THE

Hebrew Christian Witness

AND

PROPHETIC INVESTIGATOR:

AN ANGLO-JUDÆO CHRISTIAN MAGAZINE,

UNDER THE ENTIRE MANAGEMENT OF EDITOR AND CONTRIBUTORS FROM
PATRIOTIC JEWISH BELIEVERS.

CHALONER AND COOKE, PRINTERS,

OXFORD ARMS PASSAGE, WARWICK LANE,

PATERNOSTER row, London.

In submitting another volume, of another year of our labours, to the Christian public, we feel constrained, by a sense of gratitude for mercies received, to acknowledge once more that all things come of God, and what we are enabled to do for Him the ability is bestowed upon us by Himself. If we had reason to sing for joy, in presenting our last year's volume to the public, that God had done great things for us, that reason is now wonderfully enhanced. The year just closing upon us has been fraught with mercies for which we cannot possibly be sufficiently grateful. When we silently dwell upon the tokens of love, which a gracious God has been mercifully pleased to show unto us, the grand apostrophe of the great HEBREW CHRISTIAN, Saul of Tarsus, springs to our lips, and with him we exclaim :-" O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been His counsellor? Or who hath first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto Him again? For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen."*

The members of the Jewish Bible classes, over which we had the privilege to preside, during the first half of this year-as narrated in our numbers for April, May, and June,- —are now sowing the good seed of the Word of God, which has so wonderfully fructified in their own souls, in different parts of the world, amongst the highest ranks of our Jewish brethren. We are occasionally favoured with the glad tiding of their doings, though not altogether unalloyed with mournful intelligence. Our Jewish sister, in whose house the first class was initiated, and who, some time after its formation, introduced the singing at our meetings the beautiful hymn, beginning,

she is no more on earth; she rests now in His presence; she died in a foreign land. Her death-bed was surrounded by her friends and relatives, Jews and Jewesses of the highest respectability. The last request which she made of them, and which was granted, was to join in singing with her that exquisite Christian song. The last words she ever uttered on earth were those contained in the stanza :

"Jesu, our only joy be Thou,

As Thou our prize wilt be;
Jesu, be Thou our glory now,
And through eternity."

66

Who could presume to calculate the amount of good which the HEBREW CHRISTIAN WITNESS AND PROPHETIC INVESTIGATOR has been the means of effecting in this quarter! Surely," a small still voice whispers in the innermost recesses of our soul, "it was worth all the toil and anxiety, and losses, and expenditure of health and strength during the last three years, to be the instrument of so much gain for the kingdom of Heaven!" What shall we say with regard to thousands of other cases of whom we as yet know nothing! Yes, thousands of other cases! Out of the thousands

*Rom. xi. 33-36.

+ See our May number for this year, pp. 193-6.

of copies of our monthly which we have posted gratuitously to our unbelieving brethren, in the course of the last three years, in the United Kingdom, in the United States of America, and the Colonies, only six copies were superciliously returned, and five of these were evidently well read! and perhaps by more families than those to whom the publication was first sent.

But our Jewish brethren are not the only persons to whom our magazine has proved useful; Gentile Christians have also profited by our suggestions, advice, and remonstrances. Last year we felt it to be our duty to protest against the neglect with which the Church Congress treated the spiritual exigencies of the Jews. Our remonstrance was taken in good part, and a place for the cause of Israel was apportioned in the Church Congress of this year. We frequently urged the necessity which is laid upon Christians, especially upon Christian ministers, to study the Sacred Tongue. We have cause to thank God that we have not urged that necessity in vain. We receive letters from members of the different universities in this realm, as well as from the various theological seminaries in the Colonies, informing us of the progress which the study of the Hebrew language is making. These and many other circumstances are so many evidences that our labour has not been in vain.

Yet we often feel greatly disheartened. In quarters from which we had reasons to expect some encouragement, by word or deed, we experienced nought but coldness and neglect, if not positive discouragement. Certain managers of religious associations who, we have ventured to hope, might have been thankful for the hints and suggestions which we have thrown out, showed nought but umbrage at the existence of our magazine, and left us to struggle for its life, as best we could. They, unhappily, look upon the best friends of the cause, who feel it their duty to tell those managers the truth, as their worst personal enemies.† Often and often has our heart sunk within us, under the apprehension that its end was come, to the joy of those who longed for its demise-the words of Moses of old were often on our lips, "How can I myself alone bear the cumbrance, the burden, and the strife," but as often has God been better to us than our fears. Just at the time of our greatest need for succour He raised up some friends, who came forward with their helping hands to sustain us liberally with the needful support. To the munificence of one friend especially is our monthly indebted, under God, for its existence hitherto. The liberal contributions of that friend towards the gratuitous circulation of the magazine amongst the Jews, have often removed an anxiety which was almost akin to despair. We have no reason to hope for further succour from that quarter, though we shall never cease to be grateful to, and to pray for, so true and good a friend.

We shall begin the coming year in faith and hope. Should we realise the fulfilment of our hopes, we shall take it as a divine intimation that the God of Israel has some more work for us to do in the portion of His vineyard in which we shall have laboured for four years. Should our hopes be unrealised, we shall conclude that the work will henceforward prosper more abundantly in other hands than ours. And we shall then, at the end of the coming year, relinquish the work, and thank the Lord of the vineyard for having thought us worthy to labour thus long for His honour and glory.

* See our November number, pp. 587-593.

+ Gal. iv. 16.

+ Deut. i. 12.

INDEX TO THE VOLUME FOR 1874.