US exercise ourselves to have a conscience void of offence toward Gh)d and man, and to do nothing which can give occasion to the Lord's enemies to blaspheme. Tlie thing is possible. By the grace of God it can be done. The haters of Daniel were obliged to confess, '^ we shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God." (Dan. vi. 5.)
Let us mark, lastly, in this passage, how our Lord asserts the lawfulness of doing works of mercy on the Sabbath day. We read that he healed a man who had the dropsy on the Sabbath day, and then said to the lawyers and Pharisees, "Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the Sabbath day P " This was a home-thrust, which could not be parried. It is written, ""niey could not answer Him again."
The qualification which our Lord here puts on the requirements of the fourth commandment is evidently founded on Scripture, reason, and common sense. The Sabbath was made for man, — for his benefit, not for his iBJury, — ^for his advantage, not for his hurt. The inter- pretation of God's law respecting the Sabbath was never intended to be strained so far as to interfere with charity, kindness, and the real wants oS. human nature. All such interpretations only defeat their own end. They require that which fallen man cannot perform, and thus bring the whole commandment into disrepute. Our Lord saw this clearly, and laboured throughout His ministry to restore this precious part of God's law to its just position.
The principle which our Lord lays down about Sabbath observance needs carefully fencing with cautions. The