rightly. Who can deny, that profound, heartfelt devotion, is almost indispensable to the attainment of true piety? But if reason is not consulted, you adhere anxiously to certain modes and moments of prayer, that are directly opposed to the essence of prayer itself. itself. Who can deny, that the outward distinction of festival and fast days may give a pious tendency and tone to the heart, and in this way lead it to religion. But if you do not also employ your reason, you may be induced to consider that observance, as a sufficient pretext for begging or borrowing the outlay it involves; nay, you might even thus find an excuse for dishonesty, when, in fact, it would be better even to make the day of the festival a day of work for honest maintenance, than thus render religion, a pretext for a recourse to fraud. In short, if you do not employ these means according to reason, error cannot be avoided, and you will lose much more than you appear to gain (Isaiah i. and lviii). Do not place too high a value on such aids to virtue; they are the means and not the end. There ever were and are yet many individuals in Israel who imagine themselves to be pious, and better than the rest, because they observe a vast number of ceremonies, whose whole meaning has long been forgotten; because they keep many fast days, utter many prayers, read much and often in the sacred writings, as if the dead letter could open heaven to them. And these things are held to be religion, while religion itself is disregarded. O, it is a grievous disease, from which ye suffer much, ye children of my people! Thence there arise so many pretended saints, who form such imperfect and pernicious conceptions of a godly life, which consists really in the most * exact fulfilment of our duties. Thence the ridiculous blindness, with which so many look down with contempt, on such as think differently and more justly. Pride is concealed beneath their tatters. Thence the blind zeal with which they oppose all institutions that agree not with their ideas. Thence it is that important objects are neglected, because they are occupied with minor matters. They have written those words on the hand, the brow, the door-posts, Love the Lord, serve him with all your heart, worship not idols, dedicate your children to virtue;' but they are but lifeless tokens, they sustain not life in life, dead letters and words they remain. O deluded ones! they hope to be healed, merely because they read the prescription of their physician, and frequently comprehend not the language in which that prescription is written. No! to over-value these means is just as sinful as to neglect their use altogether, and perhaps more so, because we may at last persuade ourselves, that they are in themselves religion, whereas they can only lead man to religion. They ought to make us more ready, more conscientious and true, in the fulfilment of our duties; they ought to enable us to overcome our pernicious inclinations, to suppress our evil passions, ardently to follow the right, zealously to promote the good, to become righteous men, faithful subjects, Godloving Israelites. Is this attained ?-Blessed, thrice blessed are we !---We may then consider ourselves to be *The words in Medrasch are remarkable :- אל תוסף על דבריו פן יוכיח בך ונכזבת (משלי) תני ר' חייא שלא תעשה את הגדר יתר על העיקר שלא יפול ויקצץ את הנטיעה Р true worshippers of God, Israelites without guile, who live and act in the spirit of our ancient and eternal law. Then may we be convinced that the blessing of God will rest upon us, and will not depart from us and our children, and children's children, for ever and ever. Amen. SERMON XI. THE TRIALS AND SORROWS OF LIFE. NUMBERS XXi. 4-7. BELOVED hearers! every one born of woman, has felt that life presents us with alternate scenes of pain and pleasure. We are mortal men: beings whose hearts sometimes swell with the joys, (), at others sink beneath the sorrows, of existence (y); whose eyes now fill with tears of rapture, now overflow with those of anguish; whose hands are sometimes raised courageously towards heaven, at others, sink despondingly down to earth. Who, here below can hold the scales, and determine whether in the life of the individual, joy and sorrow are equally balanced; or further, whether among mankind generally, there exists an equality of distribution to each, of these component parts of existence? So much is certain, that for no one pilgrim on earth, is his course free from troubles and trials. Even to wanderers who travel beneath bright skies, and along smooth paths, and are provided with all things that can render their journey pleasureable, even unto such, I say, there come days, on which they have to contend with powerful obstacles to their progress. The star of day is suddenly obscured, and instead of the expected flowers, thorns spring up on the right and on the left. That I term our life a journey will not appear strange to God-fearing men, who well know that we are but sojourners on the earth, as all our forefathers were, and that the days of our years, are days of pilgrimage; who know that the true path of life, conducts us on high, unto that Salem, which the Lord hath prepared for all who wait on Him. But we have But we have many trials and afflictions to endure, ere we reach that land of peace, that land of our inheritance. Who is there that has not already paid his portion of tribute? Who is there among us, my dear friends, who stands not on a grave, in which some one or other of his earthly joys lies buried? How often has your heart been filled with sorrow, when plans that promised happiness, have been frustrated when you deemed their consummation at hand! Poverty and care have combined to render you and your's miserable. You have shared the couch of sickness with those dear to you! You again, have felt your lot to be the hardest, when it compelled you to part from beings, the dearest, the most beloved! How many tender relationships, how many near and dear ties, have been dissolved by death? Has he not torn the beloved wife from the bleeding heart of one? from another the faithful friend? from a third, the beloved brother? And, fathers and mothers, how often has it been your lot to see those nipped by the untimely storm, whose opening blossoms promised the fairest fruit! But who can count the tears that are shed by the eyes of man, who shall tell the sighs that burst from man's bosom, who can enumerate the |