Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1907-06-06
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"a, SERMON Z&&44
5Y ThH REV. W.
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Subject: The Sabbath Day.

On INC AUOVo tu0Iuc, Juo pdSIOAp Iuo
Rev. Ira Wemmell Henderson, took
as his text, Exodus 20:9-11: IRE
member the Sabbath day, to keep 1t
holy" He said: :.
II 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-
er 1t be looked upon as the result OF
q divine decree or of human legisla-
ton. Had God never declared HIS
will on this point 1t Is very certain
humanity would from sheer force of
necessity set one day In seven apart
as Gods day, or If not as Gods day,
It least as 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, 1t Is
sensible. The longings of the human
heart for better and fuller commun-
ion with the Father above are salts
fed in peculiar manner, when men
set aside one day week for medita-
ton. 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
we'll we may put our 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
own growth in grace through con-
tact with His people. The highest
Christian life Is the result of the CEN
tering and pooling of like spiritual
| interests. No man has so much en-
thusiasm as he who is one of 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
tained 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 It's place. for
1t Is necessary. But 1t 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 man who would
grow to be like Jesus, who would cul.
tivate his spiritual powers. And the
Sabbath Is special day and
glorious means 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 fair days work six
times 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 day between. There
Is no man 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 save for the man who
has earned 1t through willing and
healthy toll. Rest Is the due and the
duty of every true workman. And
II 1t be the need and the reward of
those who have honorably and suf-
f1ciently labored, how much more
must 1t 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
thu 1ou nI
tt-for replenishmont and reclarging
with the physical energies that sus-
tain life.
The Sabbath day is set apart as
day Of rest and worship. not without
reason, but because 1t 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 und!-
vided attention for that period. Je-
hovah cant do much for the soul that
spends seven days 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 q sensible insti-
tuition. We are all we'll aware that
were 1t 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 It's beneficent
blessings sets us on anew with re-
cuperated 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 1t
rightly. Had God not filled the
hearts of men with this truth that
the Sabbath Is sensible institution
"a business proposition, II 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 necessity.
Without 1t we should become aged
before our time and blunted in spir-
itual perception. With 1t we may
know the Joy Of true rest we'll earned
and may take time to become like
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 general
holiday. The Sabbath was made for
man and not man for the Sabbath.