"THE SABBATH WAS MADE FOR MAN."

Evening Post, Volume XVI, Issue 285, 2 December 1878, Page 2

"THE SABBATH WAS MADE FOR MAN."

? At the Molesworth-stWft Wesleyan Church in the morning, and at- the Manners-street Church in the evening, the Rev. A. Reid yesterday preached a ssrmon in wply to an article which appeared in the Evening Post of Friday week, criticising some remarks made by Mr. Reid on Sabbath observance. There were large congregations at both services. The rev. gentleman selected as his text Mark ii. 27 '• And He said unto them, the Sabbath wa» made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." MR. BBID AND HIS v NBW6PAPBR CRITIC." The immediate occasion oF his choosing th«> text was, he said, the publication of a somewhat severe criticism iv a local journal of some remarks made by him a fortnight ago from the pulpit. His subject was at that time the difficulties in the way of a life of faith, and in enumerating soioo of those difficulties likely to stand In the path of young enquirers, he mentioned the quiet tolerance, if not the active taking advantage of, by Christian people of certain forms of Sabbath desecration, such an the departure of the mail steamers and the running of tramway-cars on Sunday, and the publication of Monday morning newspapers, which necessitated Sunday work. Newspaper criticism, when fair and generous, was one of the most potent factors for good in the civilised, world, and he would lie tbe hut to seek to curtail the litany of the Press, so long as that li'usrty was compatible with sound morels. It was possible, however, that the Press might abuse its great power, and seek to deprive people of a portion of their liberties. In a free state it waa understood that the secular Press should not interfere with the creed of any section of the Christian Church so long as that creed was not, injurious to tv« social or political well-bping of the community. In the sermon referred to he took occasion to condemn what W.esleyan Methodists believed to be Sabbath desecration. He said nothing about the culpability of auyonc eke, but carefully avoided this, as it w?s not part of his duty to. judge others. Jt might te said that he condemned others by inference, but waa he to be debarred from admonishing spme because others ourtide considered themselves blamed ? Por teaching his own creed in bis own church was he to be held up to scorn by a newspaper which claimed to be the champion of tbe public liberties ? If bo claimed something which he denied to others, the censure would have been merited; but he merely sought to persuade Wesleyan Methodists to debar themselves certain indulgences which, their creed taught, were sinful. It was the creed oi all sections of the Christian Church alike tint only works of necessity or mercy should be performed on thj Sabbath. It might be said that the churches had left Sinai for Zion, but they had brought with them the Decalogue, and the fourth commandment was doubly precious to Christians. MR. REID CHAILBNGEB HIS " NET*BPAPER CRITIC.'* He did not seek to shelter himself behind tbe bulwark of the pulpit, leaving his newspaper crilic to fight with his pen. He was prepared to come out into the open, and to publicly discuss the question whether it was conducive to

the welfare of the community that mail •toamers should leave and train-cars run on Sunday, aud that newspapers should be published on Monday morning. THE SUBJECT CONSIDERED PROM A TEMPORAL POINT OF VIEW. He proposed to consider the subject from both a temporal and a spiritual stand-point. The law of the Sabbath was the law of graceit proclaimed tor all a day of complete rest from all ordinary toil. The Bible decreed that every man was to be a gentleman for one day out of the seven— that for one day he should he free to enjoy the sweeU of home-life without tliecare3 or the work-a-day world obtruding themselves. THB DEPARTURE OP THE MAIL BTBAMBBS. The departure of the mail steamers interfered with this law. There was work to be done at the post office to get tbejmails ready— on the wharf, to get the passengers' luggage on board— and on tho steamer itself* Thus a few were made to labor under a grievous disability in order to fulfil the demand of rude-handed and iron-hearted Mammon This was a national net and a national disgrace. The lemedy lay la the hands of the working men of New Zealand, who were sufficiently powerful to send their own representatives to Parliament— they could say that these sailors, and engineers, and stewards should not ba compelled to work for seven days in tbe week, until tbe fathers' hearts grew stony and the sons' faces stern— they could stop the tears of the wife, of the mother, and of the children. Looking at this picture, who would stand up and speak fcr Mammon ? OH ! BUT THE TBAM-CARB. Then one might say " Oh ! but the tramcaw; they are a great public convenience." The carriages were comfortable, the travelling was easy, and, boot of all, no tired horses were deprived of their day of rest. Granted all this— but how about the engineors and guards ? Were they not entitled to rest ? Yet luxury sought to impose stitl fresh disabilities on a downtrodden class— another wanton outrage upon the rights of humanity. If any men were entitled to be gentlemen one day in the seven those men were the drivers and guards of the tram-cars, upon whose ever watchful vigilance the safety of the public so much depended. But Mr. Public, Mrs. Public, and Miss Public wanted the cars, and so they were run on the Sabbath. Why did not the engineers and the guards tell the directors that they would not have this thing ? He was sufficient of a Radical to tell them from the pulpit to do this. Recreation ! Was it recreation to be packed closely in a narrow omnibus, or to hang precariously on the steps ? Health ! Was «t conducive to health to go, thus tightly packed, through tho low-lying streets ? It was simply absurd ! Those who wanted to reach the country could always walk there, for Wellington was sufficiently within reach of the open country. MONDAY-MORNING NEWSPAPERS When speaking on this subject before, he advised them to throw their Monday-morning newspapers behind the fire, as a sort of protest against Sunday work. It might be better if they instructed tho newsboys not to leave the paper on Monday morning. But he knew something of newspapers, and he said that the Monday morning's paper could be brought out without •Sundny labor. All the necessary work might be done on Saturday night — he knew one instance in which this was done. But even if this wero impracticable in all cases, tbe greater portion of the work could be done on Saturday, leaving very little for Sunday. Why not bring out a smaller paper on Mondays? The newspaper was the Bible of tha masses, and it was well that tbe teachers of the masses should be pure, or their teachings could not be pure. Was it wnll that those who moulded and formed public opinion should come to have an habitual disregard for the Sabbath ? TIE RELIGIOUS ASPBCT OF THE QUESTION. Mr. Reid then briefly touched upnn the religious or spiritual aspect of the question. The Sabbath, he said, was made for man as a probationer, that he might prepare himself for eternity. The word "probationer" implied that there was an element of discipline in the Sabbath, and that element of discipline was to be found in the due balance between the cravings of the senses and the healthy and lpgitiroate cravings of the spiritual nature. The proposals of his newspaper critic would tend directly to disturb this balance. THB SCOTCH SABBATH. Mr. Reid concluded by objecting to the remarks made in the article in the Post upon the Scotch Sabbatb, saying that his remembrances of the Sabbath in Scotland were very different from those of his critic. He recollected it 89 tho happiest and brightest day of the seven.