his sins, he is righteous.” This pre-supposes, first, that a man’s
merits may exceed his sins; and asserts, secondly, that in this case he
is accounted righteous. But where is the man whose “merits exceed his
sins?” Where is the man who keeps any one of God’s commandments
perfectly? In all our best deeds and efforts there is sin of admixture
or of imperfection. Often, when by the help of God, a good thought or an
honest intention is conceived in the heart, before it can be realized in
action, some selfish and unworthy motive associates itself with it, and
spoils the whole. And in every case the obedience is imperfect, so that
all our best acts become occasions of committing sins either of
infirmity or imperfection, and thus our sins are certainly as many as
our good deeds, for each one of them has a sin as its associate. But how
many are our sins of thought, word, and deed, which are mere sins
without any admixture of good, and which in themselves are “more than
the hairs of our head?” And even if we should admit that the final
result depends not upon number, but upon magnitude, then there is one
sin that extends from the moment of our birth to the latest hour of our
existence, and that is, want of perfect love to God. This he requires at
every moment, but yet how many hours of every day do we pursue our
business or our pleasures without a single remembrance of him? And how
few, how hasty, and how interrupted are our grateful recollections of
the love and mercy of God! Here then is a sin which in magnitude far
exceeds the aggregate of all our gratitude and all our services, and
which in itself would sink the scale of guilt down to the lowest hell.
But by the side of it there is another equally immense, and that is our
continued transgression of the commandment, “Thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself.” The very best of all God’s saints makes, at the
most, but a feeble struggle against the love of self. He admits the
extent of his duty to his neighbour, he knows it—he desires to fulfil
it. He watches against himself, and yet with all his care, self-love
creeps in again and again, and asserts the mastery over his thoughts and
actions. These two sins would outweigh a thousand times all the six
hundred and eleven remaining commandments of which Israel boasts, even
if they kept them all without a single transgression or a shade of
imperfection. With these two sins on our consciences, it is perfectly
absurd to talk of our merits exceeding our sins. There is not, and never
was in the world, a mere child of Adam, whose sins did not for exceed
his good deeds. If, therefore, it be necessary, in order to be accounted
just, that our merits should exceed our sins, we must give up all hope
of being justified before God.
But let us suppose for a moment that such a thing were possible, that
there was a man whose merits exceeded his sins, would such an one be
accounted just before God? First let us ask Moses, let us hear what he
says. Does he promise that if your merits exceed your sins, ye shall be
considered just? and does he promise life, as the oral law does, to
imperfect obedience? Hear the words of Moses himself:—
ושמרתם לעשות כאשר צוה ה׳ אלהיכם אתכם לא תסורו ימין ושמאל , בכל הדרך אשר
צוה ה׳ אלהיכם אתכם תלכו למען תחיון וטוב לכם והארכתם ימים בארץ אשר תירשון
׃
“Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded
you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. Ye shall
walk in ALL the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that ye
may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your
days in the land which ye shall possess.” (Deut. v. 32, 33.) Here Moses
requires perfect obedience as the condition of life, and does not allow
a single deviation either to the right hand or to the left. It is not a
single declaration, nor a sentiment wrested from its context. Moses
repeats the same again and again. In the very next verses to those just
quoted, he says—
וזאת המצוה החקים והמשפטים אשר צוה ה׳׳ אלהיכם ללמד אתכם לעשות בארץ אשר
אתם עוברים שמה לרשתה , למען תירא את ה׳ אלהיך לשמור את כל חקותיו ומצותיו
אשר אנכי מצוך אתה ובנך ובן בנך כל ימי חייך ולמען יאריכון ימיך ׃
“Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which
the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the
land whither ye go to possess it; that thou mightest fear the Lord they
God, to keep ALL his statutes and his commandments, which I command
thee; thou and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life: and
that thy days may be prolonged.” (vi. 1, 2.) Here again Moses requires
perfect obedience to the whole law. He requires it of every individual
of Israel. “Thou and thy son, and thy son’s son;” and this universal
obedience he exacts not at some stated period of the year, but every day
of a man’s whole life. “All the days of thy life.” Moses leaves no room
for some merits and some sins. If a man does what Moses requires, he can
have no sins. If a man have any sins whatever, he does not fulfil what
Moses requires as the condition of life. We might quote several other
similar passages, but content ourselves with one, where Moses expressly
declares that universal obedience is necessary to righteousness:—
ויצינו ה׳ לעשות את כל החקים האלה ליראה את ה׳ אלהינו לטוב לנו כל הימים
לחיותנו כיום הזה , וצדקה תהיה לנו כי נשמר לעשות את כל המצוה הזאת לפני ה׳
אלהינו כאשר צונו ׃
“And the Lord commanded us to do ALL these statutes, to fear the Lord
our God always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.
_And it shall be our righteousness_, if we observe to do ALL these
commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us.” (Deut.
vi. 24, 25.) This is Moses’ idea of righteousness, and if Moses be right
the oral law is wrong. It says, “If a man’s merits exceed his sins, he
is righteous.” Moses says, If a man keep all the commandments all the
days of his life he is righteous. The oral law promises life to him who
confessedly has sins. Moses requires perfect and universal obedience as
the condition of life. It becomes, therefore, an important, an awfully
important, consideration for every Israelite, whether he will rest his
soul’s salvation on the word of Moses, or on that of the oral law. If he
rests upon the oral law, than he will be satisfied that a partial
obedience is sufficient to secure everlasting salvation, and in this
hope he will die. But if he is to be judged according to the law of
Moses, he will, at the hour of God’s judgment, find himself awfully
mistaken. Moses knows of no righteousness, but that of universal
obedience every day of a man’s life, and promises life to none but those
who have this righteousness. He that has it not, therefore, must be
condemned. And let every Israelite mark well that Moses has not left us
to draw this just conclusion from the premises which he has laid down,
but has himself stated, in the distinctest and plainest terms, That he
who does not yield this universal obedience is accursed. And that no man
may mistake his meaning, he sums up all that he has said upon this
subject, and repeats, that he who keeps ALL God’s commandments shall be
blessed, and that he who does not keep ALL God’s commandments shall be
accursed:—
ונינ אם שמוע תשמע בקול ה׳ אלהיך לשמור לעשות את כל מצותיו אשר אנכי מצוך
היום ונתנך ה׳ אלהיך עליון על כל גויי הארץ , ובאו עליך כל הברכות האלה
וגו׳ ׃
“And it shalt come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the
voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do ALL his commandments
which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee high
above all nations of the earth; and all these blessings shall come on
thee,” &c. And then, after enumerating the blessings, he adds—
והיה אם לא תשמע בקול ה׳ אלהיך לשמור לעשות את כל מצותיו וחקותיו אשר אנכי
מצוך היום ובאו עליך כל הקללות האלה והשיגוך , ארור אתה בעיר וארור אתה
בשדה וגו׳ ׃
“But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of
the Lord thy God, to observe to do ALL his commandments and his statutes
which I command thee this day, that all these curses shall come upon
thee, and overtake thee. Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed
shalt thou be in the field,” &c. (Deut. xxviii. 1-15.) Here Moses
plainly says, that he who is perfectly obedient is blessed, and that he
who is not perfectly obedient is cursed. And it is to be noted that
Moses knows nothing of an intermediate state of man, the בינוניים who
are neither righteous nor wicked. He divides all Israel into two
classes, the blessed and the cursed. He who keeps ALL God’s commandments
belongs to the former; he who does not keep ALL God’s commandments to
the latter. In this matter, than, the most important that can employ the
mind of man, the oral law contradicts the plain words of Moses. One of
the two is certainly in error. It is for the Israelites to choose
whether they will believe Moses, or that oral law which contradicts his
words. If they believe in Moses, then no one is accounted just before
God, but that man who has all the days of his life kept all God’s
commandments without one deviation. Every other person is so far from
being just, that he is accursed. If there were a human being who had all
his life kept all the commandments, and only once been guilty of
transgression, that one transgression makes him unjust and accursed. But
there is no such person. Every man’s conscience tells him that his sins
far exceed his obedience, and therefore if Moses speak truth he is
accursed. Oh, let no one endanger his salvation by trusting to the oral
law. Let him take up the law of Moses, let him investigate the
conditions which Moses lays down. We ask not now, that the Israelites
should read the New Testament, or that they should listen to our
arguments or any reasoning of man. We simply point out to them the words
of Moses, and we show other passages of the oral law which teaches an
entirely different doctrine. We ask, then, whether the man who rebels
against the law of Moses can hope for salvation? Yet this is what every
one who follows the oral law is doing. If his temporal welfare only were
concerned, it would not be of such moment. But here his eternal
interests are at stake. If the oral law be mistaken, and mistaken it is
if Moses spoke truth, their eternal salvation is forfeited by every one
who follows it. We therefore entreat every reader of this paper to take
up the law of Moses, and to investigate this question:—“What are the
conditions of blessing and cursing, of life and death, according to the
declarations of Moses? Does he promise life to that man whose merits
exceed his sins, or does he require universal obedience?” To Moses
himself we appeal, and him we constitute the arbiter of our differences.
No. XXXIII.
NEW YEAR, CONTINUED.
We showed in our last number that the first axiom of the. oral law
respecting the mode of justification is false. Moses requires perfect
and universal obedience to all the commandments as the condition of
justification and life, whereas the oral law says it is sufficient if a
man’s merits exceed his sins. One of the two, then, has spoken
falsehood. It is for the Jews to consider which of them they will brand
with the character of liar. As for ourselves, we believe that Moses
spoke the truth, and by his standard of right and wrong we proceed to
examine the second and third principles of Rabbinic justification. The
oral law tells us, further, that when God weighs the merits and the
offences, “This weighing is made not with respect to the number of the
merits and the sins, but according to their greatness. There is a merit
which may outweigh many sins, as it is said, ‘Because in him there is
found some good thing.’ (1 Kings xiv. 13.) And there are sins which may
outweigh many merits, for it is said, ‘One sinner destroyeth much good.’
(Ecclesiast. ix. 18.)” And for this reason we are told that “In the ten
days between the New Year and the Day of Atonement, Israel abounds in
almsgiving and good works more than in all the year besides.” Such is
the hope which the oral law holds out to Israel. It first tells a man,
that if his merits exceed his sins, he is safe. Then feeling that none
but a fool or madman can dream of his merits exceeding his sins, it
tries to quiet the conscience by assuring the guilty, that the quality
of the deeds is regarded more than their number, and that there may be
one meritorious act which will outweigh many sins. It endeavours to
prove this by a citation from the Book of Kings. This is in itself
suspicious. Why did it not bring one or more plain passages from the
Books of Moses? They contain the law of God, and the great principles of
God’s judgment. In determining a case like this, an appeal to the letter
of the law is absolutely necessary. Let every Israelite, then, before he
trusts his salvation to the oral law, find out one passage in the law of
Moses, where Moses himself declares that “one merit may outweigh many
sins.” We know not of one similar declaration, and therefore hesitate
not to say, that whosoever rests his salvation on this hope, has
apostatized from the religion of Moses.
But the passage itself, which the oral law cites, proves nothing in
support of the above principle. The words were spoken of the son of
Jeroboam. “He only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him
there is found some good thing towards the Lord God of Israel in the
house of Jeroboam.” (1 Kings xiv. 13.) There is not one word said here
about his being justified by that one good thing, whatever it was. It
did not save the child from his sickness. It did not change the sentence
of death into life. All it did was to procure him a peaceable burial.
How, then, can any reasonable man argue, because the son of Jeroboam had
a peaceable burial, that therefore some meritorious act will save him
from the punishment due to his offences? To warrant such a conclusion,
he ought first to show that the son of Jeroboam had been a grievous
sinner like his father, which the Bible does not say; and, secondly,
that this one meritorious act had obtained pardon of his sins, and
restored him to life; and moreover it ought to be expressly said, that
God considered him as just. The very circumstance that the rabbies were
obliged to have recourse to such a passage, and that they could find
nothing better in the law or the prophets, shows that they were hard
pushed to find anything that would even bear a faint resemblance to
their doctrine.
The law of Moses gives no countenance to this doctrine, and can give
none, because it is directly subversive of all the principles of law and
justice. The stern principle of justice is, that every transgression of
the law should be followed by punishment without any reference whatever
to the good deeds or merits of the transgressor. Even before an earthly
tribunal, there is no deviation from this principle. If a murderer or a
robber be convicted, no degree of previous or subsequent merit can be
listened to as a plea against the just sentence of the law. He may in
all other respects be an unexceptionable character, he may feed the poor
and clothe the naked, and give all his goods in alms, but none of these
things can change the sentence of guilty into not guilty, or cause him
to be considered as a just or innocent person. And shall we suppose that
God is less just than man? The law of Moses gives us no reason for such
a supposition. It says distinctly—
ולא תקחו כופר לנפש רוצח אשר הוא רשע למות כי מות יומת ׃
“Moreover, ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer,
which is guilty of death; but he shall surely be put to death.” (Num.
xxxv. 31.) According to this declaration, the good deeds or merits of a
murderer are not to be regarded, and there is nothing which he can do
which can avert the sentence of the law. And shall we suppose that God
himself will do what he forbids men to do? If so, why did he forbid it
to be done? The plain reason of this prohibition is, because it is
contrary to the eternal principles of right and wrong, which God himself
cannot violate without detracting from his holiness. But it is not with
respect to murder only that God has laid down these stern principles of
justice. He says generally—
והנפש אשר תעשה ביד רמה מן האזרח ומן הגר את ה׳ הוא מגדף ונכרתה הנפש ההיא
מקרב עמה , כי דבר ה׳ בזה ואת מצותו הפר הכרת תכרת הנפש ההיא עונה בה ׃
“But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the
land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the Lord, and that soul shall
be cut off from among his people. Because he hath despised the Lord, and
hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his
iniquity shall be upon him.” (Numb. xv. 30, 31.) There is here no
promise that his merits shall be weighed against his offences. One
presumptuous sin will outweigh all his supposed merits, and for that one
he shall die in his iniquity. The doctrine of the prophets is just the
same:—
הנפש החוטאת היא תמות ׃
“The soul that sinneth it shall die.”
ובשוב צדיק מצדקתו ועשה עול ככל התועבות אשר עשה הרשע יעשה וחי כל צדקתיו
אשר עשה לא תזכרנה במעלו אשר מעל ובחטאתו אשר חטא בם ימות ׃
“But when the righteous turneth away from this righteousness, and
committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that
the wicked man doeth, shall he live? _All his righteousness that he hath
done shall not be mentioned_: in his trespass that he hath trespassed,
and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.” (Ezek. xviii.
20-25.) When one reads this passage, it appears as if God had dictated
it on purpose to contradict the doctrine of the oral law. There is here
no mention of weighing merits against sins, and no promise that some few
extraordinary merits may outweigh many sins. On the contrary, it is
distinctly stated, that when the righteous man turneth away from his
righteousness, “All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be
mentioned.” If this be true, the doctrine of the oral law is necessarily
and totally false. But some one may object that there is a similar
declaration made respecting the wicked:—
והרשע כי ישוב מכל חטאתיו אשר עשה ושמר את כל חקותי ועשה משפט וצדקה חיה
יחיה לא ימות , כל פשעיו אשר עשה לא יזכרו לו בצדקתו אשר עשה יחיה ׃
“But if the wicked man will turn from all his sins that he hath
committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and
right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. All transgressions that
he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned to him, in his
righteousness that he hath done he shall live.” But this verse is as
strongly against the doctrine of the oral law as the others already
cited. In the first place, it does not say, that he whose sins exceed
his merits is wicked, but that he who commits sin is wicked. In the
second place, it does not say that, by causing his merits to exceed his
sins, he can become righteous, but by turning away, “from ALL his sins
that he hath committed,” and by keeping “ALL my statutes.” It confirms
the doctrine laid down already from the law of Moses, that to be
righteous in the sight of God, a man must commit no sin, and keep all
God’s commandments. It therefore directly contradicts the oral law, and
overturns the doctrine that some merits may outweigh many sins.
If more proof be needful, we have it in the case of Moses himself. Very
few, if any, even of the most devoted friends of the oral law, can
imagine that he has so many merits as Moses his master; and yet the
merits of Moses did not outweigh one apparently trifling transgression.
Because of one sin, he was sentenced to die with the disobedient
generation in the wilderness, and not permitted to enter into the land
of Israel. If Moses’ merits, then, could do nothing for him, how vain
must be the hope of others, who think that, by abounding in almsgiving
and good works for ten days, they can turn the scale of God’s righteous
judgment? Neither the law nor the prophets know of any intermediate
class between the righteous and the wicked. They specify only the two
classes, the righteous and the wicked. Those who fulfil all God’s
commandments belong to the one, and those who transgress any of God’s
commandments belong to the other. Let every man, then, examine his own
heart and life, and it will not require much time nor trouble to
ascertain to which class he belongs. A very little reflection will
convince him that he has been, and is, a transgressor of God’s
commandments; that he has no merits and no righteousness; and therefore
belongs to that class of whom Moses says, that they are accursed. Such a
conclusion may appear dreadful, and so it ought to be; but the grand
question is, Is it true? Let every man ask himself, “Have I kept, or do
I keep, ALL God’s commandments?” If he can say, Yes: then, according to
the law of Moses, he is righteous, and has the promise of life. But if
he must say, No: then he is unrighteous, and the curse of God is hanging
over him, ready to descend and destroy him:—
ארור אשר לא יקים את דברי התורה הזאת לעשות אותם ואמר כל העם אמן ׃
“Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them.
And all the people shall say, Amen.” (Deut. xxvii. 26.) Moses holds out
no nope, except to those who yield a perfect and universal obedience.
But some one will reply, if this be true, then no man can be accounted
righteous, on account of his deeds:—
כי אדם אין צדיק בארץ אשר יעשה טוב ולא יחטא ׃
“For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth
not.” (Eccles. vii. 20.) And this is the truth, no man can be justified
because of his good works. We must renounce all our pride, and appear at
the bar of God as miserable sinners, looking only for mercy, and not for
payment. We must come to the same conclusion as Job did—
אמנם ידעת כי כן ומה יצדק אנוש עם אל , אם יחפוץ לריב עמו לא יעננו אחת מני
אלף ׃
“I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God? If he
will contend with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand.” (Job ix.
2, 3.) Job had no idea that his merits exceeded his sins, but knew well
that if God entered into judgment with him, he could not answer
respecting even the thousandth part of his transgressions. David, the
man after God’s own heart, had the same conviction, and had therefore,
no wish that his merits should be weighed with his sins. His prayer was—
אל תבוא במשפט את עבדך כי לא יצדק לפניך כל חי ׃
“Enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man
living be justified.” (Ps. cxliii. 2.) And when Daniel prayed, he did
not venture to prefer his petitions on the score of merits, or to expect
an answer as the reward of righteousness, but cast himself simply on the
mercy of God:
כי לא על צדקותינו אנחנו מפילים תחנונינו לפניך כי על רחמיך הרבים ׃
“For we do not present our supplications before thee for our
righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.” (Dan. ix. 18.) How, then,
can the modern Jews hope to stand at the tribunal of a heart-searching
God, and not only escape condemnation, but obtain a reward because their
merits exceed their sins? Are they more pure than Job, more holy than
David, more righteous than Daniel? or were those three most holy men
mistaken, or ignorant of the way of salvation? Certain it is that there
must be some mistake somewhere. Either the rabbies were right, and then
Job, David, and Daniel were mistaken, or these three men were right, and
then the rabbies are fearfully and awfully mistaken. If the law requires
perfect obedience, and denounces a curse against all disobedience, then
the former were right in deprecating God’s judgment, and casting
themselves upon his mercy. But if the law requires only that a man’s
merits should exceed his sins, and says that all deficiencies can be
made up by almsgiving and good works in the ten days between the New
Year and the Day of Atonement, then they were wrong. Job was utterly
mistaken when he said, “How should man be just with God?” for the
rabbies say, Only be careful for the first ten days of the year, and you
will be just and sealed unto life. David was utterly mistaken when he
said, “In thy sight shall no man living be justified;” for the rabbies
say that a man’s merits may exceed his sins, and that such an one is
just before God. Daniel was mistaken in not offering his prayers on the
score of righteousness, but on the plea of mercy. But still,
notwithstanding the certainty with which the rabbies speak, we would
rather trust our own salvation to the word of Moses, of Ezekiel, of Job,
David, and Daniel, than to that of the rabbies. We would rather kneel as
supplicants, than claim the reward of our deeds with the rabbies.
But we cannot pass this subject without observing here also how the
religion of the rabbies exhibits itself at every turn as a religion for
the rich and the learned, rather than for the poor and laborious class
of mankind. It teaches that almsgiving and good works, at a certain
season of the year, will turn the wicked into righteous men, and
transform the sinner into the saint. So the rich sinner puts his hand
into his pocket, and lavishes his gold to the poor and needy, and buys
what is wanting to make up his deficit of merit. The learned man sets to
work at his books; for the oral law says:—
אין לך מצוה בכל המצוות כולן שהיא שקולה כנגד תלמוד תורה , אלא תלמוד תורה
כנגד כל המצוות כולן שהתלמוד מביא לידי מעשה לפיכך התלמוד קודם למעשה בכל
מקום ׃