Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1908-01-23
NEW SERIES--VOL. XXvII. No. 1o.
DEPOSITS FROM S1oo UP TAKEN.

Manieneans n9ye f(lslE 'eon VII "a IN
the examination which we have made
OF passing the Sunday, which is con-
secrated to the resurrection OF our
Lord, in modification and fasting.
Truly, here is case Of the tables
turned.
All reasonable Christians will hold
that this is what Sunday ought to
mean-a day Of cheerfulness and rec
"b1ue" about it. It should be, in
truth, "the golden clasp that binds
the volume Of the week. !" But when
we seek cheerfulness and recreation
we should be careful that we get NO
spurious substitutes therefor. Rec
reat means just what it says. Re-
create, that is, to fit for the duties OF
the week. To put new life into your
self to stand the stress and turmoil OF
life. Some men think they can do
this best by assembling at the house
Of worship, some by walking abroad
In Gods out OF doors, some by att
tending some innocent place OF
amusement. some by just staying at
nome and resting, some by a COM
bination of these
We must not lose sight of the fact
that the Sabbath was made for man.
not man for the Sabbath. !" 1t is to
help man, it is something to satisfy
his needs, not a dark law with a per-
atty attached. Now, the deepest need
of man and especially Americans is
rest. There is something very sweet
about that phrase, "The weary are
at rest. We ought to seek to make
the day a real day of rest. It is tna
"soul's library day." On other days
It is all too true :.
The world is too much with US; late
and soon,
Getting and spending we lay waste
our powers.
Suppose you lived in splendid
seven-room house and some friends
should e1ma maaothld IS gIas az Rs Hp f4K
dom OF the house, but all would im-
mediately realize that all rooms are
not the same, at least that the great
parlor stands off by itself with Dig
nifty all It's own. You go in there
dressed in your best clothes and feel-
ing that there is not quite the same
freedom there as there would be in
the dining room, but you rather like
it. You would not think OF having
your house without parlor. It is
that which exalts the whole. So it is
with our Sunday, it is the @golden
clasp" We may be a little stiffer
than on other days, but it should not
be the stiffness of the prisoner
hemmed in by restraint. It should
resemble the dignity Of the king, not
doing all that we have a right to do
The question of Christian liberty
now arises, and it is really about this
point that the whole storm has ragged
| of late There have been extremists
| on one side and on the other. Some
! have maintained this to be Chris
| tian country and that therefore all
who come to our shores must fall IN
line with the views of our Puritan
ancestors. All places of amusement
are harmful on Sunday and should
be closed. On the other side are
those who maintain just as vigor-
ously that New York is cosmepol-
itan city and therefore should be q
! Wide-open town. Each party sees
/ only one side Of the truth. If the
two were to come together we would
have full-orbed view, reasonable
solution It .is true, as Burke says
much as we dislike to admit 1t, that
aall government, indeed every human
benefit, every virtue ana every pru-
dent act, is founded on compromise
and barter" Those who stand for
strict observance Of the Sabbath
forget that to some this would mean
much misery. because all men are
| not built alike. To compel an illiter-
| ate man to read his Bible would be
robbing him of his day of rest, while
to others it would mean real repose.
Those who stand for no observance
4 at all forget what we owe to such OBJ
servance as we have had hitherto. It
is because many Of our citizens week
after week have maintained their re-
lations with religious institutions that
the backbone of the country has been
kept. When man or nation loses
grip Of the higher things, when the
windows OF the soul are closed and
covered with cobWebs. we are pre-.
pared to look for dissolution and
decay. -