cause for deep humiliation that we should have been so tardy in listening to the appeal of suffering and ne

This obligation, although much enhanced by the considerations already presented, if correct, would not, your Memorialists conceive, be set aside, even although it should be thought that they had failed in their argument on the former head.

That in establishing this second point, your Memorialists pass by, at present, all other considerations (and they are manifold) that might be adduced, and confine themselves to one suggested by two of the verses which have been already referred to, sufficient, as they think, to go to the heart and conscience of every Christian who duly weighs it. "For as ye," says the Spirit of God by the Apostle, Rom. xi. 30, 31, "in times past have not believed God, but have now obtained mercy through their unbelief; even so have these also not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy." These verses as has already been noticed, indicate that it is a design or purpose of God to extend mercy to the Jews through the instrumentality of the gentile church, or a portion of it. But an expressed design on the part of God, in conferring his favours, implies a sacred obligation, on the part of those by whom they are received, to follow out that design. And consequently there is devolved on us, sinners of the gentiles, whom the Lord hath made partakers of his grace and mercy in Christ Jesus, an imperative duty to seek to communicate to the Jews those spiritual blessings which have been bestowed on ourselves-a duty not to be neglected or carelessly thought of, if we would not be found thwarting the revealed mind of God in this matter. And this obligation is strengthened, in no small degree, by the consideration that if it be the purpose of God to extend mercy to the Jews by means of gentile Christians, we cannot expect that this object will be attained until the appointed instrument be put in motion. The effect, as was argued under the former head, cannot precede its cause--the end must follow the means; and, therefore, as long as we make no suitable effort for the salvation of our Jewish brethren, we do in effect contribute to perpetuate their outcast and miserable condition.

That your Memorialists, impressed with these views, most respectfully solicit the attention of the Reverend Presbytery to the whole subject, as one worthy of the most serious consideration. They would deem it premature, and indeed unwarrantable, on their part, to suggest any plan for adoption, satisfied with having brought the matter before this ecclesiastical court, on whose acknowledged zeal for the interests of the Redeemer's kingdom, guided by the wisdom that is from above, they confidently rely that the question will not be suffered to fall to the ground; and, in due time, they hope that the Church of Scotland itself, eminently distinguished as it has been, both in former and later times, by the tokens of the Divine favour, may be led to take an affectionate concern in the welfare of those on whose account, in part, that favour has been bestowed-those from whom we have received the lively oracles, and of whom, as concerning the flesh, the Saviour sprung-whose very fall has tended to enrich us, and for whom, despicable as they now appear in the eyes of men, God himself has expressed his concern and his regard, in declaring that they are still "beloved for the Fathers' sake."

glected Israel, yet we must not forget that the Church of Scotland is the first branch of the Church of Christ

And whereas, in the present circumstances of the Church, it is very likely to be felt and urged as a valid objection against the question being entertained at all, that there are other and more pressing undertakings on hand, sufficient to engross the whole of our time and energies, your Memorialists, in conclusion, beg permission to say, that if the view given in this paper be a just and Scriptural representation of our duty as respects the Jews, then the neglect of that, duty must necessarily infer guilt, and may deprive us, so far, of the Divine blessing-whereas the performance of it would, as in every other case, help forward, not impede, the discharge of every other duty; and, further, if the view given of the importance of the conversion of the Jews, in reference to the world at large, be correct, then, in proportion as that object is followed out, according as Providence may afford opportunity, will missionary exertions among the heathen be also promoted, and may be expected to become extensively successful. But still it may occur to many as a great and insurmountable objection, that such is the inveterate obstinacy of Jewish unbelief, and such the depraved nature of the Jewish character, that any attempt to convert them is utterly hopeless. But it will be found that this objection, although a very prevalent one, will not stand a close inspection. For, besides that it indirectly impugns the omnipotency of Divine grace, it is directly opposed to the testimony of Scripture, which assures us that the conversion of this stiff necked people is a thing decreed and certain. It is contrary to the whole scope of the chapter which has so often been referred to, (Rom. xi.) and which seems expressly designed to guard the gentiles against entertaining such uncharitable suppositions. For it warns us not to think that God had cast away his people, or that they had stumbled, utterly to fall--reminds us of an election according to grace, even at that time when wrath was coming on the Jewish nation to the uttermost--instructs us to consider the blindness which had happened unto Israel, as only in partand expressly affirms, on their behalf, that the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. The objection is still more directly met and repelled in verse 24, where, after having previously forbidden gentile Christians to "boast against the branches," that is, the Jews, the Apostle adds, "For if thou (the gentile church) wert cut out of the olive tree, which is wild by nature, and wert graffed, contrary to nature, into a good olive tree, HOW MUCH MORE shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree!" From all which it follows, that the objection in question is wholly unscriptural, is therefore utterly untenable, and ought never to be advanced; and that, instead of considering the conversion of the Jews as an impracticable thing, we ought to engage in the undertaking with a peculiar degree of confidence, from the exercise of faith in the Divine Word, that good will result from our labours, and that in the end they will be crowned with complete success.

May it therefore please the Rev. Presbytery to take the subject into consideration, and to adopt such measures in relation to it as they, in their own wisdom, may see fit.

which, in its collective capacity, has, in good earnest, put forth its energies for the conversion of the Jews.* We overlook the exertions of the Church of Rome for two reasons: first, because she forms no part of the Church of Christ, but in her doctrines and practice bears all the marks of Antichrist; and secondly, because her endeavours have always been, not to convert the Jews to the love and obedience of the Redeemer, but merely to proselyte them to the Popish faith. The Callenberg Institution did not profess to be the offspring of any particular church; and although the London Society must trace its origin and support to members of the sister church, yet it was the result of individual efforts, and neither originated with the Church of England as a church, nor ever received her sanction and countenance in that charac

The obscure, though well-meant activities of a few zealous Moravians, during thirty years of last century, in some of the towns of Germany and Holland, are to be regarded as the endeavours of individuals belonging to a society of devoted missionaries, rather than as the united effort of a church. We have, therefore, good reason to look, not only for a larger measure of success in our endeavours to convert the Jews, because we are acting as an integral portion of the church of Christ; but we may expect, besides, a richer share of the Spirit's influences on our beloved Zion itself, than we have been hitherto privileged to enjoy. "Blessed is he that blesseth Israel." t

* Since this lecture was delivered, our church has sent out four of her sons, (one of whom is Dr. Keith, so well known for his popular works on prophecy,) as a deputation to the Holy Land, and those countries where the Jews reside in greatest numbers, with the view of collecting and communicating to the Assembly such information as may enable it to take those steps which shall seem to be most advisable. In like manner, Moses sent men of every tribe to spy out the land; and did they not return with a cluster of grapes, and pomegranates, and figs?

+ We may here observe, that there is a Jewish missionary who perambulates between Glasgow and Edinburgh. His name is Mr. Cerf. He was baptized in 1829, by the Rev. Dr. Dickson of Edinburgh, whom he regards as his spiritual father; and since 1832 he has been employed by the Jewish Societies of Edinburgh and Glas.

The results of Christian exertion on behalf of the Jews are most encouraging. In the Hebrew Episcopal chapel in London, there have been baptized, since its erection, two hundred and forty-six individuals, eighty-five of whom were adults. During the year 1825, there were, according to a paper in a recent number of the Quarterly Review, a hundred baptisms at Berlin itself, two of whom were of Rabbies, who had travelled from Russian-Poland, twelve hundred miles, in search of Christianity. In the prison of the Arsenal at Constantinople, there were lately two baptized Jews persecuted by the Turks, at the instigation of their Jewish brethren, to such an incredible extent that death, in comparison of the cruelties exercised towards them, would have been invested with little terror; and yet they remained steadfast in the profession of the Christian faith. There is no considerable

gow. In those two places there are resident altogether about a hundred Jews, with whom he converses on the points of controversy between them and Christians, calling their attention to the Old Testament, and to the fulfilment of its predictions in the New, in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. During the above period, he has distributed among his brethren many copies of the Scriptures, and of Tracts designed for the instruction of Jews; and his labours and counsels have been apparently blessed in guiding several enquirers into the ways of peace. One of these was baptized some years ago in Edinburgh, and another in Glasgow within the last few months. He has also been the instrument of rescuing four Jewish children, sisters, from a state of ignorance and misery, and of placing them where they still continue under the means of grace, and Christian instruction. Before these sheets shall have passed through the press, Mr. Cerf will have been ordained an elder of the Church of Scotland by the Rev. John Duncan of Milton church, himself a distinguished Hebraist, and a zealous friend of the Jewish cause. Mr. Cerf is perhaps the first Jewish member, and certainly the first elder of our church. It is beautiful to hear this convert to Christianity detailing the history of his conversion, and saying, that since the period of his enlightenment, he has been able, on many occasions, to mark the graciousness of God's dealings with him. The wish uppermost in his heart, since he became a Christian, was that he might be permitted to see his mother before she died; and he told me with tears in his eyes, that after two or three years of anxiety, God opened a way to him in providence to go to Poland, his native country, and that a month after his arrival, he had the melancholy satisfaction of seeing his mother expire in his arms, while she uttered the words of Jacob to his son Joseph, "Now let me die since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive."

town of Germany in which some baptized Jews may not be found; and in Poland, during the last ten years, fifteen, at an average, have been baptized annually. There is one feature in Jewish conversions not to be overlooked. Men of cultivated understandings and great learning, among the Jews, have embraced Christianity. There are at present eight ministers in the Church of England of the natural seed of Abraham; among the Lutheran and Reformed clergy on the continent not a few; besides many physicians and lawyers, there are five professors and two lecturers in the University of Breslau; five professors in Halle; in Petersburg, a professor of medicine; in Warsaw, Dr. Lee, one of the most celebrated physicians; in Erlangen, Dr. Stahl; and in Berlin, the famous historian Dr. Neander: all of whom are converts from Judaism.

But although individual conversions are pleasing, that is not the light in which we are to regard the results effected by Christians in their attempts towards the conversion of the Jews. We are not to look so much for particular instances of change of faith, as for the breaking down of the wall of prejudice which has so long stood between Jews and gentiles. This to a great extent is done. Mutual dislike has almost vanished in many places, in consequence of the interchange of acts of kindness; access to the Jewish mind in most countries is readily obtained; a spirit of inquiry has been awakened among the Jewish people; and they literally flock around the Missionaries with a desire to get Bibles and Tracts. One of the most pleasing symptoms in the progress of events is, that a converted Jew receives kindness now at the hands of his unconverted brother. At Ispahan, Wolff was not only listened to with attention when he preached; but his funds having failed him on one occasion, he was supported by the hospitality of the Jews. The amount of actual conversion is much greater than meets the eye or the ear. Fear of their brethren on the one hand, and distrust of Christians on the other,