and legislation; I would point out the sabbatical rest as necessary to man, and that the great enemies of the Sabbath, and consequently the enemies of man, are all laborious exercises of the body or mind, and dissipation, which force the circulation on that day in which it should repose; whilst relaxation from the ordinary cares of life, the enjoyment of this repose in the bosom of one's family, with the religious studies and duties which the day enjoins, not one of which, if rightly exercised, tends to abridge life, constitute the beneficial and appropriate service of the day. The student of nature, in becoming the student of Christ, will find in the principles of his doctrine and law, and in the practical application of them, the only and perfect science which prolongs the present, and perfects the future life."

This is the evidence of a physician; and how complete is the exposure which it makes of the folly or wickedness of those who would lead any man, and especially the poor man, to believe, that those who would promote the religious observance of the Sabbath, are enemies either to his welfare or his enjoyment. Nothing can be more unjust, or more ungrateful, than such a calumny. There may be difference of opinion as to the means by which such observance should be promoted: but as to the beneficial effect of it, there can be none among sincere Christians. And of all men, the poor man is most interested in the general observance of that

holy day of rest. It is especially his day, it is his privilege, which he ought to guard with the utmost jealousy, even if he were swayed by no higher motive than worldly enjoyment and bodily health. The same wisdom and goodness which caused the Gospel to be preached to the poor, secured for the toil-worn labourer the blessed rest of the Sabbath. The more that day shall be despised, the more he will suffer in his bodily, as well as his spiritual, health and comforts. He ought to be its most jealous guardian-he ought to be amongst the most eager to prevent its sanctity from being despised. It is his best protection against being prematurely ground to dust by the merciless exactions of avarice and worldly greediness; which, if the Sabbath were to lose its hold upon the consciences of mankind in general, would give him no rest from his toil, till premature death should put an end to him, and his sufferings, together.

To return, however, to those general considerations on the usefulness and merciful tendency of the ordinance of the seventh day, which are not connected with our mere bodily labour and health, it may not be amiss, before we conclude this discourse, not only to speak of the benefits of observing the Lord's day, but also to glance at the consequences of neglecting it.

We have spoken of the Sabbath in the light in which Ezekiel describes it; as a sign, to those who observe it, that the Lord is God. But will it not

be a sign that the Lord is their God to those also who shall not observe it. Yes, brethren, it will be such a sign-but a sign, not of mercy, but of wrath and vengeance. It will be a memorial, a weekly record, accumulating against their souls a weekly increasing account of ingratitude, rebellion, and impiety! God, mocked and dishonoured, will despise and reject them. The Holy Spirit will withdraw His influence from those who audaciously refuse to seek His aid through those means which He has ordained. Jesus will not be "in the midst of them," who disdain to come together with one accord with His brethren in the house of their heavenly Father. They will be left to their reprobate hearts to heap up for themselves wrath, and tribulation, and anguish.

Nay, will not the very habits, practices, and company, to which the breach of the Sabbath by its own operation leads, tend to bring on these terrible consummations? If the man will not adopt the period fixed by God, what stated time will he take? And if he has no stated time, will he not continually put off the time for worshipping God to a season which, like Felix's "convenient season," will never come? Will he not lose the habit of causing God to dwell in his heart and thoughts, and leave them empty and ready for the reception of the evil one? Will not the company, to which he will be led, be that of those of the same habits with himself? And what will be the lessons and

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examples he will, as a matter of course, meet with from such companions-lessons of holiness, or lessons of wickedness and ungodliness? Any person of common sense can answer these questions but in one way. It is, indeed, a matter of not only general remark, but of too awfully established notoriety, that there is no beginning of crime so common as that of Sabbath-breaking. It is placed upon record, in documents, and under circumstances, in which the evidence is conclusive and unquestionable. It appears, not only in examinations undertaken by the legislature, but in dying confessions of those wretched beings who have terminated a career of crime and atrocity under the hands of the public executioner, and have, with their last breath, as an atonement to the community, warned the spectators to shun the rock on which they split. They have been able to date their commencement of crime, and to trace their destruction, to neglect of the Lord's day.

Reverence God's

Hear, therefore, and beware. ordinances the practice of holy men-the injunctions of the Church. Listen to the invitations of Divine mercy and love, and to the counsels of infinite wisdom. Hear the testimony of reason, of history, of experience. And be not heedless of the terrible examples of those who, like the fragments of wreck, warn others to beware of the course which led them to perdition.

These all unite in one voice calling on us to

hallow the seventh day. They call upon us in a voice which ought to scare the trifler and rouse the indolent; a voice which ought to be heard above the syren song of pleasure, the clamorous solicitations of interest, the sneering scoffs of infidelity, or the coarse laugh of profligacy; a voice which, when habitually heard and obeyed, will dispel the delusions of the world, and set at nought the menaces of the wicked; a voice, too, which will linger upon memory, and mingle its soothing accents with the dread summons of the death call: will cause its peaceful whisper of a blessed Sabbath, an everlasting rest, to be heard, even amidst the thrilling blasts of the archangel's trumpet-awakening the world from death to judgment-the Christian from the grave to victory.