The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-02-01
THE SABBATH QUESTION
The sabbath a Moral Law.
Editor Of Me Bvening Teleoraph.-

To the Editor Of nhe Evening Ietegrdph-
The next historical notice Of the law is In Exodus
xvi 1.-THE children Of Israel came unto the will.
derness Of sin, which is between Elm and Sinai"
This was before the giving of the law at Sinai; for
we learn in Numbers xxxiii, that there were four
removals OF the camp, viz, Dophkah, Alush, Be.
Dhidm, and Sinai, before they came to the Mount
It was here in the Wilderness Of SIM they murmured
for bread and the mama given. just one
month passed from their departure from Rameses
(seo Numbers xxx, 81, on the 18th day of the first
month, and on the 10Th day Of the second month
they came into the wilderness of sin EXODUS xvi ~
And, ''in the third month, when the chidren of
Israel had zone forth out of the land of Egypt the
same day they came unto the wilderness of Sinai"
Exodus XIX, !. The day, that is, the fifteenth
day At the very least therefore, the rain of mama
took place a month before the ihunders Of Sinai
were heard. OF this bread from heaven the people
gathered IN homer for each perso each day. except
the sixth day they Vath red two homers for each
person. The rulers reported this matter to Moses,
"And he said unto them, this is that which the Lord
hath said is the rest of the Holy Sabbath
unto the Lord; bake that which ye will bake to-day
and seethe that ye will seethe" Exodus xvi, 23 25
"And Moses said Eat that to-day, for to-day is Sab
bath unto the Lord to-day ye shall not find it in the
field Six days ye shall gather it, but the seventh
day, which Is the Sabbath in it there shall be none
On this remark
l. In their bondage condition for two hundred and
ten years Il is not conceivable that the people could
enjoy Their Sabbath rest and keep up the regular
system of worship and instruction which belongs
properly to "the Sabbath which was made for man"
those sweet rests and joyous songs Of praise, and
heavenly instructions BY their Elders (or they had
Elders even in Egypt, Exodus ILL., 16. "Go and
gather the Elders of Israel together;" and xii, 2l
and xvii, 8, etc). The oppression which doomed a |
1a In death bkavviaa thn
which dooms man to work in printing Office
on O railroad seventeen hours per day for seven
days in the week. must have well nigh crushed out
all knowledge of the holy day, it cut of the poor
people from all opportunity to worship their God
and to receive instruction from their Elders.
g. This miracle of the mama is maniiestly de-
signed as it is admirably adapted, to teach the peo'
pie the blessedness OF the Sabbath day. 1t teaches
(1), That they have right, franchise from the
God of heaven TO from labor one day in seven.
No Egyptian taskmas,er (no printer or railroad
company may stand over them to enforce labor on
the Sabbath. No dire necessity any longer to toll
all day at the bnck-klln, the printing office the
cars. Total abstinence from toll s required. Bake
that which ye will bake to-day" Evidently the
Hebrew In the wilderness freer man than the
bakers are to-day in Philadelphia. Freedom from
labor, and liberty TO worship God unmolested, have
made so little progress in 1857 years Such is the
despotism of Mammon! ~ That the people are
not to cit in dleness, or wild in excess of plays
and sports. "See for that the Lord hath given you
the Sabbath" "Abide ye every man in his place
let no man go out OF his place the seventh day
So the people rested ON the seventh day" They
kept the day "hoty unto the LORD" The only sense
as we have seen, in which time can be kept holy, is
the performance of holy exercises of Gods worship
'It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day."
3. This transaction, as whole, IS not the enact
ment new statute, but the resuscaton of an old
one. Our statute book exhibits an analogous case
The of 1705 cal ed up and re-enacted in 1874
and again in 1845 If we had only the Ler ScriptG
the cases would have been more alike. They are
however, alike in another respect, viz , some ap
pendages added, shall see in another place
Now, we insist that this has not the form and
appearance of new law. "This is that which the
LORD hath faid, Tomorrow is the rest OF the holy
Sabbath unto the LORD" If a copOrteur take his
station near some depot whore the crowd is hurry.
ing off to worship God in the country and should
raise his voice and say, This is the Sabbath to be
kept holy unto the LORD and here are little books
suitable for the LORDS day." wouldhe be considered
in the light of legislator enacting new statute
Thus our LORD himself speaks "A new command
ment give / unto you, That ye love one another =
but John /, Epis. H. 2, speaking OF the same Law
of love, says:-"I write no new commandment untC
you, but an o d commandment which ye had iron
the beginning" Here is no Inconsistency :-"H
that loveth not his brother, abideth in death"
4. We must remember this transaction occurred
whole month before this same Sabbatic law, bu
with detail, enacted again at Sinai. So ou
Legislature act continually. large amount o
their acts contain, and are an enactment OF SOM
principle of the Decalogue. They can decree nj
penal enactment but they borrow their principl
from some one or more of the Ten Commandments
THEoPHILUs
Photographic portraits OF the late untortu