you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the Lord."* But let them be careful not to be deceived, as they have so often, heretofore been, by impostors and false Messiahs. Let not every one, who vainly promises their deliverance, engage their confidence-They should look at their Scriptures-they are a light shining in a dark place-What is the character, objects, and means of accomplishment attributed to the Messiah ?-Carefully investigate the conduct, pretensions, objects, and practices of any who may pretend to this character-forget not that he was to come during the existence of the second temple-and before the dispersion of their nation-that he was to be led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep is dumb before her shearers, so he opened not his mouth. Are not the Jews to look upon him whom they have pierced, and mourn as for a first born. I know they are in the habit of rejecting what Christians say on this subject, but I beseech them to attend to what their celebrated writers say, and compare it with the New Testament.† Zephaniah, 3d ch. 14-20 v. + Philo, their justly celebrated writer and philosopher, speaking of the second person in the God Head, says 1. The Logos is the Son of God.-De Agrie, 1st vol. p. 308compare Mark, 1st ch. 1st v. Luke, 4th ch. 41st v. John, 1st ch. 34th v. Acts, 8th ch. 37th v. 2. He is the second Divinity.-Deuteros Theios Logos-Frigen, 2d vol. p. 625-compare John 1st ch. 1st v. Cor. 1st ch. 1-24 v. 3. He is the first begotten of God-De Somniis, 1st vol. p. 65. -compare Hebrews, 1st ch. 6th v. Coloss. 1st ch. 15th v. 4. He is the image of God.-De mundi Opifie: 1st vol. p. 6, 414, 419, 656-compare Col. 1st ch. 15th v. Heb. 1st ch. Sd v. 2d Cor. 4th ch. 4th v. 5. He it is, by whom the world was created.-De Mund. Opif. The signs of the present times appear to be a solemn warning to them particularly, of the approach of that awful day when "the Lord with the sound of shophar will publish salvation, to assemble the dispersed sheep of the house of Israel, at the coming of the vision of salvation!" 1st vol. p. 4-compare John 1st ch. 3d v. 1st Cor. 8th ch. 6th v. Hebrews, 1st ch. 2-10 v. 6. He is the light of the world and the intellectual Sun-De Somn. Ist vol. p. 6, 414, 632, 633-compare John 1st ch. 4—9 v. 8th ch. 12 v. 1st Peter, 2d. ch. 9th v. 7. He is esteemed the same as God.-De Somn. 1st. vol. p. 656. De Profug. 1st vol. p. 561-compare John 1st ch. 1-15 v. & 14th ch. 11th v. Rom. 9th ch. 5th v. Phil. 2d ch. 6th v. 8. He is eternal-De Plant. Noæ. 604-compare John 12th ch. 34th v. 1st vol. p. 332-2d vol. p. 2d Tim. 1st ch. 9th v. 4th ch. 18th v. Heb. 1st ch. 8th v. Rev. 10th ch. 6th v. 9. He is nearest to God without separation. De Profug. 1st vol. p. 561-compare John 1st ch. 18-10 v. 14th ch. 11th v. & 17th ch. 11th v. 10. He is the Seal of God.-De Profug. 1st. vol. p. 547-8. De Plant. Now, p. 332-compare John 6th ch. 27th v. Eph. 1st ch. 13th v. Heb. 1st ch. 3d v. 11. He frees his people from all corruption and entitles them to immortality-De Cong. Ques. Erud. Grat. 1st vol. p. 535.compare Rom. 8th ch. 21st v. 1st Cor. 15th ch. 52-53 v. 1st Pet. 1st ch. 3-4 v. 12. He is mentioned by Philo, not only as the Son of God, but also as his beloved Son.-De Leg. Allegor. 1st vol. p. 129-compare Matt. 3d ch. 17th v. Luke, 9th ch. 35th v. Col. 1st ch. 13th V. 2d Pet. 1st ch. 17th v. Thus Philo declares the character of their Messiah, whose coming they were so earnestly looking for And this is precisely the character of him whom Christians say is their Messiah, who is already come. Can then a rational Jew say that this is not a subject worthy their most careful examination, as a people bound for eternity.* * Dr. Clark, on John's Gospel. Are they not a warning of the approach of that time, when "the Lord, with the sound of shophar, will cause a voice to be heard from Heaven upon the holy mountain, and upon Jerusalem?" The Lord seems to be “revealing the period, and the season, when he will sound the shophar, and go with the whirlwinds of the south." And the consequences will be, "that the kingdom of iniquity shall be destroyed, and God will then exalt himself with Jubilation. Then let all the inhabitants of the globe, and those who dwell upon the earth, when the standard is set up on the mountains, behold it; and when the shophar is sounded, then shall ye hear.”* It becomes the Jews, among the rest, seriously to attend to the present state of things in the world. Let their own Scriptures be the test of their conduct.-They are our elder brethren, bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh, as firm believers in divine revelation agreeably to the Old Testament. Here, they are loudly called upon, to hearken to the voice of God, speaking in the fulfilment of ancient prophesy.-The prediction of Moses has been miraculously fulfilled. "And the Lord said unto Moses, behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, and this people will rise up and go a whoring after the Gods of the strangers of the land, whether they go to be among them, and will forsake me and break my covenant which I have made with them. Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and they shall be devoured and many evils shall befall them, so that they will say in that day, are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us?" And Moses said "Take this book of the law and put it in the side of the Jewish Liturgy. ark of the covenant of the Lord, your God, that it may be there, for a witness against thee; for I know thy rebellion and thy stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against the Lord, and how much more after my death"-" For I know. that after my death, ye will utterly corrupt yourselves. and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you, and evil will befall you in the latter days."* And again, "It shall come to pass if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day, that all these curses shall come upon thee and overtake thee.-The Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from one end of the earth even unto the other; and there, thou shalt serve other Gods, which neither thou, nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. And among these nations, shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest; but the Lord shall give thee a trembling heart and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind. And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shall have none assurance of thy life: And the Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, thou shalt see it no more again; and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bond men and bond women, and no man shall buy you."t But it shall come to pass when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind, among all the nations whither the Lord thy God hath driven thee, and shalt return to the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his * Deut. ch. 31. v. 16, to the end. † Ibid, ch. 28. v. 15. 64. 68. voice;-that then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee;-If any of thine be driven out unto the utmost parts of Heaven, from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee. And the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed; and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers."* Was not the promise to Abraham positive and without reserve that he should inherit the land of Canaan? Was not this promise repeated several times, and to Isaac and Jacob?-Are not the Psalms full of the same promises to David and his seed, that his kingdom should be established for ever? Has any part of this been yet fulfilled, so as to answer the enlarged view of the promise? Can your nation be said even to have possessed the land of Canaan in peace, for any considerable time together? Is not your history, a continued statement of wars, bloodshed and disorder; rebellion, assassinations and idolatry? Is not therefore the fulfilment of the glorious promises of the Bible, yet future, and do you not generally believe that the time is not far off? May you not, on your principles, even at this moment, join in the confession of the song of the three children, 14th and 15th verses, "For we, O Lord, are become less than any nation and be kept under this day in all the world, because of our sins. Neither is there, at this time, prince, or prophet, or leader, or burnt offering, or sacrifice, or oblation, or incense, or place to sacrifice before thee, and to find mercy."t Deut. 30th ch. 1-5 v. + Since writing the above, I have met with the liturgy of the Jewish Synagogue, in which the morning prayer of Rebou Hoalo |