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the world, says therefore: "And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good." Death and all other evils are likewise good for the permanence of the Universe and the continuation of the order of things; one thing departs and another succeeds. Rabbi Meir, therefore, explains the words "and behold, it was very good" by saying that even death. was good. Consider this and you will understand all that the prophets and our sages remarked about the perfect goodness of all the direct works of God.

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MOSES MAIMONIDES.

Ye noble few! who here unbending stand
Beneath Life's pressure—yet bear up awhile;
And what your bounded view, which only saw
A little part, deem'd evil, is no more;
The storms of wintry time will quickly pass,
And one unbounded Spring encircle all.

VIII.

The Justice of God.

All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth, to such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.— Psalm xxv. 10.

HE soul, when accustomed to superfluous things, acquires a strong habit of desiring others, which are neither necessary for the preservation of the individual, nor for that of the species. This desire is without limit; whilst things which are necessary are few, and

restricted within certain bounds. Lay this well to heart, reflect on it again and again; that which is superfluous is without end (and therefore the desire for it also without limit). Thus you desire to have your vessels of silver, but golden vessels are still better; others have even vessels studded with sapphires, emeralds or rubies. Those, therefore, who are ignorant of this truth, that the desire for superfluous things is without limit, are constantly in trouble and pain. They expose themselves to great dangers by sea-voyages, or in the service of Kings. When they thus meet with the consequences of their course they complain of the judgments of God; they go so far as to say that God's power is insufficient, because He has given to this Universe the properties which they imagine cause these evils.

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IX.

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MOSES MAIMONIDES.

The Goodness of God's Work.

For affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground.—Job. v. 6.

EN frequently think that the evils in the world are more numerous than the good things; many sayings and songs of the nations dwell on this idea. They say that the good is found only exceptionally, whilst

evil things are numerous and lasting. The origin of this error is to be found in the circumstance that men judge of the whole universe by examining one single person, believing that the world exists for that one person only. If anything happens to him contrary to his expectation, forthwith they conclude that the whole universe is evil. All mankind at present in existence form only an infinitesimal portion of the permanent uniIt is of great advantage that man should know his station. Numerous evils to which persons are exposed are due to the defects existing in the persons themselves. We seek relief from our own faults; we suffer from evils which we inflict on ourselves; and we ascribe them to God, who is far from connected with them. As Solomon explained it: The foolishness of man perverteth his way, and his heart fretteth against the Lord.-Prov. xix. 3. MOSES MAIMONIDES.

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WHEN thou hast thanked the Lord for every blessing sent,

X.

What time will then remain for murmur and lament?

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The Everpresent God.

In all thy ways acknowledge God, and He will direct thy paths.—Prov. iii. 6.

Thou wilt kindle my light; the Lord, my God, will illume my darkness.—Psalm xviii. 28.

HAVE often left my kinsmen, friends and country, and betaken myself to the desert, that I might see some higher vision; and it has profited me

nothing; my thoughts, scattered, or impelled by passion, have not reached their goal. Sometimes, on the other hand, in a crowded assembly I have held my mind in solitude, and God has silenced the turmoil in my soul, and taught me that it is not the difference of places that works the good thought, but it is God who moves and guides the chariot of the soul wherever he prefers. PHILO JUDEUS.

H, let my converse, Lord, with Thee,

From bonds of errors set me free;

And let Thy light within my mind
Remove the shades that keep me blind.

Grant me the power, the right to see,
To love the good and follow Thee;
And in that power oh, grant the love
Of all on earth, of God above.

XI.

The God we Worship.

I am the Everlasting; that is my name and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.—Isaiah xlii. 8.

WHAT Being do we worship? It is the Being to whom our reason points, in whom the heart takes refuge; it is the Being whom the philosopher and the searcher of nature ultimately acknowledge as the cause of causes. About the gods of the heathen you cannot know anything unless you know their history; but

the God of Israel is high above all that happens on earth or in heaven. Suppose the Bible were lost, and all the literature appertaining to it likewise, and no Israelite left to bear his testimony-what would ensue? Human thought would immediately set out to seek Him; for the human mind cannot abandon Him. How far surpassing the highest human intelligence is He, and yet how near to us! He is the God of the oppressed, and not of the oppressor; He is the God of the weak, and not of the overbearing; He is the God that hears the cry of the downtrodden, and arms His messengers with power to deliver them.

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XII.

Singing Hymns to God.

I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall ever be in my mouth. O praise the Lord with me and let us magnify His name together.-Psalm xxxiv. 3.

The chiefest and divinest hymn (to God) should be for His having given us the power of understanding and of dealing rationally with ideas. Nay-since most of you are utterly blind to this-ought there not

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