His

social club, in the convivial meeting, in the streets, in "the high places of the city," in the public walks, in the councils of the nations, and in every other intercourse of human beings, the name of God would never be mentioned, nor his character alluded to, but with feelings of profound and reverential awe. His works would be contemplated with admiration, with reverence, and with gratitude, as proclaiming the glory of his kingdom, the depths of his wisdom, and the extent of his power. mighty movements among the nations would be regarded with submission and reverence, as accomplishing the eternal purposes of his will; and his holy word would be perused by all classes of men, with affection and delight, as the oracle which proclaims the glories of his nature, the excellence of his laws, the blessings of his salvation, and the path which conducts to eternal felicity in the life to come. Such are some of the delightful effects which would follow, were a sentiment of profound reverence to pervade the whole mass of human beings ;-and corresponding sentiments of love and affection for each other, would be the necessary and unceasing accompaniments of respect and veneration for their common Parent.

THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT.

"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God," &c.

This commandment obviously enjoins the setting apart of one day in seven, as a day of rest from worldly labour, and as a portion of time to be devoted to the devotional exercises of religion, and particularly to the public worship of God. It was given forth, not merely to display the Sovereignty of the Lawgiver; but to promote both the sensitive and the intellectual enjoyment of man. "The Sabbath," says our Saviour," was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath."

It was made for man, in the first place, as a day of rest. In this point of view, it is a most wise and merciful ap

pointment, especially when we consider the present condition of mankind, as doomed to labour, and toil, and to the endurance of many sorrows. When we reflect on the tyrannical dispositions which prevail among mankind, on the powerful influence of avarice over the human mind, and on the almost total absence of benevolence and compassion towards suffering humanity, wherever such dispositions predominate, we cannot but admire the wisdom and benevolence of the Creator, in the appointment of a weekly jubilee for the rest and refreshment of labourers spent with toil. On this day, the master has an opportunity of divesting his mind of worldly cares and anxieties, the servant of obtaining liberty and respite from his toilsome employments; and labourers of every class, of enjoying repose in the bosom of their families. Such, however, are the avaricious dispositions, and the contracted views of a great proportion of mankind, that they are apt to regard the institution of the Sabbath as an obstruction to the advancement of their worldly interests. They will calculate how much labour has been lost by the rest of one day in seven, and how much wealth might have been gained, had the Sabbath not intervened to interrupt their employments. But all such selfish calculations, even in a worldly point of view, proceed on the principles of a narrow and short sighted policy. We know by experience, that, on the six days out of seven appointed for labour, all the operations requisite for the cultivation of the fields, and for the manufacture of every useful article for the comfort of mankind, can be performed with ease, and without the least injury to any class of men. And what more could be accomplished, although the Sabbath were converted into a day of labour? Were this violation of the divine command to become universal, it might be shown, that, instead of producing an increase of wealth, it would infallibly produce an increase of toil and misery in relation to the great mass of mankind, without any corresponding pecuniary compensation. The labouring class at present receive little more wages than is barely sufficient to procure the necessaries of life. If their physical strength would permit them to work eighteen hours a-day, instead of twelve, it is beyond a doubt, that, in a very short time, the work of

eighteen hours would be demanded by their employers for the price of twelve,-particularly in all cases where a suffi cient number of labourers can be easily obtained. In like manner, were the Sabbath to be used as a day of labour, the wages of seven days would soon be reduced to what is now given for the labour of six. In the first instance, indeed, before such a change was thoroughly effected, the labouring part of the community would acquire a seventh part more wages every week than they did before; and men unaccustomed to reflection, and who never look beyond a present temporary advantage, would imagine that they had acquired a new resource for increasing their worldly gain. But, in a very short time, when the affairs of the social state were brought to a certain equilibrium, they would be miserably undeceived; and the abolition of the Sabbath, instead of bringing along with it an increase of wealth, would carry in its train an increase of labour,-a continued series of toilsome and unremitting exertions, which would waste their animal powers, cut short the years of their mortal existences, "make their lives bitter with hard bondage," and deprive them of some of the sweetest enjoyments which they now possess.

And as the Sabbath was appointed for the rest of man, so it was also intended as a season of repose for the inferior animals which labour for our profit. 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 the stranger that is within thy gates." This injunction exhibits the compassionate care and tenderness of the Creator in a very amiable and impressive point of view. It shows us, that the enjoyments of the lowest ranks of sensitive existence are not beneath his notice and regard. As he knew what degree of relaxation was necessary for the comfort of the labouring animals, and as he foresaw that the avarice and cruelty of man would endeavour to deprive them of their due repose, so he has secured to them, by a law which is to continue in force so long as the earth endures, the rest of one day in seven in common with their proprietors and superiors. And this privilege they will undoubtedly enjoy hereafter, in a more eminent degree than they have yet done, when man him

self shall be induced to pay a more cordial and unreserved obedience to this divine precept,-when "he shall call the Sabbath a delight, and the holy of the Lord honourable."

Again, the Sabbath was appointed for man, as a season for pious recollection, and religious contemplation. "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." Amidst the numerous cares and laborious employments of human life, it is impossible to fix the mind, for any length of time, on the divine glory, as displayed in the works of creation, on the important facts and doctrines of revealed religion, and on the grand realities of the life to come. And, therefore, if the labouring classes enjoyed no regular season of repose for serious reflection, and religious instruction, the objects of religion would soon be entirely neglected, and the impression of a future world evanish from the mind. But in the wise arrangements of the beneficent Creator, an opportunity is afforded to all ranks of men for cultivating their moral and intellectual powers, and for directing them to the study and contemplation of the most glorious and interesting objects. As the Sabbath was originally instituted as a sacred memorial of the finishing of the work of creation, so it is obvious that the contemplation of the fabric of the universe, and of the perfections of its Almighty Author therein displayed, ought to form one part of the exercises of this holy day; and, consequently, that illustrations of this subject ought to be frequently brought before the view of the mind in those discourses which are delivered in the assemblies of the saints. Since the references to this subject, throughout the whole of divine revelation, are so frequent and so explicit, it is evident, that the Creator intended that this amazing work of his should be contemplated with admiration, and make a deep and reverential impression upon every mind. To call to remembrance a period when there was no terraqueous globe, no sun, nor moon, nor planets, nor starry firmament, when darkness and inanity reigned throughout the infinite void-to listen to the voice of God resounding through the regions of boundless space, "LET THERE BE LIGHT; and light was" -to behold ten thousands of spacious suns instantly lighted up at his command-to trace the mighty masses

of the planetary worlds projected from the hand of Omnipotence, and running their ample circuits with a rapidity which overwhelms our conceptions-to contemplate the globe on which we stand emerging from darkness and confusion to light and order; adorned with diversified scenes of beauty and sublimity, with mountains and plains, with rivers, and seas, and oceans; and with every variety of shade and colour; cheered with the melody of the feathered songsters, and with the voice of man, the image of his Maker, where a little before eternal silence had prevailed, to reflect on the Almighty energy, the boundless intelligence, and the overflowing beneficence displayed in this amazing scene has a tendency to elevate and expand the faculties of the human mind, and to excite emotions of reverence and adoration of the omnipotent Creator. This is a work which the eternal Jehovah evidently intended to be held in everlasting remembrance, by man on earth, and by all the inhabitants of the heavenly regions. It is the mirror of the Deity, and the natural image of the invisible God; and it forms the groundwork of all those moral dispensations towards his intelligent offspring, which will run parallel with eternity itself. And, therefore, to overlook this subject in the exercises of the Sabbath, is to throw a veil over the glories of the Deity, to disregard the admonitions of his word, and to contemn one of the most magnificent and astonishing displays of Divine perfection. "By the word of Jehovah were the heavens made, and all the host of them, by the breath of his mouth. He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap, he layeth up the depth in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spake, and it was done, he commanded, and it stood fast."

This is a command which never was abrogated, and which never can be abrogated in relation to any intelligent beings, so long as the Creator exists, and so long as the universe remains as a memorial of his power and intelligence. Those sacred songs which are recorded in Scripture for directing the train of our devotional exercises, are full of this subject, and contain specimens of elevated sentiment and of sublime devotion, incomparably superior to what is to be found in any other record, whether ancient