Those who see much of this class will be deeply convinced that we have no means of reaching them at present as a class, though the direct and earnest attention of the Church, in all its branches, to their condition and needs, is a most hopeful symptom; but looking at this great class, and their relation to society—so benighted, so withered in soul, as to resist sternly the Divinest influences—I confess it seems to me a terrible responsibility to keep them away, on any day, from anything which would do them even a little good. It is but little that we can hope, and that little will be slowly realized. With sorrow we open the way for them—sorrow, that they will not choose a more excellent way. We believe in God’s high purpose in the institution of the Sabbath day, and fling wide the gates of our sanctuaries. But if men pass scornfully or scowlingly, let us at least be thankful, tearfully thankful, if they are not passing by our doors to dens of vice and crime. Let us not tell them, If you do not come here, the Lord does not care where you go. Let us tell them that HE follows them everywhere with His care,—that HE has spread abroad the expanse of nature for them,—that He has given art, science, commerce, and history to man;—it may chance that many, hearing this, may desire to know more of Him, and learn from himself what He means by a Sabbath day. It may be said, and with justice, that the majority of the frequenters of the Crystal Palace will hardly be of the class which has been described. Not the poorest, but the class above the poorest—the well-paid artizans, the shopmen and shopwomen, the mercantile clerks and the kindred classes will furnish at any rate a large proportion of the visitors to this Exhibition. It is worth one’s while to consider thoughtfully whether we are prepared to apply the same rigid rule, as regards the measure of time to be devoted to public services on the Lord’s day, to the poor workman and shopman confined to the hot dense air of the factory or shop during all the disposable hours of the week, and living probably in a home but sparely visited by the light and air of heaven,—between which home and the sanctuary he ought, according to the present theory, to divide his time on the Sabbath,—and to the rich man who, in the afternoon or evening, can walk in his own garden, pluck the fruit of his own vine and fig-tree, ventilate his lungs in the purest and balmiest air, and, being refreshed in body, can go down to God’s house in comfort and refresh his soul. We must beware, lest we make the lot of the poor more bitter by the yoke of our law of ordinances which are in themselves beautiful and benignant, lest he take the name of his God in vain. Many hold forth a rest day in the week as the remedy. This simply means, in most cases, the sacrifice of four or five shillings a week. Six days’ labour can hardly supply the needs of a poor man’s family, especially its higher needs.