Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1900-09-12
s A B b A T II.
Continued From Last Week

observing the Lords Day. There
was al first "A tendency among the
Ebinltes and other sects to observe
two days both the Seventh aud the
hrst. This tendency finds expression
IN the apostolic contributions. LET
the slaves work Ave davs: but on the
Sabbath Day and on the Lords Dav
let them have leisure to 20 to church
for instruction in piety." This was
contrary tendency, which seems u
have received the sanction of mauv
of the fathers, 10 believe that the ob-
servaDce of one day in seven was no
longer obligatory in the old sense
and that the rest required meant
cessation from sin. This vagueness
of views and diversity of opinion aud
practice continued until the time Of
Constantine the Great. la his CON
stituion Of A. -. 32l SUNDAY obser-
vance was required as legal duty.
Work of ali sorts must cease except
agricultural labor, and one hundred
years later that also was foI bidden
by imperial statute. Legal business
requireing the intervention of the
Courts must cease. Pleasures as
well ss business were forbidden. No
spectacle was To be exhibited in a
circus or theatre. Charlemagne a.
ID. 742-Sl4 forbade labor of any
kind. Prisoners could be brought
up for preliminary examination so as
to he admitted TO bail. and works of
absolute necessity were allowed. SO
much for Roman and Ecclesiastical
law on the matter Of SUNDAY obser-
vance
Many Of the Saxon Kings of Eng
land issued DEGREES in favor of Sun
day observance. If vassal worked
on Sunday by the Lords command,
he WAS set free and the Lord was
fined 30s. In the Sth century Eth
elstsn forbade marketing on Sunday
and Ethelred forbade hunting. SO
down the Norman conquest (lO66)
the royal DEGREES generally showed q
desire on the parts of the kings to
keep Sunday holy. Then as soon as
Parliment wss invested with legisla-
tive functions it enacted laws re-
quireing Sunday observance of a
certain sort. This all shows how
potent the church had become in
controlling the civil law; but 1t
should be noticed that the
Canon law detied Sunday as con-
tinuing from vesper to vesper "a
vespers ad vespersm), while the civil
law considered it as extending from
midnight to midnight.
Ae time went on the form of the
church grew weaker and people be-
came more lax about Sunday obser-
vance, statutes of Henry w., Ed
ward VI, and Elizabeth did indeed
order attendance upon church on
Sunday and prescribed quite severe
punishments for those who failed to
comply, but we may suppose that the
influence of these statutes upon the
religious life of the people was null
ifed by other statutes in force as
this period requiring the yeOmen TO
engage in national sports-particu-
larly in arching on Sunday afternoon:
| and even as late IS the time of Charles,
II, 1860. permission was given to all,
after service. to exercise themselves
in dancing, archery, atheletic sports,
setting up May-poles, etc. 1t was
against this laxity of observance that
the Puritan entered protest and they
perhaps went to unfortunate extremes
but We must IN justice admit that in
outward form and bodily observance
the Puritan Sunday very nearly con
forms TO Biblical requirements
This brief outline would serve to sug
gest what has undoubtedly been the
case until recently that the tendenO!
has been to cut down business and
trade on Sunday while there has
been the constant effort to eXten(
and multiply opportunities TO
pleasure and recreation.
Now what is orr dutv in the mat
ter of Sunday observance? | repl,
in the words Of the Presbyterian
Shorter Catachism. "The Sabbath
is to be sanctiiied by holy resting
all that day, even from such world