"As Your Fathers Did, So Do Ye."
By Joseph Clarke
"But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil. But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine. And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men?" Jer. 44:17-19. This is just such an argument as Sunday advocates make out for the day of the sun. Our nation has been greatly blessed while keeping Sunday; and now if we wish to triumph over infidelity, intemperance, lawlessness, and other evils, we must hallow the first day of the week. Is not this great day far more important than the "old Jewish Sabbath?" This people have been greatly blessed; but is it because the Persian sun-worshipers established a new sabbath, and the "mother of harlots" baptized it? In order to retain these blessings, must the daughters of Rome now legalize it as the true and veritable Sabbath, and call it the holy Sabbath of the Lord? How can this weak argument be passed around to the world: Because we have plenty and peace as a nation, it must be because the early fathers of our commonwealth hallowed the Sunday? If this be true, why was wicked, cruel Babylon, or Nineveh, or Rome, or Carthage, blessed with peace and plenty, until they ruled the world to a great extent? Babylon enjoyed many years of prosperity; was it because her ways were pleasing to God? Were the walls of that mighty city built in justice and truth? All these Sunday laws are subversive of every principle of religion, and of religious toleration. It is a dishonor to our free country to take up a relic of pagan-papal rule and engraft it upon our free and noble institutions. But turn once more to the text. The apostate Israelites told Jeremiah that while they worshiped the queen of heaven all went well; but as soon as they left off doing this, all went awry with them. Here we see the policy line of reasoning; they wanted prosperity, peace, and plenty. What was it to them whether the commandments of God were heeded or not, if they only had their supply of bread, etc. Tested by this rule, what would have been the life of Christ, or of the apostles? Paul had all the world could bestow while a persecutor of the church; but, as soon as he became a Christian, he was driven from place to place. As politicians sometimes say, this is a bread-and-butter argument, and as such will never do to test an institution of such importance as the Sabbath. Popularity does not affect the truth; we see how fluctuating is public opinion in our own country; a few years ago an abolition printing office was wrecked, and its owner lynched in Alton; now slavery itself is extinct, and Alton would gladly build a monument over Lovejoy's grave, if that would atone for the sin. The argument of those worshipers of the queen of heaven (the moon), was a policy argument; such as Bunyan puts in the mouth of Mr. By-Ends, and Mr. Money-Love, and Mr. Save-All, and Mr. Judas Iscariot; and the line of argument followed out by the advocates of Sunday is virtually the same. In both cases the moral law, the point at issue, is laid aside and trodden down. Jeremiah stood up for the first commandment; his opposers denied. The Jeremiahs of the present day stand for both the first and fourth commandments; their opposers deny—virtually the first, and positively the fourth. The opposers of Jeremiah relied much upon their great numbers and popularity; so now the advocates of Sunday do the same. They may think the insinuation that they worship the sun is hard, but is it not logical? The papist who bows to the image of the virgin Mary, will tell you he does not worship Mary, but God; then we ask him, Why do you bow before it? So we say to the Sunday votaries, If you do not worship the sun, why do you keep his day? In the Judgment all will be counted worshipers of the beast and his image who receive his mark. Rev. 14:9-11. We are compelled to be plain and clear; God's law will admit of nothing less. JOSEPH CLARKE.