|
A Sermon,
Pronounced at the Synagogue Mikveh Israel, at Philadelphia, on Thanksgiving Day, Kislev 28th,
(Dec. 21st,) 5604.
From the rising of the sun even to his setting, let
thy name, O our God, be praised; and let all flesh acknowledge thy
goodness and thy mercy, wherewith thou governest thy world. All that
exists is fed and maintained by thy bounty, because from Thee all
creatures spring; and it is thy power which makes all great, and which
strengthens all. It is thus that in every age, and in every clime, they
who fear Thee have experienced this consoling truth, that Thou art the
Guardian who watchest over the fate of men; and in prosperity they
looked to Thee to continue unto them the blessings which their deeds had
not deserved; and in their affliction they raised to Thee their eyes and
their heart, that Thou, in thy mercy, mightest redeem them from the evil
which rested heavily upon them. And in accordance with this pious
feeling, behold us here before thy throne this day, to acknowledge by
our presence and our words, our gratitude for the many favours which
Thou hast showered on this land in the past year. The fields have teemed
with plenty, and the product has repaid the labourer's toil; the
granaries are filled to
overflowing; and hills and valleys have rejoiced under the magnificent
harvest which thy mercy had provided for the sons of man. And peace has
smiled over all this country, and in all its extent every man has sat
under the shadow of his roof, and the sound of war has not terrified
him, nor brought alarm to the bosom of his wife and little ones; and
equitable laws have held out their strong protection over the high and
the low, and none but the evil-doers have had cause to fear the sword of
justice which hung suspended over their heads. All this, and more, have
we received; and we truly feel that it is not our wisdom and our
strength that have brought all this blessing unto us; but that it was
thy gracious kindness which has given us enlargement. Be it then thy
will to fill our hearts with thankfulness, that we may be fully
impressed with the weight of obligation which rests upon us; that we may
be preserved from sin, and continue for years and years to come, to be
the recipients of the same grace which we have received the past year.
In order that our souls may sing thy praise, now and for ever. Amen!
Brethren!
On an occasion, when our forefather Jacob felt both
grateful for past favours, and looked with anxiety to the future, he
thus addressed the Deity who had watched over him during his long and
weary pilgrimage in foreign lands:
קטנתי
מכל החסידים
ומכל האמת
אשר עשית את
עבדך כי
במקלי עברתי
את הירדן הזה
ועתה הייתי
לשני מחנות
"I am not worthy of all the
mercies and of all the truth which Thou hast shown unto thy servant; for
with my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I am become two
bands."—Genesis 32.11.
If
our pious ancestor, who had in person received from the august presence
of the Most High the assurance of his protection, found in himself no
meritorious acts which could have deserved the mercies and the truth
which had been bestowed on him, because of the covenant with Abraham and
Isaac which was confirmed to him when he slept at the place which he
designated, as the "house of God:" how much more must we feel
humbled because of all the goodness which had been meted out to us since
the first day of our being! It is well, therefore, that we, both as
citizens of this commonwealth, and as Israelites, unite with the other
inhabitants of this state, to return thanks, all that we have to give to
the Lord, for the many favours which his providence has so bountifully
bestowed upon us all in so marked a manner; at the same time, that we
institute an inquiry into our actions, to see whether or not our conduct
is in accordance with the sentiment of gratitude which we profess to
feel. First, as citizens, I said, that we ought to be thankful. If ever
country, other than the blessed commonwealth of Israel, had especial
cause for glorifying the most holy Name, it is surely the republic of
the United States of America. It is a country which extends from the
Atlantic to the great ocean of the West, and from the thunders of the
Niagara, where the perpetual bow is reflected by the rays of the sun,
unto where the "father of rivers" mingles its waters with the
floods of the Mexican gulf. And wherever in this wide domain
civilization has pitched her tent, there too liberty has taken up her
abode. Here and there some remnant of barbarous laws yet remains;
prejudice has as yet in a few places the dominion over sober reason and
truth; but in general, wherever waves the flag of the Union, there too
is liberty of person,—there too is security of property; and what is
dearer still to the heart of the lover of truth, sweeter to the soul of
the Israelite, there too is liberty of conscience; there man can call on
his God in the manner his parents have taught him; there he can believe
what his conscience permits him, without suffering political
disqualifications for his peculiar religious acts, without being
subjected to pains and penalties by an inquisition into the state of his
religious opinions. And should not Israel's sons love this land? should
they not defend it in time of need foremost among its stoutest
defenders? Are they not sons of the soil? members of the government?
citizens of the republic? Do they not worship as their conscience
teaches them? Do they not erect houses of prayer wherever they desire,
and call unmolested on the One All-Father, who thrones in heaven,
in strains of a distant land, in words of a former age? Ay, and they
worship even thus; and where is the adversary who dares to molest them
in their constitutional rights? who can abridge in this their
unalienable privilege of citizenship? Indeed this is cause of
thankfulness, and this blessing comes from God; for He, "who
turneth the hearts of kings like water," having compassion on the
long sufferings of his people in the lands of their captivity, filled
with wisdom the hearts of those who framed the fundamental laws of this
country, that they struck off the chains from the captives of centuries,
and bid the reason enlightened by the wisdom of God know of no chains
save the bonds of religion, of no fetters save the commands of the Most
High. Still, with the severance of state from religion, with the
annihilation of hypocrisy in order to obtain court favour, the state of
morals has not degenerated below the standard of the old world; and
though we hear of deeds of violence and of fraud which are a disgrace to
human nature,—though there are perhaps national foibles which are not
chargeable to other countries: it is not saying any more than the simple
truth to aver, that as a whole people the inhabitants of this land have no more crimes to answer for than other
nations, and that the state of sinfulness we witness only proves man in
no state of society is otherwise than prone to evil, and violates the
laws of holiness from the perverseness of his disposition, and not
rarely from a defective education. This is not the place, nor is to-day
the time, to enlarge upon this point; but it opens for the reflecting
mind a vast field of inquiry, which will yield also ample fruits if
taken in connexion with religion, especially that system to which we
Hebrews are attached. Nor has the state suffered from not being
supported by a paid hierarchy, and richly endowed religious
establishments. On the contrary, the experiment of free institutions on
a large scale in an extensive country, with every variety of climate,
with an almost entire diversity of interests among its millions of
inhabitants, has proved entirely successful, although no church was
leagued with the civil power to support it against the turbulence of the
popular masses. What is more, though the timid stand trembling in doubt
because of the obscure future, and imagine that the dissensions
naturally belonging to a popular government will at length disrupt this
vast confederacy, and place petty sovereigns at the head of its
disjointed members, because they believe that man is not fit for
self-government: the philanthropist, guided by the wholesome truths
which the Bible so plentifully offers, in government no less than
religion, can see no ground for this fear of the timid; and he beholds
only the downfall of the constitution in a state of voluptuousness and
imbecility like that which overwhelmed ancient Rome, when its love for
liberty had been choked by the influx of useless wealth, produced by
useless conquests; and if this should unfortunately be the state of the
people, it would be a just punishment for them that they be cursed by
Providence with the possession of royal heads and their natural
companions, a favoured patrician caste, and a pampered regal church. In
the mean time, it is a gift from on high that the liberties of this land
are established on a foundation, to say the least, as sure as that of
any regal government, and the absolute equality which each citizen
enjoys, is a cause of thankfulness to the Giver of all good.
But
independently of these theoretical blessings, which the mere creature of
pleasure and the lover of gain may not value, perhaps, there are
tangible objects of enjoyment which have been conferred on this land. It is not many years ago that a spirit of daring and reckless
speculation pervaded all classes and stations. Men wanted to grow rich,
not by the slow process of accumulating little to little, each the fruit
of honest industry and legitimate earning; but by quickly amassing where
nothing had been invested, and by suddenly reaping a large harvest where
nothing had been sown. It was then that a blight fell upon the land; the
merchant saw his speculations fail; the supposed wealth was reduced to
its nothingness; and the very soil seemed to mourn over the degeneracy
of the people; and the husbandman found his harvest deficient; and this
vast extent of country, which in other seasons might well be styled the
granary of the world, became in its turn indebted to foreign lands for
the bread which we ate, and for the seed which was entrusted to the
earth at the time of ploughing. The people had confided too much in
their own strength; they had been prosperous for many years, and had
grown presumptuous by a reliance on their own resources. It was
therefore, doubtless, as we must judge in analogy with the history of
the world, that mercantile reverses and scanty crops were sent as
providential dispensations, in order to prove to the community, by their
own experience, that "If the Lord do not build the house, the
builders thereof labour in vain;" and thus it was that when the
curse did fall, all the precautions of human foresight were turned to
naught, and the boldest in the day of prosperity, became timid and
alarmed in the hour of peril; and nearly all enterprise was abandoned,
as though no more days of success would dawn upon the earth. And in the
homes of the poor there was sorrow; the many who depend upon the labour
of their hands for the bread they daily eat were turned out of their
workshops, because those for whom they wrought had no use for their
labour; and in compulsory idleness was many a willing workman compelled
to waste away the precious time. Soon the little hoard of better days
was exhausted; and ghastly want then visited the houses of many who by
labour had always hitherto earned a moderate support, and who only
needed employment now to place them beyond the reach of absolute want.
But who has chronicled the miseries of the poor? who will tell us how
great were the struggles and the inward strife before the once
independent artisan could submit to ask for alms from his wealthy
neighbour, or before he took up the wandering staff, and turned his back
upon the home of his childhood, to seek for bread in the distant wilds?
Still, amidst all this prostration of enterprise, the mercy of the Lord
was distinctly visible, if man would but regard things with a believer's
eye; for the earth again was rendered fruitful, and an immense increase
followed on scanty harvests of former years; and many poor could thus
purchase abundant food with diminished means of subsistence. More yet
has been witnessed. After the evil of commercial distrust had prevailed
for a while, confidence has been measurably restored; and the renewed
activity in every branch of industry, and the increased demand for
labourers to supply the deficiency which a long inaction had produced,
prove that the Lord has again visited the land to cause the light of
prosperity to cheer up the spirit of those who have felt the weight of
the storm, which prostrated so many who deemed themselves secured by
their own wisdom against the assaults of adversity.
But,
to turn from present advantages, and from occurrences which have taken
place under our own eye, let us cast our view back for a space of less
than three centuries, and see what America then was. The country had
been just discovered by the adventurous Europeans, and on a few spots,
favourably situated with regard to climate and the beauty of the
landscape, colonies had been planted by bloodstained Spain, in order to
conquer the aborigines of the soil, to deprive them of the gold they
possessed. I will not detain you with a recital of the murders and
cruelties these insatiable bigots were guilty of to glut their
unhallowed thirst for unlawful acquisitions; how they nearly depopulated
whole islands by forcing the enervated natives to labour in the mines
whence they had to extract the shining metal; but I will merely revert
to the arrival, on the northern part of the new world, of a different
race of men, who came hither to escape from the persecutions they had to
endure in their native England for the religious opinions they
entertained. Two hundred years ago the idea of toleration was something
revolting to the European statesman, and whoever differed from the
religion of the state was subject to pains and penalties for his daring.
And whether it was a king of England who excluded the Catholic, the
Quaker, and the Presbyterian from a free practice of their religion in
his state; whether it was the king of France who banished the Protestant
Huguenots from his kingdom; whether it was the ruler of Spain who drove
away all dissentients by one fell decree from his dominions, and
tortured millions because they dared to differ from the doctrines of the
Catholic church: it was all the same, wherever one turned his look, and
there was no liberty of conscience, save in the small republic which had
conquered its independence from the cruel sway of Spain: I refer to
Holland. It was, therefore, to the northern part of this continent that
the English dissenters looked for a home where they might entertain
their religious opinions unmolested; and colonists of different
sentiments came hither from time to time to establish communities under
the protection of the powerful ruler of Great Britain. It is not our
province this day to point out the errors of many of the early settlers;
how they, who had fled from persecution for opinions' sake, themselves
became persecutors in their new homes of those who differed from them;
for it was not to be expected that in times of illiberality men would
learn to bear with the opinions of others, though they themselves had
felt the iron weight of unjust power. A few communities, however, there
were in which the rights of a free conscience were early recognized; and
surprising enough, a Catholic noble, who founded the neighbouring state
to the south of us, at a time when the head of his church encouraged the
burning of heretics, was perhaps the first* who recognized even here the
right of every man to worship God without being molested by the arm of
civil power. I need not mention the benevolent founder of this
commonwealth** in which we live, and by recommendation of the Governor
of which we have consecrated this day as one of thanksgiving, whose
natural kindness of heart and statesmanlike foresight inspired him to
invite to his colony every man who felt himself oppressed in his native
land, and who preferred a life of freedom in the words of the new world,
to fetters on the mind and shackles on his limbs in the old. Enough;
hardy enterprise, guided by freedom, led into the thickest of the forest
thousands of hardy pioneers, and speedily beautiful towns arose on the
sea shore and on the margin of rivers; the wily savage retired before
the civilized white man, and woods which formerly supported but a
handful of vagabond hunters, were soon made to yield food and afford
ample shelter for thousands of an industrious and thriving population.
And now, wander abroad, and behold the immense arms of streams that
embrace this land; survey its lakes, miniature oceans in their
dimensions; traverse its bays and its inlets; survey its hundreds of
harbours; and see the ships that go to every land, that arrive from
every clime, bearing away the surplus products this country affords, and
bringing the luxuries and necessaries collected from all the world; and
reflect that in all the length and breadth of the republic there are
peace and plenty: and then say whether you do not recognize causes of
gratitude, or do you believe that human wisdom has built up all this
greatness? That it is mere human enterprise that has effected all this?
O believe it not, that mortals, when unassisted by divine aid, can
command success! Powerless is the arm that labours without God, useless
is the mind that travails without providential assistance. O believe it!
For religion and experience both do teach the lesson, that it is the
Lord who disposes of the fate of nations as of individuals, and that it
is his goodness which exalts a people, that it is his power which breaks
down its proud exaltation when the inhabitants become presumptuous in
their success, and yield themselves captives to base desire, and go
astray of the imaginings after their heart. Is it not, then, true, that
as citizens of this republic we have great cause for thankfulness to the
Lord of all, because He has so bountifully blessed the land with
liberty—with peace—with plenty—with health? And shall we not unite
in praising his holy name because "He is good, and his mercy
endureth for ever?"
*
Yet Lord Baltimore also excluded Jews from an equality in the colony of
Maryland, which all Christian sects enjoyed. It was only within the last
few years that two succeeding legislatures of the now state of Maryland
passed the bill removing the Jews' disabilities, by which the state
constitution was amended, and our people were placed upon a perfect equality with all the other citizens of that state. North
Carolina and Massachusetts have not yet abrogated the Jewish civil
disabilities from the codes. Still, this does not affect our right to
worship unmolested, to hold property, and to exercise any lawful
pursuit; for, thanks to the general enlightenment of the people, and the
principles of free institutions, no abridgement of personal rights could
ever be tolerated in this country.
**
William Penn.
But
as Israelites we have additional motives for gratitude. O, long and
weary have been our wanderings! From the day that we were driven from
our own land, when the legions of the "benevolent Titus," as
false historians term the barbarous conqueror, destroyed all that was
dear and holy in Israel, it seemed as though all mankind had declared
war against the remnant that had escaped from the famine, and the sword,
and the pestilence, and the tooth of wild beasts, which had all combined
their destructive efforts at the siege and after the conquest of
Jerusalem. We were not permitted to stay near the ruins of our temple
and of our homes; the captives were not suffered to weep on their former
soil over the downfall of their glory; yes, we were scourged and plucked
out of our land; and still, what country would consent to receive us?
Whilst paganism yet ruled the Roman empire, we were the scorn of the
heathens, and were exposed to all the persecutions which their ignorant
hatred of divine truths prompted them to invent. And when the Nazarene
faith became the religion of the state, our situation was not less
deplorable; for every species of insult, and cruelty, and oppression was
constantly resorted to in order to embitter our lives and make us fear
with trembling for the morrow. Had we been brigands, murderers,
conspirators against the tyrants who oppressed us, there might have been
excuses framed for this scandalous outrage of the rights of humanity
witnessed in the hardships we had to endure. But no such crimes were
ever laid to our charge; unless it might be that absurd calumny which
was often invented at the eve of some new persecution, that we murdered
an innocent child of gentile parentage to use its blood at the
celebration of our Passover feast. It was no use for us to urge that
such an act was contrary to our very religion, in honour of which this
crime was said to have been committed; our enemies knew its falsity; but
they could not prove by any true means that we were injurious to the
state, not even to the church which rested for its support upon the
belief in a plurality in the godhead; and yet they thirsted for our
blood, they thirsted for our supposed wealth; and they hence inflamed
the popular mind by an invented discovery of an enormity at which our
souls revolted; and they thus slew without mercy, and they plundered
without remorse, and banished without repining those who in their
features bore the marks of their descent from the scorned race, or who
professed by their acts their belief in the hated unity of God. It was,
in truth, this belief which our adversaries hated; it was this
principle, which contradicted their proclaimed views of truth, that
aroused their ire; and still it was the idea of the Most High and his
attributes which had descended to us from the days of Abraham; and it
was the watchword which resounded
from every son of Jacob, from every daughter of Israel, when they laid
themselves down to sleep and when they rose up; when they met in their
assemblies of prayer, on their days of solemn thanksgiving; nay, at the
very moment when their ruthless persecutors shook the lighted torch to
consume then alive, or bared the glittering sword to strike off their
heads, or held the noose to tie them to the ignominious gibbet because
they belonged to the proscribed Jewish race. 1t makes one sick to revert
to the horrors of those times; it is almost incredible that such things
have been; that no mercy took possession of the breast of those who
professed to teach a religion of love. But not with bodily oppression
were the adversaries satisfied; they had found means to torture the soul
also. Tender children were torn from the arms of parents who longed for
them all the day; not to be sold into slavery, for that would have been
a comparative mercy, but that they might be educated in a religion the
followers of which oppressed the parents for their belief,—in a
religion which their progenitors resisted even unto death. In short, the
sons of Israel were persecuted in every land, and their religion was
proscribed wherever its members were found; and only here and there a
limited toleration was granted as the price of a burdensome
contribution, to be resumed at the caprice or the pressing necessity of
their tyrants for farther exactions. O, melancholy has been our lot, and
but dim recollections are preserved in history to mark the sorrows which
for eighteen hundred years have befallen our people; the world was
ashamed to leave records of the wrong that was heaped upon the
unresisting and helpless remnant, whose story was written in blood, and
whose fate was remembered only in the tears and complaints of the
sufferers. And imagine not that our persecutors are wearied of their
task at this very day; O, no! they do not slay any more with the sword,
they light not the cruel stake to amuse men and women of royal blood
with the sufferings of unbelieving Jews; but they continue to heap
disqualifications of various kinds upon us, in order to drive us from
our faith, or to diminish our numbers in case we will not yield. This is
no idle figure of speech! Would to mercy that the picture were
one
of fiction, and that Israel had peace! But truth compels us to assert
that in many countries of Europe, there especially where the greater
part of Israel dwells, laws have been contrived, which if not repealed,
will in the course of nature either diminish the Jewish population, or
at least prevent the natural increase which in time of peace always
takes place. Singular as it may appear in this country, where every
citizen has the right to judge for himself whether he shall marry or
not, it is nevertheless true, that in some provinces only a certain
number of Jews can be allowed to marry, and this restricted population
is confined to narrow limits, beyond which no one is permitted to dwell;
and should any one violate these laws, he is dealt with as a malefactor
against some wise enactment. But what need is there to prove the
injustice which is rendered to us? Have we not cause to complain even in
countries comparatively liberal, that the rights of citizenship are
denied to professing Jews, whilst the door of preferment is opened wide
to apostates who sell their birthright for a paltry office, merely that
they may bask in the sunshine of a worthless court-favour?
All
this proves (and I could have added much more, were it not that I fear
to detain you too long,) that as Israelites we have an additional cause
for thanksgiving that it has pleased our almighty Father to assign to us
this land as an asylum from oppression, where we may mingle with the
other citizens as their equals in constitutional rights, as their equals
in love of country and devotion to its institutions and laws. This is
emphatically the land where Israelites in their captivity can dwell
securely, whilst its liberties remain uninjured by popular violence or
by tyrannical usurpation; here the spirit of Judaism can shine forth,
(as far as this can be out of the limits of the holy land, and without
the temple whose rebuilding we hope for,) without let or hindrance from
the malign influence of political disqualifications; and here can we
devote our energies to our moral and physical improvement, without dread
of molestation from the other inhabitants.
And,
indeed, the moral influence of religious freedom in America has already
been felt in other countries: for in France and Belgium no inequality is
recognized any more for the sake of speculative opinions; Holland, true
to its ancient liberties, has maintained the rights of its numerous Israelitish citizens; and England,
though she has not yet removed the inequality among her people at home,
has equalized in her colonies the Jew with the other inhabitants; and
soon may she extend this justice to all who claim the right of serving
their native land in peace and in war, though they are of the ancient
faith of Moses.
But
let us cast a look upon ourselves, and see whether we have acted in
accordance with the motives
of gratitude which rest upon us. God indeed has been most merciful
towards us; but we must stand humbled when He comes to judge us
according to our deeds. We have been blessed individually and
nationally; as citizens and as Israelites; but we have done but little
to prove that we feel that it is from God we have been blessed. Merit we
have none to entitle us to all the kindness and the truth which the Lord
has shown to us who ought to be his servants; but, on the contrary, we
have often rebelled against the majesty of Heaven, and have vexed his
holy spirit by our backsliding. Many a one has crossed the Atlantic with
his staff for his patrimony; many a one has set out in life with but a
small share of worldly goods; and still he has seen his stores increase
daily, and wealth pour in upon him, far more than he counted upon, far
more than he needs for the supply of all his wants. Like Jacob, his
wealth can be divided in two bands, and if one be lost, the other would
be enough to answer all his reasonable desires. But, unlike Jacob, he
has violated the law of Jacob's God in acquiring it; unlike the
patriarch, he thinks not of the Lord in the day of his prosperity, he
prays not to Him in the day of his affliction. It is mournful that we
should have to portray thus the conduct of Jews, of those whose very
descent, whose very sufferings ought to distinguish them as the devoted servants of the Lord, as the true followers
of his law. But what is the use of deceiving ourselves?
We
cannot be called a religious community, neither in this city nor
elsewhere. Let us not be offended in hearing the truth spoken; on the
contrary, let us meet the issue like reasonable men, as beings
accountable to an all-seeing Eye for their conduct. My words may be
plain; but, brethren, honeyed speeches come not with a good grace from a
faithful preacher; he owes truth to his flock, he owes truth to his
Maker. In the name of Him whose words are our law, I appeal to you, I
beseech you, to take a calm view of events passing daily around you. I
ask you, is the Sabbath solemnly kept every week as the day of delight
in the Lord, as a time of reunion in his courts? or do Israelites seek
on that holy day their desires pursue their business, and are absent
from the house of prayer? Answer me, is the name of the Lord daily
invoked in all the houses where we dwell, as was the good custom of
ancient Israel? Speak, do you live in spiritual fellowship with your
brothers? do you wish for union with them? does or does not forbidden
food stand on your tables? are or are not the eyes of the observers
offended by the viands which they see offered to them in your abodes?
"Yes," I hear you say, "we are charitable, we never let
the hungry go away unfed, and when we see the naked, we clothe him: Is
not this true religion? Do we not thus honour the Lord?"
Undoubtedly; and I have often had cause to rejoice over the prompt
relief which has been extended to the unfortunate, whether native or
stranger, whether Israelite or gentile, who claimed your aid; and
doubtlessly God in his goodness has watched your deeds, and will not
withhold his recompense. I speak not of this city only; but of all other
Jewish communities over the extent of the land, for charity is their
peculiar characteristic. Still, thus you observe but one of the
commandments; whereas the Lord demands of his servants an entire
surrender of the will, that they may "walk before Him and become
perfect." Do you say, that six days' time does not suffice for your
labour? that you cannot devote to rest the days which our religion
demands? Let me beseech you to reflect, that many of our forefathers,
when all did rest on the weekly Sabbath, actually acquired large
possessions, which they transmitted to their children; the blessing of
the Lord of the Sabbath was with them, and they prospered in their
undertakings. In modern times, we have with pain been compelled to
witness many a day of rest disregarded; but have our possessions become
enlarged through this means? is there a greater degree of solid
prosperity among us according to our increased numbers than in former
times? Assuredly not; and those whose years allow them, to speak with
knowledge will, I am sure, bear me out in the assertion that as a
community we are not richer than under the ancient strict observance of
the Sabbath. And ever were it otherwise, still this would be no argument
for offending against the commands of the Lord. We have been greatly blessed in the enjoyment of so
many mercies, which we have not deserved; our own hearts, therefore,
should yearn to return thanks to the Lord; and how can we better thank
Him than by obeying his precepts implicitly, whether our advantage be
secured thereby or not? For how soon must all glory fade, and how soon
will the hoarded wealth be left to new possessors, who neither toiled
for it nor will remember in gratitude the one who left it behind. And
who would not value the joys of a holy life, which sought the glory of
God above all things, in order that the spirit might be fitted for a
purer world, where all cares will be gratified by the Father? where all
will be fed by his delights? And why, again, will we, for the sake of
carnal joys, of mere animal appetites, trifle away our share of
futurity, which to us can only be given as servants of the Lord after
the standard of Israel's sacred inheritance, the law of Sinai? Salvation
is the portion of all righteous gentiles, as we are taught, though they
obey not the law which was not given to them. But, I repeat it, Jews are
not thus securing the happiness of their souls; they must acquire it
through obedience to the law, and this, obedience in all things, even
unto the end.—And this is the country where we can be Israelites in
truth. Here no one can molest us in our observances; it is here,
therefore, that we should display obedience in all its bearings, and
distinguish ourselves in our conversation and acts as true followers of
the ancient fellowship of Jacob. In this all can join; whether we are
rich or poor, whether we drew our first breath on this side of the ocean
or thousands of miles beyond it; for we all are children of one stock,
inheritors of the same birthright, servants of the same God by the same
revelation. Let no one, then, be wanting to show the due obedience to
the ancient legacy, and let him purify himself, and help others to
become pure likewise. If, then, this day of thanksgiving has been, under
Providence, the means of awakening a new feeling of religiousness among
our congregation, how happy will be the recollections its future
recurrence will call forth; it will be a new link to bind us to those
political institutions under which the inhabitants are accustomed to
look towards the God whom the Bible revealed (although they all do not
worship Him as the One Eternal) as the Source of all blessings, as the
Being to whom all our thanks are due.
And
O! God of truth, bless in thy mercy the liberties of this land, give
them permanency and abiding strength; preserve the constitution which
secures equal rights to all; and inspire the hearts of the authorities
and the people with wisdom, that they may deal justly and truly towards
each other and all the nations of the earth; that peace may dwell within
these borders, and the sound of strife not be heard within their limits.
Shed on us also, the children of thy covenant, the spirit of meekness
and piety, that we may subdue our hearts to thy service, in order that
we may, enjoying liberty of conscience, and unswayed by fear of
persecution, devote our hearts to thy service, to adore thy ever-blessed
Name in sincerity and truth—even unto that hour when thy salvation
shall be displayed before all nations through the redeemer whom Thou
wilt send, as Thou hast spoken through thy prophets. Amen!
Thursday,
Kislev 28th, (December 21st,) 5604.
|
