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Un des symboles suivants apparattra sur la dernlAre image de cheque microfiche, selon Ie ces: Ie symbols — ► signifie "A SUIVRE", ie symbols V signifie "FIN". iVIaps, plates, charts, etc., mey be filmed at different reduction retios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames es required. The following diagrams Illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableeux, etc., peuvent Atre fiimte A des taux de rMuction diff^rents. Lorsque Ie document est trop grend pour Atre reproduit en un seul cllchA, 11 est filmA A partir da I'angle supArieur geuche, de geuche A droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant la nombre d'lmeges nAcesssire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mAthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 li B THE SABBATH A SERMON PREACHED BY Revd. James Mair, M. A Martintown, C. W. Published by request. MONTREAL Dawson Brothers, 55 to 59 Great St. James Street 1866. SERMON. Mark ii. 27. — The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. These words enunciate an important principle ap- plicable to the circumstances of man generally : a principle of such consequence, that we believe the great majority of the errors committed in ecclesias- tical, as well as in civil polity, are committed through inattention to it. Here we are taught in reference to the Sabbath, as in other parts of Scripture we are taught in reference to other things, that it was made for the good of man — man, in the true sense of the term, a spiritual and never-dying being. Whatever, therefore, we find militate against man's spiritual interests, whether in Church or State, in philosophy or physics, must be a something of man's invention, or a gift of God perverted by man. Man is not a mere piece of mechanism, to be cut, carved, and fitted into his place in this world's system ; he stands above all here, a spiritual being, and the systems of this world, natural and revealed, are to be made condu- cive to his interests as such. In opening up the subject of Sabbath observance, I have been led to these remarks by observing that many treat the question as if they telt that men liiust 121194 adapt themselves to the ancient forms of Sabbath observance, and to the dogmatic opinions held thereon by our forefathers, whether these be consistent with Scripture and man's spiritual interests or not. I have chosen this subject for to-day's meditations at the request of the Kingston Sabbath Reformation Society, and cannot refrain from remarking on a part of their Report, which I must characterize as a wan- ton attack on one of the most zealous, devoted, and hard-working clergymen of the day. They say : ** A " bold, open, and, as we were going to say, irreligious " attack has been made upon the Sabbath, as to its " Divine institution, primeval origin, and perpetual "and universal obligation, by the Rev. Norman " McLeod, D.D., one of Her Majesty's Chaplains for " Scotland, and author of the well-known and much- " read monthly periodical Good Words. It is remote " from the intention of your Committee to enter into "a controversy on this subject ; but it may be allowed " them to say, and to say with a firm conviction of ** its truth, that it would have been wiser and better ** ior this learned ecclesiastic to have kept his rhapso- " dies within his own breast, and there brooded upon " them to his heart's content, and for any length of " time, instead of scandalizing the Church with them ; " for in the land of heroes and martyrs — the land of " Wallace and Bruce — the land of Knox, Rutherford " and Chalmers, Bible and Sabbath-loving Scotland, — *' he stands a poor chance of impregnating the cau- " tious, thoughtful, pious minds of his Countrymen " with his crude, indigestible, Germanised lucubra- *•' tions.*' It is with sorrow I quote this to you, but Sabbath thereon jnt with litations irmation )n a part s a wan- ted, and ly : ** A 'eligious LS to its erpetual Norman ains for d much- s remote iter into allowed ction of d better J rhapso- [ed upon jngth of h them ; land of therford tland, — the cau- itrymen lucubra- rou, but I am necessitated ; for others have written and spoken to you in a similar spirit, and such tends to weaken your faith in the sincerity of God's messengers. While even Dr. McLeod's strongest opponents, in argument, allow his sincerity, and admit that his motive was to establish Sabbath-keeping on a firmer and more Christian basis than that upon which it has been for years built by the Church : yea, verily, to quote the words of Paul, ** He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second." In treating the subject, I shall speak, first, of the authority which makes the Sabbath day binding on us, and, secondly, of how the Sabbath day is to be kept by Christians ; and may our God guide us into the truth, and to a practical realisation of it in our lives. I- — The authority which makes the Sabbath day binding on us. That the J< ws were obliged to keep holy the seventh day as a Sabbath unto the Lord, has never been disputed. In the decalogue we have the com- mandment plainly given, that the seventh day shall be kept holy ; and in the history of the Jews we find a peculiar strictness observed in the keeping of this day. But doubts have been expressed as to whether such a day was observed prior to the depar- ture of the Israelites from Egypt. Such doubts seem but deliberate attempts to ignore the nature of the Sabbath and to pervert Scripture. In the words of my text, we are taught that the Sabbath was made for man — not for any particular generation of men, or for any peculiar nationality, but for man generally. And as all things needful for man were created before or at the time of man's creation, so we may naturally conclude that the appointment of the Sabbath was coeval with the origin of man. This the Scriptures lully and plainly declare : " And God blessed the 'seventh day and sanctified it; because that in it he " rested from all his work which God created and ||made."-Genesis ii. 3. And again : « In six days ^^ the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that m them is, and rested the seventh day : where- '* fore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hal- ' lowed it."-Exodus XX. IL Here two things are pointed out, that the Sabbath was instituted imme- diately after the creation, and that it was instituted as a commemorative celebration of the work of cre- ation. It is not natural to suppose that an ordinance, commemorative of any event, should be appointed at the time of the event, but not attended to till .early 1500 years afterwards. We are forced to the conclu- sion that a Sabbath was instituted by God at the creation, and that it has been kept by God-fearing men in all ages since the creation. But to this part of the subject I need not direct your attention at any length ; for this, it seems to me, has little or nothing to do with the excitement that prevails on the Sab- bath question at the present time. Neither need I do more than just refer to the powerful and oft- repeated argument that the physical necessities of both man and beast demand rest on one day in the seven. The great subject to which the attention of Chris- ' tians IS now directed is, whether by the Christian law of lovo and liberty the Sabbath in not placed on a different foundation, and its observance to be attended to on higher and holier motives, than those which obtained among the Jews and Patriarchs of old. The change from the Jewish Sabbath on the last day of the week to the Christian Sabbath on the first day of the week could have been produced only by some important cause, and certainly points to some change in the nature of, and motives for, its obser- vance. The glorious resurrection of our Saviour on the first day of the week is allowed by all Christians to be the reason, and to be a sufficient reason, for this change. As the original Sabbath was commemorative of the work of creation, so the Christian Sabbath is commemorative of the re-creation of the soul of man. As the first Sabbath points to the power of God over the material world in that he called it into existence by a word, so the second Sabbath points to his power over the spiritual world in that he freed the sin-stained soul of man from the power of sin, and from sin's doom. As the earlier race of God's people kept the Sabbath in remembrance of Him who made them, so the present race of God's people keep the Sabbath in re- membrance of Him who redeemed them. But a difference of still greater moment is pointed out in Scripture between the observances of the Jewish and Christian Churches, as on other points, so concerning the Sabbath. The Jewish economy consisted chiefly of outward rites, which, in their observance, im- pressed truths on the mind. The Christian economy consists chiefly of truths impressed on the mind, which produce observance of outward rites. The Jewish 8 one of internal attraction The t'' ''^''^''"^ "« to. attend to the diiierl ^1^^^.^^'^''"^ pam of immediate punishmoL by deal 1 Pu "° b. the ,irit:ft:i%t:r;e -^ iioir Christian service tre • « If r*'"^ ^^'''^^ "^ ^^e « mandments." The Jewirrr T* ''^^P ""^ «»"- of God in its childhood Thfr^^'f.'^ ^"^ '^' ^^'^''^ Church Of God in?t:°lt?"J-cy;dt ^^ ^'^ to be comDellprl fn r.\.r. -x ^"" requires higher mo^ttt^l;ter^Sh1'chtdr''^ 2ref [ft r r ^°^ ,r »^^'^- i"--; H ou.ht to'ret^^htrr :Krot:^^^^^^ « .ts parents' wi«h that such and such sSh ^ and punishment by a faithful pare^r^?, i^ '^°"^' — fo^beisir .^-,^"- °-or in..ediaeepu:ire:tTitzr';2:t^ child-a parents' command and fenV '" ^^^ ■ by the higher motive in IhTmIr H ""^^"^'^ We. The law that guides the^MlT '.' "^''*' """^ the law that guides the man ^^^ J." °«''*'"^ ^^ this sense only do wp h.T i " '^"'«' """d m 9 McLeod. The moral principloH of the JewiHh hiw were no doubt binding on man before the time of MoscB — Romans v. 12 — 14. But tlie preface to the ten commandments points out that these were spe- cially given to the Jews in the particular overt acts which they condemn ; and as such they have been superseded by the higher moral principles of the New Testament-— Romans vii. 4 — 6. In the progress of science, the preceding step is invariably superseded or abrogated b^ the succeeding and more advanced one. We no longer use the cogged rails and cog- wheels on our railways; yet they were useful in their day, as a step to something higher. We can do better now without them. They are taken away, that a better may be put in their place. But, it is said, if this principle is true, we may, and must, apply it to all the commandments of the Decalogue ; and by thus speaking of their abrogation, open the flood-gates of all iniquity. We fearlessly apply it to all. We have no fear of the consequences, but rather rejoice in the belief that by so doing we usher in a higher and more perfect law, even the law taught by our Saviour to His followers. The great error that has been committed by the opponents of the view I feel compelled to advance, consists in their forgetting an important part of a sentence: **He "taketh away the first, that he may establish the '* second" — is the full sentence which expresses what is attempted by those who would open up to Chris- tians clearer views of their duty. They have for- gotten the latter part of the sentence, and have pointed the finger of sarcasm at such as Dr. McLeod, 10 forgetful that he !« establishing, oa a sur« founda- tion, < the second.' Let us tun^ our attention for , he to some of the other commandments, aLd we wm find that our Saviour himself distinctly abro! gated some of them by higher laws of virtue In reference to the sixth commandment, He says • "« Ye "wnl w?' " "" ^"'^' *•=•' ^''^^ «^^' «S « u 'u :V '^"^ ""*" ^°"' ''s that is angry with 'his brother without a cause, is in danger or^&c Ihis latter the Apostle John puts simplyl « Whot "ever hateth his brother. is a murderer." InZ form of a commandment, it would rea4 : " Thou "Shalt not hate." And who dare deny but that this abrogates the other. It is much morf extenst t Its application, and being attended to, deprives the other of any force. The former may be atten^^d t and the latter broken; but the latter cannot be attended to, and the former broken. Aga"n in speaking of the seventh commandment, our Savk^^^ says : « Ye have heard, ^-.., Thou shal not c^mm t adultery, but I say unto you : that whosoever S e.h on a woman, to lust after her, hath committed "adultery with her already in his heart." Who dare deny but that, if these words of our Saviour's were attended to, the commandment itself would be but as a dead letter. Thus we see. the principles laid down for the Christian'^ guidance supersede ho e aid down for the guidance of the Jew The Chris! tian law of liberty supersedes the Jewish law of 1...., ^,b. hoi his heait loved his God or not; thus ore the nature of bondage. The Christian is it u called upon to attend to the law, because he loves his God and Saviour ; thus it is of the nature of freedom —he follows the desires of his grateful heart. Apply these to the subject on hand, and we arrive at the conclusion that, under the Christian dispensa- tion the fourth commandment, with its specific in- junctions, is superseded by a spiritual power, leading every Christian to keep the Sabbath for his soul's o-ood. The fourth commandment, in the Jewish law, may be fulfilled by attention to the letter ; but the Christian Sabbath may not be fulfilled, although the outward observance be the most scrupulous and exact. Hence, while we say "God speed" to all societies that have for their aim the promotion of Sabbath observance, and look with no dislike, on pastoral addresses pointing out the neglect of such observance, we are firm in the belief that such is not the true way to promote it. "Forced prayers are not devotion." A forced observance of the Lord's day coincided with Jewish economy; but' a forced observance of the Lord's day, under the Christian economy, falls far short of what is required of us. The true way to lead to a more earnest devotion of the Sabbath to the service of the Lord and His Christ is to proclaim the glorious Gospel of Grace- to indoctrinate the minds of the people with their obligations to Him whose work the Sabbath day commemorates. When a day of rejoicing is ap- pointed in memory of any earthly hero, who may i,„,,^ u,, c/>*vir. TirvKlo rlppfj rlpsprvorl wfiU of his coun- try, means are taken to let the people know why they should rejoice. The history of the noble deed is ; 1 12 . circulated throughout the land, as the only mode by which all can be led duly to honour that day. Miser- able would be tlie farce, did the people know nothing about the hero, and yet the government give out its fiat that such day be kept a holiday. If, then, we would have the Sabbath kept as the Sabbath ought to be kept, let us use every possible means— let us endeavour, in season and out of season, to convince every, one of our fellow-creatures what reason they have to remember that glorious day— how conducive It is to their spiritual welfare to do so-how necessary to happiness the great work of our dear Redeemer was— how miserable, eternally miserable, the human race must have been, had not our Saviour died and r'meji again. ' The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath,' says our Lord. So much formality entered into the Jewish mode of Sabbath observance, that it might seem as if they considered themselves as mere puppets to be worked by wire-pullers on that holy day. Sad it is that the same might novv^ be said of many who profess to keep the Christian Sabbath. While carefully abstaining from all manual labour, and perhaps presenting themselves in the house of God, are not their minds too often busy doing over again the work of the past, and planning out work for the future. Many worshippers' hearts, we fear, would display saddening pictures, could they be laid open to us as they are to God. How many fine speculations are entered upon and successfiiDv nnrrjed out during the preaching of His holy word ! Yea how many noble castles are built by the vain mind 13 of man, even while his body is in the attitude of prayer in God's holy house! Truly it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed. Ah ! pro- fessing Christians, bethink yourselves, and spend God s holy day, not as automatons, forced by the usages oi society, and accustomed by the habits of your life, to those things that are becoming, in a Christian commu- „ity,buta« axjtive, loving,faithful Christians, following the longings of your redeemed hearts, in giving the day spiritually as well as outwardly to God. Whence come the expressions of relief that fall from the lips of many a professing Christian when the services of the sanctuary are over, if not from a heart that ioined not in the service, and therefore found it irk- some ; yet in the letter the fourth commandment was kept. Why the outburst of pleasure with whic> the young, and too often even the old, enter upon worldly, light and amusing topics of conversation im- mediately on emerging from the sabred edifice : be- cause while the Sabbath was kept according to the Jewish law, it was not kept according to the Chris- tian law. Will any one dare to say it is for his good to keep the Lord's day according to the letter, and not also according to tlie spirit 1 Can you say it is bettor to keep your hands from labour, if by doing so you permit your mind the more unrestrainedly to dwell on vanity and sin ? We venture to believe it were better for you at hast to be actively engaged, even were it on secular matters, " For Satan luda some mischief still, For idle hands to do.*' Thus, while it is evident that the Sabbath day is 14 Wnding on us as Christians, it is equally evident that we have no warrant in Scripture for binding on Chris- ' hans any particular set of formalities for that day. The formahties of the fourth commandment having s!hh TvTw "^ ^y '^' spirituality of the Christiaf android! f"' "°*;f ™ *» ^^^ beggarly elements and decide for our fellow-men how they are to keep the Lord's day. A Christian government-else It behes Its very name,-must take care that such day IB fenced about, and pc"uliarly distinguished from other days But that any shall take upon them t" decxde whether it is best for me that I walk ouTo^ ties of God s creation, or indoors listen to the inno- cent and amusing prattle of the children's social circle or hear the song of praise accompanied bnhe think I should, sit brooding, i„ glooming silence a'davt'TK ^"''^"^'' look, -if grieved'tha sul' a day should be demanded of me, or sorry that ever a rising Saviour hallowed that day, is a lib^erty whil ^ f J"^."''^'''^"'' "°^ ™y "J'^ct dare take if guided by the Saviour's words : « The Sabbath li made for man and not man for the Sabbath." As a Christian, and cognizant of my own spiritual state in the sight of God, surely I am the best judge under God's guidance, a. to what advances J what mS- thl o ^r °" ^"^^ "^ "° -""'^ "-^ke a Sabbath than can the usages of society, which too nft^n -i- But does not this open the door to the careless and 16 the unbeliever, and allow them to run riot in the desecration of that holy day. Let them do so, it is at their own peril. God will require it at their hands. Their blood be upon their own heads. We have spoken of the fourth commandment as being abrogated by a higher, a holier, and more liberal law. If they make no account of the second, which annuls the first, in their case the first, at least as far as it is moral, and revealed even before the time of Moses, must still be in force. Indeed their condemnation is certain, by the original covenant of works. If, on the other hand, they allow that the first has been abrogated, they must allow the existence of that higher law which did abrogate it : and being tried by this higher law, their punishment will be the greater. II.— How the Sabbath day is to be kept by Chris- tians. Having been led in the elucidation of the first head to speak somewhat of the mode of Sabbath ob- servance, it only remains to give a few practical hints as to how the Sabbath day may be best employ- ed. ** It was made for man." In general terms we might say : whatever is conducive to man's spiritual good, as an eternal being capable of happiness or misery, is worthy of performance on the Sabbath ; and whatever militates against his good, is to be re- frained from. Want of attention to this has allowed Sabbath observance to become in many cases a mere ft^«*«„iUTr Q it iTialripo- nlfifln the outside of the cup and platter, while within they are full of extortion and excess." It is looked upon as a breach of Sab- 16 bath observance to put forth the hand and plough your field or sell your merchandize, but as quite in keeping with that day's duties to think and speak of them. Decidedly wicked it would be considered by many to travel on the cars or even in a cab on the Lord's day, but these many will often indulge on that same day in all excess of riot with their tongue, and perform journeys by the league in thought. De- cidedly wrong to listen to music, but quite in ac- cordance with their ideas of sanctifying the Sabbath to gossip by the hour. He that would shave him- self on a Sabbath morning must be a bad man, but all right he who spends his afternoon in recounting, with sneer and laugh, the faults, follies, and may- hap sins of his neighbour. Nothing can be more de- trimental to the true purity of Sabbath observance than such notions, founded as they are on nought but the usages of society. Habit hangs like a dead weight on many a poor benighted soul, keeping it in its sin- ful course. It behooves every lover of the Saviour and every faithful member of His Church, earnestly to examine whether his mode of thought and action in this is in accordance with the dicta of Holy Writ, or only with the usages of society. Leaving behind all preconceived notions, all accus- tomed habits, and all social usages, let us candidly examine what behaviour on the Sabbath day is likely to be most conducive to the good of our, souls. He who will take the trouble to think cannot but con- fess that he is bettered by attendance at the house of God. Even the disciples and apostles, who were more particularly gifted with graces from on high 17 than we, found it advantageous to assemble them- selves together on that day, and to speak of what great things the Lord had done for their souls. In all ages of the church the faithful have found it con- duce to their spiritual good to attend at the house of God, and this has been the principal means, under God, of advancing the kingdom of grace in the world. On this day all worldly cares as well as worldly labours are to be laid aside, and as the Christian Sab- bath is a spiritual Sabbath, the spirit is to be given to God in prayer, praise, and meditation. The mere formal outward observances of becoming deportment and abstinence from labour can only be like the prayers of the hypocrite — an abomination in the sight of God. The attempt to frame your conduct in accordance with the demands of the Sabbath, while your heart is far from God, is like the attempt to cure a cancerous sore by covering it over that the eye may not see it, when it will eat deeper and deeper until it gnaw the vitals and produce death. The cancer must be extracted by the roots, or there can be no hope of cure. The observance of the Sabbath must be in the heart, or there can be but little hope of de- riving good from it. The attempt to force a Sab- bath upon the unwilling, may produce the snivelling hypocrite, but it never can produce the thorough Christ-loving, faithful follower of the Lamb. Would you then derive from the Sabbath all the advantages it offers to man, prepare your heart as well as your body for its observance. Be not satisfied with array- ing your body in becoming garments, and purifying the flesh, that you may appear to man to respect this IS holy day, but cleanse also your heart and soul from the dross of worldly cares, and array them in the beauteous garb of holy meditations. Before drawing near to the house of God, see that you have banished from your mind all such thoughts as present obsta- cles to the reception of the truth ; and when ye re- tire from this holy place, see that ye keep from your hearts those worldly cares that are ever ready to rise up as thorns and thistles to choke the Word. Let not the habit of entering on worldly subjects as soon as you emerge from the portals of God's house be your habit. The Sabbath is given by the goodness of God, that on it you may lay aside your worldly afiairs without suffering loss. If during the week a busi- ness man thinks not seriously about his business, all will predict his failure. If on the Sahbath you think not seriously about your soul's business, with equal certainty all may predict your failure in spiritual matters. In conclusion, God is a Spirit, and must be wor- shipped in spirit and in truth, whether on Mount Gerizzim or at Jerusalem. The Sabbath is a spiritual day, and must be kept in spirit by whatever outward forms thi3 may be accompanied. And if men will, in their perverse determination to do wrong, use this liberty as a cloke of maliciousness, they must suffer the consequences in want of blessings here, and in the eternal misery of the damned hereafter. Brethren — need I again warn you of the evil ten- dency of many of those things that are habitually practiced on the Lord's day, — of the conversations that tend not to edification, — of the reading of the '• ^ 19 public news of commerce and politics— of the men- tal preparation of work for Monday— of the useless journeys and social calls— of the making up the axj- counts of the week's transactions,— all, all have a damn- ing tendency. Do ye desire to be God's people, blessed here and happy hereafter ?— keep God's day in the spirit. Are you careless whether ye be God's friends or His enemies ?— follow on as faithfully as you like those spiritless, miserable, outward formali- ties, which deceive by saying « Peace, peace, when there is no peace," and your lot will be misery here and misery hereafter. He is not a Christian who is one outwardly, but he is a Christian who is one in- wardly. Neither is that Sabbath observance which is outward in the flesh, but Sabbath observance is that of the heart in the spirit, and not in the letter. M. LoNOMOORE & Co., Printers, Montreal.