New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-01-18
SUNDAY AS A SABBATH I.
BY A LAC.


seems to establish the principle that the
keeping of one day in seven as day OF
rest from manual labor, or usual avocations,
is good for both mind and body. The in
spired law giver. thousands Of years ago,
fixed upon this proportion OF rest tone'
seventn as needful fer man and beast.
and, Notwithstanding the progress which
the world has since made IN other
matters. the morality OF Moses is the
morality Of to-day. The principles OF
right aud wrong were as well known
TO him as to the casuist OF the middle
ages, or the New England philosopher OF
the present day. Upon them his laws were
based, and therefore they are immutable; for
the things forbidden by them are not wrong
because forbidden but are forbidden be-
cause wrong. The propriety, therefore, OF
keeping one day in seven as a day OF rest is
as unouestionable as the duty OF honoring
ones father and mother. The question,
then, for Christians to decide-and it is an
individual one-is which day of the seven
they shall keep, and how they shall keep it.
1t is well, also, to know why they should
keep it. 1t is not because God rested on
the seventh day. That was reason given
by Moses, in his wisdom, to the Jews, which
operated with them in a salutary manner
until it was SO degraded by superstition, 80
overlaid by absurd restrictions, so pervert-
ed into an instrument Of cruelty, that the
Saviour felt called upon to publicly and re-
A. :, fnr
day in seven is not kept as day Of rest be-
cauee Christ rose from the dead on the first
day of the week, for there is no logical con-
nection between these two circumstances.
Neither Is a Sabbath kept as recognition
of Gods sovereignty. for he needs no such
recognition from us, nor is his Law estab'
lished for his sake, but for ours.
The fact that Sabbath, or day Of rest.
is necessary for men, being admitted. as
like wise the additional one that the super
sttious method of observing the Jewish
Sabbath, b. the Jews Of his time, was dis
regarded and even censured by the Saviour,
the question naturally arises, how comes it
that Christians keep the first day as Sab
BATH and that different denominations
keep it so differently. The first question
will probably elicit from those who know
their catccbisni the glib response. THE
Apostles, authorized oy Christ to establish
his church, changed Tie Sabbath from the
seventh to the first day. III honor OF Christs
resurrection" This is easily said. and to
many sounds conclusive. II has, however.
the radical defect of being utterly un'
founded. The Apostles never took
any such liberty. They were Jews.
and Jews they remained. keeping the
Jewish Sabbath. though doubtless n
form and manner greatly modified by the
liberty they had received through Christ.
At least we hear nothing of a sudden or inn
mediate change, though there is no doub:
that they met frequently on the first day OF
the week to deliberate upon the Christian
mysteries. Thus. according to some az
thoii,ies. the first day ot the week gradu-
aliv acquired religious character, while.
with the spread ot Christianity outside OF
Jewry, among pagan nations, the jewish
Sabbath naturally fell into Gisuse, like the
rest of the Jewish ceremonial law. and the
Lords day was substituted for it.
1t was not, however. until the Christian
religion came 70 be recognized by the
State. III the time ot Const antine, that laws
were enacted for the observance of thu;
dav, nor was it till after the Reformation
that il took the judaical character which
srll distinguishes it in denominations and
communities of Puritan descent. This most
Illogical method Of observing the Sabbath
makes use of Christian freedom in trans.
ferrine it from the day established in the
Decalogue to another. and then insists upon
a strictly iudaical use fit. an absurdity
which probably arose among the English
Purltans from desire to mark the distinc.
ton between themselves and the Roman
Catholics, who allowed themselves great
latitude in the observance of Sunday. and
the Episcopaliaas. who were not much
stricter.
That the real nature Of the Christian
Sabbath, and the Individual freedom it per
mits, is not yet generally understood,
notwithstanding tie explanations OF the
subject which have Of late years issued from
the pulpit both in England and in this coun'
try. is evident by the fact that few people,
brought up under Puritan influences, direct
or indirect, can make use of this freedom
without surerstitious qualnis of conscience.
A man confined to his desk or his counter
all day prefers to spend his Sunday in some
kind of out door recreation ; but his pleasure
in SO doing is marred by an uneasy sensa
ton as of guilt, the result Of the false teach
ing of his youth. Another, unable to incur
the expense Of keeping pew in church and
endowed bv nature with passion for flow
ers, spends lis Sabbath holiday working his
garden; but from false shame he erects a
high and disfiguring fence that his neighbors
may not see him "breaking the Sabbath y
This is all wrong. The Sabbath was made
for man, and should be so spent as to
contribute to bis welfare. Happy he, II
that welfare be consciously found
in attendance at religious services, in COM
munion with kindred spirits lifted up to the
contemplation of heavenly things. in the
reception Of spiritual food. If not so for
tunate as to enjoy such privileges let not
auy man deceive himself with the notion
that his mere presence IN a church has any
sacramental efficacy: or that it is wicked
for him to indulge in worldly amusements,
or to perform necessary work. Let him
remember that although It is injurious to
BODY, mind and soul to continue uninter-
ruptedly the same empioyments, and 1t Is
,on,an;.pt and fit that the whole commu-