ALMOST every man throughout Christendom will argue the necessity of the weekly Sabbath; that man's physical, mental and spiritual wants require it. But as strange as it may appear, among them may be found many who take the position that the Sabbath is abolished, and that in the dispensation of the gospel there is none.
But if man so much needs the Sabbath, why should he be left without it in the gospel dispensation? There are no good reasons why he should not have all the blessings of the Sabbath. Christ declared that "The Sabbath was made for man." How absurd, the doctrine that the blessed gospel of the Son of God has taken away from man some of his greatest benefits! Man's physical, and spiritual wants require the weekly Sabbath; but no Sabbath men contend that the gospel takes it away from him, and makes all seven days of the week alike!!
It is well known that the Advent Harbinger (now Prophetic Expositor) has for years taken the infidel ground that there is no Sabbath, also, that its columns have been open to false and slanderous reports relative to those who teach the Sabbath. But in the number of that paper for June 24, 1854, we find the following:—
REST OF THE SABBATH.—The North British Review illustrates the importance of sufficient sleep on a parallel with the natural history of the Sabbath. "The Creator has given us a natural restorative, sleep; and a moral restorative, Sabbath keeping; and it is ruin to dispense with either. Under the pressure of high excitement, individuals have passed weeks together with little sleep or none; but when the process is long continued, the over-driven powers rebel, and fever, delirium, and death come on. Nor can the natural amount be systematically curtailed without corresponding mischief. The Sabbath does not arrive like sleep. The day of rest does not steel over us like the hour of slumber. It does not entrance us almost whether we will or not; but, addressing us as intelligent beings, our Creator assures us that we need it, and bids us notice in return, and court its renovation. And if, going in the face of the Creator's kindness, we force ourselves to work all days alike, it is not long till we pay the forfeit. The mental worker—the man of business, or the man of letters—finds his ideas coming turbid and slow; the equipoise of his faculties is upset, he grows moody, fretful and capricious, and with his mental elasticity broken, should any disaster occur, he subsides into habitual melancholy, or in self-destruction speeds his guilty exit from a gloomy world. And the manual worker—the artisan, the engineer, by toiling on from day to day, and week to week, the bright intuition of his eyes gets blunted; and, forgetful of their cunning, his fingers no longer perform their feats of twinkling agility, nor by a plastic touch, mould dead matter, or wield mechanic power; but mingling his life's blood in his daily drudgery, his locks are prematurely gray, his genial humor sours, and slaving it till he has become a morose or reckless man, for an extra effort, or any blink of balmy feelings, he must stand indebted to opium or alcohol."