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city shall be built on her own heap. Come my beloved, &c.

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They who spoil thee shall become a spoil; and they that swallow thee up shall be removed far away: thy God will rejoice in thee, as the bridegroom rejoiceth in his bride. Come my beloved, &c.

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"On the right and on the left shalt thou be extended, and the Eternal shalt thou revere; through the means of a man, the descendant of Pharez, will we rejoice and be glad. Come my beloved, &c.

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O come in peace, thou crown of thy husband; also with joy and mirth, in the midst of the faithful and beloved people. Enter, O bride! Enter, O bride! Come my beloved to meet the the presence of the Sabbath let us

bride : receive."

Then follow Psalms xcii. and xciii., and the Orphan Kaddish.

The words,

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Come my beloved to meet the bride," are said aloud by the congregation. In the fifth verse of the hymn we have a very remarkable expression, "by the hand of the son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, redemption draweth nigh to my soul." Who is intended by the 66 son of Jesse ?" If the Messiah, then the Jews who composed this hymn, expected in him a redeemer for the soul. Not merely a deliverer from temporal bondage, but one who could act as THE GOEL, the redeemer of the immortal spirit. Yet no man can redeem his brother, or give to God a ransom for him—no mere man. The redemption of the soul is too precious; and besides this, there never was a man who did not himself need a Redeemer. David, the son

of Jesse, was himself a sinner, and needed a Redeemer. He, therefore, cannot be the redemption referred to. Does not then this hymn confirm the truth held by the most ancient of the Jewish writers, that a Divine Redeemer should appear in human form, and illustrate the marvellous union which should exist in him who is David's Lord and David's Son?

In the expression, by the "means or hand of a descendant or son of Pharez," we have another intimation respecting Messiah. Pharez was the son of Judah. From the tribe of Judah, from the family of the son of Jesse, was Messiah to spring. Shall we not then heartily pray, “by the hand of this descendant of Jesse may redemption draw nigh to the souls of Israel." Amen.

ACCOUNT OF THE CONVERSION OF A JEW. WRITTEN BY HIS BROTHER.

IN his desire to correct the mistake which the Gentile converts at Rome had fallen into (which, alas! is too prevalent in the Christian Church in our day), that because the Jews rejected Jesus as their Messiah, therefore God had entirely cast away His people; the Apostle Paul in the clearest manner describes the present dispensation of grace, and the unchangeable purposes of God towards them; and, then, as if lost in the meditation of the amazing love of God our Saviour, he rapturously exclaims: "O, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God; how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways

past finding out." Manifestations of the love of God to Jew and Gentile are daily taking place; and it is no less interesting, than it is strengthening to our faith, to trace the providence of God in individual cases, calling them out from darkness to the glorious light of the Sun of Righteousness. In the hope that an instance of the kind will also prove profitable to the readers of the "Advocate," and thereby stimulate the young reader in more active exertion on behalf of God's ancient people, I give the case of a brother of mine.

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The subject of this narrative lived for many years in Russia, which country, as well as that of Austria, may be termed, as regards Gospel light, the dark places of the earth." Though they have, indeed, the form of Christianity, they deny the power thereof; and what the poor Jew sees there of what is called Christianity, is quite enough to turn him against such a system. In Russia, the Jew sees nothing but picture-worship, and in Austria, image-worship; and no Protestant missionary is allowed to remain in either country, to tell the poor Jew of the religion of Jesus, and that He alone is " the way, the truth, and the life," and that "no man can come to the Father but by Him."

My brother lived in Russia. He considered himself just before God, inasmuch as he lived as a pious Jew, and what righteousness he came short of, he considered the merits of Abraham, imputed to him, would make up, as he was one of his descendants. He looked down with the greatest contempt upon "the sinners of the Gentiles," and considered it impossible for any Jew to become a Christian; feeling no need of a Saviour

himself, he could not understand the feelings of others, and there was no likelihood, as far as man could see, that this son of Abraham after the flesh should become one of his spiritual seed. However, Divine Providence brought it about that he should leave Russia. In consequence of a law passed in that country, which ordered every foreign Jew to leave; he, being an Austrian, left, and after travelling for some time in quest of a home, he learned that I lived in England, and hitherward he bent his steps. He learned subsequently that I was a Christian, and was much grieved, but could not alter his determination of coming to me; though he feared that I would not see him, judging from the way in which a Jew acts towards a brother who becomes a Christian, and requires his assistance; but he soon found that "we have not so learned Christ."

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The first evening he arrived, when he saw us kneeling down at family worship, he left the house. On his return, I asked him the reason of his leaving, which he stated was not to see us praying on our knees, which he said, appealing to me, you know is prohibited in our Law." I then took the opportunity of proving to him that that law was of man, and entirely at variance with the law of God. All the Jewish saints offered up their prayers to Jehovah on their knees. Solomon, for instance, in dedicating the Temple, we are told "knelt down." Daniel,

when he understood that the decree of the Medes and Persians went forth against him because he kept the law of his God, did not shrink from drawing nigh to him in prayer, and that "as

retime," on his knees. In both instances

God was pleased to answer; to the former, by filling the house with His glory; to the latter, by sending His angel to shut the mouths of the lions. David, also, in directing the worship of Jehovah, said—" Come, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker." Nor are we furnished with examples only, but we have also a positive command in Isa. xlv. 23. He "who knows what is in man," knows best what effect the posture of the body has on the mind; and I should remark here, that the word translated bow, is in the Hebrew kneel.

"Why, then, do the Rabbies prohibit that mode of worship?" was the inquiry. This I explained, by their mistaking the command of their law-giver Moses: "Ye shall not go in the way of the Gentiles," which has reference to the idolatrous nations; we ought not to be offended because the Gentiles worship the same God, and in the same way: we Jews should rather rejoice that God had granted to the Gentiles also repentance unto life." The words were blessed to him, and he soon became an enquirer after truth; the self-righteous pharisee became a self-condemned sinner, and through grace he was enabled to confess Jesus as his Messiah.

Thus the spoiling of his earthly prospects, by an arbitrary law, made him, through the goodness of God, by the law of grace, rich in faith; and, though having nothing, yet possessing all things, because Jesus made him a child of God, and an inheritor of eternal glory; and "such honor have all his saints."

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