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 FAITH IN ISRAEL, 
 
 EXEMPLIFIED IN THE TESTIMONY BOBNE TO 
 
 THE POWER OF THE GOSPEL, BY MEMBERS 
 
 OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL. 
 
 BY 
 
 THE REV. W. AYERST, A.M., 
 
 OF ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. 
 
 Abraham believed in the Lord; and he counted it to h 
 righteousness." GEN. xv. (J. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 SOLD AT^THE LONDON SOCIETY'S HOUSK. 
 
 3, CHATHAM PLACE, BLACKFRI ARS. 
 
 1851. 
 Price Thri' :
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PASSAGES IN THE LIVES OF 
 
 Bishop Alexander 
 Mrs. Lauria 
 
 Peter Meir 
 
 4 
 17 
 24 
 27 
 
 Heinrich Graf . 
 
 Maria 
 
 Z>r. Frank 
 
 Dr. Capadose .... 51 
 
 , 
 .01 
 
 Z>r. Frankel
 
 FAITH IN ISRAEL. 
 
 " ABRAHAM believed in God, and he counted it to 
 him for righteousness ;" and some have been found in. 
 all ages who have followed his example of faith and 
 patience. Of many of the descendants of Abraham, 
 it must, indeed, be said, that they, being ignorant of 
 God's righteousness, and going about to establish their 
 own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto 
 the righteousness of God. They receive not the pro- 
 mises of God, and believe not in the Saviour of the 
 world, because they trust in themselves that they are 
 righteous. They seek to be justified by the works of 
 the law, and depend on their own good deeds, on the 
 merit of their prayers, fastings, almsgivings, and study 
 of the law, as a ground of hope. But although many 
 are thus ignorant of the great truth, that " the just 
 shall live by his faith," (Hab. ii. 3,) there are many 
 others of the house of Israel who tread in the footsteps 
 of their father Abraham ; and while a great multitude 
 of the Gentiles are obedient to the Gospel, there are 
 not Avanting in Israel those also, of whom it may be 
 said, that they have put on Christ Jesus the Lord, in 
 whom neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor un- 
 circumcision, but a new creature. 
 
 We propose to relate the history of some of these, 
 who, after having been taught in early life to reject the 
 Gospel of Jesus Christ, have been afterwards led to em- 
 brace the truth they once despised, and have sho\vn by a 
 holy life, and a happy death, that the Gospel of Christ 
 is the power of God unto salvation unto every one that 
 believeth, unto the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 
 
 2095998
 
 FAITH IN ISRAEL. 
 
 We refer, in the first instance, to the Rev. M. S. 
 ALEXANDER, who, like so many of his nation, was 
 educated according to the traditions of the ciders, but 
 entirely unacquainted with the doctrines and precepts 
 of Christianity. 
 
 " He was born in the year 1799, in a small town of 
 Prussian Poland, and was brought up from his infancy 
 in the strictest principles of Talmudical Judaism. At 
 the age of sixteen he became a Jewish teacher amongst 
 his brethren in Germany, in which employment he 
 continued until a favourable opening presented itself in 
 England, which he determined to embrace, little know- 
 ing the gracious designs of God respecting him. He 
 arrived in this country at the age of twenty-one, 
 ignorant of our language, our Scriptures, and our 
 religion. Of Christianity he had no other idea than 
 that which he had derived from the slanderous tradi- 
 tions of the Talmud, occasionally illustrated by a 
 passing view of a Romish procession in honour of 
 some saint in his native town ; and he regarded it 
 accordingly as idolatry, to be abhorred by every faithful 
 Israelite. As to the Christian Scriptures of the New 
 Testament, he was not even aware of their existence. 
 
 He was soon settled as private tutor to the children of 
 a respectable Israelite in a country town. It was in 
 this situation that Christianity was first presented to 
 his mind, and that his prejudices were first shaken in a 
 very remarkable manner. Walking with his friend, 
 his attention was attracted by a large handbill notify- 
 ing the Annual Meeting of the local Association in aid 
 of the Society for promoting Christianity amongst the 
 Jews. His curiosity was excited, and, in answer to 
 his eager inquiries, he was informed. that the Society 
 hoped to convert the Jews by means of the New Testa- 
 ment. He had now to learn what the New Testament 
 was, and was told that it was an absurd book, which 
 he would do well to read, and which indeed every Jew 
 ought to read, with a view to the confirmation of his 
 own mind in his own religion and in opposition to 
 Christianity. 
 
 He did read the New Testament, and the very first
 
 BISHOP ALEXANDER. 5 
 
 perusal of its sacred pages awakened an enquiry and 
 an interest which four years of severe mental conflict 
 brought to a happy termination, With a mind dis- 
 satisfied and ill at ease, struggling with convictions on 
 the one hand, and the prospect of worldly disgrace and 
 ruin on the other, after one or two changes he settled 
 at Plymouth as reader in the Jewish synagogue. He 
 subsequently married ; and now, as he thought, stead- 
 fastly resolved to abandon every thought of Christ and 
 his religion. Through God's mercy, he was not long 
 able to persevere in this resolution. There were Chris- 
 tian hearts that yearned over him. Christian love, 
 tempered by Christian forbearance and discretion, t-rtole 
 an unsuspected march upon his honest and earnestly 
 inquiring mind. Yet the struggle within was almost 
 heart-rending. He was afraid, I have heard him say 
 in reference to that period, to come near the church, 
 and yet on Sunday evenings would steal silently under 
 its walls, and, almost rivetted to the spot, listen to the 
 pealing organ as it accompanied the songs of Christian 
 praise. At length, after having for some time commu- 
 nicated his difficulties to a Jewish friend, it became 
 necessary to make a formal announcement of his views 
 to the congregation in which he ministered. 
 
 Still pressed by the entreaties of dearest friends, 
 harassed by temptations, and appalled by the dark 
 prospect apparently before him, he trembled on the 
 verge of the step he was about to take ; and again, for 
 a very short interval, hesitated whether he should 
 proceed. But the Lord had mercy upon him, strength- 
 ened his faith, and enabled him to decide fully and 
 finally for Christ. 
 
 He was received into the Church of Christ by 
 baptism at St. Andrew's, Plymouth, on Wednesday, 
 June 22, 1825. Owing to his known position in a 
 Jewish congregation, and the character which he had 
 previously borne, the circumstance of his baptism 
 excited considerable interest throughout the country : 
 the friends of the Jewish cause were much encouraged, 
 a greater spirit of inquiry was promoted amongst the 
 Jews themselves, and, as was to be expected, the 
 B 2
 
 6 FAITH IN ISRAEL. 
 
 opponents of this blessed work manifested the bitter- 
 ness of their feelings in various ways."* 
 
 The following account of a visit which he paid some 
 years after to Sehonlanke, his native place, will show in 
 some measure what severe trials Mr. Alexander had to 
 encounter in consequence of the misunderstanding that 
 prevailed in the minds of many of his nearest relatives. 
 The statement is given by one who was his companion 
 on the journey, and an eye-witness of that which he 
 relates : 
 
 " It was in the autumn, at the time when the Je\vs 
 celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, that we proceeded 
 on our way, and saw and conversed with many Jews 
 who reside in the different places through which we 
 passed. 
 
 Before we reached S , the time for the cele- 
 bration of the feast had passed, so that we arrived at a 
 season very favourable for the wished-for interview 
 with Mr. A.'s relatives. We had travelled a con- 
 siderable distance on the day we reached S , and 
 
 moved on but slowly in the company of two ex- 
 cellent Christian friends, who, having occasion to visit 
 a place in that neighbourhood, had kindly offered to 
 take us with them. As they travelled in their own 
 conveyance, and with the same horses, and the jour- 
 ney extended to a distance of several hundred miles, in 
 going and returning, we had often had occasion to stop 
 for rest, and had thus also enjoyed favourable oppor- 
 tunities for seeing the Jews. 
 
 The shades of a beautiful autumnal evening began 
 to cast a gloom on everything around, which harmo- 
 nized well with the solemn feelings that filled our 
 
 minds as we approached the quiet town of S . "We 
 
 were earnest in prayer for a blessing on the occasion. 
 
 When I thought how long a time had elapsed 
 since Mr. A. left the place to go to a strange and dis- 
 tant country, and the important change which had 
 taken place in his religious views, and our great un- 
 certainty as to the reception he was about to meet 
 with, I could not but feel the strongest emotions. I 
 
 * Two Sermons by the Rev. J. B. Cartwright, on occasion 
 of the Death of Bishop Alexander.
 
 BISHOP ALEXAXDEK. / 
 
 had already seen Mr. A. under circumstances of painful 
 trial in confessing his Master, and I could not doubt 
 but that God would be with him ; but still it was no 
 common occasion that was before xis, and I felt deeply 
 thankful in knowing, that whatever the result might 
 be, he was preparing for the event in the right spirit, 
 he was casting his care upon God, and he knew that 
 God cared for him. 
 
 As we wished not to excite notice under such pe- 
 culiar and painful circumstances, we did not go to the 
 inn where our friends remained with the conveyance 
 in which we had travelled, but alighted at the entrance 
 of the town, and proceeded unnoticed through the 
 streets. 
 
 We passed the house in which Mr. A. was born, 
 and where his sister and some of his relatives still 
 resided. As it was by that time nearly dark, no one 
 noticed him, although there was light enough for him 
 to recognize distinctly every spot. We paused for a 
 moment near the house occupied bv the family. What 
 a change since he had left the home of his infancy ! 
 What feelings crowded into his mind on thinking of 
 the scenes he had passed through ! The Jewish 
 schoolmaster, a man still in the prime of life, passed 
 us : he had taught Mr. A. the first rudiments of He- 
 brew, but the gloom of evening prevented his recog- 
 nizing his former pupil. It Avas, however, necessary 
 to make some arrangement for a lodging, and we 
 needed some refreshment. Most of the inns in the 
 place, like that at which we had left our friends, were 
 kept by Jews. This is often the case in Poland and 
 West Prussia, and is an advantage for the Christian 
 missionary who visits a town, as the Jewish inn being 
 frequently visited by those to whom he has a message, 
 he is at once introduced to many with whom he wishes 
 to converse, Avho are to be met with in the travellers" 
 room, and of their own accord often enquire con- 
 cerning the stranger who has visited their town. This 
 harmless curiosity often leads to conversation, and 
 with a frank, sociable, intelligent people, like the Jews. 
 presents a favourable opening for cultivating inter-
 
 8 FAITH IN ISRAEL. 
 
 course. In this particular instance, however, that 
 which, under ordinary circumstances, would have been 
 an advantage, was obviously rather the contrary, and 
 accordingly we proceeded to the only Christian inn in 
 the place. 
 
 But now, said Mr. A., what is to be done next? 
 The time is precious ; what step shall I take for se- 
 curing an interview with my sisters ? As it was most 
 important to avoid excitement as much as possible, 
 lest the door should be shut against all intercourse, 
 through the bigotry of some one among his relatives 
 who might stand in the way of the others, w r e delibe- 
 rated very seriously on the matter. He had never 
 seen or heard from his sisters and brother-in-law who 
 
 reside at S , since he embraced Christianity, except 
 
 once, when his name was mentioned by them with an 
 expression of hatred, showing how greatly they were 
 exasperated at the change. 
 
 The plan which Mr. A. resolved on was this. He 
 had three sisters residing in the place, one of whom 
 was a widow, and had always been most tenderly at- 
 tached to him in childhood and youth. It was na- 
 turally to be expected that she would be able to 
 converse with him more freely, at least at first, than 
 the other two, who might find a difficulty from the 
 feelings of their husbands. 
 
 A message was sent to the widowed sister, that a 
 gentleman had arrived from England, who wished to 
 see her. She very soon came to the inn on the receipt 
 of our message. Mr. A. had left the room in which 
 we had been sitting before she came, and left me to 
 open the conversation with her. I began by telling 
 her, that I had lately come from England, and that as 
 I knew her brother, I wished to see her. As soon as 
 I mentioned the name of her brother, it was evident 
 that she had not lost her affection for him. I asked, 
 ' Do you wish to hear from him ? Do you wish to see 
 him?' ' If possible,' she said, with an emotion which 
 
 showed that a blessing attended the visit to S . 
 
 In a moment Mr. A. was in the room, and brother and 
 sister met with the utmost cordiality and affection.
 
 / 
 
 BISHOP ALEXANDER. 
 
 After some time had passed in a conversation which 
 both were most desirous to prolong, the question na- 
 turally arose, what is to be done as to seeing the others, 
 and it was agreed, as a farther preliminary, to send for 
 the husband of the younger sister, who was known to 
 be less bigoted than the elder brother-in-law. He 
 came, and behaved very kindly, but said, ' Now, 
 Alexander, your sisters and we all shall rejoice to see 
 you ; come to my house, we will all meet together, and 
 shall welcome you among us ; but remember, you must 
 not stay here. The excitement will be too great, the 
 rage of party feeling is too violent, do not expose us to 
 it. We can all meet now quietly ; itjis night ; no one 
 will know that you have been here ; leave to-morrow 
 morning by five o'clock, before any one is stirring, and 
 all will be well. I say again, we shall all be heartily 
 glad to see you, but you must not stay here.' 
 
 This was painful, but the real kindness of heart 
 with which it was spoken was not to be overlooked. 
 
 Accordingly, the three sisters, the two husbands 
 above mentioned, and one or two of the junior relatives, 
 met their Christian brother. I had the privilege of 
 being present, and shall never forget the simplicity 
 and godly sincerity with which our departed friend 
 spoke of his Christian principles. Much was said about 
 family history, but much was also said about Mr. A.'s 
 having embraced Christianity. The younger brother- 
 in-law had seen a Christian missionary, and had some 
 indistinct idea of the New Testament, but for the most 
 part its contents were altogether strange to them, as 
 they still are to so many of their nation. The elder 
 brother-in-law was almost the only one to object, and 
 his argument was contained in a few questions which 
 he several times proposed very earnestly to Mr. A. 
 ' Was not your father a man of sense and piety r Was 
 he not a competent judge in matters of religion ? Is it 
 right in you, then, to pretend to be wiser than he was: 
 I do not like,' he said, 'that young people should think 
 that they know better than their parents.' Some of 
 the others occasionally sighed, as Mr. A. related 
 various circumstances connected with his past life, and
 
 10 FAITH IN ISRAEL. 
 
 said, ' Ah, it cannot be helped now.' But on the 
 whole it must be said that while they showed the most 
 tender affection, they listened with candour to what 
 they could not fully comprehend. The reasonableness 
 and necessity of Christianity was a subject on which 
 they had thought but little, and it required far more 
 time than that painfully interesting interview afforded, 
 duly to discuss the subject. 
 
 A considerable part of the night having been spent 
 in the way just described, we at length parted and 
 retired to rest, the younger brother-in-law having, at 
 our leaving his house, emphatically repeated his advice 
 respecting the necessity that Mr. A. should leave the 
 place before daybreak, in order to avoid excitement. 
 
 Mr. A. made no promise to that effect, but we 
 returned to the inn with thankful hearts for the op- 
 portunity afforded. 
 
 After fully considering the matter, Mr. A. said : ' I 
 think I should not do right to leave this place as sug- 
 gested, before daylight. It might even make an im- 
 pression I should be most sorry to convey, as if I 
 wished to avoid the cross, which I may have to take 
 up, if I meet with many of my old neighbours. I will 
 not go away, as if ashamed of what I have done, as if 
 I wished to avoid being seen. I feel it a duty to stay 
 a little longer, and leave the result to God.' We did 
 not rise in the morning until some of the servants in 
 the house had commenced the labours of the day ; and 
 one of the first sounds which greeted our ears, was 
 that of the accustomed notice for prayer at the syna- 
 gogue. It is the practice in S , as in many other 
 
 places, for the servant of the synagogue to go round to 
 the different Jewish houses, and rap at their doors and 
 windows, which summons can of course be heard very 
 extensively, as the proportion of Jewish inhabitants is 
 very great. 
 
 Shortly after, we overheard a loud and earnest con- 
 versation carried on immediately under the window of 
 the room where we lodged, between the ostler and a 
 neighbour, whose attention had evidently been arrested 
 by something connected with our visit, ' I am sure it
 
 BISHOP ALEXANDEB. 11 
 
 is he,' said one to the other, with an eagerness which 
 shewed that the expectation of the younger brother- 
 in-law was likely to be realized. 
 
 At length, having breakfasted, it became necessary 
 to determine what should next be done. It was a 
 singular, a painful position for Mr. A. to be in. He 
 was isolated ; cut off in his native place from inter- 
 course with his family ; surrounded with near and dear 
 relatives, but still a stranger. To whom should he go ? 
 "What could farther be done ? To a considerable ex- 
 tent, he might be said to have already attained his 
 
 object in visiting S , but still he felt unwilling to 
 
 depart. After some further consideration, Mr. A. 
 decided on visiting the Protestant clergyman. ' I 
 seem to wish,' he said, ' to have some intercourse with 
 Christians, in this my native place.' We passed the 
 church on our way to the vicarage. ' How often,' he 
 observed, ' have I stopped my ears, when passing this 
 building, in order to prevent everything like con- 
 tamination, from listening to the sound of the organ, 
 as it accompanied the congregation in their hymns 
 of praise to Him whom I ignorantly despised.' 
 
 The clergyman was entirely unknown to Mr. A. 
 
 Many years had elapsed since he left S in order to 
 
 finish his education in Jewish learning, and subse- 
 quently to enter into an engagement as private tutor 
 in those Jewish families with whom he resided, before 
 he came to England. 
 
 The clergyman received us very kindly, and said, 'Per- 
 haps you would feel an interest in seeing the Christian 
 Church of your native place.' He called for the large 
 church key, and kindly accompanied us to the sacred 
 building. On our way thither, we found that the town 
 was literally in an uproar. Crowds of children, and 
 some adults, had collected to watch our movements. 
 As we were accompanied by the clergyman, they did 
 not then press on us with rudeness, but their demeanour 
 was anything but courteous and peaceable, and we 
 observed that the number was continually increasing. 
 Near the church we again met with Mr. A.'s first
 
 12 FAITH IN ISRAEL. 
 
 teacher, who had passed us the evening before, with- 
 out recognising his pupil in the twilight. Now, how- 
 ever, on seeing him, he at once knew him, and en- 
 tered into friendly conversation. We were also joined 
 by an old and intimate friend of Mr. A.'s deceased 
 father, and both accompanied us and the clergyman 
 into the church. Here we had some very serious 
 conversation on the most important subjects. Mr. A. 
 reminded his former teacher, in the most affectionate 
 and earnest manner, that he had not taught him the 
 simple truth, as contained in the Word of God, but 
 led him astray by teaching for commandments the 
 doctrines of men. He seemed to feel the force of 
 the remarks made, and had evidently been led to con- 
 sider the importance of farther inquiry concerning re- 
 ligion. We had been informed, indeed, by some 
 missionary brethren, that they had met with a kind 
 
 reception from many of the Jews in S . Although 
 
 there were many who were bigoted and violent, there 
 were also many of a better mind. 
 
 On leaving the church we found that the mob, who 
 remained outside, had again increased very consider- 
 ably : and when they saw that we were no longer 
 accompanied by the clergyman, who returned to the 
 vicarage, they began to behave most improperly, 
 calling names, and sTiouting and pressing on us in a 
 rude way. As it was impossible under these peculiar 
 circumstances to do any good by attempting to say any- 
 thing about religion, we at length decided on leaving 
 the town. 
 
 Mr. A. went to take leave of his youngest sister. A 
 few of his relatives were there ; they were alarmed at 
 the noise and ill-behaviour of the mob. One wept, 
 and said, ' See Avhat persecution you have exposed us 
 to. We shall never hear the last of this day. See 
 what a disturbance they are making before the house.' 
 
 The youngest brother-in-law said, but in a mild 
 subdued tone of voice, ' You would have done better 
 had you left early in the morning as I advised ; but as 
 you have stayed, I will not take leave of you in this 
 hurry and tumult. I will meet you outside the town.
 
 BISHOP ALEXANDER. 
 
 xrhen we can speak together quietly before you finally 
 depart.' 
 
 We went to look for our friends who had remained 
 at the Jewish inn, and to prepare for leaving. The 
 mob followed us, and began to demand Tracts, Bibles, 
 &c., in ridicule of our distributing books. It was with 
 considerable difficulty that we reached our conveyance, 
 and made the few arrangements necessary for starting. 
 
 Just before we left, a young man came to see Mr. A., 
 having heard of his being in the place, who had for- 
 merly been a fellow-student. This was an agreeable 
 contrast to the unpleasant rudeness manifested by the 
 rest, as he was influenced by a serious desire to become 
 acquainted with the motives, which had led to so great 
 a change in the religious views of his friend. 
 
 On passing through the market-place, the mob re- 
 peated the words HIEE b^H npt^ (' Righteousness 
 delivereth from death ,') which are commonly used in 
 accompanying a dead body as it is carried to its last 
 home ; thus giving the most unequivocal proof, of the 
 intensity of their hatred and bigoted wrath against 
 Christianity. 
 
 It must never, however, be forgotten that up to that 
 time they had seen but very little and heard but very 
 little of anything like genuine Christianity. A large 
 proportion of the inhabitants of that neighbourhood 
 are Roman Catholics, and many of the nominal Pro- 
 testants have been most awfully led astray by the 
 ministers of their churches, who received their educa- 
 tion at the German Universities, about the close of the 
 last and the commencement of the present centuries. 
 At that period very few of the professors of theology had 
 anything like sound views of any of the great doctrines 
 of Christianity ; and although the state of things has 
 greatly improved of late, especially at Berlin, still 
 there is much to deplore in much that is taught 
 under the name of divinity. The disgusting corrup- 
 tions of Popery, and the soul-destroying speculations 
 of so many of those who are unworthy the name 
 they love to bear, as Lutherans, have prevailed so 
 far, that, joined to the prevailing hatred for the poor 
 c
 
 14 FAITH IN ISRAEL. 
 
 J?ws, but very little had been done to heal the 
 breach of the ancient people of God. Since that time 
 many copies of the word of God have been circulated 
 in that and other districts, and the Jewish community 
 themselves, who were by no means fairly represented 
 by the thoughtless crowd who followed us on that day, 
 have made the most laudable efforts to promote edu- 
 cation and inculcate a spirit of morality, humanity, 
 ;md toleration. 
 
 As matters then stood, our visit to S , was a most 
 painful trial for a feeling mind like that of Mr. A. 
 But in the midst of all he remained calm. He ex- 
 plained to his friends, who accompanied him, with 
 emotion but with calmness, the reason why the crowd 
 quoted Prov. x. 2, and the evident allusion to his 
 l.tiptism, as if that had caused him to be numbered 
 with the dead, by terminating his profession of the doc- 
 trines of Judaism, as held by his relatives and former 
 neighbours. He was deeply touched at seeing the 
 distress of his relatives, and their apprehensions of 
 violence, but he spoke and acted with that spirit of 
 meekness and resignation, which showed that he had 
 tasted the love of the dying Saviour, and was willing 
 to suffer for his sake." 
 
 Such was the faithfulness with which he witnessed 
 for his master in the early part of his missionary la- 
 bours, and he persevered faithful to the end. Whether 
 in Prussia, in England, or in Palestine ; whether as a 
 r .issionary, as a Professor in King's College, or as a 
 Protestant Bishop, he was consistent in his walk and 
 earnest in his endeavours to promulgate the truths he 
 had received. How many heard from his lips the word 
 of life ; how many were encouraged by his example as 
 well as his exhortations to seek salvation through Him 
 whom he loved and served. 
 
 The plan adopted by Bishop A., in delivering his 
 message, was usually this. He endeavoured to impress 
 on those to whom he spoke, the absolute impossibility 
 of understanding divine things, without the special 
 aid of the Holy Spirit. How often did he quote 
 with great solemnity the well-known words of David,
 
 BISHOP ALEXANDER. 15 
 
 Psalm cxix. 18, " Open thou mine eyes, that I may 
 behold wondrous things out of thy law." With earnest 
 affection he asked his brethren, Have you ever thought 
 that there are wondrous things in the law of God ? 
 Have you made it a matter of earnest prayer, that you 
 may be enabled to understand those wonders ? If you 
 think that every thing is plain and easy to your own 
 understanding, you are not in the way to find the 
 truth. He would then often refer to the New Testa- 
 ment, and say, the same truth is inculcated by the 
 Apostles as by the Psalmist. Thus it is expressly 
 said. 1 Cor. xii. 3, " No man can say that Jesus is the 
 Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." Unless, therefore, we 
 pray for assistance from on high, we shall never attain 
 to a right judgment concerning the proofs of Christ's 
 divinity and Messiahship. In this way he used to in- 
 troduce the great questions respecting the birth, life, 
 doctrine, miracles, sufferings, death, and resurrection 
 of Jesus, as foretold by the prophets, and related by 
 the Evangelists. Many, no doubt, still remember the 
 words which he spake with earnestness and unction 
 from on high. 
 
 He was especially distinguished by his love for his 
 nation and his desire to do them good. Whenever and 
 wherever he met with a Jew, it was his desire to say 
 something or do something which might benefit him ; 
 and it was very seldom that a Jew could be in his com- 
 pany without hearing some remark which well deserved 
 his most earnest attention. The unaffected humility 
 and the deep piety which distinguished him made a 
 deep impression on all who listened to the message he 
 was ever anxious to deliver. Thousands of his own 
 nation, as well as an extensive circle of Christian friends, 
 will ever cherish the recollection of one who was so 
 deservedly esteemed. At length the time came for him 
 to proceed to the land of his fathers. Several very re- 
 markable circumstances led to his unexpected advance- 
 ment to the Protestant Bishopric of Jerusalem. He 
 went to the Holy City like one of old " not knowing 
 the things that should befall him there," and entered 
 Jerusalem, January 21, 1842.
 
 16 FAITH IN ISRAEL. 
 
 "The period allotted for these labours was but brief. 
 He was not permitted, in the dispensations of a mysterious 
 Providence, to complete the fourth year of his Episcopal 
 residence in Jerusalem ; but, as one of his oldest friends 
 has touchingly observed, he served in the Holy City as 
 long as his great Master himself. He had gathered a 
 little Church of believing Jews and Gentiles around 
 him on Mount Zion. After much trouble and anxiety, 
 the permission to proceed with the building of the 
 Protestant church had been granted, and the Bishop's 
 last correspondence announced it. He had previously 
 visited Damascus and other parts of his diocese in 
 Syria, holding friendly communication with his brethren 
 according to the flesh. He was proceeding to vi*it 
 other parts of his interesting diocese, and with that 
 view set out for Egypt, intending afterwards to pay a 
 short visit to this country. It appears that he quitted 
 Jerusalem on the 7th of November, the anniversary of 
 his consecration, travelling to Cairo by Gaza and the 
 Desert, a way the mention of which at once recalls to 
 our astonished minds yaried recollections of the Divine 
 power and grace. It was not until the morning of 
 Saturday, the 22nd of November, that he complained 
 of indisposition, but he was able to pursue his journey, 
 though not with his accustomed vigour. In the 
 evening, the little Episcopal party, consisting of the 
 Bishop, his wife and daughter, and his chaplain, accom- 
 panied by the usual Arab attendants, pitched their 
 tents near the eastern branch of the Nile, hoping to 
 spend the Lord's-day in peace in that desert retirement, 
 and then to proceed on their journey refreshed both in 
 body and in spirit. The Bishop seemed much refreshed 
 on Saturday evening, and conversed very cheerfully 
 until he retired early to rest, to him, indeed, it proved 
 the beginning of that eternal rest that remains for the 
 people of God. His last act was prayer, prayer with 
 his wife and daughter. His simple couch was prepared 
 upon the sand of the desert, and he lay down to sleep. 
 Before the dawn of another day, he slept in Jesus ; 
 he awoke to an eternal Sabbath. One single groan 
 announced the sudden summons. There was no further
 
 MRS. LATJRIA. 17 
 
 intercourse with this world, no protracted struggle, no 
 word of warning to beloved survivors of the coming 
 trial. He was with Christ, which for himself was far 
 better; and for all besides, for his family, for his 
 diocese, for the Church, it was well, it was best ; for 
 his labours were brought to their sudden termination 
 by that gracious Master who never sends the summons 
 until the servant's work is done."* 
 
 We now proceed to notice another instance in which 
 the power of divine truth was manifested in a remark- 
 able manner. 
 
 Mrs. LAURIA was educated in all the prejudices 
 which prevail among the strict rabbinical Jews. Her 
 husband gives the following account of the manner in 
 which she was led to become a devout believer in the 
 Lord Jesus Christ, after having long lived in rebellion 
 against him. He had to endure the most severe suf- 
 fering through her opposition to the Gospel, but she 
 was afterwards brought in a most unexpected manner 
 to know and love the Saviour whom she had long 
 despised. 
 
 Mr. L. says, in a letter dated Jerusalem, December 
 5, 1846:' 
 
 " It was about six years ago, that I had determined 
 to confess openly my conviction of the truth as it is in 
 Jesus, but I had not yet strength or courage enough to 
 leave, for His sake, all that was near and dear to me. 
 I therefore spent another year in endeavouring to con- 
 vince my wife of the truth ; but I found all my efforts 
 were in vain ; she would not even hear the name of 
 Christ ; and dreading she would betray me to the Jews, 
 I desisted from that dilatory course, and began humbly 
 to pray for heavenly assistance and encouragement to 
 accomplish the good work He had graciously began in 
 me ; and I hoped yet to be able freely to speak to her, 
 after I renounced Judaism. Accordingly, I was enabled 
 
 * Two Sermons by the Rev. J. B. Cartwright, on occasion 
 of the Death of Bishop Alexander. 
 c 2
 
 18 FAITH IN ISRAEL. 
 
 openly to declare my belief in Christ. But to my great 
 disappointment, I was obliged to leave my house in the 
 Jewish quarter, and was suffered no more to see my 
 wife and child. 
 
 About three months after, the Russian Consul-Ge- 
 neral of B. came hither on a pilgrimage, being before 
 Easter ; and the Jews petitioned him to force me to 
 divorce my wife. He sent for me. I begged permis- 
 sion to have first some interviews with her, that I 
 might state to her my reasons for embracing Chris- 
 tianity, in the hope that she would consent to remain 
 with me. He promised to order my wife to have a 
 conference with me for fifteen days, an hour each day. 
 She accordingly came once to me, surrounded by many 
 Jews, who had previously filled her mind with the 
 most malignant prejudices against Christianity. No 
 sooner did I begin to make her understand what true 
 Christianity is, than her guards began to cry out, ' You 
 are a liar, you are an apostate away with your Thului' 
 (crucified one). She repeatedly begged me to return 
 and remain a Jew, but would not listen to a word about 
 Christianity. This was the first and last time she came 
 to me. 
 
 When the fifteen days were at an end, new troubles 
 fame. Early the next day, the Consul sent for me, 
 and said, ' Now the time I have given you has passed, 
 and your wife is unwilling to follow you ; you must, 
 therefore, divorce her.' She and the rabbies and 
 scribes were immediately called ; and they began to 
 write the bill of divorce. I tried once more to speak 
 to her in his presence, and assured her, if she would 
 remain with me, I would permit her to be a Jewess. 
 She was very much distressed, and did not know what 
 to answer. She called to mind the happy years she 
 had spent with me, and felt it very trying now to con- 
 sent to separate from me ; yet she Avould not make up 
 her mind to live with a Christian, which name she 
 bitterly hated. The Consul put an end to her wavering 
 by saying to me, ' No ; you are a Christian, and cannot 
 have a wife a Jewess. I cannot permit that ; she must 
 either be baptized with you, or else be separated.' It
 
 MRS. LAUKIA. 19 
 
 was in vain that I appealed to the New Testament, to 
 prove that she might remain my wife, although a 
 Jewess. He, in great anger, asked, ' Where is it 
 written:' I pointed out to him 1 Cor. vii. He. 
 ' That is Mr. Nicolayson's New Testament. Do not 
 speak any more ; no such thing is to be found in 
 the New Testament. Divorce your wife immediately ; 
 else you must go to prison, and will, in a few days, be 
 sent to Russia.' He then ordered her not to answer 
 me a single word, and commanded the scribes to finish 
 the form of divorce. 
 
 The Rabbi then began to question me according to 
 their law, ' Dost thou give the divorce with thy free 
 will, and without compulsion ?' /. ' I shall give it 
 because it is the Consul's pleasure, but you know that 
 it is not my choice.' The Jews then petitioned the 
 Consul to compel me to say, that I gave it without 
 compulsion. He ordered me to make no more diffi- 
 culty, but to answer the Jews as required. ' I shall 
 divorce her,' I said, ' because it is your order, but 
 cannot say I do it with my good will ; I am a Chris- 
 tian, and cannot lie.' No sooner had I spoken these 
 words, than I was taken to prison. I found myself 
 confined in a dirty dark ruined stable. I was groping 
 to find a place where to sit down, but was disappointed. 
 Several friends broiight me some refreshments, but 
 they were not allowed to approach the stable. The 
 Consul's janizary came once to see if I had not 
 made my escape, for the stable had a door which I 
 could have burst open with one push. I offered five 
 piastres for a little water, but was not suffered to have 
 eilher food or water. In such a miserable condition I 
 remained nearly the whole day. A little before sunset, 
 Mr. Nicolayson, and Dr. Macgowan went to the 
 Consul, to use their influence on my behalf. He called 
 me out of the stable, and told me in their presence, 
 that he docs nothing else than what the law compels him 
 to do ; that it was only for their sake that he brought 
 me into his presence, to ask whether I had repented of 
 my obstinacy ; but that if I persisted in my disregard 
 of the laws, though he would be exceedingly sorry to
 
 20 FAITH IN ISRAEL. 
 
 cause any unpleasantness to his friends (Mr. N. and 
 Dr. M.), yet he must perform his duty, and send me 
 back to prison. Seeing my helplessness, I thoxight it 
 advisable to comply, on condition that before the 
 divorce, the question respecting my child and property 
 should be settled. He promised to take the matter 
 into consideration. The next day my property was 
 adjudged to belong to my wife, and I was ordered 
 besides, to pay her 2,000 piastres in ready money. 
 The Consul then held out to her 500 piastres, and said, 
 ' I exceedingly commiserate you ; what you took will 
 not suffice to defray the expenses of half a-year. Take 
 this as a present from me.' Neither the 2,000 piastres, 
 however, nor the 500, ever reached her pocket. The 
 Jews, in acknowledgment of his generosity, purchased 
 for him, with the 2,000 piastres, some silver vessels, in 
 one of which he found a treasure (as one of Joseph's 
 brethren found in their sacks) which amounted to 500 
 piastres, the very sum which out of charity he had just 
 given to a poor stranger ! 
 
 Nor did my trials cease here. I claimed my child ; 
 but unfortunately the Russian Consul had now forgot- 
 ten to whom, according to the laws -of his country, the 
 child belonged ; he therefore informed me, he would 
 consult the code of civil laws at home, and answer me 
 when he next visited Jerusalem. He remembered, 
 however, that I must pay my wife for nursing the child 
 then at her breast, otherwise I should have no claim 
 on it. 
 
 I had, accordingly, paid her for fourteen months suc- 
 cessively, when the Consul again made his appearance 
 at Jerusalem. I visited him, but was told he was much 
 occupied, and would be glad to see me the next day. 
 That day, however, at sunrise, he left Jerusalem. A 
 few days after, I found my wife and child had been sent 
 secretly away to Russia. My wife arrived safely there, 
 and went directly to my grandfather, with whom she 
 left my child, and then proceeded to her native place, 
 to visit her relations. 
 
 But in vain did the Jews fight against God ; all their 
 schemes proved abortive, and all their stratagems were
 
 MRS. LA.URIA. 21 
 
 entirely frustrated. They prevailed thus far in plun- 
 dering and harassing me, but failed completely in their 
 endeavours to prevent her conversion. They thought 
 her quite safe, when sent off beyond the seas, and it 
 seemed they had quite forgotten the history of Jonah, 
 from which they might have learned that there is no 
 place to flee to from the presence of the Lord. He is 
 omnipresent, and has various ways for working his 
 will. In Russia, my wife met with several of her rela- 
 tives, merchants who traded to Konigsberg, where they 
 have opportunities of hearing the pure Gospel preached 
 to them by the Society's missionary. She found that 
 they had a very different opinion respecting Chris- 
 tianity. They censured her ill demeanour towards me, 
 on account of my embracing Christianity, and admitted 
 their own favourable disposition towards the Christian 
 religion. They shewed her the Hebrew New Testa- 
 ments, which they had brought with them from 
 Germany, notwithstanding the difficulties connected 
 with the importation of books into Russia ; and con- 
 tinued to urge her to return to me, and embrace Chris- 
 tianity, Two years, however, elapsed, before she was 
 induced to act accordingly. About three months ago, 
 she arrived here, and at first took her abode with her 
 sister. After a few days' rest, she found out where I 
 lived, and came and confessed to me the state of her 
 mind, and her final determination to return to me. 
 
 She had not yet had full experience of the atrocious 
 system that passes by the name of Rabbinism ; and 
 that Christ has no concord with Belial. When she 
 was about openly to acknowledge Christ as her Saviour, 
 I anticipated the consequences, and advised her at once 
 to remove from her sister's all she had ; but she could 
 not imagine that the sister whom she much loved would 
 do her any harm, and therefore left everything in her 
 hands. She had entirely forgotten what an enmity the 
 offence of the cross had once caused between ourselves, 
 after we had spent together so many years of the 
 greatest harmony ! She was now to be compensated 
 with the same measure she had measured to me. Her 
 brother-in-law, under the advice of the rabbies, drew
 
 22 FAITH IN ISRAEL. 
 
 up a bill against her, amounting to 4,000 piastres. 
 signed by two witnesses, each of whom received 200 
 piastres. In consequence, all her goods were seized, 
 until the pretended debt should have been paid. The 
 matter was brought before the Russian Consul of J., 
 then there. I undertook to prove that the witnesses 
 were false ; I could have done so, for the witnesses 
 themselves had admitted as much to some Christians. 
 The business was, however, postponed from clay to day, 
 till the Consul left, and everything therefore fell into the 
 hands of the Jews. I was obliged to be contented with 
 what they chose to give me. All I got was a few 
 silver vessels, and my wife's bedding. Her clothes, 
 furniture, kitchen utensils, &c., were detained. 
 
 Having, by God's help, got over these troubles, she 
 began to receive from me daily instruction in ' the 
 truth as it is in Jesus.' Mr. Ewald examined her 
 several times, as to her knowledge of Christianity, and 
 explained to her its eternal truths. I went also with 
 her to Mr. Nicolayson, who had a long conversation 
 with her on the important step she proposed to take, 
 and on the religion she desired to embrace ; and ended 
 with a most solemn and affecting prayer. 
 
 Her admission into the Church of Christ by baptism, 
 took place the twenty -first of last month, at the daily 
 Hebrew service. The same person, who, in opposition 
 to Christianity, had separated from her husband, and 
 suffered him to be most cruelly treated ; who had 
 exposed herself to dangers by sea and land, in order to 
 secure her child against being trained up a Christian ; 
 has thus been led by the grace of God ultimately led 
 to forsake house, brethren, sisters, child, yea, all she 
 had, for Christ's sake." 
 
 But the time in which she was permitted to confess 
 Christ, and to glorify Him by a consistent walk 
 and conversation was but short. In less than two 
 years after the date of the letter to which we have 
 referred, her husband, in writing from Cairo in Egypt. 
 relates the circumstances attending her death. Writ- 
 ing to a friend he says : 
 
 " It is my painful duty to inform you that it has
 
 MRS. LAUEIA. 23 
 
 pleased the Lord to call away my dear wife from this 
 world to himself. A few days after I wrote my last 
 letter to you, she was attacked with a bilious malady; 
 but as the Cholera was fiercely raging in the city, the 
 doctor feared to give her strong medicine, and conse- 
 quently she was lingering under the same complaint 
 till the 21st August, when she was attacked by the 
 Cholera. I immediately called in medical assistance, 
 and the doctor exerted himself to the utmost. He re- 
 mained in my house the whole night, and about mid- 
 night he called in another doctor to consult with ; he 
 did the same at day-break ; but it was of no avail. 
 She was already exhausted of her strength by the 
 former illness, and therefore could not resist thig 
 second severe attack. The next day about noon she 
 departed this world. 
 
 It is indeed a severe loss not only to me personally, 
 but also to the Mission here, as she always assisted me 
 in Missionary labours, and solaced and encouraged me 
 whenever I met with any disappointment. 
 
 You will recollect how much she suffered for the 
 sake of Judaism, before she was convinced of the 
 truth ; and how patiently she passed through all trials, 
 and endured many hardships for the sake of our holy 
 religion, after she had been converted. 
 
 Now I have only to say, that all who knew her will 
 testify that she showed by her life and conversation, 
 until she breathed her last, that she was a true disciple 
 of Christ. 
 
 She confessed her belief in her Saviour a few hours 
 before her soul took flight to Him ! The night before 
 she died, there was watching at her, besides an In- 
 quirer and myself, a Polish Jewess. She heard her 
 every now and then praying in English, which lan- 
 guage she had acquired very quickly, ' Lord have 
 mercy upon me ! Christ have mercy upon me !' 
 And as she sometimes simply called on the name of 
 Christ, the Jewess asked me what she wanted ; and 
 she herself answered her in German, k I want nothing 
 that man can give me ; I invoke Christ the Re-
 
 24 FAITH IN ISRAEL. 
 
 deemcr of my soul, for his mercy ; though I know I 
 do not merit it.' 
 
 You will easily imagine in what a dire state I re- 
 mained, thus suddenly bereft of my dear partner in 
 this world. The Cholera was fiercely raging in the 
 city. My own health was in a very precarious state, 
 and if anything should befall me, I had none with 
 me to give me even only a cup of cold water ; and 
 humanly speaking, had not my dear friends, Mr. 
 and Mrs. Lieder, kindly invited me to stay with them, 
 I should long since have been buried by the side of 
 my dear wife. These good people took great care 
 of my health, and I remained with them till the middle 
 of last month (September), when that awful visitation 
 was entirely removed from the land of Egypt. 
 
 I must not forget to mention the kindness and re- 
 spect shown to me by several European Jews. As 
 soon as they heard of my bereavement, many of them 
 came to comfort me. and to offer their assistance. 
 Seven of them came, dressed in black, to attend the 
 funeral. They allowed no Arab to touch the coffin, 
 but carried it themselves, with the greatest respect 
 and solemnity, out of the narrow street where I lived, 
 to the main thoroughfare where the carriage stood. 
 They then accompanied us to the Cemetery, which is 
 near Old Cairo."' 
 
 PETER MEIR was but young in life when he was- 
 first brought to enquire after the truth, but he mani- 
 fested great constancy and fortitude under very trying. 
 circumstances. 
 
 The Rev. F. C. Ewald, speaking of the persecution 
 which he was called to endure, says, in a communica- 
 tion dated Jerusalem, November 2, 1846 : 
 
 " On the 19th of last month, a Jewish youth came to 
 me, stating that, by reading various of our ti acts, and the 
 New Testament, which he had compared with the Old, he 
 w r at> convinced of the truth of Christianity : he b(''_ r ' i 
 me, therefore, to give him further instructions, so that
 
 PETER MEIR. 2o 
 
 ].< might be baptized and become a Christian. The 
 apostles of our Lord would have asked such an one, 
 ' If thou believest with all thy heart in the Lord Jesus, 
 thou ma vest be baptized ;' but in our present circum- 
 stances 1 was obliged to ask him, first, ' Whose subject 
 are you ?' upon which he replied, ' An Austrian ;' then, 
 *. How old are you ?' ' Next spring I shall be seven- 
 teen years,' he replied. I told him I would ask the 
 Prussian Consul, Dr. Schultz (who acts as the Austrian 
 agent'), whether he was old enough, according to the 
 Austrian law. to take such a step, and then I would tell 
 him again. Dr. Schultz replied to my question, that if 
 he was fourteen years old, he might become a Christian : 
 which I told him. Consequently, on the 21st, Mcna- 
 khem Mayer (this is the name of the boy) entered our 
 School of Industry, to learn the trade, and to be further 
 instructed. The same day I went to his mother, his 
 father not being in Jerusalem, to speak to her about 
 her son. But the Jews were not willing to give him 
 up so soon. Two charges were brought against him ; 
 first, that he had stolen 1,500 piastres, and, secondly, 
 that he was not an Austrian, but a Turkish subject. 
 M. M. was taken before the Pasha, where three Jews 
 of the Chasidiin, to whose congregation he belonged, 
 had gone to accuse him. Mr. and Mrs. Rosenthal, 
 several others of our community, and myself, went also 
 to the Pasha. M. M. was examined by his Excellency 
 regarding the charge of his having stolen 1,500 piastres, 
 but the Pasha soon found out that the accusation was 
 false : and therefore said that the Jew should take his 
 oath in the synagogue, that M. M. had stolen the money 
 from him : to which the Jew consented. I asked and 
 obtained permission from the Pasha to be present when 
 the oath was to be administered. The boy, and many 
 of the Pasha's officers, Mr. and Mrs. Rosenthal, and my- 
 self, went then into the Jewish quarter. When we 
 appeared before the rabbies, they said, ' To-day is 
 Friday, on which we do not permit any one to take 
 an oath : we must wait till Monday ; in the mean 
 time, we shall send a messenger to the Chief Rabbi 
 Mrrrato, at Hebron, to have his opinion ; and, as 
 D
 
 26 FA.ITH IN ISRAEL. 
 
 M. M. is a Turkish subject, he is xinder our jurisdic- 
 tion. We will pay the 1,500 piastres, and keep him 
 here.' To the first I consented, viz., to wait till 
 Monday ; but not to the last. One of the rabbies 
 said, ' He is a Jew ; what have you to do with him?' 
 But he replied, ' I am a Christian ; I believe in Jesus 
 Christ.' We returned then to the Pasha, who, how- 
 ever, had gone out. We waited till evening, when, on his 
 return, Mr. and Mrs. Rosenthal and myself offered to 
 be sureties for M. M.'s appearing again the following 
 Monday. This, however, he refused, stating that M. M. 
 must remain in the Seraglio till Monday ; that he 
 should be kept well, be placed in a good room, and 
 that any one of us might see him whenever we liked ; 
 which was also done, and he was visited by the stu- 
 dents of the College, and the inmates of the School 
 of Industry, who brought him his meals. On Monday 
 T called again on the Pasha, and inquired whether 
 the case of M. M. would be heard to-day? Upon 
 which he replied, that he had sent for the interpreter 
 of the Chief Rabbi Mercato, who would be there 
 that day, and then he would further inquire into the 
 c:use. He was sure that the accusation was false, and 
 that the Jews only preferred it in order to get him 
 away from us. In tact, they no longer urged this 
 matter, but now said, M. M. was only ten years old, 
 and if this was the case, he could not become a 
 ( 'hristian : for. according to the Turkish law, he must 
 be fourteen years. This the Pasha said in the presence 
 of Mrs. Rosenthal, who exerted herself most energeti- 
 cally, being personally well known to the Pasha, as 
 wen as Mr. Roseuthal. The same evening I had an 
 attack of ague, from which I am not yet free. All 
 turns now upon the question of his age. He has been 
 frequently threatened with the bastinado : but replied, 
 ' You may do with me what you will ; I am a Chris- 
 tian.' The Jews offered him handsome dresses, and a 
 wife, and all he needed, if he would return to them. 
 lie replied. ' I will rather be a poor labourer among 
 the Christians, than remain a rich Jew.' The Jews are 
 astonished at the firmness of the youth, and the more
 
 HEINHICH GRAF. 
 
 superstitions among them believe that we have be- 
 witched him ; they have therefore called a Jewish 
 woman, who is said to understand these things, to takit. 
 off' the charm. M. M. is still in the Seraglio. The 
 Pasha is convinced that he is of age, and would have 
 given him his liberty to go where he pleased, had it 
 not been for the sentence of the Mufti and Kadi, who 
 declared that he was not of age. The Pasha has there- 
 fore submitted the whole case to the Pasha of Beyrout, 
 and we must now wait his decision." And in a letter 
 from the Rev. J. Nicolaysoii, dated Jerusalem, January 
 27, 1847, it is observed: " I have now to report the 
 final liberation of the Jewish lad Mayer Menakhem 
 (whose case has been fully reported before), who is 
 now, by the authority from Constantinople, declared 
 perfectly free to choose for himself in matters of re- 
 ligion, and has accordingly been restored to us by the 
 Pasha ; to whom we are certainly much indebted for 
 the course he has taken in the case. This is the more 
 important, because, as the youth has throughout been 
 treated as a subject of the Porte (although by his own 
 statement an Austrian), it decides the case of any and 
 all other native Jews, who may choose to become 
 Christians. The rabbies here are, therefore, sadly dis- 
 concerted at thus being taken ' in their own craftiness,' 
 by having passed off this lad as a Turkish subject." 
 
 But it pleased God soon to remove him from this world, 
 His conduct after his baptism, which took place on 
 Good- Friday, 1847, was consistent with the principle 
 he had confessed under such painful trials. His career 
 was, however, short; he died on the 12th of the follow- 
 ing October, having suffered from fever and ague. 
 His death took place about a year after his first re- 
 ceiving Christian instruction, but there was much 
 evidence that the Holy Ghost had commenced a good 
 work in time. 
 
 HEINRICH GRAF was far advanced in life before 
 he was brought to a knowledge of that truth, which
 
 28 FAITH IN ISRAEL. 
 
 was a source of so much comfort to him in his last 
 hours. The following is the account given of him by 
 one who was honoured in being the instrument in the 
 hands of God for communicating to him the tidings 
 of salvation. 
 
 " It was last year, (1847,) when this monument 
 of divine grace was supposed to be in a dying .state, 
 and then, according to human appearance, was not 
 expected to live ; however, he not only recovered, 
 but became as strong and healthy again as a young 
 man. He used to say, ' I am not ripe yet,' and added 
 always with a sigh, ' When, O Lord, shall T be ripe r 
 I long to be with Thee.' 
 
 The conversion of this man in his old age, of 85 
 years his coming to Amsterdam at that age his 
 acquaintance with me thirty years ago, mark out the 
 marvellous and leading providence of God so astonish- 
 ingly, that I cannot but sink in the dust, and adore 
 him whose thoughts are past finding out. For the 
 present purpose I will only relate the following ab- 
 stract. 
 
 It was in the year 1818, when, as Jewish preacher 
 
 at H , I preached my first sermon. My text was 
 
 Hosea xiv. 1,2. The subject matter was, repentance 
 towards God. Being then in deep darkness as to 
 faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom I had not 
 the least notion, I made repentance the ground of our 
 acceptance with God. Graf, with several of his 
 brothers, was among my hearers, from all of whom 
 I received then much kindness, and especially from the 
 subject of this short narrative. I remained two days 
 
 in that congregation at H , and when parting I 
 
 said, I hope the time may come to show them that 
 I remain mindful of their kindness. One of Graf's 
 nephews, being a very learned man, taught me to 
 read the book of Sohar, which a few years after- 
 wards became one of the means of my believing in 
 the doctrine of the Holy Trinity ; and again after a 
 short time, in the year 1822, a tract of our Society 
 (No. 8, Hebrew-German) being sent to me by the 
 late Baron von Blomberg, together with a letter writ-
 
 HEINRICH GRAF. 29 
 
 ten by him in a most impressive style, (which I still 
 preserve,) I was stirred up to read the New Testa- 
 ment, and I found Christ, or rather I was found by 
 Him. Years, with a chain of no common events, 
 rolled along, and I did not hear any thing of any 
 
 one of my former Jewish congregation at H . 
 
 In the spring of 1845, Graf took, being then 85 years of 
 age, once more his staff in his hand, being urged upon, 
 as he afterwards related to me, by a power unknown 
 to him to see Amsterdam once more, in which city 
 he had lived a few years, when a young man with 
 his wife, who died here in the flower of her age. 
 He arrived in Amsterdam, where he thought to end 
 his long journey through this miserable and sinful 
 world, and to be buried where the ashes of his partner 
 were resting. He had not been many days in Am- 
 sterdam, among the Jews, when he heard that I had 
 baptized a Jewish family. He was so much struck 
 with this, that he exclaimed : What an awful thing in 
 this so holy a congregation ! Is there no Rabbi who 
 would check this Pauli ? As the Jews used to talk 
 a great deal about me, he said. I will go and see the 
 man who upsets the whole congregation. Old Graf 
 came to me. His countenance, his silver-grey hail, 
 and his whole demeanour, made a deep impression 
 upon me. I thought I had seen this venerable man 
 some time before in my life. He related to me from 
 whence he came. I asked some questions about his 
 family, and from his answers I perceived I was not 
 mistaken. I recognised him. It is only recently that 
 the Jews adopted family names ; by the name of 
 Graf I did not know this old man aforetime. How- 
 ever, I thought it best not to let him know then, who 
 I was ; but enquired after the one and the other of 
 his relations. This struck him ; but I would not 
 suffer him to ask any questions, but preached Christ 
 to him. He repeated his visits, and at last he felt 
 convinced of the truth. I see from my journal that 
 it was June 16, (1845,) when I explained to him the 
 doctrine of justification by faith in the blessed Re- 
 deemer, when he took off his Arba Kanphoth (which 
 -D2
 
 30 FAITH IN ISRAEL. 
 
 I still keep). It is made of thin woollen cloth, and 
 consists of two square pieces fastened together by 
 two straps, that go over each shoulder ; at the cor- 
 ners of the two square pieces are the fringes, ac- 
 cording to Numbers xv. 38, 39. He gave it to me, 
 saying, ' I have found another Arba Kanphoth, the 
 righteousness of Jesus my Saviour,' repeating Isaiah 
 Ixi. 10. I baptized him July 13, (see 'Jewish In- 
 telligence,' September, 1845.) 
 
 A few weeks ago the Lord visited him with a severe 
 illness of a very extraordinary nature ; his whole body, 
 i'rom head to foot, became covered with sores he 
 Buffered very much ; but he was never heard complain- 
 ing, much less murmuring : he suffered with patience 
 and resignation to the will of his Saviour. I visited 
 him often. When he could sit up, he immediately 
 took his Bible, and then his Prayer Book ; the one used 
 to lay at the head and the other at the foot of his bed. 
 When I asked him whether he should like to recover 
 and to live longer, he used to answer, 'The Lord's will 
 be done ; but I should rather prefer going home to 
 my Lord and Saviour.' However, he recovered from 
 this painful illness, but remained very weak ; yet he 
 could walk about in the room. Last week he was 
 again taken ill, and on Friday, October 6, I found him 
 near his end. He expressed great joy when he saw 
 me. I said, ' I see you are now going to your everlast- 
 ing home is it to Jesus ?' ' Yes,' he replied, very 
 distinctly ' to my Jesus I go ; for he has cleansed and 
 pxirified me with his precious blood.' ' You do not de- 
 ceive yourself, I hope.' 'O no,' he replied; 'here on 
 this death-bed, no one would dare to deceive himself, 
 or others ; and what advantage should it be to me a 
 .dying man to say, Jesus is my only hope, if it were 
 not the feeling of my heart ?' ' What is the ground of 
 your hope ; that your departing soul will be in heaven ?' 
 ' Jesus has loved me,' he said. After a pause of a few 
 minutes, for he appeared to be much exhausted, I asked 
 him whether I should pray with him ? 'Do, do pray," 
 he replied. ' What shall I ask the Lord to grant you?' 
 I enquired of him. ' That I may not feel the pain of
 
 ' MARIA. 31 
 
 death, and that Jesus may receive my soul.' I prayed 
 with him and he repeated almost every word, and the 
 Lord's Prayer with such a strong voice, that I was 
 quite astonished. He thanked me and pressed my 
 hand. I left him. A few hours after, a pious pro- 
 selyte visited him ; but he was already so far gone, 
 that he could hardly understand a single word. On 
 the 7th, I went to see him Avith a dear friend, and we 
 found him in a very high fever. The man waiting 
 upon him told us, that after I had left him yesterday, 
 he had become much worse, and had not been heard 
 to utter a single word. About eleven o'clock, P.M., 
 his soul was released he fell asleep and I humbly 
 hope to meet my old friend Graf, at the right hand of 
 Jesus where there are joys for evermore." 
 
 MARIA was educated in entire ignorance of the 
 truths of Christianity, but was led in a season of afflic- 
 tion and suffering to embrace the truth she had long 
 despised. The following is the account given, by a 
 Christian friend who frequently visited her, of her con- 
 version, and subsequent confession of Christ : 
 
 " By a fall down a steep staircase, Maria seriously 
 injured the spine, and, from that period, the slightest 
 movement occasioned acute pain. A case so deplorable 
 excited general commiseration, and a lady who fre- 
 quently called, had just been told that there was no 
 perceptible amendment, when she heard her cry of 
 anguish. Instantly the mercy of God suggested the 
 desire to tell her of her Saviour, of the God of patience 
 and consolation, and though the apparent impractica- 
 bility of gaining admission chilled her hopes, yet the 
 idea was never absent from her mind, and he from 
 whom all holy desires, good counsels, and just works 
 do proceed, blessed her endeavours, and opened the 
 way. With messages expressive of sympathy, she oc- 
 casionally sent fruit and flowers ; the basket was one 
 day br ought back by Maria's sister, with a request that 
 Miss P. would call upon her. The pleasure excited by
 
 32 FAITH IN ISRAEL. 
 
 this invitation, was checked by the consciousness of her 
 incompetency to address a Jewess on religious subjects; 
 but trusting in the Lord to direct her thoughts and 
 words to Maria's benefit, she sought to subdue the tre- 
 pidation with which she first entered the chamber of 
 the poor sufferer. After listening to the detail of pains, 
 which her solicitude and attention were subsequently 
 often permitted to alleviate, Miss P. requested to road 
 to her, and selected those psalms which she deemed 
 most applicable to her situation. Maria assented, 
 adding, she frequently read them, and had learned to 
 repeat several during her sleepless nights, but the Bible 
 on the sofa was so heavy she could not hold it long. 
 Her Christian friend left her pocket Bible, and also 
 some tracts ; these were all returned in a few davs, 
 
 with a message that Miss was too ill to receive 
 
 visitors. Maria afterwards acknowledged that this re- 
 pulse arose from the suspicion that Miss P. was anxious 
 to convert her. Still she was desirous to possess a small 
 Bible, and asked her father to procure one, instead of 
 which he sent her some narratives ; after reading them, 
 she expressed her disappointment in not receiving a 
 Bible, which she could read repeatedly. He had the 
 kindness to send some of the smaller editions ; and one 
 was selected, in which the New Testament was inter - 
 h-aved with prints. Maria often said that her father, in 
 giving her that book, bestowed a treasure greater than 
 all he possessed. She showed it with much delight to 
 Mrs. B., who said, ' Let the first words I read to you 
 from this book be from St. John's Gospel ; ' but per- 
 ceiving a smile, she added, ' Recollect, Maria, you will 
 pain me exceedingly, if you laugh at the name of Jesus.' 
 With her usual amiability, she assured her she would 
 not, if it made her uneasy. In after days, Maria 
 allowed that passages then read from the first three 
 chapters, struck her as agreeing with others in the 
 Psalms. At that time also, she answered Mrs. B.'s 
 remarks, ' Either you or I must be materially wrong,' 
 by saying, that the difference between Jews and ( 
 tians frequently embarrassed her/' 
 
 Maria was thus led to examine into the truth of the
 
 MARIA. oo 
 
 doctrines of Christianity ; to which, at first, she made 
 many objections : 
 
 " Miss P. repeatedly said to her, ' Maria, though you 
 and I hold such different opinions, the one who prays 
 the most earnestly for the teaching of the Holy Spirit, 
 will be guided into the truth.' * A word in season, how 
 good it is ! ' In her present perplexity, she did ask to 
 be taught of God : and he failed not, in his own good 
 time, to answer her prayer, though the enmity of the 
 carnal (natural) mind against God prevented her own 
 from being as yet, subjected to Iris word and to his 
 Spirit. One day Maria told her friend that Mrs. B y 
 had some time before entreated her to read Isaiah liii., 
 and assured her, that there, as well as in all the minor 
 prophets, she would find passages respecting the Mes- 
 siah, but added, in a tone of disappointment, ' I have 
 read them all, and I cannot tell what Mrs. B y meant. 
 To me Isaiah liii. appears to refer to the state of my 
 nation.' Miss P. offered to select, from different com- 
 mentaries, a clear explanation, if she would, mean- 
 while, pray to God to prepare her heart for its recep- 
 tion. This she promised, but when it was carried and 
 read to her, the expected visit of a relative occupied 
 her thoughts. Fearing she might be prohibited from 
 seeing her again, Miss P. for the firs 1 , time knelt, and 
 committed her to the love of God the Father, to the 
 mercy of the Redeemer, and to the teaching of the 
 Holy Spirit, that her mind might be enlightened to dis- 
 cern the sense of this portion of Divine revelation. 
 Maria did not unite in the prayer, but appeared con- 
 vinced that it was offered with a real desire for the 
 welfare of her soul." 
 
 A great variety of passages, taken from the writings 
 of the prophets, were brought before her at different 
 times ; at length we are told, 
 
 "On Miss P.'s next visit, Maria was suffering severely 
 from the cramp : as soon as some palliatives had been 
 used, and they were alone, she said, ' Now entreat the 
 Lord to afford me some relief!' Miss P. complied, 
 adding a petition that * The entrance of God's Word 
 might give light, might give understanding to thesimple,'
 
 84 FAITH IN ISRAEL. 
 
 and had the satisfaction to hear every prayer offered 
 in the name of Jesus, and for the first time, the Lord's 
 prayer, audibly and fervently repeated. After a pause, 
 Maria asked if she remarked it ; Miss P. replied, ' In- 
 deed, dear Maria, I was filled with joy and thankful- 
 ness on hearing those words from your lips. May I 
 ask your motive ? for you must know who it was that 
 said, 'After this manner pray ye.' 'Yes ; I know that 
 Jesus gave that prayer to his disciples, therefore I shall 
 always use it ; for I do now believe that Jesus is the 
 suffering Messiah.' " 
 
 The following circumstance deserves notice, as it 
 shows the feelings of a Jew who was at that time sadly 
 ignorant of that religion which he afterwards learned to 
 esteem : 
 
 " Mr. C., a Jew of superior intelligence and attain- 
 ments, was accompanied by one of his elder brethren, 
 who took no part in the subsequent conversation. After 
 speaking upon different subjects, Mr. C. mentioned his 
 desire of teaching Hebrew, and stated, that for that 
 purpose he had called upon some of the clergymen, to 
 one of whom he had said, that it was a delusion to be- 
 lieve that a Jew was ever really converted to Christi- 
 anity, for those who professed it, did so from hypo- 
 critical motives, either to gain money, or an advantage- 
 ous situation ! Maria listened with breathless anxiety, 
 and lifted her heart to the Lord, to enable her to refute 
 so unjust an assertion. Soon after Mr. C. turned to- 
 wards her, and inquired whether she had long been ill. 
 Her grandmother gave an account of her accident, of 
 her nearly total loss of sight, and of the suffering she 
 had endured. Maria immediately said, ' I thank God 
 for all my afflictions, for he has sent them to bring me 
 to the knowledge of himself. I have just heard you 
 gay, Sir, that no Jew can become a Christian, except 
 from interested motives : ' Mr. C. interrupted her. 
 ' Decidedly so.' ' Look at me, Sir ; what could a 
 situation, or money do for me in my helpless - 
 and yet. I tell you,* Sir, that I firmly believe that Jesus 
 of Nazareth has suffered and died for us, and that there 
 will be no other Messiah.'
 
 MA2IA. 35 
 
 C. Who told you this ? 
 
 M. My God taught me ! 
 
 C. What induced you to believe ? 
 
 M. Reading the Scriptures ; and I can say yet more, 
 I dare die this moment in the faith of Jesus ! 
 
 C. What ! are you going to turn Goia ? Are not 
 your father and mother Jews ? 
 
 Her grandmother here interposed, observing, ' To 
 be sure they are, and so are all her family and relations.' 
 
 Mr. C. took up a Bible, saying, 'The forty-second of 
 Isaiah will convince you that there is but one God.' At 
 the third verse, Maria interrupted him, ' The Holy One 
 of Israel is he in whom I believe, he is my Saviour and 
 I want no other !' When he ceased reading, she con- 
 tinued, 'Now take the fifty-third, Sir, which will prove 
 that the Holy One must be a suffering Messiah.' Mr. 
 C. threw the book on the table, uttered an execration 
 against the name of Jesus, and quitted the house !" 
 
 It was not long after this that she expressed a wish 
 to be baptized : 
 
 ' After her interview with Mr. C. her desire for 
 immediate baptism was so much increased, that she 
 frequently made it a subject of conversation with her 
 Christian friends. At that time, the accomplishment 
 of this duty appeared impracticable, but Maria knew 
 the ' Eternal God Avas her refuge,' to him she made 
 her supplication, and he failed not to send her an answer 
 of peace." 
 
 Maria experienced very painfully those difficulties 
 which so often stand in the way of those who are 
 anxious to confess their faith in Jesus : 
 
 *' One afternoon Miss P. was hastily summoned, 
 being told, that Maria was apparently dying. She 
 found the poor sufferer (supported by her affectionate 
 mother) in such a state, as to admit of no delay in re- 
 ferring to her former earnestly expressed desire for 
 baptism. On the first abatement of the spasms. Miss 
 P. reminded both her mother and grandmother that 
 Maria was already a Christian, and had long been 
 anxious for admission into the Christian Church by 
 baptism. Being somewhat revived by powerful stimu-
 
 36 FAITH IN 
 
 lants, Maria faintly articulated some words of impor- 
 tunate appeal, entreating, that her mother would not 
 
 refuse her dying request. Mrs. alluded to the 
 
 disgi'ace which in the opinion of their nation would be 
 brought upon the family by such an act, asserting, that 
 her own learned relatives were far better judges in 
 matters of religion, than one so young, and who could 
 have so little knowledge on these subjects. Maria 
 answered every objection, by renewed entreaties that 
 she might be baptized in that name in which alone 
 she trusted ; and even, in the intensity of her desire. 
 declared that she could not die in peace if refused ; 
 her only wish was to obey her Saviour's command, 
 and then to say, ' Lord, now let thy servant depart in 
 peace.' All present united in her petition, but the 
 mother, deeply affected, was influenced only by the 
 accents of her child, and for some time evidently 
 struggled with contending feelings. At last she said, 
 the father is the head of the house, if he chooses to 
 allow it, he can do as he pleases. Maria's alarming 
 situation was announced to Mr. , and his permis- 
 sion solicited, but this was positively refused. Her 
 medical attendant told him that recovery from this 
 attack was not impossible, but he could not answer for 
 his daughter's life, if the unfavourable symptoms should 
 increase, as instant suffocation might ensue. Maria 
 then solicited her friend to intreat her father to come 
 to her without delay. On meeting with him, Miss P. 
 implored him to see his child immediately, and listen 
 to her dying request (for such it was expected to prove), 
 and repeated some of the passages which had so 
 powerfully influenced Maria's mind ; adding, that her 
 examination of Scripture, and prayer for the teaching 
 of that Holy Spirit, spoken of by David and the pro- 
 phets, had compelled her to believe, that the Messiah 
 whom their nation expected daily, was that suffering 
 Redeemer, whom the prophets had so clearly predicted, 
 especially Isaiah in the fifty-third chapter, the whole 
 of which prophecy she considered, had been accurately 
 fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth. Miss P. was heard with 
 more attention and forbearance than she could have 
 anticipated.
 
 MARIA. 
 
 When Mr. visited his child, she said, ' Dear 
 
 father, I have one request to make : remember ! it is 
 my dying request, the last favour I shall ever ask of 
 you, father.' With much kindness he inquired, ' What 
 is it, my dear ?' 
 
 M. It is, father, that you will consent to my 
 baptism. 
 
 F. No, Maria, I cannot do that, you were born a 
 Jewess, and you must die one. 
 
 M. Father, that is impossible, for I am a Christian ; 
 I believe that Jesus is the Saviour, and that without 
 him we shoiild perish everlastingly. 
 
 F. Maria ! what have you to do with these opinions ? 
 You were brought up a Jewess ! 
 
 M. No, father, the religion we observed was not 
 that of the Bible ; it did not cleanse our hearts, but now 
 I know that we must worship God in spirit and in 
 truth. Father, the Messiah is come ! you must all 
 believe on him : I know him. He is my only hope. 
 Father, it is my last, my dying request ! I have no 
 fear of death, for my blessed Saviour has procured my 
 pardon. 
 
 Again Mr. desired her to remember, that all 
 
 her family were Jews, and that she must not forsake 
 her religion. Maria replied, ' No, I have not forsaken 
 my religion, it is the poor Jews who forsake it. If 
 they would read their Scriptures, they would then 
 know that Jesus is their Messiah ! He saves from sin ! 
 He alone has made me happy under all my pains. He 
 died Tor me ! It is my dying request.' 
 
 These sentences were uttered at intervals, and Maria 
 now lay gasping for breath ; but when again enabled 
 to speak, she renewed her entreaties in the most sup- 
 plicating tone. Mr. then observed, ' but, Maria, 
 
 what will your mother say ?' With as much strength 
 jis her exhausted state permitted, she answered, ' My 
 mother has said, it is for you to decide, father; I be- 
 seech you, do not refuse me.' He appeared agitated, 
 was silent for some minutes, and at last said, ' Maria, 
 
 I should be brought to consent, remember you must 
 be buried wherever your friends may choose ' ' Father,
 
 88 PAITH IN ISRAEL. 
 
 I care little where you place this poor body, provided 
 my soul be with Jesus.' However reluctant her grand- 
 mother might be to add her consent, yet the state of 
 suffering in which Maria lay, the alarming symptoms 
 threatening immediate death, the intense anxiety evinced 
 by her countenance, all operated so powerfully on the 
 
 feelings of Mrs. , that she declared, she should 
 
 never know a moment's peace if this dear grandchild 
 should die in such distress of mind, with her last, her 
 only, request refused. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. B., the curate of the parish, was re- 
 quested to attend, and soon arrived, accompanied by a 
 clergyman who had been much interested in Maria's 
 
 spiritual progress None of those who were 
 
 present can forget the tone of entire dependence on 
 Divine assistance in which her replies were uttered 
 (particularly in her answer to the fourth), ' By the help 
 of my God I will do it ;' nor could they fail to note, the 
 imploring expression of those uplifted but sightless- 
 eyes, which sought not the God of Jacob in vain." 
 
 But we must pass over the interesting account which 
 this memoir contains of the workings of faith, and the 
 patience of hope, as exemplified in the experience of 
 this dear Christian, and hasten to the closing scene : 
 
 " The morning preceding that of her death, she told 
 Miss P. how powerfully it had been impressed upon 
 her mind during the night, that she must confess Jesus- 
 more fully to her relations, before she could be released ; 
 and having called her attendants to her bed, bade them 
 mark, that it was the Lord who had sent her mother 
 to sit up this second night, that she might hear and be- 
 lieve. During its sleepless hours she inquired whether 
 her mother was convinced that her senses were yet 
 perfect. ' Yes, my love,' was the reply. Maria then 
 proceeded to say, ' The Lord has told me he will not 
 take me out of my present sufferings, till I have more 
 fully confessed Jesus to you all.' About noon, being 
 informed that her mother had had some rest, she re- 
 quested to see her again, as well as her grandmother, 
 and exhorted them with great clearness and strength, 
 to seek the Lord Jesus, assuring them that there is no
 
 MARIA. 39 
 
 " salvation in any other ; ' that none can be saved with- 
 out coming to Christ as the Atonement for their 
 sins ; and repeated, ' It is he who has given me all the 
 peace and comfort I enjoy.' It was remarked, 'There 
 is repentance for all.' * Yes,' she replied, ' but must 
 not be put off till death ; and if it be true repentance 
 for sin, we shall feel our need of a Saviour. It is scorn- 
 ing God's offered mercy, to put it off till the last, lest 
 the day of mercy should be passed. The Scripture 
 says, " Now is the accepted time, now is the day of sal- 
 vation." Oh mother I when we see our need of a Sa- 
 viour, then we can rejoice that " God so loved the 
 world," that he gave his Son to die for us all. Our 
 sacrifices were all types of Christ ; they \vere shadows of 
 good things to come. Christ bore the sins of many, 
 and was sacrificed once, and there is now no more 
 offering for sin, because by Christ there is pardon for 
 all that will believe on him. Faith in this Saviour is 
 now my support ; my sins will he remember no more; 
 the knowledge of him has given me peace ; it is be- 
 cause I have found him, that I am now so happy.' Her 
 mother replied, ' Yes, my dear, we are all sure you are 
 going to happiness.' ' But I could not attain heaven 
 without Christ. It is only through him that our souls 
 can be saved ;' then endeavouring to raise her head, 
 she said with great emphasis, ' Mother ! we must go to 
 the Father through the Son, he ever sitteth at the 
 right hand of God, making intercession for us.' ' Jesus 
 gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all 
 iniquity. If we will but believe that the Scriptures 
 alone can point out the way of salvation, we shall there 
 learn that we must pray for the teaching of the Spirit. 
 He will teach all who ask, and then he gives us " grace 
 for grace," and Jesus gives us peace by the "Com- 
 forter;" it is he who has taught me, and who comforts 
 and supports me under all these sufferings. How often 
 have I said, Not one pain too much ; and now they are 
 as chaff before the wind, they are nearly over, but if 
 more be appointed, peace and assurance will also be 
 given, in a way I cannot describe ; but it will be
 
 40 FAITH IN ISRAEL. 
 
 perfect peace, for I can trust in him who has so often 
 upheld me, " I will fear no evil, for the Lord is with 
 me." ' 
 
 This avowal of her views and feelings, though spoken 
 only at intervals, had nearly exhausted Maria's little 
 remaining strength ; her sister therefore proposed to 
 read Revelations the 5th, but her ardent spirit did not 
 permit her to listen in silence ; at the 5th verse she 
 again raised her head, saying, ' Mother, the " Lion of 
 the tribe 'of Judah" is Christ Jesus. He was of the tribe 
 of Judah, of the family of David, then in low estate, 
 and Isaiah prophesied that he should be as "a root out 
 of dry ground." At the 6th, ' Yes, Jesus was the 
 Lamb slain for us.' 
 
 Her grandmother being now obliged to leave the 
 room, her sister said, ' Maria, do not forget your usual 
 custom, will you not give your grandmother a text ?' 
 The latter used many expressions of affectionate solici- 
 tude, to which Maria replied, ' Dear grandmother, 
 " May the peace of God which passeth all understand- 
 ing, keep your heart and mind in the knowledge and 
 love of God through our Lord Jesus Christ." ' The 
 
 fervent Amen, uttered by Mrs. as she quitted the 
 
 apartment, evidently gave Maria much satisfaction : it 
 was the last word she heard from the lips of this dear 
 relative, as severe indisposition precluded her return to 
 the bed of her dying grandchild, whom she had loved 
 from infancy with such undiminished affection as had 
 induced her twice to request that she might be com- 
 mitted to her watchful care. 
 
 After this exertion Maria fell into a peaceful slumber, 
 and spoke but little during the day, but on entering the 
 room in the evening, Miss P. was quite astonished at 
 the energy with which she was addressing a poor 
 woman (who had anxiously desired to see her), ' You 
 must come to Jesus for salvation, you must bring your 
 sins to him for pardon, there is salvation in no other, 
 you must pray for the Holy Spirit to teach you, see 
 what he has taught me, and what joy and peace he has 
 given me in all my pain ; though you are only a poor
 
 MARIA. 41 
 
 woman, the Lord has as much care for your soul as for 
 the Queen's upon a throne there is no respect of per- 
 sons before God ; there is only one way of salvation 
 for all ; high and low, rich and poor, shall all soon 
 stand before his judgment-seat, but there is mercy for 
 all, if they will but seek it in Christ ; if they will but 
 believe the all-sufficiency of his grace.' Fearing that 
 she would suffer from speaking with such earnestness, 
 Miss P. interrupted her, when Maria exclaimed, 
 ' Is that you ? I am glad you are come, as I wish to 
 tell you something ; but first, tell poor Mrs. S. of God's 
 love and pity towards sinners.' 
 
 After complying with this request, Miss P. united 
 with her friends in enjoining silence, as Maria had now 
 been speaking a considerable time with great animation. 
 It was then decided, that her sister and the servant 
 should remain with her during the first part of the 
 night, that her mother, who was nearly exhausted with 
 watching, might obtain some repose ; but at eleven 
 o'clock the symptoms appeared so alarming, that she 
 was summoned. In about an hour Maria so far re- 
 covered, as to request her sister to read Isaiah vii. 10 
 13, and soon after (though frequently pausing from de- 
 bility) said, ' Dear mother, these words were once a 
 stumbling-block to me, I would not believe the express 
 Word of the Lord, because I could not understand it, 
 but when the Lord told Ahaz " to ask a sign of the 
 Lord his God, either in the depth or the height above," 
 was it likely that sign would be a common thing ? No, 
 it was sure to be something wonderful : wicked Ahaz 
 said, " I will not tempt the Lord," but he would not 
 obey, and Isaiah reproaches him and says, " The Lord 
 himself shall give you a sign ; a virgin shall conceive, 
 and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." 
 Mother, that means " God with us." ' She then desired 
 her sister to read Isaiah ix. 6 : ' For unto us a child 
 is born, unto us a Son is given ; and the government 
 shall be upon his shoulder ; and his name shall be called 
 Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The ever- 
 lasting Father, The Prince of Peace.' When the verse 
 E 2
 
 42 FAITH IN ISRAEL. 
 
 was finished, Maria added, ' Mother, this is our Messiah.' 
 Being now unable to proceed, her sister asked whether 
 she should continue reading. Isaiah liii. was selected, 
 on which Maria made comments as often as her failing 
 strength permitted her to speak ; at the conclusion of 
 the chapter she said, ' Dear mother, all this \vas ful- 
 filled in Jesus Christ.' 
 
 After taking some refreshment and appearing re- 
 vived, she said, ' Pray read St. Johnxx. 29.' 'Mother, 
 it was from this passage I found such comfort : Thomas 
 was faithless, and would not believe till he had seen 
 Christ ; but Jesus said unto him, " Blessed are they 
 who have not seen, and yet have believed." I thought 
 much about these words, I wanted to be blessed, and 
 often prayed very earnestly that I might believe ac- 
 cording to the will of God ; and then, mother, I was 
 blessed also, for I found Jesus was my Saviour.' 
 
 Though her weakness was rapidly increasing, yet so 
 perfect was the possession of her faculties, that soon 
 after one o'clock she said, ' Open the window, I think 
 Miss P. is at the door.' Being told the hour, and re.- 
 minded that her friend was not expected till three, 
 Maria then entreated her mother to lie down and en- 
 deavour to rest, saying, ' Pray do so, and when you 
 are all quiet, I think I can sleep too.' Miss P. arrived 
 at the time appointed, and finding her in a most peace- 
 ful and apparently refreshing sleep, sat down and 
 watched beside her, till nearly six, when on looking 
 anxiously, to ascertain whether she had been disturbed 
 by an unusual noise in the street, her forehead was ob- 
 served to have become as white as marble, not the 
 slightest movement was perceptible ; she quickly, 
 though softly, breathed, drew one faint sigh, and the 
 redeemed spirit passed into the presence of God her 
 Saviour." 
 
 It may be well to add that, although the name of 
 the family to which Maria belonged is not mentioned, 
 owing to a proper respect for the feelings of those re- 
 latives who are still ardently attached to the Jewish 
 religion, and, unhappily, unable fully to appreciate the
 
 DR. FRAXKEL. 43 
 
 motives which led Maria to wish to join the Church of 
 Christ : the memoir is in no degree a fiction ; but, on 
 the contrary, states facts which may be relied on, as 
 having occurred a very short time since in a consider- 
 able town in England. 
 
 To these instances of the remarkable dealings of 
 God, in leading those of the house of Israel to learn 
 those truths which enabled them to live and to die in 
 peace and joy through believing, we add a short narra- 
 tive of two others who are still permitted to serve God 
 in this world by living to his glory. We take the ac- 
 count from the record which they have themselves 
 published. 
 
 DR. FRAXKEL, an eminent physician, gives the fol- 
 lowing statement concerning the circumstances which 
 first led him to think seriously of the Bible : 
 
 " About twelve years ago, I was occupied in pre- 
 paring a treatise on the diseases of the skin, and, in 
 doing so, a quotation in a medical work directed my 
 attention to the oldest of all records concerning such 
 diseases, viz., to that chapter in Leviticus which treats 
 of leprosy. For a long, very long time, I had not read 
 the Bible, and I had almost entirely forgotten its con- 
 tents, with the exception of some of the more striking 
 features in the historical parts. 
 
 The oldest written document possessed by man lay 
 thus open before my eyes, and I do not deny it, although 
 I may be called visionary or weak minded, that peculiar 
 emotions filled my soul at the sight of that book. The 
 mighty deeds, the sufferings, the misery, the ignominy 
 of my ancestors, passed before my mind in phantom- 
 like melancholy remembrance. Forty centuries have 
 looked upon this book : it has existed during 4,000 
 years ; it has defied all the changes, all the storms and 
 attacks of time and of the world, and victoriously 
 maintained its awful dominion. 
 
 I perused that chapter in Leviticus, and so I did the 
 following ; I could not but notice the striking contrast
 
 44 FAITH IN ISRAEL. 
 
 between the language of the Old Testament, and that 
 of profane writings. How short and concise is the 
 description Moses gives of this disease, how few words 
 does he use in comparison with the modes of repre- 
 sentation employed in modern times ! how exact in all 
 its arrangements, and in general how widely different 
 from the tone of the literature of medical science ! 
 
 These considerations induced me to read at various 
 times a chapter in the Old Testament, just as I hap- 
 pened to find it on opening the Bible. In the course 
 of these biblical studies my mind became still more 
 serious than before, and not unfrequently I felt a dis- 
 quietude I could not at all account for. Those things 
 which I had formerly considered to be the fables of 
 the Bible, settled gradually down in my mind as matters 
 of fact ; it appeared no more to me to be the language 
 of fabulous tales or of mythology, and my heart fore- 
 boded grave and awful truths as the result of these 
 narratives. How very different are the eastern tales 
 and poetry ! My preconceived notions of poetiy 
 gradually vanished, the word of Scripture appeared 
 before my eyes, naked and stern. 
 
 And if these narratives, these series of facts, laws, 
 and ordinances, should, after all, contain tmths which 
 were not only intended for those ancient times, but re- 
 main and exist in full vigour up to the present moment? 
 
 This thought hung like a threatening thunder-cloud 
 over my religious indifference. And if a comparison 
 between the wit and subtlety of the enemies of the 
 Bible, and the truth of the Old Testament, should lead 
 to the same result as a comparison between modern 
 medical literature and the above mentioned chapter in 
 Leviticus ? Has not the Bible always been zealously 
 supported and revered by men who have given their 
 life and all as a sacrifice for the truth of its contents ? 
 What degree of enthusiasm were the writings of its 
 opponents able to produce ? Can their anti-religious 
 systems also count their martyrs, who willingly gave 
 their life for the truth of their system ? .... 
 
 My mind being thus assaulted on all sides, and my 
 faith wavering between the Bible and the world, I could
 
 DR. FRANKEL. 45 
 
 iind no better way to get rid of my difficulties than by 
 painting to myself the existence of a ruling fate which 
 influences all human concerns ; so that public events, 
 as well as the well-being of single states and indi- 
 viduals, are made to depend on the influence of a power 
 of whose existence man could only entertain dark sur- 
 mises ; and while thus acknowledging the rule of fate, 
 I was compelled to be satisfied with my position in the 
 world, notwithstanding the dislike I felt to it. 
 
 But which way could I find to lead me out of this 
 labyrinth ? I thought it no better than the public de- 
 claration of a falsehood to embrace Christianity, an 
 immorality committed in the face of the whole world. 
 I could never think of taking such a step, considering 
 and honouring, as I did, public opinion as a part of 
 that mysterious power which I had no wish to provoke. 
 Besides, as I did not yet think the credibility of the 
 Old Testament to be evident and conclusively estab- 
 lished, of course the New Testament seemed to me to 
 be nothing but a fabulous fiction, as from my youth up 
 it had always been pointed out to me as false, as op- 
 posed to the will of God, and as professing to give nar- 
 ratives of facts completely at variance with common 
 sense. 
 
 After the political events of 1830, the desire of the 
 Jews for a final regulation of their civil relations was 
 expressed in louder terms, and throughout Germany 
 the question of emancipation was frequently and pub- 
 licly discussed. I was at that time a zealous advocate 
 and promoter of this cause, continually endeavouring 
 to defend the principle that an equality of privileges 
 must necessarily follow an equality of obligations, and 
 I had frequent negotiations with the authorities on the 
 subject of this question, the speedy solution of which, 
 I expected, must exercise a very important influence 
 on the future civil position of the Jews in general, and 
 more especially of my own children 
 
 The emancipation of the Jews has been very in- 
 geniously and skilfully advocated in numerous publica- 
 tions, by men possessing an intimate knowledge of the 
 whole case, and the legal grounds for this measure
 
 46 FAITH IK ISBAEL. 
 
 have been pointed out by evidence. Notwithstanding, 
 this cause made no progress, and all the efforts of its 
 Christian as well as Jewish promoters, were for the 
 most part without effect. What could be the reason 
 of this remarkable result, at a time when the different 
 Governments were inclined to accede to the fair de- 
 mands of their subjects, in a century boasting before 
 all others of its humanity, and carrying high the 
 standard of civilization ? Perhaps the cause may be 
 found in Mosaism itself? Perhaps Mosaism contains 
 principles which do not harmonize with the funda- 
 mental principles of political economy ; or, should 
 Judaism in the course of time have deviated so far 
 from the tendency of the Mosaic law as necessarily to 
 produce the above result ? Such questions unceasingly 
 presented themselves to me, and what could be more 
 natural than that I should hope to find the solution of 
 my doubts by looking to their very source, viz., in the 
 books of Moses ? . . . . 
 
 But the more I became acquainted with Moses and 
 the prophets, the more I was led to entertain fore- 
 bodings, which afterwards gi - ew to certainty, that I, 
 as well as most Jews of my acquaintance, acknowledged 
 a religion which had nothing but the name and the 
 disadvantages of the institutions of Moses, but were 
 certainly not capable of appreciating the spirit and true 
 meaning of the whole Old Testament 
 
 It is distressing, but tiiie : the spirit of the law given 
 on Sinai has disappeared, and Moses has become a 
 skeleton. The worship and service of Jehovah dis- 
 solves into shallow, bottomless Deism. No God of an 
 old covenant, no God of a new covenant, ever gave 
 commands such as those which, century after century, 
 we see in Judaism heaped upon and commanded those 
 who sigh under their intolerable weight ; the form of 
 prayer now used in the synagogue or in the temple, 
 cannot have been instituted for the worship of the God, 
 whether of the old or of the new covenant. 
 
 The synagogue sticks to the letter, and would even 
 wish to remove its followers from the influence of the 
 march of intellect, beholding, and that justly, in every
 
 DR. FKANKEL. 47 
 
 innovation an inroad on their interest. It leans on 
 tradition, on Cabala and Gemara, and in return for all 
 the restrictions and humiliations imposed upon its 
 pupils, gives nothing but the permission to turn a 
 timid look towards Jerusalem ; but they feel no com- 
 fort, no love, yea, even no truth in their prayer next 
 year to Jerushalajim ! . . . As the synagogue directs the 
 views and longings of the Jew towards Jerusalem, and 
 cares little for political emancipation, so, on the other 
 hand, the desires of those who attend the reformed 
 services of the so-called temple, eschew Palestine, and 
 Jook to the haven of their hopes Emancipation ! 
 
 Thus the religion of Moses is in the present day 
 changed into a shallow Deism, whose God, a phantom 
 of the imagination, exists in the fancy of individuals, 
 and no where else, and being thus enthroned, must be 
 changed into whatever form present necessity and 
 exigency may require 
 
 Jehovah is by no means the God of our present ortho- 
 dox ritual ; for when and where has God Jehovah com- 
 manded this mass of nonsense, this miserable obscuring 
 the plainest truths, this degradation of the most holy 
 things possessed by man ? Thus it is, that Infidelity 
 floats along on the troubled waters of time ; and I too 
 floated along, passing by the dreary, comfortless shores 
 of life, with no prospect before me, but that of being 
 at length swallowed up in the quicksands of my own 
 insufficiency. Thus it is that Deism seeks, and I too 
 sought, for sophisms, amidst all the darkness of self- 
 delusion, and the entire want of satisfactory principles. 
 Thus it is that orthodox Judaism drags wearily its 
 superstitions through the world, and retains nothing of 
 the great truths which belong to it, but merely tra- 
 ditions. Thus it has wandered through Palestine, has 
 survived the Assyrian and Babylonian Captivity, the 
 crusades, the Inquisition, the scoffing of nations, the 
 hobgoblins of the middle-ages, the Hep hep* bawling 
 
 * This term Hep hep, was the watch- word among vast 
 numbers of the lower orders in Germany, some few years ago, 
 who contemplated, and in some cases committed, the greatet 
 excesses against the Jews.
 
 48 FAITH IK ISRAEL. 
 
 of the mob, has extended its forty years' sojourn in the 
 wilderness to four thousand years, and still it sleeps on 
 in its dreary wilderness. But the pillar of fire or of 
 cloud no more goes with it, and in Moses's place stands 
 the Talmudist, with Tephillin and Zizith, with Kosher 
 and Treff'o (i.e., with its phylacteries and fringes, with 
 its distinctions about clean and unclean), and threat- 
 ened me, and threatens all the rebellious children of 
 Israel, who distrust his words, and refuse to believe his 
 warnings, when he maintains that the sacredncss of the 
 Sabbath does not admit of a stone being thrown into 
 the water, or a flower being plucked, or of writing a 
 letter, and similar things, not one syllable of which is 
 to be found in the Mosaic law ; and every zealot pre- 
 tends to be a minister of God, and would fain be re- 
 garded by his followers as one appointed to execute 
 Jehovah's holy will. . . . Thus the troubled mind 
 meets, on the one hand, the cold, rigid uncharitableness 
 of Deism ; on the other, it loses itself in a comfortless 
 maze of human statutes, deprivations, restrictions, dead 
 forms, and superstitions. 
 
 One single step would be sufficient to deliver from 
 this restraint, from this miserable state to embrace 
 Christianity. But this path is closed against every one 
 to whom Moses has proclaimed, from the very cradle, 
 ' Thou shalt have no strange gods, for the Lord our 
 God is one Lord.' Moses stands before the door of 
 Christian Eden like the cherub with the flaming sword, 
 and held me, and holds them, fettered with the rigid 
 chains of the letter of the law.'' 
 
 It pleased God, however, in his great mercy, to 
 enable Dr. F. to take this " single step," so important, 
 so decisive in its results, and to understand that the 
 law with all its terrors is indeed a schoolmaster to 
 bring us to Christ. 
 
 " Hitherto I had but a very superficial knowledge 
 of the Christian religion, and, in my opinion, as it is 
 in that of thousands, the term Christianity was iden- 
 tical with Christendom. I considered the whole 
 institution as a reform, called for by the spirit of the 
 times, and sprung out of Mosaism, which, aided by
 
 DK. FRANKEL. 49 
 
 fortunate circumstances, had adopted its present form, 
 and been able to maintain it. I looked on the founder 
 of that religion as a reformer, who, like many of his 
 predecessors and successors, had to expiate with his 
 life his attempt to liberate his co-religionists from the 
 fanaticism of priests and the tyranny of the Roman 
 power. Whether his intention was noble or not, it 
 was at least good, but his end was that of an unfor- 
 tunate liberator. Viewing Christianity thus, it ap- 
 peared to me to be like a meteor, which had taken 
 possession of and maintained the brightest page in the 
 history of civilization, and to Avhich we owe our lite- 
 rature and scientific improvements. I considered, 
 therefore, the lot of every one who had been born and 
 educated in this religion as a very happy one, when 
 compared with the embittered existence of the Jew, 
 although I would not and could not reconcile myself to 
 the Christian mode of worship. It was natural that 
 I should look on every one who worships a human 
 reformer, without being convinced of his divine mis- 
 sion and of his divinity, as either a hypocrite or a fool, 
 whose religion was no better than idolatry, as adora- 
 tion and worship belong to God alone. And in this 
 sense I thought that Christianity could certainly stand 
 no comparison with Judaism, which adores neither the 
 patriarchs, nor Moses, nor any of the prophets, but 
 conceives its prayers to be addressed solely and ex- 
 clusively to the Creator of the world, the Almighty 
 Jehovah. 
 
 I knew the New Testament only from Infidel 
 writings, whose object it is to profane the sacredness 
 of both Testaments by a great show of historical facts 
 
 and by sarcastic subtlety In my thirty-eighth 
 
 year I first began to read the New Testament. I en- 
 tered with calm, manly consciousness on a field which 
 had hitherto been known to me only from the writings 
 of adversaries. I now entered upon the contemplation 
 of that great event which has given a new form to the 
 world has caused so much blood to flow, which in so 
 great a measure has called forth the ignominy, the 
 tears, and misery of my ancestors ! 
 F
 
 50 FAITH IN ISRAEL. 
 
 The outward form of Christianity, its usages, cus- 
 toms, the Church and its position towards Judaism, 
 but more than all the rest, the recollection of my 
 early instruction, had given me the idea that this reli- 
 gion purposed the suppression of that of Moses, and I 
 considered the necessary reaction in Judaism the cause 
 of its continued existence. I accordingly, before I 
 became better acquainted with the Bible, considered 
 the oppression, the insult, the molestation which Juda- 
 ism, imder its negative opposition to Christianity, had 
 to suffer, as the causes of its continued existence 
 amidst the most hostile elements. I was, therefore, 
 on perusing the New Testament, above all, startled at. 
 its continually appealing to the books of the Old, and 
 thus finding my preconceived opinions of this new 
 doctrine corrected. For instead of the svipposed hostile 
 tendency of the New towards the Old, I found, on the 
 contrary, whole passages from the latter repeated in the 
 Gospels as being the infallible Word of God ; and 
 what surprised me most, I found the ' Shema Israel.' 
 ' Hear, O Israel ! the Lord our God is one Lord,' 
 (Mark xii. 29,) also here proclaimed, and even by 
 Jesus himself, the first of all commandments. With 
 the same words Moses had proclaimed the only God to 
 the people, and to this same Moses Jesus refers, instead 
 of seeking to supplant him, when he says to the Jews, 
 k There is one that accuseth you. even Moses, in whom 
 ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have 
 believed me : for he wrote of me. Search the Scrip- 
 tures ; for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and 
 they are they which testify of me. But if ye believe 
 not his writings, how shall ye believe my words r' 
 (John v.) 
 
 During six years I have zealously sought and searched 
 in the Scriptures for this testimony; during six long 
 years my reason had a hard struggle with Moses and 
 the prophets, with the evangelists and the apostles ; 
 during six long years I indulged in useless inquiries 
 and speculations about public opinion, morality, family, 
 and historic truth ; my thoughts often carried me to 
 the graves of my forefathers, who had lived and died
 
 DR. CAPADOSE. 51 
 
 *s martyrs of their faith had clung to Judaism, and 
 now caused me to be rebuked from out of their graves, 
 through the mouths of the living, as a recreant and 
 apostate. Lassitude had nearly overcome my soul, 
 when I was awakened to a deep sense of the necessity 
 of prayer. It was very, very long since I had prayed 
 from the depth of my heart ; and, in general, how 
 seldom are we able to pray fervently ! but when we 
 do pray, then the soul is raised in filial affection to 
 God, and feels the presence of the Omnipresent in 
 complete and hallowed seclusion from the whole sur- 
 rounding world. 0, sweet remembrance of those 
 blessed hours, when the Spirit enabled me thus to 
 pray ! how sweet, how welcome death in such a moment 
 of the highest spiritual elevation ! The moonshine of 
 tradition vanished gradually before my searching eye, 
 and the outlines of the dim images appeared brighter 
 and more distinct, and received form and life. Every- 
 where I found and felt the rich fulness of a living 
 spirit ! It was no more the poetic language of man 
 it is the Word of God manifest and revealed, which I 
 followed. Bright sunshine radiated through the sanc- 
 tuary of Scripture, and the Lord quickened and com- 
 forted the weary and oppressed. I was in the Spirit in 
 Peniel, ' and my life was preserved.' " 
 
 DR. CAP ADOS E has complied with the urgent request 
 of his friends, by narrating the manner in which it 
 pleased the God of all grace to bring him to a know- 
 ledge of himself. Speaking of his first beginning to 
 inquire concerning the truth of Christianity, which he 
 had altogether rejected until that period, he says : 
 
 " One day that I happened to call on my intimate 
 friend who had lately been married, I found he had 
 just received a letter from the celebrated professor with 
 whom he corresponded on literary subjects. ' Would 
 you like me,' said he, ' to read it to you along with the 
 beautiful verses he sends me ?' ' With all mv heart, 1 I
 
 52 FAITH IN ISRAEL. 
 
 replied. The verses, in which he forcibly and feelingly 
 described the glorious hopes of Israel, were, in fact, 
 sublime ; they ended with the words : ' Friend, be a 
 Christian, and content I die.' 
 
 At these words, pronounced in a half-whisper, I felt 
 ray indignation rise ; my friend, it struck me, was not 
 shocked as he ought to have been. ' Beware,' said I, 
 ' there is a plan laid to seduce us ;' and immediately 
 took leave of him. The whole of the way my soul 
 was absorbed in these reflections. I could not conceive 
 how a man of such profound science could believe in 
 the Christian religion, nor how he, who for many 
 years had been on terms of such intimacy with us, and 
 yet had never uttered a word on the subject of Chris- 
 tianity, who seemed not even to have had so much 
 respect for the Old Testament, should of a sudden take 
 it into his head so to address my friend. With a 
 naturally suspicious heart, I could see nothing in all 
 this but a clever attempt at seduction, and I was 
 pained to think that my friend did not participate in 
 all the indignation I myself felt. 
 
 Dating from that day, I took up the Word of God 
 with the intention to examine it fully, and my friend 
 on his side did the same. From thenceforward, during 
 every walk we took together, the conversation turned 
 on the passages of Scripture which had fixed our at- 
 tention most. Beginning with the Gospel according 
 to St. Matthew, I was much struck in observing that 
 even this Evangelist, from the very commencement, 
 far from subverting the authority of the Old Testament, 
 on the contrary made it a foundation on which to 
 build, and seemed only desirous to make the oneness 
 of the two Testaments appear by the accomplishment 
 of the prophecies. 
 
 Thus we spent several months, when, encouraged 
 more and more to follow on in researches which 
 became daily more interesting, we resolved to carry 
 into effect what we had attempted some years before, 
 but with very different motives and dispositions, 
 namely, to meet as often as we could, to read together, 
 and interchange our doubts and reflections. In order
 
 DR. CAPADOSE. O.i 
 
 to this, we withdrew to a room apart in my father's 
 house, and it is not without deep emotion and devout 
 acknowledgment of God's goodness and wisdom that 
 I recall to my mind those happy moments those 
 sweet and blessed hours spent as in the presence of 
 the God of our fathers. Our zeal and interest in- 
 creased as we went on. My mind, wearied with un- 
 fruitful investigations, now beheld a vast new field 
 opening before it, on which it threw itself with a 
 resistless impulse, which I have afterwards recognized 
 as that operation of the Heavenly Father's love, by 
 which he draws to his well-beloved Son the souls he 
 wills to bless. In my case this was a fact, an expe- 
 rienced truth, before I had ever heard preventing 
 grace or election spoken of. This meditation on God's 
 Word became at length one of the most urgent neces- 
 sities of my heart. It was not enough for me to 
 know the truth, I felt that I must possess it, and 
 live on the substance of it. Although I could not 
 well discern as yet what was passing within me, yet 
 I can remember to have had moments of delight 
 arising from the conviction, that in the course I was 
 following there were visible marks of the Divine as- 
 sistance and protection. 
 
 One day that my friend and I were together, occu- 
 pied as usual with our researches, my brother sur- 
 prised us ; he noticed on the table, beside an opeii 
 Bible, a work in Spanish, being the only human com- 
 position that we read along with the Bible. He opened 
 it and read the title, which ran thus : ' Defence of 
 the Christian Faith,' by Professor Heydeck. He read 
 the first words only, ' Defence of the Faith.' ' What 
 are you two always about,' said he. laying down the 
 book ; would you become rabbins :' Then changing 
 the subject, he withdrew. Here we recognised the 
 Divine protection, for had my brother read the whole 
 title, we should have been found out, or at least the 
 suspicions of the family would have fallen on us. 
 
 On another occasion I found myself in my uncle's 
 library, and ever eager to meet anything relating to 
 the subject which never ceased to occupy me, I im- 
 F 2
 
 54 FAITH IN ISRAEL. 
 
 
 patiently passed my eyes over the vast heaps of books, 
 in order to discover something, if possible, which 
 could speak to me of Christianity. At length I found 
 a large folio, entitled ' Justini et Philosophi Martyris 
 Opera,' ' The Works of the Philosopher and Martyr 
 Justinus.' Though that writer was then quite un- 
 known to me, the title martyr led to the expectation 
 that I might find something in his works that bore upon 
 Christianity. Opening it, the first article I fixed my 
 eyes upon was the dialogue with Trypho, the Jew. I 
 read it eagerly, and found it contained a succinct expo- 
 sition of the Messianic prophecies, which were very 
 useful to me. Here, too, there was a very evident 
 instance of the Divine protection, my soul was struck 
 powerfully. One night I was reading in the prophet 
 Isaiah ; on arriving at the fifty-third chapter, I was so 
 much struck with what I read, and so clearly perceived 
 in it, line for line, what I shall read in the Gospel 
 about the sufferings of Christ, that I really thought I 
 had got another Bible instead of my own. I could 
 not persuade myself that this fifty-third chapter, which 
 may so well be called an abstract of the Gospel, was to 
 be found in the Old Testament. After reading it, how 
 was it possible for an Israelite to doubt that Christ was 
 the promised Messiah ? Whence could so strong an 
 impression have come ? I had often read that chapter, 
 but this time I read it with the light of God's Spirit. 
 From that moment I recognised plainly in Christ the 
 promised Messiah, and now our meditations on the 
 Word of God assumed quite a new character. It was 
 as it were the beginning, the dawn, of a magnificent 
 day for our souls ; the light shed more and more upon 
 us of its enlivening beams, enlightened our minds, 
 warmed our hearts, and even then gave unspeakable 
 consolation. I began tb perceive the reasons of the 
 enigmas so often occurring in life, and which, till then, 
 had occupied me rather in the way of fatiguing and 
 distressing, than of tranquillising and instructing me. 
 All things around me seemed to revive, and the object 
 and interest of my existence underwent a total change. 
 Happy days, blessed by the consciousness of the
 
 DR. CAPADOSE. 55 
 
 Master's presence ! Never shall I forget you ! I can 
 seldom peruse the account of the journey of the two 
 disciples going to Emmaus, without recalling those days 
 on which my friend and I used to meet and walk 
 together. Like them we can say, ' Did not our hearts 
 burn within us while he talked with us by the way, 
 and while he opened to us the Scriptures ?' " 
 
 But as is so often the case, Dr. C. was called to en- 
 dure much painful opposition and severe persecution. 
 His uncle, who had always been extremely kind to him, 
 as well as his father and mother, did not understand 
 his motives, and were not reconciled to his proceedings. 
 Speaking of the treatment he met with at their hands 
 he says : 
 
 " My uncle was accustomed, after dinner, to read the 
 newspapers aloud. One day, when as usual I was 
 seated opposite to him in a state of extreme dejection, 
 he read out, as news from Hamburgh, to the following 
 effect: " We have witnessed a very interesting event. 
 A rabbin, after having announced to his fellow-re- 
 ligionists in the synagogue, that an attentive examina- 
 tion of the prophecies had given him the profound 
 conviction that the true Messiah had come, and having 
 publicly confessed his faith in Christ, has been lately 
 baptized in our city, and received as a minister of the 
 Gospel.' On which my uncle added these words, made 
 so remarkable by the position in which I was placed : 
 ' You know my way of viewing things ; if this person 
 has acted as he has done from any views to his own 
 interest, he ought to be despised ; but if from convic- 
 tion, he deserves our respect.' Souls who possess sen- 
 sibility, Christian souls, who can sympathize with the 
 wannest affections of persons like yourselves no, I 
 never can describe to you all that passed in my soul at 
 that solemn moment ! I felt as if the floor shook under 
 me, and in the transport of my joy, I leaped upon 
 the neck of the worthy old man, saying, ' My uncle, 
 yes ; it is God who makes you feel thus ; know 
 that he whom you love with a father's tenderness, and 
 whom you call your son, is in the same case with the 
 rabbin.' I had pronounced these words in such a tone,
 
 56 FAITH IN ISRAEL. 
 
 and in such agitation, that my poor uncle, speechless 
 and frightened, thought me out of my senses. He 
 made me sit on his sofa, and having gone out for a 
 little, as if to allow me to come to myself, he returned 
 and spoke of something else. But I was too much ab- 
 sorbed and agitated to pay any attention to what he 
 said ; I communed in silence with the God of my de- 
 liverance : for on that occasion I felt his presence, as if, 
 so to speak, I could have touched him. It was the 
 presence of the Adonai of my fathers which supported 
 me, arid which from that day enabled me to feel a 
 comfort never experienced until then, a joy and strength 
 I never had known before. 
 
 Meanwhile. I could see that my uncle, although 
 troubled with what had passed, had not attached the 
 importance which they deserved to the words I had 
 used. Accordingly, I resolved, after strengthening 
 myself in my God, to repeat my declaration to him on 
 the day following. We were at table alone as usual : 
 my uncle seemed a little pre-occupied with his own 
 thoughts, but, notwithstanding, was on the best terms 
 with me. When dinner was removed, I entered upon 
 the subject, but this time with calmness and firmness, 
 saying, I observed with pain that my declaration of the 
 preceding afternoon had not been rightly understood ; 
 and that this made it necessary that I should repeat it, 
 as in God's presence, and in the hope that one day he 
 himself would see and own the truth.' He could now 
 no longer shut his eyes to what had taken place, and a 
 most heart-rending scene followed. He beat his breast. 
 lamented he had been born, and cried out, in the bitter- 
 ness of his soul, that I was going to send liis grey 
 hairs with sorrow to the grave. These reproaches went 
 to my heart ; but the Lord fortified me, comforted me, 
 and bestowed upon me the grace to give the dear and 
 venerable old man such marks of love and tenderness 
 as somewhat calmed him. 
 
 But it happened one day that being alone with me, 
 my unhappy uncle seemed particularly bent on grieving 
 me with his bitter and pungent ironies. I spoke not a 
 word. Emboldened or irritated by my silence, he
 
 BR. CAPADOSE. 57 
 
 ventured to pronounce a blasphemy against Him who 
 had become the object of my adorations, and the abun- 
 dant source of consolation to my soul. It was now my 
 time to speak. I rose, and placing myself before him, 
 * It is enough,' said I ; ' till now, I alone have been 
 the butt of your sarcastic and injurious language, and 
 God has enabled me silently to submit to it ; but you 
 now begin to blaspheme you know not whom. Beware : 
 for I declare to you before God, who hears me, if you 
 continue to speak thus, I leave you this instant, and, 
 although I possess nothing, never will I appear again 
 in this house.' I was determined to keep my word. 
 The firm and unusual tone in which I pronounced 
 these words for I may say it was the Spirit of God 
 which prompted me to use them produced its effect. 
 Whatever afterwards might have been the trials and 
 tribulations I had to endure, never was the unhappy 
 old man's mouth opened in my presence to blaspheme 
 the name of Christ. Join with me in giving glory to 
 God, all who read these lines, for it was he who on 
 that occasion displayed his faithfulness to one of his 
 poor children. 
 
 Yet my family were inconsolable on discovering that 
 I persevered in my resolution in spite of all they did to 
 turn me from it, and the hard measures I had to endure 
 %vent on increasing. It was a time of the most severe 
 trial to my soul. Seldom did I meet any of the family, 
 whether in my uncle's house, or in that of my parents, 
 without having to endure painful observations. One 
 day in my father's house, my father himself, whose 
 fiery temper had often broken out against me, took my 
 arm and led me into the bed-room of my poor dear 
 mother, whose sorrow had made her ill. I saw her 
 seated in a corner, absorbed in deep distress. ' See,' 
 said he, ' it is all your doing ; you are the murderer of 
 your mother.' It may be conceived how much this 
 shook me. Never did I feel so overcome, and I must 
 confess, that what persecution had never been able to 
 effect, was at length brought about by the tears and 
 sufferings of my poor mother. My faith was shaken, 
 and I felt that the safest means was to take to flight :
 
 58 FAITH IN ISRAEL. 
 
 for a time I had a dreadful struggle within me ; at 
 length I suddenly retreated from the chamber, and fled, 
 as if frightened at myself, from my father's house. I 
 ran along the street, I knew not whither, but my steps 
 hurried me towards one of the gates of the city. Who 
 knows what might have been the conclusion of such a 
 day, had I not been arrested by my Saviour's arm ! 
 Hardly had I put my foot on the bridge, when a 
 beautiful rainbow appeared to unroll before my tearful 
 eyes, and fixed my attention. Catching at the sign of 
 the Divine promise, I said to myself, There, there is 
 the God of the everlasting covenant ! and at that mo- 
 ment my anguish was calmed ; my faith received 
 strength, and the Holy Spirit shed the balm of conso- 
 lation into the wound of my heart. Weak in body, 
 yet I felt sustained within, and retracing my steps, en- 
 tered my father's house again, calm and submissive. 
 Christ had said to the storm, ' Be still,' and suddenly 
 there was a great calm !" 
 
 Dr. C. was, after full consideration of the important 
 step he was about to take, admitted into the Christian 
 Church by baptism. He says : 
 
 " Kneeling before the God of our fathers, who is 
 the true God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we had the 
 unutterable joy, all unworthy and miserable sinners as 
 we were, to receive on our foreheads the sign and seal 
 of the covenant of grace, and to confess, in the midst 
 of the Christian Church, the ever blessed name of the 
 great God and Saviour who had come to seek us when 
 we were lost ! Glory be to God ! " 
 
 We add the account Dr. C. gives of the death of his 
 brother, who was led to confess his faith in Christ at 
 the close of his life : 
 
 " Soon a nervous fever declared itself, accompanied 
 with a most alarming apathy and distate for life. As 
 soon as I had visited my patients, I went to his bed- 
 side, and watched him by night. On the third day he 
 called me : ' Are we alone,' said he, ' is our mother 
 gone ? Well then, listen to me I am about to die.' 
 Crushed with grief, and unable to answer, I made an 
 effort to say two words to fix his thoughts on the
 
 BE. CAPADOSE, 59 
 
 of his soul. In fact, he refused taking any more 
 medicine ; and on my observing that, nevertheless, it 
 showed great unthankfulness to God to neglect the 
 means of recovery which his bounty provided, ' True,' 
 said he, ' and I desire to pray that he would remove 
 this culpable indifference.' I fain would pray. these 
 words, coming from my brother's mouth, gave me joy 
 in the midst of grief. And, in fact, he did set himself 
 to pray in a whisper, and among other things I heard 
 him ask of the Lord that he would enable him from 
 that time forth to live to his glory, should he recover. 
 Meanwhile the disease made rapid progress, and his 
 sufferings became terrible. It was then that he spon- 
 taneously exclaimed, ' Oh, my mother ! hitherto you 
 have not believed any more than myself that there is a 
 devil, but now I feel his fiery darts, and they pierce my 
 very heart.' As he uttered these words, I stooped to 
 that beloved head, saying, ' I conjure you, pray to God 
 in the name of Jesus Christ. He only has overcome 
 Satan, and can and will deliver you.' He then passed 
 several hours, as if half asleep ; but on the morning of 
 the sixth day of the disease, he took up my hand, and 
 said, ' My brother, there is no more hope for such a 
 sinner.' It was the moment to open to him all the 
 treasures of the Gospel of grace. ' If you, indeed, feel 
 yourself to be such,' I firmly replied, k believe in Jesus 
 Christ, and thy soul is saved.' He replied not a word, 
 all power of utterance being taken from him by the 
 excruciating pain he suffered from time to time. Ere 
 long, I observed him intently occupied, and gazing 
 continually on the same point. ' Brother,' said he, 
 I see before me two ways : on the one I perceive but 
 corpses, and men dressed in black, but on the other, 
 persons in long white robes ! and,' added he, with an 
 expression beaming with joy, ' I see our dear father 
 nmong the last.' (Rev. viii. 13.) My brother, in so 
 far as I know, never had read the book of Revelations. 
 At length there came all the symptoms of ap- 
 proaching death An entire prostration of strength. 
 
 Convulsive drowsiness He passed several 
 
 hours of the morning with half-closed eyes, and speech-
 
 60 FAITH IX ISRAEL. 
 
 less. Deep stillness filled the house ; my poor mother 
 was upstairs with my sister and a friend of my bro- 
 ther's ; nothing stirred. I left the bed of suffering for 
 a moment, and went into the room adjoining to pre- 
 pare something to drink for this beloved object of my 
 heart, when all at once I heard a confused and 
 piercing noise issue from the sick room. I ran in haste 
 and beheld my brother, with the paleness of death on 
 my lips, placed half upright in his bed, and holding 
 with a trembling hand the curtains half open. He 
 called to me with a strong voice, but in a very 
 peculiar tone, 'Call, call my mother, call my sister; 
 I die but, I believe in God the Father, Son, and Holy 
 Ghost : I believe in Jesus Christ, my Saviour ; he is 
 Master, King of kings ; all must come to him ; Europe, 
 Asia, Africa, and America, are his ; he must reign ovt-r 
 the whole earth ; let it be announced in the syna- 
 gogue that I die in his name.' " 
 
 We trust that these instances will suffice to show 
 that there is faith in Israel. Although many may 
 reject the testimony of Jesus, we see in the holy lives 
 and happy deaths, in the patience and perseverance of 
 others, an abundant testimony that the Gospel of Jesus 
 is the power of God unto salvation in those that be- 
 lieve, both Jews and Gentiles : and we hope that those 
 who read these pages, will be led to join in saying 
 with those of whom we have been speaking, " Worthy 
 is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and 
 riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and 
 glory, and blessing. Glory to God in the highest, 
 peace on earth, good will towards men." 
 
 Printed at the Operative Jewish Converts' Institution, Palestine Place, 
 Bethna! Green.
 
 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 A 000095713 4
 
 ia 
 
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