Sabbath-Breaking on the Canal: A Poem

The poem examines the growth of canal trade and the hard labor of boatmen while condemning the practice of working on the Sabbath, warning that such neglect invites divine judgment yet remains open to repentance and mercy. It depicts the moral and spiritual stakes for laborers, contrasts pursuit of wealth with eternal well-being, and praises examples of watermen who honor Sabbath rest. Scriptural images and appeals to God underpin its exhortations, and the poem concludes with a hopeful vision of converted souls keeping an eternal Sabbath under Christ, urging readers toward faith, obedience, and communal worship.