The New Crystal Palace and the Christian Sabbath

The sermon warns that proposals to reopen the Crystal Palace to Sunday visitors threaten the sanctity of the Christian Sabbath and risk national moral decline. The preacher recounts that the original exhibition observed Sunday closure and criticizes plans to re-establish the structure under a royal charter permitting afternoon service with limited restrictions. Arguing from Scripture, analogies to natural law, and historical precedent, he contends that concessions to commerce and pleasure violate divine command and invite divine judgment. He rejects compromise as morally dangerous and urges Christians to mount dutiful remonstrance to preserve Sabbath observance and public righteousness.