Part 4

It might easily be shown, that, among the numerous advantages which the weekly rest affords the working man, is this, namely, that it gives him its rest, without diminishing, in any degree, his means of subsistence and comfort. By preventing the seventh day from being brought into the labour market, it enables him to procure a remuneration for six days’ labour equal to that which, were there no such day, he would be able to obtain for seven. Although those who degrade the Sabbath from its place as a religious institution, to a day of mere bodily rest and recreation, enjoy this advantage in common with him who regards the day in its proper character, as a day set apart for the public worship of God and the study of his word; yet, they are generally by far his inferiors in comfort and independence. It is no uncommon thing to find them, while actually engaged in some kind of employment which brings higher wages than the occupation followed by their neighbour obtains, before the close of the week begging or borrowing from him the necessaries of life. Few will have mingled much among labouring men and their families, without meeting with many instances of this kind, all demonstrating the truth of what has already been advanced, that it is the Christian Sabbath, observed as appointed by our Lord himself, that can ever really improve even the temporal character of the labourer, and that no human institution ever can supply its place, or have the same beneficial influence upon society.

To the husband and father, whose family require his daily labour for their support, and who is anxious to impart to them that instruction which is so necessary to the perfect and healthful development of their mental powers, the Sabbath is of inestimable value. Dearly as he loves to meet the joyous welcome of his little ones upon his return from his day’s labour, pleasant as it is for him to enjoy their childish prattle, while they are seated together around the evening fire, yet, having just returned, exhausted by a day of toil, while they climb his knee, and chat over the little adventures of the day, they are more to him as playthings, than as beings the training of whose minds and habits for after life is entrusted to him. This, during the six days of labour, devolves, almost exclusively, upon the mother, or, as is too often the case, it is utterly neglected, because it requires the most incessant and laborious exertions of both father and mother to enable them to obtain a subsistence for themselves and their offspring; and were it not for the weekly return of Sabbath-rest, and its opportunities for improvement, they would grow up untrained, as the wild ass’s colt. But the Sabbath places the Christian father refreshed and vigorous in the midst of his family, his mind enlightened and enriched by its instruction, and his feelings soothed by its devotional exercises; thus fitting him to impart instruction, in a manner at once calculated to reach the understandings and win the hearts of his little ones.

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What a delightful scene of tranquil enjoyment is to be met with in the family of the labourer where the Sabbath is properly appreciated and actively improved! Has the reader ever spent a Lord’s day in such a family? has he seen the children, awaking from the light slumbers of the morning, glance round on the more than usual order, cleanliness and quiet of the humble apartment, and then ask, Mother, what day is this? and heard the reply, This is the Sabbath, the best of all days, the day which God has blessed! Has he seen their father dandling the baby, till their mother should finish dressing the elder children, and then, when all were ready, heard the little circle join in the sweet morning hymn, and seen them kneel together, while their father offered up a simple, but heart-felt thanksgiving for life, health, and reason preserved, through the toils of another week; and for the privilege of being again all permitted to enjoy, in each other’s society, the blessed light of the first day of the week; that morning-light which brings to mind an empty grave, and a risen Saviour; those peaceful hours which, undisturbed by the labour, hurry, and anxieties of the week, they can devote to the advancement of that spiritual life in their souls, which shall outlive the destruction of death itself? Has he heard the words of prayer, the questions of the father, and the replies of the children; and has he not felt assured that the mind-awakening influences of such subjects of thought, and such exercises, would be seen in the after years of these children?

Or, has he, on their return from the meeting-place of Christians, witnessed their afternoon and evening employments? Has he seen the eager and intelligent expression of those young faces, as the beautiful story of Joseph and his brethren was read aloud to them; or that of Daniel cast into the lions’ den; or how the servants of the living God walked unhurt in the midst of the fire, whilst its flame slew those men who cast them in; or the narrative of the wandering prodigal, wretched and despised in a foreign land, whilst the meanest of his father’s servants were living in abundance and comfort? Has he heard their voices, each low but earnest; and then listened to the reading of the Word of God? heard the reciting by turn, some beautiful hymns, or reading some interesting chapter, or engaged in conversation familiar and pleasant, though serious and instructive; children asking questions of parents, and parents of children, concerning what they have been hearing and reading during the day? And is not he who has been the spectator of all this, convinced, that such a day is to the labourer and his children, an inheritance of surpassing value; that it is weekly adding a fresh impulse to their progress in improvement, and preparing them to take advantage of whatever opportunities the week may afford? Will not the Sabbaths of their childhood leave an impression upon their future years, which will never be effaced; an impress of superiority in intelligence and morality, and a consequent superiority in circumstances?

One important advantage which is connected with the observance of the Lord’s day, among the labouring population, is the influence which it has in elevating the mind, character and condition of the female portion of the community. Where Christianity and its weekly rest are unknown, the condition of woman is abject in the extreme; but the religion of Jesus raises her from her degraded situation, by calling her forward to engage in the exercises, share the instructions, and receive the influences of its Sabbath. The Lord’s day calls her thinking powers into action, gives her a mind and conscience of her own, cultivates her intellectual and moral nature, and gives her to man a helpmate indeed, fitted to become, not merely his slave or his toy, but the companion of his labours and his studies, his devoted friend, and his faithful and judicious adviser; not merely the mother and nurse of his children, but their intelligent instructor and guide--his most efficient assistant in their intellectual and moral training. And if we consider the influence which the training that man receives in his early years has upon his character in after life--that, for the most part, in the families of working men, infancy and childhood are spent in the society of the mother, and therefore the impressions by which the character is, in a great measure, formed, are made by her, we shall feel convinced that the cultivation of the female mind and character must have an incalculable influence upon the condition of the labouring population.

It were worth ascertaining, how many of those who have risen up from among the labouring population to adorn and bless humanity by their talents and their philanthropy, to enlighten and benefit society by useful and important discoveries in art and science, or by patient persevering labour to advance mankind in virtue and intelligence--how many of these had their minds awakened to activity, and their principles formed, by the instructions which hard-working parents were enabled to give them upon the Lord’s day, the only time they could devote to such a purpose. And would it not shed a fearful light upon this subject, could we possess ourselves of the history of the early Sabbaths of those who have made themselves notorious by their crimes; or of those, who, having sunk themselves deep in moral pollution, have destroyed themselves, degraded humanity, and cursed society by their vices? Would not such records give startling evidence of the ruinous effects resulting from the abuse of the weekly rest, and clearly demonstrate the truth of what has been already advanced, that, were the Sabbath abolished, or given to working men as a day of mere bodily refreshment and recreation, and not as a religious institution, they would soon be reduced to a condition worse than that of the untaught savage?

Yes; man is equally liable to degenerate as he is capable of improvement--more so, for he must be aroused, urged forward, forced on almost against his will: to take the downward path of degeneracy, he needs only to be left unmolested to choose his own way.

Are there those who deny this--who look upon man as not a fallen and depraved being, shorn of the glory of his primeval excellency, ever liable to sink lower and degenerate farther, unless influences from without reach him--but as a being who has raised himself by the unaided exercise of the powers of his own mind, from a condition little above that of the brute creation, to his present state? I ask them but to survey the page of human history, to become convinced of the absurdity of such an idea. Can they point to the records of any tribe of the human family which, from a condition of rude barbarism, and shut out from all intercourse with civilized nations, has ever raised itself above such a state?[3] They cannot--it has uniformly been the entrance of the missionary, the trader, the emigrant, from more enlightened and civilized nations, which has changed the condition of such a people.

[3] Such as desire further information on this important point, may obtain it, at a very small expense of time and labour, by consulting Dr. Doig’s “_Three Letters on the Savage State_,” addressed to Lord Kames.--ED.

Had it been as they say, had man been formed the being they represent him, and had the voice of God never reached his ear, had no celestial visitant ever arrived upon our planet, man had never risen one step above his first condition. If, then, as the history of mankind abundantly proves, religion founded upon revelation be the only really efficient means by which man can be raised to that state of perfection he is capable of attaining; if, as we trace the progress of Christianity among the nations, we find an advancement in civilization following in her footsteps, and an amelioration of the social condition of the people marking her progress, may we not reasonably attribute to her seventh-day rest all the temporal blessings which, as she advances, she is conferring upon the labouring population? And would not the abolition of this institution, or the appropriation of Sabbath hours to other than their proper use, be effectively to exclude those who obtain their daily bread by the labour of their hands, from a participation in the benefits which the knowledge of revelation confers upon man? No more effectual step could be taken towards the demoralization, I had almost said the brutalization, of the labouring population, than that of inducing them to look upon it as a mere human holiday, which may be occupied in any way fancy may dictate. Barbarous and degrading sports, bull-baiting, cock-fighting, and such like; drunkenness, revelry, and riot, would, with fearful rapidity, take the place of the solemn assembly.

He who would seek to enslave and degrade the working man, could not more effectually accomplish his object, than by persuading him to regard and occupy the Sabbath as a day which he might spend in amusement. Were the Lord’s day blotted out, or spent in mere recreation--were the sons of toil no more to enjoy or avail themselves of its rich provisions for their instruction and elevation--not only should we soon see religion disregarded, that blessed light of heaven, that sunshine of the sky which is chasing the shadows of ignorance, and dissipating the mists of error and superstition; which is awakening man to spiritual life, arousing to healthful activity in him all the springs of moral feeling and intellectual energy; not only would this morning beam be shut out from the sons of toil, those glad tidings which Jesus so frequently preached to the poor in the weekly assembly upon the Sabbath-day, be put without the reach of working men--but we should soon see them deprived of those civil institutions which secure to them personal liberty, and degraded to a condition of mere vassalage.

Let no one be startled when I affirm that it is the Sabbath which has bestowed upon the labouring population the civil privileges they enjoy, and raised them to the position they occupy; that it is the Lord’s day which is the great, the everlasting bulwark of human freedom. It is that moral force which intelligence and virtue bestow upon a people, which unlooses effectually the iron grasp of the oppressor; which makes their voice heard clearly and distinctly in the legislation of their country, and blots pernicious, partial, and unjust laws out of the statute-book; and it is, as we have already seen, the knowledge of God obtained from revelation, which awakens man’s dormant powers of mind, which leads him onward and upward in virtue and intelligence.

Deprive religion of its weekly rest, and by what means is it to gain access to the ears and to the understandings of working men, and their children? When is it to pour its light into their minds, and the influence of devotion into their hearts? When shall the labourer study the book of God, or working men gather together to hear, not the teachings of erring man, but, with the Scriptures of truth in their hands, to listen to the voice of that infallible Wisdom which was with God when he laid the foundations of the earth? Shall it be after a day of laborious exertion has rendered them unfit, by exhaustion, for the close application of their minds to any serious study? Alas for the advancement of the labouring portion of the community in intelligence and morality! Alas for the refinement of manners, and the cultivation of mind among them, if it is to be left to such seasons! So absolutely essential to the well-being of man does the Sabbath appear, whether viewed in relation to his eternal or his temporal interests, that, could we suppose it possible for man, destitute of the weekly rest, to become conscious of the wants of his own nature, we should conclude that he would have instituted, of his own accord, a Sabbath for himself. Those who, either for worldly gain or the pursuit of pleasure, profane the sacred hours of Sabbath rest, are not only despising one of the most important institutions of religion, but they are doing what in them lies to undermine one of the most enduring defences of human liberty.

He who would take from the working man his Sabbath, would take with it the mind-awakening influence of religion; would keep the gate of knowledge, and forbid his entrance; would throw an impassable barrier in the way of his progress in civilization, and leave him the slave of the despot, the tool of the crafty politician, and the follower of the superstitious zealot, or the religious impostor.

Let those, then, who would seek to transmit to their children that liberty and those rights for which their fathers have struggled and bled, rear them amidst Sabbath influences, fill their minds with those subjects for the study of which the weekly rest was instituted, and accustom them to Sabbath exercises; and, most assuredly, they will rise above the oppression of the tyrant, see through the devices of the crafty, the subtlety of the sophist, and the deceit of the impostor.

All the efforts which have ever been made by the rude arm of physical force, to rescue mankind from oppression, have been utterly futile; and if any one will survey the state of the nations at the present moment, he will find the liberty and the privileges enjoyed by the people, to be exactly proportioned to the extent to which general intelligence and the knowledge of the word of God are diffused among them. What has the sword ever effected for the redemption of mankind from tyranny? It may have wrenched power from the hand of one party, but it has only been to give it into the hand of another equally liable to abuse it. Has it been torn from the hand of a lawless and merciless despot? It has been given into the hands of an insolent and brutal soldiery, or a superstitious mob, who soon trampled under foot that liberty which had been purchased for them with the blood of their brethren. Every revolution which has been effected by violence, affords proof of this.

It has been the blood of the martyr--the patient endurance and unshaken fortitude of him who would rather yield up liberty and life itself, than deny the truth--the peaceable, but persevering and indefatigable missionary, whose exertions have been devoted to the spread of the knowledge of God among men, who, by introducing religion and its Sabbath, and bringing man into intercourse with his God, the great Lord of all, to whom all are equally responsible, the governed and the governor, the subject and the prince, the servant and his master; and thus, by awakening in men a sense of their personal responsibility, has aroused their minds to activity. It is the knowledge of their responsibility--of the great truth that all must stand before the judgment-seat of Christ, to give, each one, an account of the deeds done in the body--which causes men to think and act for themselves, and thus raises them above the subtlety and power of selfishness and ambition.

Although the Sabbath comes laden with blessings for the sons of men, yet let it never be forgotten, that he only whom the truth has made free, he who has left the service of sin, to become the Lord’s free man, doing the will of God from the heart, can fully appreciate or enjoy, not only its spiritual, but even its merely temporal blessings. He who has never tasted that God is good, who has never in joyful confidence committed the salvation of his soul into the hand of Jesus, will but abuse its benefits, neglect its duties, and despise its privileges.

How often does Monday morning give painful evidence of the total uselessness of the weekly rest to those who look upon it merely as a day of rest from toil, and a season for recreation! Even the rest they talk of is thrown away, and they are jaded and exhausted by folly and intemperance. Monday finds them scarce fit for the labour of the day: instead of the animal system being refreshed and health improved, the body is abused, and disease engendered; while among those who, though knowing nothing of the living power of religion, yet influenced by the customs and opinions of society around them, show no small regard for the Sabbath, how often are its blessed influences almost entirely buried underneath the rubbish of mere ceremonial sanctity! No wonder, if childhood, sternly commanded to assume the serious gravity of age, through the long, weary, empty hours of an inactive Sabbath, should imbibe a deep-rooted dislike to religion and its Sabbath. No wonder, if, in families where it is thus observed, the minds of the young should become disaffected to that religion, of which such an empty, gloomy institution is viewed as a part; that, having received such a false idea of religion, they should plunge headlong into the pleasures, follies, and vices of the world, thinking that such lifeless and gloomy exercises will better suit the weakness and infirmity of age, than the fresh and buoyant activity of youth; and thus reap the results of an irregular and intemperate life, in a shattered constitution and depraved character. No wonder, if youth, coming forth from the bosom of such families, should be easily deluded by sophistry, and, caught in the snares of scepticism, should step into the ranks of unbelievers, or sink to the fate of the criminal and the vicious.

He who blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, never meant that that day, whose first morning beam fell upon the joyful activity of a new and perfect creation; whose dawning light saw the _Son of man_ arise triumphant over death and the grave, should be spent in listless, motionless silence, or in soulless, meaningless ceremony. No; holy its hours indeed are, sanctified, set apart; not however to solemn, gloomy, lifeless inactivity; but hallowed to rest and refreshment, sacred to joy, set apart to active, cheerful, and strenuous exertion for the improvement of ourselves and others in holiness, virtue, and intelligence. Doubtless, thousands who have never felt the power of the truth in an awakened conscience and a renewed heart, are reaping many and important benefits from the Lord’s-day, in the more general diffusion of knowledge, and the advancement of civilization, besides the comfortable rest and refreshment it affords their bodies. But they can only to a limited extent enjoy the beneficial influence of the weekly rest, whether viewed as increasing their enjoyment in this present life, or as fitting them for happiness hereafter.

While, then, considering it of the utmost importance, that this day should be preserved from the encroachments of labour and amusement, that working men should be protected by the law of their country in the observance of it, and regarding it as of paramount importance, that it be preserved in its unimpaired sanctity as the birthright of every Briton,--I would earnestly, solemnly, and affectionately, urge upon the attention of those who, seeking the improvement of the temporal condition of the labouring population of our country, and aware of the powerful influence which a proper observance of the Sabbath would have in effecting their elevation, are endeavouring to call the attention of the legislature to the subject,--that, here, legal enactments can do but little; they may put down, to some extent, the more public and glaring forms of Sabbath profanation, but this will only increase the amount of secret desecration. Those who have no heart for the proper observance of this day, may be prevented from spending it in certain kinds of labour or amusement, railway travelling, pleasure excursions, and such like: by being prevented from enjoying themselves in such pursuits, however, they will be driven into the secret haunts of dissipation and vice; and thus, although it is no doubt well, that, where wickedness cannot be eradicated, it should be made ashamed to show its head, yet comparatively little good can be effected by the civil ruler, in promoting the cause of Sabbath observance. I would entreat them to bear in mind, that it is only the truths of the Gospel imparting spiritual life, implanting moral principle, bringing the will of man into subjection to the will of his Creator, and awakening the intellect, that can enable man to reap that full harvest of temporal good from the weekly rest which it is so well fitted to afford him.