The Newtown bee., 1896-06-19

calls of humanity for help were un .
 needed in the face of the traditions and
 the ceremonies of the times. Christ swept all these things away with the single declaration, "The Sabbath was
 made for man." As far as Christ's own habit was we read in Luke 1 l6. ''As
 his custom was he went into the syna-
 gogue on the Sabbath day" Yet if there ever was any able bodied person
 who had 8 sgood excuse to stay away i from religious service it seems as though l Christ had. He who could look through
 all the cant and the hypocrisy and the sclf-seeking of the Scribes and the Phar- isees and the leaders of the synagogues
 must have found much that repulsive
 and little that was uplifting in the sym 1 agOgue worship. IL was only in secret communion with God and ministry to
 men that he must have sfOund blessing
 as he went to the place of prayer. We
 find that Christ wrought many miracles
 Of healing On the Sabbath. He finds a
 man with withored hand. The people are watching to see what this Nazarene prophet will do. And, although Phar- l isees are ready to plot for hls death, yet
 with calm superiority he says to the
 man, ''Stretch forth thy hand,'
 AND sTRAIGuTWAY HE IS HEALED As HE
 OBEYs.
 At another time he is teaching in the
 synagogue. Along comes woman
 bowed down, mearied no doubt with the
 burden of sickness and incurable infirmi- tY. The Master calls 5her to Him, lays Ais hand upon her, and lifted up, she
 walks away rejoicing giving God the glory, These are simply typical cases aud in them Christ announces 3the great princl}le, ''Nhat it ia lawful to do well 3u tn. Sabbath day" The asyu4ghg of uuA.an eorruw ard tie healing of ohe iuGrmatje4 ot inc body were thing which Christ did on the Sabbath day.
 Possibly it may also add to cur infor- | nation on our topic to consider the cir cumstaUces under which Christ said, | The Sabbath was made for man." It WAS, you will remember at the time ] when the disciples rubbed out the grain 1 md ate 1t they passed through tbe i field. line Rabbis, with their Cradi5i0ns, considered such action a3 threshtng grain, and so it was forbidden. l. Was . quite on I par in many other If th'.ir . peculiar prohibitions. For iuatance ! man mast uot write two letters of the . alphabet ou the sabbath, oc Use wooden . leg, or kill vcrUhne, or carry purse :; and . H woman must not wear fuIae teeth ol carry ameiIjog b0ltIe, The Lord . Jv5u2 cut through all these traditions with 03c single stroke, ''The sabbath . }vas mad" for man." Bur what wA5 i man according to the cttimate of Jesus . CAfiet. 4 being with a soul, creature .Thoee heart must be right, who nut lose the whole world 10 aAve his own . soul. He must take up up cross if he . would fo;l0W Jesus. hu must leave ! s.sber and m@,her and hyu se~ aud land~ 1 .Or CH.is.'5 ak. and Ffan ht would . Suiu n@4yeu, Tn. uuu f out Gca4ugcA js therefore Jhat the
 b4HLE TEACHES THAT THE SABBATH Is .
 TO BE KEPT HOLY.
 StraiE0uway the air i8 full of questions. l May ride bicycle on Sunday: May l . use the Sunday trains? May l wade through the depths, aye often the foul depths of the Sunday newspaper: May ] go to Sunday banquets: May I take | mg family out for drive or on the electric cars on Sunday? We'll, do these things draw you nearer to God? Do l they make you love the sanctuary more ? ! lie you better man after the ride o3 the wheel: Let not the minister pre- tend 10 be the conscience of any man. | Each must give sanaWer for himself to D}d, In closing 1 want to give you few tastjmonju8 which may at least afford u little light on how some of the worlds thinkers have looked at Sun day observance. Ralph Waldo Emerson, lu an address at Hartford said ;"Christian- | jty has given us the Sabbath, the jubilee of the whole world whose light dawns welcome alike into the closet of the into the -garret of toll and into prison cells, and everywhere sug- | ge=ts even to the vile the dignity of spiritual being.' Bishop Potter of New York has this to say "The lofti- est achievp.ent8 in arms, in literature, in science, in philosophy, in missionary enterprise and social advancements be- l long to the Anglo Saxon people whose observance of Sunday is to-day the v10n1prt and admiration Of every intplli- ! gent teacher" Mir Moody may add the closing word "You show me nation that has given up the Sabbath and will show you you nation that has got the seeds of decay"