to the crimes of fraud, theft, arson, burglary, robbery, and murder, a number of distinguished civil- ians in Boston, in a public document, use the follow- ing language, viz. : " Who does not know that these crimes are perpetrated, almost exclusively, by persons who have been in the habit of violating the Sabbath ? In one of our state prisons, containing five or six hundred convicts, particular inquiry was made on the subject. The history of one was the history of all. They had never observed the Sabbath, or they had ceased to observe it before they committed the crimes for which they we?'e suffering' the vengeance of the lawsy 63 101. A RESPECTED CiTizEN. — A gentleman, high- ly gifted and much distinguished by civil honors, soon after the Erie Canal was opened, invested many thousand dollars in a line of packet-boats, which he, against the wishes and remonstrances of many of his friends, ran on Sundays. The receipts were large, and promised great and speedy acquisitions to his al- ready competent fortune. Not long after, the friends of the Sabbath made a united and public effort to arrest its desecration. This gentleman opposed them with all his gigantic powers; and on one occasion, at the head of a mob iie had collected, entered a meeting convened to consider what could be done to promote the better observance of that day, and broke it up. Thus things went on from bad to worse. At length, suddenly, as in a mo- ment, his whole system was paralyzed; his mind lost its vigor, and sunk into a morbid state of deplor- able melancholy ; a more unhappy mortal apparently never existed. A dreadful sense of sin, especially the sin of Sabbath-breaking, rested upon him. This he confessed to his minister, adding, that he expected to go to hell ; everything was against him ; what he felt was a judgment from Heaven, in consequence of his opposition to the Sabbath and Sabbath efforts. He seemed to feel, he said, for such wickedness, the arrows of the Almighty, barbed and pointed as the lightnings of heaven, penetrating his vitals, and he warring and pressing against them ; the poison where- of drank up his spirits. After remaining in this situ- ation eight or ten years, a terror to himself, and an object of inexpressible anxiety to his family, a kind Providence restored him again to his right mind. 102. The Captain. — The captain of a line of packet-boats, being much labored with to keep him from contracting to run them on Sunday, said, ^' If I should cause the teams to lie by on Sunday, it would / H cost me three hundred dollars at least, and I am not able to sustain the loss." " But sir," it was answered, " there will be nothing lost, in the long run, in obey- ing the laws of God and of our country touching the Sabbath." ''I don't know as there would be ; but I C£innot 7102a sustain any loss." "But sir," it was re- plied, *' if you violate in this Avay the law of God and infringe the rights of those you employ, how will you answer it at the bar of God? " As quick as thought, he replied, '' O, I expect to repent before I die ! " The next day, being a civil man, he called to apol- ogize for the remark. No doubt his conscience set home the answer that he might die suddenly, lose his reason, or become hardened in iniquity, and die ac- cursed. Nevertheless, his line was fitted out in fine style — run on Sundays as on other days, but, as we are informed, at a loss of nine thousand dollars. The next spring, the entire concern — horses, boats, furni- ture, &c. — was sold at auction to the highest bid- der. The captain was a bankrupt — nine thousand dollars worse off, at least, than he was when he said, **I expect to repent before I die." 103. The Lawyer. — A distinguished lawyer was kindly reproved for drawing declarations and doing other official business on Sunday ; for he was sur- rounded with applicants and crowded with business. At this he was offended, when the following conver- sation took place : " Sir, you, too, have a case, to be tried in the court of Heaven, which will come, soon- er or later, and you are not prepared for it. Your witnesses are not summoned ; your advocate is not secured ; and all, of any importance in insuring suc- cess, remains undone. The case is not a petty one, but involves your all — your eternal life ; and it may come on to-morrow. '' The Sabbath is given you " (for the conversation took place on Sunday) " that you may secure your 65 counsel, and make every necessary preparation for the important trial ; but here you sit, drawing this decla- ration for your client — devoting the precious hours to the comparatively worthless interests of your client, of the consequence, perhaps, of ten or twenty dollars, to the entire neglect of your eternal well being. ''Now, would you, if you knew the summons would be sent to call you to that dread trial to-morrow, sit here and finish this declaration ? " After a moment's pause, — for he had been religiously educated, and could not easily do the violence to his conscience he was about to do, — he tremblingly replied, ''If I neglect the interests of my clients, I shall lose my business." And here again he hesitated. The speaker, beholding the struggle in his breast, witnessing the sudden changes in his countenance, and fearing lest he should seal his ruin, was about to relieve him, when he resolutely proceeded — " Yes, T would first do my duty to my client ! " This was some fifteen years ago ; and though he still lives, — doing very little in his profes- sional business, — from that time he began to wane. Long has he been nearly bankrupt in character and in present and future prospects as to the riches of this world. His ambition and covetousness seem to have done him no good. 104. The forwarding House. — A few years since, in a northern city, great effort was made to persuade forwarders, sailors, and boatmen to give up their Sunday occupations. Most of the forwarders readily consented. One of the firms that did not, among the largest, and suj)posed to be very wealthy, raised many objections, wliich called for much labor with them, and from many individuals ; but all with- out success. They opened their warehouse, run their steamboats, vessels, and canal-boats on Sundays, not- withstanding all remonstrances. But before the year came around, their large ware- 6* 66 house, with every thing in it, was burnt to ashes. Their steamboat was much damaged. During a heavy gale, they lost a vessel and twenty thousand dollars' worth of goods. Upon hearing this, one of them exclaimed, "/^ is because toe break the Sab- hath:' 105. The Fault of his Mother. — A mother permitted her son to go out on the Sabbath, with his sled, in the winter, to slide down hill. The hill was very steep ; and while descending with great rapidity, the sled struck against a fence, and bruised the boy's head and face in a most shocking manner. He was in great distress, and his wounds, it was feared, would be mortal. But by the assistance of a skilful physi- cian, and good nursing, through the kindness of Prov- idence, he was restored, but will carry on his face, to his dying day, the disfiguring marks of his mother's sin in permitting him, and his own wickedness in being disposed, thus to desecrate the Sabbath. 106. The ENTERPRISING Manufacturer. — A man- ufacturer, of great enterprise, ran a part of his ma- chinery on the Sabbath. A breakage occurred, and a part of the Sabbath day was spent in making re- pairs. On the evening of that day, his mill took fire, and his saw mill, his grist mill, machine shop, and cotton manufactory, with their appurtenances, were all consumed. 107. The deep Valley. — A farmer, who lived in a deep valley, put up in his field ten stacks of hay. Nine were put up in the week time, and one on the Sabbath. Three Sabbaths after, there was a thunder- storm ; and although the lightning rarely strikes in that valley so low, yet in this case it struck and con- sumed one of the stacks of hay, — and that was the one which was put up on the Sabbath, — while the other nine remained as before. 67 108. The inconsiderate Lady. — A distinguished lady was disposed to take the cars and start on a dis- tant journey on the Sabbath. Her friends advised her to wait till Monday. She, however, resolving not to be superstitious, determined to go, thinking that it would be just as well as to start on any other day. She bade her friends good-by, took her seat, and set out on her joprney. But she had not gone far, when one of the rails, called a snake's head, was thrust up through the bottom of the car, and she was so severely wounded, that she was brought back, and died. 109. The nineteen Merchants. — A man kept a tavern about a day's ride from Boston. Merchants from a neighboring state, on their way to the city to purchase goods, were accustomed to stop at his house. Among them were numbers who often arrived on Saturday evening, and started for Boston on Sabbath morning. On their return, they arrived at his house on Sabbath evening, having started from Boston on Sabbath morning, and thus, as they thought, saved a day. In the course of years, he noted down nine- teen of this description ; and he used, from time to time, to inquire about them, to see if they prospered any better than their Sabbath-keeping neighbors. The following was the result, viz. : fifteen out of nineteen became intemperate, and failed ; three moved away, to another part of the country, two of whom became intemperate, and failed ; one about held his own ; and the other continued his business, and was the man to whom, when about to start from this tavern for Boston on Sabbath morning, the tavern- keeper related the above facts. He afterwards related them to another gentleman, from whom the writer received them. 110. The decided Sailor. — A sailor on board a * m steamboat was going up the Mississippi River. The captain ordered him to assist in landing some freight on the Sabbath. To this he objected, saying that he could not conscientiously do unnecessary work on the Sabbath. The captain replied, " We have no Sabbaths on these water s.^^ The sailor said, as for himself, he endeavored, wherever he was, to keep the Sabbath. The captain then said, " Procure some one, then, in your stead." That, he said, he could not do ; but if the captain would pay him his wages, he would leave the boat. He did. The boat pro- ceeded. But she had not gone far, when her boiler burst, and several persons were killed. " I was truly thankful," said the sailor, "for my escape. It has taught me a lesson — to be prompt and decided in refusing to do wrongs whatever consequences may appear likely to follow ^ 111. The Oyster Vessel. — Oyster vessels from Connecticut used to be loaded with hay, potatoes, &c., for Norfolk, Ya. There the cargo was sold ; then the vessel was taken up the Chesapeake and loaded with oysters. A number of vessels were ready to start on this expedition on a certain Saturday evening. On Sabbath morning, as the day was fair and the wind right, most of them left the harbor. But Captain would not sail because it was the Sabbath. The owners remonstrated. The weather was then fine — the wind was uncertain — the other vessels had gone — they would arrive first at Norfolk — would glut the market, cfcc. But the captain would not go. It was communion day at his church, and the Sabbath was the Lord's. For a number of days after, the weather was unfavorable, the wind was contrary. Many blamed him for not going when he could. He at last left the harbor, praying for a blessing on his voyage. When he reached Norfolk, not a vessel that sailed on the Sabbath had arrived. A man called 69 and purchased his cargo. In two days, he was ready- to run up the Chesapeake. He obtained his load and returned home in safety a number of days before any other vessel, or before he probably would have done had he sailed on the Sabbath. 112. "You ARE THE Cause." — As a gentleman was returning, late in the evening, from his office, a young man came up behind him with a pistol and shot him through the head. He then robbed him and fled. He was taken, convicted, and condemned to be hanged. As he lay in his prison, previous to his execution, his mother came to see him, and take her final leave of him. As she approached, he spurned her away, and said, " You are the cause of this. You encouraged me, when I was a boy, to rob orchards on the Sabbath, while the owners were at meeting, and you partook with me of the fruit. Had you not encouraged me to break the Sabbath, I never should have been in this condition. Now I am ruined, and you are the cause.^^ 113. The Captain who prated. — A man who had learned by experience that it is better to keep the Sabbath than to violate it, owned a vessel on the North River. He charged the captain never to leave the port on the Sabbath, however fair the wind might be. After having been detained for a time in the harbor, the captain awoke one Sabbath morning, and found the wind fair. He arose, kneeled down, and prayed, with regard to his duty as to going out ; and finally, notwithstanding what his owner had said, he concluded to go. He arrived safely in New York ; but he could not unload his vessel for three days ; so that he gained nothing as to time by coming so soon. One hinder- ance occurred after another, then another, in rapid succession. His voyage was long and exceedingly 70 vexatious. On his return, he said, '' That is the last time I leave a harbor on the Sabbath. Though the wind should change and be ever so fair, I will lie stilJ." He has done so, and found the advantage of it. Men often pray, not to learn what is right for the purpose of doing it, but to quiet conscience in doing wrong. 114. My Uncle. — A man in the state of New York, after hearing the statement of a particular case, said, " That puts me in mind of my uncle. He was a great farmer, and one year he had a large quantity of wheat. After it was reaped, for a number of days the weather was rainy. On the Sabbath it was fair. He mustered all his hands, and went to work on his wheat. He spent the day in drying it and getting it into his barns, of which he had two standing near together. His neighbors left their wheat in the fields, attended church, and kept the Sabbath as usual. At the close of the day, he took occasion to speak to his workmen of the folly of his neighbors in going off to meeting, and leaving their wheat out, exposed to the weather. ' Now,' said he, ' it may rain again to-morrow, and they may lose their wheat. The next year they will be coming to me to buy wheat. But I shall not let them have any without a good high price.' He had provided a roasted lamb for supper, and they went into his house to eat, drink, and be merry. Soon after they were seated, a little cloud arose, and came up, looking dark and threatening. The lightning darted here and there, and the thunder rolled. At length it struck his barn, and both barns, with all their contents, were consumed. " My uncle seemed to be very much affected ; and from that time forward, he never worked any more on the Sabbath. Though I was but a little boy, it made a strong impression on my mind, and it has kept me from working on the Sabbath ever since. The next n day was very fair. His neighbors went to work among their wheat — dried and secured it in good order. They had no occasion, the next year, to buy wheat of my uncle, and he had none to sell." 115. From a Clergyman. — In the early part of July last, I called on a farmer, who, with his family, had recently moved to this place. In conversation, I reminded hiin, that it gave me pleasure to see him sometimes in the house of God on the Sabbath. He observed, that he usually chose to attend meeting, except in haying-tiine ; and then he felt justified in staying at home, to watch the showers and take care of his property. On my expressing regret that he was in the habit of making hay on the Lord's day, he stoutly vindicated his course, and thought it all right. I left him with this admonition, — " Sooner or later, my friend, you will find it expensive business to make hay on the Sabbath." Within a few weeks of this interview, his capacious barn became filled to overflowing with hay, and he began to rejoice in view of the works his hands had wrought. But, alas ! the poor man was doomed to disappointment. A thunder- storm arose, and the lightning of heaven played around his property, and at a stroke his barn, con- taining three hundred dollars Avorth of hay, was laid in ashes. " Wisdom is profitable to direct." 116. The Mill Dam. — In order to avoid the stopping of the running of a manufactory during the week time, in consequence of a change which was to be made in the watercourse, the needful work was done on the Sabbath. In a few days, the dam and bulkhead gave way ; the work done on the Sabbath was demolished, and the machinery, notwithstanding all efforts to prevent it, stood still long enough to make the proposed change in the week time, and give the owner opportunity to reflect upon the wickedness 72 and folly of his conduct in attempting to benefit him- self by working on the Sabbath. 117. The loaded Gun. — A gun that was loaded in the usual way, and had been discharged with safety hundreds of times, was taken down on the Sabbath and discharged, for the purpose of killing some game. But instead of killing the game, it burst into frag- ments, to the imminent hazard of the life of him who discharged it. Had he been at the house of God, and engaged, with his fellow-men, in worship- ping his Maker, as he should have been, he might have avoided that danger, and avoided also the guilt of trampling on laws the observance of which is essential to the honor of Jehovah and the welfare of the himian soul. 118. Repair on Sunday, and break on Mon- day. — A gentleman who had become interested in a manufactory, determined to depart from what had been the former custom, and to have no repairs made on the Sabbath. He tried it, and found that it worked well. He was afterwards called to take charge of another and a larger establishment. There it had also been the custom to make repairs on the Sabbath. Yet it had so often been followed by breakages during the week, that it had become a proverb with the workmen, '' Repair oti Sunday and break on Mon- day.'- This was not on account of any particular religious scruples about the Sabbath, but it had arisen from the fact that extensive repairs on this day had so often been followed by speedy and extensive break- ages. - Similar have been the facts in other establish- ments. As the writer was informed by a respectable gentleman who was brought up in a manufactory, even children, when they have seen a large number of workmen going out to make repairs on the Sab- bath, have exulted, and said one to another, "■ We shall have a play-day this week." 73 In this new establishment the gentleman above mentioned adopted the same course Avhich he had pursued in the one he had left. On a certain Mon- day, a director from the city came out, and found the mill standing still and the workmen engaged in making repairs. He inquired the cause, and was told that the agent had forbidden them to make repairs on the Sabbath. He said, '' This will never do. You may have as much religion as you please, but repairs must be made on Sunday." The agent said, " No, not while I have the care of the mill." He then proposed to make an experiment for a year, and see if they would not make as much cloth, and of as good quality, as when they made repairs on the Sabbath. The director finally consented. At the end of six months, examination was made, and the result showed that they had made more cloth, and of a better quality, and all concerned were satisfied from the facts, that they were gainers by resting on the Sabbath. 119. Atheists and Infidels. — K missionary in Michigan communicated, through the Home Mission- ary, the following facts : — " There are four families of atheists and infidels living in a neighborhood by themselves. The men are noted as the contemners of God, and Christ, and the Christian religion, and moral law. One of them boasted that he would sow his wheat on the Sabbath, and reap it on the Sabbath, and let the Presbyterians and Meth- odists know that he could have as good a crop as any body. Ground enough was cultivated to have produced five hundred bushels. Some time before the harvest, there came a hail storm upon the fields of these atheists, and almost annihilated their wheat crop ; and there the storm ceased, without essentially injuring the fields of others. The one who made the boast, obtained only eight bushels, where a fair yield No. 5. 7 would have been two hundred. Who can doubt it was the Lord's work? " After hearing several persons speak of this hail- storm, I visited a man who lives next door to these people, who confirmed the statement 1 had received from others." 120. Another Warning. — We learn from the Norwich Reporter, that Gordon Sheffield was drowned near Stonington borough, last Sabbath, while on a gunning excursion. Will the living lay it to heart ? He was in the habit of using the Sabbath for his own pleasure, as others still are who were his companions m sin. He was warned of the guilt of Sabbath- breaking, but persisted in the practice. God bore with his sin for years, and gave him opportunity to forsake it ; but he would not. He broke the Sab- bath once too much, and God cut him off. " He that, being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy." Will the living believe this, and take timely warn- ing ? — New London News. 121. Niagara Falls. — At about sundown, last Sabbath evening, a man was carried over the falls. Who he was is not known. I was on the head of Goat Island when I first discovered the boat. It was directed towards the American shore. Being well acquainted with the river, I regarded the position of the boat as extraordinary and hazardous, and watched it with intense anxiety. While constantly approach- ing nearer and nearer the rapids, I could discover it was gaining the American shore, and by the time it had got near the first fall in the rapids, about half a mile above Goat Island, it was directly above the island. The only hope seemed to be to come directly to Goat Island, and whether I should run half a mile to give alarm, or remain to assist, in the event the boat 75 attempted to make the island, was a question of pain- ful doubt. I ran for the bridge, saw and informed a gentleman and lady, just leaving the island, but they seemed unable to reply or move. I rallied a man at the toll gate ; we ran to the bridge in time to see the boat just before it got to the first large fall in the rapids. The man was standing at the stern with his oar, changing the course of the boat down the cur- rent ; and as it plunged over, he sat down. I was astonished to see the boat rise with the mast and sail standing, and the man, again erect, directing the boat toward the shore. As he came to the next and each succeeding fall, he sat down, and then would rise and apply his oar in the intermediate current. Still there was hope that he Avould come near enough to the pier to jump : but in a moment it was gone ; — another, that he might jump upon the rock near the bridge j but the current dashed him from it under the bridge, breaking the mast. Again he rose on the opposite side. Taking his oar, and pointing his boat toward the main shore, he cried, ^ Had I better jump from the boat ? ' We could not answer, for either seemed certain destruction. Within a few rods of the falls, the boat struck a rock, turned over, and lodged. He appeared to crawl from under it, and swam with the oar in his hand, till he went over the precipice. " Without the power to render assistance, for half an hour watching a strong man struggling with every nerve for life, yet doomed with almost certainty to an immediate and awful death, still hoping with every effort for his deliverance, caused an intensity of ex- citement, I pray God, never again to experience.'* — Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, October 2, 1848. '' It has been satisfactorily ascertained that the un- fortunate man who met so sudden and awful a fate at the falls, on Sunday afternoon, was Richard Lee- dom, of this city. We understand that he owned a boat on the river, answering the description of the 9 76 one which went over the falls, which he frequently used in fishing and sailing. He has not been seen or heard from since Saturday, on which day he borrowed a rifle, and said he was going down the river hunting ; and there is every reason to believe that it was he who was seen to go over the falls. He was a shoe- maker by trade, about thirty-five years of age, without a family." — /6?(^. October 4, 1848. 122. ''You CAN TRUST HIM." — Nicholas Biddle, Esq., late president of the Bank of the United States, once dismissed a clerk, because the latter refused to write for him on the Sabbath. The young man, with a mother dependent on his exertions, was thus thrown out of employment by what some would call an over- nice scruple of conscience. But, a few days after, Mr. Biddle being requested to nominate a cashier for another bank, recommended this very individual, and mentioned this incident as proof of his trustworthi- ness. " You can trust him^''^ said he, ^^for he ivouldn't work for me on Sunday.'^ 123. Charles Turner. — " On Sunday afternoon, a party of five persons, among whom was Charles Turner, of South Boston, were on the water in a new boat, for the purpose of trying her speed. When near Dorchester line, the main-boom ' gibed,' striking Mr. Turner and knocking him overboard. He sank immediately, and his body had not been recovered up to Monday morning. He was twenty-two years of age, and by trade a painter." — A Boston paper ^ 1848. 124. "I WOULD LET HER LIE THERE." "There are a class of people that find a vast amount of * works of necessity ' upon the Sabbath ; and it is common for such in hay season to have more or less to do with their hay upon that day. A colored man, 77 who lived with a farmer of this character, saw, or thought he saw, a determination, on the part of his employer, to follow up his labor upon this day of sacred rest. Sabbath morning, however, he was not up as usual at breakfast. The farmer's son called him, but he said they need not wait for him, as he did not wish for any breakfast. 'Why, Caesar,' said he, ' we shall want you, as soon as the dew is off, to help about the hay.' 'No,' said he, 'I can't work any more on the Sabbath; it is not right.' 'Not right ! ' said the young man ; ' is it not duty to take care of what Providence has given us ? ' ' O, there is no necessity for it,' said he, ' and 'tis wrong to do it.' ' But would you not pull your cow, or sheep, out of a pit upon the Sabbath, Cagsar ? ' ' No, not if I had been trying all the week to shove them in. I would let them he there.'" — New England Puritan. 125. Statement of a Father. — "I have a son who spent some months in travelling over the west. His trunk was stolen, the thief arrested, and my son compelled to give a bond for three hundred dollars, that he would appear at the opening of the court in Sandusky city, on a Monday^ in a future month, to testify against the thief. As that Monday approached, my son found himself upon the shores of Lake Michi- gan. He took a boat, which was expected to arrive at Sandusky city on Friday, or at farthest on Satur- day. But by some accident she was detained, and when the Sabbath sun arose, she was amidst the marshes of Lake St. Clair. At the first landing-place my son went on shore, though he knew that by doing so he could not reach Sandusky city according to the bond. He took the first boat that came along on Monday, reached his post Tuesday forenoon, and reached the court-house as the district attorney stood up to move the court that his bond should be declared 7* 78 forfeit ; but he exclaimed, ' Here I am,' and all was right." 126. The Elder and his Neighbor. — An elder in a Presbyterian church and his neighbor started to remove their families, with their own teams, from the state of North Carolina to the state of Missouri. The first week they travelled till Saturday afternoon. The elder then began to make preparation to stop, with his family and teams, till after the Sabbath : his neighbor remonstrated ; represented the length and difficulty of their journey, and used the various argu- ments which are common with Sabbath-breakers, as reasons why they should continue their journey on the Sabbath. But the elder was not to be moved. On Sabbath morning, his neighbor tried his logic and his rhetoric again, but with no better success than before. He therefore harnessed his team, and went off alone, telling the elder that he would go before, and get all things, at their new home, in readiness against his arrival. He continued to travel seven days in a week,- and the elder only six; and yet the elder arrived at the journey's end sooner than he did by two days, and had that time to prepare for his arrival. 127. '' I MUST EARN MY DoLLAR A DaY." A yOUUg man was married, and entered into business. He was industrious, and greatly prospered. Being acquainted with music, and skilful in the performance of it, he was employed to take charge of the singing, on the Sabbath, in public worship. For this service he received about a dollar a day, or fifty dollars a year. He, of course, confined his worldly business to six days in a week, and attended church regularly on the Sabbath. At length, some of the people became dis- satisfied with him as a leader of the music, and he was no longer employed in that service. He then ceased to attend public worship, and employed him- 79 self, on the Sabbath, in his secular concerns. He said he must earn his dollar a day ; and if he could not do it by attending church, he would do it by attending to his business. For a time, he earned his dollar a day ; sometimes, it may be, he earned more. But his affairs, by and by, became embarrassed. It was evident that he was running behindhand : at length he failed in business. His property was sold to pay his creditors; and his family were left desti- tute. His earning his dollar a day, by attending to his Avorldly business on the Sabbath, and his neglect of public worship for that purpose, was like putting his money into a bag with holes : it tended to poverty. If a young man would have good reason to believe that he shall continue to prosper in his worldly busi- ness, and that his prosperity will be a blessing to him. he must confine his attention to secular concerns to six days in a week, and must devote the Sabbath to the worship of God, and the promotion of the spir- itual good of men. 128. " By strictly observing the Sabbath, Sir." — A number of years ago, several young Scotchmen came in company to the United States, and landed at New York. On the following day, which was the Sab- bath, it was proposed go out and to see the city and its environs. All assented except one. He had been charged by his father, on leaving home, not to break the Sabbath. He would not disobey him. In a few years, he was possessor of a large estate, and his com- panions were in the drunkard's grave. He was visit- ed by a Mr. C , who asked him, " How did you accumulate your wealth?" He answered, '^ By strictly observing the Sabbath, Sir.^^ 129. The Pennsylvania Drover. — This man stated that he had followed the business of driving cattle twenty-one years, and that his uniform practice 80 had been, to let them rest on the Sabbath. His lead- ing motive in doing this was obedience to the law of God and of the state ; but it had been greatly to his advantage. In one instance, he gained (3ight days of another drover, that did not rest on the Sabbath, in driving from the interior of Indiana to Carlisle, in Pennsylvania; and, ordinarily, he gained two days of those who drove without stopping on the Sabbath, and his cattle, on an average, were each worth two dollars more in the market. 130. All his Children pious. — Prom the state of New York a gentleman writes, " About thirty years ago, in a farming district in a neighboring county, were about ten families, with good farms and good prospects. But they followed their worldly business on the Sabbath, and brought up their chil- dren in the same way. A few days ago, an aged relative, who has just visited the district, and who, thirty years ago, bought a farm there, on which his brother now resides, informed me that all those fami- lies have gone to destruction, and many of their descendants are vagabonds. " His brother, a Sabbath-keeper, has been greatly blessed in his estate and in his family, all his chil- dren being prosperous and pious." 131. The Man and his Horse. — A gentleman from New York was travelling, with a horse and sulky, through one of the New England states. He arrived at a small village on Saturday evening, and put up for the night. In the morning, after some little hesitation, he concluded to proceed on his journey, having attempted to silence his conscience by the common subterfuge, that he could serve God on the way, as well as at a public house. He stopped at another small village, directed his horse to be fed, and called for dinner. It was the hour of intermis- 81 sion of public worship, and a number of the worship- pers were assembled at the tavern where he stopped, awaiting the hour of afternoon service. While din- ner was preparing, he retired into a back room, and took up a magazine which lay on the table. The first article that met his eye was a brief account of the life and death of his own mother^ who had been dead for a considerable time, which he had never before seen. He was deeply affected at the reading of it, — so much so, that he felt it necessary to excuse himself to the landlady, who had witnessed his emotions, — and he then stated the fact, that the sub- ject of the memoir which he had been reading was his mother, and that the reading of it awakened feel- ings which he could not repress. The landlady, who was a pious woman, heard his statement with apparent astonishment ; and, after a moment's pause, said, " Is it possible that the son of so godly a mother can be guilty of travelling on the Sabbath?" The gentleman was confounded, and attempted to excuse himself; but his stammering tongue refused to do its office. The rebuke, the approaching hour of wor- ship, and conscience, admonished him to stop ; but, after a struggle, he determined to go on, and, if pos- sible, to reach the place of his destination by the hour for tea. Just before he reached it, the heavens' gathered blackness, the lightning's vivid flash, and the thunders soon proclaimed that a tempest was at hand. He put his horse to his utmost speed, and reached the tavern just as the rain descended in torrents. Giving the lines to the hostler, he sprang from his sulky, directed his horse to be put in a cool place by himself, and went into the house. The land- lord, who was acquainted with him, met him in the hall, atid told him that tea was ready, and proposed to show him to the table. The thought then struck him, first, to go to the stable and see that his horse was properly taken care of; and, taking his umbrella, 82 and passing into the stable, he observed that the host- ler had obeyed his directions, and, instead of stopping to lay his hand on his horse, as he usually did, (for he was a favorite animal,) he passed through the barn to enter the house through the back door. On leaving the barn door, his limbs failed, — from what cause he knew not, — and he settled down for a moment, almost in a state of unconsciousness ; but, recovering himself, he went into the house. There was some confusion among the inmates, from a conviction, as it appeared, that the lightning had struck either the house or some object near it. In a moment, an individual appeared, and said, " Your fine horses are killed by the lightning." A stranger ran to the stable, and in a moment returned, saying, " It it is not my horses that are killed, but the gentleman's from New York. The hostler had taken my horses from their stall, and put his in their place to cool." The gentleman im- mediately left the table, and went to the stable, and found it even so. His beautiful horse had probably been killed by the same stroke that brought him to the ground, as he left the stable door — a stroke which, if he had lingered for a moment, had prob- ably sent him into eternity. He felt that the hand of God was in it ; and that it was his mercy alone that had spared him, while in his Providence he had taken property enough to teach him that it is not profitable to break the command, " Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." He resolved, from that hour, never to yield to temptation, however strong, to travel on tlie Sabbath; and he told the writer of this, after more than thirty years, that he had, by the grace of God, kept his resolution. He did not feel that he had been a loser ; nor will other men, it is believed, who fairly make the experiment, be likely to feel, in life or in death, that they had, on the whole, been losers by obeying the command- ment of the Lord. 83 132. " If Sinners entice thee, consent thou NOT." — A mimber of young persons, on the Sabbath, went down to the river for the purpose of going out on the water. One of the young ladies said, " I think we shall do wrong ; my conscience condemns me : I must return." " There can be no harm," said a gentleman, ''in taking an excursion on the water, especially as we are resolved to go to church in the evening." " I must return," said the other. '' What will my father say, if he hears of it?" But being surrounded by all the gentlemen of the party, she yielded, and the boat pushed off. They had not gone far, when one of the gentlemen fell overboard. All rushed to that side of the boat, which upset it, and all were plunged into the water. Boats from the shore were immediately put off for their relief. They picked up all they could find, and brought them back. But tAVo were missing. '' Where is my sister ? " said the one who a few minutes before said, "There can be no harm in taking an excursion on the water, especially as we have resolved to go to church in the evening." "Where is my Charles?" said another. At length, the boats that had gone farther up the river, as the tide was rising, were seen returning. " Have you found any ? " cried one. The answer was, " Yes, two." " Here is a gentleman," said one. " But I believe he is dead." " Where is the lady ? " said another. It was replied, " She is in the other boat." " Is she dead ? " "I fear she is." And, sad to relate, such was found to be the fact. Their bodies were conveyed to a neighboring house. The gentle- man was resuscitated ; but the lady was dead. It was the same that said, "My conscience condemns me ; I must go back." Her brother, who had said, " There can be no harm in taking an excursion on the water," now said, "O my sister! my sister! Would to God I had died for thee ! I forced her to go against the dictates of conscience. I am her murderer. I 84 ought to have perished, and not my sister. Who will bear the tidings to our father ? How can I ever appear again in his presence ? I enticed the best of children to an act of disobedience, which has destroyed her. — ^^ 1/ si?iners entice thee, consent thou not.^^ 133. ''Don't leave Port on the Sabbath." — An agent of the New York City Tract Society having left some tracts on board a Boston packet, the captain and others read them ; and the consequence was, they felt their minds perplexed upon a subject that prob- ably had never before caused them any uneasiness. A few weeks ago, on a Sabbath day, the captain saw a tract visitor on the dock, and, going to him, said, " I wish to ask your opinion : do you think it right to sail out of port on the Sabbath ? " The visitor replied, '' I suppose you expect what my answer will be. I say at once, No, it is not right ; and I know that God will bless the captain that honors his holy day." " Well, what am I to do ? " said the captain; '' the pilot is on board, and so are all the hands, and we are hauled out to the end of the dock." " Don't care for that, captain. Take my advice, and do right : don't sail to-day." This conversation took place as they were going to the packet, and part of it was overheard by the mate and the pilot. The mate approved of the visitor's advice, but the pilot walked about the deck, muttering his discontent. The cap- tain went below in an unsettled state of mind ; and, after he had been there a short time, the visitor went to him, reasoned with him, gave him several tracts, and advised him to go when he could do it with a clear conscience. The captain's reply was, " You are right, and I will not go to-day." Orders to that eftect were immediately given, the pilot was sent home until Monday morning, and the men were all recommended to go to church. A few days ago, the visitor was met by a sailor. 85 who said to him, " Well, friend, sure enough, we had a good trip to Boston, as you said we would." The writer did not recollect ever having seen him before, but the sailor told him that he was on board the packet, and heard much of what was said, and added, ^' We had a fair wind all the Avay, and talked about it nearly all the time." Captains, if you would have good voyages, sail under the protection of Him who controls the winds and the waves. And if you would have good crews, do not require your men to sin against God, but set them a good example, and endeavor to make them good men. Neither durable riches, nor the good will of those you command, can be secured by practical infidelity ; for the Lord saith, " Them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed." 134. The last Sabbath in Port. — The "At- lantic " steamer left New York on Saturday after- noon, expecting, by taking about one hour of the Sabbath, to arrive with the passengers at Allen's Point j and the passengers hoped, by taking, for travelling on the railroad, five or six hours more, to arrive in Boston on Sabbath morning. But the steamer broke her machinery, and was obliged on Saturday night to put back again to New York. On Sabbath morning, through the kindness of the Lord, all were safe in port. The steamer was drawn upon the dry dock, and mechanics employed a considerable portion of the day in repairing her machinery. On Sabbath afternoon, she again left New York, and proceeded up Long Island Sound to Allen's Point ; but in the course of the ensuing week, she encountered a violent storm, and after numerous perils and the loss of many lives, she lay a dismal wreck upon the rocks, tolling her death knell by the winds of heaven. On Sabbath morning, a vessel left Boston haibor, No. 5. 8 86 having on board thirteen thousand nine hundred bushels of corn, and one thousand barrels of corn meal. She went on shore on Truro beach, was a total loss, and all hands on board perished. Had the officers of the above mentioned vessels known that those were to be the last Sabbaths that they were ever to spend in port, would they have spent any portion of them in repairing machinery, or on that holy day have left the harbor ? As men can never know, on any Sabbath morning, but that it may be their last on earth, Avisdom and duty both urge them to spend it and all their passing days in learning and in doing the will of God ; that when their last Sabbath on earth shall come, then the next Sabbath they may be in heaven. Blessed, unspeakably and forever blessed, shall be all those, who, when their Lord cometh, shall be found doing his will. They shall have right to the tree of life, and enter in through the gates in the city; where they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, but the Lamb himself shall lead them to fountains of living water, and wipe away forever all tears from their eyes. APPENDIX. EXTRACTS FROM REPORTS OF THE American axib loxti^n SabbatI) Hnion, FIRST REPORT Facts show that there is a growing conviction, founded upon experience and observation, that property and life are more safe under the care of those who keep the Sab- bath, than under the care of those who violate it ; and that the one class are more likely to be blessed and to be a blessing, even in this world, than the other. Though the violation of the Sabbath may, in some cases, seem to prevent present loss, or to result in present gain, yet it does not end well. The observance of that day is found, on the whole, to be most profitable. As principles and facts become known, all see new evidence that " the Sab- bath was made for man," and that in the keeping of it, according to the will of God, there is great reward. It is profitable unto all things, — with regard to this life, as well as that which is to come. It is adapted to the nature of men, suited to their capacities, and essential to the supply of their wants. And no portion of the human family to whom the will of God is made known, with re- gard to the Sabbath, can fail to observe it without injur- ing themselves, and exerting an influence which is cal- culated to injure their fellow men. Nor can they fail to observe it without dishonoring their Maker, and lessening the influence of his moral government over the hearts and lives of men. With a view to render universal a conviction of these truths, the Secretary of this Union has published the first number of a work entitled, " Permanent Sabbath Docu- ments." The object of this work is, to exhibit the ends for which the Sabbath icas appointed^ and the reasons why it should he kept ; the benefits that will result to men, if they observe it, and the evils, which, by laios that no one can annul or evade, must come upon them if they do not. The Sabbath, with its attendant means of grace, is the Great Institution of Jehovah, for communicating, preserv- ing, and rendering practically efficacious the knowledge of himself, as the Creator, Preserver, Redeemer, Bene- factor, Owner, Governor, and Judge of men. It is the Institution which he appointed, and which he blesses for that purpose. And so efficacious is it for that end, that no people who have continued to observe it, according to his will, have ever lost the knowledge of the one only living and true God, or cease publicly to serve and adore him. And had all people continued from the beginning to observe it, they had in all ages been worshipers of Jehovah, and idolatry would never have been practiced upon the earth. They would also have experienced nu- merous temporal benefits, to the body and the soul, and would have found it, in all its influences, to be promotive of their highest good. In the work above mentioned, these principles are illustrated by numerous facts. These facts show that the Sabbath is not a positive or moral institution merely, but is based upon a natural laio ; and that obedience to it is essential to the physical, as really as to the moral and re- ligious well-being of mankind ; that those who obey it are, as a body, more healthy, perform more labor, and live longer, than those who do not. They are also more moral, and better fitted for all the duties of life. The same law of nature is shown also to apply to beasts of burden. Those which are employed to the extent of their capacity six days only in a week, and are permitted to rest one, are more healthy and long-lived than those which are thus employed during the whole seven. They can also do more work. Numerous facts are given which are illustrative of these truths ; and which show the rea- sons why the Divine Being, in the command in which he forbids men to work on the Sabbath, extends his benevo- lent regard to the brute creation. They were made for six days' labor in a week, but not for seven. And they cannot endure it, without lessening their health, and shortening their lives. Attention is invited especially to the object for which the Sabbath was appointed, and to the reasons why all men should observe it ; to the facts, that only six days in a week have been made or given to men for secular busi- ness, and that they have no moral right to take more ; and that if they do take more, it is without right, in oppo- sition to express Statute, written by the finger of God on tables of stone ; and in violation of a Law which he has interwoven throughout the nature of man and beast ; that the Sabbath for secular business belongs to no man, and that it is not honest for a man to take what is not his. Attention is invited also to the extensive medical testi- mony contained in the above mentioned work, and to the providential developments which show that testimony to be in accordance with truth; and also to the effects pro- duced by the desecration of the Sabbath upon the morals and general welfare of the community. And as the Sabbath is an Institution of Divine appoint- ment, the observance of which is shown, not only by Scripture, but by facts, to be essential to the highest so- cial, civil, and religious interests of men; as it tends to promote the intellectual elevation, the moral purity, the social happiness, and the eternal good of all who observe 1* it ; and as men cannot violate it without dishonoring God, and injuring themselves and their fellow-men, we would most respectfully and earnestly entreat all friends of the Sabbath to give to its observance the influence of a con- scientious and consistent example. And we would invite them to endeavor, by disseminating universal informa- tion, and by other kind, moral influences, to persuade all men to pursue a course so divinely adapted to promote the glory of God, and the welfare of the human race. SECOND REPORT Within the last three years there have been in the United States fifteen General Sabbath Conventions. Seven of them vi^ere State Conventions, and were attended by from one to five hundred delegates. One of them was a National Convention, which assembled at Baltimore on the 27th of November, 1844. The number of Delegates was upwards of seventeen hundred, and from eleven dif- ferent States. John Quincy Adams, late President of the United States, presided ; and Harmer Denny, late mem- ber of Congress from Pennsylvania, Charles W. Ridgely of Maryland, Charles N. Davis of Washington, D. C, and Timothy Stillman of New York, were Secretaries. Mr. Adams, on taking the Chair, after returning thanks to the Convention for the unexpected honor which they had conferred on him, said, ** I always felt myself under obligation to observe that law which was given by God himself from Mount Sinai, in those solemn words, * Re- member the Sabbath Day to keep it holy ; ' a command which was subsequently renewed and re-enforced by the injunctions of the Saviour of mankind. " The importance of a right observance of the Sabbath, cannot be controverted. So far as my experience has gone, it would seem to me, that this is the point toward which there will be a propriety in this Convention's directing its efforts. So far as propagating opinions in favor of the sacred observance of the day, I feel it to be 8 my duty to give all the faculties of my soul to that sub- ject." On leaving the chair, he expressed his gratification at what the Convention had done, and said, " If it is true, that there exists a solid foundation for the remark which has been alluded to, of the late lamented Duponceau, that the American nation is distinguished above all other na- tions of the earth for its profound reverence for, and gen- eral observance of the Sabbath, I hope that the result of the present Convention will greatly increase such evidence of its true glory." The remark which Mr. Adams referred to had just been read in an Address which had been adopted, to the Peo- ple of the United States. That Address closed in the fol- lowing manner, viz : — " It was the remark of one of the ablest and purest of those foreigners who came to our aid in days of revolu- tionary peril, and who made his home, and recently his grave among us, the late venerable Duponceau of Phila- delphia, that of all we claimed as characteristic, our ob- servance of the Sabbath is the only one, truly national and American ; and for this cause, if for no other, he trusted it would never lose its hold on our affections and patriotism. It was a noble thought, and may well mingle with higher and nobler motives to stimulate our efforts and encourage our hopes. And while it is the glory so eager- ly coveted by other nations that they may be pre-eminent in conquests and extended rule, let us gladly accept it, as our distinction, and wear it as the fairest of all that grace our escutcheon, that we pre-eminently honor the Sabbath and the Sabbath's Lord." The occasion on which Duponceau uttered the above, and the effect of it on those who heard, are worthy of record. A project had been started, in the city where he lived, for the opening, on the Sabbath, of a certain Reading Establishment. Some were in favor of it, and others were opposed to it. A meeting was called ; those concerned as- sembled and discussed the subject. After others had ex- pressed their opinions, some on one side and some on the other, Duponceau arose and uttered the sentiment re- ferred to. The effect was electrical, and the conclusion was, that the Establishment should not be opened on the Sabbath. May the same noble patriotic sentiment echo from heart to heart, and from city to city, till not a secular Reading Room shall be opened, or any secular business or amuse- ment be pursued, on the Sabbath, in any part of our country. Then will the wi^h of the venerable President of the National Convention, in the evidence of the in- creasing observance of the Sabbath, *' the true glory of the nation," be accomplished. While, as a nation, we keep the Sabbath holy, the God of the Sabbath will be a wall of fire round about us, and a glory in the midst of us. Our bulwark will be salvation, and our defence will be praise. The more the claims of the Sabbath are examined in the light of principles and facts which are developed in the word and by the providence of God, the more gener- ally will not only devout Christians, but wise philanthro- pists, consistent patriots, and men of business give to its observance the influence of their habitual example. It is the friend and the helper of man, in all departments of business, and in all the lawful and proper concerns of life. Especially is it the friend of the laborer and of the masses of the people. Go where you will, if you find them destitute of the Sabbath, or devoting it to purposes of worldly business or amusement, you find them in com- parative ignorance, vice and degradation. On the other •^[b to hand, however hard their lot, and unfavorable in other re- spects, their condition, if they have the rest and the priv- ileges of the Sabbath, and keep it in accordance with the will of its Author, you find them comparatively intelligent, virtuous, useful, and happy. The advocates of the Sab- bath, therefore, and those who give to its due observance the influence of a consistent example, are emphatically the friends of the people. Should all the secular business of the country, in the government and out of it, be confined to the only time given to men, or which they have a right to employ for that purpose, there is no good reason to doubt but that all the great interests of the country would thereby be pro- moted. As long as individuals and nations shall be dependent upon Jehovah, and he be, what he ever has been, " a God that judgeth in the earth," their interests, as well as their duty, will require that they should obey him. And the interests of a nation no more require that its agents should take seven days in a week for secular business, than the interests of individuals. And he who has for- bidden it, can as easily bring down the one, as he can the other. Though bodies of men, especially when high in office, will sometimes pursue courses, from which they would shrink back as individuals, yet for their public and official, as really as for their private conduct, they are accountable, and will be held responsible at the divine tribunal. It is the doing of the vnll of God that exalts a nation and promotes its true glory ; while the violating of that will, is a reproach, and will, to a nation as well as to in- dividuals, in the end be a curse. This is peculiarly the case with regard to the Christian Sabbath. THIRD REPORT. Facts show that the Sabbath is not an arbitrary ap- pointment, a political regulation, or a positive institution merely, but has its foundation in the nature of things ; and that the command of Jehovah to remember and keep it holy, expresses an obligation which grows out of the nature of man, his relations to his Maker and his fellow men ; which was binding before the command was writ- ten on the table of stone, and which will continue to be binding upon all who shall know it, to the end of time. For this reason the command was placed, by the Law- giver, in the Moral Code ; and is apart of that law, which is not made void, but is established by the gospel. These facts and the principles which they illustrate have been embodied in the two previous Sabbath Documents. The first exhibits the ends for which the Sabbath was appoint- ed and the reasons why all men should observe it. The second shows that it was designed to be a permanent institution ; and that it is the will of God that the Lord's day should be kept holy, to the end of the world. The good that might be expected to result from the universal circulation of these Documents and a dissemina- tion of a knowledge of the principles and facts which they contain, producing in the minds of the young an intelli- gent conviction of the duty and utility of remembering the Sabbath day and keeping it holy, would be unspeaka- bly great. 12 The influence on the formation of their character, on their success in the world, on their usefulness among men, and on their preparation for heaven, would be all-pervad- ing and powerful; while the happiness of individuals and families, the peace of neighborhoods and of society, the purity and permanancy of free institutions, the efficacy of the gospel and the progress of true religion in the world, would thus be greatly promoted. In few, if any ways, it is believed, could property be employed to greater advan- tage, or with a fairer prospect of lasting good to man- kind. The following communications express the views of a number of distinguished men, with regard to the value of the Documents and the importance of their universal cir- lation. From Professor Gretnkaf, of the Law School in Harvard University, " I have read, with deep interest, the Permanent Sabbath Document. The desecration of the Lord's Day in our land has indeed become very great, and tends to a general disregard of all the other commands in the decalogue, and ultimately of God himself, and of course to a general dissolution of morals. Any judicious efforts to stay the progress of this evil must be productive of good ; and to this end the Tract alluded to will be eminently conducive. It ought to be in the hands of every head of a family, and every man of business in the country. I hope that the proposed series will be continued, embracing the proofs of the religious obligation and duty of keeping the Sabbath holy to the Lord, as well as the advantages of resting from labor on that day ; at the same time exposing the weak- ness of the reasons by which men justify or excuse the con- trary practice." From Professor Goodrich, of Yale College. "The design of placing the Permanent Sabbath Documents in every family of the United States, that is willing to receive them, is, in my view, one of deep interest to the welfare of our country. The facts which are there presented, and the testimony of distinguished men, to the social, civil, and re- ligious benefits of the Sabbath, are calculated to arrest the attention of the most thoughtless minds ; and especially to 13 exert a powerful influence on the young, who are peculiarly tempted to disregard this sacred institution." From Professor Woods, of Andover Theological Seminary. " It is clear to me, that the measures you have adopted, and particularly the Sabbath Documents you have published, are adapted to make a deep and permanent impression on the pub- lic mind in favor of the religious observance of the Lord's Day. It is manifestly of the highest consequence, that the Sabbath should be regarded as a divine ordinance ; and that we should be fully persuaded that we are as really required, by the supreme authority of God, to remember it and keep it holy, as we are to obey any other command of the Decalogue. If the Sabbath is let down from the high place it holds in the divine law, if it is considered as an ordinance of man, and if the observance of it is enforced merely by considerations of expediency, it will fail of controlling the conscience ; will leave men exposed to be led away by temptation, and will never secure to them the benefits of cordial obedience to God. On this and other essential points, the Permanent Sab- bath Documents make a just impression, and make it deeply, I can think of nothing that would be more likely to exert an auspicious influence on the interests of the church and the community at large, than for the Permanent Sabbath Docu- ments to be put into every family in the United States. To accomplish this, is an object worthy of the earnest endeavors of those who are friends to the temporal and eternal interests of their fellow men." From President Day, of Yale College. " The first number of the Permanent Sabbath Documents I have read with deep interest. It gives a condensed and lumi- nous view of the reasons and scriptural authority for the universal and perpetual obligation of the weekly Sabbath; and the array of facts is admirably fitted to produce conviction and impression in widely different classes of the community : to reach the statesman and the private citizen ; the student and the laborer ; merchants, mechanics, and farmers ; cap- italists and operatives; travelers on the land and on the wa- ter. These facts have a practical application, not only to tha momentous prospects of the future world, but to all the en- gagements and diversified interests of the present life. Their bearing upon the welfare of individuals and commu- nities can be understood by men in the humblest walks of life; while they show impressively that their monitory voice cannot safely be disregarded by the most intelligent and refined. A 2 14 They teach most conclusively, that this stated, sacred restf is essential to the preservation of bodily health and mental vigor, as well as to sound morality and pure religion. Our hopes for perpetuating our free institutions must depend, in a great measure, upon that moral and religious training of our youth, that is to be expected only from the instruction and impressions which belong to the consecrated hours of the Sabbath. The call for systematic efforts to bring upon all classes the hallowed influences of the day, is the more imperative, since the convenience and expedition of our public conveyances, have greatly increased the temptations to violate its rest, for purposes of amusement and enterprises which hold out fasci- nating prospects of gain. At such a time we have reason to rejoice that we have it in our power to bring forward the tes- timony of so many distinguished physicians and eminent statesmen in favor of a regular observance of the Sabbath. The favorable change in public opinion which has already been produced, by spreading before the community a body of statistical information respecting the observance or a vio- lation of the Sabbath, ought to stimulate us to vigorous and persevering exertions in the cause in which you have been so zealously and successfully engaged. I hope that effectual measures will be taken to distribute the Sabbath Documents through the length and breadth of the land, and that other similar collections of principles and facts may be circulated among all classes, till we shall become a nation fearing God and obeying his commands. May the blessing of Heaven descend abundantly upon your self-denying labors, in a cause upon which the social and political, the temporal and spiritual welfare of our country so greatly depends." From President Way land, of Brown University. «I have read the Sabbath Document with great interest. The information which it embodies on the subject of the observance of the Sabbath is of great importance, and the manner in which it is conveyed seems to me incapable of giv- ing offence to any reasonable man. I cannot doubt that its universal circulation would greatly advance the interests of virtue and piety." Frmn the Editor of an important Periodical Publication in one of the Western States. " We have received No. 1, of the Permanent Sabbath Docu- ments, and have read it with unmingled satisfaction and profitc It is a pamphlet of sixty pages, and the only thing we found any cause to regret was, that there was not more of the same 15 kind. No one, we are persuaded, can read it without profit. It ought to be in every family in the land." From President Nott, of Union College. "I rejoice to learn that arrangements have been made to put the Permanent Sabbath Documents into sixty thousand families. It is not possible to anticipate the good that may result from the diffusion of the knowledge of the facts and arguments contained therein to so great a number of families. But why should the distribution of these Documents be con- fined within these limits ? What might not be expected if they could be placed in every family throughout the length and breadth of the land, and the eye of the nation, the whole nation, be turned towards the evidence which exists, and is embodied in those Documents, that the Sabbath was made for man — and that the highest happiness of individuals and fami- lies, as well as nations, will be best promoted by the due ob- servance of that consecrated day. All God's laws are founded in wisdom and goodness, and it is as much the interest, as it is the duty of man, to obey them. There are considerations in favor of the observance of the Sabbath embodied in these Documents that could not fail to impress the mind of the patriot and statesman, as well as the Christian, if presented before them. If the nation is to be saved, the observance of the Sabbath must be restored ; and in order to the restoration of the observance of the Sabbath, the understanding of the public must be enlightened, and the conscience of the public quickened — and 1 know of no way in which this is so likely, by the blessing of God, to be effected, as by a very general circulation of these Docu- ments." From Pres. Humphrey, of Amherst College. "I have looked over the first number of the ' Permanent Sabbath Documents,' issued by the Committee, and consider it as eminently calculated to do good. Its spirit, its arguments, its testimonials from the highest sources, and above all, its facts, are just what the public want, and they must make an impression wherever the pamphlet goes. I have no hesitation in saying, that a copy of it ought to be put into every family in the land." From Pres. Cogswell, of Gilmanton Theological Seminary. " Your Permanent Sabbath Documents, diffused as they will be through the land, must be attended with the most happy results. The Documents should be furnished for every human dwelling. They should be bound and placed next to the Bible and the hymn-book of the family. They must prove a grand 16 instrumentality in promoting the observance of the Sabbath, which so strikingly exhibits the Divine wisdom and goodness ; and which cannot be too highly appreciated. This sacred day, sanctioned and perpetuated by i)ivine authority, has been of more utility in preserving the knowledge and wor^ip of God, and thereby in promoting the happiness of man, than all other institutions." From Rev. Samuel C. Damon, Honolulu, Sandu-ich Islands. " I have perused with great pleasure, the Permanent Sabbath Document, No. 1. I trust that it may have a wide circulation. I should be glad to have some benevolent individual forward to me five hundred copies, to put into circulation among the seamen and the foreign community in the Pacific, and in Poly- nesia. 1 regard the observance of the Sabbath, of the first importance, and am satisfied that the manner in which its holy hours are spent is a good test of the religious spirit of a com- munity, a family, or individual." From Ren. D. B. Lyman, Hilo, Sandwich Islands. " I have received the Permanent Sabbath Document, pub- lished by the Committee of the American and Foreign Sab- bath Union ; and perused its contents, tcith ^reot pleasure. Would it were carefully studied., by all the families in the United States ; and by all their citizens who go abroad. Can- not some means be found of placing a copy in the counting room and parlor of every shipowner ; and in the cabin, steer- age and forecastle of every ship. There are more than six hundred ships employed in the whale fishery from the United States. Each ship, it is understood, carries from twenty-four to forty men. The average is not less than thirty. Hence, the number of seamen employed in this business from the United States is, at least, eighteen thousand." Such are the sentiments expressed by the above and other philanthropic men with regard to the First Docu- ment. The Second Document goes more fully into the considerations which show that the Sabbath was designed to be permanent; and that it is the will of God that the Lord's day should be kept holy to the end of time. The following are some of the testimonials concerning this Document. Fro7n Rev. John Pierce, of Brookline. "Ihave read with intense interest the second number of 'Permanent Sabbath Documents.' The first number I also 17 perused with much satisfaction when it was first issued. The argument appears to me sound, and the reasoning conclusive. Should these views be generally embraced and the Sabbath be kept accordingly, there can be no doubt that it would di- minish, if not reform those abuses, especially in our cities, so heart-rending to the friends of religion, decency, and order, in their vicinity. I allude to visits at places of public resort, by so many young men, for Bacchanalian festivities, and other immoralities ; to their furious races through the streets of the city and neighborhood, reckless of consequences ; endanger- ing the lives and limbs of those who come in their way ; dis- turbing the quiet of families by rude noises ; poisoning the air with their narcotic exhalations ; and sometimes disturbing worshiping assemblies with their clamorous sports. That your efforts, and especially the wide circulation of your Permanent Sabbath Documents may help to abate such public nuisances, and reclaim for the Lord's day that regard to which it is enti- tled, and which would so greatly promote the public good, is the earnest prayer and confident expectation of your sincere friend." From Rev. Ralph Emerson, Professor of Ecclesiastical History in the An- dover Theological Seminary. " I have just read No. 2, of the Permanent Sabbath 'Docu- ments. It is a candid and conclusive argument in favor of the Christian Sabbath as a divine institution ; and, like its prede- cessor, is well fitted to meet the exigency of the times. The biblical part of the argument is well corroborated by a fair and full statement of the views and practice of the early Christian church, and of the reformers of the sixteenth century. This statement is peculiarly important, at the present time, for the purpose of correcting the erroneous impressions abroad in the community, especially in regard to the opinions of Calvin and his coadjutors. " Should this tract be widely circulated and carefully read, I believe it will greatly promote the reformation now so happily begun in respect to the religious observance of the Sabbath. No external reformation is more needed throughout Christen- dom ; and none can promise greater results for this life or the future. For many ages this country and Great Britain have been distinguished above all others for the observance of the Sabbath; and I cannot but regard this as, both directly and indirectly, one of the chief causes of their superior advance- ment in morality, piety, and national prosperity. And if such be the fact, we may well consider the object for which these Documents are prepared as among the most important that can claim the attention of Christian philanthropists." 2* 18 From Chancellor Walworth, of the State of New York. " I have just closed the examination of the second number of the Permanent Sabbath Documents ; and I have no doubt of the correctness of the principle assumed, as to the moral and perpetually bindinor obligation of the command of Jehovah, to ' Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.' I think it is evident from the Scriptures also, that the Saviour, when on earth, recognized this Divine command as still binding by his own observance of it. His custom was to attend the synagogue on the Sabbath day ; and his humble and devoted f )llovvers rest- ed, 'according to the commandment,' on that Sabbath of afflic- tion in which the last hope of ruined man was lying in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. It is true he exposed the errors of the Jewish formalists who complained of the labors of love and mercy which he performed on the Sabbath. But he taught them the true import of the commandment to sanctify the Sab- bath ; that secular employments were indeed forbidden, but that works of piety and of mercy were a part of the appropriate duties of that holy day ; that it was a day ordained of God for the benefit of man as well as for his own worship ; and not a day to be spent in mere inactivity and sloth. It is not mate- rial that we should know whether the Saviour himself changed the Jewish for the Christian Sabbath by personal instructions to his disciples before his ascension into heaven, or by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit a short time afterwards. But that it was so changed in the time of the Apostles, and that the day on which the angels at the tomb announced that the Saviour had arisen, and the work of redemption was finished, has ever since been observed as the Christian Sabbath, is too well established to admit of any reasonable doubt. That is the day, then, which Christians should everywhere observe and sanctify. And if the principles and practice recommended in these Permanent Documents should be generally adopted throughout Christendom, their beneficial eflTects upon the social, civil and religious interests of fallen man would be incalculable." Fr07n Chief Justice Wiiiiams, of Connecticut. "I have read the Permanent Sabbath Document No. 2. The argument appears to me sound, and the reasoning conclu- sive. Should those views become universal, and the Sabbath be observed accordingly, through the length and breadth of our land, the influence would be such as greatly to soften and refine the manners, to reform the morals and to improve the physical and intellectual powers— and would do more to pre- vent the progress of crime than all our prisons and houses of reformation. Besides which, its efficacy in extending the king- 19 dom of him who is Lord of the Sabbath, would be immense. In short, the effect upon society would be like the influence of spring upon the earth. It would clothe the land with verdure, and make it like the garden of God." From Chancellor Frelinghmjsen, of the New York University. " I have read your second annual report of the American Sabbath Union, and No. 2, of the Permanent Documents, with great interest, and I trust, some profit. " The argument, contained in the Permanent Documents, in favor of the Christian Sabbath, is convincing and conclusive, and [ hope, will commend itself to every candid and serious mind. The reasons urged, for the divine institution and au- thority, the perpetual and universal obligation, and tho benig- nant purposes, of this sacred day, seem to my humble appre- hension of sufficient weight, to bring every thoughtful man to the fixed conviction, that the Sabbath was indeed made for man. And that we are as really bound to remember it and keep it holy, as any other precept of the decalogue. Would that our business men and young men could be persuaded to listen to God's commandments on this great point of duty. He engages in his word, and that by promises of peculiar empha- sis, to bless the nation and the individuals who honor His Sab- bath and take delight in its services. He, in explicit terms, suspended the existence of Jerusalem, on the treatment shown to the Sabbath ; and he demolished its palaces, and the lowest foundations of the Temple, because His people profaned the day which He had hallowed. The argument further shows, by facts and unanswerable reasoning, that not only the laws of God, as the Ruler of the universe, but the laws of our moral and physical constitution require the one-seventh portion of time, in regular and constant succession, for rest. Let the experience of any one take the case and try the truth of the proposition. Who or where is he, that can task mind or body, week after week, and month after month, without the rest of the Sabbath, and not sink under the grievous burden ? But the designs of this institution, as you most forcibly urge, reach far higher and nobler ends, than mere refreshment and repose. It is a hallowed day, on which all earthly cares, intellectual and physical, are to be intermitted ; and man led to the con- templation of his spiritual and immortal nature ; a day for hira to consider the relations that he sustains to God as a creature, and the hopes which the Scriptures authorize him to cherish as a sinner. It is here the subject is of deepest interest, because of everlasting consequence. And hence, we perceive, that not only the labor of the body is forbidden ; but, with equal sternness, all intellectual employment, not bearing on the wor- 20 ship of God and the claims of devotion. For the speculations of philosophy, are quite as absorbing and secularizing as the avocations of the husbandman or the din of the workshop. The nature of the duty is indicated, Avith distinctness, in the following divine promise : ' if thou call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable, and shalt honor Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words, then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord ; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth.' " It is because man is immortal, that his merciful Creator and Judge has ordained and secured for him a Sabbath day, that meets him in weekly revolution and invites him to reflec- tion and meditation and prayer. And my earnest and fervent desire is, that God would graciously smile on your work of faith and labor of love, and bring this whole nation into will- ing obedience to the law, and delightful harmony with the spirit of the Sabbath." From Professor Greenleaf, of the Law School, Harvard University. " I have read the second number of the Permanent Sabbath Documents with great interest, and think that the argument for the perpetuity and religious duty of observing one day in seven as a holy Sabbath to the Lord, is perfectly sound and persua- sive. It is equally clear to my view, that the change from the seventh to the first day of the week was made by the Apostles themselves, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and is now obligatory on all who profess and call themselves Christians. " Should the views inculcated in this Document be adopted, and the Sabbath be kept accordingly throughout our country, the consequences upon our national prosperity and happiness would be incalculable. Moral principles and motives would gain a vast accession of strength from the wider diflfusion of the knowledge of man's duty to God and to his fellow men ; there would be less intemperance, and less crime, and less poverty ; and more industry, sobriety, domestic virtue, and true peace. Long observation has convinced me that a large portion of the miseries we endure as a people, may be traced to the neglect and desecration of the Lord's day ; and that on this score many individuals in the upper and more observed classes of society have a heavy amount of responsi- bility, from the bad influence of their example." From Judge McLean, of the Supreme Court of the United States. " I have read ' Permanent Sabbath Document No 2,' and I feel no common interest in saying that in my judgment the ar- 21 gument contained in that Document is sound, and that the rea- sons are conclusive. In support of this opinion I need not refer to the force of the languas^e nor the clearness of the illustrations, as all who read the Document will feel its truth. Where there i3 no Christian Sabbath, there is no Christian morality ; and without this, free government cannot long be sustained. As a civil institution merely, the Sabbath is wise and politic. It is necessary to the well being of the physical nature of man and beast ; and it is not less so to our intellectual energies. But in a moral point of vievv it is most important. " No man can properly observe the Sabbath without feeling more or less of that sublime moral influence inculcated in the Scriptures. And this will increase with the continued observ- ance of the day. It will grow into a habit which will exert a salutary restraint over the thoughts and the actions of the indi- vidual, through the week, and will make him a moral if not a religious man. And this influence is essential to the mainte- nance and purity of a government founded and sustained by public opinion. Every influence that restrains the bad pas- sions of our nature, and elevates and purifies our thoughts and actions, makes us better, and tits us better for the private and public duties of life. I should never doubt the honesty of a man who, from principle, keeps the Sabbath day holy. " The free governments of antiquity saw the necessity of a conservative and religious influence, and hence they invoked the mysterious sayings of their oracles, and the influence of the gods they worshiped. Their religion was false and so was their philosophy ; but how much through such instrumen- talities was accomplished. And what good in morals and in government might not this age accomplish, aided by the sub- lime precepts of the Bible. There is no duty in that book more clearly enjoined than that of observing the Sabbath, and there is none, the performance of which, imposes more salutary restraints and inculcates higher virtues on society." From Rev. Samuel Miller, Prof, of Ecclesiastical History in the Princeton Theological Seminarij . " I read No. '2, of* the ' Permanent Sabbath Documents,' with peculiar pleasure. To me the positions taken appear to be all safe, the reasoning sound, and the ancient and modern testi- monies in favor of Sabbatical observance, strongly, conclu- sively, and happily presented. I was particularly pleased with the account given of the opinions of the leading Reformers in regard to the observance of the Lord's day ; of the true reason why those opinions have been so frequently misapprehended ; and the real, substantial friendliness to what we deem truth on this subject, which, after all, appears in their writings, and was manifested in their practice. 22 " I rejoice to find that many secular men, and eminent states- men, who make no profession of religion, are beginning to see and acknowledge that all the interests of civil society, as well as of the church, call for a Sabbath, and for a Sabbath duly sanctified as a day of rest, both from the toil of labor, and the fever of sport— that the necessity of a Sabbath is visibly in- scribed on all the physical laws of man, no less than on his moral and religious interests. And I cannot but indulge the hope that, in the progress of popular opinion, we shall soon find a guaranty for tiiat observance of the Lord's day which will be, at once, a source and a pledge of rich blessings to our beloved country. Let any reflecting man imagine, for a moment, what would be the consequence if the Christian Sab- bath were truly observed throughout the United States, or in any one State in our Union, as the instructions of the Bible, and the best example of the church of Christ enjoin. Can Buch an one doubt that he would see, just in proportion to the extent of the observance, purity, order, happiness, and moral and physical health pervading every part of the social system — happy families — the diminution of crime — and the smiles of a gracious Providence everywhere blessing the community .'' The patriot, as well as the Christian, has, if he did but know it, the deepest interest in this matter. No truth was ever more distinctly and palpably confirmed by the history of man, than that the neglecters of the Sabbath neglect their own mer- cies. " The longer I live, the deeper is my persuasion of two things: 1st. That the proper observance of the Lord's day lies at the foundation of all that is pure and regular, and morally healthful, both in the church and in the world ; and, 2dly, that for promoting and securing this observance, we are to rely, imder God, much less on the enactments of legislatures, and the vigilance of juridical officers, than on the force of an en- lightened public opinion, and the power of that hallowed in- fluence which the faithful instruction, entreaty and warning of the friends of truth and righteousness are adapted to impart to the mass of a community. I rejoice, therefore, in all the con- ventions of which 1 have heard, whether national, or confined to particular states, for the purpose of forming and extending a correct public sentiment on this great subject. 1 believe they have done, and are doing great good ; and that by the Divine blessing, we may look for permanent and precious ben- efits from their proceedings. May they go on and gather strength, until the whole population in every part of our fa- vored country shall feel the value of Sabbaths, and lend all their influence to their appropriate sanctification. And let it be remembered that as in every community, 'one sinner de- stroyeth much good ;' so one enlightened, conscientious and 23 copsistent friend of the Sabbath, knows not how much good he may accomplish by an edifying example in regard to this holy day." Such are the opinions of men eminently qualified to judge with regard to soundness of the argument and the conclusiveness of the reasoning in the Second Document, or that which forms the second part of the Sabbath Man- ual. We have the most abundant evidence that the cir- culation of these Documents, and other efforts which have been made by various classes of the friends of the Sab- bath, have already been productive of great good. The public attention has been extensively awakened ; numer- ous discourses have been delivered; the secular, as well as the religious press has spoken often and impressively on the subject. The conviction is extending and deep- ening, that " the Sabbath was made for man," and that the conscientious observance of it is essential to his high- est present, and future good ; and that those who dese- crate it to purposes of worldly business, traveling or amusement, act against their own highest interests. The numbers are increasing, also, who are disposed to make efforts to extend its benefits to others. Within four years, there have been held fourteen State Conventions of the friends of the Christian Sabbath, of various denomina- tions and political parties, to unite their counsels and ef- forts for the promotion of the universal observance of the Lord's day. Seven of these Conventions have been held during the last year, and one at Washington for the District of Columbia. This was very fully attended by delegates from churches, by members of Congress, and gentlemen connected with the government, and by many whose position and character enable them to exert a great and salutary influence on the country. Numerous other Conventions have been held, during the year, for counties 24 and smaller districts, and measures have been adopt^ which have evidently been productive of much benefit. On the Delaware and Hudson Canal, the experiments of opening the locks and of not opening them, on the Sabbath, have been fairly tried. For a number of years the locks were opened, as they now are on the Erie Canal, and on some other public works. It was said that it would not be useful or safe for the boatmen to be per- mitted to stop on the Sabbath, because they would con- gregate together, gamble, become intoxicated, fight, com- mit depredations on property, and become worse than if they should continue their ordinary employment. So, to prevent the boatmen from becoming more vicious, and with the hope that they would do more work, the Com- pany, by opening the locks, aided them in the stated and regular desecration of the Sabbath. Still, the boatmen were very wicked, and very degraded, as men always will be, if required or induced to labor in secular business on the Sabbath day. Facts have shown the folly and the wickedness of that course. The following is a communication from John Wurts, President of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, to a member of the Philadelphia Sabbath Association : " Dear Sir, — Your letter of the 15th inst., I received in due course of mail, but I delayed answering it until the arrival, at this place, of R. F. Lord, Esq., the engineer, who has had charge of our canal for sixteen years past, that I might submit your letter to him, and have the benefit of his personal observa- tion and experience, as well as my own, in giving my answer. " The Delaware and Hudson Canal was opened for naviga- tion in its entire length in the year 1829, and no .discrimination was made bets\^een the Sabbath and any other day in the use of the locks until the year 1832. Since an early day in that year, however, navigation on the canal has been suspended on the Sabbath, as far as it was in the power of the Company to sus- pend it, in relation to which, however, it could do no more than inhibit the opening of the locks on that day. You will per- ceive, therefore, that on the canal there has been a period of 25 three years of Sabbath labor against thirteen of a suspension of it. " The vast change that has taken place in the deportment and morals of those who navigate this canal, has demonstrated to all who have had an opportunity to notice it, the vvisdom of the course adopted by tlie Company, if there had been no other or higher motive than a mere question of business-gain connected with it. The improvement in the conduct and mor- als of the boatmen, has been the subject of com.ment and con- gratulation noticed by all connected with the Company's business, and also by every intelligent and respectable resident on the line of the canal. Nor has this improvement been confined to the boatmen only ; it is observed in the population along the line of the canal also, who are in no way connected with its navigation, but who, when the Sabbath was not respect- ed by the boatmen, appearing to be influenced by this perni- cious example, would assemble at various points, and turn the day into one of frolic and dissipation, or of strife and quarrel with the boatmen. "The boatmen and the people on the line were thus mutu- ally corrupting each other — and while the locks were open on the Sabbath, it was always a day of much disorder, and much more trouble and care to our superintendent on the canal, than it has been since. " The boatmen now strive to reach some point by Saturday night, where they can have the privilege of attending a place of public worship ; and if they fail to do that, the fact that their progress is arrested from that time till Monday morning, seems to have a favorable effect on their conduct, by (as I presume) inducing reflection on their part. Those who have no proper regard to the day, appear to respect it from respect to the opin- ions and feelings of their employers, and others who urge upon them the observance of it. When we first made the change, it was apprehended by some that large masses of boatmen would be assembled in idleness at various points on the Sab- bath, and disorder thereby created. This apprehension has not been realized ; on the contrary, as I have already remarked, it is a day of much greater quietness and order than it was before the change took place. 1 would remark also, that the complaints of depredation and trespass by boatmen on private property along the line, are much less frequent than they were, before navigation was suspended on the Sabbath. And that in all respects we now find it much less difficult to get along in peace and harmony with the crews of five or six hundred boats, than we used to do on the old system with half that number. " In regard to the comparative amount of labor performed by a given number of men, horses, boats, etc., under the two A 3 26 systems, I would remark, that from our experience we have no doubt the preponderance is in favor of six days' labor. Mr, Lord, who has had sixteen years of experience on the canal, and whose duties include a supervision of the boats, says, that if he were doing the work by contract, with a limited number of boats, and had his choice between six and seven days' labor, he would elect the former. " I have no hesitation in saying, that the present system has been more profitable to the company and to the boatmen, than the old one. It cannot be otherwise, from the facts I have stated ; and I should regard it as mistaken economy, both in time and money, to return to the system of seven days' labor. So would the boatmen. There is not a doubt but at least four- fifths of them would earnestly press us to abide by our pres- ent course, if the question of a change should be agitated — and those who would go for a change, (if any,) would be found to be of that class with whom we would willingly part. Such also would be the feeling among the forwarders and others in- terested in the navigation of the canal ; although at the outset they, as well as many of the boatmen, w^ere disinclined to the present system. " In taking the step we did thirteen years ago, when I be- lieve every canal in the country was used as freely on the Sab- bath, as on any other day, if the public chose to use them, the question was not so much, what is to be the effect of the meas- ure, as what is right — what is duty ? Having no doubts as to what should be the answer to such an inquiry, the course dic- tated by duty was adopted, and the consequences left where they may always safely be, under like circumstances." The following is from the Collector on the Delaware Division of the Pennsylvania Canal : " As regards the suspension of business operations on this and the Lehigh canal on the Christian Sabbath, commonly called Sunday, I can assure you it has thus far worked admira- bly ; has given almost universal satisfaction in this community, as well as to the boatmen and others concerned ; and I am also satisfied the measure is not calculated to diminish the revenue of the Commonwealth, or affect the interests of transporters in the least. " Of the moral conduct of our boatmen generally, and their demeanor on the Sabbath in particular, I can truly speak with great commendation. There is none of that disorder at the places where they 'lay by' on Sunday, about which so much apprehension was expressed, in advance of the measure going into operation. In short, it has proved a blessing to all con- 27 cerned, and doubtless has a salutary bearing also upon the morals of the whole community residing along the vicinity of the canal. " Aside from its moral influence, there can be no doubt of the beneficial effect this measure has in a pecuniary point of view ; as it must be obvious, that both men and beasts will do more labor in six days, by resting every seventh, in obedience to the Divine Law, as well as that of Nature, than by a perpet- ual working in disregard of both, wearing out themselves and their beasts." The above experiments show conclusive'y four things, viz : 1. The character of the boatmen has been greatly im- proved. 2. A similar improvement has taken place with regard to the inhabitants living in the vicinity of the canal. 3. Depredations on property are much less frequent than when the companies opened the locks on the Sab- bath; and thus assisted the boatmen in the desecration of that day. 4. They do more work, and in a better manner. Similar, it is believed, would be the effect of the due observance of the Sabbath in all kinds of business and among all classes of people. It was made for man, and the proper keeping of it tends to promote his intellectual elevation, his moral purity, his social happiness, and his eternal good. It cannot be desecrated without producing the opposite effects. The employment of men in secular business seven days in a week debases their minds, cor- rupts their morals, injures their health, and shortens their lives. It lessens their ability and their inclination for the highest and best efforts, and prevents them from making the wisest and most profitable use of their powers. Boat- men are no exception to this. The Sabbath was made for them, as well as for other men. They need it as much. The keeping of it will do them as much good. They 28 have as real a right to its rest and its privileges. It is no more needfal to deprive them of its blessings, in order to prevent them from becoming more wicked, than it is to deprive other men. It is the way to increase their wick- edness, and it does increase it to an awful extent ; wiiile it hinders the efficacy of all means for their reformation and improvement. Let boatmen have the Bible, and the Sabbath ; let mis- sionaries go among them ; let friends of the Sabbath, in the towns and villages where they stop, go on board the boats, and invite them to the house of God ; let seats be furnished for them, and let them be treated as they ac- tually are, a very useful and important class of our citi- zens, the value of whose health and moral elevation is incalculable ; let no company, or State, or any of their officers submit to the low, degrading, and vicious employ- ment of aiding and abetting them in breaking the Sab- bath, by opening the locks, and thus assisting them to follow their ordinary occupations ; and the interests of the boatmen, of the owners and forwarders of property on the canal, of stockholders, and of all concerned, will thereby be promoted. Sabbath desecration, by high or low, on the land or on the water, is detrimental to individuals and to the state. It is a hostile invasion of the rights of God, and must be in all its influences hurtful to men. A conviction of these truths, as public attention is awakened and information is extended, is becoming more and more general throughout the country. FOURTH REPORT. In the two first Sabbath Documents are illustrated the following truths, viz.: — 1. The Sabbath is founded on the nature of things ; and men are required, not only in the Bible, but by natural laws, to observe it. 2. As but six days in a week have been made or given to men for secular employments, they have no right to take any more; and if they do so, it is without right, against law, and in violation of one of the first principles of morality, 3. As the Sabbath does not belong to men for worldly purposes, if they take it for such purposes, they take what is not theirs, and thus practice a species of dishonesty^ which is exceedingly demoralizing to their own minds, and to the minds of their fellow-men. 4. Since the Sabbath was made for man, and given to him as a day of rest from worldly business and cares, and of special devotion to the worship of God, and the pro- motion of the spiritual good of men, all men have a right thus to enjoy it ; and no man or body of men can, in or- dinary circumstances, deprive them of the exercise of this right, without great injustice towards them, the com- munity, and God. 5. All men have a right not only to the rest and privi- leges of the Sabbath, but also to the stillness and quiet which the undisturbed enjoyment of those blessings re- quires ; and all who disturb them by the prosecution of worldly business, traveling, or amusement, grossly 3* 30 invade the rights and trample on the privileges of the people. 6. The desecration of the Sabbath is a violation of an express command of Jehovah, and is adapted to draw down on those who are guilty of it, and upon others with whom they are connected, the sore and desolating judg- ments of Heaven. 7. Those who labor continuously seven days in a week are, as a body, less healthy and long-lived than those who labor only six ; they perform, on the whole, a smaller amount of business, and in a less perfect manner. 8. Those who violate the Sabbath are more often guilty of gross outward crimes than those who habitually ob- serve it ; and a much greater number of the former are convicts in prisons and penitentiaries than of the latter. 9. Men who labor seven days in a week do not ordina- rily acquire any more property, keep it any longer, or enjoy it any better, than those who labor only six; of course they work one day in a week more than others, without being gainers, but not without being losers. 10. The law of the Sabbath is in accordance with the nature of beasts of burden ; and those that labor but six days in a week are more healthy, strong, and long-lived, than those that labor seven ; they can travel farther, do more work, and in a better manner. 11. The command of God, which he wrote with his finger on a table of stone, requiring the cessation from labor of both man and beast one day in seven, expresses an obligation which grows out of the nature of things, and will be permanently binding upon all who know it, to the end of time. 12. To deprive beasts of burden of the rest of the Sabbath, which their Maker has provided for them and commanded that they should be permitted to enjoy, is un- 31 profitable, and is an evidence of a mean, covetous, unjust, and ungrateful spirit, 13. Those who work against the command of God with regard to the keeping of the Sabbath, work against the providence of God, to the injury of their character and prospects, and to the detriment of society. Of course both duty and interest, for this world and for the world to come, urge all men, in every department of business, to remember the Sabbath day and to keep it holy. 14. The seventh day, which God commands men to remember as the Sabbath, and to keep holy, is the day which comes next after the six working days ,• and the first working day, as designated by the word and provi- dence of God, by the practice of the apostles under the guidance of the Holy Ghost, and of Christians in all ages, is the day that comes next after that which commem- orates the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the redemption of mankind. 15. The Jews had two kinds of Sabbaths, viz., one made for man, adapted to his nature, condition, and wants, in all ages and countries ; the other, adapted to the condition of the Israelites only, from the time they entered Canaan till the death of Christ, The former occurred once in seven days; the others occurred annu- ally, on certain specified days of the month ; as, for in- stance, the first, tenth, fifteenth, and twenty-second days of their month Tizri, answering to a part of our Septem- ber. 16. The former is the Sabbath referred to in the twen- tieth chapter of Exodus, from the eighth to the eleventh verse. The latter are referred to in the twenty-third chapter of Leviticus, in the fourteenth chapter of Romans, and in the second chapter of Colossians. 17. The command to keep the weekly Sabbath was placed by the Lawgiver iu the moral code, and was, 32 like its associates, a moral, permanent, universal law. The command to keep the yearly Sabbaths was placed by the Lawgiver in the ceremonial code, and was, like its associates, local and temporary; not binding until that code was adopted, and then on the Jews alone, and on them only till the death of Christ, and the establishment of the gospel dispensation. 18. The Jews, at the coming of Christ, having lost much of the spirit of their religion, and become idola- trously devoted to its forms, supposed that the ceremonial as well as the moral laws were to be binding under the gos- pel. Some of them thought so, after they had believed on the Saviour and joined the Christian church. Others, who had a more correct knowledge of the nature and object of ceremonial laws, knew that they were not designed to be binding under the gospel, and they did not observe them. This created difficulties, and led to contentions in the church. 19. Paul, like a wise and faithful minister, attempted to remove those difficuKies and to heal the divisions. The manner in which he did it, is recorded in the four- teenth chapter of Romans, and in the second chapter of Colossians, for the instruction of men in all ages. 20. The holy days and Sabbaths spoken of in the above- mentioned chapters, were not the weekly Sabbath, which was made for man, the command to keep which was placed by the Lawgiver in the moral code among perma- nent universal laws; but they were the yearly Sabbaths, the command to keep which was placed by the Lawgiver in the ceremonial code, among the local and temporary regulations of the Jews, which were designed to make and to keep them a peculiar people ; such as meats and drinks, new moons, feasts, fasts, and things that were a shadow only of what was to be in the church of Christ, under the gospel dispensation. 33 21. The above is evident from the fact that the apos- tle classes the days spoken of with the associates of the ceremonial, not with the associates of the moral code. He does not say, One believeth that he must not have other gods before Jehovah ; another believeth that he may have; — one believeth that he must not take the name of the Lord his God in vain, dishonor his parents, kill, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness, or covet; another thinketh that he may. It was not about these things that the members of those churches were contend- ing, but about meats, drinks, new moons, and tlie holy days and Sabbaths associated with them. 22. Those who apply what the apostle says in the four- teenth chapter of Romans, and in the second chapter of Colossians, and other similar places, to the weekly Sabbath of the moral law, as if that were among the carnal ordi- nances and shadows which Christ, by his death, abolished, blotted out, and took away, do exceedingly err, not know- ing the Scriptures, nor the will of God with regard to the keeping of the Sabbath, under the Christian dispen- sation. 23. The preaching of Christ and him crucified, as the foundation of human hope, by ministers of the gospel, who preach as did the apostles, was not designed, and is not adapted, to make void the fourth commandment, or any part of the moral law, but to establish it ; and till heaven and earth shall pass away, not one jot or tittle of the spirit of that law will fail. Those who preach against that law, therefore, or against the keeping of the weekly Sabbath, oppose the revealed will of God. 24. The more true religion prevails in the world, the more universally will the weekly Sabbath be kept, not as a day of secular business, traveling, or amusement, 'but as a day of rest, and of special devotion to the worship of God and the promotion of the spiritual interests of men ; u till from Sabbath to Sabbath all flesh shall assemble and worship Jehovah as their Maker, Redeemer, Sanctifier, Owner, Governor, and Judge, and render to him the hom- age, adoration, and praise, which are due to his great and holy name. Such are some of the truths which are illustrated and enforced in the two first Permanent Sabbath Documents. Appended to the second Document are also some extracts from the writings of Luther, Melancthon, Calvin, and a number of other eminent reformers ; showing conclusive- ly, that, although their views on the subject of the Sab- bath were not in all respects correct, they were by no means so erroneous as Sabbath-breakers have sometimes represented, or as some insulated passages of their writ- ings might seem to imply. These extracts are recom- mended to the careful perusal of all who wish to know what were the real views of these men ; and if any wish to see their views stated more at large, they may find them in Fairbairn, on the Opinions of the Reformers. FIFTH REPORT. Among the numerous signs of the times, which give promise of future good to mankind, is a widely extended and an increasing attention to the observance of the Sab- bath. The ends for which this institution was appointed, the will of its Author, and the effects of observing it, must ever give it a high place in the estimation of all intelligent and right minded men. Philanthropists have ofien no- ticed the facts, that open vices are not practiced by men who keep the Sabbath; and that the reckless and aban- doned are uniformly violators of this holy day. Nor is this without obvious reasons. There are laws, fixed and uniform in their operation, of which these facts are the natural result. Such is the nature of the Sabbath, and such the nature of man, that opposite courses with regard to the observ- ance of the day, will produce upon them opposite effects. One course is a practical acknowledgement of the exist- ence and perfections of Jehovah, and of his omnipresent and rightful authority ; the other is a practical denial of these great truths. It is acting as if there were no God, and no state of future retribution. Acting like atheists, produces upon men atheistical effects; hence the reason why such vastly greater numbers of the latter class are openly vicious than of the former. One class say, by their conduct, to themselves and others, "Verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth ; " and " thou God seest me; and wilt bring every work into judgment, with every 36 secret thing, whether ii be zoo6, or whether it be ei'ii," The other saj, "No God:' "no heaven — no hell." And each course produces, upon those who pursue it, its appropriate effects. Visit all the prisons in our land, and you do not find the Sabbath-keepers there : but Sabbath-breakers you may find in great numbers. Not a few you may find, who once kept the Sabbath; and while they did that, were sober, industrious, and useful. But they began to riolate it, and their character began to deteriorate ; their prospects were darkened ; and they committed crimes, which carried them to the prison, and, some of them, will carry to the gallows. What, then, are those men doing, especially those who hare influence, who openly violate the Sabbath, or lead others to do it? They are undermining the foundations of Tinue, and strengthening the hands of vice : multiply- ing the number of convicts : inculcating practical atheism on their countrymen, and warring against the great inter- ests of mankind. Rai!-road Companies, who ran their cars on the Sab- bath — Canal Commissioners, and Steam-boat Proprietors, who run their boats — and all, who violate the sanctity of this day, for purposes of gain or amusement, are doing an injury to society, which they can never repair. Do you say, * There is so much business, that it can- not be done in six days in a week : and that, therefore, men mmf work on the Sabbath — there is a necessity for it?' What is the ground of that necessity? Is it that men may make more money, a self-made necessity? If go, it is a iciched necessity. Men have no right to lay out more business, or attempt to perform more than they can accomplish bj working six days in a week. If they do, they attempt to be wiser than God, and show this, by the Tiolaticm of bis command. 37 The Farmer, the Merchant, the Mechanic, might all lay out more business than they could perform ; but it would be wicked, and the prosecution of it would expose them to Divine wrath. Nor is it different with Corporations, or Bodies of men. Though they are sometimes said to have no souls, the in- dividuals who compose them have souls, and will be held accountable for their influence in Public Bodies, no less than in their private concerns. Each individual must give an account of himself unto God. And none but God can tell hi)w soon. A friend of the Sabbath was accustomed to go, on the morning of this day, on board the vessels in the harbor, to distribute Religious Tracts, and invite the officers and men to attend public worship. In one of his visits, he found the officers and men, on board a certain vessel, hard at work. He spoke to the captain, and invited him to attend church. He said he should like to do it, but he could not; they must that day keep to work. He said he was under contract to the government, and was obliged to do it. "What!" said the man, ''obliged to break the command of God?" '* Yes," he said, " I am." "But," said the man, " God will call you to an account." The captain, in a sad tone of voice, replied, '' I suppose he will." They parted. The next morning, in passing about his vessel, the captain fell overbf>ard, and immedi- ately sank. They rushed to the side of the vessel ; he rose once, and cast up a wild, despairing look, sank again, and was seen no more. Had he known that that was to be his last Sabbath on earth, would he have spent it in loading his vessel? Suppose the government had required it; would he not have chosen to obey God rather than men? And would he not have been wise in so doing ? And when, under a great pressure of business, that A 4 38 active, enterprising young man consented to go with the rail cars, on the Sabbath, ahhough they had not been ac- customed to run on that day; and, after going about forty miles, struck his head and was killed ; had he known that such was to be the end, would he not, like the other young man who was requested to go, have refused, be- cause it was the Sabbath? And would he not have been a gainer by that refusal ? It is never wise, never safe, for the sake of money, or any earthly good, to provoke the wrath of the Almighty. Though sentence against this evil work should not be, as it often is not, executed speedily; because God is long-suffering, not willing that men should perish, but come to repentance ! yet even in these cases it is more wise, more safe, and in the end, in all respects better, to obey his commands. Nor is it true, that men who work seven days in a week can do more work, or in a better manner, than those who work only six. They do not, ordinarily, get more prop- erty, keep it longer, or enjoy it better. They are no more respectable, useful, or happy; and in no respect have they any lasting advantage above those who keep holy the Sabbath ; but in numerous ways they suffer great loss. This, we should expect, from the declarations of God ; and it is abundantly proved by facts. Wherever our Documents have gone, this conviction has been extended and increased. The Committee are, therefore, desirous of putting a copy of them into every family that is disposed to receive it, throughout the United States. And they cannot but believe, from what has taken place, that such a distribution would be of unspeak- able value to the present and to future generations. The First Document shows that the foundation for the Sabbath is laid in the works of God ; and that the Fourth Commandment only expresses the moral obligation which results from the nature and relations of things. 39 The Second Document shows that God, ia his word ' and by his providence, has clearly designated the first day of the week, as the day to be kept, from the resurrec- tion of Christ to the end of the world. The Third Document shows the effects of keeping the Sabbath, on children, while under the care of parents, and on young men, in that most dangerous of all periods of human life, from the time when they leave the family circle, to the time when they become heads of families themselves. The Fourth Document shows the manner in which the Sabbath should be kept, in order to realize its highest benefits ; and answers a number of objections, which are often made to the keeping of it in this way. The Secretary has made such arrangements, with re- gard to the distribution of these Documents, that for every thousand dollars whicb shall be furnished for this purpose, a copy of one or more of them may be put into a hundred thousand families. Had the Committee the means, they could supply half a million families a year; and many of them on the frontiers, and in the most destitute parts of the country. By means of men at New Orleans, Pitts- burgh, and Buffalo, furnished with them in German, French, and Spanish, they could also be put into a great portion of the families of immigrants that go through those places into the southern and western country. Something has already been done for this class ; and it ia interesting to see how it operates. They are strangers in a strange land. Speaking a foreign language, and feeling as if there were little or no sympathy in their behalf, when they see a little book kindly offered, in their own mother tongue, it looks like liome. They take it with eagerness, read it with attention, and not unfrequently it makes a strong and lasting impression. Not having been rightly instructed, in many cases, on the subject of the 40 Sabbath, it opens a new world to their contemplation. They carry the book with them to their new home. It becomes a family book. The principles and facts make a deep impression ; and future generations will reap the benefit. God, in his providence, is so ordering things, that greater and greater numbers are coming to this country. Who knows but it is that they may become better acquainted with Him, with his word, his Sabbath, and the way of life which he has opened — through the suffering and death of his Son ? Thus, while their con- dition is greatly improved for this world, their prospect will be exceedingly brightened, as to preparation for bless- edness in the world to come. Among all the means of grace, few, if any, are more efficacious than the proper keeping of the Sabbath. Without this, all other means must, to a great extent, fail. The Committee, therefore, most respectfully and ear- nestly invite all friends of the Saboath, and all patriotic as well as Christian men, who are blessed with property, to aid them in the prosecution of this great and good work. Let the millions who are rising up among us, and the millions who are coming from abroad to people the vast territory from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean, be per- suaded rightly to keep the Sabbath, and they will know Him as their God, and the God of their children. They will be sanctified by that knowledge, and, through his grace, be fitted to serve him on earth and to enjoy him in heaven. Blessings, temporal and spiritual, according to their wants, will descend upon them and be perpetuated to future generations. In the language of the Lord of the Sabbath, they shall ride upon the high places of the earth, and he will feed them with the heritage of his people. In England, Scotland and Ireland, France and Ger- 41 many, India, China, and various other parts of the world, the friends of the Sabbath are making special efforts to procure its more sacred observance. They are proclaim- ing the principles and spreading abroad the facts which urge men, not only from duty but also from interest, to confine their worldly business and amusements to six days in a week, and to keep holy the Sabbath. A convi