The Penn's Grove record., 1920-03-26
THE PURITAN B
BY HENRY VAN DYKE

| ton UNIV tISlll when ne was appointed
nlnister 70 holland. He resigned to
speak and help arous the people &c
nghA the World War. He is now min
~. 20 Lo~c4ipeIS
rro4.4 an duurGSS made at the annual
banquet of the New England Society IN
,vw LON Ci.y, DeLvnuDvr 23rd, 1895
the anniversary having been postponed
because u torefathers' Day that yeal
.ulI ON sunday. See New York Tribune
december gath, 1895.
The Puritan fenced in his Sabbath
,vltl a wall OF iron. we do not alto
gether admire the architecture of chat
wall; but let us never forget that with
IN it were sheltered, through stormy
centuries, three inestimable treasures
the sanctity of human rest, as well
of human labor; the peace and order
u the puritan household, and the dig
ATTY and simplicity of common worsh-
ID. Let US never forget that out of
that sacred enclosure issued the men
and women, trained and solidified by
selt-restraint and sober discipline, who
were to be the backbone of the perma-
nent morality OF this nation.
There is no question of the day, it
seems to me, that m closer to the
lite of the people and affects our fu-
ture welfare more deeply than the
Sunday question, with all that it in
wolves of personal liberty, civic order,
the rights of labor, and the freedom of
conscience. In order to settle it, we
must free our minds from cant; the
cant of politics and the cant of re-
ligion. We must recognize the differ
ence between the American Sunday
and the Puritan Sabbath. The ont is
a day of restraint, the ether a day of
liberty. The one is a religious obser-
vance, the other is a humane institu-
ton. We ought net to confuse them,
nor attempt to reconcile them by COM
promise. Compromise in matters of
principle is always a failure.
For those who believe i n the sub
stance of the Puritan Sabbath as a
day of religious devotion, needful for
the Christian life, to give up their pri-
vate convictions and change their per-
sonal practice to conform to a passing
fashion, is to make a false compro-
mise. For those who believe in the
American Sunday as a day of secular
rest, needful for the national life, to
narrow it's liberty and imperil its Sc
curity by overlooking it with r%estr1c-
tions and attempting to change it into
a day of forced religion, is to make a
false compromise. Clear and distinct,
the two days stand side by side; or, to
speak more truly, circle within circle,
sphere within sphere. The day of uni
repose spreads like a fair, we'll
ordered garden, in whose pleasant
ways the burdens of toll and the
strifes of competition shall be laid
aside, and all men shall be free to rest
and refresh themselves in common JOY
and brotherly regard. Within that
garden, protected by its beautiful
peace, stands the day of divine wor-
ship, like a shining temple, into which
none shall be compelled, but all shall
be invited, to enter. There they will
that the deepest rest comes thru
adoration,, the strongest refreshment
S drawn from faith, and the sweetest
music is that which praises God.
Gentlemen, let us maintain the Gber-
.y of the garden, and let US use our
liberty to preserve the sanctlty OF
he temple. Many of the outward
forms of the Puritan Sabbath have
passed away; but God grant that il
spirit and substance may never wants
rom our hearts and homes. Whs
memories haunt u souls so stront
precious as those that come down
IS from it's morning hour of praye
around the household altar, its moor
,ide hour of worship in the quiet hous
God, it's evening hour OF music
he home, where voices long since fal
IN in silence joined in the sweet song
p r.. q All 80, EyraS wa ShqIl re
member these things, and the remem
orance will make us better, bravel
more loyal and more steadfast men.
And shall our children have no sue
memories? Shall they look back from
The coming conflict and turmoil of th'
twentieth century into homes whert
here was a Sunday but no Sabbath
Nav. will you not rather restore to your
domestic and social life the potency
promise of your true F~orefathers'
Day And will you not add to 1t the
but less sacred influence OF that
dav, so near at hand, which thy
.orefathers reverenced and cherished,
he dav of St. Nicholas, the merry
Christmas Day Z? There is no dlscord
etween them, but harmony and con-
ord. Before the ancient temple at
Jerusalem there stood two pillars,
Jachin and Boaz, wreathed with lily
work and carven with p~omegranites;
So let these two memorial days stand
at the doorway of u houses, like
shining, steadfast columns, which shall
never be removed, the Sabbath Day
and Christmas Day, emblem OF loyal
faith and self-restraint, emblem OF
Joyous hope and glad goodwill to all,
unfolding with undesecrated purity
and undiminished strength.
''The homely beauty of the good old
cause,
Our peace, our fearful innocence.
And pure religion breathing household
laws"
From the shelter of such holy homes
new manhood shall come forth; Sc
rene, thoughtful, peaceful; prepared
and able to defend the nations honor,
Which ;c righteousness. and to preserve