THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT: OR, THE SUNDAY, THE SABBATH, THE CHANGE,
AND RESTITUTION.
THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT:
OR
THE SUNDAY, THE SABBATH,
THE
CHANGE, AND RESTITUTION.
A DISCUSSION BETWEEN
W. H. LITTLEJOHN, SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST,
AND THE
EDITOR OF THE CHRISTIAN STATESMAN.
STEAM PRESS
OF THE SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION,
BATTLE CREEK, MICH.:
1873.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873, by the
S. D. A. P. ASSOCIATION,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
PREFACE.
As it has been thought best that the following articles, which, with the
exception of the Replies and Rejoinders, have already been published in
the _Christian Statesman_, the _Sabbath Recorder_, and the _Advent
Review_, should have a still wider circulation, it has been at last
decided to present them to the public in the form of the present volume.
The occasion of their first appearance was as follows: Within the last
few years, a party has been organized in this country, whose especial
aims are the amendment of the Constitution, so that the names of God and
Christ may appear in it; the recognition in the same instrument of the
Bible as the fountain of national law; the securing of the reading of
the Bible in the common schools; and the enforcement by law of the
observance of Sunday, as the Christian Sabbath. Slowly, but steadily,
the friends of this movement are bringing it to the public notice and
enlarging the circle of its active supporters. A single glance at the
existing state of affairs reveals the fact that, at no distant date, the
issues which these men are making up will be the ones over which
contending parties will wage fierce contest. Already the press of the
country, by the drift of events which they find themselves incapable of
controlling, are compelled, almost daily, to record transactions which
are not only calling the attention of the people to a conflict which is
both imminent and irrepressible, but which are also continually adding
fuel to a flame which even now burns with a fierceness and volume
indicative of its future scope and power.
In view of these facts, the writer of the subjoined articles, while
taking no particular interest in party politics, merely as such,
nevertheless felt a profound conviction that the time had come, in the
providence of God, when Christian men should offer a solemn protest
against a state of affairs which, while ostensibly inaugurated in the
interest of the kingdom of Christ, will ultimately prove most
destructive of religious liberty. This, he therefore attempted to do,
purely from the stand-point of the Bible. Through the courtesy of the
editor of the _Christian Statesman_, which paper is the organ of the
amendment party, the first seven of the following communications were
permitted to appear in the columns of that periodical. Subsequently, the
editor of that paper felt it incumbent upon him to take issue with what
was thus published, and to answer the same in a series of editorial
articles. To these again, the author of the original communications
published a series of rejoinders, in defense of the positions assumed by
him in the outset, and in controversion of those of the reviewer. These
articles, the replies of the editor, and the rejoinders thereto, having
been grouped together in the present volume, are offered to a candid
public for serious consideration.
The reader will readily perceive that the whole discussion turns upon
the Sabbath question. Fortunately, also, he will discover that the
ground covered in the debate by the respective disputants is that
generally occupied by the classes of believers whom they represent.
Leaving him, therefore, to decide for himself as to which of the views
presented has the sanction of the divine mind, the writer of the present
preface can do no more than to give expression to his earnest desire
that the God of all truth will vouchsafe his Spirit for the illumination
of every mind which comes to the consideration of this subject with an
honest purpose to ascertain his will in the matter under consideration.
W. H. L.
_Allegan, Mich._
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Article I. 5
Article II. 16
Article III. 28
Article IV. 36
Article V. 48
Article VI. 57
Article VII. 71
Explanatory Remarks. 86
Replies and Rejoiners. 87
Article I. 87
Rejoinder. 93
Article II. 107
Rejoinder. 116
Article III. 133
Rejoinder. 139
Article IV. 154
Rejoinder. 161
Article V. 177
Rejoinder. 182
Article VI. 202
Rejoinder. 207
Article VII. 225
Rejoinder. 231
Article VIII. 254
Rejoinder. 261
Article IX. 280
Rejoinder. 287
Article X. 313
Rejoinder. 321
Article XI. 351
Rejoinder. 355
Index of Points Discussed. 379
ARTICLE I.
One of the marked features of our time is the tendency toward the
discussion of the Sabbath question. Nor can this subject be treated with
more indifference in the future than it is at the present. Agitation,
ceaseless, unrelenting, excited, and finally severe, is rendered certain
by the temper of all the parties to the controversy. On the one hand,
the friends of Sunday observance are dissatisfied with the laxity of the
regard which is paid it, and are loud in their demands for statutory
relief; denouncing upon the nation the wrath of God, in unstinted
measure, should their petition be set at naught. On the other hand, the
enemies of the Sabbath institution, in all of its phases, are becoming
bold in their protestations against a legalized Sabbath, as something
extremely oppressive and inexpressibly intolerable in its very nature.
In all parts of the country, activity characterizes the camps of both
these contending hosts. Everywhere the elements of strength—hitherto
unorganized, and inefficient to the accomplishment of great results
because of that fact—are being brought out and employed in effective
service.
Cincinnati, Chicago, New York, Boston, San Francisco, in their turn,
become the theaters where the skirmish lines of future combatants, on a
larger scale, are brought into occasional collision. The ordinary
appliances of dinners, processions, national and State conventions,
city, town, and district societies, are rapidly becoming the order of
the day, while those who are brought within the range of their influence
are stimulated and aroused, on the one hand, by earnest appeals to the
Bible and religion, and on the other, to natural rights and individual
conscience. So far has the matter now proceeded, so much has already
been said, so fully has the contest been opened, that retrogression
means defeat to either the one or the other party. And as to compromise,
this can never be attained, from the fact that the position from which
both parties are now seeking to emerge is that of toleration. Why, says
the ardent advocate of the Sunday law, it is not sufficient that I
observe the day of rest with strictness and fidelity in my own family. I
owe a duty to the public; I am a member of a great Commonwealth, which
God treats as a personality, and if I do not see to it that the statute
laws of the land are in harmony with, and enforce the requirements of,
the law of God, this nation, like all others which have ignored their
obligation to legalize and enforce his will in matters of this nature,
will be devoted to a ruin for which I shall be accountable, and in which
I shall be a sharer. Moved by such considerations as these, his purse is
open and his labors untiring for the accomplishment of that which now
appears to him to be in the line of both individual interest and
religious duty.
Again, his neighbor across the way being, perhaps, of the free-thinking
order, and an ardent admirer of the complete separation of Church and
State, wonders that he has so long consented to that abridgment of his
personal liberty which has been made by statutory provision, and which
has hitherto compelled him to surrender much of what he calls natural
right to the whims and caprices of those with whom he differs so widely
on all questions bearing upon the relation of man to his God.
Henceforth, says he, I pledge my means, my influence, and my untiring
effort, to a revolution which, if need be, shall shake society to its
very center, rather than to consent to the legalized perpetuation of an
institution which requires on my part an acknowledgment of a faith which
I have never held, and of doctrines which I detest.
Of course, all do not share alike, either in the enthusiasm or the
animosity which characterizes certain individuals when entering upon a
conflict like the one in question. In every party is found more or less
of the aggressive and the conservative elements. Especially is this true
in the incipient stages of its history. Some men are necessarily more
earnest than are others in everything which they undertake. Some are
bold, headlong, defiant; others, cautious, slow, and timid. One class
leaps to its conclusions first, and looks for its arguments afterward;
the other moves circumspectly, and, while it gives a general assent to
the desirability of results, finds a world of trouble in deciding upon
what means ought to be employed in securing them. One is forever foaming
because of delay, and fears defeat as the result of hesitation; while
the other protests against too rapid and ill-considered action.
Such is, at present, the condition more especially of the positive side
of the Sunday movement in this country. The strong men and the weak men,
the resolute men and the undecided men, are struggling for the mastery
of the policy in the camp. One sort discovers no difficulties in the way
of immediate and complete success. Lead us to the front, say they, our
cause is just, and all that is necessary to success is the courage and
inspiration of battle. But hold, say the others, not too fast; public
sentiment is not prepared for the issue. And besides, we are not so
clear in our minds as are you respecting the lengths to which this
controversy should be carried, and the line of argument which ought to
be pursued. Why, say the first, what need can there be of more delay?
Nothing is more manifest than the means which we ought to employ for the
accomplishment of our purpose. Our work is simply that of enforcement.
Has not God said in so many words, in the decalogue, “Six days shalt
thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of
the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work”? Is not this
language explicit? Is it not a part of that law which nearly all
Christians acknowledge to be binding? Do we not enforce the observance
of the remaining commandments by statutory provision? And is it not
equally clear that this should be treated in like manner? Why delay,
then? Why not move upon the enemy’s works with the inspiring battle-cry
of “God in the Constitution?” Why not at once clamor for the amendment
of that instrument, and for the passage of statutes by which the better
observance of the Christian Sabbath can be secured? Give us these, and
our victory is won. Our Sunday mails, and trains, and travel, and public
amusements of every name and nature, can be removed at a single stroke.
As a result, the nation will stand higher in the estimation of God; and
the people, having acknowledged his supremacy, will have taken a long
step in the direction of final renovation and conversion.
But wait, says another, not too fast in matters of so great moment.
Please bear in mind the fact that this contest is to be one of words and
arguments. Your danger is that of underrating the capacity and
intelligence of our opponents. If you expect to meet them successfully,
it must be by a logic which will bear criticism and examination.
As an individual, I am by no means certain that the Bible authority for
our movement is so clear and abundant as you seem to imagine.
The law which you quote in justification of our course is truly a
Sabbath law, and its import is unmistakable; but, unfortunately, instead
of making for our cause, it is diametrically opposed to your efforts,
and plainly declares that the _seventh day_ of the week is the Sabbath
of the Lord, whereas you are unmistakably occupying before the world a
position no less awkward than that of insisting that the first, and not
the seventh, is the one which should be enforced by legal enactment.
While, therefore, I am in full sympathy with the general purposes of
this movement, I am convinced that, before we shall succeed, we must
rest it upon a different basis than the fourth commandment. So far as my
individual preferences go—in order to avoid the difficulties which lie
along the line of Scripture justification for our conduct—I suggest that
we rest it upon the broad principle of social necessity, relying for our
success upon the generally conceded fact that _rest_ upon one day in
seven is indispensable to the well-being of individuals and communities.
But, says a third party, while I agree with you in condemning the
proposition that the fourth commandment, as originally given, furnishes
us warrant for the observance of the first day of the week, I can never
consent to the idea of its unconditional repeal; for without it in some
form we are entirely without a Sabbath law; a condition of things which
would be deplorable indeed. I therefore conclude that that law has been
brought over into our dispensation, and so far changed as to adapt it to
the enforcement of the observance of the first day of the week,
agreeably to the example of Christ and the apostles. With this view, I
can safely predict power and triumph for the grand scheme upon which we
have entered. Give us a Sabbath of divine appointment and backed by a
sacred precept, and victory is certain. But so sure as we lower the
controversy to one which is merely corporeal in its nature and results,
and pecuniary in its considerations, defeat is written upon our banners,
since you have taken from us all the inspiration of the contest, and
dried up the very springs of our enthusiasm and courage.
What the final result of such discussions will be, there is little room
for doubt. That a revolution is fairly inaugurated in the minds of the
people, it is now too late to question. What remains to be done,
therefore, is simply to execute the grand purpose for which it has been
instituted.
That this cannot be accomplished by a merely negative policy, has been
illustrated too many times in history to require further demonstration.
Men, having once entered the field of conflict, universally become less
and less scrupulous in regard to the means employed to secure the
desired object. In the primary meetings of a great movement, the voice
of the conservative may be listened to with attention and respect; but
should he give expression to the same prudent counsel upon the battle
field, when the sword of the enemy is red with the blood of his
compatriots, his utterances would be silenced in a storm of indignation
such as would threaten his very existence, and consign his name to the
list of those whose fidelity was at least questionable, and whose
sympathy with the common foe was far from being impossible.
So, likewise, with the half-way men in this incipient struggle, which is
about to throw open the gates of controversy upon one of those religious
questions which, above all others, is sure to be characterized, first,
by uncharitableness, and finally, by bitter hate and animosity. With
each advancing month, their hold upon the confidence of their associates
will grow less and less, and the counsels of their party will come more
and more fully under the control of those positive, nervous spirits, who
are swept along by convictions so deep and strong that they will bear
down everything before them.
Nevertheless, candid reader, it is by no means certain that there may
not be much of truth in the positions assumed by the more moderate men
in the existing issue. At all events—since we have not as yet entered
into that impassioned state of the public mind from which calm
deliberation is banished by the necessity of immediate action—let us
pause here for a moment, and carefully weigh the correctness of the
suggestions presented above.
Is it worth the while to enter the lists in the approaching struggle, in
order to secure the results proposed?
I say proposed, because, of course, the result is as yet more or less
uncertain; nevertheless, we incline to the opinion that the end desired
will be substantially realized, so far as appearance is concerned. Yet
this will not be brought about in a moment, nor will it be accomplished
without a hard fight. It must, from the very necessity of the case, be a
contest which will enter, divide, and distract families, and which will
alienate a large portion of the community from the other. But, with a
united and well-drilled ministry, on the one band, backed by the compact
organization of their respective churches, and opposed by a
heterogeneous mass of discordant elements, there can be little doubt as
to final success.
First, then, let us suppose that the policy inaugurated shall be that of
the class represented above as desiring to strip the subject of its
religious garb, and to array it in the habiliments of mere policy and
temporal considerations. Are the benefits reasonably to be expected from
such a course such as would warrant the enthusiasm now manifested by the
advocates of the proposed reformation? We believe not. In fine, so
certain are we of it, that we should not hesitate to predict immediate
and perfect paralysis to their efforts, so soon as they should inscribe
this doctrine upon their banners. How many of the gentlemen in question
are really so profoundly interested in the social status of the
working-man that their zeal in his behalf could be wrought up to the
point of sacrificing time and money, and of devoting voice and pen to
the mere work of giving him a septenary day of physical rest? What
satisfaction would be afforded them by the reflection that, as the
result of legal enactment, the carefully appointed police in our great
cities should be able to meet each other on the boundary lines of their
respective beats, on the morning of Sunday, with the accustomed
salutation, All is quiet! and cessation from labor is complete in all
parts of the great metropolis? Who would highly prize a coerced rest of
this sort? What particular gratification would be afforded to the
religious world, as they gather, in their costly churches, by the
thought that the great mass of the people were quietly sleeping, or
lazily lounging in the various places of their retirement? Certainly
there is nothing in such a state of things which offers results
sufficiently desirable either to reward them for the great sacrifices
with which it would be necessary that they should be purchased, in the
first instance, or to secure that patient continuance in vigilant
perseverance which would be required to insure the perpetuity of an
order of things at once so compulsory and so precarious. We say,
therefore, that to rest the contest upon this issue would be simply to
falsify the facts. It is not the physical consideration of rest, in any
large degree, which animates the mind and strengthens the resolve of
those engaged in the newly organized reform. No; there is something
behind all this. The informing soul, that which electrifies, stimulates,
and nerves to action, is the profound conviction that this is a
religious movement; that which is sought is the honoring of God by the
observance of a Sabbath such as is found in his word. If this be not so,
if the higher idea of Christian worship as the primary one is not
paramount in this matter, then the whole thing is a farce, from
beginning to end. Not only so; if what is sought is merely the
improvement of bodily condition, then the plan suggested is, in many
cases, far from being the best which might be offered. Take, if you
please, our over-populated cities, with the dense masses of human beings
who are there crowded together, under most unfavorable circumstances,
many of them perishing for lack of pure air, and others pale and sickly
for want of exposure to the vivifying rays of the sun, which is
continually shut out from their gaze by the massive piles of masonry by
which they are inclosed; who will not say that, leaving the spiritual
out of consideration, and setting aside the idea of the sanctity of the
day, it would be a blessing incalculably greater for them, should
provision be made whereby this should become to them a day of
recreation, while wandering amid flowers, and over hills, and through
groves, instead of one in which, either from necessity or choice, they
should still perpetuate the confinement which has already nearly proved
fatal in their cases?
ARTICLE II.
Turning from the secular phase of this subject, let us regard it for a
moment from the religious stand-point.
Is there anything in the purpose itself which is worthy of the cost at
which alone it can be realized? In other words, since the object aimed
at is ostensibly that of bringing the nation up to the point of a
general regard for the first day of the week as a Sabbath, would such a
result be one which should be profoundly desired?
We reply that this will depend altogether upon circumstances. In this
case, as in the first, mere cessation from labor on that day, which is
not prompted by a regard for the will and approval of Jehovah, could
afford no relief to a nation, which is seeking to avert divine
displeasure since there is no element in the act itself calculated to
recommend it to the favor of Heaven. To illustrate: The individual
sentenced to solitary confinement in the State’s Prison is precluded
from the possibility of laboring on the Sunday; will any one therefore
argue that there is any merit in his inaction on that day? Again: The
heathen nations, in common with the majority of the Christian world,
have many of them regarded the Sunday as a sacred day; should we
presume, therefore, that they are looked upon by the Almighty more
complacently on this account? You answer, No; and urge, as a reason for
this reply, that they have been engaged in a false worship, and have not
been actuated by any regard for the true God. Where, then, is the line?
Manifestly, right here: The men who honor God by the keeping of any day
must be prompted by the conviction that they are doing it in strict and
cheerful obedience to a divine command.
Here, then, is the crucible in which we will try the metal of this
modern movement. If, when their grand design shall be accomplished—as
the result of many labors and toils—and, even though before their
purpose is attained, it shall be found necessary for them to reach their
object through a conflict intensely bitter and impassioned on the part
of the opposition, we shall witness the spectacle of a nation bowing
submissively to the _law_ and _will_ of _God_ in the humble and fervent
observance of a weekly rest of _divine appointment_, it will be the
grandest triumph which history has recorded. No treasure of gold—we were
about to say no sacrifice of life—would be too great a price to pay for
so glorious a victory. Let it be understood, however, that this must be
a voluntary and intelligent worship on the part, at least, of the mass
of the people.
But will this be true, should our friends compass the great object of
their ambition? Let us inquire once more after their intentions. What is
it they advocate? The answer is, A universal regard for the first day of
the week, as the Sabbath of the Lord.
But what is the authority upon which the majority of them rest their
argument for the proposed observance? Is it merely pecuniary advantage?
No, say they, it is out of a sincere regard for the God of Heaven, and a
conscientious desire to fulfill his law. But this implies religious
duty. So far, so good. It also clearly sets forth the fact that God has
a law, and a Sabbath which it enforces. The appeal, therefore, must
inevitably be to that law, as the proper instrument from which to
instruct the people.
To that they must be brought, again and again. Its import must be
patiently taught, its sacredness must be thoroughly inculcated. Let them
but be satisfied by _sound logic_ that the divine statute is explicit in
its demands for a strict observance of the first day of the week, let
them be thoroughly educated into the idea that they are under its
jurisdiction, and let them be instructed that this whole movement
proceeds upon this religious conviction, and you have laid a foundation
which will uphold a structure of imposing dimensions and enduring
character, the cornerstone whereof is the fear of God, and an
acknowledgment of his presence in the affairs of men. But how is it in
the case in question? Is the commandment of a nature such as to support,
in every particular, the tenets presented by the reform under
consideration? This is really the vital point. Let it speak for itself.
It is the fourth of the decalogue which is urged: “Remember the Sabbath
day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work;
but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt
not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant,
nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within
thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and
all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord
blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.” If this is not a Sabbath law,
then there is none in existence; for, _mark it_, this is the only
instance in all the Scriptures in which it will be claimed by any one
that we have a positive command for the observance of the Sabbath. So
far, therefore, as the first day of the week is concerned, its friends
have this advantage, that, if they but succeed in resting it upon this
commandment, their labor is ended; for it—_i. e._, the commandment—has
no rival. All that is needed, consequently, is a clear, pointed exegesis
showing that the day in question is the one, the observance of which the
divine Lawgiver has required. But, unfortunately, such an exegesis would
be beset with difficulties. To begin with, Who shall be able to
harmonize the declaration which the commandment contains in these words,
“The _seventh day_ is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt
not do any work,” with the utterance of those who, on the contrary, say
that the _first day_ is the Sabbath of the Lord, and must be observed as
such? The divine Lawgiver—as if determined that there shall be no room
for debate in regard to the day which he had in his mind—has identified
it in a manner such as to leave no room for dispute. In the first place,
he announces his willingness that six days of the week should be devoted
to secular employment, “Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work:”
then follows the disjunctive, “but—the seventh day is the Sabbath of the
Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work.” Here it is made plain
that it is the “Sabbath of the Lord” upon which we are to rest. Again,
passing over the intermediate space, we come to the close of the
commandment, in which he sets forth three important transactions by
which that was constituted the Sabbath, and by which it may ever be
recognized. He says, “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore
the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.” That is, the day
which we are to keep as the Sabbath of the Lord is the one upon which he
_rested_, which he _blessed_, and which he _hallowed_. Therefore, before
the first day of the week can, with any show of reason, be kept in
fulfillment of this commandment, _i. e._, before it can be regarded as
the “Sabbath of the Lord,” it must be shown that, at some time, God has
rested upon it, blessed, and hallowed it. But this would be a difficult
task; for not only are the Scriptures silent, so far as the affirmation
of this fact is concerned with reference to the first day of the week,
but, on the contrary, they positively declare that it was the very day
upon which Jehovah _entered upon the stupendous undertaking of making a
world_. Should additional evidence be required on this point, _i. e._,
that the last day of the week, and not the first, is the one which
Jehovah intended to sanctify, we have but to cite the intelligent reader
to the fact that Moses, the prophets, the Lord himself, the holy women
after his death, and the whole Jewish nation—in whose language the
decalogue was given—are, and have been, unanimous in placing this
construction upon the Sabbatic law.
Should any, however, perceiving the dilemma into which they are thrown
by the effort to enforce their view in the use of the law, as it was
originally given, seek relief in the position that it was so far amended
in the days of Christ as to admit of the substitution of the day of his
resurrection for that of God’s rest at the end of creation week, we
reply, If such a fact can be clearly made out, it would certainly
furnish the very help which is needed just at this juncture, and without
which confusion must inevitably characterize the movements of those who
feel the necessity of a Sabbatic law for the keeping of Sunday.
Let us, therefore, carefully investigate this most important point. Is
it true that the Son of God did so change the phraseology of the
commandment of the Father that, from his time forward, its utterances
have not only justified the secularizing of the last, but have also
enforced, by the penalty of eternal death, a strictly religious regard
for the first day of the week, on the part of both the Jewish and the
Gentile world? Now this, if accomplished, was no trifling affair, and
could not have been done in a corner; since it involved the guilt or
innocence, the life or death, of countless millions of men and women,
whose condemnation in the day of Judgment for the violation of Sunday
sanctity would turn, of necessity, upon the words of one who both had
the power to change, and had brought the knowledge of that change
clearly before them. Certain it is, therefore—since God does not first
judge, and legislate afterward—all the light which is necessary for the
proper elucidation of this subject is now to be found in his written
word. To this, then, we turn; and with a profound conviction that the
language of Christ was true in its largest sense, “If any man will do
his will he shall know of the doctrine,”—we inquire, Where is it stated,
_in so many words_, that God made the amendment in question?
Should the response be returned, as it certainly must be, that such a
statement is not to be found within the lids of the Bible, we answer
that this is a concession which, most assuredly, will greatly embarrass
our friends in the proposed reform. Sagacious men will not be slow in
discovering its bearing upon the subject, and it will be very difficult
to explain such an omission to the satisfaction of cautious and
reflecting minds. Should it be suggested, however, that—notwithstanding
the fact the change has not been set forth in so many words—it has
nevertheless occurred, and is therefore binding, we answer: Although the
transaction upon the face of it, to say the least, would be a singular
one, if an alteration has really been made, the next thing to be
ascertained is its precise nature. We have already seen that the first
law was very explicit in its statements; and all are conversant with the
fact that to it was given the greatest publicity, and that it was
uttered by the voice, and written by the finger of God, under the most
imposing circumstances. Now, if Christ—whose power to do so we shall not
question here—has really undertaken the task of adding to, or taking
from, this most sacred precept, will some one furnish us with an
_authentic copy_ of the statute, as amended? Now this is a reasonable
and just request. To declare simply that a change has occurred, without
making known precisely what that change is, is but to bewilder and
confuse. Conscious of this fact, the State is always extremely careful
to give to its citizens—in the most public manner—every variation which
is made in its enactments, lest the loyal man should be incapable of
proving his fidelity by obedience, or the disloyal justify his violation
upon the plea of necessary ignorance. Shall man be more just than his
Maker? Shall Christ—who, in every other respect, has, in matters of
duty, furnished us with line upon line, and precept upon precept—be
found, at last, upon this most important point, to have been unmindful
of the highest interests of his followers? Most assuredly not. He that
never slumbereth nor sleepeth, He that knoweth the end from the
beginning, He who hath said, “Where there is no law there is no
transgression,” has certainly never required his people to occupy a
position in the face of their enemies so extremely embarrassing as that
in which they would be compelled to ignore the plainest dictates of
reason and Scripture, by seeking to condemn in the world a practice
which is not necessarily immoral in itself, and against which there is
no explicit denunciation of the Bible. Who, then, we inquire again, will
furnish us from the sacred page the precept so remodeled as to meet the
exigences of this case? Is it _larger_ or more _condensed_ than before?
Does the first clause read, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy?”
If so, it is well. Is the second in order expressed in these words, “Six
days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work?” This, again, is good. But
how is it with the third, “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord
thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work?” Here, unquestionably, the
change must begin. Who among us, therefore, can produce the divine
warrant for a reading of this passage which shall make it harmonize with
the keeping of Sunday? Who dare declare, upon his veracity, that he has
ever discovered in the sacred word an instance in which it has been so
rewritten as to read, “But the _first_ day is the Sabbath of the Lord
thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work?”
Furthermore, passing over the instructions in regard to sons, daughters,
servants, the stranger, etc., what has the pen of the divine remodeler
done with the _reason_ of the commandment as found in the words, “For in
six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them
is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath
day, and hallowed it?” Has that been stricken out altogether? Or, is
there a glaring inconsistency in the remodeled statute, by which it is
made to state that the _first_ day of the week, instead of the
_seventh_, is now the Sabbath of the Lord our God, because of the fact
that, in the creation of the world, God rested upon, blessed, and
hallowed, the latter? These are weighty questions. Upon them, virtually,
turns the issue of an amended law. For, to amend, is so to change or
alter as to vary the duty of a subject; and if no one is capable of
informing definitely and particularly in regard to the precise
variations of the phraseology, then, of course, no one is able to decide
just how far our course of action should deviate from what it has been
hitherto, in order to meet the demands of the divine will as now
expressed, in a rule which has never been seen, and which no hand would
venture to trace with any claim to exactitude. Who, then, we inquire
again, is sufficient for this task? Not one among the millions of
Protestants who are so earnestly clamoring for the sanctity of the day
in question will seriously lay claim to the ability to perform that
which would at once elevate him to a position—in view of the relief
which it would bring to thousands of troubled minds—more exalted than
that of any saint or martyr who has ever lived.
Nor is this all; behind all this pretentious claim for an amended law
are very many indications of a wide-spread conviction—though undefined
and hardly recognized by the individuals themselves—that the fact upon
which they place so much stress is, after all, one in regard to which
there are serious doubts in their own minds. As an illustration of this,
we have but to call attention to two things. First, on each Lord’s day,
so-called, thousands of congregations—after devoutly listening to the
reading of the fourth commandment of the decalogue, word for word,
syllable for syllable, letter for letter, precisely as it was written
upon the table of stone by the finger of God—are in the habit of
responding with solemn cadence to the utterances of the preacher, “O
Lord, incline our hearts to keep this law.” Now this prayer means
something, or nothing. It is either an expression of desire, on the part
of those employing it, for grace to enable them rightly to observe the
commandment as it reads—seventh day and all—or else it is a solemn
mockery, which must inevitably provoke the wrath of Heaven. These
people, therefore, judging from the most charitable stand-point, are
witnesses—unconscious though they may be of the fact—of a generally
pervading opinion that the verbiage of the fourth commandment has not
been changed, and that it is as a whole as binding as ever. Second, nor
is it simply true that those only who have a liturgy have committed
themselves to this idea. It is astonishing to what extent it has crept
into creeds, confessions of faith, church disciplines, and documents of
a like nature. But among the most striking of all evidences of its
universality, when properly understood, is the practice of nearly all
religious denominations of printing, for general distribution among the
Sunday-school scholars, verbatim copies of the decalogue, as given in
the twentieth chapter of Exodus. Yet this practice would be a pernicious
one, and worthy of the most severe censure, as calculated to lead astray
and deceive the minds of the young, if it were really true that this
code, in at least one very important particular, failed to meet the
facts in the case, as it regards present duty.
In view of these considerations, a change of the base of operations
becomes indispensable. A commandment, altered in its expressions so as
to vary its import, and yet no one acquainted with the exact terms in
which it is at present couched—and all, in reality, being so skeptical
upon the point that even its most ardent advocates reason as if it had
never occurred—would certainly furnish a foundation altogether
insufficient for the mighty superstructure of a great reform, which
proposes, ere the accomplishment of its mission, to revolutionize the
State.
ARTICLE III.
Where, then, shall we turn for relief? There is one, and but one, more
chance.
Acknowledging that the law, as originally given, will not answer the
purpose, and that its amendment cannot be made out with sufficient
clearness to warrant the taking of a stand upon it, we turn, for the
last time, to examine a position quite generally advanced; namely, that
of Sunday observance inaugurated, justified, and enforced, by the
resurrection and example of Christ. Is it true, then, that such is the
fact? Have we, at last, found relief from all our difficulties in the
life and career of no less a personage than the divine Son of God? Let
us see.
The point of the argument is briefly this:—
Our Lord—by rising from the dead, and by his practice of meeting with
his disciples on that day—both introduced, and made obligatory upon his
followers, the necessity of distinguishing between the first and the
remaining days of the week, as we would between the sacred and the
profane. Now, if this be a case which can be clearly made out, then we
are immediately relieved in one particular; that is, we have found
authority for the observance of the Sunday. But how is it as it regards
the seventh day? This, we have seen, was commanded by God the Father.
The obligation of that command is still recognized. Now, consequently,
if Christ the Son has, upon his own authority, introduced another day
immediately following the seventh, and clothed it with divine honors, is
it a necessary inference that the former is therefore set aside? To our
mind, it is far from being such. If God has a law for the observance of
a given day, and Christ has furnished us with an example for that of
another also, then the necessary conclusion is, that the first must be
kept out of respect for God the Father, and the last through reverence
to Christ the Son. Three facts, therefore, must be clearly made out, or
our situation is indeed one of perplexity.
First, it must be shown, authoritatively, that the resurrection effected
the change which is urged, and that the practice of Christ was what it
is claimed to have been.
Second, that that practice was designed to be exemplary; in other words,
that what he did in these particulars was of a nature such that we are
required to imitate it.
Third, it must also be shown that he not only sanctified the first, but,
also, that he secularized the seventh day of the week.
But can this be done? Let us see. First, then, we will consider the
matter of the resurrection. Now, that it was an event of surpassing
glory, and one ever to be held in grateful remembrance, there is no room
for dispute among Christians. But shall we, therefore, decide that it
must of necessity be commemorated by a day of rest? This would be
assuming a great deal. It seems to us that it would be better, far
better, to leave decisions of such importance as this entirely with the
Holy Spirit. Protestants, at least, warned by the example of Roman
Catholics, should avoid the danger of attempting to administer in the
matter of designating holy days; since, manifestly, this is alone the
province of God. Hence, we inquire, Has the Holy Ghost ever said that
the resurrection of Christ imparted a holy character to the day upon
which it occurred? The answer must, undeniably, be in the negative. No
such declaration is found in the Holy Word. Nor is this all; even from
the stand-point of human reason, every analogy is against it. It were
fitting that, when God had closed the work of creation, and ceased to
labor, he should appoint a day in commemoration of that rest. The
propriety of such a course, all can see. But, on the contrary, is it not
equally manifest that to have remained inactive on that glorious
morning, when the Son of God had burst the bands of death, and the news
was flying through all parts of the great city of Jerusalem, “Jesus has
risen to life again,” would have been a condition of things wholly out
of the question? Both the enemies and the friends of Christ—the one
class stimulated by hate, and the other released by the mighty power of
God from the overwhelming gloom and crushing despondency of three
terrible days—were, by the very necessities of the case, moved to action
by an energy which would cause them to overleap every barrier and to
break away from every restraint. Everything, everywhere, animated by the
new aspect which affairs had suddenly assumed, demanded immediate,
ceaseless, and untiring activity. And such it had. From the early
morning, until far into the hours of the succeeding night, scribe and
Pharisee, priest and Levite, believer and unbeliever, were hearing,
gathering, and distributing, all that could be learned of this most
mysterious event. We say, consequently, that so far is it from being
true that the day of the resurrection is one which should be hallowed,
either exactly or substantially as that of the decalogue, the very
opposite is the fact; and, if it were to be celebrated at all, every
consideration of fitness demands that it should be done by excessive
demonstrations of outward and uncontrolled joy, rather than by quietude
and restraint.
Passing now to the other branches of the subject, we inquire, finally,
What was there in the _example_ of Christ and the apostles which in any
way affects the question? If they are to be quoted at all upon this
subject, it is but reasonable that their history should be examined with
reference both to the seventh and the first day; for, if precedent, and
not positive enactment, is to be the rule by which our faith is to be
decided, in a point of this significance, it is at least presumable that
the historic transactions by which this question is to be determined
will be ample in number, and of a nature to meet and explain all the
phases of the subject. That is, the Gospels and the Acts of the
Apostles—covering, as their history does, a period of about thirty
years—will afford numerous and conclusive evidences that both Christ and
the apostles did actually dishonor the old, and invest with peculiar
dignity and authority the new, Sabbath. First, we inquire then, Is
there, in all the New Testament, the record of a single instance in
which Jesus or his followers transacted, upon the seventh day of the
week, matters incompatible with the notion of its original and continued
sanctity? The answer is, of necessity, in the negative. The most careful
and protracted search has failed to produce a single case in which the
son of Joseph and Mary departed in this particular from the usages of
his nation, or in which his immediate representatives, during the period
of their canonical history, failed to follow, in the most scrupulous
manner, the example of Him of whom it is said that, “as his custom was,
he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to
read.” (Luke 4:16.) Nor is this all; it is a remarkable fact, and one
well calculated to stagger the investigator at the very threshold of his
researches into the data for the modern view, that, whereas the Sabbath
is mentioned fifty-six times in the New Testament, it is in every
instance, save one (where it refers to the annual Sabbaths of the Jews),
applied to the last day of the week. So far, therefore, as the negative
argument is concerned, which was based upon the presumption that the
claims of the old day were constructively annulled by the appointment of
a new one, its force is entirely broken by the record, which, as we have
seen, instead of proving such an abolition, is rather suggestive of the
perpetuity of the old order of things. Hence, we turn to the positive
side of the subject.
How do we know that Christ ever designed that his example should produce
in our minds the conviction that he had withdrawn his regard from the
day of his Father’s rest, and placed it upon that of his own
resurrection? Did he, in laying the foundation for the new
institution—as in the case of the Lord’s supper—inaugurate the same by
his own action, and then say to his disciples, As oft as ye do this, do
it in remembrance of me? Did he ever explain to any individual that his
especial object in meeting with his followers on the evenings of the
first and second Sundays (?) after his return from the dead was designed
to inspire in the minds of future believers the conviction that those
hours, from that time forward, had been consecrated to a religious use?
If so, the record is very imperfect, in that it failed to hand down to
us a most significant fact. I say significant, because, without such a
declaration, the minds of common men, such as made up the rank and file
of the immediate followers of Christ, were hardly competent to the
subtile task of drawing, unaided, such nice distinctions. How natural,
how easy, by a single word, to have put all doubt to rest, and to have
given to future ages a foundation, broad and deep, upon which to ground
the argument for the change.
But this, as we have already seen, was not done! and after the lapse of
eighteen hundred years, men—in the stress of a situation which renders
it necessary that they should obtain divine sanction, in order to the
perpetuity of a favored institution—are ringing the changes of an
endless variety of conjectures drawn from transactions, which, in the
record itself, were mentioned as possessing no peculiar characteristics,
which should in any way affect the _mere time_ upon which they occurred.