The Portland daily press., 1886-03-15

| when Governor of Bythenia recognizes and re-
1S Eoi1s US IN vel Known letter The questions for
.o{D 81 What What relation does ,:the Lords Day" sus-
| ~ What the authority for the religions Oh
| servance Otil?
| (3) What the benefits and to whom9
We answer the first by saving that the First
| day of the week commonly called .sThe Lords
Day" is to Christians all that the Seventh day or
| Sabbath, was TO the Jews, and more The Sey-
| enth day celebrated the creation of the world
| the First day its redemption.
(2) Our authority is the Apostles of Christ who
were commissioned by Christ and fully empuw-
cred to act for Him with the assurance that their
action would be ratified s'in Heaven"
(3) The benefits are first and greatest to all
who are consciously Christian anu secondly TO all
who are uncOnsciOusly Christian. These blessings
are innumerable and unspeakable to individuals
and communities, to the young and the old. 70
parents and children, to the wise aud the simple,
to the rich and the poor, but specially 10 the poor
to the labOring classes sOcalled who beyond
doubt receive as much pay for six days work nol0,
as they would for seven If required to work seven
days In the week, and fifty two weeks In the year
The First day of the week Is sure TO be ob-
served either as holy day, or a holiday; unless,
Indeed it becomes again as in pagan countries
working day, which Is equivalent TO saying, that
people who labor with their hands shall be COM
PeIled 70 work seven days in week for living
i,nk hnls Is Is mercy dry skeleton OF the sermon,
Wnlcn the preacher filled out by enlarging upon
Gods method of educating the Jews by way Of
accommodating heavenly things 10 their carnal
grace and truth by Jesus Christ, VINO is the Lord,
not only of the Sabbath Day. but of every disciple
now Tue LOfQ'S Day mas COlnnemOrated His res
direction from the first and ever will bear wit
ness to it; how to Christians, 1t is the first and
pest OF days, hallowed by innumerable sacred as
sOclations; how it IS the poor mans friend In par
tieular whom it shields IRON the avarce of COR
poratlons and other capitalists; how 1t is part
and an essential part of our national life and his
tory; and how, finally, it is Gods chosen symbol
oi the rest above, Which remaneth for US. q part
OF the lnnertaifee which is eternal, undeted and
VIII never fade away
LRev. Dr. Bashford.l
DR.. Bashford took as his texts, Ex. xx: S.
Remember the Sabbath day to keep IL holy" ana
Mark ii: 81: "The Sabbath was made for man."
Every great spiritual principal can be reached In
two ways, either as a deduction from the Bible or
ds an induction from human experience. The
principle discuss to-day can be vlndicated
from both these standpoints. In the first text t
is stated as a command OF God in the second It IL
explained as arising from human needs
() Tie history Of the Sabbath shows that the
septenary division Of time was known among
Semites, Egyptians and South American Indians,
that it is mentioned seven times in the Bible be-
fore the decalogue. that Moses In Exodus 49, 23
clearly refers to sabbath previous to the fourth
commandment. and the form OF the command
Itself implies some previous observance.
(2) The ground Of the Sabbath Is given
by Christ in the second text. This ac-
counts for its observance in the Bible previous 30
the decaogue 1t shows that the command was
gwen by our Father with reference 20 our needs
and not to display the divine authority. Human
experience amply confirms ChTists philosophy
The French during the Revolution, English ex-
perience at Woolwieh during times Of national
exigeney, the workingmen in France and Ger
many, ambitious college students working seven
days in week. and even experiments with h0rs-
es upon the Partisan horse-cars all demonstrate
the physical and mental necessity of rest an1
change.
(3) The change OF Sabbath to the Lords day
was providential. Niue references to the begin
ming OF that change are found in the New Tests
ment, the Epistles of Ignatius, Barnabas. Justin
Martyr and Irenaeus protest against Sabbath OBJ
ServanceS being forced upon the church as o Jew
lsh ordinance, The change OF day made Christ
Gospel transformed Sabbath observance Just as it
transformed every other day from mere me
chanical keeping of rules imposed by an external
authority to the comprehension of a principle Of
the Christian conscience
az The method of observing the Lords day Is
not prescribed in the New Testament. In regard
te this, as every other principle of the gospel out
ward rules must not be allowed to des-
progress is possible in business or in schools with
out system. In our intellectual and spiritual life
Today we suffer far more from lack OF system
OF physical rest and mental change upon one day
IN seven, the need of communion with God, Of
meditation upon heavenly things, the need Of de-
veloplng the spiritual faculties and strengthening
the moral nature and use the Lords day sys-
tematcally and conscientiously for this purpose,
and you will know by experience that this is a
divine institution. In conclusion, the speaker
thought that those parts of moral and physical
science upon which all are agreed should be more
fully dwet upon in public schools leaving less
spiritual instruction to be crowded into the Lords
day; that while the church might hold five or six
services on the Lords day to accommodate vari-
Gus classes, persons ought not to attend them all
to the neglect Of rest and of family religion; OPP
posed the Sunday newspapers, any Sunday sales
I save OF medicines, Sunday pleasure travel, and
favored the payment Of wages upon Monday. aud
lhe early closing OF stores upon Saturday. The
better observance of the LORDS day is one reform
upon which all sensible people can unite-the
working people because the breaking down Of
Sunday means the further degradation of labor;
corporations, because the breaking of the Lords
day, which gives temporary gains, means also the
IN danger; teachers. scholars and literary work
ers, who already are overstraiDed; and all those
who believe that Christian principles are the only
salvation of the world.
[Rey. DIR. HILL
DR.. Hill began with brief history Of the origin
Of the week, of the manner in which it had al
ready, through Jewish influences, begun to be
recognized in Rome, and throughout the Empire,
before the Christian Era. 1t had not supplanted
the classic divisions of the month"; which still ruled
all temporal affairs, being upheld by the govern
mentand the the patricians. But 1t was begin
ming to be popular with the common people, and
was accompanied by certain religious reverence
for the Seventh day, the Jewish Sabbath There
is no record in the New Testament OF any author
lied callupOn the Gentiles to keep either the Sab
bath or the Lords Day. But, ON the contrary,
there were indignant protests from Paul against
their being required to keep the Sabbath the
Apostolic Council expressly declined to require
them; and Paul told us that the Chief apostles at
Jerusalem bade him go on preaching as he had
DONE
But just as the Gentiles accepted the Old Tes-
lament, without waiting to be asked, simply from
the inherent reasonableness Of so doing; so they
initiated the Jewish custom of keeping a certain
day in the week holy; because they had seen how
reasonable and valuable a custom it was. Our
Lord had said the Sabbath was made for man;
the Divine Wisdom which commanded it through
Moses, had known its adaptation to human deeds.
Paul and the western churches had considered
that command through Moses not binding m
ChIistlansi the eastern churches Afterwards came
to the same view; the sabbath was dropped.
But the Divine wisdom which lights every inan
showed them the reasonablenesS and excellence
OF adopting the first day Of the week as the Lord
JeSuSS day, and keeping II as holy day Of rest
There were, the preacher said, two ways OF er-
ror in the observance of the Lords Day. Those
who DISAGREED with Paul, and thought the obliga.
ton to keep 1t rested on the commandment from
Sina were apt TO cOnstrue that commandment i'm
strict sense; and thus make the Lords Day
day OF gloom and auSterity; whereas the early
Christians were very emphatic In making il dly
Of holy rejoicing. This had been the error Of
some OF the Puritan preaching But 1t had now
TAR passed away that the danger was altogether in
The opposite direction; the danger namely Of sec
the day, forgetting its religious uses,
and devotlng It to business to frivolous pleasure
NotnlnE was more earnestly deprecated than any
step which should lead toward this introduction
u what was sometimes called the Continental Sun
lay. IL was better for the community Ia every
way, II we must err, TO err little on the
side of Purltansm, than to err by injur-
ng the high intellectual, moral and re-
igious uses of the Lords Day, and reducing lt
10 mere holiday All the highest interests Of The
demanded that we should endeavOr to
maintain the constant observance Of the day ina
cheerful religions reverent and grateful Spirit
vince to allow 1t to fall from its Christian charac-
er would be as disastrous to the whole intellectu-
Il, moral and social tone of our community, as to
is religion.
CRev. Mr.. Dunn.]
Rev. Mr.. Dunn took as his text Mark 2; 27.
The Sabbath was made for man,
When Christ referred to the Sabbath, he re-
erred to it as existing ages before the days of
Moses and Gods command to the Jews was sim
ply a reminder of the institution From the be-
ginning it has been a law written in mans consti-
uton to observe one seventh of his time for a
period of rest and worship. The observance of
he Sabbath is a duty owed by man to himself.
lis fellowman and God The exact day to be OBJ
eryed has been settled by the Apostolic church
n its practice, and we should keep holy the first