The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1866-03-08
R THE GENITAL PREsBYTERIAN.
The Old Paths.

restraints which the Word OF God, and
the practices of our fathers, have placed
around the path of Christian duty, are
removed one by oae; ao,' ,'.''e-a barrier:
set up for the protection Of the Ghurcl
against the tide of worldliness, are by
degrees, lowered or made less capable o.
resisting that tide.
Not many months ago, some Christian
ministers in a public assembly advocated
or (if that term is too strong,) counten'
anced moderate drinking" What bet
ter argument could a drunkard desire, in
favor Of his oft repeated dram than this
which is put into his lips by "the preach
ers?' for every such person, in his own
Judgment, is "only moderate drinker.
But one, among those who made addresses
on the occasion to which | refer,-and ii
was temperance meeting held ex.
pressly for the purpose of devising means
to check an indulgence which is growing
at fearfully rapid rate in our country,
advocated 'total abstinence" and he
was sneeringly called "an old fogy.'
These were all ministers of the Gospel,
and many of them, who labor under no
such physical infrnity as that which
probably afflicted Timothy, take their
glass of whiskey, or brandy, or wine,
whenever they are invited, and in the
presence of ungodly men, who after
wards, in the vulgar crowd, make a mock
at such saintship as this practice indi-
Gates.
know of another, who boldly assert
ed, during the sessions of a Church ju-
dicatory, of which he was member,
that the Lords prayer" ought to be
abolished from every Christian congre-
cation; that it was intended for tempo,
rary object, and solely for the Jews, and
consequently had passed out of date.
What will be the effect, think you, both
in and out of the Church, if such loose
and unsound views are uttered in public
assemblies and received without a pro-
test?
And then am reminded also of the
of the modern and "liberal" notions
advocated by DR.. Norman Macleod, Of
the Scotch Presbyterian Church, with re-
gard to the observance of the Sabbath,
and published in your paper of January
11th, with but feeble canton, thus
mildly but beautifully expressed: st
may be that the letter of the Sabbath
law has been too strictly kept in Scot
land, but if the string has been twisted
too tight, let us hope that in untwisting,
it will not become so slack as to grow
weak" The ministry of that glorious
old land of the "Crown and Covenant,
the land of Rutherford and McCheyne
may be able to preserve their Christian
strength and integrity, but will her peo-
pie, with such pretext afforded them Of
setting aside the fourth precept of the
Decalogue, maintain their moral recti.
tude, and in this matter "abstain from
all appearance of evil ?" VIII they pre-.
serve unblemished, this most precious Of
Scotland's "crown jewels, the pearl Of
days?" VIII they be able to distinguish
the point at which the string becomes
"slack," and consequently "weak p
Will they know when it is UNFINISHED far
enough to suit the progressive and H6e-
raj demands of the age, without at the
same time encroaching upon the sacred
obligations and restraints imposed upon
every man by the 'Lord of Sabbaths?'
And how does the case stand in our
own land? Are we in danger of be-
coming too religious in the observance Of
the Lords day? Has any one noticed
lately any signs of the introduction Of
a "Jewish morality in this regard
Has the present age and generation made
such gigantic strides in morality, that the
old barriers should be removed, and new
and more liberal views on this subject be
introduced into our communities and
churches? Has Christianity obtained
such hold upon the public mind that
there is no longer any danger if we re-
lax our vigilance or abrogate our ancient
habits of observing sacred time?
In my humble judgment, the introduc'
ton of any such laxity or the approach
to it, or the indulgence of any such
"glad liberty of modern Christians is
but another indication of the demoraliza-
ton caused by the war; is but another
evidence of our imitation of people,
from whose pulpits, the Gospel has been
almost entirely banished, and in whose
midst the Lords day is spent, by multi.
tudes, in horse-racing, skating, and other
unsanctioned and unsanctifed amuse.
ments. 1t is one more foot of ground
given up to the enemy, one more tower
of our former Christian strength sur.
rendered, one more weak compromise
made, one more wound inflicted upon the
Lord Jesus Christ in "the house of Hi;
friends"
There is no danger of the string being
too tightly twisted in our land. Weneet
not fear a hyper-orthOdoxy, an excessive
Jewish austerity in keeping holy this day
so long as there are so many "fashiona
be sanctuaries,' in which is performed
the most elegant and attractive and reli
gious style of operate music to entic'
weak-minded Christian people away from
simplicity of form and purity of doc
trine; so long as that American Sodom
ite importation, a Sunday morning news