In Him there dwelt an authority, which sufficed not merely for the lenient and merciful interpretation of the sabbatical law, or for the relaxing of its literal rigour, but even, should he see meet, for its total abolition.

But while Jesus demanded mercy and not sacrifice, he maintained the law of God in all its spiritual intent-in all its genuine vigour. There is nothing in this transaction, or in any similar one recorded in the New Testament, which weakens the fourth commandment as reasonably interpreted, and as forming a constituent part of the "perfect law of liberty," James 1:25. This observation is confirmed by the remainder of the narrative: "And when

he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue; and behold there was a man which had his hand withered; and they asked him saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath-days? that they might accuse him. And he said unto them, what man shall there be among you that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath-day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbathdays. Then said he to the man, stretch forth thine hand; and he stretched it forth, and it was restored whole like the other," Matt. 12: 9: 13. Here it is evident, that while our Lord makes an allowance for works of necessity, and by his glorious example invites to works of mercy, on the Sabbath-day; he places both on the simple ground of their lawfulness, and thus maintains the law inviolate.

It appears then, 1. That at the time when our Saviour was on earth, the Jews were no longer prone to the neglect of any outward rite, but were strong in the forms of religion, though not in its power.

2. That in this spirit they punctiliously observed the Sabbath, with a variety of curious ceremonies, and under many superstitious notions.

3. That while our Saviour rebuked their formality, contradicted their superstitions, and even relaxed the literal rigour of their law, he maintained that law in its substance and spirit, by his support of the ten commandments in general, by his customary attendance of the synagogue worship, and by a frequently implied acknowledgement of the obligation of the Sabbath, within its true scope.

The evangelist Mark has recorded another of our Lord's sayings, a brief view of which may fitly conclude the discussion of this branch of our subject. "THE SABBATH,' ," said Jesus, WAS MADE FOR MAN, AND NOT MAN FOR THE SABBATH," Mark 2: 27.

When the Jews gave their chief attention to the literal and outward fulfilment of the sabbatical law; when they added to that law very numerous traditions of their own; when they carried their superstitions on the subject into frivolous and childish absurdities; when they strained at the gnat in this matter, while in others they were swallowing the camel; they acted as if man was made for the Sabbath.

But their error was radical; they mistook the very nature and principle of the divine commandments. The Sabbath, like every other part of the moral law of God, was made for man-not for the Jew alone, but for our species. It is a gift bestowed upon us, in perfect wisdom and pure benevolence, for the refreshment of our bodies and for the improvement of our souls; for enabling us to commune at leisure with our God and Father; for promoting our piety, our virtue, and our happiness.

CHAPTER IV.

ON THE CHRISTIAN SABBATH.

SUFFICIENT proof, I trust, has now been adduced, that a weekly Sabbath was ordained from the beginning of the world for the welfare of mankind; that among the ancient Israelites this general law was carefully maintained, with the addition of some peculiar provisions; and that although our Saviour rebuked the folly of Jewish superstition, in relation to the Sabbath, and even relaxed the strictness of the Mosaic precept, he gave his clear sanction to the institution itself.

How then are we to observe the Sabbath under the Christian dispensation? Not as a rite, accompanied with Jewish ceremonies, and guarded with a legal severity; but in its original simplicity, and in Christian liberty; in such a manner as will best remind us of the blessings bestowed on man, through the coming of our Redeemer.

Within half a century of the death of Christ, the national polity of the Jews was brought to its termination. Their city and temple were destroyed, their priesthood abrogated; and the people, though destined in all ages to be marked and separate, were scattered among Gentile nations, over the face of the

earth. This therefore was the end of their civil law. With respect to their ceremonial law, all Christians allow that the whole of it was virtually abolished, when the great Antitype had offered up himself on the cross, as an atonement for the sins of the world. Now the law of the Sabbath was differently circumstanced from any other part of the Mosaic institutions. It assumed a mixed character. In its main features, it belonged to an unalterable moral code. In other particulars, it bore a merely Jewish and ceremonial character. In the former respect therefore it continues unchanged; in the latter, its authority died away with the peculiar dispensation to which it belonged.

Although these conclusions are derived from clear premises, yet in point of fact the change from the Mosaic to the Christian Sabbath, was a gradual work. The Jews who believed in Christ, were very slow to give up the practices of their ancestors, and under their influence, even the Gentile believers were prone to forsake the true ground of the Christian's hope, and to place their dependence on the ceremonies of an obsolete law. It was by degrees only, as the light of the gospel more and more abounded, that the primitive Christians escaped from all the shackles of Judaism, and rejoiced in the liberty wherewith Christ had made them free.

As a matter of course, therefore, the Jewish believers in the earliest age of Christianity, continued (as Ignatius expresses it) to sab