But it is impossible thus to regard man. Man has a spiritual, never-dying, as surely as he has an animal and mortal nature, which act and re-act upon each other, so that the well-being of the one is essential to the well-being of the other. He, therefore, who would confine man’s views to this world, and limit his endeavours after happiness to the present life, snatches from him, along with the hopes of the future, the riches of the present. Debarred from his Father’s house and his Father’s table, he will soon be wallowing in the mire of ignorance and vice, and feeding on the husks of sensual indulgence. He who chains man to continuous and unremitting exertion of his physical system, unfits his mind for activity, and degrades him to a condition little above that of a beast of burden. The Sabbath, then, must be viewed in its relation to every part of man’s nature, in its influence upon him as a whole, before we can fully appreciate even the merely temporal benefits it is calculated to confer upon the human family. Some have said, that another arrangement would be more beneficial,--that, were more time for repose allotted to each day without a Sabbath, the purposes of Sabbath rest would be more fully attained. Were the Sabbath a human institution, appointed by earthly legislators, for purposes relating to this life, this point might be open to discussion. As it is not the institution of man, however, but that of our all-wise Creator, I shall merely ask those who advocate such a change, how they propose to bring it about? and how preserve it, when once obtained? Is it not that the Sabbath claims to be an institution of Heaven, and thus laying hold of man’s conscience, ensures attention to its demands from all who fear God and tremble at his word--is it not its appearing in this character which secures to it any degree of attention and respect from society? It is the influences of the Sabbath which will yet introduce a better regulated system of labour during the week; and he who would abolish it as a step towards such an improvement, flings away the most safe and certain means of accomplishing his object. It is only by the advancement of the labouring classes themselves in intelligence and civilization, that any really important or beneficial change can ever take place in the regulation of labour; but even were such a change effected, were the hours of daily toil considerably shortened, would there not still be abundant room for a Sabbath? How are the moral and intellectual character, the tastes and habits of working men to be elevated, without the opportunities and the influences of this institution?