God, they include in the first; and the last six, which speak of the duties we owe to ourselves and to one another, in the other part; leaving out the fourth, which relates to the duties we owe, connectedly, to ourselves and our God-to our families, the stranger residing with us, and to our cattle.

It appears from the history, that God divided them into two classes, or wrote them on two tables; but he did not leave out the fourth, neither did he leave it for Moses to write, but he wrote it; and, lest it should not hold that important place which belonged to it, he was particular, at both times, when he wrote the commands, to place it, as it were, " in the bosom of the decalogue," where it must stand as a connecting link, till heaven and earth shall pass away.

We must, therefore, necessarily come to the conclusion, that the Sabbath was instituted when God had finished the work of creation, and was designed for all men to the end of time. It must be evident to most persons that are accustomed to reason and think, that this is the correct conclusion; for God has long been dealing with us Gentiles as he once dealt with his people Israel. He governs us by the same laws, and encourages us by the same promises.

OBSECTION III.—" BUT THE MORAL LAW, OR TEN COMMANDMENTS, HAS BEEN ABROGATED."

The objector to the Sabbath also meets us often with the assertion, that the moral law, or ten commandments, has been abrogated. There was given to the Jews a moral, ceremonial, and judicial law. One or more of these may have been abolished and the other still remain in full, if not augmented force. We shall see if the latter is not the case with the whole of the moral law, or ten commandments. Infidels, and all those who would give full license to their covetous desires and unholy passions, often quote Paul, Acts xv. 5, 24, to prove that the law, meaning the law of the Sabbath, and indeed the whole decalogue, is now no longer in force. Some of them would have no law, neither moral nor civil. Say they, let public sentiment be the only law to regulate men's actions. But it may be well to see how Christ and his apostles understood this matter.

In the first place, then, in Mat. v. 17-19, in the memorable Sermon on the Mount, we find Christ using this language,“Think not [for some at that day talked just as infidels and deists now do] that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." But, it is asked, What law is here spoken of, the ceremonial, or moral? Not the former, of course; for that, as a matter of fact, was destroyed, i. e. abrogated, at his death; which is implied in the wall of partition between Jews and Gentiles being, by that event, broken down. The apostles too throw the whole weight of their inspired teachings and divinely bestowed authority, against the observance of the ceremonial law. Christ, then, did come to destroy that law. But he fulfilled the moral law, in his own person; he inculcated it in its purity, and as one having authority; his whole system of morality is based upon it. If he came to destroy the moral law, he came to undo his own work, the effect of his own mission. But Christ, in the succeeding verse, has put the matter for ever at rest. "Whosoever, therefore, shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so," &c.; commandments, i. e. the moral law, which no man may break, no, not the least of them.

"One jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." All the prophecies must be fulfilled; for he came not to destroy them. But all the prophecies are not yet fulfilled; therefore, not one jot or tittle of the law, of which Christ spoke, can pass away, until such fulfilment. Consequently he spoke of the ten commandments, the moral law. Now, who dare take from this law, from these commandments, the law of the Sabbath? Would the fourth precept be not so much as a jot or tittle, or one of the least of them? If not, then Christ may not call the man who tears it from the decalogue, to account for his conduct. But be it remembered by all who would go to heaven, that their righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and the Pharisees, far exceed it, or they will finally fail of reaching that holy place. The whole of the decalogue, then, as written by the finger of God on tables of stone,

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and all the prophecies, remain as they were at Christ's coming. The law is still, and for ever shall be, every word of it, in force; and all the prophecies shall be accomplished. The ceremonial law, and things typical of Christ, were abrogated when he hung upon the cross, and these only. The day of rest, then, necessarily reverted back, as the object of the first change was accomplished.

MAT. xxii. 36, 37. “Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto them, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

This Pharisee, who was a lawyer, understood what was meant by" the law and the prophets:" he evidently anticipated the answer he received. No sooner was the question propounded, than Christ gave the answer. This he did by including in one commandment the sum of all that was contained in the first table of the law, touching his duty to God; and in the other, the sum of all that was written on the second table of the law, or ten commandments, touching his duty to man; assuring the lawyer, that these two commandments were the foundation, on which all the law and the prophets stood: they were built on these two main pillars. Unless these were observed, the prophecies could not be fulfilled, nor would any of the ceremonial or judicial laws avail any thing, if these, i. e. the ten commandments, were given up.

Christ did not tell this lawyer that there was any difference in the commandments; that the Sabbath was one of minor importance and could be dispensed with; or that those in the second table were not equally dear to him with those in the first table: but "the second is like unto it "—each, all are important, and cannot be separated. Should any person say, that the Sabbath cannot be included in either of these commandments, mentioned by our Savior, he would greatly err, not understanding the Scriptures, nor observing the physical as well as spiritual benefits of that day. Love to our neighbor will prompt us to

give him a Sabbath. And we cannot love God, if we "do not the things which he says.".

In LUKE xvi. 17, Christ says, "And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass than one tittle of the law to fail." In the previous context he had said, "The law and the prophets were until John since that time the kingdom of God is preached." As if he had said, before, it was not preached as it now is. But let no man suppose from this, that John or myself have done away the law or the prophets; for "it is easier for heaven and earth to pass than one tittle of the law to fail;" the law is immutable; heaven and earth will fail, but the law cannot.

JOHN i. 17. "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." The moral law, or ten commandments, is here evidently contrasted with grace.

JOHN vii. 19. "Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me?" Evidently referring to the sixth commandment, the moral law. See also 23d verse, "law of Moses," which there means the law of circumcision—a part of the ceremonial law. The ceremonial law is frequently called the law of Moses, while the ten commandments are called the law of God, and we know not that they ever were called the law of Moses, unless when referring to the whole Pentateuch. God wrote the moral, Moses the ceremonial law; hence the propriety of this usage to distinguish them-" the law of God, and the law of Moses." The Moral Law is also too high to be reached by mortals. destroy, or alter, or abrogate it. See also verse 49. ple who knoweth not the law are cursed," i. e., the unbelieving people that followed Jesus.

No one can "This peo

Some in Paul's day taught, that faith made void the law, that the man who believed in Christ was no longer bound by the law. See Rom. iii. 28. "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." To this unscriptural conclusion, Paul in the 31st verse replies, "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law," i. e., the moral law, that law which is in its very nature indestructible, and adapted to the government of moral, accountable creatures, in all ages of the world. No one

of the commands can be taken from the decalogue; and the Sabbath is an essential part of it, one of its immutable, natural, as well as moral laws.

The moral law, then, Paul being witness, stands complete in all its parts; established, if possible, more firmly than ever, by what Christ and his Apostles have done. Let no man then conclude, that he can by any means avoid the claims of the moral law. He cannot do it. It stands, all of it, unrepealed, and will for ever so stand. ROMANS iv. 15. “For where no law is, there is no transgression." If the moral law is done away, then there is no sin. In order then to determine what is, and what is not sinful, we need the whole law. That touches every case of transgression which can be committed against God or man.

ROMANS V. 13. "But sin is not imputed, where there is no law."

ROMANS vii. 1. "Know ye not, brethren, how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?" Now infidels acknowledge that the ceremonial law was done away by the coming of Christ; and they would not wish to have it understood that this quotation referred to the judicial law of the Jews. That would be too strict for them. Hence we know not how they can avoid the conclusion that the passage speaks of the moral law as a whole; and that no part of it has ever been abrogated, nor ever can be. This law, O man, whether you will or not, hath dominion over you. Again, in the third verse, Paul states the conditions necessary to constitute adultery, i. e., that a woman be married to another man during her husband's lifetime; in which case "the law" calls her an adulteress; that is, of course, the moral law. In the sixth verse the phrase, “delivered from that law" means, not from obligation to obey it, but that by faith in Christ, we may be delivered from its condemning power.

The passage in verse 7, "Is the law sin? God forbid," together with the whole of the Apostle's argument in this chapter, amounts to this: the Christian religion, instead of doing away, or contradicting the commandments, establishes, and is in exact accordance with, them. The law is as holy, just, and good, and