The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1881-03-30

eoioSto vi uldu COME INTO COLLISION Wltn
the observance of the Sabbath-the Sab
bath and not man must yield. But He
does more than this; He not only gives
rule, He announces principle. He
extends his observation more widely, and
declares that in all similar instances the
moral must dominate the positive. This
He does in the text, which is general
thesis; the expression, Il will have
mercy and not sacrifice" contains prin-
clple to which, by its very form, a wider
application is given. Bishop Butler says,
our Lord, by delivering his authorita-
tive determination in proverbial man
ner of expression, has made it general"
and very remarkably" so. For had
it been said only, that God preferred
mercy to the rigid observance of the Sab
bath-even then, by parity of reason,
most justly might we have argued, that
He preferred mercy likewise to the OBJ
servance of other ritual institutions, and
in general, moral duties to positive ones
And thus the determination would have
been general; though its being so was
inferred and not expressed. But as the
passage really stands in the gospel, it is
much stronger. For the sense and the
very literal words of our Lords answer
are as applicable to any other instance of
comparison between positive and moral
duties, as to this upon which they were
spoken. And if, in the case of competi-
ton, mercy is to he preferred to positive
institutions, it will scarce be thought that
justice is to give place to them"
To the Scribe who made the noble
confession that love to God and our neigh
Dor is better than all whole burnt offer
ings and sacrifices, Jesus replied in the
remarkable words: "Thou art not far
from the kingdom of God" From the
Jewish rites he had learned the great
lesson of the superiority of the spiritual
over the outward, of the moral above the
positive, and now stood on the threshold
of the Christian Church. To him the
ceremonial law had been a telescope
through which he had discovered the
eternal stars in the silent depths. The
reason that the positive must yield to the
moral is this: The end of the positive is
moral that is, God appointed the posi-
tive for the purpose of furthering some
moral end as the Sabl ath, for example,
is designed to promote mans highest re-
ligious welfare. If then the positive
come into conflict with the moral, tie
reason fails and it ceases to bind. Both
cannot bind when in collision, else God
would command contradictions, which is
impossible. The moral cannot yield for
that is the end for which the positive ex-
lists; hence nothing remains but that the
positive must give way.
But we must emphasize the statement
that while the observance of the Sabbath
and all other positive duties are subor
dinate to the moral obligations of Justice
and mercy, it is not to be set aside for
any less reason. If we are permitted to
labor on the Sabbath in order to save life
or relieve distress, it is only because a
higher duty suspends for the time the
discharge of the other; it is because this
is the will of God; we act in SO doing by
his authority. We are not to do our own
pleasure on that day, but sanctify it and
keep it holy.
"That as it is one of the peculiar weak
nesses of human nature, when upon a
comparison of two things, one is found to
be OF greater Importance than the other,
to consider this other as of scarce anv
Importance at ALL it is highly necessary
that we remind ourselves, how great pre-
sumption it is, to make light of any insti-
tuition Of Divine appointment; that our
obligations to obey all Gods commands
whatever, are absolute and indispensa-
BILE; and that commands merely positive
admitted to be from Him, lay us under
moral obligation to obey them; an obi
CATION, moral in the strictest and most
proper sense. "-Butler.
How many take license from the de.
claration that the Sabbath was made for
man and not man for the Sabbath, to do
as they please on that day; forgetting
that He who said this, also said, that He
Is Lord of the Sabbath; and that He has