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Show HOW TO KEEP THE SABBATH, A SHY SCHOOL LESSON j By G. P. RASVEILER. It was a beautiful sunny spring ; morning, just the kind ot a day that called to the hills, or to tho auto or to the ball grounds, or to the trout stream, but the boys were out to their New Movement class wfth an unusually good attendance. , "Well," said Ir. Young, the teach-; teach-; or, "I see yon are putting the lesson in practice. In this day ot Sabbath j desecration, it is refreshing to see 5 a group of liv.0 young men bent on putting the day to its best and proper prop-er use. I was arraid that this balmy weather would be too much of a temp- I j tatlon to many of you. Trout aro f biting fine and baseball bats wero i much in evidence 'as I was coming to J church." j "Yes," said tho cynic, "I tried my best to get Bill and Ben out for a1 little exercise on the ball field, but I couldn't budge them from their determination de-termination to come here. So I had i to come myself, just for company's sake." "Well," said Big Ben, "I know my body needs some fresh air and exercise, exer-cise, but I consider that, the day was meant for more than refreshment of body. It was made to refresh my Boul aB well, and I need that. I will get some fresh air before the day Is over." "That brings us right up to our lesson," les-son," said the teacher. Mr. Smith what is one purpose of the Sabbath?" "Why, for rest." "Yes, that Ib relax the body and mind, and quit all unnecessary labor. But would that, apply to brain work as well, such as office work, weekly lessons, etc.?" "Well, I suppose it would," said a high school pupil rather reluctantly. reluctant-ly. "But, Mr. Clark," said the teacher, "for what else has the day been given giv-en to us?" "Why, for worship and religious Instruction In-struction as I understand it, for I read in KxoduB that the Lord gave us the day as a sign that He doth sanctify us." 'Yes, and we arc commanded to keep it holy." "Well, but' do you think that we must spend tho whole day in going to church and studying tho Bib'Ie? Didn't Christ say, according to the golden text, that the Sabbath was made for man. not man for tho Sabbath?" Sab-bath?" chinned in the cynic. "So he. did. But ho certainly did not say the Sabbath was made for sport. The Sabbath made for man does not make for man's amusement. It means that God made the Sabbath to bo a blessing to man not a burden or a curse." "Why." said Little Bill, "I know a lot of fellows down at the shop who spend the day drinking, gambling, and in lascivlousness, and the day is a curse to them. They would be much better off without a Sabbath al all." "Yes," replied Mr. Young, "the whole man muBt be considered. And. therefore, there-fore, any way of spending the Sabbath Sab-bath which fails to help the soul, is out of keeping with the day. In fact, don't you think that the chiet emphasis must be put on spiritual blosBlngs? Wasn't the day given to give the soul a chance, because in the rush of our daily affairs the spiritual spir-itual part of us Is crowded to the wall? Wouldn't it follow then that what diversion we take should be such as will keep us in a Sabbath mood, make us more worshipful, and more sensitive to higher things? And must it not also be such as will be of a sort that will .rest and relax us rather than excite us and put w on the stretch?" "So, Mr. Sharp, what about noisy sport, or exciting games of baseball, or the shows, or hunting parties, or house parties?" "Well, I don't think that they are restful In that Bcnse, and certainly they destroy the sense of sanctity and worship for which the day was meant." "Now, when Christ said that Sabbath Sab-bath was made for man, he departed and went into a synagogue, which shows what He meant by It. Certainly Cer-tainly He did not mean to turn the day over to mere sport. His example exam-ple shows us His ideas of Sabbath observance. Furthermore, we must understand the attitude of the Pharisees Phari-sees Which He was combating. They had the -idea of the Sabbath for rest, and for worship, but not for mercy. mer-cy. They were so anxious to preserves pre-serves the day for rest and worship! that they made It a positive burden. And their rules absolutely disregarded disregard-ed the idea of man's getting any benefit bene-fit out of the day. To their idea that made no difference. It was the rule and not the man for whom God cared. So they forbade a man from using a gargle on tho Sabbath unless - he swallowed it, as otherwise it would not be eating but .working. Even a broken bone or a dislocated I joint was not to be set. nor was an emetic to be given. They had forgotten for-gotten that God had given the law for man's good. It was against this raise Idea that Christ set hlmEclf and declared the law of helpfulness. It was well, He eaid, to do good on the Sabbath day. but, by saying that the Sabbath was mado for man he did not mean that ft was made for us to spend as we pleased, for in the same breath He declared that the Son of Man was Lord or the Sabbath Sab-bath day, and therefore was to be ob-, served after His manner and direc' lion. We are swinging from Puritanical Puri-tanical severity to Parisian license. We cannot lay down rules but principles. princi-ples. Is any act in keeping with the purpose of the day: relaxation, worship, wor-ship, deeds of mercy? Thus ChriBt healed the woman bowed down and the man with the dropsy in our lesson." les-son." LESSON FOR MARCH 35. The lawful use of the Sabbath Luke 13:10-17; 14:lr6. Golden Text The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Mark 2:27. The Standard American Bible. 10 And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen eigh-teen years, and was bowed together, and could In no wise lift up herself. 12 And when Jesus saw her, ho called call-ed her to him, and said "unto her. . Woman, thou are loosed from thine Infirmity. 15) And he laid his hands-on her; and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. 14 And the ruler of tho synagogue answered with indignation, because that .Testis had healed on the Sabbath day, and said unto tho people, There i are six days in which men ought to work; in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day. 15 The Lord then answered him and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? 1G And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath- bound lo. these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath Sab-bath day? 17 And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed; and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that wero done by him. 1 And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath Sab-bath daj that they watched him. 2 And, behold, there was a certain . . . man before him- which , had th( v dropsy. V 3 And Jesus answering spake untc M the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, is I It. lawful to heal on tho Sabbath day": ' 4 And they held their peace. And he took him and healed him, and let him go; 5 And answered them, saying Which of you shall have an ass oi an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway -pull him out on the Sab- bath day? 6 And they could not answer hire I again to these things. (Copyright, 1901, by Thomas Nelson (c Sons.) I ; ! nn t ' |