Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1876-02-24
&eadiua fur the Sabbath.
.... o.. CONDUCTED BY ,i.....rt,rs
REV. ROBERT LATHAM
[orIginal.]
THE SABBATH.


Where there is no Sabbath there is no re-
ligion. There may be some forms and cere.
monies which, in some respects, resemble the
forms and ceremonies of true religion i but
they are mere counterfeits. 1t is a very re.
markable thing that the institution Of mar
riage is both the base and index of civiliza.
ton. All civilization that is worth anything,
is constructed upon that relationship which
causes one man and one woman to sustain to
each other the relationship Of husband apd
wife. To be good citizen, a man must first
be good husband. 1t is all nonsense to talk
about man beings desperado in his own
house, and at the same time loving, generous
and kind to his neighbors. The marriage re.
laton is the index of civilization, in that it
marks the progress which civilization has
made among people. Loose practices with
respect to marriage vows, always indicate a
low degree of civilization. A nation of for.
nicators and adulterers would be indicative of
nation of heather. ,.....i.... ..,..,a<
In the same way that the marriage relation
indicates individual and national civilization
so the observation of the Sabbath indicates in
dividual and national religion. 1t is indpos-
sble to conceive of a people having any true
Bible religion who have no Sabbath. What
the marriage relation is to man as social
being, the Sabbath is to him as moral being.
God gave the Sabbath to man because he
needed it. His body needs rest and his mind
needs relaxation from worldly cares, and bis
soul needs the Sabbath that it may be kept in
devotional condition. .'-'"-
The word Sabbath literally means seH but
we are not to conclude that rest and idleness
are the same thing! The Sabbath is properly
observed when we lay aside all our worldly
labors and worldly cares, except those Of ne
cessity and mercy, and devote the day to sa-
cred things. Whatever cannot be done before
the Sabbath, or delayed until it is passed, is a
work of necessity. ~aHr"e - n.. . ..rin" in
We should remember that the Pharisees of
old were strict observers of the Sabbath, so
far as outward form is concerned; but they
violated it in that their observance of it was
only formal. In observing the Sabbath, as
in the discharge of every other duty, it is not
so much the external act that is to be taken
into consideration, as the spirit with which the
duty is performed We may not work with
our hands, but our minds may be deeply en-
gagged in our worldly affairs Such being the
case, we could not be said Ito remember the
Sabbath day and keep it holy" ,,1l
1t is worthy of note that national desecra-
ton of the Sabbath and national calamities
are intimately connected. When the ancient
Jews forgot the Sabbath, God visited them
with sore calamities. Rarely does it happen
that the notorious Sabbath breaker failsto be
overtaken by some terrible overthrow. On
the other hand, the proper observance Of the
Sabbath is usually followed, both in individ-
uals and nations, by prosperity and peace
Those cities and towns in which the Sabbath
is openly decorated, are full Of horrid cruel
ties whilst the banner of good order and So
briefly, floats over those that observe the Sab
bath. 49, .E-.. ~.