LESSON 45

OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATH

守安息日

Gardiner Spring, 1785-1873, was the son of Samuel Spring, D.D., who was pastor of a Congregational church in Newburyport, Massachusetts, for more than forty years. The son entered Yale College, and was valedictorian of his class in 1805. He studied law for a time; then went to Bermuda, where he taught nearly two years. On his return he completed his law studies, and practiced his profession for more than a year. In 1810, having studied theology at Andover, he was ordained as pastor of the “Brick Church” in New York City. Here he remained till his death. He was elected president of Dartmouth College, and also of Hamilton, but declined both positions. His works, embracing about twenty octavo volumes, have passed through several editions; some have been translated into foreign languages, and reprinted in Europe. As a preacher, Dr. Spring was eloquent and energetic.

The Sabbath lies at the foundation of all true morality. Morality flows from principle. Let the principles of moral obligation become relaxed, and the practice of morality will not long survive the overthrow. No man can preserve his own morals, no parent can preserve the morals of his children, without the impressions of religious obligation.

If you can induce a community to doubt the genuineness and authenticity of the Scriptures; to question the reality and obligations of religion; to hesitate, undeciding, whether there be any such thing as virtue or vice; whether there be an eternal state of retribution beyond the grave; or whether there exists any such being as God, you have broken down the barriers of moral virtue, and hoisted the flood gates of immorality and crime. I need not say that when a people have once done this, they can no longer exist as a tranquil and happy people. Every bond that holds society together would be ruptured; fraud and treachery would take the place of confidence between man and man; the tribunals of justice would be scenes of bribery and injustice; avarice, perjury, ambition, and revenge would walk through the land, and render it more like the dwelling of savage beasts than the tranquil abode of civilized and Christianized men.

If there is an institution which opposes itself to this progress of human degeneracy, and throws a shield before the interests of moral virtue in our thoughtless and wayward world, it is the Sabbath. In the fearful struggle between virtue and vice, notwithstanding the powerful auxiliaries which wickedness finds in the bosoms of men, and in the seductions and influence of popular example, wherever the Sabbath has been suffered to live, the trembling interests of moral virtue have always been revered and sustained. One of the principal occupations of this day is to illustrate and enforce the great principles of sound morality. Where this sacred trust is preserved inviolate, you behold a nation convened one day in seven for the purpose of acquainting themselves with the best moral principles and precepts; and it can not be otherwise than that the authority of moral virtue, under such auspices, should be acknowledged and felt.

We may not, at once, perceive the effects which this weekly observance produces. Like most moral causes, it operates slowly; but it operates surely, and gradually weakens the power and breaks the yoke of profligacy and sin. No villain regards the Sabbath. No vicious family regards the Sabbath. No immoral community regards the Sabbath. The holy rest of this ever-memorable day is a barrier which is always broken down before men become giants in sin. Blackstone, in his Commentaries on the Laws of England, remarks that “a corruption of morals usually follows a profanation of the Sabbath.” It is an observation of Lord Chief Justice Hale, that “of all the persons who were convicted of capital crimes, while he was on the bench, he found a few only who would not confess that they began their career of wickedness by a neglect of the duties of the Sabbath and vicious conduct on that day.”

The prisons in our own land could probably tell us that they have scarcely a solitary tenant who had not broken over the restraints of the Sabbath before he was abandoned to crime. You may enact laws for the suppression of immorality, but the secret and silent power of the Sabbath constitutes a stronger shield to the vital interest of the community than any code of penal statutes that ever was enacted. The Sabbath is the keystone of the arch which sustains the temple of virtue, which, however defaced, will survive many a rude shock so long as the foundation remains firm.

The observance of the Sabbath is also most influential in securing national prosperity. The God of Heaven has said, “Them that honor me I will honor,” You will not often find a notorious Sabbath breaker a permanently prosperous man; and a Sabbath-breaking community is never a happy or prosperous community. There is a multitude of unobserved influences which the Sabbath exerts upon the temporal welfare of men. It promotes the spirit of good order and harmony; it elevates the poor from want; it transforms squalid wretchedness; it imparts self-respect and elevation of character; it promotes softness and civility of manners; it brings together the rich and the poor upon one common level in the house of prayer; it purifies and strengthens the social affections, and makes the family circle the center of allurement and the source of instruction, comfort, and happiness. Like its own divine religion, “it has the promise of the life that now is and that which is to come,” for men can not put themselves beyond the reach of hope and heaven so long as they treasure up this one command, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”

【中文阅读】

安息日是所有真正的道德规范的基石。道德源于准则。让阐释道德义务的准则自由自在，那么道德规范的践行将不会长久。没有宗教义务的影响，没有谁能保持自己的道德准则，也没有哪位父母能让自己的孩子保持道德准则。

如果你能引诱一个团体对圣经的真实性和权威性产生怀疑，对宗教义务和现实产生疑问，对是否存在美德或恶行，对是否有超越死亡的永恒的惩罚，或者是否存在诸如上帝这样的实在踌躇不决的话，那么你就打破了道德上的界限，吊起了拦住不道德和罪恶洪水的闸门。不用我说，当人们一旦这样的话，他们就不再作为内心安宁和快乐人而存在了。将社会连在一起的每一纽带都会断裂，人与人之间建立起来的信任关系中充斥了欺骗和背叛，法院成了见证贿赂和不公正的场所，贪婪、偏见、野心和报复堂而皇之地肆虐，使得这块土地更像是野兽的居所，而不是文明开化和皈依了基督教的人平静安详的聚居之地。

如果存在一种本身能够抵制人类堕落这一进程的宗教习俗，在我们这个没有思想和任性的世界的伦理德性利益面前能够被竖起一道盾牌的话，那就是安息日。再美的和恶性之间展开的这场骇人的斗争中，虽然存在强大的辅助工具，能在人的内心深处，在流行的时尚的诱惑和影响中发现邪恶，但是无论在哪里坚守安息日都是一个艰难的宗教习俗，伦理德性那震颤人心灵的吸引力始终受到人们的崇敬并得以维系下来。在当今时代最重要的一项使命就是阐述和践行正确的道德原则。这种神圣的信任对社会和任何人都没有伤害，你会发现人们基于通过最好的道德原则和观念来彼此增进了解的目的，一个国家在一周里要有一天守安息日。除此之外，没有其他宗教习俗能让人们在教会的帮助和支持下，认识和感受到伦理德性的权威。

我们不会马上就能洞察到这种每周一次守安息日的习俗所产生的效果。同绝大多数道德事业一样，守安息日也要慢慢进行；不过，守安息日肯定会慢慢削弱那种力量，打破导致放荡和罪恶的枷锁。没有哪个恶棍会看重安息日，没有哪个邪恶的家庭会把安息日当回事，没有哪个不道德的社会会尊重安息日。这个永远值得纪念的神圣日子，始终都是在人们称为罪恶的巨人之前被打破的一道藩篱。布莱克斯顿在他对英格兰法律进行评价时指出，“道德败坏通常都伴随着对安息日的亵渎。”这是英国高等法院的王座庭庭长颇具洞察力言论，即“他在审判席上时，所有犯有重大罪行的人，就他观察只有少数不会坦白他们开始邪恶生涯时，忽视了守安息日的义务，并在那天做出邪恶勾当。”

我们自己国家监狱的情形，或许也能告诉我们他们之所以很少设单独的囚室的原因，在犯人全然陷入犯罪前，他不会违反守安息日的诸多限制和禁忌。为了阻止不道德行为，你可以制定相应的法律，但是守安息日的秘密和沉默的力量为社会的重大利益形成了比任何成文的惩罚法典更强大的盾牌。安息日是支撑道德殿堂拱门的那块柱石，尽管受到了侵蚀，只要基础保持牢固仍旧经得起猛烈的打击。

在确保国家兴旺繁荣上，守安息日也具有很大的影响力。上帝说过，“给我荣誉的人，我会酬之以荣。”你不会经常发现一个臭名昭著的不守安息日的人，竟然是一位成功人士。一个践踏安息日守则的社会绝对不是一个幸福和繁荣的社会。安息日对人的现世福祉产生的影响，在很大程度上是无法估量的。它能提升良好的秩序与和谐的精神实质；它能鼓舞穷人摆脱物质匮乏；它能改变污秽的悲惨；它能给予自尊和个性的提升；它能促进举止仪态的柔和与礼貌；它能让富人和穷人为了祈祷而共处一室；它能净化和加强社会大爱，使得家庭紧紧围绕有吸引力的事物和教化之源。沐浴在幸福和温馨之中，就像它神圣的教义那样，“它对现在和即将到来的生活做出承诺。”因为人们不会将自己置于希望和上帝之外，只要重视安息日，“牢记安息日吧，切实恪守。”