INSTITUTION OF THE SABBATH. 



pointed ; no tribute of thanksgiving and gratitude 

 would be offered to his name, but the voice of 

 profanity and of execration, among high and low, 

 rich and poor, the young and the old, in every 

 social intercourse, and in every transaction, 

 would resound tnroughout all lands. No motives 

 to excite to moral action, would be derived from 

 the authority and the omnipresence of God, and 

 from a consideration of his future retributions ; 

 for his character would be reproached, and his 

 authority trampled under foot by all people. 

 &quot; They would set their mouths against the hea 

 vens in their blasphemous talk,&quot; and they would 

 say, &quot; How doth God know, and is there know 

 ledge in the Most High?&quot; &quot; What is the Al 

 mighty that we should serve him, and what profit 

 shall we have, if we pray unto him?&quot; &quot; The 

 Lord doth not see, neither doth the God of Jacob 

 regard us.&quot; His wonderful works would either 

 be overlooked, or treated with contempt, or as 

 cribed to the blind operation of chance or of fate. 

 They would be represented as accomplishing no 

 end, as displaying no wisdom, and as controlled 

 by no intelligent agency. Their apparent irre 

 gularities and defects would be magnified, and 

 expatiated upon with diabolical delight; while 

 the glorious evidences they exhibit of infinite 

 wisdom and beneficence would be thrown com 

 pletely into the shade. The dispensations of his 

 providence would be viewed as an inextricable 

 maze, without order or design, directed by chance, 

 and by the ever-varying caprice of human beings. 

 His venerable word would universally become 

 the subject of merriment and laughter, a topic 

 for the exercise of ribaldry and ridicule, and a 

 theme for enlivening the unhallowed song of the 

 drunkard. The most solemn scenes which it dis 

 plays, and its most joyful and alarming declara 

 tions, would be equally treated with levity and 

 contempt. Such are some of the impious prac 

 tices, and horrible effects which would follow, if 

 the name of Jehovah were universally profaned. 

 The very name of religion would be blotted out 

 from the earth, its forms abolished, its sanctions 

 disregarded, its laws violated, virtue and piety 

 annihilated, the flood-gates of every evil burst 

 open, and moral order entirely subverted. 



On the other hand, universal reverence of the 

 name and character of God would lead to the 

 practice of all the duties of piety and morality. 

 The Most High would be recognised with senti 

 ments of veneration at all times; and the silent 

 adorations of the heart would flow out towards 

 him in all places ; in the house, and in the street, 

 in the bosom of the forest, and in the fertile plain, 

 in the city, and in the wilderness, under the 

 shades of night, and amidst the splendours of day. 

 in every place, temples would be erected for his 

 worship, hallelujahs of praise would ascend, and 

 &quot; incense and a pure offering&quot; be presented to 

 bis name. With reverence and godly fear, with 

 xpansive views of his magnificence and glory, 



with emotions of affection and of awe would his 

 worshippers approach him in prayer, in praise, in 

 contemplation, and in all the services of his sanc 

 tuary. The whole earth would be consecrated 

 as one grand temple, from which a grateful ho 

 mage would ascend from the hearts and from the 

 lips of millions of devout worshippers, in all 

 places, from the rising to the setting sun. In 

 the domestic circle, in the social club, in the 

 convivial meeting, in the streets, in &quot; the high 

 places of the city,&quot; in the public walks, in the 

 councils of the nations, and in every other inter 

 course of human beings, the name of God would 

 never be mentioned nor his character alluded to, 

 but with feelings of profound and reverential awe. 

 His works would be contemplated with admira 

 tion, with reverence, and with gratitude, as pro 

 claiming the glory of his kingdom, the depths of 

 his wisdom, and the extent of his power. His 

 mighty movements among the nations would be 

 regarded with submission and reverence, as ac 

 complishing the eternal purposes of his will, and 

 his holy word would be perused by all classes of 

 men with affection ami delight, as the oracle 

 which proclaims the glories of his nature and the 

 excellence of his laws, the blessings of his salva 

 tion, and the path which conducts to eternal feli 

 city in the life to come. Such are some of the 

 delightful effects which would follow, were a sen 

 timent of profound reverence to pervade the 

 whole mass of human beings ; and correspond 

 ing sentiments of love and affection for each other, 

 would be the necessary and unceasing accom 

 paniments of respect and veneration for their 

 common Parent. 



THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



&quot;Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 

 Six days shall thou labour, and do all thy 

 work ; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the 

 Lord thy God,&quot; &c. 



This commandment obviously enjoins the 

 setting apart of one day in seven, as a day of rest 

 from worldly labour, and as a portion of lime to 

 be devoted to the devotional exercises of religion, 

 and particularly to the public worship of God. 

 It was given forth, not merely to display the 

 Sovereignty of the Lawgiver ; but to promote 

 both the sensitive and the intellectual enjoyment 

 of man. &quot;The Sabbath,&quot; says our Saviour, 

 &quot; wiis made ./or man. and not man for the Sab 

 bath.&quot; 



It was made for man, in the first place, as a 

 day of rest. In this point of view, it is a most 

 wise and merciful appointment, especially when 

 we consider the present condition of mankind, as 

 doomed to labour, and toil, and to the endurance 

 of many sorrows. When we reflect on the ty 

 rannical dispositions which prevail among Man 

 kind, on the powerful influence of avarice over 

 the human mind, and on the almost total absence 



