ufactories on the Sabbath is wrong, and ought to be I stopped. But what shall be done in time of HAYING? The weather has been bad, and much hay is out. For a number of days it has been rainy; the Sabbath : comes, and is a fair day. What shall be done? Shall the farmers rest, as on other Sabbaths, attend public worship, and let the hay lie; or shall they go into the field, take care of the hay, and secure it ? ” Let them rest, attend public worship, and perform the appropriate duties of the Sabbath. Let them be contented with what hay they can secure in six days. "Six days shalt thou labor," and in them, saith Jehovah, "do all thy work." "Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy; in it do no work." makes no exception for haying time.

God

"But it may rain on Monday, and the hay be injured, perhaps spoiled." That is true. It is also true, that a man may be sick on Monday, and he may die. If he does not work on the Sabbath, he may not be able to work at all. On the other hand, it may not rain on Monday, and the man may be alive and well, and better fitted to work than he would be should he labor on the Sabbath. Or, if it should rain on Monday and Tuesday, and his hay be injured, or even spoiled, that is no good reason why he should work on the Sabbath. God did not say, Thou shalt not do any work except in haying time, or unless it is likely to rain on Monday; and men have no right to make that addition. He that addeth to the word of God, or taketh from it, will fall under his curse.

Men have no right to gain any more property, or secure any more, in their ordinary business, than they can by keeping the Sabbath day holy. In that way they can get all that they need, or have any right to possess.

But it is said, "If a house is on fire, you will allow a man to put it out. If visited with a sudden and unexpected inundation, which threatens to sweep No. 4.

4

away his house, you will allow him, if he can, to secure it, though his family might flee from it, and thus not lose their lives, if it should be carried away."

These are sudden providences, against which no foresight or prudent care during the week can guard. They do not come under the head of ordinary business; and what is done, must be done at the time when the providence occurs, or not at all. This is known. Very different is it with the tending or the getting in of hay. That is a part of a man's regular employment. There is no certainty that, if he does not do it on a particular Sabbath, he cannot do it at all. Facts show that it ordinarily may be done on other days, and as well done; nay, that, in the long run, it may be better done, and often more may be secured, by not working, than by working on the Sabbath. It is, on the whole, better, for this world as well as the future, not to violate this day.

A number of men, at one time, had mowed a large quantity of hay. For a number of days it had been rainy. The Sabbath came, and was a remarkably pleasant day. One man staid at home, opened his hay, took care of it, and in the afternoon got it into his barn. His neighbors did nothing of the kind, but went as usual with their families to the house of God. On their return, one of them met the man who had been getting in his hay, who expressed his regret that his neighbors should be so superstitious as to go off, and leave their hay exposed to be again wet. said that he had been more wise, and had secured his. "Now," said he, "it may rain again on Monday, and you not be able to get in yours.' That was true. His neighbors knew it. But they concluded to leave that with God. One thing was certain not rain without good reasons for it. was equally certain hay be injured, and even spoiled, that would not be so great an evil as to do what they knew to be wrong.

He

that, if it should

that it would Another thing rain, and the

Monday came, and it rained. It rained also on Tuesday and on Wednesday. Thursday was remarkably pleasant. All who had hay out, went busily to work. Friday was fair, and also Saturday. All the hay that I had been out in the rain was thoroughly dried and housed. The Sabbath came. The first part of it was pleasant. In the afternoon a cloud arose, looked dark and scowling. It extended and moved on towards the barn into which, on the previous Sabbath, the man had put his hay, and where he thought he had "secured it." The lightning darted here and there, and by and by went down into the barn. "I knew," said a man who was near, "that it struck, from the feeling. I started up, and ran to the window, and the smoke was issuing from that barn. They rang the bells, got out the fire-engines, and did all in their power, but they could not stop the fire. They saw that the barn must go. Nor was that all; his neighbors' barns on each side were so near that it seemed impossible to prevent them from being burned. But as the flames burst out, and the sparks began to fly, the rain poured down in sheets, which, with the engines, kept those barns so perfectly drenched with water that neither of them took fire, and the Sabbathbreaker's barn was burnt out between them." "Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work." That man did not gain any thing by disobeying God, nor did his neighbors lose any thing by obeying him. There is that gathereth at a time and in a way that is not meet, and it tendeth to poverty. Men are dependent upon God, and in the keeping of his commands there is great reward. Regard to his will about the Sabbath, as well as other things, is profitable.

Grain may be

"But it may be HARVEST-TIME. scarce, and a man may need all he has for his family. If it is cut, and is dry, and on the Sabbath it looks

He knew

likely to rain, shall he not get it in, and thus preserve it for his family?" What saith Jehovah? "In earing-time and in harvest thou shalt rest." that the temptations to break his law at this season of the year would be strong; and that, if he said nothing in particular about it, men might make this exception, and think that the case was so peculiar that they might do that part of their work on the Sabbath. He therefore set the matter at rest, by explicitly saying, "In earing-time and in harvest," as well as at other times, "thou shalt rest." Besides, if a man works on the Sabbath to secure his grain, when it is going to rain, it is by no means certain that he will succeed. Jehovah told his ancient people that, if they should desecrate the Sabbath, he would kindle a fire which should not be quenched. He can at any time do this. Sometimes he does do it; and not unfrequently in connection with the breaking of the Sabbath.

A young man in a thunder-storm, after a vivid flash of lightning, came out of his room, and said to his friends, that he did not like to stay alone when it lightened so, and that he never had since his father's barn was burned. That started the question as to when the barn was burned. He said they were at meeting at

-, on the Sabbath, in harvest-time, and the father came to his sons at noon, and said they must go home and get in that wheat, which was in fine order, for it looked likely to rain; and if it should, and the wheat get wet, it would almost spoil it. They therefore started off, went home, and engaged in getting in the wheat. They worked hard, and just as the last load reached the barn, the shower came. "There," said the old man, "now we have secured our wheat, without having get something to drink." hardly seated before the playing about, struck the

it wet.

Let us go in and They went in, and were lightning, which had been barn, which, with another

: barn adjoining, both full, was burned to ashes. "I have never liked to stay alone," said the young man, "when it lightens so, since that." The grain was not so secure as the father thought; not so secure as it might have been had it been left in the field. The man had better have staid at church and worshipped God according to his commandments, and regarded him more than the wheat. He giveth rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. He alone maketh us, our friends, and our property, to dwell in safety. The best way is to trust in him, follow the path of duty, anxious for nothing; but in every thing, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, make known our requests unto God; and thus he will su ply all our need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Godliness with contentment will be found to be great gain. If men will not take this course, but will trust to their own wisdom, in opposition to that of God, he can thunder marvellously with his voice, can shoot forth his lightnings and discomfit them, and so consume their treasures that nothing but blackness and ashes shall mark the place where they stood. Or he can suffer them, as he sometimes does, to remain; their owners to accumulate rapidly by transgression; and then, through them, illustrate his truth in another aspect, viz., that, "as the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not, so is he that getteth riches, but not by right; he shall leave them in the midst of his days, and in the end thereof shall be a fool."

A man in the state of New York was accustomed to work on the Sabbath, and was eager to get other men to work for him, because he could get them cheaper than on other days. He boasted of his freedom from those restraints with which other men were hampered. He was such an annoyance to his neighbors by his wickedness, that one, who wished to keep the Sabbath, said to him, "I should think you would