2nd sermon on the Divine authority and perpetual obligation of the Sabbath Ex. 20:8

2nd sermon on the Divine authority and perpetual obligation of the Sabbath Ex. 20:8 The argument establishing the divine of the sabbath invests the institution with a dignity which of itself commands our unqualified admiration and respect. If this great fundamental truth be established fairly and satisfactorily, let no man dare say these after that he is under no obligation to observe it in a becoming manner from the fact of its being a human Institution. His the Lords Day and yet made for the benefit of man. We have attempted to show that it is an Institution coeval with Creation that it was held in holy esteem by the Patriarchy that it occupied the highest place in the Decalogue, and pre-eminent among the institution of Moses, that its sanctity was insisted on by the Prophet both by promises annexed to its proper observance and threatenings in case of its violation that our Savior & his disciples did just not abolish the Sabbath but observed it in all its essential features and that the Lord Jesus only redeemed It from some of those unwise & useless restrictions imposed by the Jewish that the change of the Day from the 7th to the 1st is nothing against this view of the subject since Xt was Lord of the sabbath & had an undoubted night ot fix what day he pleased as the Chrsitian Sabbath & the main idea to be insisted on is the 1/7 portion & not the particular day the circumstances of Xts resurrection being on 1st rendering it proper & reasonable that this day shd be chosen as the day of future xst. We showed that the observance of the sabbath was important just to mans physical comfort second to his spiritual interest and thirdly to the existence of Xtianity upon Earth. That therefore its violation was attended with great evils to our health our souls and the country at large & its observance on the contrary was sure to produce happy & glorious results in all these respects. We are now brought most naturally to the question in what way may the great benefits of this Holy Institution be most effectually secured? Undoubtedly we remark, by a holy & proper observance of the Day. But as this is a general remark we proceed to particularize some of those practical duties which constitute in the aggregate what is meant by the due observance of the Sabbath. And first I remark we should prepare for the sabbath. In this I include two things one in that careful arrangement of all of our worldly concerns which will preclude the necessity of our attending to them on the sabbath. Six days shalt thou labour and do all thy work hence it is consistent with this injunction that we be careful to arrange our worldly affairs so that they may stand still without any injury to them or to us, until we can wait upon God and sanctify the sabbath according to His will. There is no doubt whatever that if this course were pursued many of the temptations to violate the Sabbath which now assail men & to which alas! Too many yield so readily, would not exist. If we would attend to this simple rule to place our worldly business in such a condition that it would not require our attention of the sabbath, we would feel content to allow the whole matter to remain in that condition until Monday morning. But because men fail to do this the Sabbath arrives and finds their affairs in a confused & unfinished state & so they plead the necessity of the case as their justification whereas they will never be excused at the Bar of God because they might have arranged their matters so that their necessity (false as it is) would never have existed. It is impossible to particularize every minute affair but your rule is simply Simply this: Every thing in the world of a temporal kind of business nature that we transact during the week should be placed on Saturday in such a condition as to be entirely untouched on sabbath. Every provision for our family comfort & support that can possibly be made on saturday should undoubtedly be made. And the reason is obvious: whatever we do of this kind on sabbath just tends to draw off & distract our attention from the day & its holy duties to that extent, & conseuqently prevents us from remembering the sabbath day to keep it holy. But the other thing included is preparation to serious & devout meditation & prayer to God that would enable us to enter upon the day in his fear spend it in his service & close it with his blessing upon us that he would grant us his Holy Spirit to aid us in improving its shining hour as they pass and give to him each moment as it His. This was the origin of the Jewish preparation Day which was Friday. Concerning which frequent mention is made in Sacred Scriptures. And the Scottish Clergy in the year is so passed an act in their assembly that every saturday from 12 oclock should be set apart for preparation for the Lords Day And thought it may not be expedient for the Ecclesiastical Bodies of the present day to pass such acts, yet there is no doubt that we have lost much of the Spirit which actuated the men of that day by our worldly-mindedness preventing us from preparing for the Sabbath. But again, 2. We should invariably attend upon the solemn worship of the Almighty God, which forms out of the principal employment of this holy day. These are justifying causes of detention from the house of God. But God does not require to risk life or health in this matter. If we are so unwell as to prevent us from attending to our own affairs if it were a day of the week it is an excusable course for us to be absent from the house of God. But it is not a light cause which will keep the Christian from the hallowed place where Gods great name is recorded. It is his experience as [in] Davids was: I was glad when they said unto me Let us go into the house of the Lord How amiable are thy tabernacles O Lord of Hosts my soul longeth yea even fainteth for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God! I had rather be a door keeper in the house of my God than to dwell in tents of wickedness God the Father has promised that in all places where I record my name there will I come unto thee & I will ble thee Jesus my Savior has promised to be there in the midst to bless the Holy Spirit is hovering over the assemblies of Gods true worshippers & his influences are felt by them gently distilling like heavenly dew there my brethren meet to worship God our common Father there I can join in the solemn prayer offered to the throne of Grace there I may unite my voice in the songs of Zion praising the Lord of the Sabbath There I will hear what God the Lord will speak unto me by the mouth of his servant and their as the Christian enters upon the discharge of the solemn duties of Gods worship & goes through it with his whole heart devoutly engages in it he reaps the benefit of it & is able to testify by his own experience this is none other than the house of God & the very gate of Heaven! Such my heaven is the scriptural account given of the Christians feelings in reference to the public worship of Gods if this be so will you hold That man excusable who stays from Gods house for insufficient cause? It is too hot it is too cold it has the appearance of rain it is a very uncomfortable place to worship in I do not want to hear such a minister it is only a prayer-meeting & as to hearing a sermon read I can do that at home myself I have a slight headache and I am afraid that it will get worse these are specimens of excuses very frequently offered by men & women sometimes by Professors of Religion too & yet it is not too hot or cold or rainy for them sometimes to go visiting or walk in their farms & look at the crops and think over plans for the next weeks operations And tho they object to hearing a certain minister they will not htate to do much worse and listen to gossiping conversation yes & assist in carrying it on too & because it is a prayer- meeting they will not go as if God had excused his people from attending prayer meetings when he [Forsake not the assembling yourselves together & as if God had not placed special honor upon their very thing of prayer meetings witness the appearance of Jesus in the assembly of the disciples on this very day & his precious blessing Peace be unto you witness the conduct of though who being absent himself from the prayer meeting when Jesus visited the disciples came near making shipwreck of the Faith but above all witness the pentecostal revival following immediately upon the prayer meeting of the disciples who were all (not some of them) with one accord in one place when H.S. descences & that day 3000 were converted. Is a prayer meeting nothing then? And should we stay at home on sabbath merely because there is no regular preaching only a prayer-meeting!] That Xtian who loves the honour & Glory of God & the interests of the Church and wishes to grow in Grace will always be found in his place at the Church on sabbath when his health will admit or if nothing of the nature of necessity keeps him away. But I remark a third particular The sabbath is to be sanctified not only by attending upon public worship but by private devotion and meditation the ordinances of Gods house properly administered and devoutly received always produce a happy effect upon the mind. But it is frequently the case in such a counting as ours that it is not possible for us to enjoy these privileges. And then in such cases as this we are to spend the whole day in private exercises of a devout character except so must as is to be taken up in works of necessity or mercy. But even where we enjoy the ordinances of Gods house we will spend the intervals of public worship in the same way. When we retire from Gods house it will be to meditation what we have heard to make a personal affiliation of the truths of the Gospel ourselves & pray for the blessing of God to accompany the ordinances of His house to us & to all who were present. And to keep up the impression fresh upon our minds we will be careful to engage in no employment or recreation even though it may be careful on other days, which might have a tendency to dissipate these salutary reflections. For it is but a mockery of God to pray for his blessing on His means and then forth with engage in such a course of conduct as will inevitably prevent his blessing from descending & resting upon us. We are human Beings single creatures and we are easily influenced by surrounding circumstances and it is therefore not only dangerous but it is criminal in us to place ourselves voluntarily in such circumstances as will lead away our thoughts & affections from God & the duties accompanying his holy Day. But I remark again that the fourth commandment being a family commandement, we must see to it that we are not only keep the sabbath ourselves but that all our children and dependents do the same. Thou shalt not do any work nor thy thy daughter nor thy manservant nor thy maid-servant nor thy cattle nor the stranger So that we must have our children prepapered to keep holy the Sabbath we must have them to attend the ordinances of Gods house we must see that they abstain from everything improper or inconsistent with the day we must spend the intervals of public & private worship in catechising them & making them read their Bibles we will also, arrange our matters so that our servants will have an opportunity of attending public worship at least once on the sabbath day & restrain them from any work or recreation or amusement or traffic on that day. On this subject I wish to be distinctly distinctly understood as saying playing terms that it is the duty of the Parents and Masters or Mistresses, not only to desire their children & servants to keep holy the sabbath but to command them to do it to let it be well known as the law of the house. To restrain them from any violation & guard their authority on this subject not only by presenting motives drawn from the word of God but by punishing without fail every violation. What was the high commendation passed upon Abram by Almighty God? Not that he barely set a good example but that he enforced his authority upon household. I know Abram my servant says God that he will command his children & his household after him And what was that resolution of Joshua which showed that he was a true servant of God Choose ye said he to the sinful people of Israel This day whom ye will serve but as for one & my house we will serve the Lord! Remember the fate of old Eli a good man himself a Priest of God & yet by indifference as to the manner in which his children [alo?ed] and by criminally neglecting his duty in restraining his wicked soul, he was brought to see their mournful destruction by the judgement of God & the frown of Heaven rested upon him in his old age & he died of grief & horror at the evils thus brought upon his country by this very cause. Remember these things then & let us imitate Abram & Joshua and take warning by Eli & avoid his errors. Keep your children & servants from violating the Sabbath by your authority else verily God will hold you guilty of the violation of the 4th Commandment. Let us briefly recapitulate what has been said. In order then that we rightly observe the holy sabbath we must first prepare for it by arraying our wordly business so that it may lie over until monday & by devoutly addressing the Throne of Grace for the blessing of God to rest upon us enabling us to begin spend & end the day in his service & to his Glory 2d by attending when able upon the public worship of the house of God even tho it be only a prayer-meeting. 3d by spending the whole day when there is no preaching or religious meeting or the intervals when there is in private devotional & religious exercises so as not to lose the benefit of the exercises in public by having good impressions erased & 4th by causing all our children & servants if possible to honour the day, by our authority. There is no release from this course of conduct it is binding upon us without any exception & Xt the Lord of the Sabbath has never made any reserve or allowed any deviation from this Law except in works of necessity or mercy. And this is really the key to the whole matter. Decide then in the spirit of honest candour and with a regard to the account you must give it to God at the great Day of Judgement whether that occupation in which you engage is a work of necessity or of mercy If either do it if neither beware of it. But my heavens see to it that you do not decide as the dictator of deceitful heart suggest & directly in opposition to the plain teachings of Gods word and the voice of an enlightened conscience. Suffering must be relieved we must have our meals we must take our ox or other animal from the pit we must feed & water our horses or other beasts we must use them for riding to Church when distance or weakness render it necessary. But we must not be finding every work lawful on other days a work of necessity or mercy. We must be guided by conscience on this subject and if we are desirous of truly glorifying God we will not needlessly multiply these works. Let me now close with this subject by alluding briefly to some of the many ways in which the sabbath is violated and answer some of those objections raised against its strict & rigid observance. And first I remark that it is a violation of the sabbath even tho we cease to do our weekly business, if at the same time we do somethin else of a worldly nature. Many individuals seem to think that it is actually keeping the sabbath if they change their occupation. I can illustrate my meaning by the cave of the merchant or the Lawyer or the Planter or man of business. You dont find the merchant behind his counter selling goods unless indeed you go around to back door & those he has been found busy on Sunday as on other days in trade but not often publicly in this the case but you find him oftentimes in his counting room posting his books you dont find the attorney in Court engaged in defending his client but you find him in his chamber preparing his business for Court & writing letters of business You dont find the Planter in his fields often in this country but you find him arranging his plans for Monday & if he has a matter of business to attend to a dozen miles off he had rather take Sunday to do it than to go 3 or 4 miles to Church or if he goes to Church it is to settle some little matter with some neighbour to take of some trade which he has in view & to fix it all so as there will be nothing to do but to close the trade on Monday and they think this is less harm than to be engaged in their wordly business common in the week. It is an erroneous conclusion it is a mere cobweb of sophistry which the Devil is weaving around their deluded souls to entrap & forever destroy them just as well throw open your doors and expose your goods and invite customers and buy & sell and get gain just as well go into Court and plead & examine & decide cases just as well call out your hounds and gear up your horse & mules and go to work in your fields as to do that which is a mere change of work and not a mode of sanctifying the sabbath day. But again Traveling is a violation of the sabbath I have no hesitation about this. The point to be looked at is this whatever is not an act of necessity or of mercy is a violation of the Sabbath. Decide then whether it comes under either of these heads & if so travel if not rest. I assert however fearless of successful contradiction that it is very seldom a work of either kind. In 9 out of every 10 cases, men may arrange their business ahead so as to rest on the sabbath and even if they cannot get to the very point they expected on Saturday night they are bound as Xtians to stay where they are unless compelled to go on for provisions or on account of sickness or some imperative cause merely to travel on Sunday however because they find it convenient to do so because they want to get home will not do as an excuse it may be as the world thinks a sufficient cause but what will God say I apprehend that he will hardly sustain the excuse in judgement. I should think the traveller would hardly offer it Besides nothing is gained by it. Hes actually a losing business to travel on the sabbath I could recount many instances of it in my own knowledge & so can you many of you know that it is not ever profitable to travel on the sabbath; Your horses are fatigued because they are not allowed to rest the 1/7 portion of their time your wagon breaks down you do not reach the end of your journey sooner nor perhaps as soon as others who started after you did & so God frowns upon you even in a temporal point of view. In addition to this we are commanded to avoid the very appearance of evil even then on the supposition that we ourselves are convinced that it is justifiable for us to travel & it is to our interest to do so I ask if nothing is to be given up on our part to contribute to the [?] adornment of His Kingdom of we are not to yield some of our opinions for the sake of the general good! If our example bear, as it will do, upon the interests of religion either for good or ill, ought we not to be willing to give up those things in our practice which tend to encourage others in vice? What if we who are Xtians travel on the sabbath will it not be regarded as our saying just in so many words that we consider it no harm? & that one of ours will tend to confirm more in violating the sabbath then all the sermons you can preach against it. Besides if encouraged in travelling they will be encouraged in everything else since they will say & say truly too that it is no more harm to do many other things than to travel on Sunday and as Xtians do that why I might say do this. So it encourages evil-doers by strengthening their hands & it is grief to have Xtians & a stumbling block & a rock of offence in the way of seeking. And if we are unwilling to give up some of our courses for the sake of the good it might do, we are not possessed of the Spirit of the Apostle Paul who said in reference to eating meat offered to idols if meat make my brother to offend I will eat no meat while the world standeth to offend means to do wrong & he would give up eating meat though there was no harm in it if by his eating meat he should cause another to do wrong Well here is sunday travelling a manifest sin a violation of that holy Day and surely we should be willing to give it up if by our doing it we cause others to violate it we should strive to imitate the example of Paul and be willing to quit it on the ground that it is a bad example travel no more on the sabbath while the world standeth. But again, it is a gross violation of the sabbath to visit. And yet nothing is more common. It is a crying evil in [the] any community. Many go to Church and spend the rest of the day in visiting. I prove that it is a sin because you are thereby placing it out of your power to reflect seriously upon the exercises of the Day to pray for a blessing to examine your own hearts to read your Bible, to command your household to refrain from violating the Day. You cannot do this when you visit you can only do this at home in the retirement of your own circle. You go to see a neighbor you sit down & talk of the news the crops the weather the politics of the day & this is the least criminal form of Sunday visiting for sometimes there is a crowd gathered at the house and everything serious & solemn is laid aside & folly & frivolity & gossip & scandal preside as the Prince of the Place. Now if we stay at home we [?] be suitably engaged but if we visit we cannot What! Some will say must I not visit any sick neighbour? I answer yes! If you go with proper motives to relieve & wait upon the sick or even to sympathize by a sin is cloaked under this kind of visiting! It is a leisure day one of my neighbour is sick I can go & see him & I suppose I will see a good many of my acquaintances there and so while I am doing this good act of Charity I can indulge my inclination for gossip & news hearing & telling. And it is a notorious fact that there are always more visitors at the sick bed on Sunday than any other day, much to the injury of the sick in many cases, and greatly to the injury of the cause of religion. You will therefore easily find when you are actuated by proper motives in your visit to the sick by asking whether it is to do him good or to gratify your own inclination for company. As a general rule you can do nothing which will more effectually destroy a sabbath frame of mind & unfit you for keeping it holy than to visit. Pay no visits of mere pastime on sabbath receive none for God regards it as a violation of his holy Day. His impossible to enumerate every form of violation. Suffice it to say anything that draws off the mind from God from our souls interest from the meditations suitable to the Day, is a sin. It is a sin to read a political newspaper on Sunday it is a sin to write a letter on business or for mere friendship it is a sin to read any book except the Bible or one of a religious character it is a sin to engage in foolish idle wordly conversation on the sabbath. For all these things & many other tend to draw off our attention from the duties of the Day. Let the Bible be your guide & conscience your guard. But say some this is a visionary puritanical set of notions not required by the Bible. I only recur to the rule in answer to this objection that is not to do anything that will call off your mind from the sabbath as a day of rest that will call you from the consideration of holy and heavenly objects & subjects and you will see that all the occupations I have mentioned are utterly inconsistent with the day. Besides if these are puritancal notions the best of men in all ages were mistakes in supposing them correct. If you loved God more & the world less if you took a proper view of the sanctity of the sabbath of its emblematic nature being but a type of the heavenly rest you would never raise such an objection But another object is I have so much to do I cannot get through I cannot spend a whole day in neglecting my business. That is six day is too little for the world & one day too much for the soul The truth is so far from this being correct that more a man has to do the more he needs a day of rest. And no mans worldly business succeeds so well if he violates the sabbath. Sir Matthew Hald long since said that he found the weeks business to succeed well or ill just in [proportion] accordance to the manner in which he spent the sabbath. If he violated it, he was sure to go wrong in his business & if he kept it holy he succeeded better. But say others, I do not see that others who go so much to church & pretend to be so strict in keeping the sabbath are much better than the rest of us. This is not the fact. Those who go to Church & attend strictly to sabbath duties are better than others if they go with proper motives and even if they have not the right motives they do not add the sin of sabbath breaking to their other sins. Besides this is no business of yours you know you ought to obey this command & no matter how others do you will not be accountable for their sins. But say others, as to travelling I do not travel as a general thing and I dislike to do it it is against my principles well I would make any practice correspond with any principles then I would either quit travelling or lay aside the principle I would not say one thing and do another I would be consistent I would be honest. But you say I was on the road and I thought better to go on than to lie by I could keep the sabbath holy by thinking good thoughts as well by going on as by lying by yes! even if you could which is a mistake no doubt your horses or cattle had no rest & there you broke the Law. But I only travelled a few miles & then I came across a Church I went in and heard a sermon and then travelled on a few more miles. What a wise traveller was this carrying the world in one hand and Religion in other trying to make a compromise by serving God a little & the Devil a little making a pretty good days travel and hearing a sermon into the bargain! But I ask has not the Sabbath a morning & an evening as well as a noon? Is there any reason for you to keep holy the hours of preaching & to violate the morning & evening? God has never said so he says keep the sabbath. But you say I was in a company who would not wait for me & so I was obliged to go on well my friend it is likely you were not very had to persuade and if you said I cant go today for it is a sin to travel on the sabbath you would have done more to honour God & show the truth of religion than anything you could have done. Besides it is more than probable you would have overtaken the company before they got home. But some say It was more harm to travel on sabbath than to do what I see some people do who are Professors of religion & perhaps Elders of the Church this may be true or not if true it only shows that Professors & Elders can do wrong & doesnt help you out at all and if not true you are equally guilty and so it will not excuse you. If you ever hear a man attempting to excuse himself by finding fault with others -- you may be sure he feels guilty. There are two things which these people do when they are mustering up these strong excuses They are deluding their own souls and they are forgetting God. Oh what an awful accumulation of guilt in heaping up for them how are they Treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the just judgement of God against themselves! My heavens, I conclude this solemn subject today. I [?pose] there are some here who agree with me [?] opinion of such I expect that they will obey the solemn injunctions of God & hereafter remember the Sabbath more sacredly than ever. There are others who perhaps disbelieve everything which has been said to such I would say search the scriptures & try the doctrine by them I am willing to be tried by that standard if you find it is consistent with the word of God it is at your eternal peril to disobey. I had no power to command nor has the Church to which I belong any power more than to declare the truth of the Bible & to defend it. The has ever been a lover of the Sabbath & I believe her discipline if strictly enforced would bring her members to account for every violation of it. I leave the subject with you but I cannot help saying that I have been induced to deliver these discourses from two reasons. 1. I thought that there was much sin on this subject both in the Church & out of it. 2. I felt that I had been too long silent on this subject & I was determined to lay the trail