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PRINCETON, N. J.
Shelf.
Division...
Section
Number.
7~
THE
JEWISH EXPOSITOR,
AND
dFrienD of Sararh
OCTOBER, 1829.
SELECT PASSAGES FROM THE RAB- BINICAL BOOK ZOHAR, WITH NOTES. BY THE REV. PROFESSOR A. THOLUCK.
TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN, 1827.
( Continued from page 324. J
I. God created man , in his own image, with the power to continue holy, or become a sinner.
“ And Elohim (God) created man in his own image,” (Gen. L 26.) i. e. in the image of Metat- ron. Who is the Elohim that created him (man)? The living Elohim ; the Everlasting King. “ In the image of Elohim created he him;” i. e. in the image of Samael,* from whom the other Elohim (the false gods) derive their origin, as it is written, (Exod. xx. 3,) “ Thou shalt have no other Gods but me.” In so far then as
* The Rabbins try to discover a deep meaning in the parallelism (Gen. i. 27,) viz. The first member of the verse in- dicates man’s disposition to good. The second, his disposition to evil.
VOL. XIV.
man is good, God created him in the image of Metatron his servant, who is subject to his Lord, and therefore it is said, “And God created man in his image,” i. e. in the image of Metatron. But in so far as man is evil, God created him in the image of Samael, the serpent, the angel of death, who is empowered by the Holy One (blessed belie!) to exercise judg- ment in hell over such men as are not found righteous. There- fore it says, (the Iod
doubled), in order to indicate that man was created with a tendency to good, — in virtue of which he belongs to the kingdom of Metat- ron, who also assists him in exe- cuting the commands of the law ; wherefore it is said, “ I will make him an help-meet.” But man is also created with a tendency to evil, wherein he so far belongs to Samael, who, as it is further said in the passage above quoted, “ is an adversary unto him and tries to seduce him into sin, in order then to judge him in hell. Both these accompany man, in two forms.
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EXTRACTS FROM THE ZOHAR.
II. By sin, Man lost the image of God.
Come and see ! At first w.e are told (Gen. i. 27, as also ix. 6.) that “ In the image of God made he man but afterwards it is said, (Gen. v. 1,) “In the likeness of God made he him because after the fall, man’s image became changed from that heavenly image, and himself at the same time so altered, that he now dreaded the beasts of the field. Previous to the fall, all creatures of the earth trembled and feared before man ; for whensoever they looked on him, they beheld that holy heavenly image ; — but after sin, his image was transformed into another, and became so altered, that man trembled and feared before the other creatures. Come and see ! Those men who do not sin against their Lord, nor trangress the pre- cepts of his law, retain the bright- ness of their image, unchanged from that heavenly archetype, and all creatures of the earth fear and tremble before them. But as soon as men transgress the words of the law, their image becomes changed, and they all fear and tremble before the other creatures, because that heavenly image has been changed, or rather has de- parted from them. Therefore the wild beasts exercise dominion over them ; no longer observing in them that heavenly image, as we have already explained.
“ And he breathed in his nos- trils the breath of life,” (Gen. ii. 4 — 7,) i. e. a holy spirit, springing out of the heavenly life. “ And man became a living soul,” i. e. man became filled with a holy soul from a higher life, which cometh forth from the earth, as it is written, (Gen. i. 24,) “ The
earth bringeth forth a soul, which is the heavenly life.” Come and see! — As long as this holy soul is united to man, so long is man a beloved of God, and guarded on all sides by sundry guards. He likewise bears the impress of sal- vation from head to foot, and the Holy Shechinah rests upon him. But as soon as he departs from God’s ways, the Shechinah also departs from him, and the holy soul no longer remains united to him, but a spirit comes over him, which proceeds from the wicked and powerful serpent, who roams throughout the earth, and only abides wherever celestial holiness has departed. Therefore man- kind is polluted; and transformed thoroughly and entirely both in body and visage.
III. Man is horn with Original Sin. It abides in him unto death.
As soon as man comes into the world, he is beset by the evil tempter, who continually accuses him, as it is written, (Gen. iv. 7,) “ Sin lieth at the door.” What means “ Sin lieth ?” It is the evil tempter, whom David also calls sin, when he says, (Psa. li. 6,) “ and my sin is alway before me.” And the evil tempter is called sin, because it is his occupa- tion, unceasingly, to seduce men to sin against the Lord. This evil spirit, doth never depart from man, from the very day of his birth. But the good propensities, enter a man, when he begins to sanctify himself. Now, when does man begin to sanctify himself? As soon as he has reached his 13th year. Then these two associate themselves with him, one on the right hand, the other on the left. The good spirit to the right, the
EXTRACTS FROM THE ZOIIAR.
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evil one to the left. These are, in fact, two angels placed before him, and who will meet him at all times. But when man begins to walk piously, then the bad spirit humbles itself before him, and the right prevails over the left. Both, however, are equal in man, in or- der to watch over him in all his paths and undertakings.
IV. Adam, by his Sin, introduced Death.
“ Our father died by his sin,” (Numbers xxvii. 2.) R. Eliezer asks, “ My son, since thou hast spoken of this matter, tell me what meaneth, ‘ He died by his sin ?’ ” The boy replies, “ Father, father, a single word explains it suf- ficiently. Because that serpent rebelled in heaven, with his host, (referring to original sin), the con- sequence was, that man died by his (the serpent’s) sin (his temp- tation). Else what would have been the meaning of * By his own sin.’ Wherefore (if it be referred to the serpent), by the sin of that serpent, and not by any other ? Above all, what could this phrase mean? ‘For he died by his own sin.’ Surely, ‘ By his sin,’ means nothing else than the revolt which that serpent instigated with his host (i. e. the temptation), whereby he occasioned his own death.’ ”
“ And the serpent was subtle,” (Gen. iii. 1.) The serpent, the evil tempter, and the angel of death, are one and the same; and the serpent being the angel of death, thereby occasioned death to the whole world. This is the mystery of that passage, (Gen. vii. 13,) “ The end of all flesh is come before me.” The end of all flesh, inasmuch as God took away the souls from all bodies.
Rabbi Simeon began and said,
“ Like Adam they have trans- gressed the covenant, there have they dealt treacherously against me. “ Who, Oh man ! can wipe away the dust from thine eyes ? One law only did the Holy One give thee, and thou wast not in a condition to obey it, because thou didst suffer thyself to be seduced by subtle words, by which that evil serpent sought to pervert thee, as it is written, “ And the serpent was subtle.” Thou hast then suf- fered thyself to be seduced by him, and hast thereby entailed death not on thyself alone, but on all the generations that spring from thee ! Whosoever is seduced by him, and holds intercourse with him, he surely falleth into destruction.
Come and see the secret of that expression, (Gen. iii. 14.) “God drove Adam out of paradise.” Man having sinned, became a cap- tive, and has subjected himself and the whole world to death. He, for the sake of the tree, in which he sinned, subjected himself and the whole world to banishment, so that he and his sons for ever became banished.
V. God plunges into Eternal Condemnation, all who do not re- pent themselves betimes.
Rabbi Jose spake, “ Woe to the impenitent, who will not be con- verted from their sins unto the holy commandment, while they yet remain in this world. For if man maketh atonement, and re- penteth him of his sins, the Holy One forgives him ; but those who harden themselves in their guilt, and will not be converted from their sins against the holy law, he casts into hell, from whence he never after suffers them to escape.
VI. But whosoever will become
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EXTRACTS FROM THE ZOHAR.
a friend of God , must become so, through the Matrona, (Messiah), mho is the Mediatrix between God and man.
What meaneth “ The way to the tree of life !” (Gen. iii. 24.) The great Matrona (Schechinah), for she is the way to that great, that mighty Tree of Life; as it is written, (Cantic. iii. 7,) “Behold his bed, which is Solomon's; three- score valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel,”* (i. e. the heavenly Israel.) “ They all hold swords,” &c. When the Matrona taketh the sword, then all take it with her ; therefore it is said, (Exod. xiv. 19,) “And the Angel of God removed.” Is she then called the Angel of God ? “ Yes,” answers Rabbi Aba, “ Come and see !” Thus saith Rabbi Simeon, “ The Holy One hath reared up before him a holy temple, a hea- venly temple ; a holy city, a heavenly city ; which is called Jerusalem, the holy city. Whoever will come before the King, as it is only through this city a way leads to him, must take his way from this city. Therefore it is said, (Psa. xcviii. 20,) ‘ This is the gate to Jehovah, the righteous shall enter therein.’ All the orders of the King go forth from the Ma- trona, and whatsoever is presented to the King must first come before the Matrona, and thence be laid be- fore the King. Consequently the Matrona is the Mediatrix of all, from above to below, and from be- low to above. She is, therefore, the Mediatrix of all, forasmuch as it is said, (Exod. xiv. 19,) ‘And an Angel of God removed, who went
* Solomon is the Schechinah, or Matrona, and the heavenly Israel here is the angelic host, because the church of Israel is always an antitype of the angelic host.
before the camp of Israel,’ i. e. the heavenly Israel. The Angel of God is he of whom it is said, (Exod. xiii. 21,) ‘And Jehovah went before them,’ &c., as we have already proved. But is it consist- ent with the dignity of the King, that the Matrona should go to wage war ; that she should be used as a messenger ? Bethink thee of a King, who hath leagued himself with a Matrona. As the King was convinced of her superiority above all the other Matronas of the world, he said, ‘ All others appear like beasts, compared with my Matrona ; she surpasses them all ; what then shall I do, to prove my favour towards her ? I will give all my house into her hands.’ Forthwith the King caused it to be publicly proclaimed, ‘ Henceforth, whatso- ever belongs to the King is trans- ferred to the Queen.’ Therefore he transferred to her, all his arms, all his military officers, all his jewels, and all his royal treasure. ‘ Hence- forth,’ he exclaimed, ‘ no one who is under the necessity of consulting me, can obtain any decree, until I have first informed the Matrona.’ Thus too has the Holy One, from his infinitely great friendship and love to the church of Israel, given all things into her power, for he saith, ‘All nations who follow after idols, are as nothing compared with her ;’ ‘ my Dove, mine undefiled is One.’ (Cantic. vi. 9.) What shall I do to exhibit my favour towards her? This will I do. I will give all my house into her hands.”*
* The comparison does not seem to lead to this result. The thing may rather be thus understood, viz. Israel peculiarly possesses the Matrona, as Queen Regent. The honour which God confers on her, he also extends to his holy people.
EXTRACTS FROM THE ZOHAR.
365
VII. Metatron is the first of creatures ; the image of God.
When it is said, (Gen. xxiv. 2,)
“ His servant,” we are thereby to understand the servant of God.
“ The eldest of his house,” who is the next to him in his service. And who is this ? This is Metat- ron, as already mentioned, who is hereafter to quicken the dead in the graves. That is indicated in the passage, (lit supra,) “ And Abraham said to his servant,” that is Metatron, the servant of God,
“ the eldest of his house,” who is the first among the creations of God, “ who ruleth over all that he hath,” to whom the Holy One hath given dominion over all his hosts.
The middle pillar, is that Me- tatron, who completes the heavenly building, after the manner of the Tiphereth. His name is as the name of the Lord, after whose image and likeness he was made ; for he is the summary of all the gradations from above to beneath, and from beneath to above. He is the centre of union in the midst.
The tV in indicates (by its figure) the three branches, which are the principles, and which are designated by Jehovah, Elohenu, Jehovah. Their three names de- signate the three leading branches.
These words JTliT
mm contain fourteen letters, as many as the numeral value of in the word The cloth-
ing of the 'H&t is Metatron, for the numeral value of jVlDLDC is exactly the same with that of (namely, 314.)
VIII. The Schechinali is the
supreme Angel, the counterpart of God, and One with God.
When Hilel, the elder, was en- joying himself at a banquet, he used to say, “ If is here,
then all is here ; but if '3K be not here, who then is here?” This he used afterwards to explain thus : — “ If the Schechinah, which is called "QX is here, then all is here.” (But every one who strives to unite himself therewith, can serve to his support.) “ But if '3X (the Schechinah) be not here, Who then is ? No man’s happiness can be considered complete, as the Schechinah abides not in the Holy Land. But when the number of sacrifices of the herd shall be again complete, then it is written, (Isa. xii. 3,) ‘With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salva- tion.’ What wells are these ? The springs of those streams which flow from this salvation. Then shall the whole world be joyous, because the Schechinah will have taken away the uncleanness of the other nations. Therefore it is said, (Num. xxix. 35,) * On the eighth day (the days of the Messiah) ye shall have a solemn assembly.’ ” bn. ny (Isa. xxix. 1,) in the numeral value amounts to 202, the same as ")3 (Son.) Thou art the Son, the true Shepherd, of whom it is written, (Psa. ii. 12,) “Kiss theSon.” Thou art the Lord of Israel, a 3"1 (reversing the let- ters in “13 it becomes Lord) on the earth ; the Lord of the attend- ing angels, (the type of Israel), and a ")3 (Son) in heaven — Son of the Holy One ; and the Shecliinah, who is "iDH, (Grace, 72, like 3 JL
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Z ECU A1U All’s PROPHETIC VIEW
But the word DJ (43) raises the number (202) to 245. In refer- ence thereto, it is said of Messiah, Son of Joseph, (2 Sam. xi. 13,) DJ “ Jehovah hath put away thy sin, thou shalt not die.” By DJ therefore (the Messiah) was David’s guilt atoned.
As the Holy One is hidden in the mysteries of the law, whereby becometh he known to us ? By the law, which is the Schechinah, and the Schechinah is his image, i. e. as he is condescending, so is the Schechinah condescending — he is gracious, so is Schechinah gracious — he is mighty ; she is the mighty mistress over all nations of the earth. He is truth; she is true. He is omniscient ; so is she omniscient. He is just; she also is just. He is a King; shea Queen. He is wise; she is wise. He is the Crown ; she it’s diadem, a diadem of glory. Therefore the learned men have laid it down as a principle, “ Any one whose in- terior is not as his exterior, must not in the school, penetrate into the image of God ; inasmuch as he is his own interior, and the Sche- chinah his exterior, (i. e. he is his own inner, internally ; she his outer, externally ;) without there being any difference between him as the interior and her as the exterior. Note it well ! She is an efflux from him, yet still without any difference. For, ‘ Thou shalt cover her from within and from without ;’* and, forasmuch as he, who is internally the hidden Jehovah, is only named by the Schechinah, therefore say the learned, ‘ I (God) am not written as man nameth me. In this
* i. e. It is only by the world of the Efflux, (the ideal world) that God is known externally as the “ Fulness.”
world I am written Jehovah, but am read Adonai; but in the other world, I am both written and read Jehovah, that mercy may be on all sides.’ ”
(mrp is the name for the prin- ciple of mercy, but for that
of justice.)
Though the Schechinah, com- pared with all other lights of cre- ation, is as the soul to the body ; yet as regards the Holy One, it is only to be considered as the body ; but both are one and the same; which is not the case in man ; for in him, body and soul are two separate essences ; the former is earth ; the latter spirit ; this im- perishable, that perishable. But the Holy One is life; and so is the Schechinah also life.
(To he continued.)
zechariah’s prophetic view of the Messiah’s kingdom as dif- ferently interpreted by a
CHRISTIAN AND A JEW, &C.
INTERPRETATION OF THE PROPHECY ZECHARIAH, CHAPTER XIII.
( Continued from i>age 328. )
The progress of the Messiah’s kingdom being regarded as that of Christianity, the next import- ant step after the abolition of Judaism, was that of Paganism, which is evidently the subject of the chapter now before us ; but along with this is coupled in the prophetic view another event, no less important, which arose out of, and accompanied the nominal con- version of the Gentile nations. This was the corruption of Chris- tianity by the Pagan converts. For instead of relinquishing their for- mer prejudices and superstitions,
of tiie Messiah’s kingdom.
367
they retained, and brought most of them into the bosom of the church ; and thereby in a short time totally changed the character of the religion which they pro- fessed to embrace.
It is true that this is a point of church history not always very distinctly stated by ecclesiastical historians ; who seem more inclined to represent the conversion of Constantine, and the events of the fourth century, as every way fa- vourable to the Christian cause. But the truth is, that precisely in proportion to the church’s ad- vancement in worldly prosperity and power, were its spiritual de- cline and degradation ; in so much that the best historians admit, that from this period are its degeneracy and corruptions most indubitably to be dated. So different is the light under which the same event appears, according as it is viewed with regard to its spiritual or its political import. Which of the two best accords with the spirit of this prophecy, the reader will be at no loss to decide, when he sees that no prosperity is here spoken of, but on the contrary, that the cut- ting offtwo-thirds of the inhabitants of the land, or their spiritual death, is the event which is coupled in the prophecy with the admission of the Pagans into the church of Christ. And such was truly the result that followed to the many ; namely, the loss of the true spirit of Christianity.
But if the abolition of Paganism be the subject of this chapter, it may be asked, how comes the pu- rification of Israel to be announced in the opening of it ? The answer is plain. Adopted Israel may be here understood. Tq lineal Israel indeed was the prophecy given ; and with Israel, idolatry was, and ever
had been, the besetting sin ; most nearly therefore were the Jews also concerned in its abolition.
Viewed, however, in the more enlarged sense, idolatry comprises the indulgence of every evil pro- pensity ; for Paganism, by appoint- ing a presiding Deity over each, had sanctioned the unrestrained gratification of every passion, in making it an act of devotion. Christianity, on the contrary, en- joins the restraint and control of our passions, and thus becomes the natural antidote to the poison of Heathenism ; or the fountain of purification from the sin and pol- lution of idolatry, as the opening of this chapter declares.
In that day there shall he a foun- tain opened to the house of David, and to the inhabitan ts of Jerusalem for sin and, for uncleanness.
That day, as formerly ex- plained, is to every one the day of his conversion to Christianity. The house of David, and the in- habitants of Jerusalem, here, as in the last chapter, symbolically represent the later converts to Christianity; as the house of Judah, which was first saved, signify the earlier Christians. The nature of the sin and pollution to be thus washed away, is next declared to be idolatry, and its abolition is foretold.
And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I mill cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall be no more remembered; and also I mill cause the prophets, and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.
It may be worthy of remark, that the names only of the idols, and not the spirit of idolatry, is
368
zkcuariah’s prophetic view
here declared to be cut off; and from the land, which, in prophe- tic language, commonly means the land of Israel, here, adopted Israel, or Christendom. Now, this nominal abolition took place in the fourth century, from which time both Jews and Gentiles have been prohibited from the open worship of idols. But we have now reached the nineteenth century without seeing the spirit of idolatry really extinct ; if then the total abolition, which is yet to come, be here inti- mated, it must be symbolically foreshewn by the nominal aboli- tion which then took place. That day, in regard to the inward and spiritual purification, is to be taken as the day of his regeneration to each individual, not as the same day to all collectively; but regard- ing the outward and ostensible abolition, this occurred when the pains and penalties of the Theo- dosian code prohibited the open practice of Pagan rites. The prophetic view may, however, in- clude both.
And it shall come to pass in that day, when any shall yet prophesy, that his father and his mother that begat him shall say, Thou shalt not live, for thou speakest lies in the name of the Lord : and his father and his mother that begat him, shall thrust him through when he prophesieth.
To prophesy, or foretel future events, was the main purport of Pagan rites ; no undertaking of any moment being entered upon until the priests and oracles had been previously consulted. This, in a superstitious age, formed a lucra- tive profession for the soothsayers and diviners, and was successfully practised, till the darkness of Heathenism was dispelled by the
light of Christianity, as foretold in the next verse.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed, every one of his vision when he prophesieth ; neither shall they wear a rough garment to de- ceive.
The Pagan, as well as the Jewish prophets, appear to have worn a distinct dress; but after Paganism was abolished, those who practised its rites in secret, of course denied and sought to conceal it.
But he shall say, I am no pro- phet but a labourer; for a husband- man bought me from my youth.
Slaves and bondmen frequently received a mark in their hands, to shew the master to whom they be- longed ; and persons attached to the Heathen temples were some- times marked in a similar manner; the worshippers of Bacchus, for instance, were distinguished by the mark of an ivy leaf. (See Lowth in loco.) This explains the follow- ing verse.
And one shall say unto him, What are these marks in thine hands ? Then shall he answer, Those with which I was marked in the house of my friends.
Thus seeking to avoid the sus- picion attached to the marks of Paganism, under the pretext of their being the indication of bond- age or servitude. But this evasion denotes that the abolition of Pa- ganism was ostensible only, as it was still practised in secret. In reality the advancement of Chris- tianity to the imperial throne, in- stead of promoting the sincere conversion of the Pagans, only served to complete, what had. al- ready begun, namely, the corrup- tion of the Christians ; whose cha-
OF THE MESSIAH S KINGDOM.
36y
racter and conduct soon totally changed, after the road to the ac- quisition of wealth and power was opened to them. In the contests for the attainment of these, which soon arose, (witness the Donatist faction,) the majority of Christians in a short time lost sight of the spirit of their religion ; while the rancour and cruelty with which different sects persecuted each other, sprang from the same source, or their rivalship in the struggle for worldly power, as Mosheim declares. Such was the spiritual sword which undermined Chris- tianity, and destroyed the life which is in Christ; as next foretold.
Awake, 0 sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is next unto me, saith the Lord of hosts. Smite the shepherd and the sheep shall be scattered : and I will turn mine hand against the little ones.
The sword is the symbol of strife and discord, warring against and destroying spiritual life, or the life in Christ ; for he is the shepherd who is smitten by the sword, the person of Christ being here figuratively put for his doc- trine or religion ; the corruption of which is thus foreshewn by the dispersion and slaughter of his flock. The little ones signify the new converts, who are yet weak in their faith and principles ; and thence more liable to be misled.
And it shall come to pass that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts shall be cut off, and die ; but the third part shall be left therein.
The history of the fourth cen- tury, here prophetically fore- shewn, amply testifies, that only the smaller number of Christians,
VOE, XIV.
amidst the general corruption, re- sisted the allurements of avarice and ambition, and retained their purity ; these having imbibed the true spirit of Christ’s religion, as next declared.
And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried : they shall call on my name, and I will hear them ; I will say, It is my people ; and they shall say, The Lord is my God.
It seems scarcely possible to give a more unequivocal intimation of the spiritual import of the whole, as not alluding to political events, but as regarding the progress of true religion, than is contained in those expressions of the last verse, which declare, that the supplica- tions of the smaller number will be offered up in a manner accept- able to God, who will hear and answer them. The particular period alluded to, is distinctly marked by the nominal abolition of idolatry, and the general corruption of Christianity. The only difficulty, however, if there be any, regards the chronological order of the events ; as the prophecy seems to foretel the entire abolition of Pa- ganism, which has certainly not yet taken place ; but this difficulty will be in a great measure removed, by supposing the prophetic view to look forward from the partial to the total, from the nominal to the real extinction of idolatry.
With respect to the division of the flock into two parts, it must not be supposed that any distinc- tion of sects is here alluded to, for no one could, more than ano- ther, claim the character of purity and holiness. True Christianity 3 B
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ZECHARIAh’s PROPHETIC VIEW, &c.
must be sought for in the heart, and. not in the outward form of worship, or profession of faith.
NOTES TO CHAPTER XIH.
Verse 5. 'j:pn o
: mj/ao
For a man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.
Parkhurst, in his Lexicon, re- marks upon this passage, as being strangely translated in our version ; while Dr. Blayney agrees with him in the translation, For a man bought me, (or obtained possession of me,) from my youth. The Jew, while he acquiesces in the sense of 'aapn as signifying to appropriate, contends that D“TK does not mean merely a man, but a husbandman, or labourer, and renders it, For a husbandman I mas appropriated from my youth. But neither the sense nor the grammatical construction thus appearing clear to my appre- hension, as the verb is not in the first, but The third person with the suffix "> me, after it ; I propose to reconcile both by rendering the passage thus : For a husbandman bought or appropriated me from my youth. But in fact the difference is immaterial, as the sense, in whatever way expressed, is, For I mas a farmer’s servant, and a bondsman from my youth.
Verse 6. HO Tbx "10K1
: “pT p3 rftxn maion
What are these mounds in thine hands? fyc.
Both Lowth and Blayney agree in regarding these words as an al- lusion to the custom of the idola- trous priests and prophets, of marking themselves in the hands. Their being challenged as the
marks of Paganism, is a sufficient proof of their being so, and I have rendered it accordingly, marks in- stead of mounds. For if, as Blay- ney states, they were made by cut- ting and slashing themselves, still the marks, and not the wounds, would remain when healed.
Verse 7. '|/“| *7J/ 'HW
: W 12}
Awake, 0 smord, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, §c.
In supposing these words to have had no direct reference to the death of Christ in their original intention ; notwithstanding their appearing from St. John’s Gospel to have been used by him, in fore- warning his disciples of what was about to befal him ; I offer no new opinion, for Dr. Blayney declares himself fully persuaded that they had not ; and what gives weight to this opinion is, that it must have been founded on other grounds than those which have led me to that conclusion. For as Dr. Blay- ney had not embraced the spiritual view in expounding the prophecy, he could not be led to this inference by the same train of reasoning as myself. The words, TPDJ/ he renders, “ The man that is next to me,” which is certainly much nearer to the sense of the original than, The man that is my fellow.
As this chapter, according to the rabbi’s view, remains unful- filled, so he offers no particular exposition of it, but limits his re- marks to a few emendations of the received translation. Of these the only one any way material to the present discussion is that on verse five, which has been already stated in the note on that verse.
(To be continued.)
REMARKS ON THE CHANGE OF THE SABBATH-DAY.
371
REMARKS ON THE CHANGE OF THE SABBATH-DAY.
Mark ii. 27, 28. The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath, therefore the Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath.
As the following extracts, from an author not much known, touch so immediately upon some of the interesting points of inquiry of the present day, it may be a profitable subject for insertion in the Jewish Expositor, and tend to illustrate the difficult question concerning the change of the Christian Sab- bath from the seventh to the first day, and satisfy the scruples which naturally arise in the minds of some of the Jewish converts. It appears to me to offer the most satisfactory reason for the change of the day, and to be borne out by the sanction of Scripture.
Anonymous.
We apprehend that the Jewish Sabbath has now run into ‘this day (viz. the Lord’s-day,) in the ob- servance of which we keep sacred the seventh part of time as much as before ; and that is all that is substantial, or properly moral in an hebdomadal holy day : though we acknowledge that something divine must lay the foundation of men’s fixing upon this or any other day. Seeing then both cannot reasona- bly be observed, because two days of seven answer not to an hebdo- madal sabbath, but destroy the very notion of such a holy day ; therefore it is necessary that we should suppose, that divine wisdom intended to put an end to the necessity of observing the seventh part of time, after the Jewish way, by laying a foundation that neces- sitates our observation of it after our manner. And to avoid confu- sion in this change, the divine wis-
dom was pleased so to order mat- ters, that Christ’s resurrection-day should be the immediate day that followed the Jewish Sabbath ; that so the change might be, as it were, insensible. Though by the type of the Messiah’s being buried, it was necessary that he should be three days in the grave ; yet, as a transaction which was doing for part of three days, would take that denomination, as much as if it had occupied the whole of them, so seeing that it was abso- lutely necessary that the Messiah’s body should not be liable to cor- ruption when buried, and there- fore could not lie three whole days ; and yet necessary likewise, that he should keep an entire Sabbath in the grave, and that with such a pe- culiar honour put upon the Jewish Sabbath, the only one of divine institution, as to observe that day only, as an entire one, in the grave, with a design, that that peculiar honour put upon it should serve also to give it an honourable bu- rial; and no less so, that he should rise early the morning of the day fol- lowing it : — it was on these accounts requisite and even necessary that our blessed Jesus should lie in the grave just as long as, and no longer, than he did, which was from three o’clock in the afternoon, on Fri- day, to the time when the sun rose on the Lord’s-day, usually called Sunday.
Our Lord’s-day was prophesied of under the name of the eighth day, or that which was to succeed to the Jewish Sabbath, Ezek. xliii. 27, “ And when these days are ex- pired, it shall be (or it shall come to pass), that upon the eighth day, and so forward, the priests shall make your burnt-offerings upon the altar, and your peace-offerings-— or thank-offerings ; and I will accept
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you, saith the Lord God.” It is strange to me that I find not one of our criticsor commentators that.has taken any notice of these words, and yet all Christians that I know of, are agreed that the mystical temple that their prophet saw in vision, is designed to shadow forth the New Testament Church; and if so, what other sense can these words hear than this, that all the Jewish weeks with all their worship and service that depended upon and was measured by hebdomadal and lunar revolutions, were to ter- minate and run into a new consti- tution of affairs, their Sabbath being changed from the seventh day to the eighth, that is, from the last day of the former week to the first day of the following one : and as the Jewish worship run almost wholly on the number seven in re- spect of time, so here it is said, verses 25 and 26, that seven days should be spent in offering sacri- fices, and seven days should be allotted for the priests to consecrate both the altar and themselves; and then it follows that upon the eighth day and ever after the priest should offer their sacrifices of all sorts. Now an eighth day as a holy day
was unknown to Moses and all the Hebrew's, and therefore it must of necessity be the Christian Sab- bath that is here intended ; so that I think it will not be wholly pre- carious to observe here, first, that the Jewish Sabbath was to be after- wards changed from the seventh day to the day following; second, that the Christian Sabbath was to be the first day of the week; third, that the institution of this latter, vacates the obligation of the former. And here let me advertize the reader that I am of opinion that this short hint may suggest to those that are thoughtful and industrious the idea of that key, by which only we can attain to unriddle this enig- matical temple of Ezekiel, which can only be done by stripping the prophet’s words of the Judaical figure, taken from their tabernacle, temple and city, and their ritual law and service, and accommodat- ing the whole to the Gospel insti- tutions ; but so as to remember that it is the perfective state in the time of the happy Millennium, that these figures principally point at, w'hich is the reason that this part of prophecy is so dark to us now'.
NOTICE OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.
Typical Instruction considered and illustrated, and shenm to be suited to all, but particularly the early ages of the Church. By John Peers, A. M. Sunday Even- ing Lecturer of St. Antholin’s, Watling Street, and late of St. Mary Magdalen College, Cam- bridge. London: 1828. Hatehard and Son. Svo. pp. 584.
It may well be considered as a matter of astonishment, that the
large and splendid materials of- fered by the types in the Old Tes- tament, with their fulfilment in the person and ministry of Jesus Christ, have not excited greater attention at this period, when it may truly be said in the language of Solomon, “ that of making books there is no end.” The volume before us is, we believe, the only one on the subject, that the present time has produced, and a more interesting or instructive one we
NOTICE OE NEW PUBLICATIONS;
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have not often perused. On the importance of the study, Mr. Peers justly observes in his pre- face, “ That the coincidence, be- tween the types and the ministry of the person or persons by whom they are fulfilled, should be clearly and correctly proved, is essential to the establishment of the truth of revelation, and is connected with the foundation of our holy reli- gion.” The types therefore become a study of primary necessity to all Christians, but more especially to those who are called to teach and explain the word of God, and any person who from want of time, or other causes, may be glad to pro- fit by the labour and talents of their neighbour, will find them very fully and ably developed by this author. After clearly shewing the nature of a type, and its connection with its antitype, with the peculiar suitableness of a worship, which clothed in outward symbols, should constantly present to the eye of the worshipper the religion prefigured to those early ages, when mankind were unprepared for instruction through the medium of books, Mr. Peers proceeds to explain not only those types existing under the Mo- saic dispensation, but many of the principal ones scattered through- out the inspired Volume. Rejecting all false speculations, he adheres closely to the doctrine of Scripture as received by our Reformers ; elucidating the Old by the New Testament; not wresting one or two texts to support a favourite construction, but bringing abun- dant and striking passages of Holy Writ in proof of his illustration of every type. But feeling confident, from the satisfaction we have ex- perienced in reading this work, that our readers will be more gra- tified by an opportunity of judging
for themselves, we shall merely insert two extracts, which we have selected as fair average specimens of the work ; the former as relating to our blessed Saviour, the latter as connected with the church mi- litant.
Thus in p. 303, speaking of the Ark of the Covenant, he ob- serves : —
God not only gave directions to Moses, but shewed him a pattern, or model, according to which the Ark of the Covenant was to be constructed. It was made of Shittim wood, and overlaid with pure gold. The top, or covering, was one piece of pure gold, not cast, but beaten out to the proper dimensions, the extremities being formed into two cherubs, whose faces were turned to each other, but inclined downwards towards that part of the lid which was between them, and over which their limbs were expanded. This space was called the Mercy-seat. Here the Shechinah, the Divine light, or glory, displayed itself. Within the Ark were placed the two tables of the law, the golden pot of manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and a copy of the books of Moses, the recorded ordi- nances of God, for the instruction and regulation of his people. This vessel was so holy, that it was death for any but the High Priest, in the perform- ance of his sacred duties, to look upon it ; and whilst the visible church was yet travelling through the wilderness, it, together with the table of show- bread, the golden candlestick, the altar of incense, and its furniture, were always prepared for removal by Aaron and his sons, and covered from observation, before they were delivered to the Levites. When the march had terminated, and the people encamped, the priests set up the tabernacle, and deposited these symbolical instru- ments in their proper places. The Ark was put into the innermost recess, called the Holy of Holies, which ad- mitted no light from without, but was illuminated by the light of the Divine presence between the cherubs.
This Ark, which was a permanent
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memorial of the Covenant of God with his people, and by means of which he gave a miraculous and lively evidence of his engagement witli them, presented a most impressive symbol of the Me- diator, in whose hands that Covenant was established, and through whom it should be fulfilled. Constructed of a wood the most valuable, yet destruct- ible, and of a metal the most pure and indestructible, it represented the union of human nature, the most va- luable of God’s earthly creatures, with the Divine nature in the person of the Messiah.
The wood, overlaid or enclosed in gold, becomes as indestructible as the gold itself ; and mortality taken into union with the Divinity, not only be- comes immortal and eternal, but is also the present medium of intercourse between God and his people, and the pledge and assurance of its continu- ance for ever. It was placed in the most sacred recess, consecrated by the sprinkling of blood, and only accessi- ble by the high priest of the people. The Most High is light in himself, yet he maketh darkness his secret place, and discovers the brightness of his glory through the sacrifice of his Son, who being God manifest in the flesh, by the offering of himself, propitiated the favour of the Eternal Godhead, and converted the throne of judgment into a seat of mercy. The pattern shewn to Moses in the mount, taught that this Divine union and ministry, was conceived in heaven, though ful- filled on earth ; and that the basis of redemption and reconciliation, as also the whole work of mercy, is so great and glorious, that angels desire to look into it; there discovering the amazing riches of Divine love, which, without such a marvellous display, must ever have remained inconceivable.
And again, in pp. 374 — 378, on the Aaronic Priesthood, he says : —
But if Aaron and the high priests his successors, presented an image of the great High Priest of our profession; the Saviour and intercessor of the priesthood collectively as a body, ex-
hibited a type equally impressive and instructive, of the company of true believers, the real, but the invisible church; they were the seed of Aaron, the figurative Messiah. These only were admissible to the service of the altar, or temple, and for that purpose they were separated from their breth- ren, and formed a peculiar society. They had no inheritance in Canaan, they received tithes from the rest of the nation, and partook of the offerings made unto God ; the temple was their home, the service of the altar their employment,* they dwelt in the pre- sence of God, and served him day and night continually; they might defile themselves for their near, but not their remote kindred, nor even for a sister if married to an husband ; they were holy unto God, and to esteem their relation to him superior to every other tie ; they lived in constant dependence upon him, and in every transaction they might remember that the Holy Lord had sanctified them, that they also might be holy.
The church of God is a chosen gene- ration, a royal priesthood, a peculiar people, the family of the Messiah, chil- dren of the faith, born not of corrupti- ble, but of incorruptible seed ; called of God through Jesus Christ, who as their head and representative, has made an atonement for them, and exalted them to be heirs of his heavenly inhe- ritance. Through his adoption they have continual access to the altar of faith, engage in the service, and live by the fruit of it. Here they have no rest, no inheritance, or portion ; they live as strangers or sojourners in a land which is not theirs; they only enjoy a cup of that inheritance, the hope of which is their consolation here, as the possession of it will be their possession hereafter; they live in receiving their daily bread in the service of the altar, a supply like that of the manna given day by day, yet sure and adequate to all their wants ; the presence of God is their abiding place, where they rejoice with a hope full of glory, walking before the Most High, his fear is ever before their eyes, and they serve him continually; they defile not themselves, but follow after
PROCEEDINGS, &C. — LETTER FROM REV. A. M*CAUL.
Zl ii
holiness, without which no man can see the Lord. They are not divested of the affections belonging to human nature, nor debarred the reasonable indulgence of them, nor devoid of the desire to fulfil every duty due to their earthly relatives ; but to mingle with the world, and share the pollutions of those remote from God, and living at a distance from him, is neither desired or allowed. The calls of their Al- mighty Master are of far greater moment than their earthly connexions, and when these interfere, they have no hesitation to which they shall yield their obedience. In every relation of life they preserve the distinction which subsists between the nominal and the real church of Christ; those who, whilst professedly engaged in the co- venant, are really employed in the world, and bearing its yoke; who pre- sent themselves only formally and ceremonially before God, and those who cleaving to him "with full purpose of heart, rejoice before him with a joy full of immortality.
“ Wherefore, holy brethren, par- takers of the heavenly calling, con- sider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Jesus Christ,” are the words addressed by St. Paul to the Hebrew converts, in which, whilst he designates our Lord as the great Apostle sent for the declaration of the Gospel, and the High Priest who had made the great sacrifice, the real atone- ment which fulfilled all the ceremonial ones, he also speaks of the church as composed of holy brethren, a profes- sion, partakers of the same calling, or in other words, of the same order, service, and privileges with their
leader and head ; that is, priests sanc- tified to the work of God ; enrolled among those who minister unto him, and rejoice in the blessings of access to him. They are “ a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices, accept- able to God by Christ Jesus.” So God commanded and promised the children of Israel by Moses, “ Ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.” Therefore, “ Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever.” “ Bought with a price,” the Apostle exhorts them, “by the mer- cies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, ac- ceptable to God, which is your rea- sonable service. And be not con- formed to this world, but be ye trans- formed by the renewing of your minds, that ye may prove what is that good, and perfect, and acceptable will of God.” Influenced by the spirit of righteousness, they mortify their mem- bers which are upon earth, reckoning themselves dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ, and yielding themselves unto God as those who are alive from the dead, as instruments of righteousness unto God, who is their guide, their hope, their portion. “ Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterwards receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth ; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever.”
PROCEEDINGS OF THE LONDON SOCIETY.
POLAND.
LETTER EROM T11E REV. A. M‘CAUL.
We present our readers the contents of a letter from the Rev. Alex. M‘Caul, in which he gives a general statement of the situation and the proceedings of the Polish
Mission, during the latter part of the last and the beginning of the present year. We have first to notice the opposition which was stirred up by the Jews against the schools.
You have received Journals con- cerning various journies that have been made, but no regular account of
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PROCEEDINGS, &C. LETTER FROM REV. A. ll'CAUL.
I
the proceedings in Warsaw, since last October, this has been partly owing to my ill state of health, and partly to the troubles which we have had. I shall now endeavour to fill up this chasm. After Mr. Maitland’s depar- ture, the stir amongst the Jews con- tinued, though they did not come to us in such numbers. And fear urged the hostilely disposed Jews to attempt every thing to put a stop to our pro- ceedings. They held several meetings to devise the best means. Their first attack was directed against our school. They proposed the erection of four schools themselves; but persecution of the parents who sent their children, was more effectual ; so that the num- ber gradually decreased, until at last the boy’s school was entirely given up in the month of January.
It is pleasing to find, however, that the work of the Mission has still proceeded, and we think our readers will be interested by the account which is given of the wife of a Polish Jew.
In the month of October several German Jews, who had hitherto been altogether infidel, were stirred up to inquire into the truth of Christianity, by Mr. C., a well known Jewish teacher, baptized last summer by Mr. Hoff. Rabbi Abraham was also in- strumental in helping forward this spirit of inquiry, by visiting several Jewish merchants and bankers, for whom he bad formerly transacted business as factor. In consequence, several such infidel Jews began to visit us, and one rich usurer actually engaged a Hebrew teacher.
Amongst others, a respectable and learned Polish Jew, came on Saturday, Nov. 1, at seven in the morning. lie told me that he had called on us five years ago, had obtained a copy of each of our tracts, which he had care- fully read, and had long been inclined to Christianity, but was deterred by temporal considerations from doing any thing further. I mention him, because of a remarkable story which he told me concerning his wife, for
the truth of which, I have other, and independent testimony. Four years ago his wife became ill and me- lancholy, could not sleep, and spent most of the day in tears. He asked her repeatedly what was the cause of her sorrow. She would not tell, but requested that her mother, who lived eight German miles from Warsaw, might be sent for. The mother came, and she then confessed, that she had an irresistible desire to become a Christian ; that at night she always saw a cross before her eyes, and that when she prayed, whenever the name of God occurred, she could only think of Jesus. The mother prevailed upon her not to be baptized then, but the melancholy continued for more than half a year, until the impression wore away. I have heard of a similar case, in which the impression was also lost.
The baptism of an aged rabbi is thus related by Mr. M‘Caul. The circumstances of it are striking.
Sunday, 9th November, was the day fixed for the baptism of old Itabbi Abraham. In the morning when I asked him how he was, he answered with tears in his eyes, “ To-day is the day of atonement for me.” He fasted all day, and spent most of the time in prayer. Before going to the church he seemed much affected, and wept. On the road several Jews met us, when they saw him, they turned back, and walked down to the church. I invited them to come in, but an old man gave me a scornful reply. However, scarcely was I in the church, before they all came in, and sat down before me. The congregation was large, and at least one third of it was composed of Jews Polish and German. Rev. G. Wendt preached from Gen. xii. 1 — 4, and I performed the baptism. He was in his Jewish dress, as he himself wished. The Jews crowded about the font, and all the congregation stood up. On our return he seemed very happy, and said he had been afraid that he should have died without being baptized, but now', said he, if I live I will praise the Lord, and if I die, I am ready.
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377
Our readers are already aware, from the notice which appeared in our last number respecting the Rev. J. B. Cartwright’s visit to Poland, that the present year has been attended with very peculiar trials to the Mission.
The subjoined extract from Mr. M ‘Caul’s letter, gives a more par- ticular account of the difficulties they have had to encounter from the opposition of the Jews, which was permitted to effect a partial suspension of their labours.
The open attacks of the Jews have commenced. They presented two complaints to the Government, one was rejected and the other came to nothing. Another species of annoy- ance was then tried, two petty law- suits were commenced against me by a Jew, whom we had employed as a factor to purchase some things for the institution ; but I gained the first, and the second was so barefaced, that the Court dismissed the matter. I now told this Jew, that if he would give me a legal acknowledgment that I owed him nothing, I would give him ten Polish florins, that I might be rid of further trouble from the same quar- ter. He did so, retracting his former assertions, and confessed that he had been urged on by certain Jews. He even named some who w'ere willing to have sworn falsely for him, if it had been necessary.
Individual Jews, however, have still continued to come, and every Saturday’s service brought some strangers. It is remarkable, that in the last year, from the 1st of July to the end of December, twenty-nine persons of the Jewish nation of both sexes, of all ages, and various ranks, and from various parts of Poland, have applied for baptism. Some were rejected, because we were not satisfied with their motives; others stayed away of themselves, as our in- struction lasted too long, and they wished to be baptized in a hurry, and two were induced to return to their friends, as mentioned in a former
VOL. XIV.
letter. Besides these, thirteen per- sons were baptized.
This year the effects of the Jew’s hostility appeared more plainly. A new complaint had been presented, stating that our tracts contained con- troversial matter against the Church of Rome. In consequence, the re- print of the tract, No. 9, was delayed for two months, and even after it had been printed ; it was not stamped, but was still retained in the Censor’s office, so that we could make no use of it. A still more serious hindrance in our work is the detention of the Hebrew Bibles, under the pretext, that they are corrupt. We have presented an appeal to the Administrative Council, but have received no answer as yet. This has not only taken away our best weapon, but the Jews have gained a triumph, and it not unfrequently happens that evil disposed Jews come to ask for Bibles in order to mock us. The others, thinking that their brethren have gained an advantage over the Missionaries, and hearing all manner of false reports spread by our enemies, that we have been ordered to quit the country, &c. have stayed away almost entirely for the last two months. Add to this, Mr. Becker has been unwell for nearly a year, and I am only beginning to recover a little strength. But still we have evidence that the Jews them- selves are not quiet about Christianity, for with all this opposition, forty-two Jews young and old have applied for baptism in this half yenr.
PRUSSIAN POLAND.
EXTRACTS OF A LETTER FROM MR.
J. C. HARTMANN.
W e have before us a letter from Mr. J. C. Hartmann, dated Posen, April 1 3, in the present year, which contains the particulars of a mis- sionary tour undertaken by himself and the Rev. A. Gerlach, from which w!e extract as follows, omitting the names of places for reasons that 3 c
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PROCEEDINGS, &C. — LETTER FROM MR. J. C. HARTMANN.
will suggest themselves to our readers.
Praying that the Lord Jesus Christ may bless our labours amongst the Jews, I will endeavour to giv.e you some account of our proceedings on a journey through .the grand Duchy of Posen, undertaken by Mr. Gerlach and myself last month.
March 7. — We left — and took our way to — , where we stopped till the 12th. We had many visits from the Jews, and much opportunity to defend the truth of Christianity, which the Jews vehemently attacked. But as the arguments of the Missionaries are nearly always the same, I do not think it necessary to put down the conversations we had with them. I only remark, that we could not preach the Gospel in this town in the free manner we have done in some other places ; but still at times they listened attentively to what we said.
The subjects on which we particu- larly addressed them were, the com- ing, the divinity, and the suffering of Messiah for the sins of the world. One of them said, when we shewed him Isa. ix. 6, and Mic. v. 1, “Of course, if it stands thus in our Bible, you are right. According to these places Messiah must be God.” And having said this, he seemed to be very much discomposed.
March 10. — There came two very reasonable Jews; taking them for Christians, I offered them a chair, and turned to the other Jews. But at length they began themselves to speak of the Old Testament, and shewed me my mistake. They spoke very rea- sonably, and contradicted very little ; but listened rather to what we said to them. One of them was a Jewish schoolmaster, the most reasonable I ever had seen.
It is interesting to observe the manner in which the subject of the Jews’ conversion to Christianity presents itself occasionally to in- telligent persons amongst that people. The opinions of the school- master, mentioned in the fore-
going extract, are somewhat sin- gular, and therefore we insert them.
March 12. — In the morning, before we left the place, the same Jewish schoolmaster came again, and con- versed more than an hour with Mr. Gerlach, putting a great many ques- tions with respect to the conversion of the Jews to Christianity, and their moral improvement. He said, that he was of the opinion the Jews must be brought to Christianity, not so much by direct, as by indirect means; for instance, by establishing schools, in which Jewish schoolmasters are employed, who have gone through a regular course of study, and have passed examination before Govern- ment. These, he thought, should be prohibited teaching the Talmud, and should give instruction only upon subjects of general information and interest. The children also, he thought, should be made acquainted with Christianity, that they might see what Christianity is. Having thus laid down his plan, he pressed us to write to Government, or even to the King, detailing our object. To this, how- ever, we were obliged to give a nega- tive. He then proceeded to make many complaints. First, he complained of the deceitfulness and other bad habits of the Jews. He was of opi- nion that if they were not restrained by the laws of the land, they would become very depraved, and the worst of men. He then adverted to the wretched state of the Jewish schools, and the common custom of every father requiring his child to be in- structed according to his own whim, and thus imposing orders upon the masters that no reasonable man can obey with a good conscience : “It is quite common (he went on to say) for the parents to come to the school- master and request him to teach their children the Gemara, though they do not themselves understand the text, or even the Old Testament; and the schoolmaster must do as they direct, though he cannot approve of it, or else he will lose his bread.”
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37 0
He then found fault with the Hebrew translation of the New Testament ; and to this Mr. Gerlaeh replied, that it was almost impossible to obtain a good translation, as the Hebrew language is now hardly spoken, and there is scarcely any other work in that lan- guage than the Old Testament. Mr. Gerlaeh added, that the translation was made because many of the Jews would not read it in any other lan- guage than Hebrew, but that it would be much better if they would read the German, or any other translation which they understand. He admitted the justice of the observation, but said he thought it still desirable that a good translation should be procured. He then inquired why we did not distri- bute the Apocrypha with the Old Testament, as it might be of great use and edification to many, though he said he knew it was not of the same authority as the other books. Mr. Gerlaeh replied, that as the Jews never received the Apocryphal books into their canon, and because they are written not in Hebrew, but only in the Greek language, therefore we did not distribute them with the Old Tes- tament, lest we should be accused by the Jews of distributing a false Bible. He then praised the editions of the Bible published by the Society, as being- very correct, especially the larger one, and said that if we had any more copies, we could sell them for a much higher price than the smaller edition ; and said it was to be regretted, that the Bibles were not printed with a translation annexed. Indeed, we par- ticipate in this regret, and wish that the Committee could publish such an edition of the Old Testament, for we always have it asked for. The appli- cants are continually dissatisfied, and say that the Hebrew alone is of no use, as they do not understand it. Whenever 1 have told them that such an edition could not be sold so cheap, they answer, that the price is no ob- ject, and they would pay for it, if they could but get it. Perhaps the Committee will take the subject into consideration. For it is very grievous to be obliged to send away these poor men, without the word of God in then-
hands; and I am persuaded the Com- mittee must feel as we do upon this matter. Towards the end of our con- versation we spoke of establishing a school in * *, and he declared himself ready to send his daughters immedi- ately, and said he doubted not, that a great many would follow his ex- ample. Upon the whole, we consi- dered him an upright man, who spoke according to his feelings, and we pray the Lord to give him knowledge of his sins, that he. may turn to Christ the only Saviour and deliverer.
Mr. Hartmann continues his narrative, and we have next to re- cord something almost approach- ing to outrage against the Mis- sionaries.
We proceeded to — , where we stopped a week, though we vvere not visited by so many Jews as in — .
May 13. — .There came only a few boys, whom I examined in Hebrew, but found them very ignorant in gram- mar. Having exhorted them to a dili- gent study of the holy writings, I dismissed them. Before they went away they asked for some tracts, and being admonished either to read them, or' to bring them back, and if they did read them, to come and tell us the contents of them, I gave one to each. But as soon as they got into the street, they all, with one exception, tore them to pieces. In the evening we visited the rabbi, but when we began to speak with him upon the Scriptures, he left us. The room, how- ever, being full of Jews, another Jew began to converse with us. As he was turning for Zech. xii. 10, an old Jew came in crying, “ Will you become a. Christian, will you become a Chris- tian? Christ was a Jew as we all are, Christ was a Jew like us.” And cry- ing thus, he gave the other a blow that almost felled him to the ground ; but he recovered, and returned it, and then a scuffle- took place, and we im- mediately left the room. As we came out, we found the door surrounded by a great many Jews, to whom we spoke of what had occurred in the rabbi’s room, and then we returned home.
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PROCEEDINGS, &C. LETTER FROM MR. J. C. HARTMANN.
But however discouraging the circumstance which has been just related, may at first appear, it does not seem to have interrupted either the work or the usefulness of the Missionaries, as will be seen by what follows.
May 15. — There came some Jews into our room. We tried to speak with them of the one thing needful ; but one, who seemed to be the leader of the rest, spoke in such a way, that we were silent. He began, “ All the prophets were impostors, for all men are liars and when we reproved him, and told him he had blasphemed the Lord, who had spoken by the prophets, he was silent. The rest admitted the truth of what we said. Before he left us, there came other Jews who were more reasonable, and we began to speak of the coming of Messiah. We shewed them from the Scriptures, that Mes- siah must have come long ago : one of them, being unable to contradict us, asked, “ But where is he now ?’’
Gerlach. In heaven.
He. How came he there, and how can you prove this ?
Another said before Mr. Gerlach could answer, “ The Gentleman will prove it with a Posek?” a passage from the Scriptures.
Mr. Gerlach then shewed him Psa. lxviii. 19, which put him to silence; and we proceeded to preach the Gos- pel to them without any interruption.
May 17. — There came one of the Talmudists, the most learned, as we were told afterwards, and we had a long conversation with him. He did not contradict so much as they gene- rally do; but rather listened to what Mr. Gerlach told him; frequently sigh- ing very deeply. Observing him all the time Mr. Gerlach spoke to him, and perceiving that he only answered by asking Mr. G. if he understood the Holy Scriptures, I turned to him, and said, “My dear friend, I am sure you are convinced of the truth, that Messiah is already come ; and that Jesus of Nazareth is that Messiah of whom Moses and the prophets have spoken ; you cannot deny this ; but on
account of your hardness of heart yon will not receive him.” He answered not a word, but sighed again very deeply. He visited us again also at other times, but when we spoke with him, he answered very seldom.
In the further progress of their journey, our Missionaries met with additional encouragement ; and the interest which the good tidings of the Gospel continually excited amongst the children of the house of Israel scattered and dispersed throughout the different places which the Missionaries visited, is very pleasing. We conclude with the following extracts : —
May 19. — We proceeded to ,
having heard there were many Jews there, which we found to be true. The day following, when it was known amongst them that we had arrived, our room was immediately crowded, so that we scarcely were able to move. Being obliged to go out, we asked them to come another time, when we promised to proceed with our con- versation. Though they saw it was true, and we even told them that we were going to the Burgomaster, they accused us of not staying because we could not answer their questions. But this was untrue, for as we had conti- nually put them to silence, they would, notwithstanding, have gone away, say- ing, we had not answered one of their questions, if we had not answered the last ; and therefore Mr. Gerlach made the man who had the Bible in his hand read the verse which he wished to have explained. It was Isa. ii. 2, and he proceeded thus.
Jew. 'fell me, is not the Messiah here spoken of?
G. Yes.
Jew. But if Messiah has already come, where is the fulfilment of this passage? Where is “The mountain of the house of the Lord ?”
G. But, my dear friend, go on and see what there is written further; tell me what is meant by “ the top of the mountains ?” why is there the plural?
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The Jew was now quite silent for a while; then he turned to his brethren, and said, “They are right; there stands the plural, and this must have another signification.” Upon this they all were satisfied, and went away.
Among those who visited us very often, was one young Jew, 16 years of age, who was said to be out of his mind. When he came and began to speak, he made so many compliments, and used such high terms, that I could hardly repress a smile; and I began to think that the Jews were in the right about him. I was, however, mistaken, for when he began to speak upon the Holy Scriptures, in order to confute us, he spoke far more connectedly than I ever heard any of the Jews. He was a good Hebrew scholar, and understood grammar very well; a rare instance among the Jews. German he also spoke grammatically, and knew French pretty well. He came every day to us, and at last he could bring no further answer or objection to what we told him. When he had read a part of the New Testament he got from us, he confessed that his mind was much disturbed, and he thought every Jew must feel so, who reads the New Testament; “I shall, notwithstanding, seek for the truth,” he added. We gave him a Hebrew Old and a Hebrew- German New Testament, for which he was very thankful. When I preached on the 25th, he came with his Bible and New Testament under his arm, and listened very attentively to the sermon. As we returned from the chapel, we took him with us to the minister’s house ; and speaking of his present circumstances, he informed us that he was forsaken by the Jews, and that he did not know what to be- gin. To go apprentice to a trade he was unfit, having been accustomed from his youth to literary pursuits; he said his father had long been dead ,and he had no father, but He who is in heaven, to whom he was resolved to keep close, knowing he should not be forsaken by Him. As he lamented his miserable condition and wept, I spoke some words of comfort to him, and exhorted him not to forsake the God of his fathers, who assuredly would not for-
sake one who sought earnestly for the truth.
May 21 . — On Sunday our room was quite crowded the whole morning. After dinner the room was again crowded. Mr. Gerlach had to speak with an old, tall, black-bearded Jew, who entered the room, saying, that he came to shew us that we were wrong in asserting that Messiah had already come, and that he would prove it to us in a few words, which should put us to silence. He spoke first with Mr. Gerlach a long time, but could not gain his point, and Mr. Gerlach being tired,
I took the word and disputed with him for more than an hour, and even then, our disputation was not ended. We were speaking upon Isa. liii ., when it began to grow dark, and he put an end to the conversation at once by say- ing that he must go to the synagogue; and so he left us without putting us to silence. We requested him to come another time, to proceed with this im- portant subject, as we could not go on now; but we did not see him again. I will only mention, that when I asked him to whom he applied this chapter, Isa. liii., he answered, after consider- ing a little while, “to Hezekiah.”
I. But how can you apply these words to a man : “ He has been wounded, or rather pierced, for our transgressions, and was bruised for our iniquities.” Tell me, can you ap- ply this to a man, to Hezekiah? Can a man suffer for the sins of his brother, or reconcile him with God?
He. O yes ! for instance, this man, (pointing to one who was standing nearest to him,) he may commit a sin, but it may be, that I must suffer for him, being punished by the Lord God on account of the sins this man has done.
I. Stop, stop a little, (shewing to him Ezek. xviii.), what says here the Lord by the prophet?
When he had read the passage, he said nothing, and I reproved him for having spoken against the Lord, and against his word. I observed that it was lamentable that an old man like himself should not know what is written in the Bible. On this he said, he must leave us, and he went away.
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PROCEEDINGS, &C. LETTER FROM MR. 3. C. MORITZ.
On all the other days we stayed at — , we had many visits, but to write down the conversations I think not necessary ; as they were very general, and it would require too much time to write them. But still I must add one thing more. As we spoke one evening upon the latter part of Daniel, chap, ix., and, having ex- plained it, in reference to Christ the Lord, asked what they could say against it; the Jews answered that they could not say any thing at present, but they would go home, examine their commentaries, and consider the subject, and then come again and answer us in such away that we should not be able to reply to. The following evening they came again ; one of them who came first, turned, and said, “Well, you asked me last night for an explanation of Daniel ix. 25, and I come to tell you that you shall have it now.” He then took the Bible and began. “The Messiah who is spoken of here, is Coresh or Cyrus, whom the Lord also calls his Messiah, or his Anointed One, in the Prophet Isaiah. When Titus came to Jerusalem, and destroyed the holy city and the tem- ple, he cut off also Coresh. And here you have the explanation, which you shall not be able to contradict.”
I. Oh, my dear friend, you are wrong. Was it not Coresh who gave liberty to the Jews to return into their own land and to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple, which is spoken of here as being to be destroyed by the people of a Prince who shall come? Tell me, were there not more than four hundred years from the time of the Jews’ return from Babylon to their own land, until the destruction of the second temple by Titus ? IIow was it possible that Coresh could live so long?
He. But it is no otherwise to be un- derstood than of him.
I shewed him from Scripture, that after Coresh, other kings reigned in Babylon, for he seemed to know nothing of history. He defended his opinion, however, very positively, but in so absurd a way, that we were obliged to leave him. We asked the others what they had to say, but they said very little; and it seemed apparent,
that their companion had only come to make a noise.
We went on the 26th to — , where we stayed till the 30th. Here again, we had many visits from the Jews, especially from Talmud students, who opposed us very vehemently. Before, however, we went away, two of the most celebrated Jews came to us ; but they seemed of no religion at all. They said it was no matter to them, whether there came a Messiah or not; they did not want him, as they were quite as happy without him. That in Prussia they were freemen, and not in captivity, and therefore they wanted no deliverance ; and as for Messiah delivering men from sin and everlast- ing perdition, as we believed, they could not give any credit to it; and thus our conversation ended.
We now proceeded to' — , where we stayed only two days, no Jews visiting us, though there are more than 1,300 in this town. We resolved, therefore, to proceed to — , which we also reached in the evening. Here we got a room, and it was immediately full of Jews; we found them more inclined to hear, than to object. We therefore explained to them different passages of holy writ, and they listened with- out contradiction.
GERMANY.
EXTRACTS OF LETTERS FROM MR.
J. C. MORITZ.
By a communication from Mr. Moritz, dated Neuwied, March 27, 1829, it appears that the preaching of the Missionaries ar- rests the attention of the Jews, and that they hearken in secret is clear, and very encouraging; and forasmuch as faith cometh by hear- ing, who can tell but that the word thus spoken and received, may spring up and bear a hundred fold.
Referring you to' my last humble respects of February 18th, I shall now
PROCEEDINGS, &C.— COMMUNICATIONS PROM MR. J. C. MORITZ. 383
continue to give you some extracts from my Journal up to this day.
A Christian friend whom I visited, asked me to leave a few tracts with him, to give to those Jews who occa- sionally came to him. I gave him a few of my German tracts. He told me afterwards, that I had hardly left his house, when a young Jew, the son of the vorsinger, entered his room, and when he saw the tracts, he took one of them, and begged to keep it. He told the above Christian friend, that he and some other Jews had often stood beneath the windows, and heard me preach in the Mennonite church, and that they had often wished to call upon me, but the fear of the Jews had kept them from it; for the Jews had agreed, that if any one of them heard me, they would rebuke him in the synagogue, and cast him out. He requested this Christian friend to pro- cure him a New Testament from me, as he wished very much to read it. Two young respectable Jewish girls, have expressed the same feelings to a Christian widow, who has been brought to a sense of concern for her soul by my preaching in the Men- nonite church, and have also told her, that the fear of the Jews has kept them back from seeking my acquaintance. By means of this widow, they have been provided with some of my German tracts, for which they were very glad.
With the Counsellor of Consis- tory, the Rev. Mr. Mess, and the candidate of divinity, Mr. Rein- hard, I made a tour to Coblenz, where by the interest of the former, we got permission to visit the Pro- vincial prison. The inspector of the prison brought together into one room eight Jews and one Jewish girl, who were there for their crimes. I addressed them from the word of God, endeavouring to bring them to a con- viction of their guilt, and of the justice of God in causing them already here to feel his displeasure and wrath. At first, they would not confess their guilt, but maintained that they were innocent ; however, at last they ac- knowledged they had deserved their doom, if not for their present deeds,
yet for many of their former crim es I now exhorted them to repent and to believe the Gospel of Messiah — Jesus Christ, that they might escape the wrath to come. Their ignorance of the Old Testament was so great, that I found it very difficult to make the word of God intelligible to them, so I was obliged to satisfy myself with putting sixteen tracts and four New Testaments into their hands, for which they expressed themselves very thank- ful. The above two gentlemen and the inspector of the prison were much pleased with my address, and with the manner in which these poor criminals received it. The latter said, they had never yet been able to cause them to make such a confession as they had made to me. May the Lord grant them repentance unto life !
My Jew Rosenthal had caught a bad cold, so that he stood in need of medical assistance. At the recom- mendation of the Rev. Mr. Groos he was received into the hospital of the “ Charitable Sisters.” Mr. Groos made several complaints concerning him, especially that of vain-minded- ness, and of not adhering to the truth.
I expressed my grief at it, and in- treated him not to reject him entirely on that account, but to bear yet pa- tiently with him, as perhaps the Lord might in due time water the seed of the word in his heart, and make it productive of fruit meet for godly sorrow and true repentance; which he promised me to do. I visited him in the hospital, and spoke some serious words of admonition to him, trying to convince him, that it was high time to put away his lying vani- ties and vain-mindedness, and to seek the Lord with a broken heart and a contrite spirit ; for I was sure, if he were to die as he then was, he would not go to heaven. I besought him earnestly not to neglect the great salvation that is in Christ Jesus; but to come to the Sa- viour, hungering and thirsting after his righteousness, that his soul might be saved. These words seemed to pierce his heart, and he began to w’eep quite loud, and promised me solemnly not to rest until he had found peace.
384 PROCEEDINGS, & C. COMMUNICATIONS FROM MR. J. C. MORITZ.
and saving health from the Lord Jesus Christ. This scene appeared to make a deep impression on the other sick persons in the room ; and I hope it may have been an hour of merciful visitation to all of them. I visited here in Neuwied, the Jew Cantor, that fills the office of rabbi, and spoke to him concerning the poor Jewish children that are so entirely abandoned; and observed, that it would be well to open a school for them. He said, if such a school were permitted, these children would, when they grew up, he neither Jews nor Christians. I asked him, if he did not think they would become true children of Abraham, if from their youth they were taught the word of God, which had been delivered to us by Moses and the Prophets, for which word the Jews daily thank God, and
say, nOK DW23 'TH L?D?
He replied, “ But you are a Christian, and Moses and the Prophets said nothing about Christ !” I said, I am surprised to hear such words from you, who pretend to be a teacher in Israel ; I am sure you must know, that Moses and the Prophets have prophesied of Christ the true Messiah, and that all our ancient wise men have drawn their expectation of a redemption through the Messiah, from Moses and the Prophets. Here T cited to him various passages from Moses and the Prophets, and the explanations of the ancient Jewish fathers concerning them. He was quite silent and perplexed. His wife and mother-in-law said to him, “ Why don’t you answer him ? You are the most learned Jew here, and cannot answer his arguments. If you cannot refute him, you ought to ac- knowledge his proofs to be true.” He now got still more perplexed, and asked me to go my way, as he did not wish to hear about these things. I told him he did exactly as our fathers had done to Jeremiah, saying, “As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of Jehovah, we will not hearken unto thee.” His wife said, “ O, how proud we should be if he were yet a Jew !” I said to her, “ I trust I am now a true son of Abra-
ham, and that I am walking in his footsteps, and therefore I would in- treat and exhort others to walk with me in the same path. As they gave me no reply, I went my way.
A Jew, who had often been with me to speak about Christ, and the redemption that is in him, and concerning whom I entertained the best hopes that he was no longer indifferent to the truth, came to visit me, and I was very much grieved to hear from his words, that the devil had already sown tares among the good seed, which seem for the present to have choked the wheat. I felt the more hurt, as the instrument which Satan at this time made use of, was the Lutheran clergyman of the place, who tried to persuade him, that I spoke and taught only according to the opinion of a few old bigoted Christians ; but that none of our pre- sent rational and learned men believed this old-fashioned stuff! under which he comprehends original sin ; the existence of the devil ; the doctrines of redemp- tion and atonement through the blood of Christ; the doctrines of the Trinity; and the eternal duration of the punish- ment of the wicked. I asked the Jew, if he could acknowledge those of his brethren for true Jews, who denied Moses and the Prophets? He said no, such men are no more Jews. Well, said I, so it is also with those nominal Christians, that deny the truth of the word of God ; they cease to be true Christians ; but their infidelity does not make void the truth of God. I shewed him from 2 Thess. ii. 1 — 12, 2 Tim. iii. 1 — 7, 2 Pet. ii. 1 — 3, that such falling away from the truth, wras to take place before the second ad- vent of Christ, and the sad fulfilment of it served only as a confirmation of the Christian truth ; but as the Lord will consume all these enemies with the spirit of his mouth, and destroy them at the brightness of his coming, and damn them for ever, because they believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness, I besought him not to listen to such deceitful lies, and thereby suppress the convictions which the truth in Christ had made upon him ; but to hold fast the truth, and
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seek by earnest prayer to God to be established in it, lest the coining of the Son of man should also overtake him as a thief in the night, and involve him in the perdition of all ungodly men. He gave me no answer to this, but went away. May the Lord rescue his soul from the snare of the devil !
The poor Jewish children I have mentioned in my former letters, were again with me, and my heart was filled with pity towards them. I went to the Rev. Mr. Mess, Counsellor of the Consistory, and school director of this province, to advise with him what could be done for these wretched creatures. He advised me to open a school for them, and said that he would obtain the permission of Government for that purpose, and also get the Jews at Hettesdorff (a near neighbouring village) to send their children to my school. I then visited the parents of these thirteen children, and whilst I reminded them of their awful respon- sibility, I warned them against ne- glecting the salvation of their own souls, and suffering their children to grow up in entire- ignorance of God and of his word. I then proposed to them to send their children to me, and that I would open a school for them, in which they should receive regular instruction. They expressed their thankfulness for the proposal, but jit the same time their fear that I would get the children baptized. I told them it was not the object of the Society either to persuade or seduce Jewish children to turn Christians, but to in- struct them in the word of God, that they may learn to know and to fear the God of Abraham, Isaac, and J acob ; and then leave it to God to bless his own word to the salvation of their souls. I reminded them also of the great commendation which God him- self has given to Abraham our father : “For I know him, that he will com- mand his children and his household after him, to keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment ; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.” And then I asked them, if the Jews in general, or they themselves, did follow in the footsteps of Abraham their VOL. XIV.
great father, and on that account could expect such a commendation of the Lord ? They confessed that they in no way were like unto Abraham. I told them, they had therefore no reason to think that they would have a share in, those blessings which God had pro- mised unto Abraham ; and that Abra- ham, according to the word of God, would not know them in their present state, and Israel would not acknow- ledge them. All three parents pro- mised me to take counsel on this sub- ject with each other, and to speak about it to the Jewish elders, and let me know their resolution in a few days. As the parents brought me no reply at the appointed time, I went again to their lodgings, but they were all gone into the country. The chil- dren soon collected around me in the street. I asked them, Why their pa- rents had not kept their word. They said, the Jewish elder (Q31D) had forbid them. I asked them the reason of it. They said, He thought I only intended to lead them away from their religion. I asked them, What kind of religion they had? They replied, “ We have the Jewish religion.” I asked them again, “ Can you tell me in what the Jewish religion consists?” They all after some consideration replied, •‘We do not know!” I put the question to them, “ Do you know who Moses was?” They said, “ We don’t know any person of that name here in town.” I said, “ I mean that Moses who brought out our fathers from Egypt.” The eldest of the children, a boy of fifteen years of age, replied, “ Moses was God !” Several Christian bystanders began to laugh at this reply, but I could have wept with Jeremiah, saying,
'lb rrn rrn nr1?;/- Hosea
iv. 6, is here literally fulfilled : “ My people are destroyed for lack of know- ledge ; because thou hast rejected knowledge, 1 will also reject thee ; seeing that thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.”
With another Jew, who has three children fit for school, and who is not a dependant like the above men- . tioned three families, I have also had 3 D
38G PROCEEDINGS, &C. — COMMUNICATIONS FROM MR. J. C. MORITZ.
a long conversation concerning the school. He said, if only one of the other families would send their chil- dren, he would be the second to send his; but he would not be the first to do it. I remonstrated with him about the impropriety of his conduct, and how he would one day have to answer for it to the great Judge of the world ; that he not only himself neglected and abused the present merciful dispensa- tion of the Lord, but that he even hin- dered his children from partaking of the benefit of it ; but I found that my words were spoken in vain to him. I referred him to the tears which Jesus wept at the sight of Jerusalem, saying, “ If thou hadst known, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace; but now they are hid from thine eyes.” He gave me no answer, and went away.
I had also a long conversation with all the Jewish elders and the d:ib of the community, in the presence of several other Jews, about the business of the school. They asked me, how I, who had forsaken the law and the Prophets, could be willing to instruct Jewish children in the principles of the Old Testament? I expressed to them my astonishment at such a ques- tion, and reminded them of the con- tents of my tracts, which they had read, and of the various conversa- tions I have had with them, from which they could have been sufficiently as- sured, that I not only had not de- parted from the word of God in the Old Testament, but that I highly re- vered and esteemed it as an inestimable treasure. But, said they, “ you do not keep the law.” I shewed them the dif- ference between the moral and cere- monial law, and asked them, if they now could keep the laws of sacrifices; of the temple service; of appearing three times in the year before the Lord in Jerusalem ; the feast of the harvest and of the first-fruits ; the sabbatical year and the jubilee; the laws of divers purifica- tions; of the priests and Levites, and divers others, together with all the poli- tical laws ? They said , “No, these we can- not keep.” “ Well (1 said), then there remains only the moral law, which, ac- sordingtoDeut. iv.9,10,is not todepart
from our heart all the days of our life; that we may learn to feaT the Lord all the days that we live upon the earth, and teach our children to obey the same; and this moral law, has not only been sanctioned in the New Testament, but even strongly inculcated ; so that Christ says, ‘ till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law:’ and it is my daily prayer to God to grant me grace and strength to keep his law, and to regulate my life accordingly.” They said, “ But we as Jews must also keep the oral law, and this you Teject en- tirely.” I shewed them, both from the time when the Talmud was first pub- lished, and from the various contents of it, as well as from the contradic- tions it contained against the moral law of God, that it could not have had its origin from God ; and then proved to them, that just on account
of these
the Jewish nation has been for so many centuries walking in the dark, without a true knowledge of God; and
on account of this norm mi,
they have not been able to recognise Christ their King and Messiah ; but have stumbled over him and fallen, and been broken, and snared. I would therefore heartily beseech them to re- pent of their great sin, and return, and seek Jehovah their God, and David their King, that they may become again the people of God ! This gave occasion to a long discussion about the Messiahship of Christ; and I re- ferred them to those prophecies which speak of his first advent, and of his sufferings and death, and to the blessed effects which should thereby arise to the Gentile nations ; and then proved to them their exact fulfilment in Christ Jesus. I also pointed out to them those prophecies, which speak of his second advent, and proved to them from what is nowgoing on in the world, that we are living very near the time when Christ will come the second time, according to Dan. vii. 13, 14, and I therefore once more beseeched them to remember their latter end, that they might not belong to that num-
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SH7
ber of whom it is written: “And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me.”
They said, “ We cannot contradict you, but we will not believe you, nor suffer the children to go to school to you.” I told them, “ It grieves me very much to see, that they are exactly like our forefathers, ‘ a rebellious na- tion’— ‘ impudent children and stiff- hearted.’ But, I, like the Prophet, have done my duty.” I have spoken the word of God to them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear to hear me ; and I must tell them, that they are not only risking their own souls by rejecting the message of God, but that the blood of these poor chil- dren, whom they are hindering from being taught the word and ways of God, will also one day be required at their hand, and will augment their condemnation. With perfect indiffer- ence they maintained their resolution ; “ But we will not.” Who, on seeing and hearing this, would yet doubt on the truth of the words of Jeremiah, “ The heart is deceitful above every thing, and desperately w’icked ; Who can know it?” It is indeed an awful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, as an impenitent hardened sin- ner. O that the Redeemer would soon in mercy come to Zion, and turn away ungodliness from Jacob !
EXTRACTS FROM THE JOURNAL OF MR. J. P. GOLDBERG.
( Continued from page 350.)
Oct. 18, 1828. — Yesterday I entered into conversation with two Polish Jews. When I wa3 expounding Deut. xviii. 18, I was interrupted by a broker; they invited me therefore to visit them on the morrow, which was the Sab- bath, at their lodging. I did so, but found the one asleep and the other absent. I went to others, but could not succeed in getting into conver- sation.
Oct 20. — To-day, Sunday, when I was about going to church, I had a visit paid me from Mr. Michel and a young Jew, a native of Magdeburg,
who had expressed a desire to speak with me. I took my Bible and ex- pounded some passages, but finding that the young man was not of the disputing class, but an attentive hearer, I began to set before him the whole order of the Christian dispensation, whereupon he put such questions to me, that I was astonished ; for, I perceived that he was well acquainted with the Old and New Testaments. He asked, Whether Christ is as omniscient and almighty as God the Father?
I. Certainly he is the Mighty God, the everlasting Father, and Jehovah our righteousness.
He. Why then did he look for fruit on a fig-tree, when it was not the pro- per season ?
I. Christ came into the world to take upon himself all the infirmities of man, therefore was he the meanest of men, a man of sorrow, and smitten; to which he bent and laid aside for a time the splendour of his glory, as David had foretold, Ps. viii. 6, 7.
He soon began to understand the two opposite characters of Christ, namely, his humble and exalted situation, and continued to attend to the whole of my instruction, which lasted from eight to near one o’clock. At the end he said, “ I feel conviction in hearing you, but reading by myself, I am full of doubts and difficulties.” To which I replied, “ If you do indeed become converted to your Saviour, then will the veil, which hangs still over you, be removed, and, through prayer, all obstacles will dis- appear, and all that appears to you in your yet carnal state, difficult in the Gospel of Christ, will soon become clear and easy.” O may the Lord pour upon him the spirit of grace and supplication, that he may soon look up to him whom his fathers have pierced, and in him find the true light and way which leads to life everlasting.
Oct. 23. — This day I explained to the Jews that passage in Gen. iii. 15, and proved that Jesus Christ is that seed of the woman, that wonderful child mentioned in Isa. ix. 5, who, by his suffering, as foretold by the same prophet (liii.) has bruised the serpent’s head. One of them asked, “ Why was
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388
not your Jesus born like every other child, i. e. having a human father and mother?"
I. That reason, why it is said in the first consolation to fallen man,
“ The seed of the woman,” we must leave to God alone to explain; but thus much we do know, that if he had come into the world agreeably to the course of nature, he would have been conceived and bom in sin, like all other men, and that could not be the case with the Messiah; for indepen- dent of Zech. ix. 9, that he is to be righteous and a Saviour, he is more- over to be a righteous branch, accord- ing to Jer. xxiii. 5; that is to say, from the womb and birth he is to be righte- ous and without sin.
He. But we read, Gen.' xxii. 18, God said to Abraham, ‘ In thy seed shall all the nations be blessed.’ Hence is the Messiah here represented as the seed of Abraham, and not the seed of woman ?
1. Being called the seed of Abra- ham may denote only that he is to be of his offspring according to the flesh, and not that he must be of the actual seed of man, for when God spoke of the birth of the Messiah, he expressly said (Isa. vii. 14), “ Behold, a virgin shall conceive:” and again, Jeremiah said, concerning that event, “A new creation will the Lord make, a female shall encompass a man.” I then asked him, whether God’s glory was humbled by his appearing to Moses in the thorn bush ? He replied, No ; then said I, “ Nor has that which is holy, become unclean in the instance of tire virgin.” As he could not object to that, I was allowed to continue my conversation.
Oct. 25. — Yesterday I had some conversation with two Jews, who came to my lodging for the sake of dealing. I proved to them that since the time in which the Messiah was to come is past, the new covenant, that is foretold by Jer. xxxi. 31, must likewise have been made already. To-day being the Sabbath, I went into an eating-house, where I found many Polish Jews reading the lesson of the day, Gen. xviii. — xxii. In order not to disturb them, I sat down until they had finished ; then I laid hold of a Bible
and asked permission to read a few verses. No, no, was the general cry, we know already what you have to say.
1. Is it good or bad what I have to say ?
One said, You are endeavouring to mislead us, by speaking of the Talui (the crucified), and persuading us that he was our Messiah.
I. What I speak to you is not of myself, but out of the word of God, and you will certainly not maintain that that word can mislead you.
He. If Jesus had been the Messiah, all nations would have become his followers.
1. In so saying you contradict your own creed, for I know you main- tain that the Messiah is to appear to the Jews only.
He. It is true, we do, but as you say the Messiah is appointed for all nations, and Jesus was neither fol- lowed by all the Heathen nor by the Jews, lie could not have been the true Messiah.
I. We find that when Jesus had sent forth the apostles to proclaim the new covenant, that many thousands of Jews, even some scribes and phari- sees believed in him.
He. But we read in Ezek. xxxix. 25, “ I will turn the captivity of Jacob and will have compassion upon the whole house of Israel.”
1. That prophecy as well as all the rest will undoubtedly be fulfilled, for God has promised it, even what is promised in Ezek. xxxvii. 25, “ And my servant David shall be their prince for ever.” But what do you think, if that prince were to come to-day to con- duct the Jews into their land, would they, without exception, be all willing to leave their trade and follow him ?
He. No, perhaps not all, but the greater part would, no doubt, follow him.
I. And I may presume it will be those who were previously waiting with impatience for his coming.
He. Certainly.
I. Then that happened exactly at the time of Jesus of Nazareth ; those who had been waiting for the salva- tion of Israel, and were searching the
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Scriptures for the time appointed by Moses and the prophets, they followed Jesus immediately as their Messiah, but the careless and worldly-minded portion rejected him.
He. How am I to understand you? you asserted before, that God will cer- tainly fulfil his promise and bring us back to our land, and now you will maintain that the Messiah is already come.
I referred them to a variety of passages in Scripture, to prove the time, place, See. of the Messiah, which they heard without many contradic- tions. I then addressed them by say- ing, “ Since you have seen those se- veral passages spoken by God himself, declare that the Messiah is already come, it is your duty to seek that Mes- siah, whom your fathers through negli- gence, Sec., have rejected and nailed upon the cross, in order that you may find him and then glorify him, as foretold by Hos. iii. 1 — 3. Then will be poured out upon you the spirit of grace and supplication, for you will learn to know him whom your fathers have pierced, Zech. xii. 10. Then will God deliver you from all the places where you have sinned, and will cleanse you and be your God, and you will be his people, as it is written, Isa. xxxvi. 7, to the end of the chapter. My opponent then said to me, “You have not yet answered my question, If Jesus had been the Mes- siah, and you assert that the Messiah is to come to all nations, why did not all nations believe in him !”
I. It is not I who assert it, but God has said it. Gen. xii. 3, xlix. 10, Isa. li. 4, 5, and I must here observe, in reference to all nations, the same as I did upon the terms, “ All the house of Israel:” and many other ex- amples may be quoted to the same effect ; for instance, God said, Israel is to be a chosen people, his first-born son, his possession, Sec. and yet you would not presume to say that every individual Israelite is included therein, when you find that many thousands perished in the wilderness, that others were swallowed up, .. others destroyed by the serpents, and many in other ways, as evil doers and rebels
against God. Hence in the same man- ner must we understand the expression,
“ All nations” are to follow him, since many millions of all nations have long since acknowledged Jesus as their Messiah and Saviour, and many more do join his standard daily, through the labours of missionaries, who go forth in our times in all parts of the world, that they may find redemption in the blood shed upon the cross, and enter into his kingdom ; and with his divine power, blessing and prosperity, the inhabitants of the isles shall cast away the idols which their forefathers with themselves have worshipped, and acknowledge that the Lord Jesus is the Messiah, to the glory of God. To you also does the God of Israel stretch out his hand and invite you through the messengers, who wander everywhere in among you', to invite you to come to his Son the Messiah, yea, the Messiah calls to you anew', as he called formerly to your fa- thers, saying, “ Come to me and I will refresh you and procure you rest.” Surely the Holy Spirit accompanies missionaries who love the name of Jesus, and particularly those who are engaged in the advancement of the sal- vation of Israel, through their fervent prayers; and certain it is, that the conversion of Israel is not so distant as some think ; for a very great many do already read and examine the Pro- phets and the New Testament, where- by they will learn, that the Messiah, of whom Moses and all the prophets did write, is that very Jesus who was cruci- fied, but rose again as conqueror over death.
I related some anecdotes of some truly converted Jews, and concluded with remarking that the time is arrived, of which the prophet Isa. xxvii. 12, spoke, then will the Lord likewise soon bring about that period in which Christ is spoken of, ver. 13, “ In that day the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come,” &c. May the Lord mercifully grant, that this my labour, which lasted four hours, may not pass away in vain, through Christ ! Amen.
Oct. 8, 1828, Mr. Goldberg left
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Leipsig for . That mis-
sionaries now are, as in the days of St. Paul, in perils in journey- ing, is evident from the accident related here, which happened to Mr. G.
Oct. 30.— When I left Z
yesterday, at one o’clock, I was in hopes of arriving here at nine in the evening, and of resting during the night, but it was otherwise or- dained. Between R and this
town, is the village D ,
where the old road is broken up and a new one made, but there are as yet no fences put to it; the road is high and a deep ditch is on the right hand. The coachman, in the darkness of the night, went too near the edge, and we were precipitated into the ditch. I received a severe contusion on my head and temples, and lay for some time quite senseless. When I recovered, I found myself surrounded by some peasants, who carried me to the nearest mill ; I received great as- sistance both from tire miller and his wife, and it soon appeared that I was in no danger, although the pain was very acute, my whole face being lace- rated. The broken vehicle having been bound together, I continued my journey and arrived here at eleven o’clock at night. In the morning I com- menced travelling again, and arrived at three o’clock at A — , and immediately
paid a visit to the deacon, Mr. G ,
with whom I had an hour’s conversa- tion about the kingdom of God. As the pains in my head continued, I consulted a surgeon, who ordered the wound to be washed with brandy and soap, and added, “ If the wound had been received a very little lower, you would have been a dead man.” I of- fered thanks to the Lord who had so graciously delivered me, when death was so nigh.
S , Oct. 31 . — On my arrival here
I was very kindly received by Mr. L. Here I intend to stay a few days, partly for the sake of recovery, and partly because to-day is the anniver- sary of the reformation; to-morrow be- ing the Jews’ Sabbath, and not wish- ing to give offence, I do not travel,
and the day after to-morrow is the Lord’s-day.
Nov. 4. — I have spent many agree- able hours with the above-mentioned friend, and had likewise a long con- versation with M , the parish
priest, who professes to be a ration- alist, but who, I hope, is not far from the truth. Now I am ready to euter
U ; I take only one copy of
each publication with me, not know- ing where to establish my repository ; except of Tract No. 8, of which I will take a whole parcel. Here I
learned that the inhabitants in U
are hungering and thirsting after the word of God. For, although an edict has lately been issued forbidding Bible reading, under penalty of im- prisonment and fine, there passes not
a day in which Mr. L does
not send Bibles and Testaments into U . I was present when a mer- chant’s clerk from U called
upon L. for two Bibles and two Tes- taments, in the presence of several of the inhabitants of that place, each of whom immediately called out, “ Let me have one.”
Mr. Goldberg then relates what happened to him as he proceeded.
Nov. 5. — In the name of God, who has made heaven and earth, and from whom alone help comes, I left
S yesterday and entered U .
At the end of the first stage, I met with two Jews, pedlars ; one asked me whether I was a traveller ? I answered “ Yes, we are all travellers towards eternity.”
He. That is a long way off.
I. Supposing we die to-day, our journey would be at an end.
He. May God preserve us from a sudden death !
I. I join with you in that prayer, but nevertheless, if the Lord should have determined it otherwise, could we alter it ?
He (sighing). Certainly not.
I. Therefore we ought always to be ready to lay down our travelling dress ; but the question is, what are we to do that we may have hope, at the end of our journey, to enter into heavenly rest, and that we may find mercy at the judgment seat of God ?
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He. That must be left to God.
/. But God has written down the direct way to heavenly bliss, stage by stage, in order that we should not miss it ; therefore, if we do go astray, the fault lies with us.
He. Where has God written down that way ?
/. In the Scriptures we find the way to repentance and faith.
He. This is then the way upon which we Jews go, we both repent and believe, in the one true God.
I. If that were the case, your Messiah should long since have come, and you would no longer be in Galuth, as your rabbies themselves declare.
He. The time is not yet at hand for the coming of the Messiah.
I. The time is long ago passed, as I can shew you from the words of the prophets.
He. If the time be stated in the Prophets our rabbies would know it.
I. The rabbies read the Prophets in the spirit of the Talmud, but not in the spirit of God, who alone can reveal the divine truth.
I took my Bible and shewed him Dan. ix. 24 — 26, which proved that the time of the Messiah had gone by these eighteen centuries and up- wards, for Israel’s dispersion then commenced and lasts to this day; and I observed, as the Messiah was to come before the dispersion, of course, he must have come long since. The Jew remained for some time in meditation, but I continued, “ As uncertain as you seem to be about the coming of the Messiah, so you are about the forgive- ness of sin and future happiness, for you have neither temple nor offering, whose blood is sprinkled as an atone- ment for your sins.” See Lev. xvii. 1 1 .
He. We pray daily for forgiveness of our sins, and our merciful God will undoubtedly grant our petitions.
I. It is true the mercies of God are infinite, but you must allow that his other attributes are equally perfect, and that his perfection of justice can- not allow of its being sacrificed at the expence of mercy, and for this reason, did David and other holy men in Is- rael, independent of their prayers, which were, beyond all doubt, pre-
391
sented with greater fervour than mo- dern Jews, offer sacrifices, knowing, as they did, that those sacrifices were a type of a perfect one, which was offered to satisfy justice.
He. As vve have no sacrifices now, there remains nothing for us but to throw’ ourselves at the feet of a loving God, in full confidence that he re- quires nothing more than what we are able to do.
1. But I have mentioned before that David and others did not trust to their sacrifices, knowing as they did, that God has no delight in the blood of bulls and rams, for all the animals of the forest are his ; but they trusted in the Messiah about to come, who was not then in the flesh, not having taken fleshly nature upon himself, and to him they looked as the true sacrifice, who would one day sacrifice his life for the sins of men ; and that day was foretold by Daniel and other prophets, during the second temple ; and this was really fulfilled in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, who has atoned for sin, and brought in everlasting righte- ousness : and whose soever sins are atoned for by this divine high priest, (Ps; cx. 4.) partakes of that eternal sal- vation, effected by his blood, and can look to the end of his journey with ease and comfort, yea with joy ; for, where forgiveness of sins is, there is life and happiness.
I explained to them Isa. liii., which they heard with great atten- tion. I told them my mode of pro- curing that happiness, namely, by prayer and searching the Scriptures. I gave them the tract, “ Proofs from the Old Testament.” On taking leave, they blessed me, in Hebrew, saying, “The Lord bless thee and keep thee.” To which I replied, “ The Lord illu- minate your hearts, that you may see the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, and through him obtain eternal life.” O Lord, as I have commenced to pro- claim in this land thy great love, thy holy sacrifice, and thy everlasting co- venant of peace, which thou hast made between God and man, be pleased to accompany my endeavours with thy power and blessing to the glory of thy name. Amen.
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From hence I intended to travel across the country, in order to visit those villages and market-places where Jews reside, but the landlord of the inn, as well as some others, dissuaded me from this plan, first, in conse- quence of the badness of the roads ; and secondly, because those parts are infested, at this time of the year, with robbers. I determined, therefore, for the present season, to travel only on the high road and in its immediate neighbourhood, and leave the rest for another season ; not only for the rea- sons above stated, but likewise because the days are already too short and the expences of fuel too great; neverthe- less, to-day I shall quit the highway
and go to T , where a brother of
dear resides, as reader of the
synagogue. May the Lord be with me!
T , Nov. 6. — When [ arrived
yesterday in the afternoon at the Inn at T , I was immediately sur-
rounded by about twenty gipsies. I begged the landlord to send some one with me to show me where the Jews live he did so. He conducted me
to ’s brother, who was glad to
see me, having expected my arrival long ago. He did not know that his brother and family had been bap- tized. When I begged of him to procure a lodging for me, he said, lie knew of no other, than the same room occupied by him and family, and which I gladly accepted. We went together to the Inn to fetch my trunks, which the landlord at first refused to give up, saying, he had taken the trouble of putting them carefully away, in expectation of my remaining at his house during the night ; but on receiving a few groshen he delivered them up. 1 thanked the Lord for having delivered me from an apparent danger, and went home with , and spent with him a comfort- able evening. Having first heard their family fmisfortunes, I asked him whether he, being a sinner, could live in peace as a Jew. He replied, in the lan- guage of the Talmud, that God is mer- ciful and does not punish us according to our sins. I reminded him that the perfect justice of God requires that no sinner should go unpunished, and be-
sides, if God had not ordained some means by which the attribute of jus- tice should be satisfied, no man could be justified before God. This led me to the sacrifices as typical of Christ, the true sacrifice. From his answers, which consisted of Talmudical sen- tences, I was led to conclude, that although the crooked reasoning of the rabbies had taken root in him, yet he does not know the true character of the Talmud ; else from his apparent upright conduct he would have de- spised their blasphemous doctrines ; and in order to draw his attention to the above remark, I quoted certain passages from the Talmud, to prove that they not only do not agree with the Holy Scriptures, but moreover do intirely contradict them ; as for exam- ple, the Scripture says, 1 Kings viii. 40 ; 2 Chron. vi. 36 ; Isa. lxiv. 6 ; Ps. xiv. 2, 3, and elsewhere, that there is no man upon earth without sin ; but the Talmud tells us of many persons who had never committed sin. We read in tract, Sabbath, fol. 55, on Ezek. ix. 6. read not
Umimmikdoshi, i. e. at my sanctuary; but 't&HlpDDl i- e. at my saints, who are those who keep the whole law, from Aleph to Tau, which phrase does not only include the patriarchs and prophets, but also the rabbies, and they do not scruple to declare, that those men who are mentioned in the Bible as having committed great sins, are quite innocent and guiltless. We read again in tract, Sabbath, “Rabbi Samuel Bar Nachmi said in the name of R. Jonathan, Whosoever saith, the sons of Eli the priest, the sons of Samuel, Reuben the son of Jacob, or David had sinned, they are greatly mistaken.’' By such quotations I was endeavouring to shew that the Talmud does not contain divine laws, else we must admit that God contradicts him- self, and this made the greater impres- sion upon him, when he himself had found out that some of the artificial ex- planations of the rabbies were contrary to the text. I now took the Bible and read with him all those passages re- ferring to the Redeemer ; by this op- portunity I introduced the subject of
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redemption through the only-begotten Son of the Father; this conversation lasted till one o’clock. I then made him a present of the Prophets bound up with the Hebrew New Testament, as well as a copy of the Judeo-German New Testament. I laid down upon a bench without going to sleep. In the
morning I told' that I intended
staying with him a few days, in order to enter farther into the subject of our last night’s conversation, as well as to go among the Jews who reside in this place; but he begged me very hard not to do so, else he should immediately lose his bread, since the Jews had al- ready a suspicion of him on account of his brother who had held the same si- tuation before him. I was obliged to yield, and I prepared for my departure : but the Lord gave me an opportu- nity to speak to several Jewish boys,
who came to to be taught, to
whom I told, how Abraham and the other pious men recorded in the Old Testament, saw the days of the Messiah, and rejoiced. I told them to pray fervently to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that he may grant that they also might learn very soon to know that Messiah. At eleven o’clock I left the place and
went to B , in company with
■, and exhorted him again and
again to be mindful of the salvation of his soul, and that by means of the New Testament, which he now possessed, he would be able to get a clear insight into the Christian dis- pensation. He promised that both he and his wife would read it, and I am in great hopes that he will soon find him, of whom Moses and the prophets did write. May the Lord prepare a way for him and his family, that they may soon throw themselves in the arms of their Saviour, without caring for this world, but leaving all matters to him ! He begged permission to write to
me from time to time. In B I
met with some Jews, with whom I spoke in the street, and asked when the Messiah, the son of David, would come ? One replied, “ That ques- tion have, our learned men studied these several centuries without being VOL. XIV.
able to solve it, How should we then?”
/. If you would earnestly pray to God and read the Old Testament, you would be enabled to answer that ques- tion sooner than your rabbies, who will know every thing by their own wisdom and imaginary learning. For instance, we read, (Gen. xlix. 10.) “ The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, until Shiloh come.” And again, in Mai. iii. 1, we read, “ Be- hold, I will send iny messenger, and the Lord whom ye seek shall come to his temple.” From which it appears quite clear, that the Messiah is to be of the tribe of Judah, of the house of David, and is to come during the se- cond temple.
He. If so, the Messiah must have already come ?
/. Certainly, for God cannot lie.
He. Then you take your crucified one for your Messiah ?
I. Yes, the same who was the Lamb of God and has sacrificed himself to atone for the sins of men ; but who was taken again up from oppression and judgment to live for ever, and who sitteth on the right hand of God as an eternal High Priest ; the same is mine and your Messiah, although you refuse to acknowledge him. See Ps. xlv. 6, 7.
He. But you worship the crucified Jesus as God, and pray how can God be crucified ?
I. I worship him as God, for Jeremiah calls him, “ Jehovah our righteousness ; but he was not cru- cified as God, he was crucified as man.
He. But if he had been God, would he have suffered them to chastise and crucify him ? It would have cost him but one word and all his enemies would have sank down dead.
I. How then could the Scripture have been fulfilled, “ He bare our in- firmities?” As I found it necessary to enter with them into the mystery of the Christian doctrines, I begged that they would go into the house with me; two of them objected, but their spokesman persuaded them, saying, What harm can that gentleman do us?
3 E
394 PROCEEDINGS, &C. LETTER FROM MR. J. WATCIIITSCHECK.
it costs us nothing; but finding that I could not get a private room, I went with them into the court and put be- fore them the fundamental doctrine of Christianity, and replied to their ob- jections. When I had spoken of ho- liness, of repentance, of the new life through faith in the Son of God, and of earnest desire after grace, one said, “ Those are fine doctrines, but they are not practised amongst Christians."
I. You are quite in the right; but what is the cause of it? Is it the doc- trine itself, or the badness of the human heart, which is prone after evil and shuns to do good ? The number of pious men was at all times small,' as well among Israel under the old dispensation, as among Christians under the new one ; and if you will judge by the multitude, you will con- clude that the followers of Christ do not stand in connexion with hip, nor in brotherly love with those who call upon his name ; but that would be an erroneous conclusion; and would be like that of Elias, who in his zeal ex- claimed, “The children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, 0 God, and I alone am left!" But what was the reply of God ? “ I have left seven thousand who have not bent their knees to Baal:" so, likewise are to be found followers of the Messiah, who have crucified their old man and buried him, and as Christ has risen from the dead, so do they walk in the new life, and endeavour by continual cleansing from sin, and by constancy in faith, to show themselves to be his possession, which he has purchased with his blood.
He. I presume, you are a (a name given to a Catholic priest, because he shaves the head), of the (the new faith, >• e. Protestant), and perhaps you may have such Christians amongst you, but in this country you will not find such.
I. You will no doubt find some even in this country, as we have seen an example in the history of Elias, just quoted. Will you then not fol- low your Redeemer, who has bought you also with his blood, and calls
to you, “ Come to me, you who are weary and burdened, and you shall find rest for your souls ?”
lie. I am not yet convinced that Jesus was the true Messiah. •
I repeated once more vvhat I had already slated. This conversation lasted two hours. I gave them Tract, No. 8, and quoted Ps. xcv. 7 — 11, and they thus went away.
( To be continued.)
NETHERLANDS.
EXTRACTS OF A LETTER FROM MR. J. WATCHITSCHECK.
From one of the Missiona- ries on this station, Mr. J. Wat- chitscheck, a letter lias been re- ceived, dated Amsterdam, July 24, a few extracts of which are subjoined.
When I came to Utrecht, I called upon some clergymen, to whom I had letters of recommendation ; however I found only one of them at home, and he could not give me much information ; but he had the kindness to give me a letter to a pri- vate gentleman, who, he thought, would be able to give me some account of the Jews in that place. The next day I went to the gentleman ; he received me very kindly, and gave me some directions to the most respectable Jews in the town. As I heard a very pleas- ing account of these Jews, especially of one of them, I resolved, under prayer, to call upon him, having heard that he was more a Christian than a Jew, and on the whole a very respecta- ble and pleasing man. I therefore went to see him without any ceremony, but unhappily did not find him at home. I went away and walked through the streets, thinking to find some Jews among whom to distribute tracts, and invite them to my lodging, to have an opportunity of conversation. I soon found some, to whom I g^ve tracts with my address upon them; and invited them to call upon me, but none did all the day, except one in the even-
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ing, when I was not at home, and this I think was a proselyte. The next morn- ing my Christian friend called on me, and said, he had been with the Jew he wanted me to go to. The Jew, he said, was willing to hear me, and for this purpose he had appointed Friday morning. In the mean time I thought I should find some more Jews, and an opportunity of either distributing tracts among them, or speaking to them the word of life. When I was meditating upon these things, a pro- selyte called upon me. This man is a Dutch native, but was baptized in Scot- land. I asked him the reasons why he became aChristian, and what difference he thought to be between the Christian and Jewish religion. First, he said, he had had from his youth more inter- course with the Christians than with Jews. Then he was partly persuaded by another proselyte, who was well acquainted with Mr. Way, to turn Christian ; partly he was desirous to live as the greatest number of people did ; not to be hated any more by the Christians, on account of his Jewish religion, and not to have so many obstacles to his temporal affairs, as he had had while he lived in the Jewish religion. Besides he had seen, that the Christians were in general happier than the Jews. After expressing my disapprobation of these motives, and pointing out the true grounds of con- version, we parted.
He seemed to be a very simple man, and almost entirely without any knowledge of either Jewish or Chris- tian religion, and I could but pity him.
Instances of Jewish bigotry and violence, though rare, yet some- times occur to our Missionaries ; and the following is a remarkable specimen.
I went again into the street, where I heard that most of the Jews live, and there I met a Jew, with a long beard, whom I thought to be the rabbi. I addressed him, and offered him a tract. He stared at me dreadfully, and look- ing as if he would pierce me through,
caught my arm, and said, I should go with him, where I had distributed tracts the day before. I refused to go with him, thinking that he intended no good thing. But when I refused to go with him among the Jews, he said, then you shall go with me to the police. I shall know, whether you are permitted to distribute these books or not. Now as he had two of my tracts in his hands, on which my address was, and made a great noise, I thought it best to follow him to the police. In going we conversed about the tracts and their contents. And as my lodging was in the same direction, I thought I would endea- vour to get him, if possible, into my house, and there converse with him about the Messiah. But not seeing any possibility of getting him peaceably to my lodging, and hearing that he had been with the police the day before, and had made inquiries about my endeavours, I thought it more adviseable to get rid of him, if possible. I therefore turned into a shop, thinking that the Jew would leave me ; but he followed me to the shop, and said, he should not leave me, I should go with him to the police. He supposed that I was a baptized Jew, and would not be persuaded of the contrary; and therefore all he said was nothing but reviling and cursing, especially when he heard that I un- derstood English. Then he poured streams of curses upon me in the English language, for he understood English too. He also reviled our Society in general, calling it Frey’s Society; and endeavoured with all his might to make my friends believe, that I was one of the vilest men in the world; but my friends did not believe him. Then he asked me whether I understood Hebrew? I answered in the affirmative, and taking a Hebrew Bible out of my pocket, I said, I would prove to him, from the Bible, that all I did and said, was right and true, and that his conduct and dealing was wrougand evil. But he would listen to nothing of this kind, and said, that we ought to leave every one in the religion in which he was born, and the more
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so, because we all believe in one God. To which I answered, you have no God, you have rejected the true God, and he has rejected you. At this he was exceedingly angry. The Lord be merciful to him, and change bis heart. Among those present in the shop, was a respectable young gentleman and a soldier. These two endeavoured to pacify the Jew and to bring him peaceably out of the shop, which they at last accomplished. However the Jew would not go away without me, but walked in the street up and down, waiting for me. The kind friends in the house seeing this, opened to me a passage through the back part of the house, and thus I escaped. When I came home, I thought, perhaps the Jew or the police would come and fetch me ; but none came, and I left all in the hands of the Lord, with thanksgiving and praise for what he had done for me.
The following account of an in- terview with a respectable Jew is not wholly uninteresting.
The next morning I went to the rich Jew, as I was appointed. I had much fear before I went; but the Lord heard my prayer, and gave me courage. When I came to the house or rather the shop of the Jew, I asked for the gen- tleman’s name, and he himself being in the shop, invited me immediately to a room and asked me to sit down. I introduced my subject by saying, I had understood that he wished to con- verse about the doctrines of the Chris- tian religion, and to know the points of difference between the Jewish and the Christian religion. He replied, that I was altogether wrong informed ; he esteemed every good man, and liked to see such in his house, whether Jew or Christian ; but to talk about the different points in religion, was not his business nor desire ; nor was he learned enough to talk about such points. In the mean time his lady and children came in, and seemed all very much afraid and perplexed, especially the lady. She walked up and down, and would have me say nothing about religion, saying, We cannot speak
with you about these points, we have no time, we are not learned enough, &c. Besides, we must remain in that religion in which we were born, and this every one ought to do. Those Jews, who turn Christians, are not esteemed by any good man, because they all are only outcasts and bad fel- lows. To this I objected, and endea- voured to prove to her to the con- trary ; but she heeded little what I ad- vanced, and said, I ought not to endea- vour to make them Christians, they would continue Jews as they were born. I replied, they should not think that my intention was to make them Christians, this I never intended to do, nor could ; because I knew that this was not man’s work, but God’s, as we could see from the first beginning of the Christian dispensa- tion. They then began to listen and pay some attention to what I was say- ing, and I proceeded to show how the Christian doctrine and religion was from God, and the fulfilment of the prophecies of Moses and the prophets. And as Christianity had begun to prove itself a divine work, so it shall conti- nue, according to the word of God, till the fulness of the Gentiles be come in, and then all Israel shall be saved, acknowledging Jesus to be the true and promised Messiah. The lady seemed to be very uneasy, and would not suffer me to speak any farther, saying, I should not endeavour to make them Christians, they would wait till God makes them such ; and besides I should not keep them from their business, and spoil their time. I, therefore, arose and took my leave, begging pardon, if I had been in any way intrusive or troublesome.
*vvvv\v\\v^
FRANCE.
EXTRACTS FROM THE JOURNAL OF REV. P. J. OSTER.
Mr. Oster set out on the 18th of May last, on an excursion to German Lorraine and the neigh- bouring parts of Lower Alsace.
PROCEEDINGS, &C. JOURNAL OF REV. I*. J. OSTER.
397
The first place he visited was Saar Union, a town about seventy Eng- lish miles from Slrasburgh. Here he was visited by many Jews, and distributed many books. The fol- lowing passage contains the re- sult of the observations he was enabled to make there : —
Generally speaking, I noticed in the most of these Jews, levity of cha- racter, and indifference for their own religion, ( excepting those who wanted New Testaments .) They seemed not at all bigoted Jews, like their brethren in Alsace, particularly in the Upper Rhine. They behaved themselves well, were thankful for the books, and ap- peared to listen attentively to what I said. A great many of them were quite ignorant of our tracts and pro- phets. Others told me, that they had already such little books, and that they were come, in order to see, whether they might get some new ones (a proof that the tracts are read). Again, others said, that they had already the Psalms, and that they now wished to have also the New Testament, either in German Hebrew, or in Hebrew, or in German. For want of books, many of them were sent away empty. There were indeed a few who refused the tracts, because they could not have the Prophets. I promised them, that after about two months, they might call again on Mr. II. whom I would supply with Prophets, and then they might have some. There were several Jews who offered even money, if they could have a copy of the Prophets. But accord- ing to the French laws, nobody but booksellers are allowed to sell any book soever ; and therefore I cannot, without danger, take any money of the Jews.
Mr. Oster met, however, at this place, with two or three Isra- elites of an interesting character, whose hearts seemed secretly to be convinced of the truth of Chris- tianity, but whose faith was not yet sufficiently strong to enable
them to leave all and follow Christ. They assured him that great num- bers of their nation are in a similar condition. Of one of these he says, —
This young man, of a very pleasing character, told me privately, that long ago he was desirous to embrace Chris- tianity, but that if he should do so, he would be left without any temporal relief. He said, that two years since he was as hard, stiff-necked, and bi- golted, as any of his Jewish brethren; but that at that period, he became acquainted with a pious Christian family of this place, (a relation of Mr. FI.), whose conduct and discourses by degrees changed his ideas, till at last he got a New Testament (of the Society’s publications) from Mr. H., by the reading of which, and also of the tracts of Mr. H., he was fully con- vinced of the truth of the Christian religion. He added, that none of his brethren knew any thing about it, that he was obliged to keep his conviction in the secrets of his heart, and that he trusts, the Lord knowing his actual situation, will not punish him, if he does not yet openly confess his faith by baptism. I conversed long with him (in the presence of some Chris- tian friends), and spoke particularly on the necessity of the regeneration of man’s heart, if he will enter into the kingdom of heaven. He listened with the greatest attention, and became the more and more open towards me. I trust the God of Abraham will not for- sake this dear son of Abraham, but will reveal himself to him as the King of Peace, and the mighty God, (Isa. ix. 6.) He assured me, that he firmly believed, that there are many Jews in the same situation as he himself. I told him, that thousands of Christians are praying for the salvation of the house of Israel, and that for such men among his people, who candidly and sincerely seek after the truth as it is in Jesus, there are two places of re- fuge, one at Warsaw, and another in America. I gave him some details concerning this last institution, as I do not yet know' any concerning the
398
PROCEEDINGS, &C. JOURNAL OF REV. P. J. OSIER.
former. He seemed astonished, and left me musing on what I had told him.
Mr. Oster proceeded to La Petite Pierre, from whence he made an excursion to ZutzendorfF. At Weittersweiter, a village on the road, he called on some of the Jewish inhabitants. Here he says, —
We distributed tracts, which I ac- companied with a few words of exhor- tation. Some said, “We are not so learned as you are; but we have a schoolmaster who is also a learned man." They fetched him, and indeed I found him to be a well-informed man. I do not recollect the reasons he opposed to Christianity; but they were all of such a kind, as I had al- ready heard by others. He told me, that he was in possession of the Psalms and Prophets, and also of the New Testament, of the Society’s publica- tion. The former he bought for two francs from another Jew, who received it gratis from Mr. Hauser, at Saer- Union. (This may be often the case, that Jews, to whom such books are given, sell them to others. But of these we may then be surer that they do read them.) The schoolmaster could not stay long with us, as he was to return to his school. I gave him a copy of the tract, “ The City of Refuge,” which he promised to read attentively. A Jewish female, the daughter of the richest Jew in that place, as I was in- formed afterwards, requested a New Testament, which I gave her.
Zutzendorf, is a large Protestant village, situated in the center of three neighbouring little towns, (each of them about four English miles distant from it), where a great many Jews are living; and this is the rendezvous of Jews of several other places. Rev. Mr.Dunker, pastor of that village, told me, that he and Mrs. Dunker have every day opportunities of conversing with Jews; which they avail themselves of. I therefore provided him with tracts and books of the Society’s publication ; and trust, that under the blessing of
God, the pious activity of dear Mr. Dunker, will not be in vain among the unbelieving children of faithful Abraham.
On our return to La Petite Pierre, we entered the synagogue at Boux- vviller, perhaps the most elegant and largest in whole Alsace. It was at six o’clock in the morning, when the worship was just ended. We thought the synagogue empty, and wondered as we found in a corner of it the rabbi and other Jews, both men and boys, standing at their tables, and learning together, by heart, a chapter in a vo- lume of the Talmud, which each of them had lying before him on the table. They behaved themselves with much propriety and politeness, when they got sight of us, as we drew near to them. They were just discussing in Judeeo-Polish, the true meaning of a Hebrew word, which I do not recol- lect. I remained silent, waiting for an opportunity to speak something to them ; but I could not find one. Finally, I addressed the Jew who was standing next to me, in these terms : “ Pray, my friend, methinks, there is in all these things nothing for the heart, and all for the understand- ing, is it not so? The rabbi hearing it, said, “ O no, Sir, it is of a mixt nature, and offers benefit both for the understanding and the heart.” Thus an interruption was made, and a door opened to me. I began speaking of the vanity of all earthly things, both riches, learning, and honour; thence I came to the law, shewing the spi- ritual meaning of it, and reminding him of the holiness and righteousness of God. I continued by proving the necessity of sacrifices for salvation ; and finally admonished the Jews to reflect on Isa. liii. During my whole discourse, they listened with much attention; and we parted as friends. Before we left, I promised him to come back to Bouxwiller, d. v. after two or three months. To other Jews of the town I distributed tracts.
When lie returned to La Petite Pierre, Mr. Oster had an oppor- tunity of pleading the Jewish
PROCEEDINGS, &C. DOMESTIC.
399
cause before a Christian congre- gation.
La Petite Pierre. — After the divine service on Sunday before the day of Ascension, Mr. Diirr announced to the congregation, that at three o’clock in the afternoon on the day of Ascen- sion, there would be held a Missionary Meeting, where the missionary, who was appointed to preach, would com- municate to the Meeting the most re- cent news of the endeavours, which the church of God is now making throughout the world, both amongst the Heathen, the Jews, and the Chris- tians. At the appointed hour of the day of Ascension, the church at La Petite Pierre was crowded with peo- ple from eight different villages, both Lutherans and Roman Catholics. I gave a general statement of missionary proceedings, both among the Jews and the Gentiles. I addressed the congre- gation especially on the former (the Jews), to excite in their mind an in- terest for this poor ancient people of the Lord. To this end I thought it expedient to give them also a short account of some interesting facts I had myself experienced since my own entering into the Jewish part of the Lord’s vineyard. We began and closed with prayers and hymns. At the doors of the church a collection was made for the missionary cause, and amounted to about fourteen francs, a sum — small when regarded with English eyes — but yet a sum which surpassed by far all those, which have ever been collected before in that church on similar occa- sions, the people belonging to the poorest class of these countries. The Rev. J. Diirr transmitted to me ten francs of that collection for the Alsace Tract Society. I never shall forget that day : it was a day full of blessing.
I left La Petite Pierre on the 29th of May, and set out for Strasburg, where I happily arrived in the evening of the same day.
DOMESTIC.
BAPTISM OF A JEWESS.
A converted Jewess, who had for some time professed her faith in Christianity, was baptized at the Episcopal Jews’ Chapel, on Sun- day evening, the 6th of Sept. A considerable number of Jews and Jewesses attended on the occasion, who behaved with much decorum, and listened attentively to the dis- course addressed to them by the chaplain.
ANNIVERSARIES of auxiliary societies, &c.
Two Sermons, in aid of the Jewish cause, were preached at JVkeler Chapel, (Rev. E. Bicker- steth, Minister,) on Sunday, 24th of August ; that in the morning by the Rev. C. S. Hawtrey, Col- lection £12. 10s. 5d. ; and that in the afternoon by the Rev. Thomas Sims, Collection £2. 10s. Id.
notice.
The Lecture to the Jews will be preached at the Episcopal Jews’ Chapel, Cambridge Heath, on Sun- day evening, October 4.
Subject.
With what Dispositions should a Jew inquire into the Truth of Christianity ?
Proverbs iv. 1.
*** Jews and Jewesses are ear- nestly invited to attend, and seats will be provided for them.
400
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE LONDON SOCIETY
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE LONDON SOCIETY.
Anonymous, 15th August 100 0 0
A. B., by H. G. D 1 1 0
Barratt, late Mrs., Cadogan-place, Chel- sea, Legacy 100 0 0
Bateman, late Mrs. Elizabeth, Beccles,
Suffolk, £‘50. 4 per Cents. Legacy,
deducting duty, &c 46 0 0
Davis, Miss, Bunhill-row, coll, by her 0 14 6
Friend, by Mr. Crickmer 1 0 0
Griffin, Mrs., Ipswich, for Heb. O. &
N. Test 0 11 0
Rump, late, Miss Mary, Norwich,
Legacy, deducting duty 22 10 0
Amsterdam, by Miss Hitchcock .... 4 0 0
Birmingham : West Bromwich, by
Mrs. Halford 6 0 0
Bradford, Yorkshire, by W. Wood, Esq. 10 0 0 Burton on Trent, by Mrs. Dancer.... 3 0 0 Cheltenham, by C. T. Cooke, Esq. .. . 25 0 0 Cheshire Society : Runcorn, by Rev.
F. Masters, after a sermon, by Rev.
J. H. Stewart 7 0 0
Chesterfield, by Rev. T. Hill 14 1 6
Dorchester Ladies, by Rev. J. L.
Jackson . 45 0 0
Glasbury, by Mrs. Jones 3 2 0
Huddersfield, by Jos. Brook, Esq 112 13 9
Ipswich & Suffolk, by Rev. J. Charles-
worth 67 14 4
Do. do ...30 0 0
Knaresborough, by Rev. T. Gell 27 0 0
Leeds, Ladies, by Joshua Dixon, Esq. 74 13 2
Leicester, by John Fox, Esq 110 0 0
Liverpool, by Wm. Simmons, Esq... 70 0 0
London : WhelerChapel, collected after
a Sermon by Rev. C.S. Hawtrey 12 10 5 Do. do. Rev. T. Sims 2 10 1
St. John’s, Bedford-row, by Hon.
and Rev. B. W. Noel 10 0 0
Norfolk & Norwich, Ladies, by Miss
Hancock 20 0 0
Portsmouth, by John Allcot, Esq. .. . 8 10 0 Potton, Bedfords. byMrs.Whittingham 15 10 0 Scotland: Lothian (East) Society, by
Wm. Hunter, Esq 7 4 6
Buchan Female Missionary Society,
by Rev. A. Lind 4 0 0
Shrewsbury, Muriavauee, by Miss
Pritchard 7 18 0
Yarmouth, by Mrs. S. Burton 2 0 0
Woburn, by Mrs. Hall, coll, in a box 2 18 0
Worcester, by Rev. D. Morgan 23 3 8
Do. do 20 19 10
• The sum of 7 1. Is., acknowledged in our Number for July, as from Easton, Lincolnshire by Lady Cholmeley, should have been stated as follows: —
Bishop’s Norton, Lincolnshire, by Mrs. Christmas 4 5 6
Glentham, ditto, by Miss Thorpe , 2 15 0
NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS.
ft Bibliotheca Sussexiana, No. IX.” will be inserted.
“ H.’s Essay on the ‘ Prophet like unto Moses/ ” will also appear.
We have received the communication of “ X,” which shall be forwarded to the Committee of the London Society, whom it concerns rather than ourselves. The flattering testimony of' appro- bation it affords, as to the conduct of the Committee, under late most distressing and difficult circumstances, we are well assured will be received with much pleasure, and will be duly appreciated.
The Note of “ Mr.J.F.Browne,” has been received, but we cannot clearly comprehend the nature of the object he desires to attain. If the Society which he advocates, were of a nature suffi- ciently connected with the conversion of the Jews to justify us in noticing it, we do not see what power we, as the editors of a periodical work, can have over the conduct of our readers, so as to enable us to forward the views of Mr. Browne.
In consequence of a request of the Rev. Dr. S. N. Rowan, contained in a letter from Liverpool, written just before he left England, we acknowledge for him the following additional contributions received by him on behalf of the American Society : —
Braidley, Mr. B., Manchester 1 0
Bell, Henry, m.d., Liverpool 1 0
Collection at the English Reformed Church, Hamburgh, by Rev. Mr. Matthews 5 10
0 Collection at Mosely-street Chapel,
0 Manchester 14
Gooddci, Mr. G., Manchester 2
Orford, Mr. J., ditto 1
0 Richards, Miss Mary, collected by .. 2 15
9 0 0 0
The Proyisional Committee for the Jewish Institution at Warsaw also request us to acknowledge the following sums : —
Friends, by Rev. F. Crossman 3 3 0 Worcester, by Rev. D. Morgan 6 6 6
Huddersfield, by Jas. Brooks, Esq. . . 5 0 0
The sum of £15. remitted us by our valued Correspondent, for the Jewish Schools at Jerusalem, shall, as she requests, be placed out at interest until wanted. The former sum of £10. for the School at Hamburgh was duly received, and shall be paid over when called for.
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