now there was no priority, that now Jew and Gentile were on an equality; but he protested against the first-born, the eldest son of the family, being put off with the crumbs that fell from the Master's table.

Amongst the non-programmed aspirants to be heard on this subject was the Rev. R. H. Cobbold, Rector of Ross. His address was evidently prompted-as the Rev. J. C. Goodhart demonstrated in a laconic, lucid, and incontrovertible rejoinder- by a misapprehension, or rather confusion, of the present and the next dispensation. Mr. Goodhart, moreover, intimated that the clergy would do much good in the way of promoting missionary work amongst the Jews by thoroughly imbuing the minds of their people with God's view of the Jew, as given to us in the Scripture, and God's purpose concerning the Jew as revealed in His word. The next subject on the programme was the "Hindrances to the reception of the Gospel by the Hebrews." The venerable Archdeacon Kaye read a very interesting paper on the subject. We regret very much that it is out of our power to reproduce it in our pages. The Rev. E. B. Frankel, late Missionary to the Jews at Paris and Damascus, followed with an address on the same theme. He classified the hindrances under two heads, namely: 1. Those which owe their existence to difficulties within. 2. Those which are occasioned by difficulties without. The former, the speaker at once affirmed, none but God could remove. The latter, Christian people should endeavour to remove. These latter he tabulated as follows: (a) The religious character of the Jews; the Jews, though not according to knowledge, were an eminently religious people imbued with a zeal for God, as they imperfectly comprehend Him. Under this head he specified tradition, circumcision, the Sabbath, and the cross. Every one of which-until properly explained-proves a stubborn hindrance to the reception of the Gospel by the Hebrews. (b) Externals. Under which head he named Popery, or its offspring, parasite ritualism, and the inconsistency of professing Christians. The Jews were not slow to adopt an erroneous mode of reasoning. Ill informed Gentile Christians were apt to credit the whole of the Jewish nation with the faults and deformities of a few; and the Jew has, with marvellous quickness, fallen into the same mode of estimating the character of the Christian community. He finds among the so-called " Christians," infidels, profligates, men and women "to every good work reprobate," characterised by the fearful array of "the works of the flesh;" and the unconverted Jew naturally arrives, by a short cut, at the conclusion that all Christians of all Christendom are so distinguished. To be candid and frank, the Jew had better reasons on his side to argue from the particular to the universal in this respect, than the "Christian" had. The Jew, for instance, laboured under the delusion that he was sure of eventual salvation, no matter what his individual character might be. According to a rabbinical dictum, "All Israel are securities one for another."* So that he could not be lost by his vices, inasmuch as he was partaker of the virtues of multitudes amongst his people. He reasons, on the false premises laid down in the above Jewish maxim, with respect to Christendom. He main

* Mr. Frankel evidently referred to the well known rabbinical assertion,

66

The whole of Israel are responsible one for - כל ישראל ערבים זה בזה

another,"

tains most perversely and unjustly that all Christians are even such as those he happens to know of, whose characters are stained with the vilest of human passions. The ill informed and perverse Jewish reasoner puts all Christians in the same categories of idolaters and profligates. Christians should endeavour to remove this formidable hindrance to the reception of the Gospel by the Hebrews. The fallacy of that mode of reasoning, on both sides, might be illustrated by the following episode:A Spanish nobleman, who lived in a very secluded part of his country, had read a good deal about the Jews in sacred and secular literature, but had never had the good fortune to see a representative of that divinely chosen race. As that nobleman dabbled in ethnology, and had a work in MSS. almost ready on that department of natural science, he determined to set out for a country where Jews were permitted to reside, in order to be able to describe the Jewish race from personal knowledge. When he arrived at the frontier, he took up his quarters in the most respectable hotel, and confided to the landlord the object of his travels and search. "Your Excellency need not go farther to attain the information you are in search of," quoth the landlord. "There stays at my hotel, just now, a most respectable and intelligent Israelite, held in high esteem amongst his own people." "Could you introduce me to him?" asked the nobleman. "Nothing easier," rejoined the landlord; "the Jewish gentleman is both amiable and condescending." The Jew and the nobleman were introduced to one another, and had a good deal of friendly intercourse for several days. When the nobleman had finished, from personal knowledge, his ethnological notes on the genus Jew, he returned to his rural abode to give the crowning finish to his great work. He described the Jewish race, as the most extraordinary of all the races he had ever heard of or read of. The Jews were wonderfully intelligent, well educated, particularly civil and polite; but they were distinguished by physical and corporeal deformities. They were blind of one eye, the seeing eye red from inflammation; they were hard of hearing; they had no upper teeth; they were hump-backed; and they had the left foot shorter and thicker than the right. Of course, the noble naturalist was cruelly laughed at for his scientific conclusion, founded on his personal experience. Yet many "Christians" reason, in like manner, on isolated cases of moral deformity amongst the Jews as to the character of the whole nation. And so do many Jews reason with regard to all Christians.

(c) Another hindrance to the reception of the Gospel by the Hebrews, was the system adopted by many Christian divines of spiritualising the Scriptures. This is a most baneful hindrance, and has operated upon the faith of multitudes of Jews-such as it wasmost disastrously. Multitudes of the house of Israel have adopted this arbitrary mode of interpretation with regard to the predictions of the coming, in fulness of time, of the REDEEMER, the MESSIAH, the ANOINTED of the LORD. "Those predictions "-the neological and rationalistic Jews who are daily on the increase as regards numbers, assert,"do not foretell a personal Messiah, but a system of toleration, political emancipation, municipal equality. We have this in England, France, and Germany. To us, therefore, the predicted Messiah' has come." Christians should strive to get rid of the untenable system of spiritual

ising, or rather allegorising, the Scriptures, and point out to the Jews the fatal effects of such a system, and thus remove a very formidable hindrance to the reception of the Gospel by the Hebrews.

(d) Another unhappy hindrance is the incredulity, on the part of many "Christians," in the conversion of Hebrew Christians. The Jews are quick enough to discern the tremendous argument which that incredulity furnishes them with against Christianity; and they are crafty enough to use it with forensic effect against the truth of Christianity. "If as you 'Christians' admit that the faith of Jews in Christ is to be discredited, then you must also confess that your religious system is a cunningly devised and lying fable; for it is based wholly and entirely upon the faith, teaching, and preaching of Hebrew Christians, commonly called 'converted Jews.' The better informed Gentile Christians should point out to the less informed Christian professors the horns of the dilemma on which they impale themselves, by rashly expressing their disbelief in the good faith of Hebrew Christians in Jesus the LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS, so plainly foretold in our own Old Testament Scriptures, and thus remove this great hindrance to the reception of the Gospel by the Hebrews.

(e) One more hindrance Mr. Frankel pointed out, that is, the coldness of the ordinary professing "Christians towards Hebrew Christians. There were thousands upon thousands of secret believers amongst the Jews, who shrink from confessing Christ before the world because of the distrust and coldness with which the so-called "Christians" treat those who renounced all by boldly confessing Christ, as the ONLY SAviour. Mr. Frankel ably and unanswerably exposed the fiction that Jews were bribed to embrace Christianity. He appealed to Gentile Christians to do all in their power to remove that hindrance to the reception of the Gospel amongst the Hebrews. He might have named another sad hindrance, and that was the way in which a certain section of "Christian" pastors and appointed ministers of the Christian religion flatter Christ-rejecting Jews with smooth words, saying to the unbelievers Peace, peace, when there is no peace. A melancholy instance of this wretched hindrance is afforded by the effusions of a certain "Rector" and " Honorary Canon of Canterbury," to whom it was our painful duty to advert in a former issue.'

After some desultory remarks from non-programmed speakers, the President closed the first sitting with the benediction.

The evening sitting began at 7 p.m., when the Chairman opened the proceedings by giving out the hymn,

"All hail! the power of Jesu's name!"

After this song of praise, the Bishop called upon the Rev. R. H. Cobbold to offer up a prayer upon the proceedings that evening, and upon those who shall take part in the same. The first subject for the evening sitting, as announced in the programme was "Recent opportunities and encouragements for evangelising Jews." The Revs. H. A. Stern, and F. A. Morgan, addressed the meeting on that head. The second subject was "The London Jews' Society's line of thought and

* See our April number, pp. 183-5, and 192.

labour. Misconceptions to be removed." On which the Rev. Frederick Smith read a very able paper, and the Rev. C. H. Banning-in the absence of the Rev. W. Ayerst, from indisposition-made a speech. Both gentlemen being connected with the Society, could speak, and did speak, effectively on the subject. After which the noble and right rev. President gave a bird's-eye summary of the subjects brought under consideration at both sittings, and dismissed the audience with the apostolic benediction.

The first sitting on Friday, the 12th ult., took place at 10 a.m. The Bishop of Bath and Wells again presided. On taking the chair, he gave out a hymn, of which the following is the first verse :

"O come, O come, Emmanuel.
And ransom captive Israel;
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel !"

A Clergyman, whose name we did not hear, was requested, after the five verses of the hymn had been sung, to engage in prayer. After which his lordship announced that the first subject to be submitted to the meeting was, "How far Christians, differing as to details of prophetic interpretation, can agree on a common line of action in missions to Israel." The Rev. W. Cadman was programmed to take the lead in the treatment of this most important thesis; but he was absent, and his absence was not accounted for. The Rev. J. E. Brenan was therefore called upon to give his address on the subject. In responding to the call, Mr. Brenan read one of the most interesting papers-in strict accordance with the programmed theme-that it has ever been our good fortune to listen to. It would have been a sincere gratification to us were it in our power to print his very interesting essay in extenso. cannot help adding that we sincerely trust that Mr. Brenan will publish his essay in the form of a pamphlet. We can assure him that it will be welcomed with gratitude by all sober-minded and intelligent Christian students of prophecy, and friends of Christian missions.

We

Our dear Hebrew Christian brother, the Rev. J. B. Goldberg-the writer of those learned papers, in several of our past numbers, designated "Language of Christ "*-next addressed the audience on the same subject. The burden of his address was to the following effect :

After what has been said by the two preceding speakers, it will be my endeavour to state to you in a few words how missionaries deal with these and similar subjects in their field of labour, trusting that this great meeting will take a hint from it, or improve upon it, in finding "a common line of action in missions to Israel."

The London Society for promoting Christianity among the Jews is a Church of England Society. Their missions, those I have seen, and those in which I laboured, were all conducted on Church of England principles. The New Testament, the Liturgy, books and tracts translated into the various Jewish vernaculars, were extensively circulated amongst

*This learned Essay has just been published- and dedicated by permission to the Lord Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol-by Messrs. Bagster and Sons.

them. Now, in one of the Society's stations, two or three years after a mission had been established, there arrived several missionaries from America, with the same laudable purpose of preaching the blessed Gospel to God's ancient people. They belonged to a different body of Christians; I believe they were Congregationalists. Of course, they had no regular liturgy, had a different form of worship, and said and did many things in a way different from that which the Jews saw with us. Now the Jews are a sharp people, and soon observed the salient points in which the English and Americans differed. Upon these they began to found arguments that were far from favourable to the cause of Christ. Christianity, said they, cannot be true, Jesus cannot be the Messiah spoken of by the prophets as a "Light to the Gentiles," for these Gentiles are not agreed among themselves what their new law or new covenant is, nor how they are to act or worship, live or conduct themselves.

Here then was danger that our little differences might become great hindrances in the way of the Gospel of our common Lord and Master. We therefore gave the Jews to understand that all Protestants are brethren, believe in one Lord, have one faith, and one baptism; that they are agreed in all essential points, that it is only in those which are not distinctly declared in the word of God, and are therefore left to be settled by human authority, that Christians of different lands and countries have different customs and usages.

This at once put matters on a better footing, and the missionaries were enabled to carry on their work, unmolested by reflections and reproaches of that nature. The Jews looked upon them as followers of the same Master, labouring in one and the same cause.

Something of a similar nature, I think, might be done as regards details of prophetic interpretation. There are, as you know, two schools of prophetic interpreters, the Preterists, and the Futurists. The former have stretched prophecy (if I may use an old expression) on the rack of exposition. They propounded theories which do the greatest violence to the language of Scripture, in order to make promises and predictions appear to have obtained their full accomplishment.

The Futurists, on the other hand, assert that almost every thing in the roll of prophecy is yet to be fulfilled. Some go so far as to maintain that Babylon, Tyre, &c., are to be re-built, and then destroyed again. To the Jews, the one as well as the other theory gives great offence, and I fear many a time stands in the way of their reception of the Gospel.

Now why should not the one as well as the other school of thought take one common line? Let us all take our stand upon the broad declaration of Holy Writ; let us hold fast that all which God has promised will be fulfilled. Missions to the Jews differ in some important respects from missions to the heathen. In missions to the heathens, our aim is simple, noble, and grand-to preach Christ to those who know him not, to send the light of the Gospel to the dark places of the earth. No one imagines that, by being converted to Christianity, the negro would lose his blackness, or the Ethiopian have his skin turned white, the Japanese become a Chinaman, or the Chinaman a Japanese. But the case is different in missions to Jews. There are promises given to that nation, there are future prospects held out to them, upon which, unfortunately, Christians differ in their interpretation, and this hinders united action.