The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-09-15 00:00:00

ANNIVERSARY MEETING

Last evening the anniversary meeting of the society was
held in the Royal Amphitheatre. The whole of the spacious
edifice was filled in every part, and a glorious spectacle it
presented. Amongst the clergy and gentry upon the plat-
form, we observed—Sir Deane, of Cork; Sir J. S. P.
Salusbury ; J. Rigby, Joshua Edwards, T. Greenall,
T. P. Pemberton, Keeling (Runcorn), M. Edwards,
Esqrs. ; the Revs. Chancellor Raikes, Dr. Byrth, H.
M'Neile, H. Stowell, T. S. Grimshaw, J. B. Cartwright,
J. H. Stewart, R. P. Buddicom, W. Raws'on, W. M`lvor,
R. Davies, W. Williams, E. Morgan, H. Jones, Mon-
creiff, F. Barker, Thos. Byrth, Smith (St. James's),
Jones, —M`Gill, A. M'Conkey, J. E. Bates, David James,
R. Williams, T. G. Driffield, C. W. Lawrence, F. Ould, B.
A. Marshall, J. Picton, H. Carpenter, Woods, W. Fal-
loon, T. S. Coles, D. Roberts, W. Pigeon, W. Pym, H. S.
Joseph, W. Maynard, J. Wright, Chalmers, Hassell,
T. Rawson, C.J. Richards, Siddons, Banner, France,
W. Fenton, J. Baylee, G. Stokes, T. Dwyre, J. N. Peill.
The Chair was, taken by the Worshipful and Rev. HENRY
RAIKES, the Chancellor of the Diocese.

The CHAIRMAN, in opening the proceedings, said—My
Christian friends. I trust that there is but one feeling in
this great assembly, that the work in which we arc engaged
is a work too great to be accomplighed by any power of man ;
but. that for its success we must depend upon the blessing of
God. Therefore, let the first step we take this evening be a
solemn act of prayer to implore the blessing of God upon the
work in which we are engaged.

The Rev. H. S. JOSEPH then offered an appropriate
prayer.

The CHAIRMAN then said—l feel at a loss, my Christian
friends, when I behold this immense assemblage before me,
whether I ought to congratulate the Society for Promoting
Christianity among the Jews upon the vast number of friends
whom I see collected in its cause. (At this period the Rev.
Hugh Stowell entered the platform, and his appearance
excited numerous rounds of applause.) I humbly request,
my friends, proceeded the venerable chairman, to remember
that altho' we are assembled for a particular purpose, and in
a building that is dedicated to other purposes, it is not desi-
rable to carry the habits of the theatre into an assembly like
the present ; and I do earnestly hope the hearts of all are
prepared to hear the statements that will be made to them
this evening with very different feelings from those which
usually display themselves in that noisy form of approbation
which is common to edifices like this. I was going to say, I
literally felt at a loss to know whether I ought to congratu-
late the Society for Promoting Christianity among the Jews
upon the business of this assembly, or whether I ought not to
direct my congratulations in a different direction, and con-
gratulate the town of Liverpool upon the interest she takes
in the important proceedings of that interesting society.
And I do not know but what the congratulations which I
feel must be due in one quarter or another, must be most
justly due to the community which has sent forth such a re-
presentation of its feeling as that which is before me at
present ; and this I say, from a firm and deep con-
viction that has been formed by the experience of some
years, that just in proportion as Scriptural religion
flourishes in a place—and by scriptural religion I mean the
only religion that is a sound and a real blessing to those who
possess it—just in proportion as scriptural religion gains a
hold upon the hearts of the community, so far does the
interest belonging to the Jewish cause develope itself likewise
among that community. Otherwise it must be a problem
not very easy to solve, that whilst during the past ages, that
whilst christianity has had its hold upon this country, and
whilst this country has produced writers of great distinction
in the christian cause, that while we must feel many things
lovely and of good report have been produced among us,
there has still been comparatively such a cold, languid, and
inefficient feeling with regard to the Jewish people. If we
look back upon past ages, we shall see some efforts made on
behalf of the heathen world, but literally none on behalf of
the Jewish people ; but I do believe that one of the best
tokens in the present day, one of the most conclusive proofs
that the Bible is really studied and felt is, that I see upon
every side an increasing interest in the welfare and condition
of the Jews. So long as our religion is a mere system of
ethics, and a mere tissue of metaphysical abstraction, the
Jews hold no part in the system of that religion. There may
be a religion beautiful in its scheme, beautiful in its code of
morals, but which shall have so little to do with the Bible,
that the Jews, as a people, shall have no hold upon the hearts
and affections of the persons who hold that religion, and
shall be regarded like some distant abstraction, in which they
cannot possibly take any deep or lively interest. But when
once the Bible begins to be read, when once the old testament,
as well as the new testament, are laid as the foundation of all
our religious belief, from that moment the Jewish people ac-
quire an interest in the hearts of believers to exercise an influ-
ence upon them from which it is not possible for us to es-
cape. And thus I feel convinced that of all the signs
of the times—and the signs of the times are so many,
that it is hardly possible for any one to fail remarking them—
there is hardly one which promises better for the healthy
tone of religion in this country, and for the Scriptural char-
acter of the belief of its inhabitants, than the universal in-
terest which is taken in the welfare of this interesting people.
You may remember, perhaps (for the passage is commonly
quoted), what our great moralist, Dr. Johnson, in his Tour
to the Hebrides, said, when he visited the ruins of lona :
giving vent to the feelings which the place excited, he said,
the man was to be pitied whose patriotism did not grow
warmer upon the plains of Marathon, or whose pity was not
excited by dwelling upon the ruins of lona. It has often
struck me, whilst reflecting upon the subject, that if that
great man, gifted as he was, capable as lie was of discerning
the workings of the human heart, could have derived such
sentiments as these from the ruins of lona, had walked through
the ruins of Judah, he might have derived a warmer and a
deeper feeling than those which the ruins of lona were calcu-
lated to produce. The fact is, that the religion of that man,
and, I grieve to think, the circumstances in which he was
born and lived, had crippled his powers, or he would have
allowed his mighty imagination to wander over the ruins of
Judah, and have derived from the hands of the Jewish peo-
ple a warmer tone of sentiment, a deeper feeling of piety,
than any that can be calculated upon from the plains of Ma-
rathon, or from amidst the ruins of lona. It is, however,
our privilege to be born in different days, and to enjoy
greater advantages than he did. It is our privilege to have
the whole Bible set before us, and to be led from the begin-
ning to the end of it, as the birthright to which we were born,
and to catch from the history of the Jewish people a deeper
and a livelier interest than that which can be borrowed from
any adventitious circumstances besides. And I rejoice to see
a meeting like this, formed and collected as it has been, for
it comes with a conviction to my mind, that the Bible has
been read—more than that, that the Bible has been felt, by
the families and individuals of whom this great assembly is
composed. Therefore let me lift up my heart in devout thank-
fulness to God, that he has permitted us to take this interest
in the welfare of the Jewish people, convinced as I am that
in the fortunes of that people mighty dispensations are in-
volved, and that the more we are interested in promoting
their welfare, the more we are connecting ourselves with the
work of Providence, and bringing down upon us the blessing
of our God. The venerable Chairman then called upon the
Secretary to read the annual report of the Committee.
The Rev. H. S. Joseph then read the report :
REPORT.
_ .

It is with thanksgiving totheooa and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that the Committee of the Liverpool _Auxiliary
Society for promoting Christianity amongst the Jews, pre-
sent to their subscribers and friends the report of their pro=
ceedings on the occasion of this their twenty-first annual
meeting.

The encouragement which God has been pleased during the
past year to vouchsafe, by His continued blessings on the
cause which they have had in hand, and the increased num-
ber of friends whom He has been pleased to raise up to unite
in this work of benevolence, require their deepest gratitude.
From the satisfactory increase also in the funds of your
Auxiliary, which your committee have the gratification of
announcing, they are graciously given to feel, that " the sil-
ver and the gold also are His." For these mercies they
would ascribe all the praise and glory to Him who saith,
" Salvation is of the Jews."
The committee would most affectionately congratulate
their subscribers and benefactors on the present state of their
elder brethren of the House of Israel. Their labour in the
ancient vineyard has not been "in vain in the Lord." Many
sons and daughters of Abraham have through their instru-
mentality been brought into " the fold of Christianity," to
be again children of the kingdom, through faith in the once
rejected Messiah.
Your committee, however, are not disposed to estimate the
excellence of any cause merely by the measure of success
which may attend it. If such a standard had been generally
adopted—if it had been in use in the days of primitive Chris-
tianity—where would have been the Christian religion at this
day ? Success and duty must ever be kept separate from each
other. Duty we maintain is ours : success is God's.

If in the discharge of duty He is pleased to give us proofs
of His approbation, by vouchsafing any measure of success,
to Him, and to Him alone, be ascribed all the praise : but,
if He please to withhold it, our obligations are not, therefore,
diminished; our path is not, therefore, to be forsaken. If
the principles in which we have associated ourselves together,
for any benevolent purpose are scriptural, and the means
adopted for carrying out those principles are agreeable to the
divine will, we need not fear the result.

The committee cannot allow the present occasion to pass
without adverting to the late most distressing persecution of
the Jews at Damascus and Rhodes, and to record their full
belief that the charges are altogether unfounded. At the
same time, they desire to express their deep sympathy with
the sufferings of that afflicted people, and willingly pledge
themselves to use every effort in their power to vindicate
them from so unjusCanlaspersion.
The PROSPECTS also of the Parent Society are bright and
inviting: proofs of the Divine blessing resting upon their la-
bours, are daily multiplied. Prejudices on the part of the
Jew (hitherto au almost insurmountable barrier) arc gradually
becoming relaxed, and the desire of the pure and infallible
Word of God in Hebrew, greatly excited, and widely extend-
ing. The FUNDS of the Parent Society have, during the last
year, been considerably augmented. The aggregate amount
of contributions received during the past year, towards the
general and special purposes of your society, i5..C22,420. Ss. 7d.
being an increase of £1915. 9s. sd. above the receipts of the
preceding year.
With respect to the proceedings of the parent society
during the past year, your committee are glad to report that
the distribution of copies of Hebrew Scriptures and tracts
are as follows : _ _

Hebrew Bibles, Bvo.

1203 1
-- - f 3986

Do. do., 12mo
German, &e., Old and New Testaments.
Hebrew New Testaments, Bvo

Do. Pentateuch arid Haphtorah
Do. Liturgy
Do. Scripture Portions. -
Syriac New Testaments
__ _

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