The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1907-07-03
n The PuIDIf
A SERMON IES&
81 THE REV. Ax
IMMHENDERSoNWe
Subject: The Sabbath Day.

as MS text, EXODUS ZU:9-ll: he
member the Sabbath day, to keep it
holy" He said: -.
If Moses had never handed down
this law of God for the guidance of
Israel and of Christendom the truth
would yet remain the same, that the
Sabbath day should be kept holy.
The Sabbath day is one of the great
est blessings mankind enjoys, wheth-
e. it be looked upon as the result of
a divine decree or Of human legisla-
ton. Had God never declared His
will on this point it is very certain
humanity would from sheer force of
necessity set n day in seven apart
as Gods day, or if not as Gods day,
at least as a day of rest from toll.
The Sabbath day, viewed from
whatever stand you may choose, is
abundantly justified. 1t satisfies the
needs Of men spiritually and physic-
ally. 1t is right, it is necessary. it is
sensible. The longings of the human
heart for better and fuller commun-
ion with the Father above are salts
fed in a peculiar manner, when men
set aside one day a week for medita-
tior, communion with God and for
the cultivation of the soul. However
much We may believe that the Christ
life should be our practice in all the
walks of our busy life, and however
well we may put Dur theory of the
Christian life into action, the truth
still Is this, that We are better fitted
for further victory and strengthened
in larger measure for continued SER
vice when we set this one day aside
in a special sense for God and for our
W growth in grace through con-
tact with His people. The highest
Christian life is the result of the en-
tering and pooling of like spiritual
interests. No man has so much en-
thusiasm as he who IS one of a COM
pany whose hearts and minds are sim
gle unto service and whose lives are
dominated by the same ideals. In
the crowd, not the cloister, is the
place for the Christian. God is at
tanned most, easiest and best through
contact with men of pure life and far
vision rather than through personal
concentration. This is not to say
that meditation has not its place, for
It is necessary. But it must not fill
our lives to the harm of other inter-
estS and duties. Communion with
God, contact with Gods people, medi-
tation and soul culture, all these are
necessary to the mar who would
grow to be like Jesus, who would cul-
tivate his spiritual powers. And the
Sabbath is a special day and a
glorious meal whereby we may
strengthen the spiritual powers God
has granted to US.
Then, too, mankind needs a day of
rest from material toll for the preser-
walton of the physical powers. No
man who does a fair days work six
times a week and who earns an hon
est living by the sweat of his brow
or with mental toll, is fit for six more
save as he rests a day between. There
Is nc nan so foolish as the one who
burns the light of life with never a
stop to replenish the fuel that the
body must receive. To rest is not
necessarily to be lazy. There can be
no true rest saw for the man who
has earned it through willing and
healthy toll. Rest is the due and the
duty Of every true workman. And
If it be the need and the reward of
thOoO WIZ hoNS uOiOl dUly anu sui
fciently labored, how much more
must it be necessitous for those poor,
downtrodden wretches who are forced
to work the wine press of modern
business life until heart is sick and
body wearied almost unto death? All,
yes, beloved, man needs the Sabbath
the rest day, as the Hebrews called
it-for replenishmcnt and reclarging
with the physical energies that Is
tain life.
The Sabbath day is set apart as a
day of rest and worship, not without
reason, but because it is right so to
do. 1t is the duty of man to serve
God all the time and in a special
manner to draw near to Him once a
week at least. God is worthy Of one
seventh of humanity's time and undi-
vided attention for that period. Je-
hovah can't do much for the soul that
spends seven days a week in quest of
a living, nor can that man who is
foolish enough to so spend his time
entirely get very near to God. Then,
too, the Sabbath is a sensible insti-
tuition. We are all we'll aware that
were it not the law Of human life
to quit work at least once a week we
would all end soon in an early grave.
The Sabbath with its benefcent
blessings sets us on anew with re-
c%uperated bodies, with rested minds,
with fresh hope in our hearts, with
inspired souls, upon the days of the
week that are to come if we use it
rightly. Had God not filed the
hearts Of men with this truth that
the Sabbath is a sensible institution
"a business proposition, if you will,
for the physical, mental and spiritual
man-it is not hard to realize that
greed would have us labor all the days
of our lives. Then, too, the Sabbath
is a necessity. Man gives God but
small chance in the six days of hurry
and rush of the business life, no mat
ter how conscientious man may be.
Man, on the other hand, cannot stand
seven days Of uninterrupted labor for
long. For the conservation Of human
strength, for the upbuilding of the
spiritual and religious life in man,
for the glory of God and the en-
trance of the soul into fellowship
with Him, the Sabbath is a necessity.
Without it we should become aged
before our time and blunted in spir-
itual perception. With it we nay
know the JOY of true rest we'll cared
and r3ay take time to become Ike
Jesus.
In this day and time, and in this
land, the divine authority of the Sab
bath must be emphasized and up
held. The. words of Jesus which per-
mitted men to do acts OF mercy on
the Sabbath and to secure enough to
eat to restrain hunger and to sustain
the human system, can never, logical
ly or ~righteously, be made an excuse
for unnecessary labor or for a general