The Tupelo journal. (Tupelo, Miss.) 1876-1924, 1903-10-16

him a favorable opportunity to grow
towards the things of God. Growth is
not inaction, but implies the most Wig
orous kind of vitality. This is what Is
involved in the perfect realization OF the
seventh day OF rest as relates to mans
own physical and spiritual welfare.
A ND in the second place, as regards
n mans relation to God on the day OF
rest: There is distinctive obligation
to God on the Sabbath day which no
other day of the week can know. It
provides an environment in which
mans spiritual nature can properly de-
velop and grow. To the degree to which
man recognizes this fact, to that extent
does he realize the blessings and pene-
fits of the day of rest. The Sabbath day
is given to man that God may have OPP
portunity to come closer to him ana
satisfy the needs of his spiritual nature.
Some natures are so starved and dead to
a sense of God that they crowd Sunday
full of the things OF the world, tnelr
pleasures and ambitions, and are lnolI-
ferent to the claims of God upon them
or of their own need of Him. Many
Christians by their worldliness, by al
lowing the natural man to predominant
and rule, fail to realize the blessing OF
the Lords day. There must be sep
aration from the world and the things
of the world in order that the way unto
God and His approach unto us may De
unobstructed In the days of Nehemiah,
when the people had grown careless as
to the Sabbath day and the day had
come to be pretty nearly like the other
days of the week, he shut the gates
against those who had been coming into
Jerusalem to buy and sell. He separated
the people of the city from the outside
influences which drew them away from
God, and to-day we need the same stern
and decisive action upon the part OF
every individual Christian in shutting
the gates of his mind and heart against
the cares and thought and plans OF the
secular week; there is need of shutting
out the activities of the natural man in
order that there may be growth and de-
velopment Godward. This is essential
to well-doing on the Sabbath day.
IN the third place, we'll doing on the
| Sabbath day involves mans relation
to his fellowman. This raises COM
plexity of questions and problems which
only can be settled as light is received
from God, and His will and Spirit have
opportunity to operate freely through
one. 1T is lawful to do good on the
Sabbath day." declares Jesus, and there
is apparently vast deal of we'll doing
from man to man on the Sabbath day
which apparently receives the general
approval Of man, but we dare to say
that some of it at least does not meet
the approval of God, for the well doing
does not reach any higher than man or
seek to go beyond the temporal physical
needs of man. Take your Bibles and
read all portions of the Gospels which
tell of Jesus Sabbath day activities, and
what do we find? Jesus we'll doing as
it touched the physical sought to reach
the spiritual and lead to clearer under
standing of God and nearer approach
unto Him. Test your activities on the
Lords day as those activities bring you
into touch with others and see what is
the underlying motive. Why do you do
this or that on the Sabbath day? Why
do you go to this or that place? Why do
you make that call, or go on that jaunt
tho ctrnot RI nnthpr no ri Of III q
city or country? Why do you arrange
that gathering of relatives or friends
at the festive board? What is your pur-
pose in it all? All that you do may in it.
self be harmless and perfectly proper in
it's rightful place. 1t may satisfy and
please your friends, and those with
whom you come in contact, but If it
does not satisfy the conditions which
God lays down as the law of His day you
have failed. 1t is lawful to do that good
on the Sabbath day which helps the one
to whom the good is done to a clearer
vision of God and a closer relationship
to Him.
F Sunday baseball, Sunday picnics,
l Sunday pleasures and outings, Sum
day sociabilities and feasting can stand
the test of this triple-sided view of the
law of the Sabbath day, all right; but
if not, it is all wrong. The trouble with
people in arguing with themselves and
with others in regard to what they
rightfully may and rightfully may not
do on the Sabbath day is that they rea-
son from human standpoints and with
conceptions of life which do not reach
beyond the present life. But if ques-
ton as regards to conduct on the Sab
bath day is to be settled rightfully and
finally it must be considered in rela-
ton to himself, to his God and to his
fellowmen. Christians would not be so
troubled and anxious over this Sunday
question if they were moved by the pur-
pose of doing good which actuated
Christ. He never found it difficult to
decide what He ought to do. He never
seemed to be troubled by the criticism
of those about Him, for the law of the
Sabbath day was being lived out in His
life. He was doing good. 1t involved
His relations to Himself, to His God and
to His fellowman, and this was the pur-
pose of the day. 1t was the direction in
which the highest possibilities of the
day might be realized. Surely the Sab
bath day was made for man, but the
only pathway of realization of all the
blessed possibilities of that day is the
way which Jesus marked out He is the