Vicksburg weekly herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1868-1883, 1870-05-28

wealth and gain, and pleasure and
lust may attempt to ruin us, we
know where TO find the fountain.
head Of real and lasting 10y and
pleasure, and exclaim: The 10Y in
God shall be our strength and
might. And thus looking to this
sacred place, 10 this holy shrine,
We say, better than the old Patri.
arch Jacob did: "Surely the Lord
ls In this place and we know Il !"
and therefore, 1--WE are glad when
they say unto US, let us 90 into the
house Of the Lordp
But we have still another cause
for rejoicing, when nowadays we
repeat the words of our sacred laws.
For eighteen long centuries we have
been sitting mourning and weep.
ing, not only on the rivers Of Baby.
on, but on the shores Of every
river on the old continent. Relig.
iOus hatred and prejudice, fanatic
Ism and bigotry ruled supreme.
Instead Of loving one another like
the children Of one father, men
hated and prosecuted aud murder
ed one another, and all for the
glory and In honor Of God. Then
there stood the synagogue, q for
l0rn outpost on the dark and
gloomy ghetto, res0unding with
wailing and lamentations. The Joy
with which the worshippers enter
cd the house Of God, was not pure
and unadulterated ;no,it was alloyed
with tears and fears, and only faith
and hope were the ministering
angels. The heavenly messengers
that whispered confidence In the
ears Of the devout mourners Il
was dark, terribly dark right on
earth only the stars Of Q hope Of
better times were twinkling In the
rightly armament.
Aud the better scenes were com.
ing, for He sleepO and slumbers not,
the guardian Of Israel. On that
same day, on which Ferdinand and
isabella of spain, instigated by
FOrquemada, drove 10000 Israel.
lets from that proud pininSula,
Christopher Columbus sailed from
PalOs to discover the virgin soil Of
American liberty. Once more the
Creator spoke, let there be light,
and there was light. OF course,
the twilight lasted yet for Centu-
ries, for the progress of the human
race is q slow one, and especially
slow in religious matters. But day
was dawnlng, and the sun like q
bridegroom was coming out Of his
bridal chamber, rejoicing aS o
strong man, to run his race. Fred.
eriCk the Great, Of Prussia, was the
first Monarch who uttered the fa-
nous word, let every one be bless.
ed, according to his ideas. And
nObly he was followed by Joseph
II, the liberal Emperor OF Austria,
who fret granted an order Of mu-
tual religious federation.
But the true prophets and apos.
ties of modern civilization were
those GOd.inspired men, who, on
the 4th OF July, I776, proclaimed
the divine principle OF civil and ro-
ligious liberty. They declared
State and Church separated for.
ever. They proclaimed the self
evident truth that every man is en-
titled to life, liberty and happiness /;
they broke the chains of every fet-
tered race and class aud America,
the giant child of America became
the beacon light for the hopes and
aspirations Of oil humanity. o,
God bless America. Heavens best
reward to those immortal spirits Of
Washington and his compeers who
fret asserted mRn's innate rights
and titles aud Israels lasting graf
itude to them and their descendants
for eVermore.
Religious liberty, at last has won
the victory and has become q truth,
a we'll established matter of fact.
And nowhere more than here in
the sunny South. Since fifty years
the most important positions and
offices have been entrusted to Isra.
elites by their American brethren
and fellow-citizens. There has not
been mere religious liberation nor
mere passive acquiescence but re-
ligious liberty and equality In the
fullest sense of the word and
while we lglOry in this noble fact,
how appropriate is 1t that we now
exclaim, when entering our tenn
pies: II am glad, when they say
unto ME, let US 60 into the house
Of our Goo" /" for now we have
cause to rejoice indeed the hour
Of our salutation and redemption
has come; in spite Of all m0menta.
ry drawbacks, the reconciliation Of
the human race in the love Of God
can aud will not be retarded.
And this is the third reason why
we proudly exclaim: ~ am glad, |
when they say unto me, let US 60 |
into the house Of God," our God,
for Israel's religion will assist In
accelerating this happy time so
long desired and prayed for. While
we shall repeat here day after day, |
the words of our sacred creed,
"Hear, o Israel, Jehovah is our
God, Jehovah is one," we do not
worship a veteran God, who Is but
our Father, but our Redeemer and
our special Providence. No, this
idea Of q national God has
exploded long ago. We consecrate
this temple to the common Father
head Of God, and the common
Brotherhood of man. While within
these walls the descendants of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will
convene to worship the God Of
their fathers, we at the same time
will pray, sincerely and devOutly,