Gardiner Spring, 1785-1873, was the son of Samuel Spring, D.D., who was
pastor of a Congregational church in Newburyport, Massachusetts, for more
than forty years. The son entered Yale College, and was valedictorian of
his class in 1805. He studied law for a time; then went to Bermuda, where
he taught nearly two years. On his return he completed his law studies,
and practiced his profession for more than a year. In 1810, having studied
theology at Andover, he was ordained as pastor of the "Brick Church" in
New York City. Here he remained till his death. He was elected president
of Dartmouth College, and also of Hamilton, but declined both positions.
His works, embracing about twenty octavo volumes, have passed through
several editions; some have been translated into foreign languages, and
reprinted in Europe. As a preacher, Dr. Spring was eloquent and energetic.
###
The Sabbath lies at the foundation of all true morality. Morality flows
from principle. Let the principles of moral obligation become relaxed, and
the practice of morality will not long survive the overthrow. No man can
preserve his own morals, no parent can preserve the morals of his
children, without the impressions of religious obligation.
If you can induce a community to doubt the genuineness and authenticity of
the Scriptures; to question the reality and obligations of religion; to
hesitate, undeciding, whether there be any such thing as virtue or vice;
whether there be an eternal state of retribution beyond the grave; or
whether there exists any such being as God, you have broken down the
barriers of moral virtue, and hoisted the flood gates of immorality and
crime. I need not say that when a people have once done this, they can no
longer exist as a tranquil and happy people. Every bond that holds society
together would be ruptured; fraud and treachery would take the place of
confidence between man and man; the tribunals of justice would be scenes
of bribery and injustice; avarice, perjury, ambition, and revenge would
walk through the land, and render it more like the dwelling of savage
beasts than the tranquil abode of civilized and Christianized men.
If there is an institution which opposes itself to this progress of human
degeneracy, and throws a shield before the interests of moral virtue in
our thoughtless and wayward world, it is the Sabbath. In the fearful
struggle between virtue and vice, notwithstanding the powerful auxiliaries
which wickedness finds in the bosoms of men, and in the seductions and
influence of popular example, wherever the Sabbath has been suffered to
live, the trembling interests of moral virtue have always been revered and
sustained. One of the principal occupations of this day is to illustrate
and enforce the great principles of sound morality. Where this sacred
trust is preserved inviolate, you behold a nation convened one day in
seven for the purpose of acquainting themselves with the best moral
principles and precepts; and it can not be otherwise than that the
authority of moral virtue, under such auspices, should be acknowledged and
felt.
We may not, at once, perceive the effects which this weekly observance
produces. Like most moral causes, it operates slowly; but it operates
surely, and gradually weakens the power and breaks the yoke of profligacy
and sin. No villain regards the Sabbath. No vicious family regards the
Sabbath. No immoral community regards the Sabbath. The holy rest of this
ever-memorable day is a barrier which is always broken down before men
become giants in sin. Blackstone, in his Commentaries on the Laws of
England, remarks that "a corruption of morals usually follows a
profanation of the Sabbath." It is an observation of Lord Chief Justice
Hale, that "of all the persons who were convicted of capital crimes, while
he was on the bench, he found a few only who would not confess that they
began their career of wickedness by a neglect of the duties of the Sabbath
and vicious conduct on that day."
The prisons in our own land could probably tell us that they have scarcely
a solitary tenant who had not broken over the restraints of the Sabbath
before he was abandoned to crime. You may enact laws for the suppression
of immorality, but the secret and silent power of the Sabbath constitutes
a stronger shield to the vital interest of the community than any code of
penal statutes that ever was enacted. The Sabbath is the keystone of the
arch which sustains the temple of virtue, which, however defaced, will
survive many a rude shock so long as the foundation remains firm.
The observance of the Sabbath is also most influential in securing
national prosperity. The God of Heaven has said, "Them that honor me I
will honor," You will not often find a notorious Sabbath breaker a
permanently prosperous man; and a Sabbath-breaking community is never a
happy or prosperous community. There is a multitude of unobserved
influences which the Sabbath exerts upon the temporal welfare of men. It
promotes the spirit of good order and harmony; it elevates the poor from
want; it transforms squalid wretchedness; it imparts self-respect and
elevation of character; it promotes softness and civility of manners; it
brings together the rich and the poor upon one common level in the house
of prayer; it purifies and strengthens the social affections, and makes
the family circle the center of allurement and the source of instruction,
comfort, and happiness. Like its own divine religion, "it has the promise
of the life that now is and that which is to come," for men can not put
themselves beyond the reach of hope and heaven so long as they treasure up
this one command, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy."
NOTES.--Sir William Blackstone (b. 1723, d. 1780) was the son of a London
silk mercer. He is celebrated as the author of the "Commentaries on the
Laws of England," now universally used by law students both in England and
America. He once retired from the law through failure to secure a
practice, but afterwards attained the highest honors in his profession.
See biographical notice on page 410.
Sir Matthew Hale (b. 1609, d. 1676), was Lord Chief Justice of England
from 1671 to 1676.