The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1896-06-22
Or. Birnie Gives Plain Talk
on Sunday Question.
TENDENCY TO WORK SEVEN DAYS.
IF Workingmen Lose the Day They
Never Get 1t Back-How sacred
Concerts Observation-Disclosures Life
Demands Rest-NIan Needs the Day.

Central Union Church was well filled
Sunday evening by people who had
come out to hear Rev D. P. Birnie's
sermon on "a Few Plain Words On the
Sunday Question" The speaker pre-
sented number of thoughts to his con-
gregation for future reference and use,
setting them forth with apt illustra
tions and much force. His text was ta
ken from the Gospel according to st.
Mark, H., 27-2S: And He said unto
them, the Sabbath was made for man,
and not man for the Sabbath; there
fore the Son of Man is Lord also of the
Sabbath" Mr.. Birnie spoke in sub
estance as follows:
There are three gifts of God stand
ing in relief when we come to study the
life of man in the world, three founda-
facts in his social evolution. These are:
'First-God's book.
"Second-God's church.
''Third-God's day
Gods book stands supreme in the
literature of the world, and has the
greatest sale of any book that has ever
emanated from the press. No other
work can claim the influence and power
that this has had.
Gods church By this do not mean
any particular denomination or any
group of Christians; l mean the church
of the Living God among all races of
people here upon earth by which men,
women and children are held together
in the common love of Jesus Christ,
whose power is supreme.
Gods day. Man needs it. No evolu-
ton into higher life is possible without
it. The Sabbath is the gift of God for
the use of man. 1t is impossible to
treat any one of these gifts in a short
space of twenty minutes, but l have a
few plain facts that 1 want you to con-
slider regarding the question of the Sab
bath
mo man can shake himself free from
the community in which he lives. Man
is bound together in the social order.
I knew a man who was frequently
brought into contact with theatrical
life in the city of Boston, and from him
I learned many facts on the matter of
so-called Sunday night concerts. The
nastiest shows were given at this time.
How did they begin? Those things do
not begin at the bottom of society. One
Sunday night Mrs. Croesus gives an ele-
CANT musicale, and the next Sunday
night Jerry Sullivan walks around the
corner and deposits his dime for a
Sunday night concert You say that
this is not logical. Man is not control
led in his daily life by logic. Men and
women follow a lead. We must con-
slider the other and the weaker man.
/" The Sabbath was made for mana
Rest is the need of man. There is one
day in seven set apart for this. We
find this in the records and history of
men and people. In the development of
daily life, if we would go upward, we
must have one day in seven during
which to rest. The body and mind re-
quire it. In the fight of capital for the
supremacy over labor there is a con-
stant attempt to get seven days work
for six days pay. If white man works
seven days in a week it simply means
death: it makes no difference whether
he uses shovel or has a position at a
desk; he is sure to go under. Has not
capital been pushing little more and
more into the day? Has not the press
of business here on the Islands made
people feel that they must do work on
the Sabbath, although really not COM