The Sun.
London, England, 1849-11-27 00:00:00

NAPLES AND SICILY.

The Legge contains a letter from Sicily stating
that that island is treated as a conquered country,
and that the people are loaded with taxes, and acts of
violence and oppression are daily practised. In
Messina the arrests are very numerous, and mous-
taches and beards are proscribed under the penalty of
imprisonment. The same paper says that at Naples
some of the municipalities have been intimidated into
signing a petition fur the suppression of the constitu-
tion. To sign or go to prison is the demand. It is
as much as one dares to salute another in the streets
lest he should be arrested for a conspikator.

THE SABBATH.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
Sra,--It is with reluctance I touch upon a theolo-
gical and argumentative subjeet in the haste in which
I write this, but having just seen the letter of " G. H."
in your paper of Saturday, and fearing it may escape
any reply, I wish to make one or two remarks.
Not merely may I be incompetent, even if I had
leisure, to afford the best reply to his letter, but in
the few minutes before me I may fail in recalling the
most important ideas which under other circumstances
would be familiar to my own mind on this subject ;
however, if so, I shall only leave an opportunity for
others to supply my deficiency.
To be brief, then, your correspondent's conclusion
in favour of a Gentile Sabbath is founded on two
assumptions :-
Ist. That an abstinence from labour one day in
seven is a " moral" duty,
2dly. That Jesus enjoined this duty.
Now, Sir, nothing would be easier than to prove
that both these positions are flagrant fallacies, but
without (or before) doing this, let me just suggest to
" G. H." that he has refuted himself, and relieved me
from the necessity of entering into his first assump-
tion. He has, Sir, distinctly affirmed that " Jesus
established the moral law and abolished the ceremo-
nial." Now, then, nothing can be clearer than this,
that if Jesus did not enjoin a Gentile Sabbath, that it
is not a moral law, and of course not obligatory, for
".• acknowledges that Christ abolished the
ceremonial.
We have only then to ask when and where did
Jesus ever enjoin a Sabbath ? The answer is, never,
never • and to keep it, therefore, is not a moral duty.
If Jesus abolished the ceremonial law and established
the moral (as " G. H." affirms he , did), and yet h 0
Undeniably omitted the Sabbath in all his teachings,
surely such a remarkable coincidence with the
teachings of Paul, and the omission of the Sabbath
in the New TestaMent whenever the " Command-
ments" are quoted, is an additional argument, to the
abundance of arguments that can be brought, against
the abominable human imposition of a Gentile Sabbath,
and displays at once the absence of all scriptural argu-
ment in favour of one.
,But) Sir, a total rest day for man never was a moral
law. (" By the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat
bread," was the ordinance of God towards man till
the time of Moses.) A rest day never arose as a
moral duty; it was one of those glorious privileges or
ordinances given by God ; given to the Israelites as a
" sign between Him and them." " Moreover, I gave
them my Sabbaths" was the gracious announcement.
That Jehovah Himself (as it is said) had His rest
day after the creation of the world, and which is
afterwards alluded to as a comparison in the giving '
a rest day to the Jews, if it prove anything on this
point, only proves that euch a rest was not enjoined
as a moral duty, arising out of the nature of man,
but as a positive ordinance, requiring, and being
honoured, by an allusion to God's own rest as a
sanction and seal to its importance and benignity as
a privilege of heavenly mercy. And when we bear
in mind the difficulty there must have been in an age
of slavery and bondage of enforcing on a newly-
organized nation a law whereby the rich should be
made to give rest to the poor, our hearts warm with
gratitude to an All-Gracious God for the solemn and
Magnificent importance with which He surrounded
this ordinance, and as their Monarch made His own
rest an example for their duty.
This privilege for the poor and duty for the rich
Was, indeed, most beautiful and perfect in a national
and local religion, where EVERY law was enjoined by an
Allwise Governor, and who consequently provided in
all things for its suitability in application and
blessedness in result ; for, doubtless, He did thus
provide by the whole tenour of his laws, if not
directly and immediate, as He did on its first enact-
ment, when on the sixth day " He gave the bread of
two days." Exod. xvi.
But, good heavens to argue that because this
privilege of a people so divinely organized was suitable
to them, that therefore to keep a Sabbath is a moral
duty, and as such obligatory on all mankind, however
situated, would be attended with such a host of
absurdities, and is so repugnant to the genius and
spirit of Christianity as a spiritual and universal
religion, that I cannot now attempt to touch further
such a mass of error.
_ Sir, if fools and hypocrites will " not have Christ
to reign over them," but in their human law-making
will mimic Israel's Almighty King, let them, for de-
cency's sake, not pick out those parts, and those only,
of the Mosaic code which suit their own narrow-
mindedness and self-interest, but let them remember
that he who will have only a part and not the whole
Is a guilty as well as a degraded sinner; for he who
'recognizes the law " and yet offends in one point is
guilty of all," and to sin under the pretence of obe-
dience aggravates the crime.
If, Sir, one totally idle day in seven for the whole
of the Gentile world, situated under varying human
imperfect laws, would be a good political enactment,
let it not he contended for as a moral duty or as a
Jewish law. But even as a political institution it
must be fraught with oppression and cruelty, unless
all the other benevolent Judicial Sabbaths and laws
of Moses go hand in hand with it.
But, thanks be to God, such is the beautiful con-
sistency of Christianity, that immediately that
universal religion was announced, outward, local, and
positive enactments were abrogated, a display of them
" was made openly," they were " nailed to the Cross,"
all power was given unto Christ, and He became
" Lord (or had authority) even over the Sabbath-day."
I have thus only slightly touched upon that one
little part of the Sabbath question upon which "G.
H." relied, viz , the " moral."
I have long entertained my present convictions, but
if I have now expressed myself warmly on this
unjust, unchristian admixture of God's holy lawis
With man's vain fooleries, you will not be surprised
when I tell you that within the last month I was kept
by such injustice a whole Sunday away from two of
my children, who wire lying dangerously ill with
strangers fifty miles off.
Your human laws allowed me to receive the bar-
rassing letter of information in the morning, but your
inhuman laws would not allow me to travel to per-
form what my moral nature dictated and a parent's
heart beat hard to execute.
Your Sunday English idleness and hypocrisy a
moral duty ? Pshaw ! Let your pretended Christians
be real followers of Jesus. Let them worship the
Father in secret, in spirit and in truth. They will
require none of the Jewish Sabbaths (but if they have
• the seventh day let them have the seventh year and
the fiftieth year). The Sabbath God now requires
(and will soon with his own might effect) is to
`_` undo the heavy burdens and to set the captives
free." Let them, as with Paul, have " every day
alike." When you act the Christian's part, when you
do not impose burdens on your fellow-beings, when
you do not and are not compelled to overwork daily
your sons nor your daughters,
your
maid servants, nor the stranger
wseirtvhaiinitsyonuorr
Sunday gates, you will require no
idleness, but on
every day will arise and be performed
nof
a the moral duties
of lite, every day will be
a day improvement, ex-
ercise, joy, peace, and gratitude, and
ayouu will lock
back on the law and a one- day
Sabbath
y
ou free."
" shadow of good things come' " and ta as only a
in the liberty wherewith Christ has stand fast
m
If haste has led to laxity and length, pardon me.
I am, Sir, yours obediently,
Cheltenham, Nov. 26, 1849. D ALE TH.

REPRESENTATION OF SLIORERANI.—It has been
erroneously reported that the Liberals of Shoreham have
petitioned Lord Arundel to represent them, in place of
the late Mr. Goring. No such thing has been thought
a. Lord Arundel has no intention of resigning the seat
he at present holds.
Be at peace with all mankind, but at war with
Cooh'a Journal.