El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-12-26
In The CHURCHES.

!
feel assured that our spiritual career
| is not limited to the few years of earthly
existence, while we believe that
| 1.-THE grave is not our goal
] Dust thou art. to dust returneth
Was not spoken of the SOUL
Yet we place greatest emphasis on
the first line of Lougfellow's verse,
"Life is real; life is earnest" What
ever may be the future God b as In store
for us, it can be determined, so far as
| lies in our power, only by what we do
| here and now. We need religion to
teach us how to live and act. The
manual of worthy conduct Judaism
! has given to the world. Let US then
still cherish and follow it, that it may
| help us LAY the foundations of the
| EARTH"
The other part of the prophets aud
of the Jewish minister message, points
| the method of carrying out the just
named objects. ''To plant the heavens"
| That Is q rather peculiar phase. How
can we plant" that which is high
above us? Have you not noticed how
| the arched armament descends on all
! sides at the horizon, so that. though
heads, it's extremities seem to touch
the earth and to be rootedfin the very
ground on which we stand? Even must
we in our lives bring heaven down to
earth; we must make earthly life heav.
emily. The blue skysvaulted at unap-
prosche BILE heights above us, so that
no matter how far upward we might
rise, we would still find it at infinite
distance beyond US, represents the
ideal of perfection, which we must
ever look up, though to attain which is
beyond human power. Yet 1t is per-
feet virtue, goodness. justice, truth
land charity that we should strive to
plant on earth; and we should put
forth our utmost endeavors to realize
govern our conduct by higher prin-
ciples than the dictates of prudence,
must regulate our actions by worthier
considerations than what pays best,
what will interfere least with our care
and convenience or what will produce
the most pleasure. We must be will
ing to make sacrifices for the sake of
make much of life without
noble aspirations, without keeping ever
before US the ideal of what human ma
ture should be, that has been ''created
in the image of God" This is the
heavenly view that we should plant
firmly in our earthly life.
The third, and by no means least i'm
portant, section of the prophets words
and the present rabbits message is ITO
say unto Zion: Thou art my people. ."
Shall ewe still repeat, you may ask
me, the old and exploded saying that
Israel is Gods people in any particular
sense? Yes; that assertion is not OBJ
solete; there is a truth in it, which we
must not only still recognize, but make
st. ~ fnyt Ill
we must properly understand it. The
phrase Goods chosen people" does not
imply that the Eternal out of mere
caprice selected the tiny Israelitish ma
tion for lis special favors. Judaism is
most emphatic ia teaching that God is
the Ruler of all nations and the father
of all men, who are all alike dear in
his sight Neither can those words
mean that the Jewish people we're to
) enjoy greater happiness, prosperity
and power than the other families of
earth. Our sad and troubled history
: bellies any such statement. No. the
meaning Of the title is explained in
what Moses was commanded to cay to
Israel: "If We will in deed obey my
voice and keep my covenant, then ye
shall be peculiar treasure unto me
above all people, for all the earth il
: mine. And we shall be unto me a
kingdom OF priests, q holy.nation;'
again in the divine utterance repeat.
ed by Isaiah: 81, the Lord, have called
, thee in righteousness, and will hold
, thy hand and will keep thee, and give
thee for covenant of the people, for 9
light 10 the nations" Israel was
> Almighty only in SO far as it received
| a glimpse of the higher lights of truth
, and in so far ss recognizing the de-
MAIDS of righteousness it observed q
/ higher morality than the surrounding
nations. And it: was chosen, not for
: material happiness, but flor spiritual
{ leadership for the arduous mission OF
teaching the law of God and the pre-.
: cepts of virtue and justice to all the 9TH
) er peoples OF the earth. Our Christian
| fellOwmen recognize this position OF
, the Jewish people and are at all times
: ready to acknowledge it. It is we our
, selves who are blind to it, or fail to ap-
preciate it. We should, however, be
conscious that we still have a part to
play in the world; and as descendants
of a divinely commissioned people,
should cultivate the sentiments that
make us revere our past and at the
same time inspire us to fulfill our duty
to the future. We are no longer q ma
ton. Jews the world over are citizeus
of the land in which they well, and
share in the nationality of the people
of which they form part. We here
are loyal and patriotic Americana