MANY people speak disparagingly of that which they cannot put down by fair means, and seem to feel justified in the course which they pursue, though they must know that the effect of a sneer or an insinuation is sometimes as fatal as a stab, and far more difficult to ward off. All have probably heard of the Quaker who wished to get rid of his dog. "I will not kill thee," said he, "but I will give thee a bad name." And so, turning him out he cried, "Mad dog," and the poor slandered animal was slain before he had passed three blocks.
355The Examiner and Chronicle gives an example of the display of this spirit in the following paragraph:—
"One of the ways a certain class of men have, to show their dislike to a thing, is to try to fasten upon it some nick-name which they think will help to make it unpopular. Hence we have the 'Canterbury Revision.' But the name given to it by the Revisers, the men who made it what it is through so many years' work, is the 'Revised New Testament.' This is its authorized and true appellation."
We would like to ask the Examiner and Chronicle and a host of its religious associates, if it ever inquired into the motive which leads so many Christian people to call the seventh day "the Jewish Sabbath?" The Bible gives it the title of "the Sabbath of Jehovah thy God." The Lord says it is "My holy day;" "the holy of the Lord, honorable." For what reason do people "show their dislike" to that which the Lord so highly esteems, and "fasten upon it a nick-name," when the Lord invariably honored it with a most exalted title? Is it not prejudice—groundless and unreasoning prejudice?
There is quite a show of reason for calling the new version the "Canterbury Revision." The movement originated in Canterbury; and that which might be called the Canterbury Committee was largely in the majority among the revisers. They decided how far the recommendations of the American Committee should be adopted, and how far they should be rejected. And yet, for good reasons, we claim that it is not just to "nick-name" it the "Canterbury Revision." Though it originated there, the work was so largely shared by others—it so unmistakably shows the impress of other hands and minds, that that is proved to be a "nick-name," and as such should never be given to it.
But how is it with the seventh-day Sabbath? Does it bear the impress of Jewish origin? Not at all. Jehovah rested on it from all his work,—it was the rest day or Sabbath of the Lord alone. God only sanctified it; he alone put the divine benediction upon it. Why then, do people call it "the Sabbath of the Jews?" and rob God of the honor of his chosen memorial of his own work? "An enemy hath done this." It is his design to make the inhabitants of the earth forget the Creator, and deny to him the glory of his works.
O, ye Christian people; understand that nick-names are unworthy means of showing your dislike to the institutions of the Creator of the heavens and the earth. Cease this folly, and turn to keeping "his commandments; for God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."