Presbyterian Resolutions on Sunday Observance
At its session in Los Angeles, Cal., the Presbyterian General Assembly passed, May 22, the following resolutions expressive of the attitude of that church toward Sunday work or amusements:— Resolved, That the general assembly hereby expresses its strong and emphatic disapproval of all secular uses of the day, all games and sports, all social functions, all traveling for pleasure, all excursions by land or water, all uses of this day as a day of convenience to do that which has been left undone during the last week, or to promote the secular interests of the coming week, both at home and abroad. Resolved, That, while we are persuaded that obedience to the fourth commandment, by the suspension of business, will increase rather than decrease the profits of any and all commercial enterprises, the general assembly does hereby earnestly urge all officers and board of directors of corporate industry and all employers of laborers to subordinate, if need be, the matter of dividends to the demands of this divine law. There would be very much more force to these resolutions in the minds of most people if it was clear that the fourth commandment enjoined the observance of the first day of the week. But the commandment itself plainly says “the seventh day,” and in the face of that statement comparatively few people really believe in their hearts that Sunday is the Sabbath by “divine law.”