The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-09-21 00:00:00

The Rev. J. J. REYNOLDS, one of the secretaries to the
Parent Society, said he had much pleasure in seconding the
resolution. When he referred to what was contained in the
report there was much to encourage them in the interest
which their friends in Liverpool took in behalf of their elder
brethren, the Jews. When he considered that that interest
was spreading not only in England and Scotland, but that it
was also spreading across the broad Atlantic, he would take
it as a token of God's goodness to the Jewish people. He
would also look upon it as a token of God to their church,
and when they reflected on what had been noticed more than
once that evening, that within the last month as many as 14
of the heads of the church had come forward and patronised
that institution, he would look upon it as a token of food for
that church, for the Lord said " Blessed is he that blesseth
me." At a meeting of the Parent Society, lately held in
London, Dr. Marsh, that old and valued servant in the cause
of the Jews, in seconding a resolution, said he hailed the pa-
tronage of the bishops as a token of good to the church, and
as it was only the fulfilment of Lord's promises. He begged
to call the attention of the meeting to the letter of the Arch-
bishop of Canterbury, when he accepted the office of patron.
His lordship said he had received with more than ordinary
satisfaction the copy of a resolution passed at a meeting of
the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel amongst the
Jews, which placed the office of patron in the hands of the
Archbishop of Canterbury. In the hope that under the
blessing of God and the direction of his good spirit,
his humble endeavours might be rendered conducive
to the attainment of the very important object which
the secretary had in view he very gladly accepted the
office. In that recognition, and the expression of a hope
that his humble endeavours might be conducive to the ob-
jects of the society, they had the implicit guarantee that he
would not simply by his name, but that he would with his
heart assist the object which they had in view. The Arch-
bishop of York also said, that at the age of 84—and did they
not rejoice that at such an age he had joined them—though
not accustomed to connect himself to any new institution,
he would rejoice if his name could be made useful, and by
becoming vice-patron he could promote the object they had
in view? (Applause.) From all the prelates named also,
expressions of earnest desire that the society might do good
had proceeded, and most of them felt the importance of the
objects which that institution had in view. He congratu-
lated them that they had gone on increasing in zeal in this
good cause ; he hoped the zeal of the meeting that night
would still be excited, until their cry would be, " A larger
room still for the holding of the anniversaries." He would
call their attention briefly to the operations of the parent
society. The Bethnell Green institution had now about 50
boys and 30 girls within it. Since its establishment between
three and four.hundred Jewish children had passed through
the school ; and; -by a letter from the superintendent, he
found that he had written statements concerning 87 boys;
and 79 of these were supporting themselves in the greatest
comfort and respectability, whilst some of them had gone
abroad as followers of that Saviour on whom they learned to
believe in that school. Many of those who had been taught
in their infancy to throw contempt on the sacred name of the
Saviour, had been led to believe on his name. In looking
through the reports of those who had passed the institution,
he found that the first boy had become a clergyman ; another
was employed in teaching the Gentiles in Jamaica ; another
was the master of a school in London. One boy who was
taken away by his parents before his time expired went
to sea, and he was heard by the captain sing►ng on
the deck " Hosannah to the Son of David !" He did
not think that, sweet as was the music from Gentile's

lips, there was any song so sweet, any voice so de-
lightful as the voices of Jewish youths and adults, mingling
in that song of adoration—" Hosannall to the son of David;
blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." If
they went to the continent they would find that they had
nine schools in the duchy of Posen. and one lately establish-
ed at Constantinople. The truth that was taught in
these schools was carried home to the parents, and in one in-
stance the establishment of a school for adults had been sought
for. In the metropolis 130 Jews met for the worship of the
God of their fathers. They had also heard that in their
own town many of the Jewish people had inquired into the
truth of christianity, and numbers had, in a few years, been
brought to the knowledge of the truth. On the aggregate

3000 had been received into the church, many of them were
teachers in foreign universities, and many of them were mi-
nisters. He received a letter from Berlin, which said that the
conversion of the Jews was making rapid progress. They were
joining by tens and twenties, but the writer hoped they would
soon be joining by hundreds. The number which the writer
had himself baptized was 127, who had in a few years been
brought to a knowledge of the truth as it was in Christ. In
three years another minister had received 42 adults into the
Christian Church. One of them was a missionary labouring
in another land ; and another went to Jerusalem, and then to
Constantinople, where he was called away from the scene of
his earthly labours, they trusted to be happy with his Lord.
He was particularly struck on Tuesday, in a committee meet-
ing in London, when a gentleman who had jnst been ordained
as a missionary—he had been brought up a Jewish teacher—
rose to express on his own behalf and that of the Jewish na-
tion, the deep gratitude he felt to the society for being the
means of bringing him from darkness to light, and from the
power of Satan unto God. At Warsaw one of their own
missionaries had received one hundred and fifty into
the Christian Church. There were, however, circum-
stances of trial during the past year, especially in the
removal of some of their missionaries from their missionary
labours. If they went to Constantinople, they found a gen-
tleman summoned from his labours here to his reward above.
If they went to Tunis, they found another called to his rest.
If they went to Smyrna, they would there find that an inter-
esting Israelite, who had suffered much for that Master on
whom he was taught to believe, and who was engaged in
translating the Liturgy and the Scriptures into Spanish, had
been taken away by fever. If they went to Jerusalem, they
would find also that an architect, who had just gone out to
survey some work, was summoned hence, teaching them that
it was not by human agency they were to accomplish their
work. With respect to Jerusalem, Mr. Nicholayson, who
was there, came home ; but the committee determined on
proceeding with the building. Another architect had gone
out, a physician had just set sail, and ere long they would
hear of a mission, established not only on the principles of
the church, but with one of the highest officers of the church
at its head. The rev. gentleman concluded by informing the
meeting that 50,000 copies of the Old and New Testament
had been distributed, calling, at the same time, on the per-
sons present to assist the institution 'by their prayers and
their means.
The Rev. W. W. EWBANK rose amidst much applause to
move the next resolution. He said—My dear Christian
friends, I was not aware till I entered the room this evening
that I was to have a resolution entrusted to my charge,
therefore, I trust you will not expect me to make before you
this evening any lengthened observations. Let me, first of
all, read the resolution, which is a very important one, and
upon which I doubt not you vyill hear after me very much in-
teresting information. The &solution is simply this :
" That it appears to this meeting, that events of the most
important nature are ever newly arising in the course of
Providence, to increase the interests of the Christian church
in the operations of this society, with respect to the Jewish
people—and that recent events in Syria and the adjacent
countries are peculiarly of this character."
I cannot help thinking, and I doubt not you will all of you
agree with me, that the most important event which in the
course of God's providence has taken place in the world, at
any rate that in which we are most particularly interested, is
the revival of sound and scriptural doctrine in our own
Church of England. (Hear.) We are every one of us
aware, my dear friends, that the Church of England for
many years after the Reformation was in a very languid
and dull state. There was, indeed, the channel for the
transmission of knowledge to the people. but the gospel of
Jesus Christ was not preached with that distinctive clearness
with which it ought to have been : but it has pleased God
within the last twenty or thirty years, or still further back, to
bless this church by the influence of his Holy Spirit, and I
would rather, I confess, attribute to the influence of that
gracious Spirit, the increase of interest in the christian
church in the operations of this society for the conversion of
the Jewish people. (Hear, hear.) Now just see what is the
mode by which the Holy Spirit acts upon the church. It is
simply by appealing to that church, collectively and indivi-
dually, what that Holy Spirit h,..s written aforetime in the
pages of the Holy Scriptures ; and the most important event,
therefore, that can ever happen in any church, is au increase
of interest in the simple statements of the word of God.
Now I believe this is the sole reason why we are taking now
so much more interest in the operations of this society than
we have been in past times. It is quite impossible for a man
under the influence of the Holy Spirit to take the Bible into
his hand, and to read its plain statements without perceiving
at any rate these three things. First of all that the command of
Christ is still an unrepealed command, a standing order, which
we have no right to avoid, and which is bound up together
with those commandments the keeping of which hasbeen given
by Christ as a test of our love to him, that we are to preach
the zospel to the Jews first and then to the Gentiles. This
command has been for a long time overlooked, but neverthe-
less it is as distinctly written there as ever it was. It seems
to have been supposed that because by the preaching of the
gospel to some Jews in this city and in that, because they re-
jected the gospel, and by their rejection the apostles and other
ministers turned round to the gentiles in that city and
preached the gospel to them ; it seems to have been supposed
that the rejection of the gospel by this and that city of the
Jews has given a right to all Christians, never for all genera-
tions, to make an offer of the gospel to them. But this is an
erroneous impression. So long as a single Jew continues in
the world before whom the gospel is not brought to notice,
who has not been besought to enter the fold to which all'the
lost sheep of the house of Israel are invited by the Saviour,
the command of Jesus Christ has not been carried fully into
execution. This I say is the first thing we learn from Holy
Scripture,:and I need not 'say to you, speaking to you as
Christians, as those who manifest by your attendance this
evening, that you are interested in these things, I say that
this is the greatest motive which can possibly be brought be-
fore your notice. I say also in reading Holy Scripture we
have brought to our notice that we owe a debt of gratitude to
the Jews which we ought not to be slow in attempting to pay.
To them were committed the oracles of God ; they h v
kept them for us, and we remember the noble argument of St.
Paul in his epistle to the Romans, where he says that the
Jews were taken away as it were from the original root, that
we might be grafted thereon in order that we might partake
of the fatness of the olive. Now shall we enjoy the privi-
leges of God's ancient people without feeling in our zeal, a
spark of gratitude to them for what they in the course of
Providence have done to us? (Hear.) I need make no ex-
cuse for bringing forward this argument, because it is the ar-
gument of Paul himself. Lastly, we learn also from Holy
Scripture this third motive, that all our expectations of
future happiness and blessedness are bound up with the des-
tinies of the Jews. (Hear.) We cannot open the Holy
Scriptures, nor read them with regard to Jewish history,
without perceiving that whatever progress the Gospel may be
expected to make by means of Missionary Societies, in car-
rying the gospel to the Gentile, however many souls may be
undoubtedly gathered into God's vineyard, yet, nevertheless,
we are not entitled to expect any great and national conver-
sion of the world till the fullness of the Jews comes in after
the fulness of the Gentiles. And therefore if it was only for
these three motives, remembering the command of Jesus
Christ, remembering our gratitude to the ancient people of
Israel, looking forward with all our expectations to that glo-
rious time when there shall be neither Jew nor Greek, but
all shall be one in Christ Jesus—having these three motives,
I say we shall want nothing else to make us active and ener-
getic in this holy cause. I should not have come before you
this evening, my friends, being utterly unprepared with
regard to this special subject ; but I confess I am
anxious, though unprepared, to take this earliest oppor-
tunity of declaring to you my attachment for this society.
(Hear.) Ido hope that though these motives which I have
brought before you must, as I conceive, be amply sufficient
for every one of us. The details which we have heard and
shall shortly hear from those who can give you the benefit of
their own experience, there will be added to those motives
the greatest encouragement which we can possibly derive, by
finding in this, as in other socities, that our labour has not
been in vain in the Lord. The reverend gentleman concluded
by moving the resolution.
The Rev. E. BICKESETETII said he rose to second the re-
solution. He could not but feel that their society was now
in a very remarkable and encouraging position. When he
looked back on its history from the year 1808, and to the va-
rious trials by which it had been led now for thirty-three
years to it present position, he could not but see how much
cause they had to be thankful to their heavenly Father. The
society was formed of all denominations of Christians at the
beginning, and got into difficulties in its earlier years, till the
debt in the society became so heavy as to threaten entirely to
overwhelm them. In that difficulty one of the devout friends
of the society, Lewis Wade, came forward and advanced ten
thousand pounds out of his own pocket to relieve the society
• and place it immediately and entirely in the hands of the,
church of England. (Cheers.) With perfect good feeling
this arrangement was agreed to, and from that time to this
the society became more directly and immediately connected