The evils arising from Sabbath-breaking are greatly to be lamented: they are an insult to God, an injury to ourselves, and an awful example to our servants, our children, and our friends. To sanctify this day, we should consider it — (1) a day of rest; not, indeed, to exclude works of mercy and charity, but a cessation from all labor and care; (2) as a day of remembrance; of creation, preservation, redemption \ (3) as a day of meditation and prayer, in which we should cultivate communion with God (Rev. i, 10) ; (4) as a day of pub- lic worship (Acts xx, 7 ; John xx, 19) ; (5) as a day of joy (Isa. Ivi, 2; Psa. cxviii, 24); (0) as a day of praise (I'sa. cxvi, 12-14); (7) as a day of aulicipation, looking forward to that holy, happy, and eternal Sabbath which remains for the people of God. — Buck, Thevl. Did. s. v.
V, The literature of the subject is very copious. The following are the chief standard works : Brerewood, Treatise of the Sahhuth ; Prideaux, Docti'ine of the Sab- bath ; Bramhall, Discourses on the Controversy about the
Sabbath; White, Treatise of the Sabbath Day; Heylin, History of the Sabbath; Chandler, Two Sermons on the Sabbath; Watts, Perpetuity of the Sabbath; Kennicott. Sermon and Dialogue on the Sabbath ; Paley, Natural and rolitical Philosophy, bk. v, ch. vii ; Holden Chris- tian Sabbath ; Burnside, On the Weekly Sabbath ; Bur- der, Lazo of the Sabbalh ; Wardlaw, AVilson, and Agnew, severally. On the Sabbath ; Modern Sabbath Examined (1832); James, On the Sacraments and Sabbath; Mau- rice, On the Sabbalh ; Kalisch, Commentary on Exodus (ad loc); Proudhon, De la Celebration du Dimanche; Hessey, Bamplon Lecture (Lond. 186G); Johnstone, Sunday and the Sabbath (ibid. 1853) ; Domville, /n- quiry into the Nature of the Sabbath (ibid. 1855, 2 vols.); Ellicott, History and Obligation of the Sabbath (ibid. 1844; N. Y. 18G2) ; Hill, The Sabbath Made for Man (Lond. 1857) ; Coleman, in the Bibliotheca Sacra, i, 52t) sq. ; and the literature cited by Malcolm, Theol. Index, s. v. ; and especially by Cox, Literature of the Sabbath Question (Edinb. 18G5, 2 vols. 8vo). Articles on special points connected with the institution of the Sabbath may be found (in addition to those referred to in Poole's Index, s. v.) in the 3Ieth. Quar. Rev. Jan. 1849; April, 1857; Journ. of Sac. Lit. Oct. 1851 ; July, 1857 ; Theol. and Lit. Journ. 1852 ; Noiih Brit. Rev. Feb. 1853 ; Biblioth. Sacra, Oct. 1854 ; South. Quar. Rev. Jtdy, 1857; New-Englunder, Aug. 1858; United Presb. Rei: Jan. 1860; Amer. Theol. Rev. April, 1862; Brit, and For. Ev. Rev. Jan. 1803; Princeton Rev. Oct. 1863. See Sunday.
Sabbath, Court of the (n^Ti'n Tj?'!''^, musul; hash-shabbalh ; Sept. 6 BipiXtog rj/c Ka^icpag twv (Ta/3/3drwi'; Vulg. Musach sabbuti, 2 Kings xvi, 18), is understood to mean a canopy under which Ahaz used to stand, at the entrance of the porch of the Temple, when he at-tendcd the service; but which he removed when he became an idolater, to show his contempt, and his intention of not resorting thither any more. See Court. So we see in 2 Chron. xxviii, 24 that "he shut up the doors of the house of God" that none might enter to worship. See Ahaz.
Sabbath, Morrow after the. There has been from early times some difference of opinion as to the meaning of the words TS'^i'il ST^ri^, mochordth hash- shabbdth, thus rendered in the computation of the Pass- over (Lev. xxiii, 11, 15). It has, however, been gener- ally held,^j' both Jewish and Christian writers of all ages, that the Sabbath here spoken of is the first day of holy convocation of the Passover, the 15th of Nisan, mentioned in Lev. xxiii, 7. In like manner the word r3'Jj is evidently used as a designation of the day of atonement (Lev. xxiii, 32); and "JlPailJ (sabbati obser- vatio) is applied to the first and eighth days of Taber- nacles and to the Feast of Trumpets. That the Sept. so understood the passage in question can hardly be doubted from their calling it " the morrow after the first day" (i. e. of the festival) : »'/ tTrai'pio%> tT]q Tipuirijg. The word in ver. 15 and 16 has also been understood as " week," used in the same manner as rraftfSaTa in the New Test. (Matt, xxviii, 1; Luke xviii, 12; John xx, 1, etc.). But some have insisted on taking the Sabbath to mean nothing but the seventh day of the week, or "the Sabbath of creation," as the Jewish writers have called it; and they see a difficulty in iniderstanding the same word in the general sense of u-eek as a period of seven days, contending that it can only mean a reg- ular week, beginning with the first day, and ending with the Sabbath. Hence the Baithusian (or Saddu- crean) party, and in later times the Karaites, supposed that the omer was offered on the day following that weekly Sabbath which might happen to fall within the seven days of the Passover. The day of Pentecost would thus always fall on the first day of the week. Hitzig {Ostern nnd Pfiiiysten [Heidelberg, 1837]) has put forth the notion that the Hebrews regularly began a new
SABBATH