SUNDAY HARVESTING.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 7073, 20 February 1893, Page 2

SUNDAY HARVESTING.

(XO THE EDITOR.) Sib, —Mr James Bishop denies that Sunday harvesting in face of threatening weather is a justifiable act—a work of necessity, virtually saying, “ Let the work of a year bn was'ed and (ho crop perish rather than stretch out a hand on Sunday to save it.'* And ho supports his contention by quoting the 4th Command as a Divine forbidding of the act. A religious man will obey a Divine command whatever the cost or loss ; and rightly so. But does the 4lh Command, which forbids working ou Saturday (the seventh day or Sabbath) apply to human conduct on Sunday (the first day of the week} P If it does, then for sake of consistency no farmer can over drive or ride to church on Sunday, or employ his man-servant or maid-servant in farm or household work that day, for the 4th Command prohibits work of every kind whether horse or man. i A farmer must not break even one section of it to suit his personal convenience. We are all agreed as to the absolute necessity of Sunday as a resting day. An Act of Parliament preserves the day from pati >nal desecra tion j but I fail to find any command in the Scripture which by any stretch of interpretation can moan that if there is an endangering of the harvest through threatening weather, the farmer is to fold his arms and witness the destruction of his crop without making an effort to save it, and as a consequence compound with hio creditors, or be ruined and so 1 bring his family to beggary. The foolish Jews lost Jerusalem to the Homans because they wouldn’t fight on the dabbath, and equally foolish the farmer who might save his crop by working on the Sunday but will not. Let us have good sense and power of distinguishing between the letter and spirit of a law. God is not a hard task-master, and the Son of God when on earth indignantly rebuked the Pharisees for finding fault with his disciples who had plqckad ears of corn and rubbed them between their hands on the Sabbath Day (which act those sticklers for the letter of the i aw regarded as being equivalent ;o reaping and threshing). He distinctly sanctioned necessary work, such as lifting a sheep out of a pit, where it h«d fallen, and be said-“It is lawful tq da good on the Sabbath day." I say not a word in defence of those wdio habitually, wantonly and defiantly desecrate the Sunday, but only or behalf of those who in times of emergency and on exceptional occasions sacrifice their resting day to save the result of a ycan's toil,, to provide for their familieu, and aa honest men to pay 30b in the pound. If a farmer mustn’t fare bis crop on Sunday, then our harbouromatoK likewise must not work either bitpself qr fne op Sunday to secure the

shipping within the breakwater if sudden emergency were to arise. Where is the difference? Is it possible that an All-wise God forbids such works of necessity as these ? I am, etc., 0. 0. Bbowk. Timaru, Feb. 17, 1893,