The New York herald., 1871-02-19
TgvgTY-roVRTH STREET SYNAGOGUE.

Enemies.
Notwithstanding the inclement weather yester-
day morning very excellent congregation in num-
bers gathered in Thiry-fourth street synagogue
for worship. AS might be supposed, there were
very few ladies present, but those who ventured
out were well repaid for the trouble with the
thoroughly evangelical sermon which was de-
lvered by DR.. vidaver. The portion OF the
Law which was read included chapters twenty-one
to twenty-five OF the Book OF Exodus and the
text was taken from chapter %, verses and g.
s'If thou meet thine enemy's OK or his ass going;
astray thou shalt surely bring it back to him agai
ifthou see the Of him that hateth thee lying
der his burden and wouldst rorDear to help him,
thou shalt surely help with him." The lesson incu
Gated In this scripture is
LOVE TO OUR ENEMIES.
This has been deemed to be purely Christian
doctrine; but it is much older than Christianity
and the instances referred to In the text are
but Illustrations Of the spirit of friendlness
ana love which had been frequent among men and
was herein embodied as law, that it might have
divine sanction Indeed 1t may be declared in
the face Of the sun that the eternal spring and Pc
rennal source OF the Mosaic law Is nothing more nor
less than pure iove-love to God and love to man.
| kind in the broadest and holiest sense. He chal
| lenged the world to produce any new doctrine
which teaches good will and love, pure and sublime,
Iftsndtng to effect the moral perfection OF the ndi
vidual and the welfare OF humanity, which draws
not the light OF it's existence and inspiration from
| the eternally luminous orb Of Judaism.
! Had Moses delivered unto Israel only two COM
| mandments-Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
all thy heart and thy neighbor thyself-they would
have been pillars sufficiently strong to maintain the
| stupendous fame OF humanity. And these two CON-
| and truth from which all the other Mosaic laws
| spring forth as beautiful ana wide-spreading
'''' WORLD SAVING DEcALoauE
teach but those two commandments The first tablet
irradates with the divine excellence OF the law
eernlng our love and devotion to our God who
| broke the chains OF our bondage and led us to
liberty's sacred SOIL The second tablet is lustrous
with celestial splendor concerning the law
of love to our neighbors-the heavenborn
doctrine that We should love them as we love
| ourselves. And no man whose heart treasures
toward his neighbor would dare to xii, steal, or
the spec laws Of the e
| domestic purity, cleanliness sanitary rule, charity,
chastity grooy honesty .n &C. are al So, SO many eX
tends to promote the welfare OF human society.
And vet we near men speak Of the law as un-
| gracious stern, infeXible, rigid. 1t declares that
this thou shalt do and that thou shalt not do and We
/ are asked, ''Is this the
GENTLE, sERAPHIc VOICE OF LovEyn
| We do not like TO be communicable be hidden;
and mucn less to be forbidden. But does love
ways grant every wish and indulge every whm OF
| her chld2 Alas, how disastrous would be the life
or SuCn Cnldl Inc more intense the love OF the
parents the more they Will enl DIN upon their dar-
| lings the laws and rules OF lie. THIS is all that
Gods law does. The restraints which 1t imposes
are the very glorious manifestations OF love. They
are restraints from evil and every law in the Mosaic
code bears bright evidence OF this fact and teaches
us TO 60 step further and love even our enemies.
But the obIectOr will tell me that the law OF love
/ to our enemies cannot be found in the sacred
volume which we hold; that God never requires OF
us to do something impossible or contrary to human
| nature and that this doctrine Is the product OF
| new religion a scion OF Judaism. We must seek to
cOmDrelend the meaning OF the DreCeDt ssrhOu
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and
thy neghbor as thyself and then we shall find that
to love enemies is neither new doctrine nor Is
We have said that love to God and love to man
| are the two pillars which support human society,
but love to mankind is based upon love to Goa, be-
cause God created man IN his own image, and we
are thus enJoined 10 love him who Is the image as
| well as the glory OF Cod
THE CHILD OP HEAVEN
I the brilliant spark OF eternity. Ii otherwise, how
| could any legislator command us to lover Ii not
| love something which cannot be hidden for
biddens 1t Is feeling produced in the mind BY
these the sense Of the % text as Rabbi Asoa M explains
1t means love OF the Deighbor because he bears the
Image OF God, who has fashioned us all alike, and
by loving deeds done TO our fellow-nen we prove
| our love to our Maker. But to hate humauity-to
hate our Aeighbor Is TO hate the image OF God, and
10 offend the divine majesty OF our heavenly Faiher
hatred and malice from the depths OF souls, SO
that malice and revenge should never possess the
aeart 81 a an srae1e m Enmy y IKE pos3n sne
teaches, one God, perfect unity, 80 also does 1t
teach truth holy and perfect vrue unaloyed by the
smallest element OF vice and love without tnge of
| hate. And just as he cannot be called virtuous
whose seul Is spotted even by one vice, so neiiher
can true love be said to dwell In the bosom OF any
| man who harbors nj VIII toward even one human
| being Why9 How can hate the man VINO mas
wronged me without incurr1ng the crime or hating
| the image Oi God In himY ASK thyself how siten
| didst thou commit errors, wrongs, sins against
Others and thou hidest them with the cover OF thy
selt-ove' Why not cover thy neighbor's or thine
enemy's sins against thee with tne same mantlet
| And then ask myself again, "Are not all the
wrongs and offences done unto thee mere shadows
when compared with the enormity OF the sins COM
mitted by tnec against thy Heavenly Parentr And
as thou expectest TO be forgiven by Him above, why
not forgive those who sin against tneeY AND II tiny
I memory cannot retain all the good deeds and loving
klndnesses done ana shown towards thee, why
should 1t be 80 tenacious to retain only tue evil
| thou dost receive?
TO FORGET AND FORGIVE
was the characteristic Of IsraeP8 greatest men OF
| old. He who Is called our father, Abraham, iergot
and f0rgave the evil done to him by Lot ana was
the first go TO his assistance when he needed help
I And ne who tS called our teacher and laWglver,