CHAPTER XTV WHY SAVE THE LORD’S DAY? BY REV. DANIEL HOFFMAN MARTIN, D. D., GLENS FALLS, NEW YORK
The only command in the Decalogue which begins with the word “Remember” is the fourth: “Remember the Sab bath day to keep it holy,” as if the Divine writer realized there would be more danger of forgetting this than any of the others, and of yielding to the subtle temptations of caprice and convenience as an excuse for violating it. “Remember” stands like a solitary sentinel in front of this solemn com mand, yet it has been chafed under, from the ancient Jew who was stoned for gathering sticks on the Sabbath, down to the Sunday saloon-keeper who, in commercializing his fel low-man’s weakness, breaks three laws, that of the Sabbath, the State, and brotherly love. Jesus declared the Sabbath was made for man, that is, for mankind. I t is to be kept holy, that is wholesomely, so that our threefold nature, body, mind and soul, may benefit. No law more wise and merciful ever came from the loving heart of God; a law as all-embracing in its design as sunlight, meeting the needs of king and peasant, master and servant, parent and child. Whence came the wisdom condensed in this fourth commandment? Not from the Greeks, called the wisest of nations, for these words were written a thou- 199
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker