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

benefits of which she has been made the recipient by God,
and when I think of the pounds, shillings, and pence part of
the matter, I am ashamed that only £22,000 were collected
and I hang down my head. (Hear, hear.) Why, the church
of Christ ought to come and give back the gifts she has re-
ceived at the hands of the Jew. This is the true way in
which to look at the matter : and I verily believe that if the
cause be laid before the church of Christ, there will be a
response made to the application, which will surprise ourselves
and prove to others that there is a feeling in the chord of
christians which will vibrate if it be only touched by the min-
istry throughout the length and breadth of the land. (Loud
cheers.) But there are other reasons why I think we should
come to the rescue of this people, and one of those is, a con-
sideration of the past privileges of the Jew. Look to the con-
dition of that people during the 1500 years they constituted
the church of Christ. It is not my intention here to go back
to the call of Abraham, hut I refer you to the 1500 years
during which they were established in the land of promise.
It appears manifest that God selected the nation out of all
the nations under heaven. He took them out of the midst
of another nation. He made bare his arm in the time of
Pharaoh. He brought plague upon plague for the purpose
of proving this fact, that he was God over all the earth, and
that he world do according to his pleasure. And then if we
follow the Israelites in their passage through the wilderness,
what do we find ? VF hy, we find that the ordinary course of
nature was reversed, that God hedged them in a corner, that
when the sea rolled between them and the opposite side, and
death threatened them in the rear, God set at nought the
evil devices of the enemy, and, by commanding the sea to
roll back, enabled his ransomed people to pass over. This
'Pas a wonderful distinction ; but all you who go with them
into the land of promise, what do you find? Their history
was marked with light, and distinguished from all histories
by this feature : that God condescended not only to betheir
historian, but that he condescended also to be 'their guide,
and that he consented to go before them in a cloud by day
and a pillar of fire by night. This was a distinction of which
they might well be proud. (Hear, hear.) But what has been
their condition for the last 1800 /ears ? They are scattered
among all nations—they are a bye-word among the people,
arid the Gentiles have treated them with all kinds of ignominy.
When I contrast their condition now with what they were in
times past, they appear to me to be like Gideon's fleece.
Under those circumstances, I say that the exertions of the
Christian church do not keep pace with the occasion,
nor are they commensurate with the obligations we owe
to the God of Israel. It is to me a plain and self-evi-
dent fact, that there are glorious prospects placed before
the Jews in the Old Testament scriptures ; for wh'en
we look to the Jew what do we see ? We see a man with a
mark on him like that of Cain. All this may be true, and
true it is, but we also see something more. For instance,
we see the vary incarnation of prophecies which have yet to
be accomplished. We see in him the germ of that blessing
which will unfold itself over the whole earth, for the receiv-
ing back of Israel shall be as life from the dead. When I
look to their laud at present, t'behold. the -Rose of. Sharon
hanging its head, the cedars of Lebanon drooping, and Car-
mel casting off its fruits ; in short; the land appears desolate ;
but shall these things always last ? Oh, no ! I believe the
sure word of God, and so believing, it is impossible for me
to entertain such a notion for a moment. I believe that the
rose of Sharon will again blossom, and that the cedars of Le-
banon will again bud forth,, and that Carn,el shall once more
abound in fruits, for God has promised all these things, and
it is impossible that anything which he has said shall fail.
(Cheers.) But I see more, for I see that the commencement
of these times is approaching. After 'some further remarks
in elucidation of this point, the rev. gentleman concluded by
saying, I shall not occupy much more of your time, for there
are giants in our days as well as in the days that are past and
gone. (Cheers.) There are giants here to-night, I say, to
whom it is a privilege on my part to hold a candle, and the
latchet of whose shoes I am unworthy to unloose. (Conti-
nued cheers.) I shall, therefore, only make one additional
remark. I have to congratulate this meetiug on the disco-
very of a secret they have made—namely, to treat the Jew
on a genuine Christian principle—the law of love. (Loud
cries of " Hear, hear.") I hope this secret will be continued,
and that we will never cease our strenuous and persevering
exertions, until we make the whole Jewish nation participa-
tors of Christ's great salvation. The rev. gentleman resumed
his seat amidst loud applause.

The Rev. HUGH SiOWELL then rose to address the meet-
ing, and was received with tremendous applause. He spoke
as follows :—The resolution, Mr. Chancellor, which it is my
privilege to submit to this ample assembly, is one beautifully
in accordance with the sentiment which you favoured us with
in opening the meeting •, it is a resolution ascribing all glory
to God, and giving all honour of worms to the dust; it is a
resolution which cheered and encouraged me in the thought
of addressing so vast an assemblage, and which reminded me
of a similar sentiment expressed by the sainted Cecil. I de-
sire to submit a few simple remarks to this assembly, and
may the blessing and presence of God be amidst us. The
resolution which I have to propose is, " That this meeting
humbly ascribes to God alone all the glory, praise, and suc-
cess that has hitherto attended this society ; and that it, at
the same time, avails itself of this present occasion to ex-
press their sympathy with the sufferings and persecutions
of the Jews at Rhodes and Damascus, and their full con-
viction that the charges brought against them are alto-
gether unfounded ; and pledge themselves to use all the
means in their power to vindicate them from these un-
just accusations." I could fully go along with my es-
teemed and venerable friend Mr. Grimshaw, in the glow-
ing sentiments with which he led us to behold—with which
he led our imagination to trace the hallowed scenes of
Judah. I have no sympathy with the man that can look
with calmness on the Jewish nation, or who feels not his
heart warm within him when contemplating their present
state, their past condition, and their approaching splendour.
The very name of a Jew seems to carry conviction to my
mind and strength to my faith. When I remember them

scattered amongst all nations of the world, I can point to
them as a miracle and a lasting one. I can tell our poor
blind Socialists that they can sooner extinguish the noontide
splendour of the sun, than they can extinguish the undying
ashesa
no
inf Jheirsus al
workshop,ei xi . The
when simplest,
s the
beset plainesta nd
spirit of religion, as it glimmers on the altars and in the
arti
the•
•
se poor, blind, and infatuated en •of •
enemies their own happi-
ness, of their own hope' of th •
ceaven—om of m eir, own souls, of their own
ould weep overthe thbottomem, I couldy almost bleed for them—I
would bleed for them if I could rescue them from their ruin
—from plunging themselves and seeking to plunge others in
ruin)—the poor simple workman, when asked, •`the truth of your
irla
cunningly-devised fable' ) "
Where
repherely,
is
" Look at the Jews—look at Mount S. : there is a living
, miraele • you.niaa hear.,it ; with your own eyes you ma
it ; you may test it with your senses ; God has written Irisee
every dislocated fragment. The word of God is the truth,on
the whole truth, and nothing bnt the truth. True in the
triumphs that take place ; true in Israel's scattering ; true in
Israel's restoring ' • it is indeed true on this day. when infi-
delity is making her last and dying struggle, that whilst we
have princes making assaults on our faith on the one hand,
we have fresh demonstrations of increase of faith multiplying
on the other hand." Mr. Grimshaw has given us his own
eye-witness account of the refted rock of Jesus, and Mr. Wild
has recorded, in his interesting and instructive book of tra-
vels, that there was discovered in the potter's field a secret
cemetery, and an.accumulation of skulls was found piled in
the deepest recess, which had escaped the notice of philoso-
phers and of the many led by curiosity to visit Jerusalem—
for it is now becoming a centre of deep interest to the phi-
losopher—tothe scientific man, and to the traveller—and they
all flocked to see what had been found ; some hoping to find
confirmation of scriptures, others wishing to have fresh inves-
tigations of their faith. They flocked to examine these
skulls ; and on examination there was not a solitary skull
found that was a Jewish skull ; but they were all the skulls
of strangers found in the Potter's field, which was bought to
bury strangers in. (Applause.) What is there to set against
these' fresh proofs of the truths of the gospel, gathered
up day by day, and week by week, from the ruins of
Jerusalem ? Nay, evidence is accumulating day by day ;
wars, and rumours of wars, ail are going to authenticate
and demonstrate more and more those blessed scrip-
tures of truth, of which it has been said—" Heaven and
earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass
away." (Hear.) I was especially interested and struck
with the remarks of my friend (Mr. Cartwright) who has
preceded me, with regard to the signs of the times, as in-
dicating the speedy return of the Israelites to their own
land. I cannot but think that many of my reverend bre-
thren, many of whom I love and esteem, are fond of keep-
ing the blinds on their eyes. I could just as soon doubt
as to the dispersion of the Jews, as that they are now dis-
posed to return. I could just as soon believe that Christ
came to reign in his humiliation, as doubt that he will come
to reign in his glory over his ransomed people, when Jeru-
salem shall be the spiritual metropolis of an evangelical
world. And it appears to me to arise from the want of
searching the, scriptures with an eye to the Jew and with a
willingness to see Israel's glory. I, for one, have no jea-
lousy of Israel's supremacy. I, for one, should be glad to
see her take the lead in her future triumphs, willing but to
catch at the skirts of her garments, (Hear, bear, and loud
applause,) There is one peculiar feature in the state of the
Israelites which my friend did not advert to; it was glanced
at briefly in the report, and it is, that the Jews are, to a very
wide extent, forsaking the Talmud and returning to the
Bible—that they are taking the lamp of heaven out of the
perdition into which it has been cast, and taking it to guide
their footsteps. (Applause.) I believe in every age of the
church, that one of the greatest curses of the church has
been the tendency to turn from the book of truth to the mire
and quicksands of tradition. I believe that just as the Is-
raelites lost the truth when they put the lamp of truth into the
dark lanthorn of tradition, so the church of Rome lost the
truth when she hid it by putting it into the dark lanthorn of
tradition. And I belive that our glorious reformation broke
on the world just when the lamp of light was taken out of
the dark lanthorn of tradition ' • and I believe that the glorious
light of the reformation would be quenched, or eclipsed again,
if we again thrust the lamp of light into the dark lanthorn of
human ttadition. (Loud applause.) Yes, my dear friends,
I rejoice that you respond to so scriptural a sentiment.
Whether without the church, in the dark apostacy, or within
the church of well-meaning brethren who seem to be laying
too much stress on tradition, we all respond to the ex-
pression of Chillingworth—" The Bible and the Bible only
is the religion of protestantism." ,(Great applause.) Thank
God for inspiring the fathers with whatever of good there
may be in them ! Thank God for whatever by tradition has
come down to us which confirms these inspiring writings !
Thank God for our own beautiful Prayer-book—the morning
star that accompanies revelation ! Thank God for all that
is beautiful and orderly in our own church—the eldest born
daughter of the reformation ! (Immense applause.) Never-
theless, in comparison, perish the Prayer-book ! perish the
church of England ! perish the fathers ! perish the human
scaffolding—every human building, but leave the rock of
eternal truth—the rock of the living God, untouched, un-
tarnished, and unharmed ! (Tremendous applause.) I can-
not, Mr. Chancellor, but hail the fact of the Jews turning
back from tradition and turning to the language of the
prophets, with the utmost delight. I doubt not but that,
like the star of Bethlehem which guided the wise men of the
East, the scriptures will in due time guide them to where
the Saviour is to be found. I cannot, too, but regard
it as one of the moat striking signs of the times that
Egypt is so largely concerned in the present aspect of affairs
with regard to the Jews. It is a remarkable fact that for-
merly our attempt, and that of European nations generally,
was mainly settled on the north, or turned to the westward;
but now, the attempt of the whole civilised world is turned
to the east ; and we believe that christianity also is turning
to those bright places from whence it came, and where it will
shine in its brightest noon-tide glory. (Hear.) And it is a
remarkable fact that the Pacha of Egypt, as connected with
these transactions, is foretold in the most striking manner in
connection with the Jews, in the 19th chapter of the pro-
phecy of Isaiah.

_
" In that day shall there be a way out of Egypt to Assyria,
and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian
into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assy-
rians. In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and
and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land :
Whom the to'rd of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be
Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of mine hands, and
Israel mine inheritance."

It is distinctly indicated here that the period should come
when Egypt, Assyria, and Israel should be united, and that
there should be intercourse between them—that they should
be together converted to the Lord, for what other construc-
tion can be put on this language--" Blessed be Egypt my
people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my in-
heritance. How far does not the present state of Egypt,
Assyria, and Palestine, united under the same head, and the
actual feeling that 11r. Grunshaw has witnessed to us that
the Pacha of Egypt is extending towards the Israelites, and
the intercourse which is more and more taking place between
Egypt and Assyria, how far is this advancing towards the
accomplishment of this recorded prophecy ? . (Hear, hear.)
And who has influenced the minds of the Assyrians.tolook
upon Israel ? Who but the God who has been drying up the