The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-10-26
THE SABBATH
AND WORSHIP
One Day of Rest in Seven Needed to
Keep Man at Highest Point of
Efiiciency-W Worship Alse
Necessary.

"Ye shall keep my sabbaths and rev
erence my sanctuary; am jehovah
Lev. 1890.
Since we may not have any publ
meetings for worship tomorrow, il vii
be well for us TO spend some time i
reflection and meditation. desire
therefore. TO call attention to some o
the fundamental principles that under
lie the keeping of the sabbath and tn
worship of God.
Many people have an idea that tn
practice of keeping a day and worshipinl
God is a purely arbitrary matter, whicl
may or may not be engaged in, just al
men prefer, and without any specla
harm resulting from the neglect. In this
little dissertation, | want to disabust
your mind of any such idea, and to sci
forth these things in their true light anc
bearing
/. The Sabbath. This is not an in.
stitution based upon an arbitrary com
mand, but on an eternal law, which il
written in the very constitution of the
universe, both animate and inanimate
and no man can\with impunity neglect
il. The law of the sabbath rest pre-
eedes the practice of worship. 1t oper-
ated long before there was a man to
worship or who desired to worship. 1t
was not only made for man; il was
made before mantle wise provision of
the Creator for man. The order was
not divine command to worship and
then to provide a day for that worship;
the day came first.
Ii is true here as everywhere. "that
is not first which is spiritual, but that
which is natural; then that which is
spiritual" One of the earliest laws that
man discovered imam never makes laws;
he always discovers them was the law
OF rest. II was quite impossible that
he should not discover it. for he found
that he became weary and exhausted by
exertion and had to stop. When he had
ceased for a while he found that his
strength returned and he could go on.
BY observation he discovered that this
was not only true of himself, but of ev-
erything else; that this was the way
things act "a law of their nature, BY
Il careful observation Of his experience,
he gradually discovered Just how much
rest he needed to keep himself from be-
ing weary. To-day he would say. to
keep himself at the highest point of
efficieney.l
II was no doubt after many expert
ences. both sad and joyful, that he
learned that man needs, in addition TO
the rest OF the night, one whole day in
seven to keep this highest point of eff
cheney" And so we came naturally and \
a, u, L.. Is IL, Oh
bath. And is it not, though coming
this way, as much the eternal law of
Sod as if he had spoken it in audible
words from some overshadowing cloud?
IT, Worship What is the relation of |
he worship of God to this A very nat
lral and essential relation. Having |
earned that the sabbath frest) is neces-
iary-one day in seven, the question |
lrises how to best spend this day How
hall it be made to contribute most to
mans wcllbeingg Does it make any
Inference how he spends il?
BY a long and often bitter experience,
nan learned that he must not only keep /
ny sabbaths," but that he must also
reverence my sanctuary; in other
words, he learned that the worship of
,od, which proceeds not from an arbi-
rary command eXtraneous to him, but
rom his very heart and life, made the
ay the most seryiceable to him-made
. contribute the most possible toward
coping him up to the highest point OF
ificiency.'
Thus it came about that the day be-
anne a day OF worship II was filled
18th thoughts OF God, which inspire and
plft. and which help nightly toward
establishing the proper physical con-
ition after the wearing labor of the
x days; and so there gradually grew !
j the practice of public worship, which
so common to-day that we scarcely
op to consider it, let alone appreciate
save. perhaps. in circumstances like
le present, when we are denied the
'iyilege.
History bears witness to the fact that
lis is the best way to spend the day.
tree is known by its fruit. No one
ho is conversant with history can deny
e fact that il has been the men and
omen, the world over, and through all
e past ages, who have so spent it, who
We contributed practically everything
hich has entered into the progress of
The men who spend the day
idleness or in dissipation are not the
es who are inspiring humanity or en-
ged in efforts which are tending to lift
and bless the world; it is rather the
IN who are keeping the sabbath and
,rshiping God out of sincere and hon
/ hearts.
Therefore, "ye" of to-day, as of the
~ ago time shall keep my sabbaths,
YAH"
J. W. Barnett,
Pastor Barre Congregational Church.