296 FINAL CAUSES : THEIR BEAIUNQ 



cial work of both God and man on which the character of the 

 future dynasty depends, is the Sabbath-day work of saving 

 and being saved.* 



* The common objection to that special view which regards the days 

 of creation as immensely protracted periods of time, furnishes a speci- 

 men, if not of reasoning in a circle, at least of reasoning from a mere 

 assumption. It first takes for granted that the Sabbath day during 

 which God rested was a day of but twenty -four hours, and then argues 

 from the supposition, that in order to keep up the proportion between 

 the six previous working days and the seventh day of rest, which the 

 reason annexed to the fourth commandment demands, these previous 

 days must also have been days of twenty-four hours each. It would, I 

 have begun to suspect, square better with the ascertained facts, and be 

 at least equally in accordance with Scripture, to reverse the process, and 

 argue that, because God's working days were immensely protracted 

 periods, his Sabbath must also be an immensely protracted period. The 

 reason attached to the law of the Sabbath seems to be simply a reason 

 'J of proportion ; — the objection to which I refer is an objection palpably 

 founded on considerations of proportion. And, certainly, were the rea- 

 son to be divested of proportion, it would be divested also of its distinc- 

 tive character as a reason. "Were it to run as follows, it could not be at 

 ftU understood : — "Six days shalt thou labour, &c., but on the seventh 

 day shalt thou do no labour, &c. ; for in six immensely protracted pe- 

 riods of many thousand years each did the Lord make the heavens and 

 earth, &c., and then rested during a brief day of twenty-four hours ; 

 therefore the Lord blessed the brief day of twenty -four hours, and hal- 

 lowed it." This, I repeat, would not be reason. All, however, that 

 seems necessary to the integrity of the reason, in its character as such, 

 is, that the proportion of six parts to seven should be maintained. God's 

 periods may be periods expressed algebraically by letters symbolical of 

 unknown quantity, and man's periods by letters symbolical of quantities 

 well known ; but if God's Sabbath be equal to one of his six working 

 days, and man's Sabbath equal to one of his six working days, the in- 

 tegrity of proportion is maintained. While I see the palpable absur- 

 dity of such a reading of the reason as the one given above, I can see 

 no absurdity whatever in the reading which I subjoin : — ** Six periods 

 {a=a=a—a=a=a) shalt thou labour, &c., but on the seventh period 

 {b=a) shalt thou do no labour, &c. ; for in six periods (x=x=x=x=x=x) 

 the Lord made heaven and earth, &c., and rested the seventh period 

 {y=x) ; therefore the Lord blessed the seventh period, and hallowed it." 

 The reason, in its character as a reason of proportion, survives here in 

 all its integrity. Man, when in his unfallen estate, bore the image of 



