River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1908-07-09


toned all along the physical nature. The
lungs rest after each breath we take.
The blood vessels rest between the heart
beats. The nerves and brain will have
rest and revenge themselves upon US
if we cut short the supply. The or
daining of day and night to follow each
other in quick succession through all
ages of the world was a merciful ap-
pointment of God; without it the HUI
man species would probably have
become extinct at a very early period
of time. But experience and observa-
ton have shown that the rest of night,
and all forms of daily and nightly rest
put together are insufficient for the
highest end of mans physical we'll
being. There must be days as well
as nights of rest"
A Physical Necessity.
Lord Macaulay does not speak too
strongly when he says: while indus
try is suspended, while the pillow lies
in the burrows, while the exchange IS
silent, while no smoke ascends from
the factory, process is going on quite
as important to the wealth of the ma.
ton as any process which is per
formed on more busy days. Man, the
machine of machines, is repairing and
winding up, SO that he can return to
his labor on Monday with clearer in
tellect, with livelier spirits, with re-
newed corporal vigor." And Cole
ridge was not too extravagant when
he exclaimed: 81 feel as if God by
giving the Sabbath had g en- az
springs in the year"
A Mental Necessity.
The Sabbath is also a mental neces-
sity. A man of 25 years observation
in New York city said that those mer-
chants of his acquaintance who kept
open their counting rooms on Sunday
failed without exception. William Will
berforce declared that many. public
men who began life with him found
an early grave, some being maniacs
and others suicides, and he attributed
the cause of their premature and I'M
timely end to their disregard of the
Sabbath.
A Moral Necessity.
The Sabbath is a moral necessity.
More than 80 per cent. of all criminals
were habitual Sabbath breakers be-
fore they became criminals. An Eng
lish chaplain Of prisons declared that
during % years of service he had
those who were charged with capital
offenses, and that he did not remem-
Der a single case among them all
where the party had not been a Sab
bath breaker, and many of them as
sured him that Sabbath breaking was
the first step in their course of crime
A Spiritual Necessity.
The Sabbath is certainly a spiritual
necessity. There is no such thing as
Christianity without it. Without it
the church cannot exist, and there is
no such thing as growth in grace to
those who desecrate the Lords day
A company of rough men in the west
assembled in front of country church
awaiting the time of service. One of
them asked another why he did not
bring with him his gun, that he might
kill some game on his return home
The other replied: Suppose I should
come up here with seven fine horses
and should say: Boys, would like to
give you six of these horses to be
yours, you can use them as you will
| only want one You would take my
six horses and then follow me down
the road to rob me of the horse
which l have kept. Now, fellows,
amt that mean?" And yet that is
just what the man does who robs God
of the Sabbath by doing his own pleas
ure and working for himself on that day.
God has given him the six days, and it
is simply robbery for him to take the
seventh.
The Christian who desecrates the
fret day of the week is guilty of
double transgression. He violates the
principle of the decalogue and at the
same time tramples upon the Resur-
rection day of his Lord. If he hal
lows the first day of the week he re-
ceives a double blessing in obeying the
law and in honoring him who died for
him and rose again.