turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins," Rom. xi. 25, 26, 27. And although "Even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart, nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away," 2 Cor. iii. 15, 16.

4. "It does not seem possible that a Jew can be converted from his hardened unbelief to a cordial reception of Christ as the Saviour of his soul. Can we expect for instance, that he will ever believe in the divinity of the carpenter's Son-of the crucified One? Still less likely is it that a Jew will ever be zealous in propagating a faith so opposed to his longcherished views and feelings."

Hear then a Jew "of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin; an Hebrew of the Hebrews." Hear him at the feet of that Jesus asking, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" Acts ix. 6. Hear him then "counting the things which had been gain to him, loss for Christ," and, many years afterwards when a prisoner at Rome, affirming "Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ; for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ," Phil. iii. 7, 8.

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Is there no hope of a Jew's conversion? "I say, then, (writes this Jewish witness,) hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also, I, the apostle of the Gentiles, and for them "the prisoner of the Lord Jesus Christ,”—I, who am 'always delivered to death for Jesus' sake," to whom "to live is Christ, and to die is gain, I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin," Rom. xi. 1. Hear, too, the testimony of this man, - who, after the very straitest sect of his religion had lived a Pharisee, who had been accustomed to "think with himself, that he ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Naza reth," Acts xxvi. 5-9,-avowing his unequivocal belief in His proper divinity, who, he says, is over all, God, blessed for ever," Rom. ix. 5. "declared to be the Son of God with power," Rom. i. 4, "to whom," he says, the Father saith, "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever," Heb. i. 8, “the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever," Heb. xiii. 8. A Jew not zealous to propagate the truth as it is in Jesus! Where had the Gentiles been but for the zeal of

Jewish Christians? Of whom was it true, that he "counted not his life dear to him, so that he might finish his course with joy, and the ministry which he had received of the Lord Jesus, to testify of the gospel of God?" Acts xx. 24 Who "served the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears and temptations-testifying, both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance towards God, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ?" Who was he that could say, are they ministers of Christ? I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes, save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness, and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness," 2 Cor. xi. 23-27. Was he not a Jew? the very man, who sitting down in the deep shadow of the cross could say, I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God; but by the grace of God I am what I am," 1 Cor. xv. 9, 10. O for such missionaries as Paul!

5. We have often been disappointed, by instances of apostacy-and, therefore, regard with suspicion every apparently converted Jew.

Paul had mourned over such instances, and yet he found himself surrounded with Christian Hebrews, of whom he could say: "Beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things which accompany salvation." For "we are not of those who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul," Heb. vi. 9: x. 20.

In fine, study Paul's character-read his inmost heart— trace the depth of his piety-the fervour of his zeal-the consistency of his life-the devotion of his self to Christmark his ever onward, upward progress, and then mark him when-as the evening shades gathered round him, and he thought of many a servant of God who had had a peaceful dismissal-he was called to stand alone in Cæsar's Judgment Hall, and to receive the sentence of martyrdom into a heart that could thus send forth its latest utterances: "I am now

ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing," 2 Tim. iv. 7—10.

Fellow Christians, such were the life, the piety, the zeal, the stedfastness, and the dying prospect of a Jew, by grace a child of God, and a disciple of Jesus.

He says, that he obtained mercy, that in him pre-eminently "Jesus Christ might shew forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to them who should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting," 1 Tim. i. 16.

Shall we despair of a race which has afforded such a specimen of Godlike devotion? shall we doubt of success when he teaches us that we are to regard in him but a pattern of what the grace of the Lord Jesus can and will do for them? With a world perishing around us, and such an instance before us, Shall we not look and pray for many Jewish missionaries? shall any objection stay us? Is the Spirit of God straitened? Where is the Lord God of this Christian Jew? On the throne of mercy-waiting to be gracious.

JEWISH LITERATURE.

AMONG the people who have left precious bequests to posterity, the Jews take the last rank. We do not speak here of the biblical writings-these are beyond our province-but we speak of their later productions. Their literature has, like the people to whom it belongs, undergone the most oscillating changes of fate. Like as the people are scattered about on the face of the earth, so has its literature thriven under various climes. Time, which makes use of every thing, and moulds it into various forms, has now and then bestowed a friendly smile on Hebrew literature, but has more frequently taken a hostile position towards her. This is not the place in which to narrate the vicissitudes of her fate, nor am I capable of doing it. I must leave that to more skilful pens, and to authors more favoured by fortune. But I may be permitted to dwell upon it for a few moments, and whilst dilating thereon many a reader may be stimulated to further investigations.

The modern literature of the Hebrews, which dates from the Talmud, and which has given to the Jews-like the "Fathers

of the Church" to the Christians-the position occupied for the last fifteen centuries (though it commenced, properly speaking, in the tenth century, with Saadiah Gaon), has taken its direction in various ways. As yet, however, the bibliographers have only given the titles of the books without their contents, like the railway guides, which give but the names of the stations; and these titles, which often betray great ignorance, have led celebrated literary men to the commission of serious

errors.

The

As in the physical world we call a scenery beautiful which abounds in hills and rivulets, so we may call that literature beautiful which has produced philosophers and poets. philosophers we compare to the hills, and the poets to the rivulets. The hills are firm, and remain in their ancient place; they are the symbol of philosophy, which, ever stable, cannot extend beyond her fixed points. Man must make a pilgrimage to her, though he may not always find in her what he seeks. Philosophy lifts man to an elevated point, wherefrom he may view the world beneath. The rivers are in continual motion, and the waves linger not: one supersedes the other. They are the symbol of poetry, the incessant rushing of the human emotions, the unremitting interchange of feelings in the heart. These emotions rush through every heart, and these feelings palpitate in every age, whilst man and his heart remain always

the same.

The modern literature of the Hebrews has also received its share of its hills (philosophy) and of its rivulets (poesy), and it may boldly take the field with its other sisters. It affords handsome contributions to philosophy. The names of Saadiah Gaon, Salomo ben Gabirol, Moses ben Ezra, Joseph ben Zadik, Moses Maimonides, Joseph Albo, Chisdai ben Kreskas, etc., would be ornaments to any literature. All these philosophers were firm believers, were enthusiastically attached to Judaism, and strove to blend faith with reflection.

The modern literature of the Hebrews has also its poets, who might shed a lustre over any other nation. Its poetry is partly of a religious tendency, to which the literature of other languages may find it difficult to produce counterparts. These Hebrew poets enthrall the human mind with magic power, and hold the reader in enchanting bonds. They speak to man in a language which modern ages have no where else uttered, though the present age by no means lacks skilful writers. The

famed names of Salomo ben Gabirol, Moses ben Ezra, Abraham ben Ezra, Jehuda Halevi, &c., are the pride of modern Judaism. Their productions are at present more known than they were ten years ago, though they are not yet known so much as they deserve. These poets were most versatile, and were equally prolific in fruits of secular worth. Most of the names of these poets with which the fame of religious poetry is connected, excelled also as philosophers and learned men in general, and this alone might attach a value to their productions if intrinsic value were heeded. Like butterflies, they carried on their wings the glittering gold of the world. They also excelled in secular poetry. Their joys and their sorrows they breathed forth in sonnets and elegies. Nor have they denied wit its rights, and epigrams on various subjects are interspersed in their serious works. They have preserved the great men of their times to future generations. In a word, they were men as poets, though Jews in religion, as Petrarch united the character of man with Christian. I may sum up the judgment by stating that they were ingenuous lovers of the Hebrew muse, which strove to emulate the Arabic, and succeeded.

The flourishing period of Hebrew literature was when under the Moorish dominion, in Spain, as well as in some parts of Asia and Africa.

The proper literary portion of modern Judaism-its philosophers and poets- yields, like every other literature, its benefits and remuneration. The philosophical literature of the modern Hebrews remunerates both Jews and Christians, since in Judaism the same ties between religion and knowledge have been loosened as in every other religion. Those who read Aristotle, Plato, Locke, and Kant, will derive pleasure from the reading of those works as well. The scepticism which manifested itself has called forth great thinkers, who strove to support the structure of the Jewish religion on philosophic grounds. We have looked about for such men in modern times, we have inquired after them, and have been answered, “They are yet to be born."

The modern poets of the Hebrews (modern in comparison with the Biblical and Talmudical ages), particularly Moses ben Ezra, Jehuda Halevi, Jehuda Alcharizi, &c., afford the same interest as the poets of other nations do. Those who read Milton and Pope, Petrarch and Dante, Schiller, Goethe, and