Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1898-05-09

or the Lords Day.
At the First English Lutheran church,
on Sixteenth street, the pastor. the Rev.
Samuel Schwarm, preached an interest
ing and timely discourse on 'fAntagonisms
of the Christian Sabbath" There was Il
large congregation. The speaker took as
his text, Elk. Remember the Sabbath
day to keep it holy etc. His remarks in
substance, were as follows:
There is n distinction between the civil
Sabbath, SO called, and the Christian Sab
bath. The former merely commands the
cessation of common and unnecessary la
Dor, without undertaking to specify how
the time thus taken from common labor
shall be spent, but the Christian Sabbath
goes farther. The laws given with such
an awful majesty from Sinai, and the inn
memorial usage OF the Christian church,
sever the day of rest from the other days
of the week, SO that the labor, which is
not only right, but duty on secular days,
is wrong, not merely because prohibited
by the laws OF the land but because pro-
hibiteG by Almighty God, on the sacred
day The Christian Sabbath is day that
is 10 be kept holy. Ii is to be put to a
religious or sacred use. AS to the partic
ular method in which this is to be done.
there is, of course, room Tor wide diff
ference of opinion; but there is no room
TOR such a difference on the question
whether the Gay is to bet apart and dis
tingu led from other days by religious
conservation.
The Christian Sabbath means not only
rest from toll, but that that rest may be
used for the service of God and the en-
joyment OF things spiritual and divine.
Action, speech and thought are TO be
turned upward, and the claims of the life
that now is are to give way TO those of
the life which is to come. Il means that
the Christian Sabbath demands that the
seventh part of every mans life he given,
not merely to aimless rest or inactivity.
but to the consideration of his relations
20 his fellow men. to God and eternity.
This view alone will meet the full re-
quirement of that commandment, Re
member the Sabbath day, i. t., the rest
day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou
labor and do all thy work but the
seventh is the Sabbath Of the Lord thy
God etc. wherefore the Lord blessed the
Sabbath Gay and hallowed it,.
Now the Christian Sabbath seems to
be such q necessary, such beneficial
institution, to the welfare of humanity,
that one would suppose il would meet
with little or no antagonism. On its
preservation depends the welfare of our
churches, Of our Sabbath schools, of all
of our benevolent ami reformatory insti-
tutons, and, we may say, the stability of
government I think it could be shown
that all of these Institutions depend for
their efficiency upon the preservation OF
the Christian Sabbath. How could the
church weld any great power for the
devotion and the anticipation Of human
ity. if she had no sacred day In which
she could gather them together within
consecrated walls and impress upon them
their relation to their God and their duty
in the now and the then? And how could
the State command respect and obedience
for her laws, if she had not the church
going before and teaching the people TO be
subject to the powers that be, because
they are ordained of God? And how could
benevolent institutions be maintained. If
men had not a sacred day in which they
could learn their relation and their duty
toward each other?
Il think ! can say. without fear of sue
cessful contradiction, that no efficient
49,
force, that no efficient benevolent insti-
buttons, ever have been or ever can be,
kept up without a Christian Sabbath.
observed with more or less strctness.
So absolutely necessary TO the highest
welfare of humanity does the Christian
Sabbath appear to the devout student of
history that it would seem next TO inn
possible for it to have any enemies. But
we must not forget that even God himself
the Supreme Good--has his dire enemies
and that consequently, 1t is not impossi-
BILE that the Christian Sabbath should
have it's enemies, and that, consequently
it, as a beneticent institution, needs 10
be sacredly cherished and guarded.
THE antagonisms of the Christian Sab
bath can all be traced to several tenden-
cies of the natural heart of man
The first great source from which OPP
position to the Christian Sabbath springs
is unbelief There is tendency in the
natural heart to get rid of the idea of
God and of its responsibility to him. 1t
would Danish, if possible, all knowledge
of God from among men. Hence ii is not
wonderful at all, that il sets itself reso-
lutely against an institution that is so
well calculated TO keep alive the 1nowi-
edge of God among men, and 10 lead men
to believe on him and recognize him as
their Lord and Savior. 1T is a matter of
life and death with unbelief.A If the OBJ
servance of the Christian Sabbath ever
becomes anything like general, unbelief,
l. e.. skepticism of every form must go
to the wall. 1t can not live in the light
which the general observance of such
day would kindle. The fact of the mat
ter is that skepticism ffaurishes in a re-
verse ratio to the observance of the Sab
bath day. Where the Christian Sabbath
is we'll observed there is little skepticism,
where poorly, much. Hence Christians
should see and realize the Importance of
maintaining the Christian Sabbath, with
all of its sacred influences. The Chris
tan who is indifferent in regard to the
Christian Sabbath strikes blow at the
whole work of Christ.
The second great source from which
antagonism to the Christian Sabbath
springs is the love of pleasure. The Ian
suage of the Christian Sabbath is Cease
from toll and turmoil and spend a day in