[March 11th, 1866.]
I. All the institutions of the Old Testament had a special foundation. They were divided into three classes.
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Those which have a foundation in the common necessities of men, and the common relation of men to God. These were not peculiar to the Jews, but were incorporated into their system because they were men. To this class belong all moral precepts, and the institution of the Sabbath.
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To the second class belong those institutions and ordinances which had respect to the peculiar circumstances of the Jews; such as the distinction between clean and unclean meats, circumcision, and many of their judicial and political exactments. These bound the Jews as Jews, and only as Jews.
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The third class includes all that was designed to be typical of the Messiah, his work, and kingdom. These were mostly incorporations of prior institutions with the Mosaic Law.
II. That the Sabbath belongs to the class of universal laws, binding all men and all ages, is evident, 1. Because it was instituted before the giving of the Law. 2. Because the ground of its observance was a general ground, one in which all nations were concerned. 3. Because it was predicted that it would be observed under the reign of the Messiah. 4. Because its observance has been in fact continued, by divine injunction, by the whole Christian Church. 5. It is incorporated in the decalogue.
III. The reasons for the institution of the Sabbath are either specific or general. The first class includes the reasons why the seventh day was first selected, and then why the first day was appointed. The other class relates to the reasons why one day in seven should be devoted to God.
IV. Special reasons.
- The reason why the seventh day was originally appointed was that it was to commemorate the work of creation. This is the foundation of all religion, and it is therefore of fundamental and universal importance that it should be remembered. 2. The special reason for the observance of the first day was the commemoration of the resurrection of Christ, on which rested the truth of the gospel. If Christ rose, then the gospel is true. If the world was created, then there is a personal God, the maker, preserver and ruler of the universe. No one, therefore, can overestimate the importance of the observance of the Sabbath. It is analogous to that of the observance of the Lord’s Supper.
V. Reasons why one day in seven should be observed, are—
- The physiological reason; the necessity of rest for man and beast; rest for the mind, and for the body. Whether one day in eight, nine, or ten would have answered as well, it is idle to inquire. Probably it would not. As the daily rest is needed, and cannot be less than daily, so the weekly rest is needed, and cannot safely be made more or less. All history and experience show this. Excess either way is injurious. 2. To afford time for public worship. 1st. This is essential for the preservation of truth and for its diffusion. It is a day of instruction for the people, without which they would sink into ignorance. 2d. It is necessary as a means of conversion, as it is by the preaching of the gospel that men are saved. 3d. As a means of edification, as public and social worship are essential to keeping alive the piety of the heart, when attendance is not impossible. Hence a Sabbath-breaking or Sabbath-neglecting people are notoriously irreligious. 4th. It is necessary as giving the only opportunity of rendering that public worship, thanksgiving and prayer to God, which is the duty of every community as such, as much as of every individual. 3. To arrest the tide of worldliness; to cause men to stop and remember that this world is not all, and is not the greatest. Without this we should not be aware of our progress toward eternity.
VI. The mode of observance is determined by the object of the day. First, it includes rest from all worldly avocations and amusements. Second, the cultivation of a religious spirit, and the discharge of religious duties. The Pharisaical way of observing it is one extreme, the latitudinarian is another. The latter is the tendency now. The European way is worse still. The lessons of experience on the subject confirm the principles before stated, and are very conclusive.
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