New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-05-14
THE SABBATH A NECESSITY.

On last Sabbath evening Rev. j. C. Hart
zell, pastor of Ames Methodist EPISCOPAL
church, addressed his people on The
Sabbath Necessity" He took as his text
the words of Christ recorded in twenty
seventh verse of the second chapter of
Mark: The Sabbath was Made for Man"
The inference drawn from the text was
that the necessities of mans nature-as a
physical, social, intellectual and moral be-
ing-demand Sabbath. AS the subject is
one OF general interest, and one which we
would like to see discussed, we give the
points of Mr.. Hartzell's discourse.
THE SABBATH IS PHYSICAL NECESSITY.
Air, sleep, and food, are physical necessi-
Ties, because necessary to sustain physical
life Either may be dispensed with for a
time, but to be wholly deprived of either
leads to certain death. Man may, for a
time, disregard the Sabbath and experience
no physical evils. but facts prove that as a
rule those who disregard the day habitually
by not ceasing to labor, 90 to premature
graves. The body demands rest that shall
be regular and satisfying. This to great
extentl is met by sleep, but the testimony of
those who have made this study, is that
this is not enough. SO God has set apart
one day in the week in which to cease from
work. and the body is to rest. On this
point the general testimony of physicians Is
that the men who labor seven days in the
week are not as healthy and do not, ordi-
narily, live as long as those who work six
and rest one. DIR. j. X. Fare, of London
studied this question as IA physician for
forty years, and gave his opinion to the
| British House of Commons. "As day
of rest he says, II view the Sabbath
as day OF compensation for the inadequate
| restorative power of the BODY under con-
| tinued labor and excitement. The Sabbat-
| ical appointment is not las 1t has sometimes
| been enormously viewed) simply precept
| partaking of the nature of a political insti-
| tuition, but its observance is to be numbered
| among the natural duties if the preserva-
| ton of life be admitted to be duty, and the
| premature destruction Of it a suicidal act"
| One of our money kings says: II should
have been dead man had it not been for
the Sabbath. Obliged to work all the week,
felt on Saturday especially Saturday at
ternoon-that | must have rest. 1t was
like going into a dense fog. Everything
looked dark and gloomy, as if nothing could
be saved | dismissed all, and kept the
Sabbath in the good old way. On Monday
it was all bright. | could see through, and
got through. But had it not been for the
Sabbath should have been in my grave"
Sabbath breaking does not pay in dollars and
cents. Men can do more work and do it better
by resting one day in seven. In a certain
company two thousand men were employed
and for a number of years worked seven
days In each week. They were paid
double wages on Sunday. The result was
the men suffered both in body and min d. A
change was made and the men rested on
Sunday. The result was that more work
was done than before, and the super.ntend-
ent declared the change was necessary be-
cause of the decentralization of the men
under the first system, and their exhaustion
of bodily strength, which was visible to the
most casual observer" The word Sabbath
means rest" cessation from labor. What
au inestimable blessing it would be to the
world if men would but in the lowest sense
remember it TO keep it holy.
THE SABBATH AS SOCIAL NECESSITY.
Toll is the lot of man. No matter what |
the position in life is, labor is universal. All !
the week there is business to absorb and |
mental labor to fatigue. There is but little !
time during the week for social culture |
Especially is this true of the great mass of |
mankind who take little or no part in the |
more public social pleasures. To those who |
at will can command day or few hours |
of rest, the force of this remark is not so |
apparent.~ 1t is, however, fact, that |
wherever the Sabbath is regarded the peo-
pie are benefited socially. Here great
danger is to be avoided, one that Is increas-
ing TO an alarming extent in America, and |
especially in our large cities. Many say |
ment; therefore, let it be given to
popular amusements and general good
cheer The blue laws OF tho Puri-
tans that would prosecute man
for smiling on Sunday were absurd;
but the other extreme that opens the
theatre (which is bad enough at any timel
on the Sabbath, and sanctions the calling
together of multitudes in the beer garden
or upon the base ball ground is much more
absurd, besides positively wicked and sub
veIslve of all morality. Yet this latter
extreme is fallen into by thousands in the
name of liberty" Liberty gives no license
to destroy the Sabbath any more than it
gives license to destroy any other social
necessity; and on the other hand, to pass a
law to prevent these public dissertations of
Gods day i'll no way interteres with a
proper liberty. 1t is not saying that all
must believe alike on this question, but
says that 1.-THE Sabbath shall not be de-
stroyed.n
TIE SABBATH Is AN INTELLECTUAL NECEs-
SITY.
The mind may be injured by being over
worked and by not being worked enough.
The Sabbath is Gods protest against both /
errors. The earnest student needs his Sun
days for mental rest. So do clerks, book
keepers and accountants. Men, whose
business demands hard and consecutive
thought, need the Sabbath Especially
now when intellectual wear and tear of
business are many times greater than for
merly. A celebrated importer used to say
that ''he considered the Sabbath as the
best day i'll the week to plan successful
voyages" That man became "a maniac.
On the other hand the multtudes need the
Sabbath for mental culture. 1t is a day for
reading, thought and meditation. The ten
dency of ceaseless toll is downward. What
more beautiful sight than to see the man
of toll upon the Sabbath with his family
around him, studying the precious truths of
Holy Writ! And then again, called by the
church bells to the house of God, how truly
are the same minds blessed and instructed
by the worship and teaching of that sacred
place. Many millions of minds. even in
our own land would remain in total igno-
rance were 1t not for the Sabbath.
Consider the amount OF time the Sabbath
gives for study-every year nearly two
months. At the age of twenty-one per-
son has had three years of Sabbaths; at the
time; and at the age of seventy the Sab
bath-keeper has enjoyed ten solid years of
time set apart for spiritual growth, during
which he has habitually fixed his thoughts
on the most genial, beautiful and sublime
objects of study. 1t is no wonder that the
most highly intellectual and enlightened
people are those by whom the Sabbath has
been most generally observed, and guarded
by legal enactments. Why pirate about
Sabbath laws as an Infringement of our
liberties! They secure to us freedom from
the slavery of toll and care, and give us
leisure for mental and moral culture. They
prevent the task master from grinding us
into the dust.