,transcribed from the #aheb ,wertheim and ,macintosh edition by ,david ,price1 email ccx#jgdpglaf4org ,picture3 ,pamphlet cover ,,our ,,sabbaths ,,in ,,danger3 ,a ,,sermon1 ,,deprecating ,,the ,,contemplated ,,opening ,,of ,,the ,,crystal ,,palace ,,on ,,the ,,lord',s-,,day1 ,,preached ,,on ,,sunday1 ,,october #aj1 #aheb1 ,,in ,,camden ,,church1 ,,camberwell4 ,,by ,,daniel ,,moore1 ,m4,a41 ,,incumbent4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,london3 ,,wertheim ,,and ,,macintosh1 #bd1 ,,paternoster-,,row4 ,g4 ,w4 ,,medes1 ,,camberwell4 #aheb4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,wertheim ,,and ,,macintosh1 #bd1 ,,paternoster-,,row1 ,,london4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a ,,sermon4 ,,mark ,,ii4 #bg3--8;,and he said unto them1 ,the ,sabbath was made for man1 and not man for the ,sabbath40 ,,the discriminating symptoms of hypocrisy or profaneness in a nation1 it has been well said1 are1 that1 by the one1 outward ordinances are raised to an exaggerated importance2 by the other1 they are disparaged1 depressed1 and set at nought4 ,in the words just quoted1 the aim of our ,lord appears to have been to put these institutions in their right place1--to enunciate a great principle1 by which we could always distinguish between certain moral ends for which man was made1 and certain outward appointments which were instituted and made for man4 ,to obey ,god1 to resist evil1 to fulfil a providential designation1 to strive after nearer conformity to the ,divine image1 to fit and capacitate the soul for a higher condition of being1 these are ends1--man was made for these4 ,but holy times1 pious commemorations1 solemn assemblies1 the temples where we worship1 and the sacraments whereof we eat1 these are only subsidiary and divinely appointed means2 they are not among the final objects of man's creation4 ,they were ordinances wade for man4 ,this argument1 it will be perceived1 would be addressed with much fitness to men1 whose error1 in relation to the ,sabbath1 leaned to the side of an over-strained and impracticable severity2 and who had just been urging it as a complaint against our ,lord's disciples1 that1 in passing through a field on the ,sabbath-day1 they had relieved their hunger by plucking a few ears of corn4 ,these cavillers are reminded1 therefore1 that1 in the economy of salvation1 all outward ordinances are to be viewed in the light of things secondary and subservient2 their mode of observance to be interpreted in harmony with the ends for which they were ordained2 and that1 with regard to the ,sabbath especially1 care must be taken to avoid both the hypocrisy that would make the day to be honoured by a rigid ceremonial exactness1 and the presumption that would overlook its eternal sanctity as standing in the will of ,god4 ,it is in this last view that all the ordinances of religion1 when clearly of ,divine appointment1 acquire a character of deep and momentous interest4 ,their foundation is in the will of ,god2 but that will1 as we know1 has1 as its ever-guiding and controlling rule1 a sacred regard to the highest interests of man4 ,nothing can be more dishonouring to ,god1 or more untrue1 than to speak of outward ordinances as if they were mere arbitrary appointments1 without significance and without benefit1 as only so many meaningless enactments designed to test the willingness of human subjection2 so far otherwise1 they are means framed upon a wise and loving regard to all the aptitudes of our moral nature1 and calculated1 in their reverent use1 to help man through all the difficulties of his course and to educate his immortal spirit for the employments of the world to come4 ,the ,sabbath was ,,made ,,for ,,man4 ,brethren1 you are aware of the reasons which induce me1 at the hazard of going over much of familiar argument1 formally to review the grounds on which we hold that a ,,proper ,,moral ,,sanctity does attach to the ,,christian ,,sabbath3--that the institution itself has an origin1 an object1 a typical significance and value1 which are independent of all economies1 and will endure to all time2 and1 therefore1 that any nation which shall presume to tamper with its unalterable sacredness1 is drawing down upon itself those awful maledictions which1 by an undesigned coincidence1 have been so often recited in our ears this morning as the just retribution of ,,polluted ,,sabbaths4 #e ,i4 ,in trying to arrive at correct notions upon what may be due to the sacred day1 and how far it may be lawful that churches and places of amusement should share its hours between them1 our first thoughts are naturally directed to the ,old ,testament accounts of the ,sabbath institution itself4 ,was its origin paradisaical1 or patriarchal1 or ,levitical8 ,and if it were either of these1 were the reasons given for commencing it such as would pass away1 when the dispensation under which it was given passed away8 ,this question is important1 because there is a current way of speaking of the ,sabbath as if it were a mere festival of the ,jewish ,church1 deriving its whole sanctity from the ,levitical law1 and only taken up by the ,christian ,church at second hand1--as among the useful things of the old economy which it would be as well to perpetuate1 though not one of the binding things we were under any obligation to observe4 ,now1 to expose the absurdity of this notion1 we have only to take the earliest ,scripture notices of the institution which come to hand4 ,in the second chapter of the book of ,genesis1 at the close of the account of the creation1 we read1--,and on the seventh day ,god ended his work which ,he had made2 and ,he rested on the seventh day from all his work which ,he had made4 ,and ,god blessed the seventh day and sanctified it3 ,,because that in it ,he had rested from all his work which ,god created and made4 ,if this passage stood alone1 one conclusion only could be drawn from it2 namely1 that the institution of the ,sabbath succeeded the creation immediately in order of time1 and that it was sanctified for reasons which must be binding on all mankind alike4 ,but other notices in the writings of ,moses follow1 which might seem to militate against this view1 and even to favour the erroneous notion ,i have adverted to1 of the ,sabbath having only a temporary or dispensational sanctity4 ,thus1 in the thirty-first chapter of ,exodus1 we read1--,wherefore the children of ,israel shall keep the ,sabbath throughout their generations for a perpetual covenant3 it is a ,,sign between me and the children of ,israel for ever4 ,whilst1 further1 in the book of ,deuteronomy1 at the fifth chapter1 we find ,moses exhorting the people to the observance of the holy day1 with this added reason3 ,remember that thou wast a servant in the land of ,egypt1 and that the ,lord thy ,god brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and stretched-out arm2 ,,therefore the ,lord thy ,god commanded thee to keep the ,sabbath-day4 ,now1 whether we are able to give any satisfactory account of these additional reasons for the institution or not1 the revealed fact will remain the same1--namely1 that the ,sabbath was not ,levitical in its origin1 and was not even first made known to the ,jews1 at the giving of the law4 ,nothing can be plainer than that the ,sabbath was both known and observed before the ,jewish ,church had any existence4 ,for1 besides the incidental notices both before and after the deluge1--such as ,noah sending out the dove again 8after other seven days10--we find the ,jews actually keeping a ,sabbath in the wilderness of ,sin1 before the covenant of ,sinai had been entered into4 ,thus1 at the giving of the manna1 we have ,moses saying unto the people1 ,to-morrow is the rest of the holy ,sabbath unto the ,lord3 on that day ye shall not find it in the field3 for the ,lord hath given you the ,sabbath3 therefore ,he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days3--language plainly implying that1 at that time1 the ,sabbath was an established observance of the religious life4 ,what shall we say1 then1 of those subsequent reasons for the institution which connect it with a peculiar national covenant8 or with the deliverance of the ,israelites from bondage8 ,why1 not that they are meant to be reasons for the institution itself1 but reasons for a particular time and form of its re-promulgation4 ,the children of ,israel1 it is to be remembered1 had been for several hundred years under captivity in ,egypt4 ,many of their ordinances1 it is likely they would have forgotten2 and their ,sabbaths1 it is all but certain1 their task-masters would not permit them to observe4 ,on their ,exodus1 therefore1 it became necessary that there should be a formal re-enactment of the holy day2 not only by a repetition of those moral considerations1 on account of which the ,almighty had originally set it apart1 but also with a recital of such other arguments as should make the sanctity of the day especially binding upon them as a nation2 namely1 that in their revived and perpetuated ,sabbath1 they were to keep up a grateful commemoration of their deliverance from ,egypt1 as well as behold a standing pledge or seal of the covenant into which ,god was then entering with his people4 ,to infer that mankind had never observed a day of sanctified rest until the ,sabbath was made a sign of the covenant with ,moses1 would be as unreasonable as the inference that the sun's light had never been refracted in the rain-drops1 until ,god set his 8bow in the clouds10 to be a sign of his covenant with ,noah4 ,it pleased ,god to take an existing moral fact in the one case1 as ,he had taken an existing physical fact in the other1 to be a perpetual and visible memorial of his own gracious purposes4 ,and1 surely1 to the ,israelites1 in all ages1 it must have been a great encouragement to see the promise made unto their fathers guaranteed by a seal1 which was honoured as the first token ever made to human kind1 and hallowed by considerations which could never change1 and never lose their force4 ,i say never lose their force2--for what could a sanctified commemoration of the rest of the ,great ,creator1 a commanded acknowledgment1 from the creatures ,he had made1 of their subjection and dependence1 a periodical pause in their other employments that they might hallow and bless his name1--what1 ,i say1 could such reasons for an institution have to do with one age more than another1 or with one economy more than another8 ,plainly1 the obligation presses equally on the first man ,adam1 and the last born of his degenerate sons4 ,in this respect1 the ,sabbath was not made for ,noah and the patriarchs specially1 to commemorate the world's second birth2 nor for ,moses and the ,israelites specially1 to celebrate the triumphs of the wilderness and the sea4 ,it was made neither for ,jew1 nor ,christian1 nor ,church1 nor age2--,the ,sabbath was made ,,for ,,man4 ,,ii4 ,other reasons for the original and indelible sanctity of this institution1 ,i must note more briefly4 ,thus1 what other inference can be drawn from its place in the law of the ten commandments1--that great summary of human duty1--that searching code which1 in its ,gospel spirituality and breadth1 becomes the rule of all outward and inward holiness2 that eternal transcript of all creature obedience1 which1 when heaven and earth shall have passed away1 shall stand out as the reflected will of ,god8 ,think not1 said the ,great ,teacher1 ,i am come to destroy the law or the prophets1 ,i am not come to destroy but to fulfil4 ,will any raise a question as to the law here intended being the moral law given to ,moses8 or conceding that1 will they say that when our ,lord declared neither jot nor tittle should pass from this law1 ,he meant to say1 men shall keep all the commandments except the fourth8 ,again1 in contending for the universal obligation to separate a seventh portion of our time to the service of ,god1 we cannot overlook the plain intimations contained in the earliest records of all nations1 that1 either with religious sanctions or without them1 men have observed this weekly division of time4 ,chaldeans1 ,egyptians1 ,greeks1 and ,romans1 all seem to have known of it2--and the question is how1 except as the relic of some universal tradition1 those nations should have thought of such a measurement of time at all8 ,for other divisions of time we can find reasons1--obvious1 necessary1 and natural4 ,the daily rotation of the earth on its axis2 the completed cycle of lunar phases2 the sun imparting to the revolving worlds the blessings of cold and heat1 summer and winter1 seed-time and harvest1 are phenomena quite adequate to explain why we should break up our life into days1 and months1 and years2 but for ,,weeks we have no such reason1 nor1 indeed1 any reason to give1 except that it is one of the original appointments and laws of ,god4 ,it is an arbitrary period1 the recurrence of which neither nature nor reason seems1 in any way1 to have marked out for us1 but which1 on the all-commanding authority of revelation1 men have been taught to set apart to sacred remembrances4 ,the ,sabbath was ,,made for man4 ,,iii4 ,thus1 as far as our limits would permit1 ,i think it has been shown that1 irrespective of dispensations1 or ,churches1 or particular covenants1 ,god did appoint it as an ordinance for the whole human family1 that every recurring seventh day of their life should be separated to religious uses4 ,he first 8blessed0 the day1 that is1 pledged himself to be propitious to the service which1 in spirit and in truth1 men should offer ,him on that day2 and then 8hallowed0 it1 or1 as the word is1 8set it apart10 intimating that anything opposed or foreign to such religious service1 was to be strictly forbidden4 ,if this ground have been made good1 ,i shall be less careful to adduce all that could be said in favour of the next question which might be raised2 namely1 on the supposition that ,god has made this claim upon all men of a seventh portion of their time1 is that seventh which has been set apart by the ,christian ,church the right seventh2 in other words1 have we sufficient reason for believing that the change of day1 from the last day of the week to the first1 is agreeable to the will of ,god8 ,now the only reasons1 it would seem1 which could justify such change1 must be found either in an express revelation1 or in the ascertained practice of those1 who having for three years had the ,lord of the ,sabbath to guide them1 must have known on what day ,he designed it should thenceforth be kept4 ,a change of the actual day1 it has been conjectured1 from some expressions in the history1 was made by ,moses1 at the time of the ,exodus1 transferring the holy day to that which first saw ,israel's redemption from bonds1--what should hinder that1 with sufficient authority1 a change should not be made1 again transferring our ,sabbath to the day which1 in the resurrection of the ,son of ,god1 saw the redemption of the spiritual ,israel from the grave8 ,besides1 an avowed end of the ,jewish ,sabbath was as a protest against false religions4 ,the pious ,israelite was distinguished from the idolaters among whom he dwelt1 by his close observance of the sacred day3--why may not our ,lord have ordained a change in the ,sabbath of the ,christian1 as a protest against the continuing obstinacy of the ,jew8 ,of course1 these are no more than conjectures1 and though sustained by names of great weight1 they leave the fact to be judged of only as we should judge of all other facts2 namely1 by a reasonable and sufficient amount of historic evidence4 ,and this we are thought to have1 even in the scattered notices found in the sacred narrative itself1--in the frequent allusions to religious meetings on the first day of the week1 in the choice of this day by our ,lord for two successive manifestations to his disciples1 in the selection of it for the first miraculous effusion of the ,holy ,spirit1 in the special mention of it by ,paul as that on which he preached the ,word and administered the sacraments1 in the directions given to the ,churches of ,galatia and ,corinth to lay by their alms that they might make an offering of them to ,god on the first day of the week1--all passages proving1 as clearly as anything can1 that1 among the ,new ,testament ,christians1 a character of separation and sacredness was attached to the first day1 which was not accorded to any other4 ,to these revealed notices is to be added the testimony of other authorities1 which1 however lightly we might esteem them on any question of doctrine1 are quite competent to give their witness on a matter of fact4 ,such1 for example1 are the well-known letters of the younger ,pliny1 the universal consent of our ,ecclesiastical historians1 and the constantly recurring allusions to the day by all the ,apostolic ,fathers1 under the familiar and apparently well-understood designation of ,,the ,,lord',s-,,day4 ,these proofs seem to bear out the conclusion that1 from the very morning of the ,lord's resurrection1 the first day of the week came to be held of the ,christian world in all sanctity and reverence as the ordained ,gospel ,sabbath4 ,and as we may be quite sure that the apostles would never have made such a change on their own responsibility1 we naturally refer it to some express though unpreserved direction from ,him1 who1 repudiating all unnatural and constrained austerity on the one hand1 and yet having regard to the unchanging sanctity of moral ordinances on the other1 declared1 ,the ,sabbath was made for man1 and not man for the ,sabbath4 ,,iv4 ,and now1 brethren1 ,i come to the practical application of our subject1 in the apprehended overthrow of all that is dear to a ,christian mind by the opening of a great public exhibition on the ,lord's-day4 ,it is a topic which ,i approach with much pain1 not a little heightened by a fear lest strong feeling should betray me into any infirmity--into any word or sentiment inconsistent with the meekness and gentleness of ,christ4 ,but ,i have prayed to be kept from this--have asked of ,god that ,i might nothing exaggerate1 nothing represent unfairly1 nothing set down in the spirit of an ill-tempered and scolding partisan--but rather that1 speaking in sorrow more than in anger1 ,i might win you to pray against this threatened evil--to pray against it as you would against the pestilence1 or other feared providential scourge4 ,this will not in any degree lead to a slackened diligence in the use of outward means1 as you perceive from the first step ,i have invited you to take1 in memorializing ,her ,majesty's responsible advisers against this first step to a new 8,book of ,sports40 ,but still1 remember1 the thing to be done is to open eyes that are as yet blind1 and to alarm consciences that now slumber2 and this is a work to be done1 not by might and not by power1 not by wrangling and not by wrath1 but by the ,lord of ,hosts pouring out upon our people a praying spirit1 and enduing our beloved ,queen with a wise and understanding heart4 ,with a jealousy1 therefore1 that respects as well the charitable temper required of a ,gospel teacher1 as the demands of an unbending and unfearing faithfulness1 ,i may not speak of the contemplated opening of the new ,exhibition on the ,lord's-day in any other terms than as an impious affront to the honour of ,almighty ,god--as a wanton outrage upon the religious feelings of the surrounding neighbourhoods--as a cruel encroachment upon the poor man's ,sabbath rights--and as a legalized incentive to the most debasing forms of viciousness and crime4 i4 ,look first1 ,i say1 at the awful impiety of this project4 ,the terms of the charter to which a ,protestant ,queen is expected to set her hand and seal1 set forth that all entrance to this great pleasure-house is to be strictly forbidden ,,until ,,one ,o',,clock2 but that1 after that hour1 unrestrained admission will be afforded to that vast living tide1 which1 fed from tributary streams in every direction1 from the river1 and from the land1 from monster steam-boats and monster trains1 will have formed itself into a huge heaving mass of riot and profaneness at the so-called ,palace doors4 ,well1 here the first thought which must occur to any reflecting mind is1 wherefore this strange bisection of the day into two such antagonistic parts8 ,whence comes it that this stroke of a time-piece is to transfer us1 all at once1 from a region of calm godliness1 spiritual worship1 noiseless acts of beneficence and love1 to one of turbid1 distracting1 and tumultuous revelry8 ,we look1 ,i say1 for some revealed warrant for giving to any ordinance of ,god this two-faced and self-contradicting character4 ,did the ,almighty sanctify half a ,sabbath1 or did ,he sanctify a whole one8 ,and if a whole one1 where is our authority for allowing ,his claim to one part of the day1 but devoting to the world the other8 ,brethren1 these questions can be answered but in one way4 ,the entire scheme is dictated by that wretched spirit of compromise and double-dealing--that impious endeavour to unite ,christ and ,belial on the same throne1 which has ever been the abominable thing that ,god hateth4 ,for the ,infidel who ignores the obligation of the ,sabbath altogether1 we have hope4 ,he is a consistent1 and he may be an honest man2 and if so1 who shall say how soon ,christ may give him light8 ,but for the man who has light1 and who only uses it to serve ,god by halves--mingling loyalty with his rebellion1 professed homage with his insult1 in the morning crying1 ,hosanna to the ,son of ,david2 and in the afternoon1 exclaiming1 ,let him be crucified--for him we have not this hope4 ,his is the lukewarmness of ,laodicea outdone4 ,and should ,england lend her countenance1 to this dark impiety1 what can she expect but to hear from ,him who walketh in the midst of the ,churches and holdeth the seven stars in his right hand1 those awful words1 8,because thou hast not kept my ,sabbath from ,,polluting it1 but hast ,,followed ,,thy ,,pleasure on my holy day1 ,i will pour out my fury upon thee1 ,i will spue thee out of my mouth40 ii4 ,look1 in the second place1 at the outrage which this desecration threatens to the religious feelings of the adjacent neighbourhoods4 ,it may be said that1 in all localities1 religious people are the minority2 and that if a clear case can be made out of social convenience or benefit to the many1 the feelings of the few ought to give way4 ,this principle is one which ,i think it would be very dangerous to admit4 ,a pious parent may have nine lovers of pleasure in his household1 for one that is a lover of ,god2 yet he frames his domestic arrangements in harmony with the right choice of the one1 and not with the mistaken wishes of the nine4 ,and a ,government which would vindicate its parental character must do the same4 ,besides1 it is clear1 that with this question of numbers1 how many good people we have to legislate for1 and how many bad1 the powers that rule have nothing to do4 ,if they are the sworn conservators of the ,protestant faith1 and if that faith regards the ,lord's-day as an institution of perpetual sanctity1 the very listening to the plea of expediency is the betrayal of a trust2 and the acting upon it a practical confession that they look for a social benefit to the community1 by a direct infringement of the law of ,god6 ,to what end1 then1 ,i ask1 7and it is a question in which we1 as a neighbourhood1 are deeply interested17 to what end are we to have every road1 and walk1 and thoroughfare1 for many miles round this projected focus of ungodliness1 deprived of the peace1 the order1 the quiet ,sabbath respectability they have hitherto enjoyed8 ,why are we to exchange the holy stillness1 under cover of which we now meditate1 and read1 and pray1 for the hoarse harsh din of ,sabbath vehicles1 of rabble throngs exchanging their loud vulgarities on their way to the fair1 and shouting out their intoxicated and blaspheming songs as they are returning home8 ,already1 ,i am informed on the authority of residents in our own parish1 living in the line of road1 that paths1 hitherto sought and loved for their holy ,sabbath quiet1 are now closed hopelessly against all who like ,isaac would fain go out to 8meditate at eventide10 owing to the throngs of impatient ,sabbath-breakers going to see their boasted temple rise4 ,brethren1 ,i trust you will not think1--especially ,i hope my poorer friends will not think1--that ,i charge it upon the recreations of our humble classes that they are always thus vociferous and coarse2 ,i charge it upon the recreation of those only who go out to pollute ,god's holy day2 and in regard to such persons there is no exaggeration in the picture4 ,two or three times in the year we have these ,sabbath ,saturnalia now2 when the thoroughfare in front of this church presents scenes which we are grieved to have our children witness2 but which1 so soon as this new ,babel of profanation shall be reared1--this ,greenwich fair under a glass roof--we must expect to have enacted before their eyes every ,sabbath day4 iii4 ,and then again1 brethren1 look at this project as it must encroach cruelly upon the poor man's ,sabbath rest4 ,it is a principle ,i fear but too little understood by our labouring classes1 that every step taken in the direction of ,sabbath desecration1 for purposes of voluntary pleasure1 is a step in the same direction for purposes of compulsory work4 ,the principle of sanctity once given up1 the day brought down to the level of a respectable church usage1 a master may consistently say to his working men1 #8,if your conscience is lax enough to take pleasure for your own sake1 it surely cannot task it much to do a little work for mine4' ,and this principle once recognised1 that an employer may get out of his workmen a whole or half a day's more labour than he used to do1 competition or cupidity will soon make a corresponding reduction in the rate of wages1 until the labouring man finds he gains no more for working seven days1 than he formerly did for working six4 ,i have the fullest persuasion that many a poor man is spared from compulsory ,sabbath labour now1 because employers dare not1 in the face of an almost universal verdict of society in favour of the sacredness of the day1 force a workman's conscience4 ,but let society once cancel that verdict1 let the workman show1 by his presence at the ,sydenham fair1 that he has no conscience to force1--and the master's shame will soon depart from him1 and the labourer who refused to keep his ,sabbath rest holy1 will find1 as he deserves to find1 that he will have no ,sabbath rest at all4 ,judge ye for yourselves1 my humbler brethren1 who has most right to be called the ,,poor ,,man',s ,,friend4 ,but to come to more obvious and immediate mischief4 ,judging from the former ,exhibition it is not unlikely that1 on a fine ,sunday1 this huge daylight theatre will be visited by not less than #ajj1jjj people4 ,these will require1 for the most part1 carriages to convey them1 meat and drink to refresh them1 officials to take their money1 policemen to keep them in order4 ,now1 only think what a fearful aggregate of ,sabbath labour this will compel4 ,make as rough a computation as you may1 of the time during which each visitor will be using the services of some other person--at a railway office1 on the line1 in the gardens1 at places of refreshment2 and remembering that those persons whom the visitor sees1 are obliged to be assisted by many others whom he does not see1 and a result will be arrived at1 showing that for this large number to take their ,sabbath pleasure1 many thousands must be deprived of their ,sabbath rest4 ,nay1 as if this work of ruining souls could not be begun soon enough1--as if the promoters of this unchristian scheme had a very appetite for desecration1--the works are going on1 there is reason to believe1 while ,i speak4 ,only last ,sunday these ,british slaves were seen at work by one known to me1 who1 going up to the house of ,god to worship1 had to hear the noise of axe and hammer making discordant music with the church-inviting bell4 #ba ,now1 brethren1 to enable you to appreciate the magnitude of this evil of depriving men of the means of ,sabbath instruction1 ,i could wish for you nothing so awfully convincing1 as that you should witness what ,i have witnessed often1 both in this and a former incumbency1--the latter end of those who1 from their connexion with public conveyances1 were uniformly shut out from the sanctuary1 because they had to minister to the pleasure-seeker1 on ,god's holy day4 ,the recreation to him1 was spiritual and eternal death to them4 ,,he found his mirth1 but they lost a soul4 ,such death-beds1 ,i own1 present a great mystery4 ,when we see the vacant wonderment with which the dying man listens to the most elementary religious truths1 or the judicial hardness which seems proof against the most tender appeals1 or the awakened emotion which only lasts long enough to people the chamber of death with the mocking spectres of despair1 and then feel how much the blame of all this belonged to others rather than to him1--we are1 for the moment1 amazed4 ,but the answer comes speedily4 #8,be still4 ,the moral law is eternal4 ,my ,sabbaths are for a ,,sign4 ,he who dishonours them in his life1 shall be himself dishonoured in his end2 and1 grievous as may be the portion of him who has thus offended1 to him by whom the offence cometh there is a woe more grievous still4' ,oh6 brethren1 pray we for these thoughtless speculators that ,god curse them not in a granted desire2 that ,he lay not at their door the fearful responsibility of having destroyed thousands of undying souls1--yea1 that rather than give them a ,royal charter to make ,christ's little ones offend and fall1 ,he would bestow upon them1 what we have the highest authority for declaring would be a less terrible boon2 even 8that a millstone were hanged about their neck and they be drowned in the depth of the sea40 iv4 ,once more1 brethren1 ,i ask you to look at the demoralizing influence of this contemplated impiety4 ,it was the great ,burke1 ,i believe1 who once put forth the false and mischievous sentiment1 that 8vice lost half its danger by losing all its grossness40 ,on a like principle1 some appear to be contending now1 that ,sabbath immoralities will lose much of their evil1 if we can only qualify their coarseness by the externals of cultivation and refinement4 ,but sin is sin1 hide it under what mask we will4 ,whilst1 as to moral danger to the community1 it is surely better that men should even see the dead men's bones and all the uncleanness1 than that their eyes should be ensnared by the beauty of the whited sepulchre4 ,the ,sabbath-breaker now is a marked man2 he steals away to his low tavern indulgences2 he there herds with his like2 and1 as a conscious offender against the laws of ,god and man1 waits till1 under the protection of nightfall1 he may steal to his home again4 ,but if the proposed arrangement be brought about1 he will commit the same offence1--under authority1 with ,royal countenance1 on the plea that he wishes to enlarge the powers which ,god hath given him2 nay1 it is much if he parrot not1 at ,infidel bidding1 the audacious pretence that he would offer a tribute of admiration 8to nature and to nature's ,god40 ,oh6 brethren1 when will the race be extinct who seek to betray the ,son of man with a kiss8 ,but will not the project under consideration be a gain to public morals1 in regard of the lower vices of sensuality and intoxication8 ,i answer unhesitatingly1 ,no4 ,unhappily1 we are not without our precedent of these ,sunday gardens now--gardens which1 in their disposition and decorations1 appeal1 and in their degree successfully1 to the very tastes which it is among the purposes of the new speculation to cultivate4 ,and these pleasure-grounds are found to be the heart and centre of the most debasing vices4 ,returns have been put into my hands from one of these haunts of ,sabbath festivity in a country town1--described as being1 in themselves1 most attractive and beautiful4 ,into these gardens #c1jjj people have gone on a ,sunday evening1 consuming among them nearly #fjj gallons of malt liquor alone2--a quantity which1 if a reasonable deduction be made for the number of children1 would suppose one quart to have been consumed by every grown-up person1 whether male or female1 upon the ground4 ,let us1 for the honour of the female sex1 make a still further deduction1 and what a humiliating reflection is forced upon us as to the state of a large majority of the men6 ,brethren1 these are painful details to have to bring into a pulpit4 ,but when we have beaten the adversary from every other ground--the ground of right1 of truth1 of religious decency1 of national piety and honour--it may be well to see if he has any standing-place on the ground which he thinks unassailably his own4 ,and this argument1 that he will draw men off from the brutal indulgences of their own locality1 is one which the champions of desecration make much of4 ,whereas ,i know1 on the authority of those through whose hands the negotiations pass1 that premiums of almost incredible amount are being offered for the liberty of erecting places in the neighbourhood1 where the same low appetites may be ministered to1 which the ,sabbath-breaker finds gratified now in his own low tavern at home4 #be ,and then judge for yourselves whether he will be much less disposed to gratify them4 ,think of the excitement of the journey1 the sensuous fascinations of the scene1 the stimulating influence of a large living mass1 all bent on unrestrained enjoyment1 and then consider whether any other change will be wrought1 in the habits of those whom it is sought to reclaim1 than that they will do under some decorated and emblazoned booth1 what they now do in an alehouse1 and waste far more than they do already of those precious earnings which should go to buy their children bread4 ,and where the carcase is1 there will the eagles be4 ,the cunning pickpocket will be there4 ,the man of dissolute pleasures will be there4 ,the shame of womanhood will be there2--all coming from far to keep each the ,sabbath of their vocation--to worship at this great metropolis of immorality and sin4 ,many other considerations there are1 tending to make us view the present movement with deep dismay4 ,we fear it cannot bode good to the cause of ,god and his truth1 when ,herod and ,pilate are made friends2 when the ,romanist and the ,neologian are urging the same forms of ,sabbath observance2 when 8,gebal and ,ammon and ,amalek10--the man of science1 the man of pleasure1 and the man of scrip and shares1--are all intent on the same scheme of social amelioration4 ,the fear is not unnatural with us that the junction-point of this strange confederacy will be found1 not in any result which they wish to achieve1 so much as in some existing influence which it is their common desire to destroy1--namely1 the influence of that pure and undefiled religion which teaches that science must bow to ,scripture1 that covetousness is only another name for idolatry1 and that the man who allows himself in vicious or forbidden pleasures shall not have any 8inheritance in the kingdom of ,christ and of ,god40 ,we can only regard such united attempt as the first instalment of a yet more extended plan1 by which we are to become assimilated to the profane usages of the ,continent1 until every place of public amusement or resort1 from the national ,museum to the itinerant puppet-show1 shall throw open their doors to any ,sabbath wanderer1 who may desire1 under cover of law1 to do despite to ,god's holy day4 ,the constant plea put forth for these ,sabbath recreations1 that something must be done towards elevating the moral and intellectual tastes of our people1 is not tenable for an instant4 ,for1 admitting the necessity1 why should not the time required for it be taken from one of the six days now appropriated to the world1 rather than from the one only day which we now set apart for ,god8 ,but the whole is in true keeping with ,infidel patriotism4 ,it looks only on its own things4 ,it spares itself4 ,and then1 when affecting a desire to redeem time for the improvement of the poor1 like him who in the parable spared to take of his own flock and his own herd1 it will not1 by an hour1 anticipate the closing of the factory1 but demands that half the time be taken away from the few hours that are now given to the church4 #bg ,one word more1 and ,i have done4 ,the former ,exhibition was opened with prayer4 ,the act was a declared recognition of ,god's right to control our recreations1 and of the necessity of his blessing to make them either innocent or happy4 ,will the projectors of the new undertaking ,,dare to open their building thus8 ,will they1 holding in their hands the outspread charter of desecration1 ,,dare1 with the breath of invocation1 to blaspheme the ,god of heaven8 ,i hazard no reputation for prophecy when ,i say they will ,,not4 ,for1 though ,i have no right to infer that they would hesitate at mocking ,,god by such an act1 if they thought it would raise their shares1 ,i am persuaded they would fear so to mock the ,,english ,,people4 ,there is an element of veneration in our national character1 which will not suffer itself to be outraged beyond a certain limit4 ,our people1 even the worst of them1 have no love for gratuitous profanations4 ,if they do consent to sit down at ,belshazzar's feast1 yet they will not drink wine out of the sacred vessels4 ,hence1 whoever may be present at the coming inauguration of the god of this world in his palace1 he will with difficulty repress the feeling1 #8,i know this place is to be opened in utter defiance of the laws of ,god1 and therefore for me to ask his blessing upon it would be as if a robber should first kneel down and ask ,god that he might be successful in his plunder1 or as if the traducer of his neighbour's fame should pray that he might have the benediction of heaven upon his ill report4' ,no1 brethren1 if this ,charter be granted1 the building will be opened1 as it has been commenced1 without ,god1 without a blessing1 without a recognition of any power in the universe save that of ,belial1 who is to direct the pleasures of its votaries1 and that of ,mammon to fill the coffers of its founders with the fruit of unhallowed gains4 ,for the honour of our religion1 then1 for the moral happiness of our people1 for the lengthening of our tranquillity1 for the salvation of our land1--let me entreat you1 while there is yet time1 to protest against this uncalled-for impiety4 ,our voice made itself heard a short time ago1 when a crafty ,socinian influence1 at the ,post-,office1 threatened our cherished sanctities3--we deserve to lose our ,sabbaths for ever1 if that voice be silent now4 ,wherefore1 brethren1 8,watch ye2 stand fast in the faith2 quit you like men2 be strong40 ,slacken not in your exertions1 till all the weapons both of heaven and earth are spent2 until you have vindicated your character as citizens1 your rights as subjects1 your religious consistency as ,protestants1 your faith1 and love1 and zeal1 and piety1 as ,christians and as men of ,god4 ,so shall 8the ,lord be entreated for our land10 and the on-coming 8plague be stayed40 ,amen4 ,,note ,a4 ,the statement that men are employed on the ground on the ,lord's-day1 has been impugned1 but in support of it ,i have permission to cite the authority of that respected upholder of our ,sabbath sanctities1 ,joseph ,wilson1 ,esq41 of ,clapham ,park2 who saw a large body of men at full work1 with spades and pickaxes1 on his way to church1 on ,sunday last4 ,the excuse set up for this is that these men were engaged in firing the clay1 and that the nature of this work was such as not to allow of the fires going out without serious loss4 ,without quoting some opinions given by the men themselves1 denying this alleged necessity1 ,i may mention that inquiries made in the neighbourhood by myself1 convinced me that work is done on the ,sabbath--over and above attending to the fires--though carried on in a way which tall boards and the sealed lips of interested parties make it difficult to detect4 ,,note ,b4 ,the challenge to those who profess such anxiety for elevating the condition of the poor1 to give up some of their own time for the purpose1 and not to 8rob ,god10 is not put forth merely as a fair argumentative point4 ,it is a grave suggestion which has been thrown out more than once1 whether there should not be one half-day in the week agreed upon1 through the length and breadth of the land1 as the labouring man's time for recreation and self-improvement4 ,in manufacturing districts1 where labour is paid for by the quantity done1 leaving the workman master of his own time1 this half-day is very generally taken1 and long usage has appropriated ,monday afternoon for the purpose4 ,why should not the convention be extended to those who have to work by time8 ,the proposal seems to me to be worthy of all consideration4 ,let every wharf1 and mill1 and factory1 close on ,monday1 at two o'clock4 ,let the national ,museum1 and other places of intellectual improvement1 be thrown open4 ,let the paid ,exhibitions1 the ,crystal ,palace among them1 lower their terms of admission to some merely nominal price4 ,let ,societies be organized for providing lectures in the evening1 on subjects of popular interest4 ,let district reading-rooms be opened1 supplied with well-conducted newspapers1 and other periodical literature4 ,let the national school-room be available on that evening for different adult classes1 under the guidance of the clergy1 or other friends of social improvement4 ,that there is a desire among our poor to avail themselves of such facilities as those here referred to1 ,i have1 for the most part1 proved in my own district2 and should greater opportunities be afforded by employers1 not only1 ,i believe1 would a change for good be effected in the social tastes and habits of our people1 but the way would be gradually prepared for their realizing their ,sabbaths as a 8,,delight10 and1 in the refined exercises of sacredness and mercy1 keeping them 8,,holy ,,unto ,,the ,,lord40 ,,errata4 ,page #cj1 line #a of ,note ,b4 ,for 8of0 read 8to40 ,page #ca1 line #e4 ,for 8mart0 read 8wharf40 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,wertheim and ,macintosh1 #bd1 ,paternoster-row1 ,london4 ,works by the same ,author4 ,i4 ,in fcap4 #dto41 price #abs41 ,,daily ,,devotion2 ,,or1 ,prayers framed on the successive ,chapters of the ,new ,testament1 and arranged for every ,day in the ,year4 ,to which are prefixed1 ,,thirty-,,one ,,forms ,,of ,,family ,,prayer ,,adapted ,,to ,,the ,,above4 ,,ii4 ,in fcap4 #hvo41 price #es4 #f;d41 ,,christian ,,consolation1 ,,or1 ,discourses1 on the ,reliefs afforded by the ,gospel under ,different ,states and ,trials of the ,christian ,life4 ,,iii4 ,in post #hvo41 price #es41 ,,romanism ,,as ,,set ,,forth ,,in ,,its ,,own ,,acknowledged ,,formularies4 ,,iv4 ,in post #hvo41 price #cs41 ,,sermons ,,preached ,,before ,,the ,,university ,,of ,,cambridge4 ,v4 ,in fcap4 #hvo41 ,second ,edition1 with ,additions1 price #ds41 ,,the ,,christian ,,system ,,vindicated ,,against ,,the ,,more ,,popular ,,forms ,,of ,,modern ,,infidelity4 ,being the ,cambridge ,hulsean and ,norrissian ,prize ,essays for the ,years #ahcg1 #ahch1 #ahci4 ,,vi4 ,in fcap1 #hvo41 price #es41 ,,discourses ,,on ,,the ,,lord',s ,,prayer4 ,,footnotes4 #e ,lesson for the day1 ,ezek4 xx41 comp4 verses #ab1 #ac1 #af1 #bj1 #ba1 and #bd4 #ba ,see ,note ,a at the end4 #be ,the following statement1 supplied to me from a private source which may be implicitly relied on1 will sufficiently justify several of the foregoing remarks3-- 8,there are no less than seven public-houses now in course of erection1 or about to be erected1 near the ,crystal ,palace1 one of which is to cost #cj1jjj1 and to contain stabling for #ejj horses1 tea-gardens1 c4 ,the road leading from ,anerly is literally thronged from ten to six o'clock every ,sunday1 and persons of all grades are to be seen there1 some selling by the wayside1 others gambling2 and in the roads on either sides of the way scenes of the most revolting nature are taking place in open daylight4 8,a labouring man1 some two or three months since1 took a small cottage and large garden in the ,anerly road1 and opened it as a beer-house and tea-gardens1 and he now has from four to five hundred persons in his ground on the ,sabbath day4 ,many more particulars of a like kind might be added1 but with great difficulty1 owing to the secrecy observed by all parties40 #bg ,see ,note ,b at the end4