reasonA, it mny well be that there is no call upon them to relinqnish the practice, becanr,e it calls forth opposition-even violent and bitter opposition. Christ declared that he "came not to bring peace on earth, but a sword " (Matt. x. 34). Whatever is good is sure to be evil 8poken of. But, on the other hand, opposition may be courted, may be the real end and aim of those who head the movement. The Jews in Isaiah's time" fasted for strife and debate;" it is not impossible that Christians may do so now. But if they do, this is certainly not such a fast as is acceptable to the Almighty, or such as will cause the voices of those who keep it to be beard on high. Rightful fasting-such fasting as both the Old and the New Testaments allow and require-bas also certain tolerably distinct characteristics. I. RmHTFUL FASTING MUST BE UNOSTENTATIOUS. "Thou, when thou fastest," says our blessed Lord, "anoint thy head, and wash thy face, that thou appear not unto men to fast." There must be no desire to obtain the praise of men by the observance; there must be no parade of it; so far as possible, it must be done "in secret." Then, and then only, will the "Father, which seeth in secret, reward it openly" (Matt. vi. 17, 18). II. RIGHTFUL FASTING MUST BE NOT MERELY OUTWARD, BUT ALSO INWARD. "Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness," etc. ? Unless fasting be with a spiritual object and accompanied by distinctly spiritual acts, it is absolutely vain and idle. Its natural spiritual concomitants are (1) repenta.:ice (1 Kings :x.xi. 27; Neh. ix. 1, 2; Joel ii. 12, 13; Jonah ii. 5-10, etc.); (2) prayer (Dan. ix. 3; Joel ii. 17); (3) almsgiving, and other acts of charity and mercy towards our fellow-men (eh. !viii. 5-7). To neglect such acts, and to regard the mere opus operatum of fasting as having any spiritual efficacy, is a most dangerous delusion, and one akin to the heresy of Montanus. Ver. 13.-Rightful and wr0-T1gjul keeping of the sabbath need to be distinguished. I. The more worlclly among the Jews were inclined to a mere perfunctory keeping of the sabbath. They shut up men's religious duties on the day within the comers of ths Levitical enactments; nnd considered that, if the legal sacrifices were offered, and the "holy convocation" held and duly attended, the rest of the day might be employed exactly as they pleased. They pursued their secular occupations on the sabbath day with all freedom-bought and sold, carried their corn, trod the wine-press, conveyed commodities from place to place, and engaged in every form of traffic and merchandise (Neh. xiii. 15, 16). This was the lowest theory of sabbath-observance propo!.!nded by any, and it received direct and severe condemnation from Jeremiah (x:vii. 21-23) and Nehemiah (xiii. 15, 16). II. A second form of observance added to the Levities! enactments "with respect to sacrifices and the "holy convocation," an abstinence during the rest of the day from work of every sort-an abstinence which was sometimes pushed to excess, as wbcu it was interpreted to forbid self-defence in war (1 Mace. ii. 34--38). These religioni8ts were content to remain in a negation, and, so long as they preserved the sabbatical rest unimpaired, were fully satisfied in their consciences, Something of the same spirit, it is to be feared, still pervades certain parts of Christendom. Mere abstinence from work -a negative "folding of the hands "-appears to be thought acceptable to God; and the sabbath is given a morose aspect by the disallowance of occupations which are innocent, which conduce to cheerfulness, and which are in no way at variance with piety. III. The third and only rightful forl!l of observance, here touched by Isaiah, and more fully taught by our Lord (Matt. xii. 3-13), consists, in tho first place, in "making the sabbath a delight." It should be made a delight, both to ourselves and to others. God's people should look forward to their sabbaths as times of refreshmont and of" joy in the Lord "-oases in the wilderness of life, glimpses and foretast~s of heaven. Music should lend its charm to them, intensifying and elovating devotion ; the aid of other arts should be called in; churches should be aglow with floral beauty; preaching should be warm and heart-stirring; and the highest net of Christian worship should be viewed as the crowning perfection of the feast-day, In the next place, our Lord's example should be followed, and his words remembered, "It is lawful to do good CUL the sabbath day." Acts of mercy and loving-kindness to our fellow-men are pointed THE BOOK OF THE PkOPlIE'r ISAtAlt. ten. LVllt. 1-1!
out by him as our best employment on the sabl>ath; it is the special day on which to '\'i!'it the sick, to clothe the naked, to give our bread to the hungry, to relieve the orpressed, to carry the glad tidings of the gospel to the poor and ignorant. It is also R day part of which may well be devoted to the strengthening of family affection by oral or written communications with relations from whom the business of life commonly separates us, and also for kindly talk with our neighbours and friends. Without in any way secularizing the sabbatb, we may give it a cheerful, kindly, fi:iendly aspect, and cause it to be regarded in our families, not as a "dull time," with difficulty to be "got through," but, as it was intended to be, the crown of the week- the special "dny which the Lord hath made," to the end that we should "rejoice and be glad in it" (Ps. cxviii. 24).