period were the first
completely to divest this ancient institution of its heathen
significance and give it a deeper religious, and therefore social
and humanitarian interpretation. They gave it its true and eternal
content, declaring that God decreed that all who labor should have
their needed rest. The prophet who added the noble interpretation
in Deuteronomy 5:14, 15, declares that it was not only that old and
young, master and slave, might rest, but also that even the toiling
ox and ass and the resident alien might have the relaxation which
their tired bodies required. Thus these inspired prophets traced
the ultimate basis of the institution of the Sabbath to God's
providence for the innate needs of man. They recognized that it
was essential for the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of
the individual and, therefore, for the welfare of the State. That
the Hebrews might not forget this obligation, the prophets appealed
to the memory of the days when the Israelites themselves were
slaves in the land of Egypt and the thought of how Jehovah
delivered them from their slavery.

Tuan Fang, the great Manchu viceroy who only recently met martyrdom
at the hands of his warring countrymen, said when visiting America
a few years ago, "I think that when I return to China I will
introduce Sunday in my province." When asked whether he would make
it the seventh day, he replied, "Yes, for I think that the seventh
day is far better than the tenth. Furthermore, for the convenience
and economy of all, I will make it correspond to the Christian
Sunday. From my study of the conditions in America and of the
needs in China I am convinced that the Sabbath is a most valuable
and essential institution."

Later Judaism revived the earlier heathen content of the Sabbath,
and lost sight of its deeper political, social and humanitarian
significance. Unfortunately the Christian church and above all our
Puritan fathers followed the guidance of the later priests rather
than of the early prophets. Jesus with his clear insight into
human hearts and needs, and with his glowing love for men,
repudiated the harsh, mechanical interpretation of the Sabbath
current in his day and reasserted the teachings of the great
prophets that preceded him; "The Sabbath was made for man, not man
for the Sabbath."

Does the social and humanitarian interpretation of the Sabbath
obscure or deepen its religious significance? Does the great body
of th