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will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and I will feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy Father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."

A. R.

A CONVERTED JEW.

MY DEAR SIR,-I am induced to send you the following account of an interview, which I have lately had with a converted Jew, hoping it may interest many of the readers of your valuable little work. The Jew's way of life was travelling about from town to town with quills, sealing-wax, and pencils, for sale; and he was led to call on me, in consequence of an introduction from a friend in a neighbouring town. As I felt a great desire to know the means by which the Lord had been graciously pleased to open his eyes to the knowledge of the truth, I requested him to give me the particulars, and obtained from him a statement, of which, as nearly as I can recollect, the following is the substance:

'I called one day (he said) at a gentleman's counting-house to sell my goods, in the way of my business. This gentleman was the son of the minister of the parish, who was a very good man and belonged to the Jew's Society, and took a great interest about the Jews. The gentleman asked me if I was a Jew? I told him I was. He said he should like to have some conversation with me about my religion. I answered, "I did not come to talk about my religion, but to sell my goods." The gentleman said, I might sell my goods and talk about my religion too; and that I might probably find the one as much for my advantage as the other. He then said he would send for his father to talk to me, as he had a great love for the Jews. His father

accordingly came; and after talking a little with me, he asked me if I should like to read the New Testament? I said I had no objection to read it, as I thought it could not do me any harm. He then offered to give me one, if I would promise to read it. I told him I could not read an English Testament, but if he would give me a Hebrew one, I would read it: he accordingly got one for me from the Jew's Society, and gave it to me. I took it home and read it for about three months, as I would any other history, but found no pleasure from it. One day, while I was reading it, one of our people called on me, and asked me what I was reading? I told him, the New Testament. He said, "Why do you read such foolish books as that?" and snatched it out of my hands, and ran away with it. The next day I went to him and asked him what he had done with my book? He said he had burnt it. I told him he had done very wrong to burn my book; for if he did not love the book, his love for our holy language, in which it was written, ought to have prevented him

from burning it. I then went to the gentleman who had given it to me, and told him what had become of it; and he got me another. This I continued to read, as before, for about six months longer; but still without finding any pleasure or benefit from it; until one day that I chanced to open my Bible at the 53rd Chapter of Isaiah; on reading which I thought I remembered having read something like it in the book of Matthew in the New Testament. I therefore immediately turned to that part of the new Testament, and compared it with the 53rd chapter of Isaiah; and was so struck with the likeness of the account in Matthew with the words of the prophet (which I knew related to our promised Messiah) that I was convinced that the events related in the former must be a fulfilment of the latter; and that Jesus Christ, who had been crucified,. must be the very person who the Prophet had foretold was to be "wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities," and that he could be no other than the true Messiah. From that time I began to feel a very great interest and pleasure in reading the New Testament; and shortly afterwards went to the minister, and told him what I thought about Jesus Christ, and begged he would teach me the Christian's religion; as I wished to be baptized, and to worship Jesus Christ as they did. He took great pains with me for three years, explaining the different parts of the New Testament, and shewed me particularly how they agreed with the Old; and at the end of that time I was publicly baptized into the faith of Jesus Christ. I heartily bless God for having opened my eyes; for it has made me happier than I ever was before in my life. I formerly thought of nothing but how to get money, that I might be rich, and never troubled myself about my soul; but I was very much struck by the words of Jesus Christ, in the New Testament, "What is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"and I now think very little about money: for my whole trust is in God; and I find that, although my own people have cast me off because I have become a Christian, God raises up friends for me wherever I go.'

After he had concluded his narrative, I had some further conversation with him, particularly as to the general progress of the work of conversion amongst the Jews. He said there was much stir, and many more conversions going on in Poland and Germany, than in Britain; because as he observed, 'the Jews there were in general good Jews; that is, they were in earnest about religion'; but that most of those in Britain seemed to pay no further attention to it than the name and forms; but he repeated with much emphasis, 'the Jews in Poland and Germany are in earnest! and they are in general ready and glad to talk to anybody, who will speak to them seriously about religion.' He stated that the Jewish priests and elders forbid their people

from reading the prophecies in the Bible, (just as the Roman Catholic priests endeavour to keep the Bible from their poor deluded followers;) and he said he was convinced it was from the fear that their eyes should be opened, as his had been; but that the Jews on the continent now regularly read and study the prophecies, as well as the other parts of the Old Testament; and that there is a general opinion rising up amongst them that their Messiah has appeared. But he observed with a great expression of sorrow, that the sinful lives of Christians in general, was a great hindrance to the work of conversion amongst the Jews; for they remark that theirs cannot be the true religion, otherwise they would be more holy in their conduct. On my asking him what he thought, as to the promise of the general conversion of the Jews and their restoration to the favour of God previous to the second advent of our Lord, he said he believed it would be brought about suddenly, as by a miracle;—that some of their leading people would first be enlightened by the Holy Spirit, and make a public confession of their faith in Christ, and that the great body of the people would be shortly afterwards brought to follow them: "for," he said, "they look up still with the same reverence to their chief priests and elders, as they did in the time of our Saviour; when they inquired, ‘Have any of the rulers believed on him?"" He seemed to be convinced that their conversion will not be a gradual work, like that of the Gentiles; and I could not help thinking there appeared to be some foundation for his opinion, on a reference to the several restorations of the Jews, as related in the Old Testament histories; where they appear to have been uniformly effected by a general movement of the whole people; as in the deliverance from the Egyptian bondage, the return from the Babylonish captivity &c.: God's dealings with these his chosen people seeming always to have had a peculiarity of character, differing from the course of his providential dispensations towards the rest of mankind. The agency of missionaries and the general circulation of the New Testament are probably preparing their minds for this general call of the nation. I must not omit to notice one remark, that this converted Jew made, as it appears deserving of general attention. He said Christians ought never to let an opportunity pass, when any Jew calls on them in the way of business, of drawing him into conversation on the subject of his religion; for he observed, 'when the Jews saw that Christians appeared to take so much interest about their religion, it might lead them to think, and inquire, and read the Bible more themselves-the advantage of doing so, he said, had been proved in his own case: but, as it is, Christians buy their goods and give themselves no trouble about their religion, as if it was of no consequence; and consequently the Jews have no means of knowing the religion of Jesus, and remain as ignorant and indifferent about it as they believe the Christians

to be. As he spoke a good deal with the Hebrew accent, during the whole of our conversation, it considerably heightened the interest of all that he said.

At the close of our intercourse I purchased some of his articles, and then wrote several letters of introduction for him to different Christian friends and other persons, who I thought were likely to be of use to him, in the neighbouring towns to which he said he was going; for which he expressed himself very grateful, and seemed deeply affected by the interest I appeared to take about him, being a total stranger to me, and said he hoped God would reward me. I reminded him that it was no more than my duty, as he would see in the New Testament that Jesus had particularly commanded his disciples to "love one another"; and that St. John in his first epistle, writing on brotherly love, observes, "he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God, whom he hath not seen?"-He replied, it was very true; and that he hoped the time would soon come that all Christians would love one another, as the first Christians had done.-We then parted with mutual expressions of brotherly kindness and good wishes. May this account induce many of your readers to be more zealous for the Redeemer's glory, in regard to the "lost sheep of the house of Israel"! Believe me, dear Sir,

With sincere Christian regard,
Very gratefully yours,

MINIMUS.

FURTHER PARTICULARS OF OLD SUSAN HUDSON.

Her father was a pious man. At a period when true religion was much opposed, he opened his door to Whitfield, Wesley and Nelson, who not unfrequently preached to assembled friends in his house.

Susan when a child was therefore accustomed to hear the truth, and no doubt many prayers were treasured up in heaven for her.

Who can tell, but that even at the eleventh hour of 92, the blessing implored by her long deceased father, was graciously answered!

Let parents never cease to pray for their children; remembering, that the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

2 CORINTHIANS viii. 9.

"Who though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor."
He reigned in heaven, and angels stood

In silent awe before his throne,

Where rays of glory like a flood

Of ambient lustre o'er him shone:

And heaven's eternal arches rang,
Filled with the echo of his name,
Where thousand times ten thousand sang
With ceaseless joy and glad acclaim:
While ranks of shining seraphim

Struck their bright harps of praisę to him.
He came on earth, the Son of man,
He laid his wond'rous glory by;
Who in that human face might scan
Trace of the power that rul'd the sky ?
Few were his hours of rest, and brief;
His lip refused the cup of mirth ;
A man of sorrows and of grief,
He bore the destiny of earth:
A day of toil, a night of prayer,
He taught his weary frame to bear.
He lived in heaven, the King of kings;
The God of Hosts, the Lord of all!
Archangels spread their glorious wings,
Prompt to obey his every call.
And joy unmingled, unsubdued,
Unknown, ineffable, delight,

Fell o'er the blessed throng who stood
Before his footstool day and night:
No eye hath seen nor ear hath heard,
The bliss of heaven's eternal Lord.

He bore on earth a weary lot,

His holy heart with anguish torn; He came, his own receiv'd him not,

He drank the dregs of shame and scorn: Forsaken in his bitterest hour,

His chosen followers left his side. Can this be he? the God of power? Despised, rejected, crucified?

A crown of mockery on his head,

And those he loved and trusted fled!

Yea! this is he, and this is love,

Love, unimagined and unknown;

He left his Father's joys above,

Turned from his kingdom and his throne;

Yea, cast aside his kingly crown,

A weary wayfarer became ;

Bore e'en his Father's bitter frown,

Endured the cross, despised the shame :
Then conquered hell and burst the grave,
And rose 66
omnipotent to save."

ESPERANCE.

A. FOSTER, PRINTER, KIRKBY LONSDALE.

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