THE SABBATH. 13 



disentombed ages of divine energy illustrated. But 

 the efficient authorities among whom I would include 

 a short-sighted portion of the public resolutely close 

 the doors, and exclude from the contemplation of these 

 things the multitudes who have only Sunday to devote 

 to them. Are the authorities logical in doing so? Do 

 they who thus stand between them and the public 

 really believe those treasures to be the work of God? 

 Do they or do they not hold, with Paul, that " the eter- 

 nal power and Godhead" may be clearly seen from 

 " the things that are made " ? If they do and they 

 dare not affirm that they do not I fear that Paul, with 

 his customary plainness of language, would pronounce 

 their conduct to be " without excuse." * 



Science, which is the logic of nature, demands pro- 

 portion between the house and its foundation. Theol- 

 ogy sometimes builds weighty structures on a doubtful 

 base. The tenet of Sabbath observance is an illustra- 

 tion. With regard to the time when the obligation to 

 keep the Sabbath was imposed, and the reasons for its 

 imposition, there are grave differences of opinion be- 

 tween learned and pious men. Some affirm that it was 

 instituted at the Creation in remembrance of the rest of 

 God. Others allege that it was imposed after the de- 

 parture of the Israelites from Egypt, and in memory of 

 that departure. The Bible countenances both interpre- 

 tations. In Exodus we find the origin of the Sabbath 

 described with unmistakable clearness, thus: " For in 

 six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and 

 all that in them is. Wherefore the Lord blessed the sev- 



* I refer, of course, to those who object to the opening of the 

 museums on religious grounds. The administrative difficulty 

 stands on a different footing. But surely it ought to vanish in 

 presence of the benefits to tens of thousands which in all proba- 

 bility would accrue. 



