The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-01-17
RABBI DELIVERS
 STRONG SERMON Dr. NewfeId Discusses Pulpit
 and Public Morals LESSON FROM JEREMIAH Duty of Pulpit Is Plain When Great Moral Problems Become the Issue.
 Practical Application to
 Modern Tendencies.
LESSON FROM JEREMIAH

Rabbi Newfield delivered a discourse on ''The Pulpit and Public Morals" at Temple Emanuel last Friday night His text was taken from Jeremiah xxii;1o-1s. Dr. Newfield spoke as follows:
 When great moral problems have be-. come vital issues in the community, the duty of the pulpit is plain. It's voice can- not remain silent. Of course, its methods are not those of the press nor of the plat form.
 Passion and prejudice and partisan feel ing must not cross the threshold of the sanctuary. On the other hand that pull pit is remiss in it's duty which would vacillate when great moral questions tren1ble in the balance. They misunder stand religions function who would lay in such crises the hushing finger of silence upon the lips of the preacher. If reli- zion is indeed merely an expedient to gain heaven, if 1t has no dealings with the heavy burdens of daily life, their eau ton is justified. But If religion Is the science of the humanities; If 1t is appoint ed a messenger of peace and morals; if 1t Is a guide and monitor to right and righteousnesB-when great issues of pub lie morality agitate men, the pulpit shall be the first to speak and the last to re- frain from uttering the needful words.
 The Prophets.
 You will admit that the prophets were religious men; that they understood the scope and purpose of religion-and yet provoked by what do they pour out their indignation. on what matters does their appeal pivot? On none more urgently than on questions of public morals and social justice. Recall the chapter from Jeremiah which is our text That prophet lived in time of seeming splendor and extravagant luxury The wealth of the country was massed In Jerusalem; wealth owned and controlled by few mighty plotters. King and courtiers, princes and merchants alike had but one ambition: to hold and use for their own selfish gain the product of other mems toll. Thy eyes and thine heart are directed only to thy gain"-inveighs the aroused prophet They had no scruples to build palaces with unrighteousness And the prophet explains what he means by the phrase, Building palaces with unrighteousness. He has in mind such builders and owners as refuse to pay the laborer his hire and withhold from the workingman his due wage, who profit by iniquity and who greedily and wfckedly divert to their own advantage the earnings of the toiler- something intensely and interestingly modern.
 And the prophet announces that under such social injustice and wickedness the end Is bound to. come. The king will be \ led into captivity. Weep not, he says, for one that dies, but weep for one who his grave" The prophet sees the ap- proach of the catastrophe He knows that the despoiler and grafter, to use modern terminology, must land in the penitentiary or become a fugitive from justice a wanderer on the face of the | earth, in lifelong exile The prophet, proclaims that if selfishness be the rule of human conduct and cor rupt morals be the principle on which hu- man society is built disaster is inevita- | ble
 In Our Time.
 The conditions of Jeremiah's days find | ! strong resemblance In our times. The | picture drawn by the lamenting prophet | 1f Jerusalem applies to our generation, | to modern cities and states. In all circles | he tendency ito get there'' is canonized 1 IS the theory of life. The prophetic &C., ,usation. Thy eyes and thine heart are bent only for thine one gain" bears a very modern clink On all sides, in 'mall and large affairs, one is met by the struggling of the shoulders and the 'neaking smile when he would urge men o adopt another theory of life one that | s based on the high principle of morality