formity to the world in its drinking customs be the more influential for evil and not for good; or at least prove, more or less, a barrier to the breaking down of these customs? How careful, therefore, should all professing Christians be lest their conformity to the world in this, if not in other things, operate as a practical stumblingblock to their fellow-saints and fellow-sinners, if not to themselves; and "their table become a snare before them, and that which should have been for their welfare, a trap?" With you, my dear readers, who profess to be Christ's, are you, or are you not, conformed to the world in this respect? If not, is it, in the spirit of Christian love, going too far to say that you are not such true practical non-conformists as the times require, nor such true practical Christians as Scripture commands; or such as your duty to Christ, to yourselves, and to others, imperatively demands? CHAPTER X. NON-CONFORMITY TO THE WORLD "Hail! sacred day of holy thought, BUT again, all true Christians must "not be conformed to this world" in the practice of any kind of Sabbath profanation. To glance at the authority which we have for observing one day in seven altogether differently from the rest—we need scarcely remark, that the institution of the Sabbath was coeval with the creation of the world. For, while we read that "God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good; and the evening and the morning were the sixth day," it is added, that "God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it; because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made." Thus, the Sabbath became the "weekly memorial of the finished work of Jehovah-Jesus in creation,” or of his creationrest. On this account itself, the Sabbath cannot be said to be a Jewish, but an Edenic institute; and in this respect, it resembles the ordinance of marriage. From the circumstance also, that Cain and Abel, "in process of time," or literally "at the end of days," that is, at the close of the week, brought severally an offering to the Lord-the one of the fruits of the ground, the other of the firstlings of his flock, as a type of Christ, the true atoning sacrifice-it would seem that from the earliest age, the Sabbath was that day which was specially appropriated for the worship of God. From the most ancient records, likewise, of profane history, it appears that the seventh day was universally regarded as "a sacred, holy day." Accordingly, after the Israelites were delivered from the bondage of Egypt, where the observance of the Sabbath had most probably fallen into abeyance, when God gave them manna in the desert, we find the Sabbath then expressly referred to, not as a new, but as an established divine ordinance, as when it is said, "to-morrow is the rest," or sabbatism, " of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord; see, for that the Lord hath given you the Sabbath; therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days." And as the people at once looked upon the Sabbath in this light without any explanation, so they "gathered twice as much bread on the sixth day" as on any other. In like manner, when God promulgated the moral law from mount Sinai, we find the commandment which refers to the Sabbath, not only occupying the central place in that law, but spoken of in a manner peculiar to itself, yet not as a new institution. For the words, "remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy," clearly imply that it was not then first enacted, but rather renewed, ratified, and reinforced. As to the manner, also, in which we are to keep the Sabbath "holy," we may briefly add, that while it is said, "thou shalt not do any work," that is, any work but works of necessity and mercy, and "all holy ministries of love," in order to "keep the Sabbath from polluting it," we are also called upon to "turn away our foot from doing our pleasure on that holy day, and call it a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and honour him, not doing our own ways, nor finding our own pleasure, nor speaking our own words." Under the Christian dispensation, indeed, there has taken place a change in the observance of the Sabbath from the seventh, to the first day of the week. But, this change has taken place strictly in accordance with Scripture type. For, just as upon the redemption of the Israelites from the bondage of Egypt, the seventh month was ever afterwards to be to them the first month of the H year, or the beginning of months; so, upon the accomplishment by Christ of our redemption from the bondage of sin, which was infinitely worse than that of Egypt, what was the seventh day, as the Sabbath, was ever afterwards to be the first-the beginning of days. This change has, also, taken place strictly in accordance with Scripture prophecy. For, while it was predicted of Christ, long previous to his incarnation, that "the stone which the builders refused should become the head-stone of the corner;" as to the day when this would be demonstrated, and the happiness which would result from this day in the experience of God's people, it was added, "this the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice, and be glad in it." And this day, we know, was "the first day of the week," when Christ rose from the dead, and was thus "declared to be the Son of God with power." This change has, likewise, taken place strictly on the authority of Apostolic example. For, not only immediately after Christ's resurrection do we read of the Apostles meeting together on the first day of the week, but long posterior to that time. The Apostle John, also, who was the longest lived of them all, expressly says of the Christian Sabbath, in connection with the high honour which he enjoyed on it, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day." And being, as the |