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four Jews who had come from Tunis. When I asked them, why they had left the coast of Africa, they replied, because they wished to see Jerusalem, and the place where the holy temple stood. I told them Jerusalem was destroyed. Yes, said they, but it is still Jerusalem, the land of our fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.'

Yes; but it is still Jerusalem :-this has been the key-note of Jewish feeling for centuries; and, if we turn to the sure word of prophecy, we find why, amidst wanderings long, weary, and wide enough, to have made another people lose almost the tradition of their origin, the sons of Judah have clung with such unceasing tenacity to the home of their forefathers. It is, that the gifts and calling of God are without repentance; and, when he appointed to the children of men their habitation, he set the bounds of the people; according to the number of the children of Israel. The land which their God gave them, is theirs still, though the stranger may now rule over it.

'We often wonder how they read their Bibles, wonder more how they enjoy them, who believe not in Israel's restoration. For ourselves, were it even a mere fiction, it would be marring the interest of the whole story, to tell us that the poor exile never finds his home. We have followed him in all his wanderings, from his infancy in the house and family of the Patriarch, though each succeeding generation. Our hearts ached for him, when we read of his long and cruel bondage in Egypt; knowing how keenly he must have felt his servitude, for he was a king's son :—and when, anxious for his escape, we accompanied him to the margin of the great sea; behind him were the advancing cohorts of a mighty foe, before him rolled the deep tide of waters;

and while we gazed intently, who could have guessed the result? A mere favourite of fortune, a mere hero of romance, must have been contented with a common deliverance; but for him the sea itself gives up the place it has occupied since the morning of creation; no eye had looked upon the path before, no foot had trodden its weed-spun carpet; yet he walked it in safety, and the obsequious waves stood in heaps on each side of him, like mounted guards of defence. Through his long captivity, we have followed him on, on to the present hour; and are we to be told that he shall never return? borne on the wings of mighty love, kept as the apple of an eye, hidden by a Father's hand, shall he not be found again?

"Ye know with what interest ye look for the forthcoming number of some popular periodical- especially if the last have left the hero of the tale in trouble; how anxiously ye wait for it, how hurriedly ye open it, how greedily ye devour its contents.

'We cannot describe with what excited earnestness we are looking for the last number of this master-work: not because we are ignorant of the closing scene; oh, no: it could not have been made more plain than it is in God's word. But the outlines given by the prophets, glowing as they are, have left much to be filled up. It has been a long banishment; yet, though always rebellious, and bringing down chastisement upon his own head, he was ever a child, and there is much in the title. What does it include? The child's rod to the end of the pilgrimage. The rod, painful as it is, is a sign of sonship: the hired servant hath it not, nor the stranger who tarries in the house for a night; but only the child; and if there be a child's rod, there is also the child's blessing, which follows him in all his wander

ings, and leaves him not till it has brought him safe home; thus has it been with rebellious Israel: thus throughout the tedious road, and thus in the expected end. It will be a bright day when the poor prodigal is brought home we could fancy that, long and painful as his pilgrimage hath been, he will almost forget his tired feet, and the tears he has wept by the wayside, as he gazes once more upon the lofty cedars and sparkling waters, and, amidst the joyful acclamations of welcome, and under the reflection of ten thousand golden pinnacles, he mounts the burnished steps to take possession of the inheritance of his fathers. We hope to share in the joy of that day; it will be the joy of a regal procession. There is always something overpowering in the sight of royalty; a something that almost chokes one, if through fear of the bystanders, we struggle with our tears; but we admire not the man who can look upon his sovereign without emotion. It is not in the long line of heralds, the glittering escort, the pompous retinue of princes and ambassadors, though these may be splendid: much less is it in the gay trappings, the waving plumes, the jewelled coronets, though these may be gorgeous; it is a something higher still, far higher. David was not ashamed of it, when he said, "It is the Lord's anointed ;" and if we feel this with the kings of the earth, what will it be when the King of kings, attended by all the magnificence of unearthly pomp, enters the city of Jerusalem.'*

This striking extract is from the 18th Report of the Philo-Judæan Society, an excellent institution under the management of a Committee of Ladies for the relief of Hebrew women in the Metropolis. The details given in the Report of the manner in which, in common with other needlewomen, they are paid for their work, and their consequent distress, are most affecting. As the express object of this Society is to show Gentile love to Israel for the sake of Jesus their absent King, it relieves APRIL, 1847.

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Bid us not then dwell on the past and present state alone of Modern Jerusalem, as if these were replete with warning and instruction, but the future at least dim and uncertain. Tell us not all places are alike to Him, who hath called this land Hephzibah, because the Lord delighteth in it. Bid us rather gaze intently upon it, and see if there be not already some faint glimmering of the morning light over the Holy City. Was it not the rejection of Jesus of Nazareth, which filled up the measure of her sins, and brought down on her the threatened vengeance of the Most High? Is not one of the first steps of the restoration promised, Isa. xxx., "Thy teachers shall not be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers?" Then have we reason to thank God that the standard of the cross is again so boldly unfurled on Mount Zion. How touching in its patriarchal simplicity is the account of Bishop Gobat's entrance into Jerusalem! We hear of no splendid robes of episcopal office, no censers of incense, no lighted torches to give effect to the scene. Nothing but hearty greetings mark the simple procession. Just about noon, we quietly and peaceably entered the Holy City, after passing numerous groups of friends and other spectators. Amongst these, Jews and Abyssinians-whose delight at the Bishop's speaking their own language was extreme; all came out to give the first welcome to the Bishop and his family.” * Before he went to his own house, he proceeded immediately to the house of God, where he was received amidst the prayers and thanksgivings of his future flock. The key-note of their address of welcome was his own words, "Let men be

Jews as Jews, not as converts, hoping thus to soften their prejudices by the influence of love. Subscriptions, linen, cast-off clothes, &c. are received by Miss Underdown, the Secretary, 203, Strand.

* Jewish Intelligence.

nothing let the Bishop be nothing ;-but let Christ be all in all, and all one in him.' After having, in answer to this welcome, addressed the different parties assembled around him, the Bishop desired to give to all his solemn benediction,' That grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, might be granted to all :-Grace, as needed for support amid the trials and temptations of the world;-mercy, as needed by sinners, to cover their daily coming short of the glory of God. The combined effect of which would be, that the peace of God which passeth all understanding, would keep their hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.'

Let us praise God that he has raised up such a man to be the leader of his people at Jerusalem ; a man intimately acquainted with the East, of all others likely to exercise a beneficial influence over the oriental churches, as the account of his Abyssinian labours fully proves. A man of largeness of heart, who, an ordained Bishop of our beloved Church, will vex German brethren with no narrow questions of Church discipline, but remain true to his own principle, 'Christ all in all, all one in him.' No novice, but a tried and proved man; who, like the Apostle Paul, has been in deaths oft, and yet has seemed to bear about with him a charmed life, because the Lord had a work for him still to do.

And while we praise God on his account, let us, as he, under a deep sense of individual insufficiency, specially requested his clergy, pray for him, that he may receive the strength and wisdom he will need. Those in high places are specially a mark for the assaults of the enemy, but the great Shepherd will be his shield, and will continue to grant the same grace to the Bishop of Jerusalem, which was vouchsafed to the humble Abyssinian missionary.

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