Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt,' and again, Israel is my son, even my first-born.' The key to their present condition is to be found in their imprecablood be on us, and on our children.' The tion upon themselves, still unexhausted: 'His glory of their latter day breaks out almost in every passage, from Moses to Micah, from Ezekiel and Daniel to Zechariah, and from Paul to John" (Rev. J. Nolan). BERLIN.-The society established in this city for the purpose of making the "glad tidings" known among the Jews has published its fortyfifth yearly report. It mentions that the Home for the proselytes in Berlin has been closed, and that the catechumens are henceforward to be received into private families. For this reason the society is anxious to have a mission-house of its own, towards which the committee call for contributions. Mr. von Sydney, a member of the privy council, has accepted the office of vice-president; and lieut.-col. Baron von Pilsach has been added to the committee. The rev. Mr. Jacobsohn, of Breslau, has been called to Berlin, as a third active labourer in the missions. Rabbi Curland, having been baptized, has been appointed a missionary to aid the rev. Mr. Fallim at Kischenew: and another converted Israelite is preparing himself at Berlin for missionary work. During the last six months six Jew and Jewesses have been baptized. THE JEWS WITNESSES FOR GOD.-" Witnesses indeed they are for God, of his sovereignty and his truth, as they shall be, by-and-bye, more distinctly, of his goodness and his love. In my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy upon thee.' Every step in their progress is but a fresh link in the chain of continued miracle. Their history was written to the very end before it could be said to have commenced: the desolation of their land was foretold before they had foot of it in possession; and the ruin of their cities before one of them was built. It is of them, and to them, God is speaking, when Moses, in the SILESIA. The Jews." Silesia, with upwards midst of them all, in the plains of Moab, said, of 3,000,000 inhabitants, contains a Jewish po'Ask now of the days that are past, since the pulation of about 50,000 souls scattered in its day that God created man upon the earth, and towns and villages; and it is remarkable that, ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, just in proportion as the Christian population whether there hath been any such thing as this around them either are faithful to the creed of great thing is, or hath been heard like it.' So their fathers, or have abandoned it, with few that we have not asked too much in claiming exceptions, the Jews have done the same. Thus, precedence for Israel over all the lofty claims, Upper Silesia, which is mostly Roman-catholic, whether home, colonial, or foreign, that are now and celebrated for its bigotry and ignorance, is being advocated amongst us: there is no other also the seat of Jewish orthodoxy, combined with that makes so for the glory of God, or is fraught the most stupid fanaticism and ignorance even with such blessing and benefit to the sons of of the first principles of the divine law. On the men, since it is when the Lord shall build up other hand, if we turn to the fruitful valley of Zion, he shall appear in his glory,' and it is when Lower and Middle Silesia, where the inhabitants his servants take pleasure in the stones of Zion, are chiefly protestants, the Jews present quite and favour the dust thereof, that the heathen a different appearance. Here, as also to a great shall fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings degree in the community of the Christians, inof the earth his glory. O brethren, remember fidelity has erected its throne; and, although the how God speaks of Israel. Is there any other na- people are accessible and free from all fanatical tion, or hath ever been, that is mentioned with violence, it is only with the greatest exertion such tenderness, or such marked honour, in the and perseverance that an impression for good is word of God? Hear Jeremiah: 'I have for- produced. The missionary of the cross has to saken mine house, I have left mine heritage; combat a two-fold enemy-the one in the guise I have given the dearly-beloved of my soul into of a Christian has a name to live'; and the the hands of her enemies.' Remember how the other, in the garb of a Jew, derides everything loving Lord Jesus yearned over Jerusalem's holy on his lips. These districts are for the coming sorrows, when he cried, 'How often most part thickly populated with Jews; and the would I have gathered thy children together; missionary labour specially devoted to them has and ye would not'; and how he replied to a told powerfully against the hostile elements Gentile suppliant, I am not sent but unto the existing among the inhabitants at large. But lost sheep of the house of Israel.' How much there are tracts of land in which the faith has of the revealed mind of God is occupied with them! You must turn to human authorities when you search out the origin and history of other nations; but apostles and prophets are the historians of the Jews. You turn with loathing from the infancy of the heathen; but God himself watched over the cradle of Israel: When been kept; and, though there the Jews are not represented by large numbers, yet they are free from frivolity, and they pay a serious attention to the claims of the gospel. It is thus in the southern districts of the country and adjacent portion of Saxony. The natives of that part of Silesia, with the exception of a few Roman 6 catholics, are all protestants; and though they were not converted to Christianity till the tenth century, yet, after they had once given up idolatry, they stedfastly adhered to Christ and his doctrines; and, having bravely held their ground through the abominations of the thirty years' war,' they remain faithful to this day. It is a singular fact that until the year 1848 no Jews were allowed to settle amongst them; but the storm of that significant period swept away that barrier, like so many others; and, by-and-bye, the descendants of Abraham formed a settle ment amongst them which proved to be for their good, both temporal and spiritual. The exact number of Jews in that region I could not ascertain; but there are some thousands, and most of them well to do. I have carried my message among them for nearly seven weeks; and during that period the blessing of God has followed my humble efforts" (G. F. Schwartz). TEMPORAL RELIEF OF CONVERTS.-"The ag gregate body of Christians, when first called into existence by its adorable Author himself, was chiefly composed of poor,' as is sufficiently evident from Christ's message to John the Baptist: The poor have the gospel preached to them'; and other passages, such as, A rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven,' though he also does enter by the special power of the grace of God; and 'the common people heard him gladly.' The Jewish converts, the apostles and disciples, became poor immediately on their being called by their divine Master; for they had to forsake all and take up the cross.' These were fed and maintained by Christ (Luke xxii. 35); but not only they, but also the inquirers, the multitude that followed him, some, indeed, truly attracted by his doctrines, others from curiosity, and others again for the sake of the loaves and fishes: these also were fed by him indiscriminately, though none could deceive him who knew what was in man.' But with his perfect knowledge he had equal compassion upon all, and fed them all; as the true Son of God, he imitated his heavenly Father, who 'maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.' These simple and important facts should be conclusive to the opponents of temporal relief. They also claiming to be the children of God, let them imitate their elder Brother, as he imitated his Heavenly Father: let them 'cast their bread upon the waters.' If we reflect for a moment upon the conduct of the apostle Paul and the earliest churches in this respect, we shall find that they neither feared imposition for the recipients, nor cared what the unbelieving Jews might think or say of them for the course they took. There was the first church, the Hebrew church at Jerusalem, a church, so to speak, in the lions' den. This church must necessarily have abounded with poor from the nature of its situation, surrounded as it was by fierce, persecuting, and vigilant enemies, who would, if possible, cut off all its resources, and withhold even the cup of cold water from every one of its members and from every one that showed an inclination to join it. They were the saints or poor -aints spoken of, 1 Cor. xvi. and Rom. xv., whose welfare was so much at the apostle Paul's heart, and for whom he made special collections in the Gentile churches, and himself carried the contributions to Jerusalem, fearless as to what the watchful Jews, in their animosity, might call it. Now,' said the apostle, 'I go to Jerusalem to minister unto the saints; for it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.' These quotations are sufficient to prove by scriptural evidence, not only that temporal relief to the Jews is desirable, but that it is the duty of Gentile Christians to impart it. For so,' the apostle continues, it hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. If they have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things.' And may not the absence of temporal relief be a hindrance to greater success in the preaching of the gospel among the Jewish poor? The testimony of all the missionaries answers this question in the affirmative. With them it is not merely a matter of opinion, but an experimental truth; and, whatever the conflicting opinions about it may be, the missionary is obliged, in a degree, to act out the principle of temporal relief by constantly putting his hand in his pocket, to obviate many an immediate suffering, from his own scanty pittance, and to prevent reproach being brought upon himself and the gospel which he preaches" (B. D. in the "Jewish Herald"). 66 ABYSSINIA.-The Falashas.-According to the statement of M. Halevy, the Jewish missionary to the Falashas, they are distributed over the vast table-land which extends from the southern shore of the Tacazzi to the Blue river. Their complexion is more or less black, but they have not the physical type of the negro. They retain a deep and pathetic attachment to the Holy Land. The word Falasha means exile or wanderer, and the name Philistia is evidently cognate. They speak two languages belonging to different philological stocks. One is the vernacular of the district, the Amharic. But the language which they use in their families is a dialect of the Agaou, which they also employ for their prayers. Many of their names are biblical, and consist of Hebrew words pronounced in Abyssinian fashion. In the place of worship men and women sit apart; and there is a sanctuary which is entered only by the high priest on the day of atonement. Sacrifices are performed, but these are only commemorative, and are therefore not in accordance with the Mosaic ordinances. There are no sacrifices on sabbaths or kipur (atonement). Almost all the manufactories of the country are in the hands of the Falashas. They enjoyed civil rights until the accession of the late king. Acccording to an opinion pretty generally received, the Falashes are descendants of the Jews who inhabited Alexandria while the second temple existed. Like them they observe away from Jerusalem the ceremony of sacrifices under the guidance of priests, who daily offer up prayers for the community. Some years ago they still practised the law of the red heifer' (Numb. xix.). They follow the laws concerning purity and impurity, and observe faithfully the prescriptions of the law. They know neither the Hebrew language nor the square characters. Their scrolls of the law and other sacred books are written on the skins of clean animals in the Ethiopic language, translated from the Septuagint. Their priests also possess the oral law in order to interpret the written. Nevertheless they have not the phylacteries, the biblical commandment of which they explain figuratively; nor do they wear any longer the fringes because they no longer know the blue thread' of which scripture speaks. They keep also the anniversary of the destruction of the temple, the 17th and not the 9th of Ab, referring to 2 Kings xxv. 8, and Jeremiah liv. 12. They likewise celebrate the feast of weeks on the 13th instead of the 6th of Sivan; but they keep neither Purim nor Hanucah. The number of the Falasha population seems to be very large. Considering the great extent of the country and the isolated situation of their settlements, it is impossible to furnish complete statistics of them. What increases the difficulty is the want of security in the country, which compels the inhabitants of the plains to quit their dwellings and to seek an asylum in the mountains. The vast and fertile plains of Dembea and Béguemeder, which formerly had so dense a population, now present the aspect of a desert. Their population is either decimated or has emigrated. Nevertheless I have been sufficiently fortunate to obtain very exact data as to an important portion of the Jewish population. My list does not contain less than 160 places with the names and number of their inhabitants, who amount to at least 11,000 families, i. e., from 50,000 to 60,000 souls. If it be considered that the number of villages and hamlets is incalculable in the Amharic country, and that almost each of these villages contains a larger or smaller number of Falasha families, one is authorized to assume that the total number of Falashas amounts to at least thrice the list obtained, i. e., between 30,000 and 40,000 families, or between 150,000 and 200,000 souls. They, therefore, form about half of the population of the country. The relations of the Falashas to the Amharas are not less singular. The Abyssinian has need of the Jew, who supplies him with the instruments most required for tillage and household use; consequently, although charging him with infidelity and deicide, he does not hate him. On the contrary, superstition attributes to the Falashas a superior acquaintance with the magical art and the occult sciences: they thus become objects of fear to every Amhara." OPENING OF A SYNAGOGUE.-A Prayer.-At this ceremony, which took place at Portsmouth on the 8th November last, the rev. rabbi H. Adler pronounced the following prayer : "Almighty God, the heavens are thy throne, and the earth thy footstool. Even the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; and where is the house that we can build unto thee? Where is the place of thy rest? All those things thine hand hath made; and still thou lookest to him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at thy word. To thee, Lord God of Israel, we dedicate this sanctuary which has been devoted to thy honour and praise. Take, we | implore thee, this small sanctuary under thy providential care; for, except thou keepest it, the watchman waketh but in vain. Shelter and shield it, remove from it all danger and injury. Grant that they, for whom this place of worship has been provided, may pray unto thee with true devotion and earnestness, so that their heart may shine through the veil of flesh. Grant, O Lord, that they may be penetrated by the conviction that they have grievously sinned against thee and against their fellow-men; that they may be filled with sincere contrition and remorse; that they may see in the punishment, which they here endure by the arm of justice, the balm of Gilead, the remedy dealt unto them by the Physician on high, and promise true amendment, sincere reformation. Heavenly Father, comfort and sustain the penitent sinner in the dark hours of sorrow and self-reproach. Strengthen him with the thought that thou forsakest not the innocent beings whom he has left behind him; cheer him with the conviction that thou art a Father and protector to those who are friendless, that in due time thou wilt say to the prisoners, 'Go forth!' and those that are in darkness,Show yourselves!' Lord of all recompense, bestow thy choicest blessings upon our most gracious sovereign and her counsellors, who have evinced such exalted sentiments of philanthropy towards Israel. Pour out upon them thy spirit of wisdom and intelligence, and cause them to shine as the brightness of the firmament-yea, as the stars for ever and ever. Vouchsafe thy loving grace unto the governor and officers of this establishment. Fortify them in the fulfilment of their important and arduous duties. Shower down thy blessings upon this land; may peace, concord, and safety ever prevail in the midst of it. Teacher of mankind, send thy spirit, the spirit of knowledge and piety unto thy servant, who with holy zeal cometh hither to minister and teach thy holy law; may the word he speaketh in thy name not turn back, but do that which thou willest. As often as he unrolleth thy law, let its spirit of truth, justice, and love enter the hearts of thine erring children, so that they may again become worthy guardians of the faith thou hast taught us. Hasten the time when thou wilt bring us to thy holy mountain, and make us joyful in thy house of prayer, when thy temple in Jerusalem shall be called a house of prayer for all people. Amen." JERUSALEM: COMMEMORATION OF ITS FALL.— Mr. Gellert gives the following notes of the scenes which he witnessed at Galatz when the Jews assembled to mourn over the ruin of the holy city and its "beautiful house”: “In one family I visited I saw the father, at the close of their evening meal, seat himself on a sack, spread out on the ground, and, according to rabbinical instructions, eat an egg mixed with ashes. With this same sack he then went to the synagogue, to which I met whole groups wending their way with their sacks on their arms; indeed, for twenty-four hours, while the fast lasts, a Jewish family has altogether the appearance of mourning for a beloved relation. The rooms are not cleaned, the beds not made, nor do the men put on their boots. On the eve All at once she paused; for she heard a voice calling, "Child of the forest ?" as well as the great day itself, I visited four | which are so necessary to my existence, be synagogues, which gave me ample opportunities withdrawn at the very moment when I need of preaching, profitably I believe, Christ and them most of all? Of what worth is my life, if him crucified. Not only the interior of the I am not to be permitted to arrive at perfecbuildings but the approaches were full of the tion? And now the sun itself is extinguished, mourners, seated on the ground. While the and I must perish unappreciated and unknown, men chanted, in touching tones, the Lamenta- without having served one good purpose of my tions of the prophet Jeremiah, and other sublime creation, and without knowing myself of what compositions in the Hebrew language, by their I am capable !" great men of later periods, the women, in separate apartments, recited, in the Judæo-German dialect, the various calamitous events connected By the starlight and the little of daylight with those fearful days. In many private houses that still lingered, and by straining her young I also saw assemblies of women sitting on the eyes, she saw that it was an old tree, upon the floor, lamenting and weeping over the afflictions bank just above her, that spoke; an old of their nation. It seemed as if the sad recol-mahogany-tree, that she had often seen in the lections of the time greatly contributed to soften course of her brief life; an old and lofty tree, their hearts, as I found many of them more dis- that lifted up high in the air his huge rough posed to listen to the doctrines I brought under body, and which threw far and wide his arms, their notice. Some of them remarked: Had covered with a great multitude of broad shining Christianity been presented to us in this way leaves. for centuries past, who can tell what the effect would have been?' The number of Jews I have conversed with during the past month amounts to 84, among whom I have distributed 55 tracts, two New Testaments, and two bibles." H. S. THE DAY-LILY AND THE OLD MAHOGANY- Again he spoke: "Child of the forest, why weepest thou? Listen, little one. I am a thousand years old." "Years!" whispered the lily, "what are years ?" "Was not the sun more beautiful," continued the tree when in the first part of your life his beams poured forth unobstructed from over yonder bay, than when lately they could hardly peep through this forest behind us ?" Yes, he certainly was," replied the lily. "I have stood here a thousand years," the tree, "and even so he has alway seemed to me most beautiful, and so he will be again; for his light is by no means extinguished. But he cannot rise unless he first sets." said The poor little lily pondered long and deeply upon it, but could not understand it. "Think again," continued the tree. "We are not the only things that he looks upon. A single footstep might crush you" (the lily shuddered and trembled), " or a single whirlwind might prostrate me, and we should hardly be missed; for, look behind us, how thick the forest grows! And so it is in the world around; and they all need his light and warmth as much as we. Would you be so selfish as to leave them all to perish ?" On the eastern shore of Yucatan there is a spot peculiarly noted for the variety and density of its vegetation. At the head of a little cove, which sets in from the gulf of Mexico, there is a little hill covered with some large trees. These slope down almost perpendicularly on one side, and more gently in other directions, continuing in a deep impassable morass. At the foot of this hill, on its steepest side, there once sprang up a little flower. It was a strange flower, which is never found except in certain latitudes. It grows from the ground nearly to perfection in a single day. Its leaves were broad, but thin and delicately woven, with a tissue of veins and fibre. These leaves lay upon the ground as if unable to support themselves. A single stem had shot up from among the leaves a foot or more in height, bearing upon its summit the half-opened bud of a large lily-shaped flower. The petals had just begun to show their soft white velvet, richly chased and delicately pencilled here and there with streaks and lines and spots and shades of crimson, and a rich fra- The lily bethought herself of a strange weagrance had begun to breathe from the half-riness and weakness under which, during the opened cup. latter part of her life, she had almost withered. "Ah!" she sighed, "thus, then, my life must end." All at once the sun, which had been gradually approaching the horizon, sank beneath it, and darkness came down almost immediately upon all the forest. The last rays of light that had struggled through the dense dark leaves, had played upon the little flower, revealing its surpassing loveliness, but leaving it unfinished, imperfect, and alone in the dark night. The little flower was in despair. "Alas!" she cried, "why must the light and heat that have brought me into being, and *From "The Angel of the Iceberg, &c.," by the rev. Dr Todd, The lily hung her head in silence. After a pause, the old tree resumed: "Think again. Is it not better for you even as it is ? Could you have borne the intensity of his heat much longer?" "You must "Not so," replied the old tree. look forward to a better life. Our sun has indeed gone down, but it is only that he may shine upon other parts of the world. It is only that he may give you opportunity to acquire strength to bear his brighter rays. True, unless he comes again over yonder bay your life must end here, and mine too; for it is upon him that our life depends, and he must rise again before we revive. But, courage, little child of the forest; he will certainly, certainly come." THE BURIAL-SERVICE. THE following remarks were addressed to the rev. C. H. Davis, the author of a paper on the burial-service, which appeared in the "Church of England Magazine," No. 659, for August, 1847, p. 106, by the late rev. Christopher Benson, canon of Worcester, who gave permission to Mr. Davis to use any of his MS. remarks on public questions: As the old mahogany-tree spake thus, he | THE LATE CANON BENSON ON REVISION OF flung his arms about in the night-breeze; and all his leaves, myriads in number, seemed to whisper, He will certainly, certainly come." But O! how long the night seemed to the little flower a whole life-time! She shrank timidly away from the coarse unsightly weeds that waved carelessly and fearlessly backward and forward jeering at her weakness and fears. She trembled at the sight of the burning eyes of the beast of prey, that loved darkness, that stared at her through the brakes, and she listened in terror to the sound of their footsteps. She shuddered as she felt the slimy trail of the serpent over one of her leaves, or heard the heavy flapping wing of some foul night-bird over her head, or the buzzing of hideous goggle-eyed insects about her face. She shivered in the cold fog, and was half stifled by the dank foul vapour that crept up from the marsh. The tears gathered fast upon her face. "Old tree," she sobbed, "I shall never see him again." "Courage, little child of the forest, courage! These trials will only serve to make you stronger; and these tears even will add to your beauty. For your sake he delays; but he will certainly, certainly come." And again the myriads of shining leaves lisped their echoes, "He will certainly, certainly come!" At last a little breath of air came dancing over the water; and, as it passed, it seemed to say, “He is coming." Once more the leaves of the old mahogany murmured, "He is coming, he is coming!" And far back in the forest countless little voices seemed whispering to one another, "He is coming, coming, coming!" The little lily raised her head. How solemn to see those countless leafy dwellers in the forest standing in breathless silence, listening, listening, waiting, waiting, for the great life of the world! The lily gently turned her eye towards the water. No soft twilight, no long slowly-changing dawn announced the approach of day. But a quick flush spreading over the sky, a fleecy cloud suddenly blushing crimson, a flood of purple on the dancing waters, fierce flashes of golden light streaming far upwards, a burning mass of fire; and the day was come. Joyfully did the little lily welcome the grateful light, and open wide her face. The tears were standing thick upon it; but the glorious sun looked down and smiled upon her. He dipped his pencil in fresh and richer dye, and touched her pallid cheek, and turned every tear into a jewel, that sparkled like the rainbow. Her tears were gone for ever. And "unto you that fear his name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings." "ON THE REV. C. H. DAVIS'S REMARKS ON THE BURIAL-SERVICE. "The very length of the remarks implies the difficulty of the vindication. Nor does the defence of Forasmuch as it has pleased God,' &c., seem to be quite satisfactory. The phrases of our dear brother,' and 'of his great mercy,' seem to compel us to understand to take unto himself' in a good sense. Solomon's expres Can sion of the soul 'returning to God' (i, e., to be "As to Wheatley's interpretation of those who have laid violent hands on themselves,' I believe it to be the true and only just one of the phrase. But I fear there is some civil law which precludes our acting on this proper view of the ecclesiastical direction. "It certainly would strike any reader who was uninterested in the interpretation of the burialservice that those who give thanks-hearty thanks-to God for having delivered a brother out of the miseries of this sinful world' can only do so upon two grounds: (1) That, if a wicked man, he has been delivered from the power of any longer adding to those miseries by his sinfulness; or, (2) That he, being believed to have died in the favour of God, has been removed from the temptations of a sinful and the troubles of a suffering world in the peace and rest of the Lord. Christian charity that we cannot imagine it to "The first supposition is so contrary to be the true explanation. The letter is high and pure Christianity; a feeling which, if we looked as we ought, only to our brother's welfare, should pervade our hearts in exact proportion to our greater or less confidence in his being of the number of the elect. In so speaking, then, we do far more than resign ourselves with Eli to what has seemed good to God; for, we declare our satisfaction at what God has done, as being for our brother's good. We may, indeed, as you observe, and ought in everything to give thanks' to God generally; but not particularly to thank him for a brother's deliverance out of one set of miseries, if we believe him to have been removed to the certainly of far greater or more enduring torments, nor even if we are in much doubt about it. We cannot give thanks in faith if we do it in doubt. Query, Job xxxiv, 14? |