Part 2

To what end, then, I ask, (and it is a question in which we, as a neighbourhood, are deeply interested,) to what end are we to have every road, and walk, and thoroughfare, for many miles round this projected focus of ungodliness, deprived of the peace, the order, the quiet Sabbath respectability they have hitherto enjoyed? Why are we to exchange the holy stillness, under cover of which we now meditate, and read, and pray, for the hoarse harsh din of Sabbath vehicles, of rabble throngs exchanging their loud vulgarities on their way to the fair, and shouting out their intoxicated and blaspheming songs as they are returning home? Already, I am informed on the authority of residents in our own parish, living in the line of road, that paths, hitherto sought and loved for their holy Sabbath quiet, are now closed hopelessly against all who like Isaac would fain go out to “meditate at eventide,” owing to the throngs of impatient Sabbath-breakers going to see their boasted temple rise. Brethren, I trust you will not think,—especially I hope my poorer friends will not think,—that I charge it upon the recreations of our humble classes that they are _always_ thus vociferous and coarse; I charge it upon the recreation of those only who go out to pollute God’s holy day; and in regard to such persons there is no exaggeration in the picture. Two or three times in the year we have these Sabbath Saturnalia now; when the thoroughfare in front of this church presents scenes which we are grieved to have our children witness; but which, so soon as this new Babel of profanation shall be reared,—this Greenwich fair under a glass roof—we must expect to have enacted before their eyes every Sabbath day.

iii. And then again, brethren, look at this project as it must encroach cruelly upon the _poor man’s Sabbath rest_. It is a principle I fear but too little understood by our labouring classes, that every step taken in the direction of Sabbath desecration, for purposes of _voluntary_ pleasure, is a step in the same direction for purposes of _compulsory_ work. The principle of sanctity once given up, the day brought down to the level of a respectable church usage, a master may consistently say to his working men, ‘If your conscience is lax enough to take _pleasure_ for your _own_ sake, it surely cannot task it much to do a little _work_ for _mine_.’ And this principle once recognised, that an employer may get out of his workmen a whole or half a day’s more labour than he used to do, competition or cupidity will soon make a corresponding reduction in the rate of wages, until the labouring man finds he gains no more for working _seven_ days, than he formerly did for working _six_. I have the fullest persuasion that many a poor man is spared from _compulsory_ Sabbath labour now, because employers dare not, in the face of an almost universal verdict of society in favour of the sacredness of the day, force a workman’s conscience. But let society once cancel that verdict, let the workman show, by his presence at the Sydenham fair, that he has no conscience to force,—and the master’s shame will soon depart from him, and the labourer who refused to keep his Sabbath rest _holy_, will find, as he deserves to find, that he will have no Sabbath rest at all. Judge ye for yourselves, my humbler brethren, who has most right to be called the POOR MAN’S FRIEND.

But to come to more obvious and immediate mischief. Judging from the former Exhibition it is not unlikely that, on a fine Sunday, this huge daylight theatre will be visited by not less than 100,000 people. These will require, for the most part, carriages to convey them, meat and drink to refresh them, officials to take their money, policemen to keep them in order. Now, only think what a fearful aggregate of Sabbath labour this will compel. Make as rough a computation as you may, of the time during which each visitor will be using the services of some other person—at a railway office, on the line, in the gardens, at places of refreshment; and remembering that those persons whom the visitor _sees_, are obliged to be assisted by many others whom he does _not see_, and a result will be arrived at, showing that for this large number to take their Sabbath _pleasure_, many thousands must be deprived of their Sabbath _rest_. Nay, as if this work of ruining souls could not be begun soon enough,—as if the promoters of this unchristian scheme had a very appetite for desecration,—the works are going on, there is reason to believe, while I speak. Only last Sunday these British slaves were seen at work by one known to me, who, going up to the house of God to worship, had to hear the noise of axe and hammer making discordant music with the church-inviting bell. {21} Now, brethren, to enable you to appreciate the magnitude of this evil of depriving men of the means of Sabbath instruction, I could wish for you nothing so awfully convincing, as that you should witness what I have witnessed often, both in this and a former incumbency,—the latter end of those who, from their connexion with public conveyances, were uniformly shut out from the sanctuary, because they had to minister to the pleasure-seeker, on God’s holy day. The recreation _to him_, was spiritual and eternal death _to them_. HE found his mirth, but _they_ lost a soul. Such death-beds, I own, present a great mystery. When we see the vacant wonderment with which the dying man listens to the most elementary religious truths, or the judicial hardness which seems proof against the most tender appeals, or the awakened emotion which only lasts long enough to people the chamber of death with the mocking spectres of despair, and then feel how much the blame of all this belonged to _others_ rather than to _him_,—we are, for the moment, amazed. But the answer comes speedily. ‘Be still. The moral law is eternal. My Sabbaths are for a SIGN. He who dishonours them in his life, shall be himself dishonoured in his end; and, grievous as may be the portion of him who has thus offended, to him by whom the offence cometh there is a woe more grievous still.’ Oh! brethren, pray we for these thoughtless speculators that God curse them not in a granted desire; that He lay not at their door the fearful responsibility of having destroyed thousands of undying souls,—yea, that rather than give them a Royal charter to make Christ’s little ones offend and fall, He would bestow upon them, what we have the highest authority for declaring would be a less terrible boon; even “that a millstone were hanged about their neck and they be drowned in the depth of the sea.”

iv. Once more, brethren, I ask you to look at the _demoralizing influence_ of this contemplated impiety. It was the great Burke, I believe, who once put forth the false and mischievous sentiment, that “vice lost half its danger by losing all its grossness.” On a like principle, some appear to be contending now, that Sabbath immoralities will lose much of their evil, if we can only qualify their coarseness by the externals of cultivation and refinement. But sin is sin, hide it under what mask we will. Whilst, as to moral danger to the community, it is surely better that men should even _see_ the dead men’s bones and all the uncleanness, than that their eyes should be ensnared by the beauty of the whited sepulchre. The Sabbath-breaker now is a marked man; he steals away to his low tavern indulgences; he there herds with his like; and, as a conscious offender against the laws of God and man, waits till, under the protection of nightfall, he may steal to his home again. But if the proposed arrangement be brought about, he will commit the same offence,—under authority, with Royal countenance, on the plea that he wishes to enlarge the powers which God hath given him; nay, it is much if he parrot not, at Infidel bidding, the audacious pretence that he would offer a tribute of admiration “to nature and to nature’s God.” Oh! brethren, when will the race be extinct who seek to betray the Son of man with a kiss?

But will not the project under consideration be a gain to public morals, in regard of the lower vices of sensuality and intoxication? I answer unhesitatingly, No. Unhappily, we are not without our precedent of these Sunday gardens now—gardens which, in their disposition and decorations, appeal, and in their degree successfully, to the very tastes which it is among the purposes of the new speculation to cultivate. And these pleasure-grounds are found to be the heart and centre of the most debasing vices. Returns have been put into my hands from one of these haunts of Sabbath festivity in a country town,—described as being, in themselves, most attractive and beautiful. Into these gardens 3,000 people have gone on a Sunday evening, consuming among them nearly 600 gallons of malt liquor alone;—a quantity which, if a reasonable deduction be made for the number of children, would suppose _one quart_ to have been consumed by _every grown-up person_, _whether male or female_, upon the ground. Let us, for the honour of the female sex, make a still further deduction, and what a humiliating reflection is forced upon us as to the state of a large majority of the men! Brethren, these are painful details to have to bring into a pulpit. But when we have beaten the adversary from every other ground—the ground of right, of truth, of religious decency, of national piety and honour—it may be well to see if he has any standing-place on the ground which he thinks unassailably his own. And this argument, that he will draw men off from the brutal indulgences of their own locality, is one which the champions of desecration make much of. Whereas I know, on the authority of those through whose hands the negotiations pass, that premiums of almost incredible amount are being offered for the liberty of erecting places in the neighbourhood, where the same low appetites may be ministered to, which the Sabbath-breaker finds gratified now in his own low tavern at home. {25} And then judge for yourselves whether he will be much less disposed to gratify them. Think of the excitement of the journey, the sensuous fascinations of the scene, the stimulating influence of a large living mass, all bent on unrestrained enjoyment, and then consider whether any other change will be wrought, in the habits of those whom it is sought to reclaim, than that they will do under some decorated and emblazoned booth, what they now do in an alehouse, and waste far more than they do already of those precious earnings which should go to buy their children bread. And where the carcase is, there will the eagles be. The cunning pickpocket will be there. The man of dissolute pleasures will be there. The shame of womanhood will be there;—all coming from far to keep each the Sabbath of their vocation—to worship at this great metropolis of immorality and sin.

Many other considerations there are, tending to make us view the present movement with deep dismay. We fear it cannot bode good to the cause of God and his truth, when Herod and Pilate are made friends; when the Romanist and the Neologian are urging the same forms of Sabbath observance; when “Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,”—the man of science, the man of pleasure, and the man of scrip and shares,—are all intent on the same scheme of social amelioration. The fear is not unnatural with us that the junction-point of this strange confederacy will be found, not in any result which they wish to _achieve_, so much as in some existing influence which it is their common desire to _destroy_,—namely, the influence of that pure and undefiled religion which teaches that science must bow to Scripture, that covetousness is only another name for idolatry, and that the man who allows himself in vicious or forbidden pleasures shall not have any “inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” We can only regard such united attempt as the first instalment of a yet more extended plan, by which we are to become assimilated to the profane usages of the Continent, until every place of public amusement or resort, from the national Museum to the itinerant puppet-show, shall throw open their doors to any Sabbath wanderer, who may desire, under cover of law, to do despite to God’s holy day. The constant plea put forth for these Sabbath recreations, that something must be done towards elevating the moral and intellectual tastes of our people, is not tenable for an instant. For, admitting the necessity, why should not the time required for it be taken from one of the _six_ days now appropriated to the world, rather than from the one only day which we now set apart for God? But the whole is in true keeping with Infidel patriotism. It looks only on its own things. It spares itself. And then, when affecting a desire to redeem time for the improvement of the poor, like him who in the parable spared to take of his own flock and his own herd, it will not, by an hour, anticipate the closing of the factory, but demands that half the time be taken away from the few hours that are now given to the church. {27}

One word more, and I have done. The former Exhibition was opened with prayer. The act was a declared recognition of God’s right to control our recreations, and of the necessity of his blessing to make them either innocent or happy. Will the projectors of the new undertaking DARE to open their building thus? Will they, holding in their hands the outspread charter of desecration, DARE, with the breath of invocation, to blaspheme the God of heaven? I hazard no reputation for prophecy when I say they will NOT. For, though I have no right to infer that they would hesitate at mocking GOD by such an act, if they thought it would raise their shares, I am persuaded they would fear so to mock the ENGLISH PEOPLE. There is an element of veneration in our national character, which will not suffer itself to be outraged beyond a certain limit. Our people, even the worst of them, have no love for gratuitous profanations. If they _do_ consent to sit down at Belshazzar’s feast, yet they will not drink wine out of the sacred vessels. Hence, whoever may be present at the coming inauguration of the god of this world in his palace, he will with difficulty repress the feeling, ‘I know this place is to be opened in utter defiance of the laws of God, and therefore for me to ask his blessing upon it would be as if a robber should first kneel down and ask God that he might be successful in his plunder, or as if the traducer of his neighbour’s fame should pray that he might have the benediction of heaven upon his ill report.’ No, brethren, if this Charter be granted, the building will be opened, as it has been commenced, without God, without a blessing, without a recognition of any power in the universe save that of Belial, who is to direct the pleasures of its votaries, and that of Mammon to fill the coffers of its founders with the fruit of unhallowed gains.

For the honour of our religion, then, for the moral happiness of our people, for the lengthening of our tranquillity, for the salvation of our land,—let me entreat you, while there is yet time, to protest against this uncalled-for impiety. Our voice made itself heard a short time ago, when a crafty Socinian influence, at the Post-Office, threatened our cherished sanctities:—we deserve to lose our Sabbaths for ever, if that voice be silent now. Wherefore, brethren, “Watch ye; stand fast in the faith; quit you like men; be strong.” Slacken not in your exertions, till all the weapons both of heaven and earth are spent; until you have vindicated your character as citizens, your rights as subjects, your religious consistency as Protestants, your faith, and love, and zeal, and piety, as Christians and as men of God. So shall “the Lord be entreated for our land,” and the on-coming “plague be stayed.” Amen.

NOTE A.

The statement that men are employed on the ground on the Lord’s-day, has been impugned, but in support of it I have permission to cite the authority of that respected upholder of our Sabbath sanctities, Joseph Wilson, Esq., of Clapham Park; who _saw a large body of men at full work_, _with spades and pickaxes_, _on his way to church_, _on Sunday last_. The excuse set up for this is that these men were engaged in _firing the clay_, and that the nature of this work was such as not to allow of the fires going out without serious loss. Without quoting some opinions given by the men themselves, denying this alleged necessity, I may mention that inquiries made in the neighbourhood by myself, convinced me that work _is_ done on the Sabbath—over and above attending to the fires—though carried on in a way which tall boards and the sealed lips of interested parties make it difficult to detect.

NOTE B.

The challenge to those who profess such anxiety for elevating the condition of the poor, to give up some of their _own_ time for the purpose, and not to “rob God,” is not put forth merely as a fair argumentative point. It is a grave suggestion which has been thrown out more than once, whether there should not be _one half-day in the week_ agreed upon, through the length and breadth of the land, as the labouring man’s time for recreation and self-improvement. In manufacturing districts, where labour is paid for by the _quantity_ done, leaving the workman master of his own time, this half-day is very generally _taken_, and long usage has appropriated Monday afternoon for the purpose. Why should not the convention be extended to those who have to work by _time_? The proposal seems to me to be worthy of all consideration. Let every wharf, and mill, and factory, close on Monday, at two o’clock. Let the national Museum, and other places of intellectual improvement, be thrown open. Let the paid Exhibitions, the Crystal Palace among them, lower their terms of admission to some merely nominal price. Let Societies be organized for providing lectures in the evening, on subjects of popular interest. Let district reading-rooms be opened, supplied with well-conducted newspapers, and other periodical literature. Let the national school-room be available on that evening for different adult classes, under the guidance of the clergy, or other friends of social improvement. That there is a desire among our poor to avail themselves of such facilities as those here referred to, I have, for the most part, _proved_ in my own district; and should greater opportunities be afforded by employers, not only, I believe, would a change for good be effected in the social tastes and habits of our people, but the way would be gradually prepared for their realizing their Sabbaths as a “DELIGHT,” and, in the refined exercises of sacredness and mercy, keeping them “HOLY UNTO THE LORD.”

ERRATA.

Page 30, line 1 of Note B. For “_of_” read “to.”

Page 31, line 5. For “_mart_” read “_wharf_.”

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Wertheim and Macintosh, 24, Paternoster-row, London.

Works by the same Author.

I.

In fcap. 4to., price 12_s._, DAILY DEVOTION; OR, Prayers framed on the successive Chapters of the New Testament, and arranged for every Day in the Year.

_To which are prefixed_, THIRTY-ONE FORMS OF FAMILY PRAYER ADAPTED TO THE ABOVE.

II.

In fcap. 8vo., price 5_s._ 6_d._, CHRISTIAN CONSOLATION, OR, Discourses, on the Reliefs afforded by the Gospel under Different States and Trials of the Christian Life.

III.

In post 8vo., price 5_s._, ROMANISM AS SET FORTH IN ITS OWN ACKNOWLEDGED FORMULARIES.

IV.

In post 8vo., price 3_s._, SERMONS PREACHED BEFORE THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE.

V.

In fcap. 8vo., Second Edition, with Additions, price 4_s._, THE CHRISTIAN SYSTEM VINDICATED AGAINST THE MORE POPULAR FORMS OF MODERN INFIDELITY. Being the Cambridge Hulsean and Norrissian Prize Essays for the Years 1837, 1838, 1839.

VI.

In fcap, 8vo., price 5_s._, DISCOURSES ON THE LORD’S PRAYER.

FOOTNOTES.

{5} Lesson for the day, Ezek. xx., comp. verses 12, 13, 16, 20, 21, and 24.

{21} See Note A at the end.

{25} The following statement, supplied to me from a private source which may be implicitly relied on, will sufficiently justify several of the foregoing remarks:—

“There are no less than seven public-houses now in course of erection, or about to be erected, near the Crystal Palace, one of which is to cost £30,000, and to contain stabling for 500 horses, tea-gardens, &c. The road leading from Anerly is literally thronged from ten to six o’clock every Sunday, and persons of all grades are to be seen there, some selling by the wayside, others gambling; and in the roads on either sides of the way scenes of the most revolting nature are taking place in open daylight.

“A labouring man, some two or three months since, took a small cottage and large garden in the Anerly road, and opened it as a beer-house and tea-gardens, and he now has from _four to five hundred persons_ in his ground on the Sabbath day. Many more particulars of a like kind might be added, but with great difficulty, owing to the _secrecy observed by all parties_.”

{27} See Note B at the end.