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tion , and that the period is no more when it is ^ aid , The Lord shall fight for you , and you shall hold your peace . " He then investigates the nature of a thanksgiving or rejoicing on occasion of a victory , and here his benevolence may serve to reproach ( may it also instruct !) Christian teachers . cc It is not to be imagined , that the destruction of our fellow-creatures , who have fallen in battle , or been drowned in the sea , can be a
source of gratification to us ; or of complacency to a beneficent Deity : No , humanity forbids sucK a thought ; and even our text of this day strongly exemplifies , that such a reflection was a drawback on thle great rejoicing : since Jehoshaphat does not exactly quote the whole verse of the Psalmist , viz . Give thanks unto the Lord , for it is good ;
his mercy endureth for ever : " but only says , Give thanks unto the Lord , for . his mercy endureth for ever / ' The Talmud notices this omission of it is good , " and accounts for it -by remarking , that the destruction of wicked men constituted part of the facts : and as €€ God does not desire the death of the wicked , but that he m « y turn from his
ways and live , ' * so the success of the day could not be correctly styled good , since peace without bloodshed would have been preferable . < c Whatever comes from God , is good . Nor are the words " It is good , '' used in Scripture , but when a complete good is meant ; hence we do not find the expression in the relation of the works of the second
day of the creation , although it is used in that of every other day . Now , whatever good may result from a victory , it cannot be said to be a complete unalloyed good $ and hence Jehoshaphat ' s omission : since , however necessary it may be for the arrangement of the affairs of this nether world , that the Almighty must occasionally clothe himself with severe justice 5 yet it were to be wished that peace and harmony reigned on earth ; and then the good would really be complete . The evil that occurs in the world , cometh not from God , but from man
himself . Nothing but good emanates from the Divine essence ; and it is the deeds of man which prevent the influence from reaching him . Thus circumstanced he might as well say the sun does not shine , when he had raised a wall which hides the rays of that luminary from his si ght . Thus , sai £ h the wise king , « c The foolishness of man perverteth his way , and his heart fretteth against the Lord / ' No , God is all goodness , and his mercies ate over all his works . '
Some other considerations are adduced < c as a further exemplification that the destruction of our fellow-creatures ought not to be the final cause of war . " The argument is summed up with an observation , which may to some appear amiably candid , but which we confess , coming from a Jew , surprises and -shocks us .
< c Thus we see that humanity was always a paramount consideration even in wars against Pagans ; how much more must we be influenced at present , when all civilised nations unite in the belief of the true God !" iC All civilized nations unite in the belief of the true God ! !" Does Rabbi Hirschel believe this ? we ask , does he seriously believe that there is no difference between the one only God of
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156 HirscheVs Thanksgiving Sermon .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), March 2, 1806, page 156, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1722/page/44/
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