XII. NEVER MISS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR DOING GOOD. .1854 ,11 November שבת פ' וירא הת'ר'ט'ו' Preached אל תמנע טוב מבעליו בהיות לאל ידך לעשות : אל תאמר לרעך לך ושוב ומחר אתן ויש אתך : "Withhold not good PROV. iii. 27, 28. from them to whom it is due, when it is in Say not to thy neighbour, ‘Go and come again and to-morrow I will give it,' when thou hast it by thee." thy power to perform it. In the passage just quoted, the learned Umbreit recognises an illustration of the great eastern doctrine, that there is amongst mankind a universal brotherhood, founded on the common principle of mutual love. Whether this principle was maintained in every oriental nation, is a question which needs not now be discussed: but we take leave to dissent from the opinion expressed by this distinguished commentator-that the principle itself takes its origin in the Christian code. It is not an uncommon thing for theologians of a particular school, to represent the Jewish code of ethics as excessively severe, and to contrast it with that of Christianity, which is said to be characterized by gentleness, benevolence, and human love. When treating of the Mosaic laws, which inflict capital punishment on the man-stealer and on the adulterer, these theo logical critics indulge in no unmeasured terms on what they call "the hardness of the Jewish heart,” ignoring, for the time-being, that these laws are, on their own admission, the revelation of God's supreme will. But, when dealing with other Mosaic precepts, "Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul: ""Love thy neighbour as thyself:"2 "Be holy, for I the Lord thy God am holy" they wax "3—they warm in their sentiments of delight, and exclaim "Behold the perfection of Christian doctrine!!" So common has the practice become, that these sublime ethics of the Pentateuch are often put forth as if they were no essential part of Judaism, but had been propounded for the first time in the Christian code. Be it very far from us to deny that these moral laws constitute a very important feature in the Christian system. But they are alike common to the code of Mahomet; and it can hardly fail to be to us a source of satisfaction and delight, that Christianity and Mahommedanism, 4 1 Deut. iv. 5. 2 Lev. xix. 18. 3 Ibid. v. 2. ↑ Reland, "de religione Mohammedica," Lib. 2, cap. 38, cites the following expressions from a Persian follower of the Arabian prophet: Be thou like trees that afford shade and fruit even to those who approach them hostilely, with axe and rope: Do thou like the pearl-oyster, which yields a precious gift to him that takes its life. "Mahommed Shah," says the accomplished Baron Hügel, was a Mahommedan in the noblest sense of the word: grave, sincere, God-fearing, without fear of man: obliging, modest, yet full of self-respect; ever ready to help others, without requiring anything for himself; full of sympathy for the sufferings of others, whilst bearing his own with resignation which none but a firm trust in God and in a retribution hereafter can produce. (Kaschmir und das Reich der Siek, von Carl Freiherrn von Hügel. vol. iii., p. 74.) both of which may be considered as the stepdaughters of Judaism, should have incorporated into their respective ethical systems so much of the sublime morality of their common parent. At the same time the fact must be admitted, that there is not in the whole of the Gospels a single moral precept, of a practical character, that is not as much a part of the Jewish Scriptures, in letter and in spirit, as the benevolent recommendation of the text, which the learned Umbreit would fain set down aa exclusively Christian. There are few passages of Scripture in which ethical Judaism is more simply defined than in the verses placed at the head of this discourse. We are here exhorted to persevere in our appointed vocation to do good: and we are reminded, that as life is uncertain, as the continuance of prosperity is not to be relied on, and as it may not again be in our power to recall an opportunity which has been suffered to pass by-never to miss the occasion of rendering a service to a fellow creature, whilst we have the means of conferring the favor which is solicited. In this proverb we have afforded to us a striking illustration of the doctrine of the Bible, that Judaism does not consist so much of abstract principles, or 5 Zwei Religionen sind es die an Israel's Quelle geschöpft, von denen die eine den Völkern des Morgenlandes, und die andere jenen des Abendlandes bessere Begriffe von Gott und mildere Sitten zuführte; das sind die Wasser, die ausgehen von Jerusalem die Halfte gegen das Ostmeer und die (יצאו מים חיים מירושלים) (חצים אל הים הקדמוני וחצים אל הים האחרון) Halfte gegen das Westmeer die Urquelle aber bleibt zu Jerusalem, das ist im Mittelpunkte des Judenthums, in unserer heiligen Thora. (Leop. Stein's Sermon on Zachar. 14, 7-9 "Koheleth, eine Auswahl, &c. p. 98). L of articles of faith, as of deeds of piety and benevolence. "He hath shewn thee, O man," saith the Prophet, "what is good: and what doth the Lord כי אם עשות משפט ואהבת חסד,thy God require of thee -but to do justice, to love bene והצנע לכת עם אלהיך volence, and to walk with humility before thy God." Though mankind differ widely from each other on points of religious doctrine, a universal assent will be accorded to three important and obvious moral truths: first, that we all bear within us the impress ; כי בצלם אלהים עשה האדם of the image of God secondly, that we are all endued with the faculty of discriminating between right and wrong; and thirdly, that our essential vocation here is to make our being as conducive as possible to our own welfare and to that of mankind. These important truths, whether considered separately or conjointly, find an ample field for their development in the adoption of the maxim of our text. Placed by Almighty Providence on the earth as a temporary lodging place and not as a fixed abode; unmindful of the past, totally blind to the future, certain of nothing but death and of accountability at the righteous judgment-seat of God; and having no solid grounds for supposing that time will be afforded us to-morrow for accomplishing what we fail to perform to-day-no reasoning man can hesitate to conclude, that it is our wisdom, because it is our duty, to do all the good which we are able to effect, and not to defer it to a season when the opportunity of action may be lost. Israelites! whom the Lord hath chosen to be unto Him "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation," recognise here your appointed office, which you can never begin too soon nor finish too late. It is the great task assigned to you from the day when the faintest beams of light dawn on your minds until you close your account with the world. Let the Israelite be known by his works, implies Moses in his eloquent address in the book of Deuteronomy.8 "I will judge every one of you, O house of Israel, according to his deeds," saith the Divine word through the prophet Ezekiel. No dogma of the Pentateuch is propounded for the sake of the dogma itself, but for the influence it is to exert in leading us to live a holy and useful life. In this sense the Psalmist evidently understood the object of the Divine revelation, when he prayed that he might be endued with intelligence, not because he merely desired to possess the abstract knowledge which the book of books embodies, but "that he might keep the law, and observe it with all his heart." 10 Moses does not simply exhort us to believe in his mission, but to act upon our belief, and to impart vitality to it by cultivating the noble affections of our nature, and by interchanging incessantly the charities and the amenities of domestic and social life. It should be our great aim to promote in all things, what our Rabbinical fathers denominate "the glori-. fication of God"; and this is not to be accomplished by means of any formal subscription to articles of faith, but by the conscientious observance of the gra |