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by Isaac Leeser
"Hear, O Israel, the Lord, our
God, is the Lord one."
If we look into the nature of all
religions, we will discover that they are necessarily based upon the
acknowledged existence of a Being superior to the utmost power of man;
and this feeling of inferiority is so strong in the human bosom, that
scarcely any savage nation has ever been discovered that had not some
notion, however crude and imperfect, of the existence of the Deity. For,
whenever man applies himself to labour, he instinctively feels that he
lacks the power to mould circumstances to his will, and he naturally,
therefore, looks up to a mightier One to assist him in his undertaking.
So the farmer ploughs his field, and scatters the seed in the open
furrows, whence he hopes to reap an abundant harvest at the usual
season. But is it enough that he has completed his task? will the germ
shoot up without moisture or heat? will the ear, after it is formed,
blossom amid drenching showers? will the grain ripen amidst mildew and
blasting? and after it is ready for the sickle, can it withstand the
shock of the hail-stone or the tooth of devouring insects? The
field-labourer, therefore, tills the soil with dread and apprehension,
lest the blessing, without which his toil is vain, be withheld; but when
his field is ripe with an abundant product, and when this yield is
stored away safe in his garners, his heart swells with natural
thankfulness to the unseen Preserver of his labour, to the beneficent
Giver of the timely sunshine and the seasonable rain which have matured
what he entrusted fearfully to the bosom of the earth.
The same course of thought will force
itself upon every uncorrupted mind, which has not been destroyed by the
overweening pride which shuts out the callous heart from feelings of
acknowledged dependence and necessary gratitude; for it can only be a
wilful blindness to the evidences of the existence of a higher Power,
which can induce a mortal to believe himself the highest intelligent
being of which he can form an idea.
Let us see what the atheist is, supposing
even that such a unfortunate lost mortal should exist in reality. He
finds himself placed without his consent or his own connivance in the
midst of many creatures of various degrees of power and of intellect,
not one of which exists by his contrivance, not one of which he can
entirely destroy by all his arts, by all his exertions. Nevertheless he
will not admit that his being here is any evidence of a higher Power,
since he believes that all exists, as it does, by mere chance, by a
fortuity which he cannot explain, which he nevertheless claims as the
true solution of his being. Does this train of ideas place him beyond
the reach of contingencies? does his denial of an ulterior Power secure
him against the assaults of adversities which hover around him? By no
means; he is the slave of circumstances equally with all other men, and
he cannot tear himself loose in the least degree from the fate which is
common to all. As far, therefore, as any real or permanent benefit is
concerned, there is nothing gained by the atheist; since he is and
remains a mere mortal, liable to diseases, controlled by accidents,
subject to all the vicissitudes which flesh is heir to. What consolation
now can he have, should sorrow or pain fall to his lot? to whom is he to
fly for help? of whom is he to seek consolation? He is hungry in the
loneliness of the desert; he floats upon the broad face of the ocean
borne on a solitary plank of a disjointed wreck, himself the sole
survivor of a gallant crew of a noble ship;--on whom is he to call to
deliver him from his perilous situation? Mark, as soon as he calls on
God, he is no longer an atheist, for then his pride has yielded before
the Aider of the afflicted. Therefore suppose him obdurate as he was
before his distress, place him, as you found him in former days, among
those who believe their intellect the highest, their will the sole
motive of their action: and whence can he derive the least consolation
in his distresses? Yes, there may be the stupor of despair, the sullen
submission to that which the sufferer cannot avoid; but is this
consolation? can this furnish a single motive for hope? Now suppose,
though hope was not in the sufferer's heart, though the idea of aid had
fled from his thoughts, an unexpected deliverance be nevertheless sent
to him; has he, in his pride of unbelief, any real cause for joy? Blind
chance placed him in the desert, and uncontrollable fate left him
floating on the ocean, and a similar chance or fate, as he weens it,
places him again beyond the danger which threatened to annihilate him.
Where then can be his joy? To-morrow a similar accident, or one of equal
imminency, though of a different nature, may environ him, and end his
existence, which to him can be of no real value, seeing that he is
always during his few years of life threatened with a thousand dangers,
whereas he must know that before long he must at length hopelessly
succumb to the force of disease, or to the uncontrolled violence of the
chance-creatures around him. How dark, therefore, how hopeless must be
the soul of the unbeliever; and for what does he endure this constant
torment? merely to maintain the pride of opinion, to persevere in the
once conceived idea that his being is the greatest in nature, that his
wisdom cannot be improved by that of an Author of all. Surely this is
all such an unfortunate, as we have described, can plead as his excuse,
that he perceives not the necessity of a controlling Power, and that it
therefore does not exist, as he imagines.
And should such a pride rob us of our
stay in affliction, our hope in distress? are we to be so stubborn as to
suppose ourselves supreme, when every moment of our existence is fraught
with instruction that we are subject to laws of nature which we did not
establish? that every thing around us moves and is directed by one
supreme and uniform Will?
If now a man yields himself to this
conviction, and receives within his soul the acknowledgement of a
supreme Author and Ruler of all things, he certainly does not escape
from the ills and trials of life; he is a member of the human fmaily,
and as such subject, if you will, helplessly so, to all the vicissitudes
of human life. Our blessed teacher, the friend of God and man, Moses the
son of Amram, long since called our attention to this fact; for, instead
of appealing to the immunity from sorrow to be granted to Dathan and
Abiram as a test of his not being a prophet, he only says that he would
forfeit his claim to truth, in case the usual fate of man only should
reach them, that is, if they should sicken under pain and die a natural
death by the usual methods which terminate human life. The attestation
of his mission was therefore only put upon the extraordinariness of the
fate which should instantly overwhelm them; and when this attestation
was verified by the event, no farther proof was for the moment needed by
the people, but a moment before incredulous enough, of the verity of the
man who had become, under God, their greatest benefactor. Belief in the
existence of a God, therefore, leaves us nothing but mortals; yet not
mortals without hope, without consolation; on the contrary, it satisfies
us that we are subordinate beings, in the power and control of One who
is infinite in resources, kindness and truth, who afflicts for the
correction of the faults incident to our nature, and reproves that the
erring child may be taught wisdom in the school of adversity.
In this respect also the believer in
Providence has a resource in affliction far above the atheist; because
he feels the unavoidable circumstances attendant on his being are within
the direct control of a Power capable of assisting, and willing to grant
relief, if such relief be conducive for the real benefit of the
sufferer. For, inasmuch as our power is inferior to that of the Supreme,
our wisdom must necessarily be so in an equal degree; hence we learn to
submit with patience, where our penetration has even not shown us the
necessity of our enduring the ills, as we consider them, which have
fallen to our lot. We can, therefore, when suffering any of the many
afflictions, which reach us no less than others, reflect that He who,
from his superior strength and wisdom, looks farther and deeper into the
connection and ultimate result of things than we have the means of
doing, knows at the very moment of our distress that good will result
sooner or later from this tribulation; just as, though in an infinitely
higher degree, the skilful pilot leads the vessel entrusted to his care
through dangerous channels which the less instructed seaman regards with
mute despair and helpless astonishment. Should even death be the
immediate result of the pains we are enduring, we shall nevertheless be
able to remain calm and resigned; for the fabric which by this event
drops into ruins is, notwithstanding this change, as much within the
control of its great Author, as when the parts composing the
wonderful structure were entire and working in that harmonious manner,
as body arid spirit, which their supreme Architect had imparted to them.
We say, therefore, that believing is a
source of joy and consolation in its very essence; unbelief; in the same
manner, the source of pride on one side, and of sullen despair on the
other. When the atheist is proud in the arrogance of his acquired wisdom
and power, the child of faith is meek and submissive; and when the
former is overwhelmed with the ills which rise in masses like the waves
of the sea over his head, and knows no egress from the force of
calamities which he himself cannot remove, whilst he acknowledges no one
who can remove them: the man, who sees in God the Parent of the evil no
less than the good, is full of resignation and hope; because he feels
that his deeds may have deserved visitation, and he trusts that
the One whom he adores will, if it beseemeth his wisdom, take off the
load of ills which lie heavily on his neck.
But
not alone from the individual happiness which the belief in the
existence of God confers must we view the subject, if we mean to deserve
the name of rational creatures. For there are many proofs, drawn from
the organization of all things, which speak in a language not to be
misunderstood that there is an Intelligence far above the wisdom of man,
and a Power infinitely above that of mortals, which pervade all nature.
Were it that a mere chance had accidentally piled up the vast mountains,
poured out the unfathomable oceans, lit up the heavens with countless
bright stars, or endowed the brilliant sun with effulgence of light and
heat: there would, in all probability, be some faltering; some time or
other, in this chance-born universe, some hesitation in the perfect
order of which we are cognizant every where, every day of our life. Yet
this we never see; there are changes in temperature, in the comparative
length of seasons, in the fruitfulness of the years, in the intellect
and strength of various individuals or in the same persons at different
periods of their lives; but these variations we will, upon
investigation, discover to be all proceeding upon fixed rules, often
apparent to our intellect even; and as we know ourselves to be limited
in acquirements, and incapable of grasping more than a limited number of
words, ideas, and facts, we must conclude that though we know not the
cause, a wiser Being may, and what is more, must know the whole secret
of the mysterious chain of which we see neither the beginning nor the
end. A mere accident could not have produced the order and harmony, nor
reconciled the contrariety of elements which constitute the objects of
outward nature, not to mention the intellectual endowments which are
inherent in Man. If, however, a chance or accident could have called
forth this order and this harmony we have been briefly endeavouring to
sketch, then would it be at once a being superior to the individuals it
has produced, or a deity in itself. The very words, therefore, which the
unbeliever must necessarily make use of to express his unbelief, would
thus, when strictly viewed, overthrow the very systems he wishes to
uphold. We acknowledge that we are not able to explain how the Deity we
believe in does exist; but this only demonstrates the insufficiency of
our intellect to grasp the Infinite in power, in years, in wisdom, in
space. As much might the stone which the sculptor hews into shape
understand the thoughts of the artist who gives it form and beauty, as
the child of clay to dive into the nature or being of the Most High, by
whose will he lives.
In
short, the only solution of our existence is involved in the existence
of a God, who is intelligent, good, and powerful, and this belief is the
only source of happiness to us in the state in which we live on earth,
and in that hereafter for which we all sigh, and which we all
feel, even without reverting to revelation, to be the destined lot of
man.
But
not on mere cold reasoning only was this fundamental principle of our
faith left to rest for its support. Revelation, or, as we may term it,
the goodness of God as manifested in the annunciation of his will,
declared unto us his existence, and certified us that this belief is the
first requisite for a religious life, and for a happy death. By this we
mean to say; that in order to assist the reflections of man which would
of themselves have ultimately led him to acknowledge a Creator, a time
was when the everlasting God displayed his glory in such a manner to his
creatures, as to force them to believe from their own conviction in his
existence and power, and He at that time announced himself as the
Creator and Ruler of all that exists within the entire range of our
imagination. In this annunciation He declared that it is our duty to believe
in his being and powers and He ordained at the same time, that this
belief, or acceptance of this idea, should be the foundation of our
whole life; that is to say, that this idea having once filled our spirit
with its importance, should direct us in a path, which would in the best
manner possible secure unto us and others all the happiness of which our
state, of mortality in this existence, of immortality hereafter, is
capable receiving.
And
so we read in Scripture: "I am the Lord thy God who have brought
thee out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage." (Exo. 20.
2.) "And know this day, and consider it in thy heart, that the Lord
is the God in the heavens above, and upon the earth beneath, there is
none else." (Deut. iv. 39.) "Bread ye have not eaten, neither
wine nor strong drink have you drunk, that ye might know that I am the
Lord your God." (Ib. 24.5.) "See now that I, I am He
(everliving,) and there is no god with me; I kill and I make alive; I
wound and I heal; nor is there any one can deliver out of my hand." (Ib. 32. 39.)
This
is the doctrine of the existence of the All-powerful as developed in the
law of Moses, verifying in this authoritative manner the sound
investigations of human intellect. Thus is amply confirmed the first
article of the creed of Maimonides, which is in these words: "I
believe with a perfect faith, that the Creator, blessed be his name, is
the Creator and Ruler of all creatures, and
that He alone has made, does make, and will make, whatever has
being." So also says the first verse of the hymn Yigdal:
"Extolled be the living God, and praised be He; He exists, but his
existence is not bounded by time."
Having
in the above brief manner illustrated the first step to the life of a
pious Israelite, we must reluctantly break off for the present, and
resume the discussion of the other articles of our faith in the
succeeding numbers of our Magazine.
(To
be continued.) |
