On Thursday, also, the attendance is generally encouraging. We were astonished on a day which had been set apart out of course for fasting and prayer, to find the two diets most respectably attended, as if it had been a Sabbath. There are two German diets on Sabbath, and one on Thursday, besides an English exposition on Tuesday. Henceforth we design (D.V.) to have a Sabbath morning class for young men. There has been, for some months, a regular Sabbath class for little girls. "The regular part of the congregation consists of the proselytes, those under regular instruction for baptism, and attached Jews, besides Germans. The proselytes till now, at the station are seven in number. There have been, for some time back, eleven others under regular instruction, candidates for baptism. I might almost count, under the same head, the old man mentioned above, who professes, and we think sincerely, to be seeking grace and direction from on high to come forth. We call particular attention to the circumstance, that six out of these eleven have been given out by the mission as apprentices (the Lord having graciously opened up many doors in that way). One is about to be given out; one a contractor in full employment; one a private teacher in the town; one a money-changer; and one living with his father. Of these there are only three of whom we cannot say we have good hopes; so that, with the baptized and the catechumens, there are, in strictest connection with the mission, eight apprentices in the town, one journeyman, and two men in business for themselves, besides those who are employed by the mission. It is a sight which would refresh any Christian eye, to behold the most of these apprentices, and often them all, with the journeyman, assemble in the evening at our house for family worship-all, without exception, fatherless and motherless lads, or whose parents and relations are as good as dead, brought, in the manifested providence of God, from Hungary, Gallicia, Russia, and Moldavia, to the spot where the day-spring from on high was to dawn on their benighted souls. After worship, each one has for a quarter of an hour, his story to tell to his neighbour, which may be of hardships from the journeymen of his shop, which he, as a Jew, unaccustomed to the yoke and to discipline, feels sensitively; but much more generally of some conversation or dispute which he has held with Jews, or, as benighted Christians, on points of gospel truth. Every one must be able to give a reason of the hope that is in him, and not only in general, but on each individual question. They must answer the Jews, who are for a Mosaic Sabbath, and the Christians, who are for a day of relaxation, made not for man, but for man's abuse, upholding the testimony of keeping the Sabbath, like all other divine institutions, in spirit and in truth. No day passes in which some of them have not conversation with others. They are all more or less evangelists. Not one of them will put a hand to work on Sabbath. What a noble testimony for the day of the Lord, in this degenerate place, where the Sabbath has been till now the busiest day, on which work is finished and delivered, appointments made, journeys commenced! All of them have persecution, more or less, to endure on this score. The journeyman has endured much from his fellow-journeymen. Abraham, the eldest of our apprentices, whose time will soon be out, was this week called upon to prepare to accompany his master to the country on Sabbath, to a place where he had work to do. He positively declined to go, stating his reasons, and respectfully offered to rise as early as called upon on Monday morning. I believe the master has yielded. We have thus two cabinet-makers, two bookbinders, two tailors, one shoemaker, and one musicalinstrument maker scattered through the town. None of these get farther assistance than to provide an article of dress, or a shirt, or some such necessary and trifling expense, and some of them none at all. "Besides these, there have been a good many Jews regularly instructed in our house this winter; of some of whom we will not give up the hope we once entertained, that a work of grace has been begun in them, although they seem for a time to have gone back. Of one of them, who had been apprenticed to a bookbinder, but to whose flighty spirit the discipline of the workshop was intolerable, we heard, after his departure, that he had been cast out of a Jewish house on their Sabbath, for openly declaring that he would not join with them in blaspheming the Saviour. This was accomplished by having a separate room in our house, in which we gave shelter for a week or two to such Jews as seemed uprightly to desire an opportunity to become acquainted with the truth; explaining at the same time, on their entering, the exact conditions of the privilege. The idea was first suggested by two interesting Jews, who asked such a permission; and, thereafter, we found it expedient to keep up the practice. In that room instruction has been given once, and irregularly a second time in the day. It will give an idea how useful the arrangement has been, to state that, on going into it one Sabbath morning before worship, I found no fewer than nine, most of them strange Jews, waiting for worship, and, in the mean time, most busy with the Bible, and a tract on the Pilgrim's Progress. I could not resist the opportunity, and gave them a short sermon before the time. "At the beginning of the winter, Mr Edersheim and I took up the practice of visiting, on one day of the week, the Jews from house to house; on which occasions we met with much encouragement. We have, for a season, discontinued the practice, but hope to resume it. Mr Weiss has now a number of acquaintances, to whose houses he has often an invitation. He is often called into a shop, and has numbers collected around him. "The tracts, New Testament, and Bible, have been so well sold, that of the first two we have not a single copy remaining; and of the last a small and rapidly decreasing stock. Their Bible reading and Bible zeal is a most hopeful token for the future prospects of the Jassy Jews. Bibles are invariably sold; but it would be vain insisting upon money for the New Testaments-we do it when we can. "The school has been upheld throughout the winter, although in a most languishing state. Something may be owing to the fault of the teachers. Mr Edersheim and I cannot regularly (which is everything in a school) be present, without neglecting the adults, who come at all hours. There are not a few Jews who are most eager to embrace the opportunity of having their children educated; but the rabbi has, at the present holidays, repeated his ban. We are not without good hopes, having much to build upon, but cannot be sanguine for the present--having seen a rising school so often demolished in its very infancy. We look to God to arise and scatter these enemies of his work, who would prolong the reign of darkness among the children of his ancient people. "BERLIN.--The Berlin, as well as the Pesth station, was visited last autumn by a member of the Committee, who had abundant reasons to report most favourably of the assiduity and success of Mr Schwartz's labours. He had gathered around him a select company of proselytes, who met regularly for worship and religious instruction, in which they had made great progress. Besides these, he is visited by many inquirers. Interesting accounts of his labours in Berlin, and of his visit to the schools in the Duchy of Posen, have been inserted in the Missionary Record. His report for the past year, though sent, unfortunately has not been received. In a letter, of the most recent date, it is stated that, since the beginning of last month, three young Jews had applied for instruction, one of whom was a well-educated and able teacher, who had resigned his situation, as he could no longer conscientiously retain it. About fifty Jewish children are educated at the best Christian schools which can be selected for them. They meet every Sabbath, and also on a week-day, expressly for religious instruction. "CONSTANTINOPLE.-The mission at this city has been strengthened, for eight months past, by the labours of Mr Thomson, who has taken the liveliest interest in the improvement of the school for the children of German Jews, and is about to take his station in the midst of Spanish Jews, with the hope of establishing a school also among them. Mr Denniston has recently been appointed one of our missionaries, and is about to proceed to Constantinople. "Mr Koenig, a licentiate of the Prussian Church, who for two years has aided Mr Allan in the missionary work, has recently arrived in Edinburgh, in order that, on the recommendation of our missionaries in Constantinople, and, according to the wish of the Committee, he also may return as an ordained missionary. "The Committee beg leave to crave of the Assembly, that, for this object, the Presbytery of Edinburgh may be authorized to take steps for his ordination, if found duly qualified. He has been the bearer of the following letter to the Committee from the converts at Constantinople, written by themselves of their own accord, without the previous knowledge of the missionaries : REVEREND COMMITTEE,-We, who, by the grace of God, and through your Christian compassion and kind care, have been brought to the knowledge of the truth, would desire by this short letter to express the gratitude which is due to you. We must confess that we, although we had the Word of God even before, by no means believed that we would be brought to the true knowledge of God by such as we then considered infidels. Yea, even more, that from such, who did not enjoy the privileges and the grace of God, this glorious message should be sent to us—this message, the peace of which is as a river, and its righteousness as the waves of the sea-we never believed, neither could we believe it if we had not experienced and tasted that grace of God, and that peace which the heavenly message, through your messengers of peace, has brought to us. Oh, how wonderful are the ways of God, and how incomprehensable are all his ways! His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts, who has redeemed us in such a wonderful manner that we never thought of: and we do hereby see that God has altogether another plan of salvation for his covenant people from what we believed, and the Jews even this day do believe. We also must confess that, by the fulfilling of God's promises in ourselves, we have gained more confidence in all the promises of God's own Word concerning us and our brethren according to the flesh. It is therefore that we consider it our duty to render our sincerest thanks unto God, and next, to you. We must say that we are unable with words to express the gratitude which is due to you, and which we absolutely have in our hearts. For the Lord has done for us, totally abandoned, a marvellous work through you. And now, as we cannot but call you friends of Israel, accept of our most hearty thanks, as a return of all the good which you have done We cannot write much more; but you will hear more concerning us. But we pray, and shall continue to pray, the Lord our Redeemer, that he may return unto you all the good which you have done to our souls, that he may give you even greater love to our brethren according to the flesh, and that he may not leave your work and your labours without his effectual blessing, and that you may see the fruit your labour with rejoicing. And although our number here is but small, we trust, and have reason to hope, that the Lord will pour out his blessing, which he has promised, also on this place in rich abundance over his people Israel. to us. of "We also continually pray, as is our duty, that we may not be satisfied with the good that you have done to us, but that you may continue in Christian love to send the Word of our Saviour to our other brethren, and to proclaim to them the salvation that is in Christ. "Your humble friends in the Lord Jesus, "Constantinople, April 13. 1847.' (Signed) "F. CARL SCHWARTZ. "THE SISTER SARAH. The "The quarterly examination of the German Jewish School took place (as stated by Mr Allan) on Monday the 29th inst., being the day immediately preceding the Passover vacation. The number of scholars on the roll, sixty-three. The branches taught have been already communicated, with the exception of Italian, and a little drawing, which have been introduced during the quarter just terminated. Italian language is absolutely necessary in this place, and the parents have long been very urgent that we should introduce it. When I say that the attendance of the scholars has been much more regular than formerly, especially in the more advanced classes, and that the emulation was correspondingly increased, it follows, as a natural consequence, that the progress in the various branches is proportional. The fact that these children are learning to read intelligently both the Hebrew and German Scriptures, opens up to the future missionary of the gospel who may afterwards come in contact with them, a prospect that can be appreciated only by those who have had to contend with ignorance, or, perhaps what may be worse, Rabbinic perversity. The interest and proficiency displayed by the children in geography on this occasion was particularly pleasing, this being connected with certain prominent points of secular and religious history. It is something new to find poor Jewish children able to give an account of the religions of the different nations in Europe. But we have made, during the last quarter, what our friends in Scotland will join with me in considering a great step in advance, that is, the introduction of an hour every Friday for religious instruction, when the elder scholars are requested to produce passages of Scripture, and to repeat such in support of some doctrine. It was most cheering to see the readiness with which they turned up, or repeated appropriate texts in support of the subject proposed. There seems almost something peculiar in the readiness with which Jewish children refer to chapter and verse when they produce passages of Scripture. "W. OWEN ALLAN. "The various schools supported by the Committee, in all of which the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are taught, are attended by 700 children. The number of scholars at one of the Posen schools, was diminished last year, as some of the children were constrained to leave, when sent forth by their parents to beg their bread. "The Committee beg farther to report, that they have under their consideration proposals for raising an entirely separate fund, under the control of the Committee, for temporal objects in connection with the Jews, and will take every precaution to prevent the abuse of any funds which may thus be put at their disposal. "Your missionaries in every quarter are earnest in their entreaties to be supplied with suitable tracts; and it is the purpose of this Committee to use means for accomplishing this most desirable object. They beg that for this and other purposes, some other names be added to the Committee, of those who may be able to aid them in this labour of love for the good of Israel. "The Committee beg leave also to recommend that Dr Cappadose of the Hague, and the Rev. Dr Kalley, be appointed corresponding members. As to the future, the Committee have been taught to look to the God of hope;' as to the past and the present, what hath the Lord wrought!" "ALEXANDER KEITH, Convener.” Dr Keith added, that in autumn last he had visited the Berlin station, and had the greatest satisfaction in seeing the continued devotedness of Mr Schwartz's labours, and the great success which, by the blessing of God, had followed them. He (Dr Keith) spent an evening with some of the proselytes whom Mr Schwartz had gathered around him—a select company, he believed, of faithful men. Professor Friedland, a converted Jew, was present for the first time that evening, and he said, with tears in his eyes," Thank God,-I never hoped to lived to see such a night as this, and such an assembly of brethren in the faith of the gospel of Christ, who are brethren in the flesh as descended from Abraham." The warmest testimony to the value of Mr Schwartz's labours was also borne to Dr Keith by the Minister of Public Instruction. With respect to his own official connection with the Committee, Dr Keith expressed his regret that, from the state of his health, he found it would be impossible for him any longer to undertake the duties of Convener. For the last two months he had been in Edinburgh, having come from the south of England to attend the meeting of the Assembly; but the difference of climate had so affected him, as to disable him from writing for the press when the duties of his office most required it. He had, therefore, come to the determination to resign the office of Convener; but, through the grace of God, he did not resign the office to which God in his providence had called him, in any way which the Lord might put in his power, to seek the good of the people of Israel. They had heard great things in the report to-day,-greater than any assembled Church ever heard before,--yet these things were little, compared to what a faithful and believing people might hope to hear and to see. For himself, he would close by repeating the words which, if he remembered rightly, concluded the last year's Report of the Committee,-" If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning; if I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy." (Hear, hear.) Rev. Mr Á. GRAY of Perth said, he would not weaken the impression made by the Report, and the closing statement of Dr Keith, by many words. Even if it were expedient, the time of the Assembly was too far gone to allow of his doing more than almost simply making the motion he had to propose to the House. In doing it, however, he could not but express a feeling of thankfulness to the Lord for the singular prosperity which had attended the Mission during the past year,--for the honour which the Lord had put upon the missionaries in the field of their exertions, and for the no small measure of success in various parts of the field, with which the Lord had crowned the labours of this Committee. Of course, he felt a peculiar interest in that part of the Report referring to the missionary stations which he himself had the privilege to visit. He felt a peculiar interest in what was said in the Report respecting his excellent friend Mr Koenig, whom he was delighted to see unexpectedly in the Assembly yesterday, having come from Constantinople to attach himself to your mission, although he was a licentiate of the Prussian Church, and had the prospect of employment in that church if he chose to accept of it. He, however, preferred attaching himself to your mission; and he now came to this country in the prosecution of that object, and with a view of receiving all the sanction and authority with which you can clothe him, that he may return to Constantinople, and there labour with our other brethren among the Jews. He (Mr Gray) had been also much interested in the letter which had been read from the Jewish converts in Constantinople. He knew them, and had the pleasure of seeing them on several occasions; and the mention of some of their names, although his intercourse with them had been but slight, recalled to him circumstances in connection with them, to which he looked back with interest and pleasure. (Hear.) He would not detain the House further. He had merely risen to move that the Assembly approve of the report, reappoint the Committee, and record its thanks to the Convener. In reference to the closing statement of Dr Keith, he was not prepared to offer any remark, as the announcement of their venerable father's resolution had taken him by surprise. He was sure that all of them deeply sympathised with Dr Keith, and regretted that the state of his health should render necessary such a resolution as he had intimated. However the Assembly disposed of the proffered resignation of their venerated father, he (Mr Gray) was sure that it was their united prayer that the Lord would prolong his days and his usefulness in the Church of Christ. (Hear, hear.) Mr J. B. M'COMBIE, elder, seconded the motion, expressing his conviction that, when the report read by Dr Keith was printed and circulated, it would lead to greatly increased efforts on the part of the Church in behalf of the Jews. Dr CANDLISH said, that he regretted that he was obliged to move that Dr Keith's resignation of the Convenership of the Committee should be accepted. He did so just out of a conviction that the Church and the cause of Israel were really to be benefited by Dr Keith's labours being more unreservedly devoted to that sphere which his health permitted of his occupying, without the responsibility and toil which the state of his health would not permit him to undertake. He felt satisfied that they were not relieving their father for any thing like otium without the dignitate. If it were the mind of the Assembly that Dr Keith's resignation should be accepted, he would take leave to propose that this most interesting and important Scheme should be placed under the charge of a brother who had, for some years past, practically done the work to a considerable extent, which Dr Keith's state of health prevented him from accomplishing,-he meant Mr Moody Stuart. (Hear, hear.) His devotedness of spirit, and the intensity of his zeal for the glory of God, especially in connection with the Scheme which related to the conversion of His ancient people, were well known to them. He would, therefore, beg leave to move that the resignation of their father, Dr Keith, should be accepted, with such an acknowledgement as the Assembly ought to record of his past services; and further, that Mr Moody Stuart should be appointed Convener of the Committee. Dr BROWN said, that it was with great regret that he seconded the motion that Dr Keith's resignation should be accepted; but he felt constrained to do so, after what Dr Keith had stated. The Assembly approve of the Report, record their warm thanks to the Committee, and to Dr Keith the Convener, for their labours in the cause of Israel, and reappoint the Committee with their former powers. Dr Keith having tendered his resignation of the office of Convener, on account of the state of his health, the Assembly, in accepting the same, express their sympathy with Dr Keith, their regret that he can no longer preside over this Committee,their deep sense of obligation to him for his past exertions, and their earnest desire and hope that the Church may still continue, as his health may permit, to enjoy the benefit of his services in promoting the glory of God in connection with his ancient people. |