The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1875-09-16
THE SABBATH.

holy" This 10 the DIVINE 1pJuhcion gwen
to man amid the fires and thunders OF oinai.
1t is Jehovah's awful command TO the ~ea"
and erripg of earth. This morn the Sab
bath belIs are ringing throughout the Chris
.ian world; the bells, the deep
church bells. inviting the little children TO
Sabbath school in every hamlet, village and
civ tbrou0hout the land where the word
of the merciful Father and the love of the
Saviour is taught. Inviting saint and sim
ner 10 those sanctuaries where the way of
salvation is made plain, and the glories of
futurity, to those who love God aud obey
His commandments, like beautiful visions
are unveiled 20 ill the heart with rejoicing
and make glad the weary. How like Dead
sea fruits, tasted but to turn to ashes on the
lips, are the schemes, the baubles, the am
Ditions and the poor, bitter pleasures of
this life beside the crowns, the realms and
the joys of eternity, that are the inherit
ance of "those who die in the Lord"
Remember the Sabbath day to keep it
holy" Picnics, junketings, excursions,
and all the worldly things that make US for
get God and Gods mercy, are infractions of
the letter and spirit of the law. The mere
attendance upon church services is not all
that is required. For those who go there
to see and be seen, the young men and the
old vino go only because it is respectable to
do 80, the young women who go to show
their pretty ribbons, their lace handker-
chiefs and twenty dollar bonnets, and to see
what that Sophronia Stuckup has on, and
if Tsbitha GabbletoDgue wears that same
old blue silk, are in no wise benefited by
what the preacher says. The seed that
is sown falls on stony places and barren
spots, and it takes no root. The mind and
the heart are both unbenefited. Tie one be-
comes filled with things of the earth earthly,
and the other imbued with the vanity OF
vanities, bitterness cOvetousuess and un-
charitableness. Such keeping of the Sab
bath day holy makes the angels weep in
sadness, while it fills the heart of the devil
with glee, and makes him fling double
shuffles of delight. The same bells that
ring out so gladly each Sabbath morn, toll
in solemn notes above the funeral cortege.
"Remember the Sabbath day to keep it
holy. ."-HoUSton Telegraph.
We are affected even unto tears when
we remember that the truly good man who
wrote the above, and who with touching
pathos pleads with his hearers to ''Remem-
Der the Sabbath day and keep it holy, has
never in the course of his whole life kept
single Sabbath, nor refrained from its regu-
lar weekly violation. How this Apostolic
man can reconcile his precepts with his
practice, we are unable to explain, but the
fact is as we have stated. While he is thus
thyillingly eloquent upon the soul-destroy
ing effects of Sabbath breaking, he is and
has always been a consistent, persistent
Sabbath-breaker. None of the uncIrcum-
sized Gentiles, whether Phillistine, Amale-
kite, Moabite, Ammonite, Hittite or Hivite
has kept the law of the Sabbath less than he.
The text of Scripture from which our
reverend brother of the Telegraph quotes is
commonly known as the fourth of the COM
mands given at Noun. Sinai to the Jews,
and it goes on to tell which day the Sab
bath day is, and h0O it is to be kept holy.
As our sanity friend does not appear to be
very familiar with the Bible, we will repeat
the commandment, to show how strangely
contradictory have been the teachings and
actions of this truly pious man: " Remem-
Der the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six
days shalt thou labor and do all thy work
but the sevenh day is the Sabbath of the
Lord thy God: In it thou shalt not do any
work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter,
nor thy men-scrvant, nor thy maid servant,
nor thy cattle, nor the stranger that is with
in thy gates" Saturday is the particular
day assigned by this commandment tor
Sabbath observance, and the children of
Israel, to whom the command was given,
have always so observed it, and do to this
day, by resting from work on Saturday,
and holding their synagogue worship
There is one, and only one, weekly Sab
bath enjoined, described, or in the least
alluded to, in the whole Bible, whether He
brew or Christian = the Saturday Sabbath.
No other day is so designated; no other
day can be the Bible Sabbath. Does the
pious editor of the Telegraph keep Saturday
as a Sabbath 2 II not, then we grieve to
say that this truly good and venerable man
is a Sabbath breaker, since he neglects the
very thing enjoined by that commandment
the keeping of the seventh day, Saturday,
as Sabbath. But the commandment rt-
quires something more. "Six days shalt
thou labor and do all thy work" Thus this
eloquent moralist is doubly violator of
the fourth commandment, neither resting
on Saturday, the seventh day, as it enjoins,
nor working on Sunday, the first day,
which it equally enjoins. 10 the course of
somewhat heightened editorial career we
have seldom been called upon to chronicle
more saddening illustration of human
frailty. This eminent and holy mah actu-
ally quotes to others, as binding, law
which he himself openly disregards and
violates in all its parts. Let him, hence
forth, comprehend that neither Jesus, nor
any Apostle, nor any New Testament writer,
enjoins Sabbath-keeping, and that in the
Christian system there is no such thing as
Sabbath-breaking; for where no Sabbath is
to be observed there is no Sabbath to be
violated.
The heightened Christian of the Telegraph
has been so intensely engaged during the
last year in the Improbable task of reading
the STATESMAN out of the Democratic party
that he has become rather rusty in religion:
matters, otherwise he might have learned
that Christianity dovs mot zoe apart a day
for religion; but ii does something much
better; it requires that we apply religion:
principle to the labor and rest and reerea'
ton of every day. 1t teaches voluntary oee-
dience, in all the details of the business OF
life, 10 what Is understood to be the will
of God. The Heavenly Father desires of US
daily obedience instead OF weekly cere-
monies and professions. If the daily life
is selfish, frivolous or vicious, Sunday Ger
emony added to it viii not help the matter.
The thing needed is TO reform the daily
life. and to apply ourselves, sOery day in tn,
week, to the work Of reformation. The
sabbatical ordinances of the Old Testament
were made for Jews, and for Jews eAly, anC
IN insist upon them now, 10 please God