timony of Scripture? In pursuing this inquiry we will, for the sake of definiteness, arrange our remarks under the following heads, viz. physical, intellectual, social, pecuniary, and political advantages.

1. Physical advantages. It would seem as if God had set his seal in the physical nature of man, to the truth of his declaration, that "the Sabbath was made for man." So abundant has been the testimony from the lips of able medical practitioners in support of the position, that the observance of religious institutions tends to promote the physical well-being of man, that the insertion of even the substance of that testimony would extend this article to a very inconvenient length. Not a few of the most eminent physicians in this country and in Europe have testified that, in addition to the rest of night, man needs a periodical cessation from labor, extended to a still greater length; and that one day in seven, thus devoted to rest, is no more than the physical organization of man requires. Even if it be true, as some are disposed to assert, that resting a part of every day would be equally productive of physical benefit with the rest of the Sabbath, still it is manifest that there would be far more liability to interruption of rest, far less probability of a regular observance of the stated periods of relaxation from labor, on this plan of procedure, than there would be on that of setting apart one day in seven for the purpose of rest. How often, even now, does short-sighted love of gain plead for liberty to encroach a little on the weekly rest of the Sabbath! With how much louder tongue would she plead, were she called upon, with each returning day, to suspend, for a while, her favorite pursuits! With what a determined. spirit would she resolve to risk the penalty of disobedience, rather than be thus subjected to daily interruption! Even if we allow, then, that the two plans, if equally well adhered to, would produce an equal amount of physical benefit, the balance turns in favor of the one which recognizes a Sabbath, by the fact that there would probably be a more regular and more permanent adherence to that plan than to the other. The case may be presented thus: 1. Man needs periodical cessations from labor. 2. That plan which recognizes the existence of the Sabbath gives to these periodical cessations greater security of sufficiency in amount and regularity in recurrence, than any other

plan. 3. That plan is therefore better adapted to the physical nature of man than any other.

Per

But this is not the only view. In many kinds of business, the mental excitement wears upon the physical organization, exhausting its energies, and tending to produce premature decay. It is manifest that in these cases, the rest of the Sabbath is very opportune;-is, in short, the very thing that is needed. To this class of persons a cessation of labor for a few hours only would be of little avail, unless some means were furnished of withdrawing from that labor the mental, as well as the bodily powers. It is a well established fact in physiology, that, in cases of this kind, if the attention is allowed to remain fixed on the same objects that have overtasked the powers, mere cessation from bodily action will do but very little towards restoring the wasted energies of the system. haps the exhaustion which we term mental, belongs rather to the nerves through which the mind maintains its communication with the body, than to the mind itself. Be this as it may, so long as the mental effort continues, so long will the nervous exhaustion produced by it continue. And the influence of the nerves over the other organs of our frame is so great and so direct, that while the former remain unfit for action, the latter will remain so too. But we need only to try the experiment to convince ourselves that it is no easy matter to withdraw the mind instantly from a train of thought, in which it has been for some time steadily and ardently engaged. Repeated efforts are often necessary to accomplish it. If, then, the cessation from labor be but for an hour or two, the mind will hardly be withdrawn from its occupation, before it will be called upon to attend to it again. This difficulty is in a great measure obviated by extending the period of cessation from labor to a whole day.

In view of these laws of our nature, it is not surprising that those who deprive themselves of the rest of the Sabbath often experience a premature exhaustion of the vital powers. Accordingly, the results of statistical inquiries on this subject distinctly indicate, that the due observance of religious institutions tends to promote health and longevity; and the observations of not a few practical men go to confirm this position. When Wilberforce, the statesman and philanthropist, heard that Lord Castlereagh had

committed suicide, he exclaimed, "Poor fellow! He was certainly deranged,-the effect probably of continued wear of mind. The strong impression on my mind is, that it is the effect of the non-observance of the Sabbath; both as to abstracting from politics and from the constant recurring of the same reflections; and as correcting the false views of worldly things and bringing them down to their true diminutiveness." He regarded his own habitual observance of the Sabbath as one great cause of his ability to endure, for so long a time, the pressure of the multiplied cares and labors which devolved upon him. Multitudes of testimonials of a similar character might be produced, all going to prove that decided physical advantages result to man from the observance of the Sabbath. Dr. Edwards has treated this subject in the most complete and satisfactory manner in his Sabbath Manual; we commend the volume to the serious attention of those who wish for a masterly and convincing argument, confirmed by irrefragable testimony.

2. Intellectual advantages. The thoughts of the great mass of mankind are confined within a comparatively narrow range. Their topics of meditation are few, their field of mental vision, narrow. And the greater part even of those few topics are not of a character to expand or elevate the mind. In some cases they are positively debasing, polluting; in others, though perhaps harmless and to some extent even necessary, they are nevertheless trivial, connected merely with the demands of our animal nature, with the questions, "What shall we eat? What shall we drink, etc.?" Now anything which will afford, to such minds as these, materials for elevated and ennobling thought, which they would not otherwise possess, can hardly fail to be productive of intellectual advantage. And such are the materials for thought afforded by religious institutions. The subjects presented from the pulpit are, in general, not only pure in their moral tendency, but directly calculated to raise the mind above low and sordid objects, and direct the attention to the sublime realities connected with an immortal state of existence. These subjects, too, are of such a nature, that they can be, in some measure, understood by all, and are invested with a personal interest to all. They are not, like many subjects demanding intellectual effort, far removed from the com

mon interests and permanent relations of mankind, nor are they such as concern only here and there an isolated individual. They belong to our common nature. No human being can say with truth, "I have nothing to do with them." Besides this, the principles which they involve differ widely in respect to simplicity. Some of them are obvious to the intellect of a child. Others surpass the ability of even the most gifted among mortals fully to comprehend them. Hence they furnish means of mental discipline adapted to every grade of intellect, and are therefore preeminently capable of aiding mental culture. Were all the truths of religion as difficult to be understood as the process of ascertaining the orbit of a comet, multitudes would be discouraged from attempting to understand them. Were they all as simple as the elementary principles of arithmetic, they could not be a source of mental discipline to men of cultivated minds. But that God who made the Bible, knew the character of those for whom he made it, and has adapted it to that character.

The relations which the institutions of religion sustain to the impulsive powers of our nature have an important bearing on this subject. Man is capable of being impelled or urged to action by various motives, some of them ennobling, and others degrading. The miser, for instance, acts under the influence of motives which cannot fail to degrade him. Whatever may have been his original elevation of mind, his mental energies, when set in motion by such an impulse as the love of gold, will never act on an enlarged, expanded scale. Narrow views, low aims, and paltry cunning will characterize his proceedings, except that his mind may sometimes be so dwarfed as to prevent the exhibition of the last-mentioned attribute. Benevolence, on the contrary, widens the range of mental vision, and enlarges the sphere of mental action. It gives opportunity for noble and extensive generalization, and for the application of great principles on a broad and lib. eral scale. It leads the man out from his own narrow round of selfish interests, and makes him a sharer in the weal or wo of the universe. It is not strange then that a man, on being brought under the influence of such motives, should exhibit an expansion of mind, an elevation of soul, before unknown in him. The influences operating on him are directly calculated to produce such a re

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sult. But the general tendency of religious institutions is to bring the mind to act from benevolent motives, and to deliver it from the control of selfish ones. Their influence therefore is directly favorable to intellectual improvement.

It

But this is not the only way in which the relation of religious institutions to the impulsive powers of our nature affects our character as intellectual beings. The world abounds in objects tending to excite the passions. And the influence of the passions, when strongly excited, is generally unfavorable to intellectual improvement. Not unfrequently do we see them, in their headlong course, spurn the authority both of reason and of conscience; and leave as the only enduring memento of their career, a wide waste of mental and moral desolation. is true, they give energy to action, and rapidity to execution. But, at the same time, they tend, directly and powerfully, to create misconceptions in regard to many subjects of inquiry, to make the mind blind to moral truth, and to lead it to premature, partial, inaccurate views of general principles, and incorrect applications of those principles to particular cases. Is it not plain, then, that something is needed, which will tend to allay the excitement of passion, and lead the mind to take cooler and more deliberate views of its own relations and responsibilities, and of truth and duty in general, than it will be likely to do while under the influence of the passions uncontrolled by any higher power. And such, precisely such, is the influence exerted by religious institutions. By withdrawing the mind for a while from the action of those influences which generally excite passion, they prepare it, when again brought within reach of those influences, to examine more coolly than it would otherwise have done, to re-survey the ground from a different point of view, and thus to correct the errors to which the influence of passion may have led.

The acquisition of general knowledge is one of the means by which the intellectual power of an individual or a community is increased. Not that such knowledge is, in itself, intellectual power. But it furnishes materials on which the mind can employ itself, and thus gain strength by exercise. Now religious institutions, in addition to the other beneficial influences which they exert on the mind of one who attends upon them, contribute largely to its