he said his brother had become a Christian, yet he, as a Jew, was convinced in his own mind that a Jew cannot be in the wrong, and that it was the duty of every Jew to abide by the religion of his ancestors. I showed him that Abraham did not act on this principle, but that he exercised his own judgment, and obeyed the call of the Lord, notwithstanding it imposed upon him the duty of separating himself, in his religious connections, from those of his father. I urged upon Mr. F-the great necessity of examining the claims of the Messiah dispassionately, as they were closely connected with his eternal happiness and salvation, to which two Jewesses listened through the window from a neighbouring house, and when the truth sounded too harsh in their ears, and they could not gainsay it, they parted from me.

My next interesting conversation was with an elderly Jewish lady, who received me very kindly, and listened to me with great attention. She spoke of her pilgrimage towards heaven, and I asked her whether she was conscious that she was proceeding on the right road, so as to be sure to reach the desired end. I preached to her the way, the life, and the truth, and made known to her that life and immortality have been brought to light by Jesus, who is the true Messiah, both of the Jews and Gentiles. This old daughter of Abraham listened with absorbed attention as I advanced in preaching the Gospel to her; and as she heard of the condemnation and crucifixion of our Saviour, she observed that there were, at that time, wicked men, who would not listen to the truth, and acted perversely against their own good. I asked her how, with a knowledge so far enlightened, she could still refuse allegiance to Him who is the light of the Gentiles, and the glory of the people of Israel. She pleaded her ignorance and limited judgment on the matter, which, she said, was of the highest moment; but she also pointed me to the great stumbling block, namely, the idolatry of Roman Catholicism, which, she said, was baffling to her mind, in reconciling such a pagan-like system with the notion of its exclusive truthfulness. I told her, that we must try every thing by the Word of God, and that that which cannot stand its test was false and must be rejected. I urged upon Mrs. S- the

necessity of repentance, and faith in Jesus as the Messiah and only Saviour of sinners, and parted very friendly from her. In company with a Christian friend, I visited another old Jewish lady, named Mrs. P, whom I did not find at home on a previous visit; she gave me a kind reception, and listened very attentively to me,

as I spoke to her about old Simeon, who was waiting for the consolation of Israel. As I preached to her Jesus as the true Messiah, she made no objections, but said that she was an old Jewess, and was living in that way in which she had been brought up from her youth. Mr. M- and myself remained there for an hour, testifying to this daughter of Abraham of the grace of the Gospel, and urging upon her to give beed to these things, that she may be divinely enlightened, and led to Him who can alone give peace to her soul.

I visited also a certain Mr. H, a highly educated Jewish gentleman, who received me very politely, and was not at all unwilling to enter with me into a religious conversation.

Mr. Wm. Brunner's intercourse with Jewish students presents a feature of lively and hopeful interest. .

Mr.

I have mentioned to you in my previous reports my interviews with some of the students of the Jewish Seminary in this place, and the encouragement afforded to me in my preaching of the Gospel to them. I am thankful to state that I have been enabled to enlarge my acquaintance in this quarter, and to gain an access to several more of this class of persons, with whom I had and still have very encouraging and hopeful intercourse. F-, and Mr. O, evidently sought my acquaintance first from curiosity, mingled naturally with a desire of engaging with me in a mere dispute about Christianity, and of course to disprove its claims at once. Our first conversation opened with the prophecies of the Old Testament, when I referred these two young students to Gen. xlix. 10, asking them who the Shiloh was to whom the gathering of the nations is predicted. The attempt on the part of my opponents to explain away this difficult passage only involved them in greater difficulty, and then I took occasion to go through with them the principal Messianic, passages of Scripture, and to prove to them from these in particular, as well as from the typical character of the old dispensation, and the Mosaic service generally, that Messiah must have come, and that Jesus of Nazareth, whom we preach, was the very Redeemer predicted by the prophets. Many objections were raised from history, as well as from the Scriptures, but those objections only proved their ignorance and entire misconception of the true nature and teaching of the Christian religion. As, for instance, the Jews in general argue against the claims of our Saviour that His religion has not brought about that universal reign of

peace and unity which is so frequently and graphically depicted in the prophets (Hos. ii. 20, Isa. ii. 4) as the peculiar characteristic of the Messianic dispensation. And again, they argue from the abolition of the Mosaic economy, or the non-observance of the Old Testament by the Christians, that it cannot be that Jesus was the true Messiah. These are ordinary objections, and have also been urged by the young students, therefore I told them that the disbelieving of the Gospel on the ground of the nonaccomplishment as yet of certain Messianic predictions was owing to the wrong conception of the Jews themselves as to the functions of the Messiah, and the nature of the work to fulfil. They should remember that the time of universal pacification which is spoken of in Scripture is not to be simultaneously realised with the first advent of the Messiah; for the Messianic dispensation is progressive and gradual in its character; but that reign of peace is to be the consummation and end of the evangelical dispensation when all things will be subdued and put under Him, who is the Head of the Church. And with reference to the abrogation of the law and non-observance of the Sabbath, as urged by my opponents, I applied the same remark as above, namely, that the Jews overlook the fact that the Mosaic economy was to be superseded by a new covenant to be brought in by the Messiah (Jer. xxxi. 31); and that not only did Scripture teach them this great truth, but that it had been, and was to this day evidenced to them by their living removed from the Holy Land, and their being practically unable to fulfil all the institutions and demands of the law of Moses. My two young friends have been convinced that there is something more in Christianity than they at first thought, and their consciences bore witness that their objections were futile and untenable. They then expressed a serious desire to examine and be more acquainted with the truth, that they

may be able to arrive at a proper discernment and appreciation of the things that appertain to their eternal peace. Mr. F, especially, is a very interesting young man, as he is open, free of prejudice, and ready to admit his error when convinced. I trust that his example may tend to arouse also within the heart of his colleague a spirit of inquiry, and that by him my missionary influence may be extended even to those who are yet averse and opposed to my operations. Mr. 0on the other hand, does not, humanly speaking, impart to me the same hope, as he appears rather imbued with a strong spirit of rabbinism, and less open to conviction than his friend.

The family of Mr. Fare proceeding favourably and allow me to maintain my familiar intercourse with them. Mr. Rhas requested me to supply him with a Bible, which I did, and I trust that the reading of it may, by Divine grace, tend to humble his proud heart, that he may feel what the prophet says, "that he that glorieth shall glory in the Lord."

That there are cases in which the influence of Missionary preaching penetrates the most hidden quarters, is fully illustrated by the following instance, that occurred lately at Morden, a little place near Bre mend, and of which event the newspapers of this place take special notice. In that same place, a respectable Jew was some time since seen to visit ouce this church, and another day another, and no one could explain to himself this singular case of the regular attendance of this person at Christian places of worship, and especially the disquietude and agitation which he manifested when at service, and listening to the sermon. It became at last evident that he was disturbed in his conscience, feeling dissatisfied in his profession of Judaism,— but at last he obtained the peace of his soul by entering by publie baptism into the Church of Christ.

Christian friends! This is a solemn moment, the most solemn in the history of my life; for I am now confessing my faith in that crucified Saviour, whom, from my earliest days, I was taught to despise, and to whom my natural inclinations had an aversion. It is a marvellous providence which has led me to this decisive moment. But what I marvel most of all at is, that grace of the Holy Spirit which has drawn my heart to the bleeding Lamb of God, as the only source of true peace and happiness; and verily, I feel the power of the apostle's words, when he says: " By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves-it is the gift of God!"

But, as it may be of interest to you to know the leading features of God's providence which brought me to embrace Christ as my Saviour, I shall briefly bring them before you.

My parents brought me up in the strict observances of Judaism, but I felt from the earliest days the prayers and ceremonies to be irksome; for I was not taught to love God, but to fear Him! That aversion increased so much, that when I left my parents' roof I was glad to throw off all the fetters of religion at once, and became decidedly an infidel. There is one thing, however, worthy of notice; namely, that I was privileged, during the last two years of my school-days, to have a pious Protestant tutor, by whose indirect influence I began to look upon Christians with greater regard, so that my early imbibed prejudices against every one who bore the name of Christ were gradually removed.

Several years passed away in perfect indifference to religion, until through circumstances, not necessary to name, I was led to seek for my subsistence as a Prussian government schoolmaster, and for that purpose I was trained in a seminary. After I passed my examination, I obtained an appointment as government schoolmaster to the Jewish school at Schneidenmühl. My mind was now much perplexed how to communicate religious instruction to the Jewish children, as I was living without religion myself. I was consequently glad, during a period of two years, to consult with the Jewish rabbi of the place, as to the best mode of giving the children re

ligious instruction, which had, however, no successful result; for my convictions and feelings did not permit me to give that religious instruction to the children which he demanded from me. My mind was, therefore, very unsettled and unhappy, and about that time I formed the acquaintance of Mr. Chertzky, whom some of you may remember as preaching in this place, and after an intercourse of two years with him, I opened my mind to him, telling him of my religious doubts and scruples. The Jews suspected me of being favourable to Christianity, and my position became a very painful one. I saw no other way than to leave the place, as I feared the fury of the Jews. When Mr. Chertzky perceived this, he advised me to come to England and place myself under the care of our pastor, the Rev. R. H. Herschell, and offered to make application to him for my admission into the Jewish Home. The Rev. A. D. Herschell corresponded with Mr. Chertzky about this matter, and I was consequently admitted into the Jewish Home at the beginning of December, last

year.

I had thought, when I came over to this country, that I was acquainted with Christianity, and that I myself was nearly a Christian. But I soon discovered that I was far from the kingdom of God, for I did not think it was essential to believe in Christ as God manifested in the flesh, neither did I know the necessity of an inward change of heart, and began to be terrified when I saw the reality and earnestness of the religion as manifested by those who surrounded me. For I thought that I could never become a Christian after this sort; and no wonder that I was afraid, because I did not know that it was the work of the Holy Spirit. But after Mr. A. D. Herschell had been reading the Scriptures and praying with me several times, and giving me light upon difficult passages, my mind was gradually opened to the realities of Christianity, and then for the first time was I enabled to pray in the Spirit through Christ. The simple worship of this house of prayer, and the fervour with which immortal souls are addressed, made a deep impression upon my mind, as to the life-giving power of the Gospel of