1.

3. THE CONTINUITY OF GOD'S LAW.

Give ear, 0 my people, to my instruction! Incline your ears to the words of my mouth! 2. I will open my mouth in a psalm;

I will utter sayings of ancient times. 3. What we have heard and learned, And our fathers have told us,

4. We will not hide from their children;

5.

Showing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD,
His might, and the wonders he hath wrought.

For he appointed statutes in Jacob,

And established a law in Israel,

Which he commanded our fathers
To make known to their children;

up,

6. So that the generation to come might know them
The children, which should be born, and rise
Who should declare them to their children;
7. That they might put their trust in God,
And not forget his deeds,

1.

But keep his commandments.

(Ps. LXXVIII; 1-7.)

4. THE MARTYR'S FAITH.

All this hath come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee, Nor have we been false to thy covenant.

2. Our hearts have not wandered from thee,

Nor have our feet gone out of thy path;

3. Though thou hast crushed us in a land of jackals, And covered us with thick darkness.

4. If we had forgotten the name of our God,

Or stretched forth our hands to a strange God,

5. Surely God would search it out;

For he knoweth the secrets of the heart.

6. But for thy sake were we killed all the day; We were counted as sheep for the slaughter.

7. Arise, O thou our strength!

And deliver us, for thy mercy's sake!

8. O bless our God, ye nations,

(Ps. XLIV; 17-22-26.)

And make the voice of his praise to be heard!

9. It is he who preserveth our lives,

And suffereth not our feet to stumble.

10. Thou hast, indeed, proved us, O God! Thou hast tried us as silver is tried.

11. Thou broughtest us into a snare,

And didst lay a heavy burden upon our backs; 12. Thou didst cause men to ride upon our heads,

And we have gone through fire and water:
But thou hast brought us to a place of abundance.

(Ps. LXVI; 8-12.)

5. THE RIGHTEOUS AND MERCIFUL GOD.

(Ashrai.)

1.

2.

Happy the people whose faith is such!

Happy the people whose God is the Eternal (Ps. CXLIV; 15.)

I will extol thee, my God, the King!

I will praise thy name for ever and ever! 3. Every day will I bless thee,

And praise thy name for ever and ever! 4. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; Yea, his greatness is unsearchable.

5. One generation shall praise thy works to another, And shall declare thy mighty deeds.

6. I will speak of the glorious honor of thy majesty, And of thy wonderful works.

7. Men shall speak of the might of thy glorious deeds, And I will declare thy greatness;

8. They shall pour forth the praise of thy great goodness, And sing of thy righteousness.

9. The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion,

Slow to anger, and rich in mercy.

10. The LORD is good to all,

And his tender mercies are over all his works.

11. All thy works praise thee, O LORD!

And thy holy ones bless thee!

12. They speak of the glory of thy kingdom,

And talk of thy power;

13. To make known to the sons of men his mighty deeds,

And the glorious majesty of his kingdom.

14. Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

Thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.

15. The LORD upholdeth all that fall,

And raiseth up all that are bowed down.

16. The eyes of all wait upon thee,

And thou givest them their food in due season;

2

17. Thow openest thine hand,

And satisfiest the desire of every living thing. 18. The LORD is righteous in all his ways,

And merciful in all his works.

19. The LORD is nigh to all that call upon him, To all that call upon him in truth.

20. He fulfilleth the desire of them that fear him; He heareth their cry, and saveth them.

21. The LORD preserveth those who love him; But he will destroy the wicked.

22. My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD And let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever! Hallelujah.

ETHICS OF THE PROPHETS.

AMOS.

From 800-778, B. C. E.

I.

The sins of Judah and Israel.

1. The words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa, which he prophesied concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam, the son of Joash, king of Israel two years before the earthquake. (Chap. 1; 1.)

2.

THUS saith the LORD: For three transgressions of Judah, And for four, will I not turn away their punishment;

For they have despised the law of God,

And have not kept his statutes,

And their idols have caused them to err,

After which their fathers walked.

3. But I will send a fire upon Judah,

4.

Which shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.

Thus saith the LORD: For three transgressions of Israel,

And for four, will I not turn away their punishment.

For they sell the righteous for silver,

And the needy for a pair of shoes.

5. And pervert the cause of the afflicted.

They lay themselves down upon pledged garments
Near every altar; and drink wine procured by fines,
In the house of their gods.

55

6.

Yet I destroyed the Amorites before them,

Who were tall as the cedars, and strong as the oaks. I destroyed their fruit above, and their roots beneath. 7. I brought you up from the land of Egypt,

8.

And led you in the desert forty years,

That ye might possess the land of the Amorite.
Of your sons also I raised up prophets,

And of your young men Nazarites;

Is it not even so, O ye sons of Israel? saith the LORD. 9. But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink,

And commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not!

(Chap. II: 4-12.)

10. Hear these words, which the LORD speaketh against you, ye sons of Israel;

Against the whole family which I brought up out of the land of
Egypt!

11. You only have I known of all the families of the earth;

Therefore will I punish you for all your iniquities.

12. Can two walk together, unless they agree together? 13. Shall a trumpet be blown in the city,

14.

And the people not be afraid?
Shall there be an evil upon a city,

And the LORD not have done it?

Proclaim ye, in the palaces in Ashdod,

And in the palaces in the land of Egypt,

And say, Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria!
Behold the great tumults in the midst of her,

And the oppressions within her!

15. For they have no care to do right, saith the LORD; They treasure up rapine and robbery in their palaces.

16. Therefore thus saith the Lord Eternal:

An enemy shall encompass the land,

And shall bring down thy strength from thee,

And thy palaces shall be plundered.

(Chap. III; 1-3, 6, 9-11.)

17. Therefore thus will I deal with thee, O Israel!
Yet since I will thus deal with thee,
Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel !

(Chap. IV; 12.)