»• J" ■s. J, • ♦ • > « v> ••- '^O .<^* o « o ^^ ^. .0^ e* ^o . 6 » " » ♦ «^.. 5^-"-^ '.^ b^.*" .♦% ^ '. ES S AY S MISCELLANIES. €^n\tt Cttllings, ntOM THE MANUSCRIPTS OF "^; {3 ^ GRACE AGUILAR, u AUTHOR OP "THE WOMEN OF ISRAEl," " VAIE OF CEDARS," "SPIRIT OF JUDAISM," "WOMAN'S FRIENDSHIP," "JEWISH FAITH," "DATS OF BRUCE," "THE mother's RECOMPENSE," ETC. .KcUfteD fig ?)fr Mai^tx, SARAH AGUILAR. PHILADELPHIA: A. HART, LATE CAREY and HART, 126 CHESTNUT STREET. 1853. Entered, according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1853, by A. HART, in the Clerk's OfSce of the District Court of the United States, in and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. E. B. HEARS, STEREOTYPER. T. K. A P. G. COLLINS, PRINTERS. PREFACE. In putting forward these expositions, the Editress labours under some difficulties, now, alas ! impossible to be removed ; for the death of her beloved daughter, four years since, leaving the manuscripts, which were written many years previously, without having ar- ranged them with a prospect of publication, makes her painfully feel, that some portions must be inferior to what she could have written, or re-arranged, had she been here to meet the demand now made for its going before the world. Under these circumstances, she however feels it would be presumptuous, if not unjust, to allow an- other mind to supply what may be imagined wanting ; and can therefore only request the indulgence of her readers for the work as it is presented to them, and to let the remembrance of the author's early death and far earlier exposition of this difficult and abstruse subject, weigh with them kindly during its perusal. December 7, 1851. (iii) TO THE MEMORY OF GRACE AGU.ILAR* BY W. MILBOXIENE KIEKHOUSE. Tears of the gifted, such- as flow From Feeling's holy shrine, Wreaths from the "never-fading" tree, My early friend, are thine. Songs such as Delos' children wove, Thine elegy shall be ; And tablets of pvire Parian hue Shall tell thy memory. Oh ! thine were feelings so refined, That thou didst wake a love Such as thy soul in glory Bhares, In purest realms above. Thy characters were perfect ones ; Their souls so pure, so bright, Proclaim the proud, ennobling mind Which brought those thoughts to light. * Furnished to the Publisher by a friend of the Author. 1* (v) TO THE MEMORY OF Thy " Florence" -was a model for The young and good of earth, A specimen of all that can Entitle us to worth ; Thy " Helon" with his courage true, Religiously attained, Proclaims the attribute of mind When properly constrained. "Minie," and "Walter," lovely ones, Who shared the bitter fate Of Genius' children's pilgrimage On to the better state ; "Ida," and "Mary;" "Ronald," too. But show thy grasp of mind, Thy perfect knowledge of the "good" Which should adorn mankind. But pure thyself, thou didst adorn The ever varying page ; In every line, thou didst expose The evils of the age. But thou art gone, thrice gifted one. And quenched for aye's the flame ; But other hearts -will deck it with Imperishable fame. GRACE AGUILAR. " HemanB," and " Wilson,"* " Sheridan,"f Kindred in soul and worth, Their lutes are on the -willows hung, Hushed is their song of mirth ; And where is "Wynne," J who cherished thee, And gifted Polack,^ too ? Meteors too bright, they dazzled us, Then vanished from our view. And thou art gone, Grace Aguilar, 'The "Darling" of thy race; Child of the "hated," thou wert one E'en any sphere to grace. And oh ! like her, proud Hebrew maid Thou didst awake a cry. Pure as the northern peasant was. Is chronicled on high. For though "destruction's" besom swept Thy children o'er the earth, They yet shaU worship in the land Which gave their fathers birth ; And Zion's songs shall yet be deemed Acceptable to God, And Zion's maidens sweetly dance, On .ludah's hallowed sod, * Mrs. C. B. Wilson. t Miss Louisa Sheridan. t Lady Charlotte Wynne. g Miss Elizabeth Polact. ▼Ui TO THE MEMORY OF And, lovely one — like Wilberforce, Thou scarce didst live to see Thy prayer fulfilled, the factory child From slavery set free. Like "Darling"* thou didst raise the cry, The •' helpless" heard the voice. And hoping still, thou helped them on, And bid their souls rejoice. Though not Ferrantes' f fate was thine, Save in its brighter glow ; ^ We mourn a " Howard" of her sex, For such indeed wast thou. Suffering virtue at thy hand Met succour in distress: A cloud by day and fire by night While in the wilderness. I mourn for thee, my sister friend, As kindred in that art. Which is divine — a holy tie No human power can part ; When first my muse essayed to sing 'Neath Wilson's fostering care, Thou too did'et grace the glowing page, And " Youatt's"J name was there. * Grape Daxling. f Niccolo Ferrantes, a celebrated Italian poet. t Miss Elizabeth Youatt. GRACE AGUILAR. We know no creed save that wliich bound Our souls by ties as strong As revelation e'er proclaimed, Or graced the Psalmist's song ; Onward we went, one hope in view, Both pilgrims on the road Towards the "everlasting towers," "The city of our God." Peace to thy ashes ! may there rise From out thy ashes now, A genius of thy race as bright, As purely bright as thou. And when our earthly race is o'er. Oh ! may we meet above. And join the bright-robed heav'nly throng Who sing that " God is love." SABBATH THOUGHTS LECTURE ON THE TWENTY-SECOND PSALM BY THE REV. R. S. ANDERSON, 9th NOV. 1836. (15) SABBATH THOUGHTS LECTURE ON THE TWENTY-SECOND PSALM BT THE REV. E. S. ANDEBSON, 9tH NOV. 1836. There is nothing, in my opinion, that enlarges an unprejudiced mind more, than joining with those of another faith in their religious ceremonies ; but then it must be an unprejudiced mind, a charitable and kindly spirit, otherwise just the contrary of liberality and enlargement of ideas must be the consequence. Let no Jew who has a contempt of the Christian, enter into a place of worship belong- ing to the latter, for if he do, it will be but to laugh at forms he does not understand, or at a belief in which he will not see any even moral beauty. Nor is contempt of any other religion, any proof, that hisWn is the more steadfast. We shall find those of any and every faith, who are early convinced of the 2 (17) 18 ESSAYS .\>:D miscellanies. truth of their o\yn doctrine, more ready and ■will- ing to be charitable and liberal, than those who have but the smatterings of religion. I thank God, H6 has in His mercy permitted me to be so firmly convinced of the truth and holiness of my own belief, that it is a pleasure to me to join with Christians in their religious forms. If we looJc for it, we shall find in almost, nay, in every lecture whose founda- tion is religion, somewhat that comes home to our own hearts, somewhat that will strike the inmost recesses of the soul, even though it be addressed to the followers of Christ, and their Saviour be the principal subject ; even then may the mind of a liberal and pious Jew be enlarged, for he will know why, and what, a Christian does believe, and surely if he know that, he will not contemptuously accuse them of wilful blindness. If he see, how from their earliest childhood the Old Testament is explained as typical of the New, so skilfully as for it to be morally impossible for them to read the one with- out connecting it with the other ; the heart of the Jew may glow within him, in devotion, in awe, of that great Being who by Daniel said this would be, but it cannot turn with contempt or derision on the Christian, who, spite of his errors, or rather, the errors of his faith, yet worships with a true and pious heart the God of all. I am so firmly con- SABBATH THOUGHTS. 19 vinced that the Christian religion is that Kingdom of Iron prophesied by Daniel, that was to consume and break in pieces all things, and which will last, till it hath indeed overcome and broken all things, by the conversion of every heathen nation, that all feelings towards the Christian, save those of charity, and in many cases admiration, have left my breast. And this is a blessed feeling, for it hath made me love my fellow creatures more ; and loving, I can esteem them, and believe that the prayers and praises -of all men, of whatever faith they may be, will be equally acceptable to my God if offered up in His Holy Spirit ; for I firmly believe it is not the superiority of belief, but superiority of true devo- tion, that will make the one more pleasing than the other to our God ; and therefore when I hear of pious and good men, seeking distant countries to convert heathen nations, I too rejoice, even as would a Christian, for I know it is thus God's word will be fulfilled. When the Kingdom of Iron has extend- ed over the whole world, then will our Messiah the Saviour of the Jews appear, to cleanse the Christian nation from their impurities, to remove the veil from their eyes, and to receive the Jew once more as the chosen of God ; for then the destined labours of both religions will be accomplished. The Christian, by its beautiful moral code, and the preaching of the 20 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. existence of a God, will have rendered them more prepared to receive our promised Prince, than had they remained in their own barbarous idolatry ; and we shall have had time to repent of our former crimes, and turn, even as Moses did, once more unto the Lord. Believing thus, then, it is not strange it should be pleasure to me to worship my God, the God of Israel, even in the midst of Christians ; I know that God sees the hearts of all men, and He knows in what belief, what form my prayers ascend to Him, though to Christians I may appear as one of them, and when I think of the true piety of those with whom I pray, of their clergyman, whose heart is in his words, I may lament that they are not yet permitted to worship God according to the beautiful pure law that Moses taught; but I conceive it no sin to worship with them, nor can I see aught in their belief to call contempt from me. Besides, it is no credit to be firm and steadfast in your own belief if you are ignorant of that of others ; and I seldom leave a Protestant church without esteeming yet more the friends who T know follow up their minister's doctrine, and being yet more firmly con- vinced in the truth of my own religion. This may appear a contradiction, nevertheless it is true. I cannot esteem my friends for following up their faith, unless I know what they are taught, and, SABBATH THOUGHTS. 21 when I do know that, and see how exactly they obey the dictates of their law, I must esteem them, however mistaken that law may appear to me ; but I am more convinced in my own belief, because all that the Christian preaches, of portions of the Old Testament being typical of the sufferings of Christ, is to me clearly illustrative of the sufferings of my own loved nation. Now Mr. Anderson took for his lecture on Wednesday, the 22d Psalm, as being equally descriptive of the sufferings of Christ, as the 53d chapter of Isaiah; but as I believe, that same chapter is most beautifully and clearly pro- phetic of the miseries of the Jewish nation in the time of their captivity, I cannot but also believe if the 22d Psalm is indeed prophetic, it is typical of the same subject. If, as Mr. Anderson said, those two Hebrew letters that form the title of the Psalm, and on which he laid so much stress, if they do signify the Hind of the morning, are they not equally applicable to the Jewish nation ? Have we not indeed been hunted from the sun of the morning to the setting of the same, like hinds from their coverts hunted until we were pulled down by the evening wolves ? Are we not a« "worms," or at least have we not been in our years of persecution ? have we not been looked upon more as worms than ifien ? have we not been, 9 * 22 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. are we not yet, in many nations, a " reproach of men, and despised of people ?" and we have indeed been laughed to scorn, and people have shooted out the lip at u^ and bid us, as they tortured us, call aloud upon our God for help. How frequently in the hour of torture have merciless persecutors told us with mocking gibes, " now call on the God of Abraham, and see if He can deliver you !" And as " many bulls," so many nations encompassed us, and beset us round, and even as a " ravening and roaring lion," they have "gaped upon us with their mouths." How very beautiful is this ! I cannot pass it by, without noticing how clearly and beauti- fully it illustrates, by gaping of lions, that it was not by assault we were to fall, but at their will. The nations were to persecute us, they gaped for cruelty, they were ravening and roaring for victims, and they were ever supplied by the miserable Jews ; it says not like a ravening and roaring lion they fell upon us, but they gaped upon us ; they did not assault us, as a lion would fall upon his prey, but they gaped for our destruction, even as we gape for sleep. The very " dogs," we road, have been set upon us by their masters ; " they have encompassed us ;" the assembly of the wicked have enclosed us; our hands and feet have been "pierced" with wounds ; and though Mr. Anderson laid much stress SABBATH THOUGHTS. 23 on these words being exactly descriptive of the mode of punishment inflicted upon Christ, they can- not appear as anything to me, but as figurative of the tortures inflicted on us ; by the barbarous natiorit amongst whom we have been scattered, when indeed our hands and feet were pierced, for we were tortured, to give up our faith, or to disclose our hidden treasures. And how clearly is the rapacity of the nations typified in the 18th verse, " they part my garments among them, they cast lots for my vesture !" Did not those who tormented the Jews for their treasures, part the booty amongst them ? They would cast lots even for their very garments, tempted by their richness ; for very frequently it was the splendour which surrounded the Jew, that first attracted the envious eyes of his foes. Again : " Deliver my soul from the sword ; my darling from the power of the dog." What does this mean when applied to Christ ? to me, it signi- fies, deliver me from death, my darling, or my child, from the dogs ; for, how frequently, in the sacking of their cities, have Jewish infants been dashed from their mother's arms, and thrown as carrion to the dogs ! " Save me from the lion's mouth ; thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns." That to me is illustrative of the wretched Jew, calling aloud to his God for help in the hour of greatest need, and -24 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. reminding Him, tliat His help had been granted even when need was not so great ; but spite of all his sufferings, the Jew will declare the name of the Lord unto his brethren ; in spite of every torture, the Jews will yet congregate together to prais» Him. " I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the congregation will I praise Thee." And David appeals to the seed of Jacob, the seed of Israel ; and would not the Christians shrink from being termed children of Israel, children of Jacob ? and seed, throughout the holy writings, always with- out exception signifies children; it cannot then apply to the children of Christ, otherwise David would have specified it in other terms, a nation, a people ; not particularly, " all ye seed of Jacob glorify Him, all ye seed of Israel fear Him." " For He hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, neither has He hid His face from hrm ; when he cried. He heard." And He has not des- pised nor abhorred our affliction ; in the midst of His threatening wrath, gracious promises appear. He hath loved, He does love His chosen people too well to cast us off for ever, to hide His face from us for ever. He heard. He hears us when we cry, scattered as we are from our own land. And in the midst of the great congregation will we praise Thee : that is, In the midst of the nations where we are scattered, SABBATH THOUGHTS. 25 whicli are, compared to the small remnant of Jews, a great congregation, shall we yet address Thee, our God, and before those who fear him will we pay our vows. How clearly, how very clearly does this prove it was not amongst heathen nations alone we were to worship Him — amongst those who fear Him, consequently those who worship Him. "All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord : and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before Thee." There appears to me a com- plete division in this verse. That it is prophetic, is now quite clear ; not only prophetic, but containing a prophecy, that strikingly and beautifully pierces futurity, even deeper than any other verse ; for it says, "All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord;" which we may, I trust, with humility, believe as relative to that day, when all the nations shall be converted to the knowledge of a God, when they shall quit their barbarous rites, and be gathered together in one fold, prepared to receive that light which will illumine the path of that Messiah, who is promised to the children of Israel, and who will come when the nations are in a measure prepared to receive Him, who is that great stone which is cut without hands, that is to break in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold, and who is to come, when the 86 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. kingdom of Iron is broken and divided into two kingdoms, the Catholic and Protestant divisions of the kingdom of Christ. The next prophecy con- tained in this same 27th verse, is this : " And all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before Thee." Now t^is must signify something diflFerent from the preceding sentence; or else, if the same meaning, why do they so immediately follow one another ? It appears evident to me, by the word kindreds, some particular sect or faith, different from that ex- pressed by " All the ends of the earth shall remem- ber and turn unto the Lord." Kindred may well be applied to the Jews ; they are kindreds of the nations ; in whatever nation or country they are scattered, they are always bound together by their faith ; as if the law of Moses had the power of mak- ing one Jew kinsman to another. Wherever we are, if we meet a Jew, and the mark of God soon discovers that fact, we always with one consent ex- claim, that is one of our people ; unconsciously claiming kindred with the greatest stranger. There- fore, may not the Jewish people well be termed in their present scattered state, "kindreds of the nations?" for are we not kindred in feature, in forms, in faith ? The finger of God is traced upon our brows, to point us out as Ilis chosen, yet un- grateful and guilty people. That finger is not traced SABBATH THOUGHTS. 27 on one alone, but on all, on every one, with scarcely one exception, that we should indeed be the kindreds midst the nations; and, therefore, would not this verse prove that David not only looked to that time when all the ends of the world should remember and turn unto the Lord, but he prophesied also, the kindreds of the nations should worship before Him. The Jews, scattered as they are amongst the na- tions, should yet be as kindred one to another, and yet worship in their own forms before their God. He says, " the nations shall worship before the Lord;'' but he also says, "the kindreds of the na- tions shall worship before Thee" — and may we not believe this, too, typical in a degree ? The Lord would signify the Lord God, as the Christians wor- ship ; but by Thee^ he would express his God, the God of Israel, even as he worshipped ; and do not the Jews to this very day worship as David did ? Thinking thus, how trebly beautiful does this verse appear to me ; for in almost every word the spirit of prophecy appeareth ; and with regard to applying the words " the Lord and Thee," as I have done, the preceding verse may be rendered in the same sense ; for, as we have seen, he says, " My praise shall be of tJiee in the great congregation ; I will pay my vows to them that fear Him." The praise of the children of Israel shall be of David's God, whom 28 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. he signifies by the pronoun Thee, -and they shall pay their vows before them of the stranger faith, who yet worship and fear the Lord, though in a difierent form, and that he would designate by the word Him. The God of the Israelites and the God of the Christians, hut one — one alone. Let it not be thought I believe David signified two Deities. No ! the style of his writings would merely signify the two difi"erent modes of worship, used when addressing the same great and almighty God. The next verse, the 28th, confirms what I say, that he means but one being, as he says, " The kingdom is the Lord's, and He is the governor among the nations." Here it is evident by the two sentences; the one, as in the 27th verse, denotes the Jews, the other, those nations that worship God, yet not in the form of Moses. " The kingdom is the Lord's." The Jewish state or kingdom, as that word is fre- quently used in Scripture to signify one particular nation, " is the Lord's," meaning His own chosen people; but He is still governor of the nations, which now clearly signifies a greater number than the former kingdom, and may well relate to the superiority in numbers of every other nation over the Jews. He is yet governor over them, because they still worsJiip and fear him, though, not accord- ing to the law of Moses ; and consequently, by this SABBATH THOUGHTS. 29 verse it is manifest David knew the God of the kingdoms and the Lord of the nations were the same ; and as we have before said, the difference of Da^dd's style Is merely typical of the difference of form with which the same God is worshipped. The 30th verse is also illustrative of the Jewish nation, by the expression " a seed shall serve him, and be accounted to the Lord for a generation." David prophesied the decreased number of the Jews, a seed, would appear figurative of the diminished nation ; but diminished as they are, they shall yet serve Him ; and though their numbers are so small, they shall, by preserving the laws of Moses inviolate, be considered even as a generation. And this small remnant shall come, and shall declare the righteous- ness of the Lord unto a people that shall be born ;" which signifies unto their children, and their child- ren's children, "that he hath done this." Done what ? All that this prophecy recounts ; these last verses are like a summing up of all the prophesies contained in this beautiful Psalm ; as if by these words, David set his seal on what he before had written. That He hath done this ; that He hath punished His chosen people for their sins, by casting them among the nations, whose persecutions were but as His tool ; that He hath yet in mercy extended 30 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. His mighty arm over them, that they should not perish everlastingly, but yet remain as kindred among the nations ; that He hath ordained another faith should extend over the ends of the world, who shall serve Him, though not as Moses did; that He hath permitted a seed or remnant of His peo- ple Israel to remain, who will to their children, a people who shall be born, " declare His righteous- ness that He hath done this." Thus have I endeavoured to meet Mr. Anderson's arguments with others, that would render the same psalm equally prophetic of my faith. Had I never heard Mr. Anderson preach on this beautiful psalm, I might have read and read again, and never thought it prophetic ; but hearing how he took it to support his faith, it led me to examine and think, for somewhat wherewith to defend my belief. Even while he spoke, my mind at once conceived what he believed applicable to Christ, might with equal force apply to the Jewish nation ; but the minor parts of course did not strike me, till I studied every sepa- rate verse ; and then, all did appear clear and light, and thus permitted me, by this extraordinary pro- phecy, yet more firmly to believe, it was not only the dispersion of the Jews amongst heathen na- tions that was foretold, but also amongst other SABBATH THOUGHTS. 31 nations who worshipped God, though not as Moses did. The rest of Mr. R. Anderson's beautiful lecture may apply to every nation, to every faith ; all who heard it might be instructed and edified. SABBATH THOUGHTS TWENTY-SIXTH VERSE OF THE FIRST CHAPTER OF GENESIS. 3* (33) SABBATH THOUGHTS TWENTY-SIXTH VERSE OF THE FIRST CHAPTER OF GENESIS. The Christians lay mucli stress on the following (26th) verse of the 1st chapter of Genesis : " And God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness." They urged that it clearly denotes the Trinity in unity ; that God spoke to His Son, the equal to His Father in essence, by whom all things are made ; that this belief is confirmed by several passages of the Old Testament, being written in the same style ; and more particularly as the Hebrew word, Elohim, which in English is translated Crod, is in the original in the plural number. I mean no disrespect to the Christian, but yet I must answer this suggestion, for the satisfaction of my own heart. The belief of Trinity in unity, is the only part of (35) 86 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. the Christian code which I cannot comprehend; and is the only part I shrink from with horror. How can they explain this ? How can Father, Son, and Holy Ghost be three persons and one God? Would God divide Himself? Would He deign to visit earth, and mingle with the worms He hath formed, as one of them ? The more I think on this part of the Christian belief, the more puzzled I be- come ; and it produces questions, which I dare not think of, much less behold embodied upon paper, so derogatory to the infinite nature of God, that they become to my mind almost impious. It is my belief, that it is the combination of all that is pure, holy, glorious, mighty, merciful, benefi- cent, powerful, just, and awful, that occasions the Hebrew word Elohim to be in the plural number, being a stronger and more expressive manner of signifying the Almighty Being, whose works they are relating, than it could have been in the singular ; I could conceive it an idiom of the language, un- translatable, at least with precise exactness, in any other language ; and we are therefore compelled to express it by the word " God;" which word, by its association in our mind, from the earliest age, signi- fies all those glorious attributes which are in He- brew expressed by a word of the plural number. The sentences we have copied above mean nothing SABBATH THOUGHTS. 37 more to me than were they written, as in every other part, in the singular number, and are merely expressive of that Mighty Power, at whose word the world of loveliness arose from chaos. The Lord looked around Him, below; on every side were emblems of His might. His wisdom. If for one moment we may be allowed to speak, to think of this heavenly essence ; this inconceivable Creator, according to the humble nature of earthly and pol- luted minds, we would say that at that instant the Lord felt the full extent of His wondrous power ; He beheld and saw, and it was good; and there wanted but one creation more to complete His work, and the Lord said. Let us make man. And the plural number of that little word, it is evident, sig- nifies but Himself, and His own power. It was to express His grandeur. His majesty, with more force than He could have done had He said, let me make man. To be emphatic, to be forcible, the imperative mood, even in common conversation, must be in the plural number; then why should types and shadows be drawn from so very simple a circumstance ? It does not appear to me to relate to the Lord and his angels, as the Jews believe ; nor, as being emblamatical of Trinity and Unity, as is the Christian faith. It is to me nothing more than an emphatic command of the one sole God ; alluding 4 3S ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. to and following that extent of power, which bade Him frame the world, in all its beauty of animate and inanimate nature, from a chaos, dark, obscure, impenetrable ; and is it at all improbable, that kings and governors, believing themselves the representa- tives and delegates of the Deity, should make use of the expression originally used by Him, thereby to express dignity and majesty ? The term " Behold, the man has become as one of us," means nothing more to me than, as in the for- mer case, an expression to render the sentence more forcible; besides which, had the Lord said instead, " Behold, the man has become as me eras us," would it not have been derogatory of His Omnipotence, thus to compare a creature He had formed, with Himself? Do we not shrink from reading that sentence as I have written it ? It surpasses our feeble conception ; our senses cannot pierce so deeply into the nature, the ex- alted, ethereal nature of our Maker ; we are not per- mitted, never were destined, to be brought in such close approximation with our God, as we should fancy ourselves, did we read in His sacred book, " Behold, the man has become as me, or, as us, to know good and evil;" but by saying 07ie of us, the feeble minds of his creatures can better understand the sentence. Become as one of us, signifies to me, become pos- sessed of one of the innumerable attributes of God ; SABBATH THOUGHTS. 39 namely, the knowledge of good and of evil ; not signifying, as the Christians have it, either His angels, or what they believe His Son. Would God compare man with Himself, again I ask, inconceiv- able as he is ? We know that man, if he walks in a perfect way, is said to possess some of the attri- butes of God ; consequently, my version of this sentence cannot be deemed profane. Adam and Eve, ere their fall, were perfect, for they w^ere un- contaminated by sin ; they were as the hand of God had made them ; and yet the terms now used to good men, cannot apply to them. They could not prac- tise universal charity, because they were the only inhabitants of the newly created world. They could not practise submission, patience under afflic- tions, resignation to the will of God ; for nought but prosperity and happiness were around them. They could not prove their love for Him, as good men now do, because thei'e were no snares laid by the irreligious, no temptations of this world to turn them astray ; they could not do good to their fellow crea- tures, because there were none to whom they could do good : and therefore, though pure and innocent, it was only the purity and innocence of creatures fresh from the Almighty's hand ; not that goodness of those men of the present day, who, when possessing those attributes we have above enumerated, are 40 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. said to walk in God's own path, to possess, as far as the inconceivable distance of heaven and earth will permit, some of the infinite and glorious attri- butes of their beneficent Maker. Adam and Eve as yet knew only good; evil was as unknown to them as to the little infant that clings to his mother's breast (for I am no believer in original sin) ; therefore they had no oj^portunity to resist its influence. God, though his essence is goodness alone, goodness inconceivable, yet knoweth the extent, the power of evil ; and consequently, when his creatures did eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. His exclamation was, "Behold, man has become as one of us ;" meaning, man pos- sessed in a degree the power of his Maker, the power at least of knowing good and evil ; and there- fore, though His mercy would, have preserved His creatures pure, good, uncontaminated, even by one evil thought, however fleeting ; and therefore hap- pier than any, even the best men now can be ; yet when once they had disobeyed His command, which was given in mercy, the very knowledge they had obtained became their own punishment, and God sent them forth from Paradise ; for as they now possessed in a degree His knowledge of the existence of good and evil, their future virtue, future reward, depended on the resistance to that evil, q.t/'x adherence SABBATH THOUGHTS. 41 to the good ; whereas, had they obeyed, they would have continued happy, for they would never have known evil, and consequently would have had no need to resist it. Had the Almighty said. Behold, man has become like me, or like us ; it would, though perhaps signifying the same thing, have placed the created too nearly on a level with his inconceivable Creator ; but by the term one of us, it is to me clearly expressive of what I have above explained at length ; that man possessed one of the innumerable, inconceivable attributes of God. When the serpent tempted Eve, these were the words he used (verse 5, chapter 3) : " For God doth know, that in the V. day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." This proves my doctrine, that evil was unknown to the newly created ; and to tempt Eve to eat, the serpent promised that they should be as gods — he did not say as God ! No, evil as he was, the very spirit of evil, he dared not say that ; even he put the word in the plural number. And here too, man was not raised so much on a level with his Creator as he would have been, had the serpent said. And he shall become as God ! As God know- eth good and evil, so by obtaining that knowledge, man shall become like a god, or like gods. In the English language, the placing the article a 42 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. before this awful word, or adding s thereunto, makes all the difference. From the expression, like God, man's fallen nature shrinks appalled; his lowly conception cannot stretch so far — cannot suffi- ciently pierce the veil of glory that shrouds the throne of his Maker, whose smallest ray is enough to dazzle and annihilate him ; but by the sentence, like a god, or like gods, we on the instant compre- hend, enter into, fully and clearly conceive, that possessing one of the attributes of God, the know- ledge of good and evil, we may believe ourselves a god, but not like our Creator. To possess one of His infinite appendages, the tempter knew was all-sufficient. The work of God was not content with the mercy, the munificence around her; she would exalt herself, and fell! God knew how the tempter had spoken, and He veiled Himself. He spoke not in that awful, that inconceivable Unity that is His ;* but to make His words clear to the feeble understanding of His creatures. He said, " Behold, man has become as one of us ;" as gods or a god, not as me, or as us — or rather as I am, as we are. The next sentence we would notice is contained in the 11th chapter of Genesis, 7th verse: "Let us go down," This sentence is of course the same expression of mighty poAver, as that in the 1st SABBATH THOUGHTS. 43 chapter ; " Let us make man," written in the plural number, expressing much more power and energy, than written in the singular number, Let me go down ; and consequently cannot to me be typical of anything, save of that supreme unutterable power which belongs to the Almighty, and caused Him to speak in the plural number, to accord with the Hebrew word Elohim, which we have already said is descriptive of the infinite, inefiable attribute of the Lord. These expressions are now no longer mystical, or dark ; I have noticed them because I wished in writing to refute the ingenious note in Hewlet's translation of the Scriptures, for the satis- faction of my own heart. I know that his doctrine must be false, to one of my belief; but on these sub- jects the mind is not satisfied with thoughts flitting across the brain. We may think, and think long and well, but other thoughts arise, and chase those we would wish to dwell on, from the tablet of the mind, and then it is some trouble to recall them ; but once embodied upon paper, once assuming a clear, defined form, palpable to the sight, if we may use that expression, the longings of the mind are appeased, its imperfect conceptions rendered per- fect, and we may indulge in other fancies, without fear that these sacred thoughts shall ever be for- gotten. We have but to glance over the page, and 44 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. every idea returns clear and light to the heart whence it sprung. The Unity of God ; that inconceivable Unity is the foundation of my belief, of the belief of the whole Jewish nation ; taught us by the mouth of God, when He spake unto Moses on Mount Sinai, repeated in almost every page of the sacred writ- ings ; the grand cause of difference between the Jewish and the Christian faiths, brought yet more home to the heart of the Israelite, by every argu- ment the follower of Christ brings forward to sup- port his belief. To allude to every part of the Bible whence this truth is taken, to quote every sentence that supports our belief, would be a task, interesting indeed, but endless ; but I would ask, if the word Elohim, and the sentences we have noticed above, are typical of the Trinity ? do those awful and mystic words " I AM THAT I AM," tend to- wards establishing the belief of three persons and one God ? When commanding, God spoke in the plural number, to designate His majesty, His power. When Moses, inspired with sacred ardour, asked by what name he should speak of the Lord to the peo- ple ; God answered in the singular number, thus placing the seal upon His unity. I AM THAT I AM, must surely signify one, but one ; here no double meaning can be found. He called not His name SABBATH THOUGHTS. 45 Elohim ; if he had, then indeed there might have been some slight, though very slight assistance (though still no ground) to the Christian code ; but this He does not do, except when speaking of Him- self as the God of Abraham, of Isaac, of Jacob, ■which is evidently secondary ; for when in answer to Moses' request, to know by what name he should speak from Him to the children of Israel, the Lord said : " Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I A3I hath, sent me unto you." And can these sacred words ever be regarded as being types of more than one ? No Christian has, I believe, yet attempted to prove, that this chapter contains types and shadows of the Trinity; and yet may we not with all humility and charity ask why, if the belief of Trinity be a true one, all allusion to it in this very important chapter should be totally left out ? God knows I mean no profanation to His Holy Name, no disrespect to any faith, more particu- larly the Christian, whose moral code I so admire ; but yet would I urge, that if God wished to prove the existence of His Son, would He not in all proba- bility, in answer to Moses, have used some expres- sion to denote the plurality of spirits ? instead of which the expression He used, can only signify one, one in body as in essence, one incorporeal, incon- ceivable, one ever existing, ever existent Being. 4 * 46 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. To these awful words, no two meanings can possibly be attached, and surely we do not err, in pronounc- ing this chapter to be one of the most important, most sacred, most impressive, in the Old Testament. We cannot peruse it attentively without a feeling of awe, a thrilling of the heart, a quickening of every pulse ; when we think, that God Himself spoke to His good and favoured servant, conversed with him, deigned Himself to instruct him. Can we not feel the awful solemnity of the event ; feel it even as we read ? doth it not speak of mercy ineffable, infinite, of beneficence unlimited, inexhaustible ? God the Creator, clothed in Majesty that no mortal eye -might behold and live, yet deigned to hold converse with man, the created ; in His boundless love He did this, that He might rescue His people from the grasp of their unrelenting foes, and while doing this, Himself proclaimed His Unity. In the Commandments, those sacred laws alike observed by Jew and Christian, the Unity of God is again brought clearly forth ; 20th chapter Exo- dus, 2d verse, "J am the Lord thy Crod,'" &c. : 3d verse, " Thou shall have no other gods before me :" 5th verse, "/or I the Lord thy God am a jealous Crod:" and again in the 34th chapter, 14th verse, " For thou shalt worship no other God : for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God :" SABBATH THOUGHTS. 47 And if Christ were, as his followers believe, the equal to His Father in essence, why do we find these sacred portions of the Bible so constantly written in the singular ? If the sentences I have written on, Let us make man, &c., are symbolical of the Father and Son, may we not, with equal justice, look for plurality of expression in these portions, which are certainly even more sacred and important than the first chapters of Genesis ? We look, but we find them not ; and so convinced were the Israelites o£ His awful Unity, that twice every day they were, and still are, commanded to repeat this part of their belief; they ever did, and ever will do so, for what other signification can be given to the 4th verse, 6th chapter of Deuteronomy, " Hear, oh Israel : The Lord our Cfod is ONE LORD;" than that it proclaims the foundation of our creed, the Unity of God. I might bring forward numberless proofs from the books of Moses to support my argument, but those I have already taken will for the present suffice ; but I cannot close this subject, without glancing at the Prophecies, in which the Unity of God is repeat- ed over and over again, in forcible and unanswerable language. To prevent all misconception, the Al- mighty here, when commanding, does not once speak in the plural number, as He did at first. In every 48 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. page, which as we read draws us closer to God, He speaks but as One — One alone ; and again let me ask, if the union of Father and Son caused the Almighty in some few sentences to speak in the plural num- ber, may we not with justice expect to find the same expressions, in writings so filled with prophetic visions of the future, as Isaiah, Jeremiah, &;c., in- stead of which the singular is ever used ; the Lord spoke of Himself as One: "Look at me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for / am God, and there is none else." "Zhave swomi hj myself :" Isaiah, chapter 45, verses 22 and 23. " Remem- ber former things of old, for I am God, and there is none else, I am God, and there is none like me.'' "-T bring near my righteousness, &c., 7ny salvation shall not tarry ; and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory :" Isaiah, chapter 46, verses 9 and 13. "As for our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts is His name, the Holy One of Israel :" Isaiah, chapter 47, verse 4. " Hearken unto me, oh Jacob and Israel, my called ; / am he, I am the first, I also am the last." "J, even I, have spoken:" Isaiah, chapter 48, verses 12 and 15. I might transcribe whole chapters of this prophet, contain- ing allusions to His Unity, but it needs not, for the general appellation of the Lord, throughout the SABBATH THOUGHTS. 49 whole of Isaiah, who is termed by Christians the most evangelical prophet, is, the Holy One of Israel ; and surely that term cannot be made typical of the Trinity, three persons and one God ; it cannot sig- nify more than One Person — One in essence. One in power. The other prophecies contain equally clear proofs. " Therefore, behold, 1, even 7, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you and the city that / gave you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence, and I will bring an everlasting re- proach upon you:" Jeremiah, chapter 23, verses 39 and 40. " And I will bring you out from the people," &c. "And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face." "Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, BO will I plead with you, saith the Lord Cfod:" Ezekiel, chapter 20, verses 34, 35, 36. " So will J make my holy name known in the midst of Israel ; and / will not let them pollute ony holy name any more : and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, the Moly One of Israel:" Ezekiel, chapter 39, verse 7. Would not these sacred verses, then, clearly prove that the Lord desired to be considered as one, by the children of Israel? thus, as it were, 50 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. entirely and impressively dividing them from every other nation, by the sacred proclamation, " The Lord God of Israel is one;" do not these re- peated assertions', "J will or /am," and the expres- sion the Jloli/ One, entirely prove the fallacy of that docti'ine, which inculcates that the terms, "Let us make man," "Behold, man has become like one of us," &c., are symbolical of Trinity; for if God did deign in mystic language to allude once, to the union of Father and Son, may we not with humility ask, if it is not equally likely He should do so, in those sacred books that prophesy the future, when that supposed Son would be, by the greater part of the known world, recognised and acknowledged. But in those books, the great Creator never speaks in the plural number. He speaks of Himself as one, who would do all that He promiseth, by His single arm, assist- ed by no other power. The Christians believe their Messiah equal to God : a heavenly master, not an earthly. We look for a temporal prince of the line of Judah, a man whom God shall raise to be under Him, as David, a prince, or ruler, not equal with Him in essence, nor in power. But this subject I shall not treat on now; I may, with God's blessing, make it the subject of future reflections. This has been written merely to prove to my own satisfac- SABBATH THOUGHTS. 51 tion the Unity of God ; to refute arguments brought forward to support the belief of Trinity. Faintly indeed have I written on a theme, that must be, even to learned men, inexhaustible ; but my own mind, through the mercy of God, is satisfied ; and for that blessing may His name be praised. He is one, and there is no Unity like His Unity. THE PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. " Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign ; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immauuel." — Isaiah, viii. 14. (53) THE PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. " Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign ; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." Isaiah, chapter 7, verse 14. The prophecy contained in the 7th chapter of Isaiah — "Behold, a virgin shall conceive," &c., is one that is generally supposed to favour the Chris- tian doctrine, if not to be its foundation. The last few years, however, even Christian divines acknowledge that the assertion will not hear strict examination, and have, I believe in many cases, given up these verses as alluding to their Messiah. The Jewish explanation of the chapter is very simple. In the reign of Ahaz, King of Judah, Rezin, King of Syria, and Pekah (son of Remaliah), King of Israel, leagued together to make war against Jerusalem. This confederacy so terrified Ahaz, as (55) 56 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. to deprive him and his house of all spirit to under- take the war, and also of all faith in the Eternal. Notwithstanding this, the Lord, in His great mercy, bade Ahaz neither be faint-hearted nor cast down; as the league " should neither stand, nor their in- tentions come to pass." (By Ephraim, throughout the chapter, the kingdom of Israel is designated.) Still Ahaz doubted, though God had said, " If ye will not believe me^ ye shall not he established" And the Lord desired him to ask a sign of the Lord his God, " either in the depth beneath, or the height above." Even this, Ahaz refused to do still, from ^ want of sufficient faith. God reproved him, and promised Himself to give a sign — " Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name, Cfod is with us : butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil and choose the good : and before the child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that thou abhor- rest shall be forsaken of both her kings." Now, even granting that the Hebrew word trans- lated virgin means virgin and nothing else, and that the sign was to be the birth of a child in a super- natural manner, it has, and can have nothing to do with Jesus, as it was to, and did, take place in the reign of Ahaz, king of Judah, several hundred years before the Christian era. The word, however, PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. 57 does not only signify virgin, but a young tvoman ; and, as such, most probably indicates the wife of Isaiah, who bore a son as a sign, lefore the usual time, and was commanded, by the words, "Butter and honey shall he eat," &c., to rear him from his birth as a Nazarite (the laws for which are in the 6th chapter of Numbers : and their practical illus- tration in Judges, chapter 13, verses 2 to 6). By being set apart, from his birth, to the service of his God, and kept from all strong drink and excit- ing meats, he was more easily to be able to " refuse the evil and choose the good." But even before this was attained, by the child being sufficiently old to do this, the land which Ahaz abhorred and dreaded, Syria and Ephraim, should be forsaken by both her kings, Rezin and Pekah ; whose confederacy had & • terrified Judah. And this took place exactly a prophesied, as is written in the 2d Book of Kings chapter 16, verses 5 to 10, and the 30th verse oi chapter 15 ; also in the 2d Book of Chronicles chapter 28, verses 1 to 26. The remaining verses of the 7th chapter of Isaiah, will be found to pro- phesy and agree exactly with these chapters in the historical books above mentioned, as also the whole of chapter 8th of Isaiah. Not satisfied with the grant of one sign, the in- 5* m ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES finite mercy of the Eternal granted another, in the promise of the birth of a second son, by the Pro- phetess (the wife of Isaiah). Witnesses were select- ed to bear testimony to the prophecy : that before the promised child had knowledge " to cry ' My father, and my mother,' the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria:" Isaiah, chapter 8, verse 4. And so it was — the child was born (not now miraculously) : and by comparing this verse with the historical chapters before mentioned, its fulfilment is evident. Again, the strong proof that both these promised signs were the children of Isaiah by his wife (how- ever the birth of the first might have been attended with something unusual), is found in the 18th verse of this same 8th chapter : " Behold, I and the child- ren whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel, from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in Mount Zion." Does not this agree ex- actly with verse 14 of the 7th chapter, and verses 3 and 4 of the 8th chapter ? If the first child — who received the name of Immanuel, in his very name to reiterate the promise that God is with us — were the child of a virgin living thousands of years after- wardSf or even of a virgin unconnected with Isaiah, PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. 59 what can the Prophet mean by saying, " I and the children -whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and wonders," &c. ? If only Maher-shalal-hash-baz had been his son, he would have said child, not children ; but, by the use of the word children, and signs, and wonders, instead of a sign and a wonder, it is as clear as if it had been written in direct words, that Immanuel and Maher-shalal-hash-baz were hoth the Prophet's sons, and both given as signs to a people sunk in iniquity — to prove that God was with them still, however they might dis- obey and disbelieve Him. That something miracu- lous attended the birth of Immanuel might he ; but that his mother was, or became the wife of Isaiah, and her son acknowledged to be also the Prophet's, is proved by Isaiah's own words : " I and the children whom the Lord hath given w^e." The verse, therefore, however often quoted, has nothing whatever to do with the foundation or support of Christianity. It is a simple incident in Jewish history, confined to the reign of Ahaz and the peo- ple of Judea — the children of the prophet sinking into insignificancy as soon as the prophecy connect- ed with them was fulfilled : nor will the 8th verse of chapter 8 contradict this. The end of verse 10 may just as well be translated " Oh Immanuel" 60 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. as the end of verse 8 : " For God is with us" is the meaning of both, and so ought both to be translated. " And he shall pass through Judah ; he shall over- flow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck ; and by stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy landj" "For God is with us." INTERPRETATION FIFTY-THIRD CHAPTER OF ISAIAH. (61) INTERPRETATION FIFTY-THIRD CHAPTER OF ISAIAH. Verse 2 : Hebrew. — " For he grew uf English — " he shall grow up before us as a tender plant," &c. : "he hath no form or comeliness," &c. The sense is, the Gentiles shall say to each other in astonishment, Who believed what we heard con- cerning them, and to whom was the interest the Lord took in them made known ? For it was a despised people, feeble and wretched, like a tender plant growing out of a thirsty soil : their appear- ance was abject, and there was nothing attractive in their manners. Verse 3 : " He was despised and rejected of men," &c. They were despised and rejected, and held in ab- (63) 64 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. horrence, they were men of sorrow, familiar with suffering : we looked upon them with dislike ; we hid our faces from them, and esteemed them not. Verse 4: "Surely he hath borne our griefs," &c. Surely their sufferings are as great, as if they had borne the sins of the whole world, or they are nevertheless the means appointed to remove the sufferings of an afflicted world ; for God hath con- nected universal happiness with their prosperity, and the end of their sufferings is the beginning of our joys. Verse 4 : " Yet did we esteem him stricken," &c. Nevertheless we consider them a God-abandoned race, and devoted to wretchedness by him, for hav- ing crucified their king. Verse 5: "But he was wounded for" (or "by," in the Hebrew), &c. Instead of being the victims of God's wrath, they were wounded through our cruelty, they were bruised by our iniquitous treatment; we being suffered to do so, to chasten them for their sins, and to prove their obedience ; and this chastisement is that by which our peace is to be effected ; for their chastisement and probation being finished, God will by them impart and diffuse peace and happiness. Verse 6 : "All wc, like sheep," &c. PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. 65 But it is we who have sinned more than they, and we have all gone astray in our ignorance, being without the knowledge of God and His law. Yet the Lord has permitted us to make them the sub- jects of our impressive iniquity. Verse 7 : " He was oppressed or exposed to pecu- niary exactions, and was afflicted," &c., verses 7, 8, and 9. How passive and unresisting were they when oppressed ! they were afflicted, and complained not : when, through false accusations and mistaken cruelty, they were plundered and condemned to die, they went like a lamb to the slaughter ; and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so they opened not their mouths. They were taken from the dungeon to be slain, they were wantonly massacred, and every man was their foe ; for by the thoughtless crimes of my people they suffered: yet, notwithstanding their graves were appointed with the wicked, they were rich in their deaths. This did God appoint them, because they had not done iniquity. Verse 10: "Yet it pleased the Lord," &c., "he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days," &c. This clearly proves that this prophecy cannot refer to any individual, but it may be applied to the Jewish nation, because one individual cannot 6 66 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. be put to death, and yet see his seed and prolong his days. Verse 11 : " After or on account of the travail of his soul," &c. That is, after and for their sufferings, they shall be abundantly rewarded ; by their superior knowledge shall they make many wise, " for many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the moun- tain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob ; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His path:" Micah, 4th chapter, 2d verse. Verse 12 : " Therefore will I give him," &c. Therefore their reward shall be exceeding great ; because, for the sake of their duty, they willingly exposed themselves to death, and were accounted as transgressors, and bore the cruelties inflicted by many, and made intercession for them that afflicted them. That the above prophecy can by no means relate to Jesus Christ, the following remarks will plainly show : 1st. Jesus was certainly not exalted and magni- fied, and made very great upon earth, but Avas put to a cruel and disgraceful death. 2d. He was not oppressed by pecuniary exac- tions, as is said of the subject of this prophecy. PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. 67 3d. He could not have been taken from prison to. die, because he was never in prison. 4th. He did not see His seed, nor prolong His days, since He died childiess ; and we cannot per- mit the word seed to be spiritualized on this occa- sion, for the word seed, in the Old Testament, means nothing else than literally children ; which it is not pretended Christ ever had, nor could He pro- long His days, when He was cut off in His 33d year. 5th. Who were the strong and mighty with whom he divided the spoil ? Were they the twelve fisher- men of Galilee? and what was the spoil divided? Jesus was to make His grave with the wicked, and be with the rich in His death ; whereas he did ex- actly the contrary : he was with the wicked (the two thieves) in his death, and with the rich (Joseph of Arimathea) in His grave or tomb. In a word, the application of this prophecy to Jesus is now GIVEN UP by the most learned Hebrew scholars, who allow that the literal sense of the original can never be understood of Him.* * See Priestly's Notes on the Scriptures. PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 6* (69, PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. The Prophecies of Daniel cannot be divided into sections, as those of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. There is a mysterious solemnity in his, which must be treated of separately ; and the vision of Nebu- chadnezzar must claim our attention first. Chapter 2, verses 31, 32, 33, 34 and 35: " Thou, king, sawest, and behold, a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee ; and the form thereof was terrible. This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut without hands, which smote the image upon his feet, that were of iron and clay, and brake them in pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chafi" of the (71) 72 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. summer threshing-floors, and the -wind carried them away, that no place was found for them ; and the stone that smote the image became a great moun- tain, and filled the whole earth." The next verses contain Daniel's mystic inter- pretation—verses 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 48, 44 : " And wheresoever, &c. Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom, of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong ; forasmuch as iron break- eth in pieces and subdueth ail things ; and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes part of potter's clay and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of clay, so the king- dom shall be partly strong and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men ; but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a king- dom which shall never be destroyed ; and the king- dom shall not be left to other people, but it shall PROPHECIES OF DANIEL- 73 break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever." This prophecy is by Christians thus interpreted. The head of gold is the Babylonian, the arms of silver the Persian, the belly of brass the Macedo- nian, the legs of iron, the Roman, and the kingdom then promised to last for ever, the Christian. If it were indeed so, the preceding Prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel must stand for nought : for if the Jews were indeed subdued and broken in pieces, and scattered as chaff before the wind, by this overwhelming stone, why need the restoration of Israel, the preservation of Jaeoh, be so distinctly promised? This interpretation can never satisfy the mind of a true Israelite ; and the following I believe to be the true meaning of Daniel's myste- rious words: the Babylonian, the Grecian, the Roman, the Christian ; and lastly in the time of the kingdom of Christ, the God of Heaven shall set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed — the king- dom of David and his servant Jacob. The theory of the Christians appears at a first perusal unanswerably true and good. The Persian succeeded Nebuchadnezzar; the Grecian extended its greatness far and near, and the Roman certainly might well be termed strong as iron, breaking in pieces and subduing all nations : under Constantino 74 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. the Great, it became two kingdoms ; the Roman de- clined, and became partly broken ; the Turkish rose in strength. So far it appears to coincide, but on a closer scrutiny, we shall find many facts that can- not possibly be made serviceable to the Christian doctrine. In the first place, great as Alexander was, high as Greece rose in his time in the scale of kingdoms, it never yet obtained dominion of the ivliole world, as it is said of the brass kingdom. Alexander ob- tained not rule over all the earth — 400 years had the Roman government existed when he appeared, and Rome successfully resisted the power of all neighbouring states. Whilst Rome remained un- conquered, no kingdom could be said to have do- minion over all the earth. The aspiring wishes of Alexander led him to hope for the subjugation of his mighty rival ; but death appeared ere these am- bitious wishes were put in force ; and Greece, divid- ed and broken, fell in after years an easy prey to Rome. The kingdom of brass then, it is clear, cannot apply to Greece, which never had dominion over all the earth : but to Rome that part of Daniel's pro- phecy may with much more justice relate. It did " bear rule" over the whole world, as far at least as was then known. Every other kingdom bowed PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 75 to this great empire ; savage nations were discovei-ed and enslaved, and Rome raised her head as unri- valled mistress of the earth. It is clear that the kingdom of iron does not denote the Romans, by the following simple fact ; Daniel says, the kingdom was to be divided as shown by the feet being partly iron and partly clay ; it was to be two governments, ruled by two separate kings, that " shall not cleave to each other ;" and it was to be in the time of these kings, these two kingdoms, that God would set up that kingdom "which was to last for ever." Now according to this, if this promised kingdom related to the Christian, Christ ought to have appeared in the time of the eastern and western empires, in- stead of which he first appeared in the reign of the Emperor Tiberius, when Rome was in its pristine glory, when under one emperor she governed " all the earth." If therefore this prophecy related to him, the Saviour of the Christians, why need Daniel have so particularly declared, that ere the promised kingdom of God should arise, the kingdom of iron was to be broken and become part clay and part iron, partly strong and partly broken, whereas Christ appeared in the very height of the empire's splendour ; there was no clay mingled with the iron, there were no two kingdoms; there was but one grand empire, one sovereign prince ; and therefore 76 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. if the kingdom of Christ is the promised kingdom of God, Daniel, great prophet as he was, must have prophesied falsely. But why should we think thus, when, by applying the kingdom of iron to that which is now in existence, the government of Christ, we find his prophecy correct and clear, even to the slightest point. Strong as iron was the Roman Catholic faith; and as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things, so did the Roman Catholic religion break in pieces all other faiths, and subdued every nation that presumed to set up a religion for itself. In the time of the heathen nations, or since, has there been one government that exercised such absolute power? one ruler that beheld the world so com- pletely under his rod, as the Popes of Rome ? There aever was one, nor will there ever be again such complete authority exercised by one man, over not only the lives, but the welfare, the happiness, ^and the misery of his fellow creatures. Kings bowed down at his footstool, not only before the Pope him- self but before his legates, men far beneath the royal rank. Whole nations trembled at his frown ; countries were laid waste ; religious acts were sus- pended ; kings themselves were under the fear of murder from the hands of their subjects, if the edict of anathema and interdiction went forth from the PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 77 lips of the all-powerful Pope, since even their sub- jects would have deemed it a merit to assassinate them. At whose instigation were those fearful wars, which, under the name of religion, sent mur- der, rapine, and innumerable deeds of wickedness among unoffending nations ? At whose nod did those mighty forces march forth ? Was not the Pope supreme authority ? Did he not subdue and break in pieces whole nations ; and, under the name of religion, compel them to own his power ? Had the Romans, in their most glorious, most victorious days, such absolute power, not only over nations, but over individuals, as the Pope of Rome ? In their early monarchy we find many of the Ro- man kings either murdered by their subjects, or forced to abdicate. During the period of the Com- monwealth Rome could not be termed that kingdom of iron, which was to break in pieces and subdue all nations ; it was itself internally broken and divided. And in the days of the Empire, though we find the emperors exercising dominion over all the earth, yet how very many were massacred by their own sub- jects, and how few, though dreaded at a distance, were acknowledged, obeyed, and dreaded by the native subjects — the citizens of Rome. Such was not the case with the Pope. Alike feared and reverenced by those at a distance and 7 78 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. those around his throne, what daring and sacri- legious hand was ever raised in threatening wrath against the Pope ? Ere this kingdom of iron was broken, what would not have been the fate of a wretch so reprobate ? — Kings would have sought out the offender ; countries would have risen in arms ; and had a prince of royal birth committed such a deed, no death alone would have been deemed suf- ficient for his punishment. The government of the Popes then was that figu- ratively termed the kingdom of iron — not in terri- torial power, but in spiritual ascendancy. Religion was the weapon with which it brake in pieces and subdued ; and for thirteen centuries its power was unquestioned, its authority unrivalled. But then the miry clay began to mingle secretly and imper- ceptibly with the iron^ and by gradual but certain progress undermine that strength, that power, which had hitherto been so overwhelming. Crimes and abuses began to penetrate that system which had so long borne sway. Villanies committed under the veil of religion, attracted the attention of men, and the kingdom of iron was divided and broken, and became as potter's clay. The name remained, and part of its strength, but universal sway was banished. Another great system rose, and, with almost in- PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 79 credible rapidity, sent its converts over the world. Martyrdoms and miseries could not check its pro- gress. The word of the Lord had gone forth, even by the mouth of his servant Daniel ; and, though thousands of years have rolled by, , that sacred pro- phecy was then fulfilled, is still fulfilling ; and as we think on this great truth, human nature feels overwhelmed — the wisdom, the greatness, the om- nipotence of God, stand forth in dazzling clearness, and fill the mind with conceptions of God's glorious nature. His omniscience, too powerful, too mighty for this polluted and corrupted state. We cannot, we dare not penetrate the veil of His glory. We cannot conceive His all-seeing wisdom. Human nature sinks in the vain endeavour to solve the thoughts that for one moment dart across the soul, the faint murmurings of that pure spirit implanted within us, and of whose heavenly nature even the corrupted clay in which it is placed cannot rob us. Let us not attempt to solve such momentary thoughts, but as we read, and such facts as these, the exact fulfilment of His Word, some thousand years after it was given forth, stand clear before us, let us in silence bow before His power and adore His mercy. Yes, when the Protestant religion appeared, the kingdom of iron became divided, and partly strong and partly broken. Kings denied the supremacy 80 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. of the Pope ; countries fell off from their allegiance to his dominion. Another spiritual kingdom ap- peared, and the greater part of the civilized world became then, and still is, under the sway of these two religions; and, therefore, though the kingdom is divided, there is yet in it 'Hhe strength of iron." " And they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men, but they shall not cleave one to another." This evidently does not relate to the Romans, ac- cording to the theory of the Christians, because the Romans did not mingle with the seed of men. Of them there is now no trace to be found ; but the fol- lowers of Christ mingle with the seed of men, that is, are daily making converts of the heathen nations. But the Roman Catholic and Protestant religions "cleave not to one another;" there is a mortal hatred between them, which never existed between the eastern and western empires, therefore even these simple words coincide more with this interpre- tation, than with the Christian doctrine. . "And in the days of these kings." Daniel does not say these tivo kings ; therefore it is evident he does not allude to the emperor of the east, and the emperor of the west, but to the kings of the various countries who shall be reigning when our appointed Messiah shall appear. " And in the days of these kings shall the God PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 81 of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed : and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and con- sume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever." That is, the Lord shall appoint a King, Saviour, or Messiah, who will himself break in pieces and consume all the kingdoms. Again: ^^All the kingdoms" — the expression used by Daniel must certainly signify more than two, and both in this, and in the term these kings, he evi- dently pierces the veil of futurity, and looks to the various kingdoms and nations that, when the Mes- siah Cometh, will people the earthly globe ; " And it shall stand for ever." " For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given : and the government shall be upon his shoul- der," &c. " Of the increase of his government and peace there shall he no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom" kc. "The Lord sent a word unto Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel:" Isaiah, chapter 9, verses 6, 7, 8. "For thus saith the Lord : David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel :" Jeremiah, chapter 33, verse 17. "And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob, my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt ; and they shall dwell therein, even they 7* 82 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. and their cliilclren, and their children's children for ever : and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. Moreover, I will make a covenant of peace with them ; and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them : and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for ever- more:'' Ezekiel, chapter 37, verses 25, 26, 28. Thus the latter words of this extraordinary and beautiful prophecy of Daniel agree with a wonder- ful, and certainly holy, exactness with the same promises made by the Almighty to the three pre- ceding prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. Can there then be any doubt to what kingdom the words '^ a7id it shall last for ever' allude, but to that same prince and people which have before been named, the people of Israel, and David their Prince or Messiah ? If we are all to become Christ- ians, why is Jacob so repeatedly mentioned by the Lord? why these gracious promises made so par- ticularly to Israel? If we become Christians, if Christ be the promised Messiah, we shall bear his name. Israel and Jacob will pass away, as did those other nations, whose very names are now scarcely remembered, and the prophecies with re- PROPHECIES OF DANIEL, 83 gard to Israel and Jacob must be false, and can never come to pass. What fearful impiety even in the very thought ! How can we believe in the ex- alted nature of the Almighty, if for one moment we think thus ? But more of this in a future page. We must here confine ourselves to the summing up of Daniel's famous prophecy, which hath thus, more clearly than any other, foretold what is now in actual fulfilment. The kingdom of bj-ass then refers to the Romans, not to the Grecians, as the Christians believe ; for they, the latter, never had dominion over all the earthy according to the prophecy ; whereas, Rome has been constantly termed Empress of the World. That the Christian religion is not that which the Lord hath promised, that Christ is not the appoint- ed Saviour, is also clear, because the time of Christ's appearance does not in the least agree with the time specified by Daniel. The kingdom of God was to appear when the kingdom of iron was divided, and partly strong and partly broken. Whereas Christ, the founder of that religion which his followers believe is the pro- mised kingdom "which is to stand for ever," Jesus, and his disciples, appeared in the time of Tiberius, only the second Roman Emperor, consequently some centuries before Rome was divided and became 84 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. broken. How then can Christ and the kingdom of God be one and the same ? Again, the people of the kingdom of iron were to mingle with the seed of men, which they did not ; for when the Roman Empire lost its greatness, the Romans were buried in obscurity. Where shall we now find any who can trace their descent from the hardy sons of Rome ? . But the followers of Christ mingle with the seed of men, which may well signify, are turning the heathen nations to a knowledge of the holy God, though that knowledge is deprived of its purity. Yet still it is turning them from the worship of idols, that they may be prepared in some measure for that day when all shall be light — when the faith of the Christians shall be pui'ified and cleansed from its mistaken doctrines — when the Jews shall be par- doned for their transgressions, and restored to the favour of th«ir offended God — when the kingdom of God shall indeed be set up, and the faith of Abraham, Moses, and David shall be reinstated in all its pristine glory. The government of the Popes was, without doubt, that kingdom of iron which was to subdue all things, break in pieces and bruise ; and as prophesied, so did it perform. When the Protestant religion ap- peared the kingdom of iron was divided ; but divided PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 85 as it is, yet it is as strong as iron, for it still retains dominion over most civilized places in tlie known world, and is daily extending its dominions. The Protestant is partly strong, it cannot be termed entirely strong, otherwise there would be no other faith. The Catholic is partly broken, because it once was stronger ; and though together they have dominion over so many nations, yet do they not cleave one to another ; for, great as was the hatred borne between the Christian and the Jew, yet greater is the prejudice existing between many enlightened professors of the Catholic and Protest- ant faiths. Thus then, to the very letter, has the greater part of this celebrated prophecy been fulfilled, is still in fulfilment ; and if such is the case, may we not still look forward to that glorious time when all, all shall be accomplished. The time when the king- dom of God was specified hath not passed. No ! neither Jew nor Christian is yet prepared. The Christian hath not yet completed his destined task of leading the heathen from his idolatr£)us worship to the knowledge of a God — though not of the true and pure religion. The Jew hath not been chas- tened and purifiojd hy fire yet sufiiciently. We must yet longer be a despised and distinct nation in the countries whither we are driven. We must yet 86 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. longer be a "reproach," and, even in these enlight- ened times, in some countries "a derision." We must yet be wanderers on the face of the earth. But wanderers as we are, without a land, without a king, without a shrine, who can rob us of the hope, Heaven-implanted, that guides us on, that implicit, that never-failing trust in the word of our God — the God of Israel ! He hath fulfilled His word in the past, will He not fulfil it in the future ? He will. Whilst Protestant and Catholic retain dominion over the whole earth, strong as iron, though divided, then will the Lord of Hosts set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed — which shall not be left to other people, but which shall last for ever — the kingdom of David and the faith of Israel ! We have now to consider the 25th verse of the 7th chapter, and the 23d, 24th, and 25th verses of the 8th chapter of Daniel, all of which appear to me typical and symbolical of those religions, which, retaining a knowledge of God, are yet widely dif- ferent from the pure faith of Israel, and which extend their dominion over the whole civilized earth. I mean the relio-ions of Christ and Mahomet. The Christians will shrink with horror from so close a PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 87 connexion ■with that faith thej deem so accursed ; but to the Jew there is very little difference be- tween the two. It is true, that constantly asso- ciating with the Christians, in some cases in friendly intimacy with them, and, moreover, convinced of the undoubted superiority which the moral code of the Christian has over the Mahometan, we are apt to regard the two religions with different ideas. To us, those states professing the Mahometan faith seem barbarous, and but little removed from savage, when we compare their manners, customs, nay, even their dress, with those of France, Italy, England, and Germany. We mingle not with them as we do with the Christians, and all these causes combined, we unconsciously blend in our minds the Mahometan with the idolatrous nations ; and yet, if for one mo- ment the Jew reflects impartially on the subject, he cannot think the followers of Mahomet more false in their belief than the Christian. The one believes in the Unity of God, and that Mahomet was His Prophet. The other in Trinity and Unity — a be- lief which can never be clear to the mind of an Israelite. That the Omnipotent, the Almighty God, would condescend to come upon earth in the form of clay, and mingle with the creatures He hath made, appears to me as an idea too derogatory of His 88 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. mighty power, for one instant to enter the mind. And if, without profaneness, I may so speak, we might as well believe that a mighty emperor of this earthly world would quit his throne to mingle among the lowest beggars of his dominions, and there frame laws for them. (May the great God forgive me if I sin in this comparison !) And yet how else can we clearly explain the meaning of the Christian belief ? If God and Christ are one, it is only thus they can be united, and this belief to every Israelite must appear false as well as profane. At least the actual creed of the Mahometan brings with it no"^ contradictions : they venerate Mahomet as a gifted prophet, but they regard him not as equal to God. It is their moral code, so barbarous in some re- spects, not their belief, that makes them regarded by all nations as they are. But yet to the Jew, as we have already said, both creeds must be equally false. I know not if that which I am now about to bring forward is universally believed by the Jewish nation, or whether it may be but my own individual idea — but it is my firm belief, that the various religions now spreading over the world, were from the begin- ning ordained, and, in mystic language, prophesied, not only by Daniel, but by the three great prophets who preceded him, as shall be discussed in a future PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 09 page, when we review the sixth division of each pro- phet. Did I not believe that the Christian, ay, and the Mahometan religions were ordained by the Almighty, I could not thus firmly and steadfastly believe in my own faith, nor in the omnipotence of God. Why should not these grand spiritual divisions be prophesied, as well as the kingdoms of Greece, Rome, &c. Could they thus acquire such dominion, could they thus gain proselytes, did not the Almighty, for some wise end, permit them thus to flourish and increase ? He hath ordained these faiths, that the heathen nations should be turned from their idols, and learn to believe in the existence of a God ; that they should be taught meekness, charity, and piety ; to reform the savage nations of barbarous lands, and thus be gradually prepared for that day when the remains of darkness shall be removed, and the contradictory and incomprehensible doctrines of the Christian shall be made clear as day, for the film shall be removed from their eyes, and they " shall take hold of the spirit of him that is a Jew, saying. We will go with you ; for we have heard that God is with you:" Zachariah, chapter 8, verse 23. When, " The Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord:" Isaiah, chapter 59, verse 20. The Jews are 90 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. not permitted to make converts ; they may not seek savage nations to speak of God, to have the glorious privilege of enlightening the eyes of the misguided. God hath withdrawn His Countenance in anger from them ; the light of His Glory is taken from them, till they have repented, till they have turned from their wickedness, and are sufficiently chastised to receive the renewed mercy of their God : then, then it will be ours, the glorious task of teaching the true religion ; it will be ours to give instruction and light to those prepared in a measure to receive it ; then will religious debates, religious wars of tongues and weapons, be at an end, and " the whole earth will be at rest and quiet: they break forth into singing:" Isaiah, chapter 14, verse 7. Till then we must live among the nations, neglected and despised, fugitives and wanderers on the face of the earth, a reproach and derision unto all men. Believing thus, the fol- lowing verses of Daniel are, to me, clearly symboli- cal of the Christian and Mahometan religions. Chap- ter 7, verse 25 : " And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time, and times, and the dividing of time." Now to what Earthly King can this verse relate ? It is true, by the preceding verses, we are led to PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 91 conclude it is a hing who was to do all this, though the actual word King is not applied to him, — " and after them another [not a hing) shall rise," &c., &c. In the histories of past governments, though we find many kings who spoke against the Most High, and destroyed or wore out his saints or pro- phets, none attempted to change times and laim, as is said of the subjects of this prophecy ; whereas both Christ and Mahomet did so ; they did change laws and seasons. Christ completely altered the law of Moses ; his followers attend not to the laws of the great prophet of Israel. They have changed not only laws but times. The Sabbath-day of the Jews is on Saturday, that of the Christians, Sunday; the Jews date their year cither from the Creation or the Flood, the Christians from the birth of Christ. In the same way the principal day of worship pecu- liar to the Mahometans is Friday, and they date their year from the appearance of Mahomet. Did any monarch of the earth, any civil or military governor, do this ? True, the Assyrian, Grecian, and Roman empires dated their years from some epoch peculiar to their government ; but these flou- rished long before the time of Daniel's prophecy; and that verse, therefore, cannot relate to either of them. The followers of Christ may warmly defend their founder from the first part of the verse : Christ 92 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. spoke not words against the Most Sigh, but he did •against the people of the Most High; and, by speaking against his people, it was in a degree speaking against the Most High. But yet more applicable is this part of the verse to Mahomet ; by the foundation of those universal laws contained in the Koran, it was " speaking great words against the Most High," as Daniel says; and in after years both Christians and Mahometans, by their cruelty towards the Jews, did indeed " wear out the saints (or people) of the Most High." And have not the laws and times been given into the hands of Christ and Mahomet until a time, and times, and the divid- ing of times ? And by these three " times" is it not clear the prophetic eye of Daniel stretches through the long vista of futurity, till the end of the world, the " dividing of times." And what earthly king or kingdom has lasted, or will last, to the end of the world ? It is clear this verse relates not to one king or governor, one empire or province : where shall we find, in the various histories of the world, the man who retained his power until a time, and times, and the dividing of times ? not one ; yet the religion of Christ will last till our Messiah cometh, when it will be "the dividing of times." Verse 26 : "But the judgment shall sit." It is rendered by this verse even more evident, for these v»'ords, PROPHECIES OF DANIEL.- 93 " tlie judgment shall sit," plainly denote that awful day when the Lord shall sit in judgment ; and is undeniably connected with the term " dividing of times." "And they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end:" which signifies that the religions of Cki'ist and Mahomet will then pass away and be destroyed. " And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom ; and all domi- nions shall serve and obey him :" verse 27. By the terms, " the kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven," it is still more obvious that the 25th verse cannot refer to one individual, or one government only, for no king's dominions extended under the whole heaven ; but it must undoubtedly signify that grand spiritual power, which indeed reaches over the greater part of the earth, and will, ere the day of judgment cometh, stretch far and near under the whole heaven, as Daniel sayeth. Again, by the expression " that it was to be given to the people of the saints of the Most High," it is also manifest that the saints of the Most High, mentioned in verse 25, are the same as those to whom the dominion is to be given in the latter end, — in a word, the peo- 8* 94 ESSAYS AND MISCELL.iNIES. pie of God — tlie children of Israel, wliose dominion is an everlasting kingdom, thus coinciding with re- markable exactness not only with Daniel's first pro- phecy, but with those of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, which relate to the same gracious promises. There is not one^'ord of contradiction in those beautiful writings of our great prophet Daniel ; each of his prophecies is connected one with another, and with those of his predecessors. A note, by a Protestant compiler of the Bible, on this particular verse, the 25th, " x\nd he shall speak great words against the Most High," has given me a still clearer elucidation of this prophecy, as relat- ing entirely to the Christian religion. Alluding to the Popes, he points out their abuses in " the assump- tion of infallibility, in professing to forgive sins, to open and shut the approach to Heaven, the thun- dering out bulls and anathemas, excommunicating princes, absolving subjects from their allegiance, and exacting obedience to their decrees, in open vio- lation of reason and scripture." But appointing feasts and fasts, and canonizing saints, &c., can- not be said to change " times and laws," as in the Christian interpretation of this verse. The Pro- testants yet keep many of the feasts, as do the Catholics ; besides, the Pope did not change the laws; he may have abused them, but it was Christ, not his PROPHECIES OF D^iNIEL. 95 followers, who completely changed the law of IMoses : they but obeyed his commands ; and the very abuse of his laws, and the grand revolution in spiritual affairs made by Luther, whom no one allows to be anything greater than a man, is to me the surest proof that the kingdom of Christ is not that king- dom which God was to set up, and which was to last for ever. Would God permit abuses to creep into His kingdom ? The Christian will answer. Were not the Jews his people ? Yes, but He said not our kingdom was from the first to last for ever, though we were never to be completely exterminated. Ours from the first was a season of probation and trial ; otherwise for what purpose did Moses utter those tremendous threatenings, ere he died : he knew it was but a trial of our faith, and, in affection for his countrymen, showed forth the wretchedness that would attend us, did we disobey. Had we resisted every temptation, had we come forth purified and cleansed, instead of contaminated, by the fiery ordeal it was ours to pass through, our kingdom would have lasted for ever : but such was not the case — abuses did creep into our laws, because we had not strength to resist them, and the denuncia- tions of Moses are fulfilled ! But if the kingdom of Christ were really that which Daniel so many hundred years before had 96 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. proplio.ini \v;l:5 to last for ever, is it at all in cha- racter with the immutability of the Divine Nature, to believe that He would permit abuses and divisions to creep within it ! Moreover, to which of the va- rious sects founded on that which Christ taught, is the Jew to look for that which is to last for ever ? Ask the Catholic, and he will answer, Ms ; the Pro- testant, Ms; the followers of the Greek church, theirs; the Quaker, the Unitarian — ask each, and each will answer, Ms! Had the religion of Christ lasted from its commencement in the same unaltered form, without divisions, without abuses, — had it con- tinued in one body, undivided by sects, who each think differently on the all-important subject, and who in many instances dislike and think of each other with contempt, — had it indeed spread over the Avhole world, as one indivisible, united, pure religion, whose followers were remarkable for steadily adher- ing as one man to the precepts of their founder, — then indeed might the Jew believe the faith of Christ was that which was to last for ever ! But a divided kingdom cannot last ; and, in the present time, the several sects, as well as the two grand divisions, may make the Jew firmly believe the Christian doc- trine was that kingdom of iron, prophesied by Daniel, which was to be "broken and mingled with miry clay," but not the ^^ stone" that was cut with- PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 97 out hands, which was to cover the whole earth, and destroy every other nation and faith. The Christ- ian religion has existed for above eighteen centuries, the Jewish more than double that time, yet among the latter there is no division, as in the Protestant and Catholic, no petty sects, as divide the Protest- ant. Wherever they are scattered, whatever mise- ries they undergo, however far apart they may dwell, there is yet a bond of union, a chain of brotherhood, that unites Jew to Jew, and that bond is the law of Moses ! There is not, there never has been, atheism amongst us, and even those in whose hearts the spirit of religion may not fervently dwell, would yet deem it sin to break the law of Moses ! Having no na- tion, no country, no temple of their own, yet do they stand apart from other faiths, never mingling in the worship of another. One single family, di- vided perhaps by many miles from kith and kin, liv- ing entirely amongst those of the stranger-faith, they mingle not in the rites of those around them — the law of their Prophet is still sacredly kept. Would not this never-failing, indivisible union prove us to have been, to he, the peculiarly chosen of the Lord ? The Most High, blessed be His name ! hath said " we should not everlastingly perish ; a remnant should be saved, and from that remnant should spring the Son of David, to save and to rule 9S ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. over us." We have not perished, we yet remain, and the rest of His word will be fulfilled when it is His will. The Jew knows not to which of the divisions of Christ's kingdom to look for everlasting righteous- ness, but if the Christian looks to the Jeiv^ he will find no sect to cause in his bosom a like perplexity. Let a Jew become a proselyte to the tenets of Pro- testantism, and let him converse with the several sects, or with a Catholic, and he will find that each deems him as far as ever from salvation ; but let a Christian believe in the tenets of one Jew, and he believes the doctrines of the whole Jewish nation. The next verses we have to consider are the 23d, 24th, and the 25th of the 8th chapter : " And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the trans- gressors are come to the full, a king of fierce coun- tenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power : and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand ; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 99 and by peace shall destroy many : he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes ; but he shall be broken without hand." The Christians apply these verses to the Roman empire, when it destroyed the Jewish nation ; by the "holy people," alluding to the Christians, and by the "Prince of princes," to Jesus of Nazareth: but all these suggestions, by a little reflection, must prove fallacious. In the first place, it is evident the prophecy relates to one individual, not to an empire, as the Christian believes. The king of fierce coun- tenance, and understanding dark sentences, whose power was to be mighty, but not' by his own power, who was to prosper and practise, and by whose policy craft was to prosper in his hand, cannot possibly relate either to Vespasian or Titus. Their power was their own ; they did 7iot practise (that word evi- dently cannot apply to them), they did not magnify themselves in their heart, nor cause craft to prosper in their hand. All these expressions, used to them, are dark, obscure, without meaning ; but if we apply them to Mahomet, the founder of a new religion, which even yet holds sway, we shall find them agree- ing with such exactness that these three verses would appear more like a history of past events, than a prophecy of what was to come. That a religion of such importance in the Avorld, which has caused such 100 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. revolutions, such wars and miseries, should have thus sprung up without the permission, perhaps com- mand, of the Almighty, is a thing equally impossi- ble as almost impious to believe. Why should not the existence of a government that is in a degree a rival (though a weak one) to the Christian faith, — why should it not, I urge, be as likely to be pro- phesied as any other event ? The Christian brings forward many passages to support his belief, but to the Jew, as we have before observed, both faiths are alike, and the one as likely to be prophesied in the Bible as the other ; which truth, in another page, we have endeavoured to demonstrate. It now remains for me to show in what way the aforesaid verses relate to the artful founder of the Mahometan religion. " In the latter time of their kingdom." In the latter time of the power of tlie Romans, which had been declining since their remo- val to Constantinople. These words cannot apply to the Roman empire at the birth of Christ, for its power was not then decreasing, but at the destruc- tion of Jerusalem was at its height of both power and splendour ; and it is to that time to which the Christians apply this prophecy. It does not relate to the Jewish people, because it is manifest the pi'e- ceding verses cannot apply to them, but much more likely to those numerous nations which, about the PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 101 time of Mahomet, were spreading over the earth, in lieu of the Western empire, of which, at that time, no trace remained. " A king of fierce countenance shall stand up." It may be urged that Mahomet was no king ; but he made himself Caliph, which, amongst the Arabians, was equivalent to sovereignty ; by his birth, also, he was of high rank, his grand- father, Abdal Motalleb, being chief of an illustrious Arabian tribe, and moreover high priest of the tem- ple of Mecca ; and when Mahomet first attracted the attention of the world, it was as apostle, or priest, or commander of a sect, for either of which terms, King is frequently used in the sacred writings. His countenance was commanding, and his actions proved the severity of his natural character, which may well be described in the forcible yet simple language of scripture, "of fierce countenance." Again, "and understanding dark sentences." For many years Mahomet secluded himself from the world, and, when he came forth, he revealed his mission in the Koran, which was indeed a collection of dark sentences, at first understood by himself alone, and which he declared were received from the mouth of the Angel Gabriel. "And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power." By the aid or power of a band of proselytes, sworn to defend him, he was enabled to re-establish those doctrines which 9 102 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. were before on the decline. He entered the city of his proselytes, and erecting a mosque, a link of bro- therhood was cemented between them and the con- verts at Mecca. Aided by these, he furiously attacked and defeated several of the Arabian tribes, and the empires of Abyssinia and Greece ; and assuming the symbols of sovereignty triumphantly entered Mecca, and there compelled the whole of the peninsula of Arabia to acknowledge his authority : thus fulfilling the sacred words : " and he shall destroy wonder- fully, and prosper and practise, and shall destroy the mighty" (those Arabian and other nations that refused to acknowledge him) "and the holy people" — signifying the persecuted Jews, between whom and the followers of Mahomet there existed, and still exists, a mortal enmity. The meaning of the words, " and his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power," appears to me to prove the difference be- tween Christ and Mahomet ; the former by peace, by eloquence, by his own 'power, made proselytes ; but Mahomet, by force of arms, by fierce and cruel war, compelled the nations to acknowledge him as their prophet and their king ; and, consequently, though his power was miglity, it proceeeded not from himself alone, as did that of Christ, but from the assistance and power of his disciples' weapons : there- PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 103 fore, it is manifest to me that those words apply with greater force to Mahomet than to any other king, prince, or prophet. Equally applicable do I find the next verse: "And through his policy shall he cause craft to prosper in his hand." Craft did pros- per in the hand of Mahomet, and his policy com- posed doctrines that he knew were peculiarly adapted to the feelings and habits of the people he wished to convert. Craft is now a characteristic of the fol- lowers of Mahomet, grounded on many of the doc- trines of the Koran. He could not expect that Arabia would at once adopt a better creed, for at that time it was the seat of polytheism, of idolatry, and the most degrading superstition. The Koran taught them the existence of one God ; it gave them new ideas and better notions ; but these would have been utterly rejected by them, had he not mingled with these doctrines others of a less pure nature, from which Jew and Christian alike revolt, but which, appealing to the passions of the poor, ignorant Ara- bians, disposed them more willingly to attend to the other precepts of their Prophet : and thus, from the very beginning, his policy caused craft to prosper. "He shall magnify himself in his heart." He did do so : was it not magnifying his own greatness in his heart, when he not only inculcated, but firmly believed, that the Angel Gabriel had himself declared 104 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. his mission ? that the celestial visitant had declared to him alone the will of God, and delivered to him the Koran, or, in other words, counselled him how to Avrite it. "And by peace shall destroy many." Even when the wars were over, and all was peace within his dominions, Mahomet and his followers scrupled not to destroy all those who still denied the precepts of their Imann. " He shall stand up against the Prince of princes." King of kings or Prince of princes are terms alike used in the sacred writings to indicate the Almighty ; and against Him did Mahomet indeed stand up ; for his doctrines were not such as could be acceptable or pleasing to the All-wise, All-just Creator. They (the Mahometans) were told, it is true, that there was but one God ; but abominations unto that Holy God were mingled with the faith he taught them : and his persecution of the Jews, the chosen people of God, might here, as in other parts of the prophecies, be signified by the words, " he shall stand up against the Prince of princes," or against the Lord. "And he shall be broken without hand." This evidently relates to the death of Mahomet ; and signifies that it was not by violence he was to meet his death ; no hand was to be raised against him ; no weapon pointed towards his heart : nor was it. Poison was mingled in his food, but caused not his immediate death ; he fell PROPHECIES OF DANIEL 105 not by the hand that administered the fatal ingre- dients, but it undermined his constitution. For three years he lingered on, worn out by continued acts of penance, engrafting his doctrines yet more firmly on the minds of his disciples, and a fever occasioned his final doom ; but yet he was broken without hand : and this verse may be applicable either to the death of the would-be Prophet himself, or to the final ter- mination of the faith of Islam. " Broken without hand:" it will not be extirpated by war and blood- shed, were all the Christian kingdoms to rise again, as they once did, against the turbaned infidel ; were wars of yet greater fierceness to rage between these two conflicting faiths, yet neither would be cut ofi", neither finally destroyed; both will pursue their destined tasks. Turning the minds of idolaters to the knowledge of a God, the Mahometan may peacefully be instructed in and receive the doctrines of the Christian faith, whose moral code is purer ; but neither will be by blood extirpated. There will come a day, the evening time of which all shall be light, when the Spirit of God shall descend upon the hearts of those who are cleansed and purified enough to receive it, " and ten men out of all na- tions, and all languages, shall take hold of the skirts of him that is a Jew, and say, "We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you." 9* 106 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. Thus have I endeayoured, in pursuance of my OTvn steadfast belief, to manifest that the Mahometan religion was prophesied by Daniel, as clearly as those other events which Christian and Jew alike believe to have taken place. I would urge with regard to this — as well as in the case of the Christian, which I have already treated of at some length — is it probable a religion that was once of so much weight and consequence in the earthly world, a faith which produced such revolutions and wars, murders and other deeds of horror, would have risen as it did, and which still continues to exist, in spite of the devastating power of the destroying sword, un- less it had been ordained and permitted by God, to obtain the influence it once had ? The most igno- rant and thoughtless mind would answer, it could not. And, thus ordained, is it not equally probable, nay certain, that it would be prophesied ? Christian translators of the Bible have each a different inter- pretation of this passage, neither of which will agree with these mystic words so exactly as that which makes Mahomet the subject. A note in Bagster's edition of the Bible, explains the first part of the verses I have endeavoured to investigate, as the Roman empire, which reducfed Judea to a Roman province, and scattered the Jews to the four winds of heaven ; but it is evident these verses relate to PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 107 an individual, not to an empire ; for the term, "understanding dark sentences," cannot possibly mean otherwise : or, if the Roman empire was mighty, but not by its own power, by whose power was it so ? and what craft did the noble Romans use ? If they conquered, it was by force of arm, not by policy and craft : and I would ask the Christ- ian, if these verses relate to the Romans, how would he explain the meaning of the words, prosper and practise, and through his policy shall he cause craft to prosper in his hand, and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and he shall be broken without hand ? All these sentences evidently relate to an individual, not a nation ; besides the impossibility of forcing them to coincide either with Vespasian, Titus, or the Romans. Again, the "Prince of princes" can- not mean Jesus of Nazareth, for there certainly is not one proof to show that he was ever styled a prince, much less a prince of princes : he never received that title ; and it is strange, if such be the meaning, that every Christian translator of the Bible should not have given it the same interpretation : whereas, Hewlet, whose translation and notes we are next to consider, does not even mention those words in his marginal notes. His interpretation is more probable, yet even that does not exactly agree. Antiochus Epiphanes was certainly a king of un- 108 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. tractable temper, and of no compassion, which the words, " of fierce countenance," signify — hut he was mighty by his own power, not by that of others; his own fierceness kept him for a time as king. But the words we have so often quoted cannot apply to him — it cannot be said he prospered, though for a time he was powerful, for the Jews by their efibrts succeeded in throwing off" their allegiance ; and Antiochus was driven from Judea, and died misera- bly, as both Jewish and Persian historians agree. What craft did he cause to prosper in his hand ? His deeds were not those of policy, for they were cruelties — massacres — open and avowed. How did he magnify himself in his heart ? since, in direct contradiction of this, all historians agree that he took pleasure in debasing his royal dignity and him- self, by visiting the lowest houses of entertainment, and the commonest baths, and in mimicking publicly the forms used at the election of the Roman magis- tracy : his very pleasures were efi"eminate. How can the words, "by peace shall destroy many," be applied to him ? when blood flowed in torrents dur- ing his reign, and war ceased not to rage, till death removed him. How, if the Christians believe these verses apply to Antiochus, do they interpret the words, " Prince of princes ?" Not as Jesus of Na- zareth, as some suppose, because this happened PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 109 nearly two centuries before his birth ; unless they believe, as I do, that it signifies the Almighty ; yet, if such is their belief, why do they not more clearly explain it in their notes ? But even if this and the last sentence could be made to agree with Antiochus, the preceding verses plainly demonstrate that Daniel did 7iot mean him as the subject of his prophecy. How can the first part of the 23d verse apply to him : " And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full ?" What kingdom ? what transgressors ? Certainly not the Jews, because their kingdom was already done away with ; they were a province of Syria — no longer a separate kingdom : but the transgressors were not at the full, because the spirit of God yet rested on the nation, and enabled Judas Maccabees not only to throw ofi" the power of the Syrians, but to restore the pristine worship of the God of Moses, re-esta- blish the holy priesthood, and once more sanctify the Temple : therefore, the transgressors cannot be said, at that time, to be at the full : and it certainly does not apply to the Roman, nor the Syrian, nor the Egyptian empires, all of which were then in their full tide of glory. " The transgressors come to the full" might more justly apply to Jerusalem and the Jews at the time of Vespasian and Titus ; but, then, the remainder of the prophecy cannot be forced to 110 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. coincide with them : and, thus, in neither of the versions given by Christian translators, do we find each sentence to agree as they so exactly do when applied to Mahomet. We have said enough of the fallacy of that rea- soning which would apply these verses to the Roman empire, as they clearly indicate an individual, — not a nation. We have, therefore, but to sum up the proofs that Mahomet is alluded to in these verses, and that Antiochus is not. "And in the latter time," &c. The Romans, whose empire had been on the decline many years. "A king of fierce," &c. A chief priest, or leader, of untractable tem- per, and no compassion — Mahomet ivas untractable, and certainly had no compassion. " And under- standing," &c. The Koran was, and still is, ac- knowledged to be a collection of dai^k sentences. "And his power," &c. Mahomet's power was mighty, but it was the swords of his proselytes that caused it to be so, not his single arm, nor the power and dignity of birth, as in the case of Antiochus; "And he shall destroy," &c. He did, and wonder- «. fully, for numbers fell by the prowess of his arms. " And shall prosper and practise." He did prosper to an astonishing degree, and he did practise by his example to inculcate the doctx'ines he taught. " And shall destroy the mighty." He did destroy the Ara- PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. Ill bians, the Abyssinians, and other barbarous and mighty nations ; for all acknowledged the truth of his faith, and bowed down before him. " And the holy people." The unfortunate Jews, who every- where, then, and to this day, are persecuted by the followers of Mahomet. " And through his policy shall cause craft," &c. His policy did frame laws suited to the minds of his proselytes, and, therefore, from the very beginning, caused craft to prosper in his hand. "And he shall magnify himself." His fancied interview with the angel Gabi'iel caused him to magnify himself in his heart. " And by peace," &c. By ordering peace he still destroyed many ; for all who acknowledged not his faith he caused to be put to death. "And he shall stand up," &c. He did, by the very invention of the Koran, stand up against the Almighty, who is indeed Prince of princes. "But he shall be broken without hand." He was so — a fever carried him oiF — for though poison had been mingled with his food, he rejected it before he had taken sufficient to occasion imme- diate death; it only increased disease, which was already undermining his constitution. Thus far have I shown how evident are the proofs that Mahomet was meant by the holy prophet Daniel : I will now endeavour to demonstrate how Antiochus cannot be indicated, though in some parts 112 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. the prophetic language does seem to agree with him. It cannot be said of him that he came in the latter times of any kingdom, nor vrhen any transgressors were at the full ; for then, as we have said before, all the known kingdoms were at the full. He did not understand dark sentences, nor by policy cause craft to prosper ; for all his horrid deeds were open and avowed; nor was he ever known to proceed either by open p.olicy or secret craft. During the short interval when his power might be termed mighty, it was not by the aid of any other arm, as in the case of Mahomet, but by his own absolute authority, and that power which had lineally de- scended to him from his brother. He cannot be said to prosper, as defeat attended his arms ; and a very small band of Jews succeeded in driving him from Judea. His death, too, all historians agree was miserable : and how, I would ask, can the term prac- tise be applied to him ? or, if it can, what did he practise ? He did not magnify himself in his heart, for he delighted in joining in the pursuits and plea- sures of those of his subjects who were of the very lowest grade ; and there is nothing, either in his reign or private life, to prove he magnified himself in his heart. The Christians say the words, " mighty and holy people," signify the followers of Christ : in that PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 113 case it Is still more evident that the subject of this prophecy cannot signify Antiochus ; because in his time there were no Christians : and thus the Pro- testant translators of the Bible directly contradict each other. According to my interpretation, it does not relate to Antiochus ; because, though he de- stroyed the holy people — the Jews, — they cannot be signified by the word mighty ; for at that time they were no longer a mighty nation ; and Antiochus destroyed no other nation to whom that word can apply. There was no peace in his reign, during which he could destroy many, for all was war, anarchy, and sacrilege. It is therefore very evident that, though some few sentences of this prophecy may appear to relate to Antiochus, the greater part cannot in any way apply to him. I have thus, I fervently trust, rendered clear my steadfast belief, that not only Christ and the Christ- ian, but Mahomet and the Mahometan faiths, were prophesied with the same clearness and precision, by Daniel, as any other of those events which we know have already taken place. Impure as many of the Mussulman doctrines arc, yet some may be, and most probably are, acceptable to the Almighty. One God is worshipped ; and thus is it far removed, far exalted, above the heathen and idolatrous nations. We deem it equally barbarous — equally revolting — 10 114 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. but we are wrong. Those who, with all their heart, with all their soul, and with all their strength, wor- ship and acknowledge the one Supreme — the one Beneficent God — and, believing thus, act up to the doctrines of their faith, and the whisperings of their conscience — those who do this, be they Jew, Christ- ian, or Mahometan, will ever be Avorthy in the sight of their God ; and receive in the end that reward which is given to the righteous. But, even while we believe thus, let not the true Israelite pray with less fervour for the coming of that great day, when the impurities shall be removed from all faiths and all nations ; when the advent of the Son of David shall cause the faith of Israel to shine over the whole world, and beam in all its pristine glory in the Temple of Jerusalem ! The celebrated prophecy contained in the 0th chapter of Daniel, from the 24th verse to the end, has been considered by some Christians to establish the truth of their belief; but many learned Christ- ians, both in the last and present century, acknow- ledge that Daniel is not on their side, but as much a Jew as any of his brethren. We must, however, PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 115 for the clear explanation of these verses, attend to the context which is contained in the 8th chapter. It appears that Daniel, from the words of Jere- miah, perceived that God would visit all the nations and punish them for their sins, as may be observed by the following words : " For thus saith the Lord God of Israel unto me ; Take the wine-cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations to whom I send thee, to drink it:" Jeremiah, chapter 25, verse 15. He also farther perceived that the visit- ation of each nation would be at the end of seventy years : as Isaiah prophesied of Tyre, chapter 23, verse 15 : " And it shall come to pass, in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years," &c., and Jeremiah, of Babylon, chapter 25, verse 12 : " And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are . accomplished, that I will punish the King of Baby- lon and that nation, saith the Lord." For which reason, and because the prophets say that the resto- ration of Israel was to be contemporaneous with the destruction of their enemies, Daniel appears to have judged that the sins of the nation would have been done away by the seventy years of the captivity of Babylon ; and therefore the angel informed him of his error, by telling him that this was not to be the case with his nation ; for that their wickedness was come up before the Lord, and their sin was veiy 116 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. grievous ; and that their sins could not be atoned for by seventy years' captivity, as in the case of the rest of the nations to whom He allowed that time to see if they w^ould repent. But, as for Israel, He would not want only seventy years, but seven times seventy years — for thus it is literally in the Hebrew ; the words translated seventy weeks are literally seventy sevens — after which, if they had not repented and reformed, their kingdom should be cut off, and they return into captivity, until they had sufficiently atoned for their transgressions. Hence, the cause of Daniel's question is evident, and the propriety of the angel's answer is manifest, as also the expression of weeks or sevens. These seventy weeks are doubtless /our hundred and ninety years — the time which was to pass between the destruction of the first temple till the destruction of the second. The angel, therefore, in general terms, tells Daniel the return from Babylon was not a per- fect redemption ; for by that visitation, only, their sins could not be done away. And after their return they were not free, but were under the dominion of the Persians, Greeks, and Romans. Even when they had kiligs, they were not of the seed of David. They were permitted to return, that they might repent and make atonement ; when, if they did do BO, at the end of the time assigned — seventy weeks PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 117 — they would bring in universal righteousness, vir- tue and felicity, throughout the world ; when Jeho- vah should be known, worshipped, and obeyed by all mankind. But if they did not repent and amend — if they did evil as their fathers — then their kingdom was to be cut off, at the expiration of the seventy weeks, or four hundred and ninety years ; which accordingly took place. The Angel then explains three periods. First period. — "Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks:" chapter 9, verse 25. That it shall be seven weeks, or forty-nine years, from the destruction of the first temple, to Cyrus, " the anointed Prince," who shall give permission to build the second. Many Christians object to the term Messiah, or anointed king, being applied to Cyrus, and they apply it themselves to Jesus of Nazareth : but that the term Messiah can be applied to Cyrus is evident ; since we find it so applied by God him- self in the 45th chapter of Isaiah, verse Ist : " Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus." It is a singular fact that the appellation of Messiah is never applied to the expected deliverer of the Israelites, throughout the whole Bible ; except, perhaps, in the 2d verse of the 2d Psalm. It is a name indifierently 10* 118 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. applied to kings, priests, and prophets, and to all who were anointed, as an induction into their ofiSce ; and has nothing in it peculiar or exclusive. In order to make the prophecy and the phrase Messiah the Prince, or the anointed Prince, apply to Jesus, Christians connect and join the first member of the sentence with the second, in open defiance of the original Hebrew : but they can reap no benefit even from this ; for the term Messiah Nagid, or the anointed Prince, can never apply to Jesus, because he never was prince or Nagid, which, in the Hebrew Bible, always without exception, denotes a prince or ruler ; one invested with temporal authority or su- preme command. Now, as it is always allowed that Jesus had no such temporal power as prince or ruler, it must follow he could not be the anointe'd prince mentioned in this prophecy. Second period. — " And in threescore and two weeks : the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times." Here the angel gave him to understand, that after the seven weeks, before mentioned, there would come a time in which the build- ing would be hinderc il till the second year of Darius, who gave permission to finish the building, which continued, till the destruction by the Romans, sixty- two weeks, besides the last week ; at the beginning of which the Romans came and warred against them ; PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 119 and at length entirely destroyed Judah, Jerusalem, and the temple. Thus, from the time of the procla- mation of Cyrus for the building of the temple till its completion was twenty-one years, and its dura- tion four hundred and twenty — on the whole, sixty- three weeks, or four hundred and forty-one years ; but the angel made his division at the sixty-two weeks, as he afterwards described what was to come to pass in the last week, and with reason ; for the destructive Jewish war lasted seven years : and by the words, "troublous times," he farther informs Daniel, that, during the building of the temple, they would have continual alarms and troubles from their enemies ; as is mentioned in Ezra and Nehemiah, and which evei-y history of the Jews confirms. Third period. — Chapter 0, verse 26 : " And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself:" in the Hebrew " and have no suc- cessor." That is, after that period shall the priest, anointed one, or Messiah, be cut off (the high priest is called Messiah, in Leviticus, chapter 4, verse 3 — in the Hebrew, "If the Messiah, priest, or anointed priest, do sin," &c.) and have no successor ;'and the temple shall be destroyed by Titus and the Romans ; and, until the end of the war, your country shall be ^ swept with the besom of destruction. The angel finishes the prophecies with these words. 120 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. chapter 9, verse 27: "And he" (the prince that shall come) " shall confirm the covenant with many for one week ; and in the midst of the week" (that is, the seventh and last week) "he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease." This predic- tion was fully accomplished ; for, 1st, Titus, " the prince that should come," was continually oiFering peace to the Jews, and tried to strengthen the cove- nant, meaning the old treaties made with the Ro- mans ; and he did in fact bring over many. 2d. On account of the distress during the siege, the daily sacrifice did cease to be ofi'ered in the temple, some time before its destruction. And the angel farthei' observes that all this was to come upon them for their sins : " for the overspreading of abominations, he shall make it desolate." That it is impossible for the Christians to force the above prophecy to relate to Jesus, the following single and simple observation will clearly prove. The anointed one, or Messiah, whom the Prophet says was to be " cut off," was to be cut off AFTER the threescore and two weeks : that is, at the destruc- tion of Jerusalem, or within the seven years follow- ing that event. Now we know from the Evangelists, and from profane history, that Jesus was crucified more than forty years before the destruction of Jervusalem. PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 121 - Thus I have endeavoured to show, by comparison with past events, and combinations with present ones, evidence of the truth and lucidity of the Pro- phecies, most important and remarkable, as they are used as bulwarks of religion by both Jews and Christians. I rest not upon the wisdom of the task attempted, but the honesty of the motives impelling me to undertake it, of which God alone is judge : and thus "into his hand do I commit my spirit." SABBATH THOUGHTS SACEED COMMUNINGS, BY GRACE AGUILAR. (123) DEDICATION. To you, my beloved grandchild, do I dedicate this little volume of Prayers and Meditations. That you may with the name of Grace Aguilar inherit her humble piety, gentle virtues, and sweet, amiable temper, is the daily and fervent prayer of your affectionate grandmother, Sarah Aguilar. 11 (125) PREFACE. The Prayers and Meditations, from wbicli the following are selected, were composed by my beloved daughter, for her own private use. She had been requested to write some for individual use, but de- clined doing so ; and this selection would never have been published but in compliance with the earnest entreaties of Mr. and Mrs. Solomon Cohen, of Savannah. I hope my kind friends who have been so urgent on the subject, will find some among them which may prove useful ; and, for the rest, our young co- religionists may gain something in perusing the Prayers and Meditations of one, who on all occa- sions was in the habit of poui-ing out her whole heart and soul in humble faith and trust to her Heavenly Father. Sarah Aguilar. February 26, 1852. (127) THOUGHTS FAMILY PRAYER. " It shall come to pass, before they call I will answer, and while they are yet speaking I will hear." — Isaiah, Ixv. 24, " The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show liimself strong in behalf of those whose heart is perfect towards Him." — 2 Cheon. "Call upon me in the days of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." — Psalm 1. 15. " The Lord is thy keeper." — Psalm cxxi. 5. " Leave thy fatherless children : I will preserve them alive, and let thy widows trust in me, for thus saith the Lord." — Jeke. '• Whom the Lord loveth he correcteth, even as a father the son in whom he delighteth." — Prov. iii. 12. '' The Lord is nigh to a broken heart, and loveth such as be of a contrite spirit." — Psalms, 18. " As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort thee." — Isaiah, 18. 11 * (129) THOUGHTS ON FAMILY PRAYER. The following simple prayers are not intended for children to repeat themselves, but to be read by the father, mother, or instructress of a young family, in the presence of all their children, from three years old upwards ; earlier if the disposition of the child be such as to allow it to remain attentive during the time the prayer may last. To depend upon a young child reading or repeating a prayer by himself, we must either lose a great deal of valuable time, or dishonour the name of our Father in Heaven, by hearing it constantly and irreverently repeated as a task and lesson, before the infant lips are aware of the deep solemnity, the vital consequence of what they are saying. And the habit of carelessly utter- ing that Holy name is not lost, even when riper years should make them conscious of the evil habit. It appears to me of the utmost consequence, to im- (131) 132 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. press the infant mind as early as possible with no- tions of veneration and love for their Father who is in Heaven ; and this is easily and delightfully accom- plished by their ever associating their parents with their prayers. Imitation is the quality almost the first discernible in children ; the love and confidence they bear towards their parents (young children for a mother particularly) urges them to imitate all she does ; even to imbibe her feelings of love, or the con- trary, wherever they are visible. To make, then, prayers a never-failing source of comfort, of guidance, of relief, let them listen to their mother's voice, as morning and evening she addresses her Father in Heaven to thank Him for His care — to implore His protection and guidance through the day and night, His forgiveness of their sins. His grace and strength to resist them, and to love Him according to His com- mandment ; and the youngest child will learn to reverence and love the invisible, yet ever-present God, To look upon Him as his Father and Friend, to feel that he owes all his infant joys to Him, he will learn this, before he is conscious of the blessed gain he has imbibed; and in after years, when the full extent of the comfort, the strength, that religion gives, is felt, how will he bless his mother, at whose knee he first learned to address her jCrod, now he feels to his heart's core, his own ! But this will FAMILY PRAYER. 138 never be obtained so completely if a mother merely hears her child repeat his prayers — unless he has joined her in prayer, or seen her pray, all her in- structions will be comparatively of little avail. We cannot expect a young child to feel love and reve- rence for an unseen Being, of himself — he must do so first, because his mother does, or because he knows all that she does it is right for him to follow. He has heard her utter with solemn reverence the name^ of God ; he has seen her serious and quiet whenever she addressed Him in prayer ; that all trifling play or amusement is put away before she begins to pray : and that holy impression will seldom leave the intel- ligent child through life ; it remains even when the parent may have sought the God she has loved and served ; remains to hallow her memory, and urge him on to tread the path she trod. Another advantage of this plan is, that a much younger child may be admitted to family prayer than can possibly be taught to pray himself. It is of little consequence that at first he may not quite understand all that his mother reads ; he sees her serious yet happy, his brothers and sisters attentive and quiet, and he will learn to be the same, and by imperceptible degrees fully understand and appre- ciate the privilege of being admitted, though so young, to pray to his Father in Heaven. 134 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. If it be, as it undoubtedly is, necessary that boys should early learn the comfort and blessedness of prayer, it is doubly more so for girls ; and for them how much may maternal affection do ? How few women are exempt from sorrow and suffering, either bodily or mental, that may only be soothed by con- stant and faithful prayer ? How few young, gentle hearts pass through life unscathed by those inward sorrows, which can be healed only by the conscious- ness that the love borne towards us by our Father in Heaven, is deeper, stronger than the dearest felt for us by our friends on earth; and how can we learn this love but by studying His word ? and how seek Him in our troubles but by being used in our infancy to address Him in every sorrow, and praise Him for every childish joy ? It is the want of this constant intercourse with our Heavenly Father that brings down on the Jewish nation the charge of pos- sessing no comfort in their religion ; but it is not our religion that is at fault ; it is that we never pray with our children, never permit them to see in our- selves the privilege of prayer, but, contented with desiring them to repeat a set form, rest quite satis- fied that they will acquire of themselves all that is needed in religion. This is the reason why many of our nation, yearning for comfort, for the privi- lege of closer communion with our God, desert their FAMILY PRA.YER. 135 fathers' faith, and seek" that, so many of whose members show forth so beautifully, so blessedly, its solace and its peace. Oh ! should not every Jewish mother tremble, when she thinks that this may be, nay, will be, unless she teach her children to pray, to love their Father who is in Heaven, to revere and feel the privilege, the comfort of His word ? and how can she do this but by calling them round her to listen to the morning and the evening prayer ? but by evincing how she loves to address her God, and read His word ? how careful she is to obey His law, and take His given word for her guide and sup- port in the daily events of life ? by showing how earnest she is to lead her children in His paths? Will a child ever forget such lessons ? Oh, no ! Even in moments of temptation, of doubtful enjoyments, the thought of his mother will be there to check and to save him from evil and from sin. Incumbent as the duty of religious instruction is on mothers of every faith and every class, it is still n^pre impera- tively demanded from the mothers of Israel ; for they have no assistance in their arduous task, save that which will be vouchsafed them from Heaven, when- ever it is sought by earnest and lowly prayer. It rests with them to open to their children the foun- tains of salvation, of life, of the deep, measureless love, which the history of God's dealing with His ids ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. rebellious people can so abundantly, so eloquently prove. Ever turning from His paths, still His mercy failed not ; still we are the objects of His love, His tender pity, which " waits to be gracious" only till the heart is lifted up to Him in child-like faith, in earnest prayer. It appears to me that the great fault shown by the Jewish nation, is in puffing up our hearts with pride from the first moment that we can understand that our religion is different from that of those around us. We are told that we alone are of the true religion, that we alone are worthy in the sight of God, that all else is idolatry and folly. Instead of which we should engrave on the yielding hearts of our children the tale of Israel's awful sin; that we ivere indeed the favoured of the Lord, the bless- ed, the loved above all others — but that we rejected His gracious love, we revolted from His merciful yoke, and so awfully and ungratefully sinned, that He was compelled in justice to chastise, and that we are now, even now, suffering from the conse- quence of those sins. Will not any right feeling child melt at this tale of boundless love and base ingratitude, and feel that he would not act thus, that he would try and love that merciful Being who so much loved him ? and then is the moment to impress the still acting mercy FAMILY PRAYER. 137 of his Father in Heaven upon his little heart. Then tell him we must not despond; that we are God's chosen people still, though at present under his displeasure ; that He loves and cares for us still as His beloved children, and that we should leave no effort untried to serve and love Hirriy that we might prove to Him the sins of our ancestors are not ours, and to shoiv that a religion so pure, so consoling, so full of hope as that we practise, could have its foundation but in God alone. If the Jewish reli- gion were taught thus, would it not be productive of more real comfort, gratitude, faith, and love than it is, alas ! too generally now ? I seem to have wandered far from the original subject of these few remarks, but it was necessary to evince the great consequence of family prayer. Let it not be thought I would banish from family circles the prayer books so long in use among us ; far from it. Both the morning and evening prayers here written, are invariably followed by the She- mang, without which, in my opinion, no form of Jewish prayer is complete ; but my great wish was to write a family prayer that would touch the heart, and reach the understanding of the youngest child. This a selection from our prayers could not do of itself; we could not select a portion sufficiently brief for the purpose, and yet to contain the sup- 12 138 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. plication we require ; we should never weary the attention of a child, particularly in the solemn duty of prayer. Until the age of seven, I should say, the morning prayer and the Shemang were quite sufficient, followed as they ever should be in the morning by either a few verses or a chapter from the Bible, and a selection of appropriate verses from the Psalms. From seven till nine, we might add the two prayers directly following the Shemang : " And it shall come to pass," &c. : " And the Lord spake unto Moses," &c. At nine the Amidah might gradually be added till the whole is said, and at thirteen the inclination of the child might be con- sulted, whether to read more in the prayer book, or study the word of God rather longer by himself. The evening prayer, the Shemang, a simple hymn, and some well selected verses of the Psalms, is quite enough for any child till the age of thirteen. At that age, if the mother's duty has indeed been performed, there will be no need to tell a child to pray, or desire it to read the Bible ; he will have learned the comfort of both, and hail it as a privi- lege and blessing. Do not let me be understood to insinuate that a child should not be allowed to pray by himself till he has attained the age of thirteen. Had I children of my own, 1 would hear them pray in tlioir own FAMILY PRAYER. 139 simple words and childlike phrases every night be- fore they sank to sleep; a duty quite distinct from family prayer. That has already evinced to the infant mind the necessity of prayer, but it is never too soon to teach a child, that will not do alone ; there must be private and individual prayer, or he will never learn, to its full extent, his dependence on the assistance and blessing of his God. A general confession of sin will not come home to his little heart, as the recapitulation of the faults he may have committed, or the errx>rs he may have been led into. A general thanksgiving in the same way, does not awake such real, though perhaps childish gratitude, as the memory of pleasures felt by himself individually in the day just passed. Let a mother recall these things to an affectionate child ; if he have been naughty, given way to moment- ary ill temper, or other faults peculiar to childhood, let her gently and affectionately point out the evil, and impress on his mind the necessity of asking God's forgiveness, and for the blessing to enable him to become a better boy in future. If any par- ticular pleasure has been his through the day, ask him if he do not think he ought to love and thank his Father in Heaven, who has been so very good to him, and given him kind friends who only seek his happiness. If his lessons are more than usually 140 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. difficult, teach him to implore the assistance of his Heavenly Father, and assure him if he does so sincerely, and tries all he can himself, he will conquer them. This is prayer ; but this can never he taught a child by merely desiring him to learn a set form of words, one-half of which, perhaps, he may not understand. Many think such intimate communion lowers the dignity and destroys the veneration we should feel towards our God — that such little things are unworthy of His regard. But surely this is a false estimate of the universal love that feeds the little birds of the air, and clothes the blossoms of the field; this is judging Him "whose ways are not our ways," as if He were an earthly sovereign ; nor one who has love and care for us all, from the king of a mighty empire, to the virtuous child of the poorest beggar — "As far as the heaven from the earth, so great is His mercy towards those that fear Him." Can we measure that boundless space, and where would be that deep love if the concerns of a young child were all unworthy of His regard ? Oh ! do not let us set forth with this idea. It is because we keep so far from Him, we are so loth to address Him in spontaneous prayer, that there is such little comfort for women of Israel. But did we teach this blessed communion with our ever loving, ever seeing Father, Saviour, Friend, FAMILY PRAYER. 141 unto our children from their earliest infancy, teach them to pray, not in set phrases, hut in the words that the heart teaches, each year would increase the love, the gratitude we bear Him, and the conscious- ness of His love towards us ; and it is this, this consciousness, that is woman's dearest, strongest, loveliest support. Few are the women that yearn not for love, and what can so fully satisfy that yearning as the consciousness of our Father's love, far exceeding in its depth, its fulness, its unutter- able bliss, the dearest boon to us on earth. But unless we accustom our children to lean on this love, to trust in it, appeal to it, it Ayill be long, very long, ere we realize its comfort in riper years, for we shall fear to approach His footstool for relief and comfort under those innumerable petty trials that form the weary lot of woman. Family prayer will have taught a child veneration to its God. If he have been accustomed to see his mother ever approach His footstool, and open His word with reverence and seriousness, yet with cheerfulness and holy joy, we need have no fear, however simple and childish the words of his prayer may be, but veneration and love will be in his heart : " Father, help me to be a good child, and do all my mother bids me. I have been naughty and quarrelled with my sister (or whatever the fault 12 * 143 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. may be), and given mamma pain ; pray forgive me for Thy holy name's sake, and help me to be good to-morrow." This is simple, earnest prayer, and our God, who hath promised to hear all who call upon Him, will listen as graciously to those few words — ay, and as mercifully answer them — as He would the more eloquent appeal of weightier sor- rows. " Father, I want to try to thank and love Thee for being so good to me and making me so happy, and a good child. Teach me how, for I know Thou lovest little children. I thank and love thee very much." Such in all probability would be the form in which little children would of themselves pray and praise ; and is not this, I ask, more acceptable to Him who demands the heart, not the lips, than a set form they repeat, merely because they are desired to do so ? Oh ! when we are inclined to think such childlike phrases are unworthy of His notice, let us remember every bird and every flower are guarded by His all-seeing love, and the doubt will fly ; for hath He not breathed into the youngest babe an immortal soul, and will not its first aspi- rations be looked on and heard in love by Him who gave it ? A mother alone can do this. Time and trouble FAMILY PRAYER. 143 and pain it may cost her, but what mother would grudge these for a few brief years, when their fruits may be the everlasting comfort of her offspring through this life — their salvation in eternity ? To render a child more attentive to family prayer than he would be, merely from th'e faculty of imita- tion, innate within him, a mother could pleasantly and improvingly assist him, by making each sen- tence the subject of a brief explanation, in words adapted to his understanding. We will take the Shemang for example, the most perfect epitome of man's moral and religious duty that ever was com- piled. We turn to the Word of God, and show that it is there (Deuteronomy, chapter 6, verses 4 to 10) that God inspired Moses to write it for the good of His faithful servants : — " Hear, oh Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord." Here explain as simply as possible the foundation of our Faith, the unity of our God, that He would be worshipped alone, and bring forward as confirmation of your words the First and Second Commandments : " Blessed be the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever." Explain M'hy this is not in the Bible ; that the com- piler of the prayers felt impelled to write it in praise and thanksgiving to his Father in Heaven, for giving him instructions how to live in a manner that would please Him. The next verse divide into 144 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. three portions ; explain to your children, first, that to love their merciful Father with all their heart, they must love Him better than anybody or any- thing on earth, that as He is kinder to them than their kindest earthly friend, so they ought to love Him more. Secondly, make Soul your subject: that to love Him with all our soul, we must attentively cultivate our talents as His gifts, for as He gave them to us in love. He would justly be displeased if we neglected or abused them, or became proud and conceited, forgetting they are His gifts, and looking on them as our own. In the same way make Might the subject of another Bible lecture, and prove, that to love Him with all our might, we must do all we possibly can to please and serve Him, that even little children can do a great deal by trying to be good and obedient, aflfectionate and attentive to their prayers, and His Holy Word for His sake, that is, because they Avish to remember Him and obey His commands. The next verse, closely connected with the Ten Commandments (" These words" referring as Avell to the chapter previous, as to the verses directly preceding), en- ables us to explain them at length, making the duties included in each the subject of a separate lesson. The next may also be divided into two parts : the first, " thou shalt teach them diligently," FAMILY PRAYER. 145 or, literally translated from the Hebrew, " thou shalt repeat them over and over again to thy children," as more relating to ourselves than them ; but the proof we give that in teaching them we are obeying our Father in Heaven, may do more to- wards impressing our words on their yielding mind, than the longest sermon. The next paragraph explain, as meaning we must think of Him when we are sitting in the house, or walking by the way, when we lie down, and when we rise up. Pointing out the many things in our walks to associate with Him — the birds, the flowers, the trees, the beautiful blue sky and green fields, all are objects of delight to children, and may be made how much more sub- servient to their eternal welfare, than merely as emotions of pleasure. The next two verses may impress the necessity of peculiar forms, which we should attend to in obedience to the command of the Lord, even if we cannot see the necessity so much now as when they were given. We are still His chosen people, and His commands are quite as obligatory to us now, as when we were in Jerusalem, and even more necessary, to separate us from the nations now than then. To explain the Shemang, and the morning and evening prayer in this manner, lengthening or shortening our instructions, according to the temper 146 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. and inclination of our children, is not the work of a daj. It may occupy weeks, even months ; indeed we should not be satisfied till our children explain them to us as we have to them. But will not the time thus devoted be richly rewarded, if these in- structions at length open to their hearts and under- standings the exhaustless comfort, the unutterable fulness of fervent and unceasing prayer ? How should we despond if years, long weary years run on, ere we can trace any reward for our labour and self-denial ? for rigidly and firmly must a mother, who wishes thus to instruct her children, watch herself, that her precepts be confirmed by example, that in her whole conduct she displays their fruits. Of this she may rest assured, that never was fer- vent and faithful prayer unheard by the God of love, and, therefore, if prayer for His assistance, His blessing, ever accompanying our efforts for our children, we shall be heard, ay, and answered, however long that answer may be deferred, however painful may be our path till it be vouchsafed. A few words on the imperative necessity to make the "Word of God, our Bible, our daily companion, and part of the daily instruction of our children, and I have done. The greatest mischief that can be done to the interests of the Jewish religion, is to keep (as too many do) our children from reading an FAMILY PRAYER. 1*7 English Bible,* on the plea, that the way in which it is translated will do them more harm than good. Never was there a mistake more egregious than this, or more likely to produce evil consequences. Sup- pose, as is most likely, intimacy with the Christian ensues ; that religious conversation is started ; how are we to answer arguments founded on the Bible, if we can produce none from the same holy autho- rity ; and how are we to produce them, if the Word of God is never taught us according to our belief, if a Christian be, as is but too often the case, the first person from whose hands we receive an English Bible : if Christian interpretation be the only 'kind we can receive ? Even more necessary to us, in our scattered and forsaken state, is the Word of God, than to the Christian ; though by the latter it is made a daily study ; by us, with the exception of our Sab- bath portions, seldom or never perused — and why ? Because we shun the English version, and the Hebrew never can be to us what the English is. There may be mistakes in the translation, but these are comparatively few, and of no consequence, com- pared with the injury we do ourselves and our child- ren by withholding it entirely ; and even this evil is now remedied by a valuable little work just published * This is not the case in America. — American Publisher. 148 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. bj a Jew, in which the mistaken renderings are cor- rected, and the real meanings are attached to them. Imperatively we are called upon to teach the Bible to our children ; according to the belief of Judaism, danger threatens if we do not, danger that can only be avoided by making it from early childhood the foundation of their faith, their com- fort and their stay ; and how can we do this ? By showing, even more by example than by precept, that so it is to us ; that it is our daily companion, a privilege and a blessing. If we read to them but three or six verses of the narrative part, and as many selected from the Psalms, every day, we shall make a yet stronger impression ; for we shall show them we wish them to share the privilege God's love has granted us. And for this instruction, a child of three or four is not too young. If it sees a mother address h^r God in prayer, for grace to un- derstand what she is going to read before she opens the sacred book, if it be but one verse she reads and explains as simply as she can to her infant hearers every day when prayers are finished, she may rest assured that book will be regarded by them with as much veneration and love as she can desire. Let her teach them that unless they pray for instruction the Bible must be as a sealed book, and that, even with His teaching, there are many parts they must FAMILY PRAYER. 149 • not expect to understand, but receive with humility and gratitude as the Word of God, which he will explain hereafter. I would make a child acquainted with Scripture history, through the means of Scrip- ture story books, if it felt a wish for them, but I would never put the Bible itself in the hands of a child, to peruse alone, till the age of twelve or thir- teen, and not then if it had not learned to venerate and love it. A whole life is inadequate for the tho- rough understanding of God's most Holy Word ; can we then begin too soon, or think five, ten, even fifteen minutes too long a time to bestow on this important study every day ? We think nothing of hours devoted daily to some ornamental accomplish- ment ; but that which is the staiF of life, the guide, the gate unto eternity, we imagine must come of itself to our children. Surely this is wrong ; and, if we love the precious gifts a Father's favour hath bestowed, can we better prove our gratitude to Him, our love to them, than by early opening to them the well of life, and leading them up to Him in " whose presence is the fulness of joy, and pleasures for evermore ?" The peculiar language and imagery of the Biblo require careful explanation, for not till that is given can we hope to make them really love the book. With regard to the Psalms, I prefer reading them 13 150 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. • in the Bible, to our prayer books, because the trans- lation appears to me much more simple and clear, and, from their being divided in separate verses, we can better explain them by taking each verse alone ; ■we can also more easily select verses suited to the occasion, or the mood of our children. David's Psalms are indeed a rich treasury of prayer and praise, and, however our own lips may feel inade- quate to express the feelings of our hearts, there we shall find all we need, either in despondency or aspi- ration, joy or sorrow, doubt or faith, there we shall strike some echoing chord. Oh ! can we then open this "fountain of life," this "rock of strength," this "well of salvation," too soon to our children? FAMILY PRAYERS. " Be not rash -with thy mouth, and let not thy heart be hasty to utter anything before God, for God is in Heaven, and thou upon earth, therefore let thy words be few." — Eccles. v. 2. (151) FAMILY PRAYERS. FAMILY MORNING PRAYER. Almighty God, Creator of all things in heaven and earth, and air and sea, Father and Lord over all people, more especially the Father, Preserver, and Saviour of Thy people Israel, we beseech Thee to have mercy upon all here present, and to pour Thy Holy Spirit upon our hearts, that we may turn aside from all evil inclinations, and walk humbly and faithfully before Thee, and in the law thou hast given us through Thy servant Moses. We thank and bless Thee, our Father, for the calm and quiet sleep Thou didst mercifully bestow on us in the night just past. We gratefully acknow- ledge that Thy mighty arm alone could guard us from the terrors of the night, and raise us up again in health and life. We beseech Thee in Thy infinite love to make us grateful for this, and for all Thine 13 * (153) 154 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. abundant goodness ; teach, 0, teach us how to thank Thee for the health and food, kind friends, and the many other blessings Thou hast granted us ; bless- ing us far above many of our fellow creatures, though we are equally undeserving in Thy sight. We merit nothing, Lord, but Thou hast given us all that is good for us, all that we can desire, and therefore we wish to love and serve Thee more and more each day ; 0, teach us hov/ to do so acceptably to Thee ! We beseech Thee, our Father, to take away from us the evil inclinations, sinful passions, and rebel- lious tempers of our hearts, that we may learn to love, fear, and serve Thee with all our heart, and soul, and might. Make us good and obedient to all our superiors, be they parents, guardians, or teachers. Give us Thy help to become forbearing and aflfec- tionate to all our companions, more particularly to all our brothers and sisters. Enable us to keep holy all Thy Commandments and the statutes of Thy laws, to do our duty however contrary it may seem to our wishes, and bow submissively to Thy will, whatever it may be. Guard us, merciful Father, this day from all temptation to sin, from all thoughts of pride, hatred, or disobedience ; grant us patience and wisdom to improve the talents Thou hast given us, and teach us in all things to pray to Thee. Bless us, our God, this day and evermore with the fulness FAMILY PRA.YER. 155 of Thy love, and engrave upon our hearts the "words of Thy faithful servant Moses, which he proclaimed unto Thy people Israel in the wilderness — ^ " Hear, Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord (blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom for ever and evermore), and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might ; and these words which I command you this day shall be in thy heart, and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thoa walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up ; and thou shalt bind them as a sign upon thy hands, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes, and thou shalt bind them upon the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates." PRAYER BEFORE READING THE BIBLE. Father Almighty ! Thou from whom all know- ledge and wisdom come, without whose blessing and assistance our eflforts after understanding and righteousness are of no avail, we humbly and ear- nestly beseech Thee to open our eyes and hearts ; 156 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. that Thy precious word may not be to us as a sealed book, but that we may mark, learn, fully comprehend, and inwardly digest all that Thou in love didst inspire good and faithful men to write, for our benefit and instruction while in this world, for happiness and salvation hereafter. Give us childlike hearts and simple faith to read and love, Lord. Guard us from the vain sophistry of man, and permit us all to read with sincere humility, Thy words, leaving that which, in this present imperfect state, we may not understand, to Thy love and wisdom to explain hereafter, " for with Thee is the fountain of life, and in Thy light we shall see light." 0, let Thy blessing be amongst us, our Father, and guide us unto Thee. — Amen. FAMILY EVENING PRAYER. Almighty God ! Creator of all things in heaven and earth, and sea, Father and Saviour of Thy people Israel, who hath in love and wisdom ordained seasons of labour and seasons of rest, we come be- fore Thee with grateful and lowly hearts, to thank and bless Thee for all Thine abundant goodness shown us in the day just passed. We thank Thee, FAMILY PRAYER. 157 O our Father, for keeping us in health, and nou- rishing us with proper and healthful food : for keep- ing us from idleness and sin, for granting us seasons of recreation and joy. We bless Thee for all these things, merciful God, for we know thej come from Thee, and we beseech Thee, in Thine infinite mercj, to render us more and more sensible of Thy never-failing love, and our own unworthiness. 0, forgive us the many faults and seci^t sins we may have committed this day. We know that in Thy Bight we are weak and sinful beings, and humbly and fervently we beseech Thee, Lord, to give us grace so to love and serve Thee, that through Thy divine aid, our evil propensities may at length be conquered and subdued. We acknowledge our ina- bility to become worthy of ourselves, and implore Thy grace to render us faithful servants of Thee, and of Thy law. Take away from us all angry and rebellious feel- ings, whether they are excited towards our superiors, our companions, or inferiors. Grant us a spirit of charity and forgiveness towards all who have offend- ed us, and of love and humility towards those we have offended. Let us not lie down in anger and in sin ; merciful Father, take away from us all such wicked thoughts and feelings. 0, guard us and all 158 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. we love, be they present or far away, from the ter- rors of the night ; be with them and with us, Lord, and let Thy Holy Spirit be at work within us while we sleep, that we may rise up to-morrow with hearts prepared to love and serve Thee, and willing to do our duty to our parents, teachers, and companions. Thy mighty arm is around us, merciful Father, Thou art about our paths and about our bed ; we cannot see Thee, but we know Thou art ever close beside us, and canst penetrate our most secret thoughts and wishes. 0, guard us from sin, even in thought, and we shall fear no evil, for Thou art with us now, and will ever be, as long as we call upon Thee, and trust in Thee. 0, accept then our imperfect petitions. Almighty Father, and teach us to proclaim aloud in faith and love *' Hear, Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom for ever and ever. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy might, and these words which I command thee this day, shall be in thy heart, and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt speak of them when thou sitt6st in thine house ; when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up, and thou shalt bind them as a sign upon FAMILY PRAYER. 1^9 thine hands, and as frontlets between thine eyes, and thou shalt put them on the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates." Grant peace unto us, and unto all Israel, our Father, this night and evermore. — Amen. On Saturday mornings and Friday evenings, I would add the following, to remind my children of the sanctity and necessity of the Sabbath, though for the first few years the sacred and delightful duty of "keeping holy the Sabbath day," is more forcibly impressed by example than by precept, except making it the theme of God's love to- wards us, shown in not only giving us the day of rest, but so marking it by miracles, we cannot doubt either its holiness or its truth. Additional portions for Friday evenings and Satur- day mornings. Thou hast sanctified the seventh day to Thy name ; it was the completion of the work of Heaven and Earth. Thou didst bless it above all other days, and sanctified it above all seasons ; for thus it is written in Thy law : 160 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. " And the Heavens and the Earth were finished, and all their hosts ; and on the seventh day, God ended His work which He had made, and He rested on that day and sanctified it because He rested thereon, and rejoiced in the work that He had made." They who observe the Sabbath day and call it a delight, the people who sanctify the seventh day shall rejoice in Thy kingdom, our Father, they shall all be satisfied and delighted with Thy good- ness, for Thou wast pleased with, and didst sanctify the seventh day, the most desirable of days didst Thou call it, and we therefore would love and sanc- tify it, according to Thy Word. 0, our God, we beseech Thee to accept our days of rest. sanctify us with Thy Commandments, and ordain our portion to be with Thee and in Thy Law. 0, fill our hearts with Thy love, rejoice our souls with Thy salvation, and purify us to serve Thee in truth. Cause us, Lord our God, to in- herit Thy Holy Sabbath with love and delight, and grant that all Israel Avho sanctify Thy name may have rest thereon. Blessed art Thou, our Father, who hath, in infinite love, given us days of rejoicing and of rest. FAMILY PRAYER. 161 On Friday evening add: "For the Evening and the Morning were the first day," therefore, Lord our God, do we com- mence our Sabbath on this evening, and 0, may our humble petition be acceptable to Thee, now and evermore. — Amen. TO READ THE WHOLE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE PSALMS, IN THE FIFTY- TWO WEEKS THAT FORM THE CHRISTIAN YEAR. For fifty-one weeks, read fifteen chapters a week, two every common day, and three on the Sabbath. The fifty-second week read fourteen chapters, there- by making only two on the Sabbath. Leap-year only makes the difierence of fourteen chapters for three weeks instead of one. Only experience can tell the extent of comfort found in the simple act of perusing two chapters of the Word of our God every day (one when preparing for rest at night, and one in the morning). It brings us in such close and trusting communion with our God. 14 SACRED COMMUNINGS (163) SACRED COMMUNINGS. SELF-EXAMINATION FOR EVERT NIGHT. Grant, oh God, that I may look upon my heart with a stern, unflinching, and impartial eye ; that I may be enabled to discover all the sins and faults I have committed this day, and all the secret iniqui- ties that may be at the bottom of my heart. Oh, mercifully grant that the examination I am about to make, may be strict and just ; that no sinful love of self may blind me to my faults. Permit every iniquity I have committed this day, either in deed, or word, or thought, to come forth clear and light, as if my heart and thoughts were laid bare before me. Grant this, oh God, that I may become good and worthy in thy sight. — Amen. What have been my employments the whole of this day ? 14* . , (165) 166 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. Did I commence this day by devotion ? Did my thoughts wander while saying my prayers ? Have I allowed my thoughts to be fixed so much on any subject as to render it difficult to turn them thence to God, or other serious subjects ? Have I used His Holy name, or other sacred terms, needlessly or profanely ? Have I been obedient and affectionate to my parents ? Have I slighted their wishes, and been careless and inattentive in my conduct towards them? Have I in thought committed sin and accused them of injustice or impatience ? Have I done any act of unkindness towards my brothers ? Have I given way to uncalled-for anger or vexa- tion ? Did I bear and' forbear ? Have I given way to irritation or impatience ? Have I adhered, in word and thought, to truth, or permitted idle forms, or the wish to excite atten- tion, to make me utter falsehoods or exaggerate? Have I felt envy at the talents, virtues, beauty, praise, of my fellow creatures ? Have I attended to my domestic and social duties without murmuring ? SACRED COMMUNINGS. 167 Have I given up my own inclinations, when called upon to do so ? Have I gained any victory over my dearest wishes or temper ? Have I resisted any temptation ? Have I done all I had determined to do to-day ? Has any amusement gained undue ascendancy, and to indulge it have I given up any duty ? Have I felt irritated when told of my faults and errors, or humbled ? Has love of God, or love of praise, gained as- cendancy in any of my actions this day ? Have I wasted my time in idleness or folly ? Have I during this day walked with God ; that is, have I thought of Him in all my employments, have I inwardly remembered Him ? For what blessings vouchsafed me this day, ought I to be thankful ? Am I in a fit temper of mind to address my God ? Oh, Almighty Father, Thou seest I wish to be- come a good and faithful servant of Thy law. Thou knowest I desire my heart to be filled with love of Thee. Bend Thy gracious ear to the confession I have made. Forgive mine iniquity, for it is great. Draw nigh unto me, oh God. Have compassion on the weakness of Thy creature. Remove from me 168 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. these sins, purify me, cleanse me, if it be by jfire. Let me be worthy in Thy sight, even if I become so by chastisement and sorrow. If I have done any trifling good, if I have performed my earthly duties in a manner pleasing to Thee, my Heavenly Father, oh forgive my sins, and guard me against them in the future, that each day I may draw nearer to my God, and each night my heart may glow in joy, in love, in adoration. Blessed be the name of the High and Mighty God, now and evermore ! — Amen. PRAYER. Oh, Gracious and Almighty God, be pleased to pour Thy blessing on the friends I have chosen; those whom Thou in Thy great mercy hast vouch- safed me, to sweeten the daily tasks and troubles, pleasures and enjoyments, of this life : Oh pour Thy blessing on them and accept their prayers ; and grant, Oh Eternal, that we may soon meet again, with that friendship which is now my happi- ness, shining pure and holy, untarnished by distance, unsullied by absence. Oh, grant that we may still love each other apart, SACRED COMMUNINGS. 169 as we did when we were together, and that affection may last through joy and gladness, through sorrow and suffering, till death divide us. Hear me, Oh gracious God ! hear me from Thy throne of mercy and of love. Oh, look down with benignity on a repentant child of Israel, and if my prayer be deemed acceptable in Thy sight, oh my God, for the sake of Thy great and holy Name, oh answer me ! Blessed be Thy name for evermore. PRAYER FOR FRIDAY NIGHT. Another week hath gone by, and the Sabbath day of the children of Israel hath begun. Great God of Israel, oh look clown from Thy throne, and pour Thy blesssing on my soul, that I may rise up on the morrow with a heart prepared to meet Thy Sabbath, and keep it holy. Oh, may my prayers be acceptable to Thee, most merciful Father ; oh, pour Thy holy spirit on my soul that it may be ready to meet with adoration, with joy and love, Thy Sabbath day. The duties of the week are done, the six days of labour and of toil are past, and a blessed day of rest and peace is dawning for the children of Israel, the people of 170 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. God, though now we bow beneath His wrath in a stranger land. Oh, let not worldly thoughts inter- fere with Thy Sabbath ; but grant me, oh merciful and ever blessed God, a spirit of adoration and of love to descend upon my soul. Oh, grant that I may rise early, with a glowing yet a contrite heart, to meet Thy Sabbath, that holy day which Thou in Thine infinite mercy hast ordained to give rest and peace to Thy people Israel, Oh, God of my Fathers, hear me, God of Israel. Almighty and ever blessed God ! oh, answer me. May Thy great name be exalted and praised for evermore ! — Amen. PRAYER FOR SELf-KNOWLEDGE. Grant, most merciful God, that I walk in the paths of righteousness ; let not my foot slip or my thoughts turn astray, but be Thou my guide and stall"; and give me, my God, the true knowledge of my own sinful heart, that my faults may stand before me and I may know them ; and grant me, x'Vlmighty Father, Thy divine aid in conquering them, that I may become the support and comfort of my beloved parents. Blessed be Thy name, eternal and ever blessed God, who graciously in- SACRED COMMUNINGS. 171 clinest Thy ear to the prayers and petitions of Thy people Israel. Blessed be Thy name, no^Y and ever- more. — Amen. ANOTHER PRAYER FOR SELF-KNOWLEDGE. Almighty Father of mercies ! Father of Heaven, oh look down with benignity on a child of sin, thus lowly prostrate before Thee ; humbly, earnestly, fervently beseeching Thy divine grace to enable me to know myself; for my heart is deceitful above all things, and mine eyes are blind to its defects ; but Thou, oh Almighty Father, Thou "searchest all hearts, and triest the reins, that man may be tried according to his ways, and according to the fruits of his doing ;" and deceitful though our hearts may be to ourselves, they are known to Thee, oh God ! and hidden as they are from us, their every failing, passing weakness, their slender virtues, all are known to Thee, and all are open to Thy just and awful in- spection. But if we know not our own hearts, oh God, how are we to walk in thy paths ? how dare we approach even to the footstool of Thy dazzling throne, when our own sinful hearts are unknown to us? 172 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. Father of Mercy ! King of Justice ! oh listen to my humble and earnest entreaty. Oh, God of Israel ! let not my prayers be disregarded, but grant them, if not for my sake, for the sake of that great and holy Name which is blessed above all things. Oh pour Thy divine grace upon my soul, that my heart may stand before me in all its wickedness. Discover to me, oh gracious God, my own sinful heart, its failings, its passions, and its weakness, that I may guard against them ; that I may not fall in error through self-ignorance. And discover to me, oh my Heavenly Father, those talents Thou hast bestowed on me, that I may walk in that path for which they were designed. Grant me Thy divine grace, oh blessed Lord God ; for Avithout Thy divine illumination all will be darkness, where all should be light. Make known to me the depths and devices of my heart ; for without Thy divine aid and instruction, oh my God, how dare I hope to know myself. Oh hear me, my Heavenly Father ! hear me as I thus prostrate myself before Thee. Oh listen to my earnest, beseeching prayer. Let me not plead in vain, oh merciful God, but bestow on me that divine light which will illumine the darkness. Oh hear me. Father of Mercy; hear me, thou King of Justice, whose dread hand is ever writing over our heads a SACRED COMMUNINGS. 173 record of our words, thoughts, and actions. Hear me, oh God of Israel, and for the sake of the glorious Messiah Thou hast promised unto Thy people, oh grant my fervent and humhle prayer. Blessed be Thy great and holy name, henceforth and for evermore ! — Amen. PRAYER FOR WISDOM. Father and Lord, creator of all hearts, to whom every thought is open, and from whom all good desires spring, oh endow me with wisdom to pour before Thee the petition I so earnestly desire, as may be most acceptable to Thee. Thou from whom all knowledge and wisdom come, without whose aid and inspiration our hearts would be sealed up, our minds a blank, oh give me increase of wisdom, knowledge, and mental power — ail those blessed gifts that lift man up from the sordid dreams of earth, and bid him listen only to the voice of that immortal spirit, that intellectual soul, which marks his union with Thee, and in which Thou speakest. My heart feels overwhelmed with this deep desire : too full to throw itself in words. Teach me how to pray ; grant me, oh grant me, that increase of 15 174 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. wisdom, of intellectual power, for which my whole being pines. Solomon implored Thee for the gift of wisdom, for the_right government of a mighty kingdom. Thou art the same one, almighty in wisdom, all-infinite in mercy, who heard and blessed that prayer. Oh grant me wisdom for the right performance of all my duties, whatever they may be — wisdom that will teach me Thee. Oh open to me the exhaustless treasures of Thy Word. Strengthen my memory, that it may contain, M'ith scarce an effort, all things worth retaining ; quicken my perception of all things good and beautiful, and true, that my moral being may be exalted and improved. Open and enlarge the mind Thy good- ness framed, and fill it with true wisdom, pure and goodly knowledge. Cultivate and increase the talents Thy love hath given, oh Merciful Father ; increase them, and grant me power to derive good understanding and increase of knowledge from the study of other minds more gifted and more experi- enced than my own. Awaken my intellect to receive and derive knowledge, and wisdom, and good from the ideas of others. Oh, Thou knowest the secret motive of this prayer : Thou knowest it springs from the deep love I bear that wisdom, that mental power Thou only canst bestow. Thou knowest I beseech Thee not only for those precious SAGRED COMMUNINGS. 175 gifts, but that Thou wilt in Thy mercy so direct me with good counsel from Thy presence, that they may accrue to Thy glory and the good of my fellow creatures. Leave me not to my own ima- ginings. Save me, oh save me from self-righteous- ness, lest wisdom itself become a snare and lure to sin. Keep me lowly as a little child before Thee, Lord; but grant, oh grant me the wisdom, know- ledge, and mental power for which I pray. Thou alone canst grant my prayer, oh mercif^ Father ; Thou alone canst direct and lead me where to attain these blessed things, and keep me lowly, truthful, guileless, as the spirit of true wisdom prompts. Oh, my Father, cleanse Thou this lowly prayer from impurity and sin ; permit it to come before Thee and be accepted. Oh, through that love, that mercy which hath no bound, no space, grant me these blessed gifts, most merciful Father. But if it may not be on earth, oh teach me submission to Thy will. — Amen. 176 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. PRAYER FOR SUBMISSION TO THE DIVINE WILL. Oh, Thou who canst look into the inmost soul of Thy people ; Thou who knowest their secret thoughts, though hidden from all mortal eye ; Thou to whom their every feeling is open as the day, though to themselves all*is darkness ; oh, merciful and gracious God, if ^be acceptable in Thy presence, oh, grant the wish that is now uppermost in my heart. I know not what is for my good. I know not for what I pray, but, to my darkened eye, that wish seems as if it tended but to my happiness ; but, if it be not granted, teach me, oh my God, submission to Thy divine will. Oh, give me a lowly and an humble spirit, that I may feel all that Thou doest is right, and all that the Almighty wills is for the best. Though at the time my soul may sink beneath dis- appointment, yet, oh merciful God, let me still retain that even temper which is most acceptable to Thee. Teach me, my Heavenly Father, the right govern- ment of my easily excited feelings, that I may meet sorroAV and disappointment Avith an humbled and a chastened, yet not a failing or a murmuring spirit. Thou, oh God, knowest my heart, and Thou wilt not give me trials disproportioned to my strength. SACRED COMMUNINGS. . 177 From Thy powerful hand all the happiness of this life Cometh, and from Thy dread hand cometh sorrows. Give me then, oh most merciful Father, a chastened and an humble spirit, that whatever may be Thy just decree, though it may not please Thee to grant my wish, I may bow in submission to Thy divine will, and say, with a rebuked and lowly heart, •Thy gracious will be done ! Hear me, oh merciful God, and, for the sake of Thy great and holy name, oh, answer me. — Amen. PRAYER FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE THOUGHTS. Teach me, oh Almighty God, so to govern my wild thoughts that the inclinations of my heart may not gain too great an ascendancy over them. I am a weak and helpless being, oh my God, and every day I feel that, without Thy merciful goodness in holding me up, I should sink and be no more. Oh, add to Thy manifold blessings, my Heavenly Father, and show me the means of governing my thoughts, and grant me strength to resist, when they dwell too much on the wishes and desires of this world. With- out Thy divine aid, oh my God, I know not how to govern my ever-varying thoughts ; I know not how 15* 178 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. to lead them in the right way, nor can I turn them from their favourite objects ; oh, teach me how to govern them so as to enable me to prevent them from following too much the wishes and inclinations of my heart, and then trifling sorrows and disap- pointments will be less often mine, for I am but a weak and sinful child of earth, and my wild thoughts will become wild desires, if I know not how to go- vern them. Grant me, oh my God, so to guide them in the right way that they may be free from guilt, or even folly ; and that, could my heart be open to the eye of man, as it is to Thee, oh God, I might not be ashamed of the thoughts contained therein. Hear me, oh my God, for I put my trust in Thee, for I know, weak and sinful as I am, with- out Thy divine aid I shall have no light to guide me in my dark and difficult path, and my strength will fail me ere I reach that destined spot, where peace and joy will be my blest reward. Then, through Thine infinite mercy, hear me, oh most merciful and Almighty God. Hear me and answer me from Thy throne of resplendent brightness, and, for the sake of Thy holy and awful name, oh, grant my prayer. Amen. SACRED COMMUNINGS. 179 PRAYER. Oh, Father, merciful Father, on whose support my yearning heart longs to rest : God of Heaven, whose gracious ear is open to the cry of the needy and disconsolate in spirit, who seest every secret throb of anguish, how momentary soever it may be, who markest the moments of deep repentance, of self-reproach, of yearning for the glories of Heaven ; oh, let those moments be acceptable to Thee, but let them not be so few, so very few ; oh, permit them more often to gain ascendancy over my soul, that too often worships things of an earthly mould ; oh, let it not break the first of those sacred Command- ments Thou in Thy wisdom didst bestow on Thy creatures ; and, by permitting earthly joys, earthly friends, earthly things to gain undue ascendancy, my soul may worship other Gods beside Thee. My soul shrinks in horror from the bare idea, but I know not my own heart, oh my God ; it is deceitful above all things, and, if there are some few moments when it is elevated and made better, it speedily sinks again into sin and weakness. Father, merciful Father, I know I cannot guide my own heart and ways ; Thou, alone, canst prepare and sanctify it for Thyself. Take my heart, and, in Thy own wisdom, mould it 180 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. by what means Thou wilt, into Thy glorious likeness. Thou knowest all my temptations and my weakness. Order every circumstance of my life for ultimate eternal happiness with Thee. Regard not my prayers but as they tend to these only valuable ends. Oh let me thus believe, that I may in time be ena- bled to regard every event as coming direct from Thee, from that wisdom which cannot err, from that love which is too deep, too tender, for my corrupted and polluted soul to conceive. Oh, pour Thy Spirit on my heart, that it may be ready to receive what Thou sendest as best and kindest, though it should appear clothed in all that excites present anguish. Oh, let me thus believe, that I may feel Thy mer- j^ ciful power to support, and even enable me to re- joice, under the most severe afflictions ; for " whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth." Oh, merciful Father, let not this spirit depart from me ; in time, permit my polluted soul to become fit habitation for Thee, that these elevated feelings, these Heavenly aspirations, may not be only transitory, but may in time take root, and so flourish as to guide my every action.* Father, merciful Father! support, pro- tect, encourage Thy poor servant, for if Thou, Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, oh Lord, tvlio shall stand ? * And truly was this most beautiful Prayer heard and an- swered by a merciful God to a loving and faithful servant. — Sarah Aguilar. SACRED COMMUNINGS. 181 MORNING HYMN. Bless thou the Lord, oh my soul, bless thou the Lord ! Nature, glorious nature ! arise thou from the sleep of night, and bless and magnify the great name of thy merciful Creator ! Ye little birds, raise your voices in the universal praise ! The works of Thy hand, oh God, animate and inani- mate nature, shall glorify Thy name. Night has withdrawn her sombre yet refreshing veil, and light and gladness Thou hast graciously permitted again to dawn. And whether the sun shines forth in radiant splendour, illumining all things M'ith its glorious light ; or the gentle, refreshing rain falls mercifully to moisten the parched and arid ground ; or the mighty wind cometh forth at Thy nod, to remove all impurities and imperfections from the air we breathe ; still will nature shoii* forth Thy glory, oh mighty God ; still will Thy omnipotent hand be blessed for the mercy it poureth upon us below. All speak of Thy mercy — the sun, the rain, the wind, are Thy instruments, oh God, and as such do they ever bring mercy and goodness with them. Oh, how my eager soul longs to pour forth a hymn of thanksgiving to Thee, for blessings, oh Lord, Thou hast vouchsafed me, greater far than many 182 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. of mj fellow creatures ! Thou hast bestowed on me kind parents, while many are desolate orphans. Thou hast given me brothers, and many stand alone ; and food and shelter from the scorching sun, or falling rain, or howling wind, and many beg from door to door for a scanty subsistence, or starve within their miserable homes, unpitied and unsuc- coured. Oh,. Lord my God, what have I done to merit greater mercies, greater blessings, than they ; and yet my sinful heart repines and murmurs, if my wishes are not gratified, my inordinate desires all fulfilled. Oh let not the remembrance of Thy unnumbered mercies pass from my mind. Oh let me ever remember all I owe to Thee. Bestow on me the gift of gratitude, that will enable me to utter forth Thy praises, sing aloud Thy glory. Another night hath passed away, and again I wake in health, and my senses lend their aid to give enjoyment.. Oh, when I think on those whose eyes are ever closed on Thy glorious works, who can never behold or trace Thy footsteps, oh God, on the fertile earth, on the stupendous mountains, in the roaring ocean, in the far-stretching heavens, who cannot see Thy hand in the smallest flower that decks the emerald sod, when I think on them, how can I praise and glorify Thy name enough, for granting me a lot so far superior ? I can see, I can trace Thy wondrous hand, oh blessed be Thy name, SACRED COMMUNINGS. 183 oh Lord, praised and glorified and magnified, for such abundant mercy. And when I think of those bereft of speech and hearing, who can never join in raising their voice to bless Thy name, who can never give vent to their feelings in words of joy and thanksgiving, who are debarred from hearing the voice of those they love, of listening to the sweet, mild converse of their parents, sisters, friends, who can never feel their souls glow when a sacred strain of music soundeth, hallowing and blessing Thee, and I can speak and hear while they are plunged in 'endless silence, oh Lord my God, all- merciful, almighty, how can I render thanks suf- ficiently to Thee, for these unnumbered blessings ; how can my feeble voice utter them aloud, when the gratitude that filleth my heart preventeth words ? Oh, Thou art my God, and I will praise Thee, and exalt Thee for ever, with my whole soul, and my whole heart, and I will give thanks unto Thee, oh God, for Thou art good, and Thy mercy endureth for ever ! Thou hast given me blessings I deserve not. Thou hast given me mercies of which I am unworthy ; far above many of my fellow crea- tures hast Thou blessed me ; oh let me still feel how unworthy I am of such goodness, and each morning bless and glorify Thy name. Blessed art Thou, oh Lord, my God, now and for ever and evermore. Hallt'lujah ! Praise the Lord ! 184 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. HYMN OF PRAISE. My heart overfloweth with gratitude, oh my God, and knoweth not how to address itself to Thee. Thj great mercies and Thy never failing goodness come before me, and my heart is overwhelmed with thanksgiving and my lips are dumb ; but Thou, oh merciful and ever blessed God, Thou canst look into the inmost soul of Thy servants, and knowest their secret thoughts. How can I praise Thee for all the blessings with which Thou hast gitded my lot ? Teach me how to address Thee, oil my God, that my lips may utter forth the overflowings of my heart. How can I repay Thy never ceasing good- ness ? Guide me, oh merciful God, that I may know what path is most acceptable to Thee. With unnumbered blessings Thou hast surrounded me, and I know not in what way to speak Thy praises. Thou hast given me kind parents who have led me, beneath Thy guidance, in the right way. Oh, if my heart breaks when I think on all they have done for me, and I know not how to show my gratitude to them, how dare I hope to utter forth my gratitude to Thee, oh God, when from Thy hand all the happiness of this life cometh. Thou hast in Thy mercy given me talents which are not SACRED COMMUNINGS. 185 bestowed on every one, and shall my foolish heart be lifted up in pride, and look down upon my fellow creatures. Oh, when I forget to whom I owe all these things, remove from me those gifts Thou hast bestowed on me, and sink me lower than those I may despise. But my heart is not lifted up in pride ; it overfloweth with gratitude, and knoweth not how to speak its praises. Oh, when the affec- tion of those of my fellow creatures who are dear to me, when their affection is mine, my heart gloweth in silent thanksgiving to Thee, oh gracious and merciful God, when they praise me for any talent I possess. For the exquisite pleasure such affection, such praise bestow, my heart is lifted up to Thee as the source of all, and longs to pour forth its grati- tude in a song of praise. Oh Thou who oanst read the human heart. Thou who knowest the inability of words to speak Thy praise, let the silent grati- tude that filleth my overflowing heart ascend to Thy Throne, oh our Father, and be accepted by the God of Israel. My lips are mute, but my heart is filled with gratitude. 16 186 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. EVENING PRAYER. I THANK Thee, oli my Heavenly Father, for the great mercies Thou hast vouchsafed me, in granting that another day should pass in health and gladness. I thank Thee for permitting me again to enjoy the calm repose of night, that no affliction of mind nor hody should prevent my ■welcoming this season of quiet as a blessed gift from Thee. I thank Thee, oh Lord, for granting me the comforts of a home, and shelter from the night air, from temptations and from perils ; and even the luxurious couch on which I lay me down to rest is Thy gift, oh merciful God, for how many of my fellow creatures are de- prived of that luxury, and after working hard through the day, how different is the couch on which their wearied and perhaps aching limbs are laid, to that which Thou in Thy mercy hast vouch- safed me! Oh how tame are my praises, my words of thanksgiving, oh God ! How unworthy I am of Thy goodness ! And I thank Thee, most merciful, for granting me such kind parents, who, throughout the day, are ever ready to contribute to my enjoy- ments, to assist me with their counsel in my studies and other employments, and to aid me in the attain- ment of my pleasures and pursuits. Do Thon re- SACRED COMMUNINGS. ^ 187 wai'd and bless them, oh Lord my God, and guard them from all evil, distress, or bodily suffering. And bless all those kind friends and relations Thou hast so mercifully bestowed on me. Father of Heaven ! oh be Thou with me through the silent hours of night. Do not Thou forsake me in these senseless and unguarded hours. Thou, oh Lord, knowest the weakness of Thy creature ; then have compassion on me, and preserve me from the sins and follies of my own mind, and the terrors and the dangers that dwell in darkness and in silence, and from which Thy mighty arm alone can shield us. Oh teach my thoughts to fly to Thee ; to that glorious Heaven where Thou dwellest. Oh raise them from the grovelling earth, and bid them soar to Thee, where alone is perfect happiness and peace and glory. Permit me to rise up in the morn- ing, prepared to worship Thee, to receive all enjoy- ments as blessings from Thy hand, of which I am unworthy ; and sorrows as yet greater mercies, for they will chasten me, and draw me ne'arer Thee, and render me more fitted for another sphere. Oh Lord, my God, how dare I appeal to Thee for such great mercies, when every day, ay, every hour, either in word, or deed, or thought, I sin against Thee ? Oh forgive my manifold transgressions ; I acknowledge them, oh Lord, with an humble and penitent spirit, 188- ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. for I know that tliey are great, and I can do no good in a degree to atone for them, for improvident and thoughtless when opportunities of doing some trifling good do occur, too frequently do I neglect them. Father of Mercy ! oh do not withdraw Thy good- ness from me, unworthy as I am ; do not forsake me, nor withdraw Thy Holy Spirit from me, for then the blessing Thou hast vouchsafed me, in permitting me to pray to Thee, will be denied me, and I shall become blinded and miserable as those whom Thou hast not permitted to know the holy consolation of humble and fervent prayer. Oh have mercy on such afflicted ones, oh Lord, and pour Thy Holy Grace, Thy Spirit, on their souls, and darkness and misery shall flee away, for they will know, and love, and praise their merciful Creator. Father, hear me ! and in Thy mercy hearken to the cry of Thy servant, for Thou seest my heart and thoughts — Lord, oh make them ever full of love for Thee. — Amen. SACRED COMMUNINGS. 189 PRAYER FOR STRENGTH UNDER BODILY AFFLICTION. Oh Lord, my God, Thou hast ordained that weakness and disease should deprive me of that health which Thou hast mercifully permitted should continue for so long a time. Oh grant that my spirit may not fail, whatever Thou mayst think fit, in Thy wisdom, to cause my hody to suffer. I do not murmur, oh Lord, my God, for I know all that Thou ordainest is sent in mercy, either to correct our sins, or to make us more fitted for another and more glorious sphere, and purify and cleanse us for Thee. I do not murmur, oh Lord, yet at this time of bodily suffering, when pain deprives us of our natural rest, when weakness imprisons our energies, when we turn, restless and uneasy, on a feverish couch, and our irritated blood causes us to behold everything through a wrong ttiedium, and we are ready to repine at every antioyance, and become impatient with those around us ; then, oh Lord, bestow on me strength of mind, a calm, contented spirit, to enable me to acknowledge Thy hand, and feel that all is sent in mercy, though it may appear as chastisement. Let not temper fail, but permit gratitude alone to fill my heart towards those whom Thou hast ordained should tend me in 16* ISO ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. those moments of weakness and pain. Strengthen my spirit, though my bodily strength should fail, and turn my thoughts to Thee, oh God, in those moments when every amusement may be denied me, when sickness may deprive me of those pleasures and pursuits natural to health and life. Oh let me not repine for them, but bestow on me that calm and grateful spirit, those holy and blessed thoughts, which will enable me to bear all bodily afflictions with a resigned, and even a rejoicing spirit. Oh, my merciful Father, hear me, and do not Thou for- sake me ; when Thou mayst ordain bodily health should forsake me, be Thou with me ; strengthen, fortify, support me then, oh Lord ; let me lie under the shadow of Thy wings ; let me feel Thou wilt make my bed in my sickness, and strengthen my soul while my body faileth. Then, though pain encircle me, my thoughts shall be my comfort ; though sleep forsake me through the weary hours of night, I will not fear, for Thou wilt be with me, and train my thoughts to Thee. Oh, hear me, my God, and in Thine infinite mercy bestow on me that blessed strength, those holy and consoling thoughts, which will enable me to bear all bodily afflictions with that spirit most acceptable to Thee. Blessed art Thou, who answerest all who call upon Thee. — Amen. SACRED COMMUNINGS. 19l PRAYER BEFORE MINaLING WITH THE WORLD. Oh, mighty Father, may it please Thee to pour Thy blessing imon me, now that I am about to enter upon a scene of more temptation than when I remain in my own home. Thou hast not commanded us to live entirely alone. Thou hast, in Thine infi- nite mercy, ordained that the happiness of this life should not be entirely centred in ourselves. Thou hast permitted a bond of brotherhood to unite Thy creatures ; then, in Thy mercy, oh Lord, be with me this night. Let me feel that Thou art with me, that Thy spirit dwelleth within me, and permitteth me to pass this evening as innocently as if I were alone with Thee. Let me not in thoughtless gayety forget myself, and do or say that to which, hereafter, I may look back with self-reproach and shame. Guard me from temptation and from sin. Permit me to behave in such a manner as will be acceptable to Thee, and pleasing to my fellow-creatures. Oh, let my conduct show forth Thy glory, oh Lord, and raise my beloved and ancient Faith in the estima- tion of the strangers amongst whom it may be my lot to mingle ; but, oh, guard me, in Thine infinite goodness, from pride or self-conceit. Make me humble, oh Lord, that words of flattery may fall 192 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. harmless on my ear, and that I may not feel pained or disappointed at any neglect or unkindness I may receive. Oh, mighty Father, do not forsake me now ! Let my cry come up to Thee, and deign to spread Thy Holy Grace, Thy blessing on my soul. Let me but feel that Thou art with me, oh my God, that Thy spirit dwelleth within me, that innocence and virtue may be mine, whether alone with my God or mingling with my fellow-creatures. Oh, my Heavenly Father, hear me, and vouchsafe to answer me. Let Thy wings encircle me, Thy bless- ing be upon me, this night and evermore. — Amen. SATURDAY NIGHT, DEC. 24, 1836. Blessed Lord, I thank Thee for the calm and holy Sabbath I have this day passed. I thank Thee for granting me this opportunity of consecrating this day. Accept the hours I have dedicated to prayer, to meditation on Thy Holy Word ; let them ascend, as the incense of ancient burnt oflFering, to the foot of Thy throne. No longer are we per- mitted to gather together as a flock in Thy Holy Temple, and, under the blessed guidance of some chosen Shepherd, worship before Thee. No longer SACRED COMMUNINGS. 193 does the fire from Heaven consume the offering Thou, oh Lord, once deigned to accept. We are cast from Thee : no nation has sinned as we have ; to none have Thine abundant mercies been so mani- festly proved ; and even now Thy mercy is extended towards us. We were deserving of utter annihila- tion, of utter darkness, misery, of complete rejec- tion ; but yet Thy mighty arm is stretched over us to preserve and to redeem ; for Thou art indeed a God long-suffering and gracious, abundant in mercy and truth. Blessed are those words ! and hast Thou not said, oh God, the Sabbath day was to be a perpetual covenant, a sign between Thee and the children of Israel for ever ? Then, though we are scattered among the nations, deprived of Thy Holy Spirit, Thy illumining light, oh, " Do not abhor us for Thy name's sake, do not disgrace the throne of Thy glory : remember, break not Thy covenant with us." Thy grace has this day permitted me to pray with fervour, on this day to feel holy joy in the study of Thy law. Oh, my God, " Thou knowest, remember me and visit me" with a continuance of Thy Holy Spirit, that I may not fall back, and become accursed in Thy sight. My sinful nature bids me fear these blessed feelings will depart from me, that I shall become more guilty, sink deeper and deeper into sin. Oh, merciful Father, spare 194 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. me, spare me tins. Let my whole life show forth Thy glory ; let it prove it is good to trust in Thee ; that Thou wilt yet have mercy on those who walk in Thy paths. Oh, when shall I become pure and holy in Thy sight ; when shall I be good enough to come to Thee ? Clothed as I am in iniquity and sin, there appears before me a dreary waste of life to be traversed, ere the goal is gained, filled with snares and temptations to draw me astray from the only path of safety ; a waste where, if I love to wander, if I refrain not my feet, the Lord will not accept me, he will remember my iniquities and sins. Oh, God, let me cling to Thee, failing, tottering as I am ; Thou, Thou alone canst save me, canst purify me, cleanse me. Behold, all my trust is in Thee, in that mercy, that love, which has been ours so long, which will not fail while I call upon Thee. Almighty Father, oh, blessed, blessed be Thy name, I feel, I know. Thou hast not utterly rejected me ; this day Thy mercy. Thy grace, have been mine. I look back upon my Sabbath, and I feel through Thy mercy I have not wasted, idled it away, this day. Oh, merciful art Thou, oh God, most merci- ful, thus to grant me one day to devote to Thee, and grace to feel, to acknowledge this great blessing. Blessed Lord, let me become more humble in my thoughts, more fervent in my prayers ; grant me a SACRED COMMUNINGS. 195 tighter rein on my -wandering thoughts and fancies, that I may not forsake Thee, that I may not go backward. I am full of sin : " I was shapen in iniquity; in sin did my mother conceive me." Yet, oh Lord, have mercy ; make me more worthy in Thy sight. Strengthen my good resolutions, let them not fade and die ; and, oh, when stretched on my bed of death, when life is departing, good Lord, graciously permit that every Sabbath spent in a manner pleasing to Thee, when in health, may stand clear and light in my recollection, to soften my cor- rupt and sinful body, to soothe my polluted mind, when the Heavenly essence Thou didst breathe within me shall burst its prison of clay, and seek the God who gave it ! Merciful Father, let this my earnest supplication be acceptable to Thee ; and now glory, glory, glory unto Thee ! oh, Thou Most Highest, for the grace vouchsafed me this day. " The Lord is nigh unto them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth." I will extol Thee, oh God, my King, I will bless Thy name for ever and for ever. Every day will I bless Thee, and praise Thy name for ever and ever ! Glory unto Thee, oh God ; glory and might and praise. Oh, preserve my spirit ; turn not away from me, oh God, quicken me for Thy name's sake ! — Amen. 196 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. SATURDAY NIGHT, DEC. 31, 1836. The last Sabbath, and the last day of the year ! one of the periods of time that mark out my existence. Oh, merciful Father, ■when I look around me, and feel another year hath rolled by, and the parents I revere, the relations and the friends I love, the darl- ing brothers of my heart, are yet spared to me in life, while so many of my fellow creatures are afflict- ed and bereaved ones, I ask myself, why am I so peculiarly favoured? Many changes have indeed been mine, and petty trials and vexations, anxieties and sorrows. I feel I have more cause for thanks- giving and praise, yet my polluted heart, though it hath learned to pray, still knows not how to praise. Oh God, I abhor, I hate myself for my ingratitude ; yet this night my soul appears deadened within me, dejected and sad with unknown sorrow, instead of being elastic and glad with praise and thanksgiving and glory unto Thee. Oh Thou who seest every whisper of devotion as it rises on my soul, let the mo- ments of silent gratitude, of acknowledged mercies, which Thou hast graciously permitted me some- times to feel glowing within me, now be acceptable, oh my God, to Thee. As in the awful hour of death, when the flesh faileth, and we cannot pray SACRED COMMUNINGS. 197 the prayers of prosperous and healthful hours, soothe our dying moments by the recollection that they are, even at that moment, pleading for us with Thee. So let the moments of gratitude and thanksgiving which I have felt, plead for me when my spirit lies imprisoned and wretched within me. Oh Lord, my lips refuse at this instant to utter words of praise, for my soul is borne down with the load of sin, that deprives it of its heavenly nature ; yet my heart acknowledges Thy mercies, blessed Lord, and Thou who canst read the heart, let its feelings be accept- able to Thee. Let David speak for me, my God and my Father : " I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live ; I will sing praises unto my God while I have my being." " My meditation of Him shall be sweet. I will be glad in the Lord. Bless thou the Lord, oh my soul, praise ye the Lord 1" Merciful Father ! manifold indeed have been Thy loving kindnesses to an erring child this year. Thou hast permitted me to lean more to Thee, and trust less in my own righteousness. Thou hast given me grace to know that I am full of corruption and sin. Thou hast allowed me to praise Thee in joy, to call unto Thee in grief, and Thou hast drawn nigh unto me in sorrow. Thou hast raised me up friends. Thou hast given me many moments of happiness, of peace, when all around seemed a dreary waste, a 17 198 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. dismal gloom. Thou hast given me grace to study, and wisdom in some cases to expound Thy Law. Thou hast mercifully made my belief clearer, and strengthened me in my faith. Thou hast given mc time and inclination to cultivate the talents Thou hast bestowed on me. Thou hast given me grace in some few things to adhere to my resolution and withstand temptation for love of Thy Law. Thou hast mercifully permitted me to feel the holy joy, the never failing comfort of religion, of trusting in Thee. Oh God, I feel, I know, this year Thou hast drawn me nearer Thee ! Oh blessed, blessed be Thy name even for that alone ! Awake, arise, my soul, cast off this lethargy, that I may praise my God for all that He hath done for me this year. Yes, I have felt the blessed influence of Thy Holy Spirit, oh my God, more than I ever did before. Even as I prayed, I have been answered ; in not one thing have I referred to my gracious God in vain. I feel now how sweet it is to trust in Him, How soothing to fly to Him in every trouble or per- plexity ; to praise Him, to call upon Him, to lean confidingly on His bosom ; to feel there is One who will never change, who, however earthly friends may change, will never forsake me. " Thou encom- passest my path, and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. Yea, the darkness SACRED COMMUNINGS. 199 hideth me not from Thee, but the night shineth as the day, the darkness and the light are alike to Thee." Oh, I feel as if the spirit of the Lord dwelt more fervently with me at the end than at the beginning of this year. Good Lord, grant that it may be so ; each year make me more worthy in Thy sight, that I may shine more and more unto perfect day, that when I come to die, I may not feel the horrors of a misspent life rising to appal me. Then let Thy mercy uphold me, blessed Lord, then let me feel how good it is to trust in Thee, and if it may please Thee to take me to Thyself ere another year has run its course, let me end this book and this year with avowing my belief in the unity of God, the truth of the Jewish faith, in the Bible, as the only law which should guide our auctions and our lives, being the written Word of God, and in the firm belief that not my own righteousness, but the mercy of the one sole God, can render me fit to die, to ascend to Him, and be one of the blessed who will rise again, and glorify Him in the second Para- dise — restored Jerusalem ! Oh God, my God, let the contents of this little book, my thoughts and meditations here transcribed, be an acceptable offering in Thy sight. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, from everlasting to ever- lasting. — Amen and Amen. 200 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. MEDITATIONS— SATURDAY NIGHT, JAN. 14, 1837. Merciful Father ! I thank Thee for permitting me to devote this day to Thee. Thou hast given me grace to pray, to meditate on Thy Word, to read Thy Holy Law, to give pleasure to my mother in my humble effort to explain Thy Word. Blessed art Thou, oh Lord ! blessed be Thy name ! Glory, glory, glory unto Thee ! Teach me how to praise Thee, my God. My lips refuse to utter the thanks- givings due to Thee. Teach me how to frame words of praise acceptable to Thee. A fortnight of the new year hath passed away, and Thy blessings are yet extended over me. Thy spirit, oh Lord my God, hath been granted me during that short interval. Thy grace alone enabled me to conquer depression during my mother's re- newed attack. Thy mercy alone removed anxiety. I did implore Thy blessing in a decision — Thy guidance ; and both were beneficently granted me. Oh, how can I praise and thank Thee sufficiently for that mercy, which hath given me so many en- joyments at home ! I pine not to leave my mother, when duty bids me stay. Oh, merciful God, Thou seest how I dread my SACRED COMMUNINGS. 201 • religious feelings should ever change. I know not the events of one hour ; I shrink from the dreadful thought that the close of the year may find me sunk in guilt, or at least retrograding, not advanc- ing, in Thy holy path, where T.hy right hand may lead me. The dawning year is to me as wide, as unmarked a blank as the pages of this little book.* Oh, merciful and gracious God, may this year be spent in Thy service, even as I dedicate this book most solemnly to Thee. Oh guide my thoughts that they may be of Thee, my words that they may glorify Thee, my actions that they may prove, in sorrow or in joy, in health or disease, in life or death, how good it is to trust in Thee. Oh, merciful Father, I fear to fall ; my soul shrinketh in dread lest my actions should deny my words, lest goodness should dwell upon my lips, and not within my heart. Thou alone canst enable me to live up to the spirit of the religion I profess. Blessed Lord, oh permit me to do so. Let me be a chosen servant of Thy Law. Let me ever feel that wherever I may be. Thou, oh God, art near me ; Thou wilt protect me while I call upon Thee. " Lord, Thou hast heard the desire of the humble ; Thou wilt cause thinner ear to hear." " Whither shall I go from Thy spirit ? whither shall * AVrittcn at the commencement of a new book of Sacred Communings and P*iyer. 17* 203 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. • I flee from Thy presence." Oh, how blessed is the thought that I cannot fly from Thee ! Thou knowest my heart; Thou readest my thoughts; " there is not a word on my lips, but lo, Thou, Lord, knoAvest it." "I said unto the Lord, Thou art my God, hear the voice of my supplications, oh Lord," and graciously permit my meditations this day to be pleasing in Thy sight. — Amen. PRAYER BEFORE RETIRING TO REST. Sovereign of the universe ! Lord of forgiveness and mercy ! may it be acceptable in Thy presence, oh Lord my God, to suffer my memorial to ascend before the throne of Thy glory for good. " Oh be- hold my affliction, for there is no soundness in my flesh, because of Thine anger, nor rest in my bones, because of my sins." And now, therefore, oh God of forgiveness, incline Thy tender mercy toward me, and enter not into judgment with Thy servant. And if, before the morning dawns, disease and suf- fering should take the place of my present health, and life give place to death ere I again leave my bed ; if my visitation to dcatli should be near, oh SACRED COMMUNINGS. 203 grant, Almighty Father, that with my last breath I may acknowledge Thy unity as it is written in Thy Law : " Hear, oh Israel, the Lord our God is one Lordlf' and that I may die in the faith of my fathers, which I have through life professed and endeavoured to act up to. Remove the terrors of death, and when it comes permit me in Thy mercy to meet it cheerfully and resignedly. Whatever may be the anguish of those moments when soul and body part, let me not murmur nor repine, but think only on the mercies which have been mine through this life, and the glorified happiness of hereafter. Be Thou with me in that awful hour, oh my God. Grant me a lowly repentance, and the blessed assurance I am forgiven, through that mercy which hath been mine so long, that mercy which never faileth. Let me feel Thy Spirit on my soul, oh God, in that last hour, comforting and reviving my dying moments ; and let my own con- duct, when I am about to die, prove to all around me, how blessed it is to trust in Thee, to call upon Thee in my hours of health and joy. Oh permit me then to prove the agony of death is swallowed up in triumph and in victory. Blessed be the name of the Lord God of Israel, for ever and ever. — Amen. 204 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. PRAYER IN TIMES OF BODILY SUFFERING. Answer me wlien I call, oh God of my righteous- ness. Thou who enlargest me when in distress, be now gracious unto me and hear my prayer. Hear my voice, oh Lord, when I cry. For the sake of Thy name, oh Lord, revive me. Behold, I acknowledge with fervent gratitude and praise that great abundant mercy which hath sus- tained me so long in health, which hath so long guarded me from disease and suffering of any kind. Blessed art Thou, oh my God, who healest the sick. Blessed art Thou who orderest death, and restorest to life, and causest salvation to spring forth. And most blessed Lord, I thank and bless Thee for my present suffering, for I know all that Thou ordainest is sent in mercy, in love; for mercy and love are thy attributes, oh God, and even what appeareth in itself chastisement and sorrow, is a blessing from Thy almighty hand. Then add yet more to Thy great mercies, oh God ; let me still feel Thy spirit dwelleth within me, and guardeth me from those sinful repinings, or idle and frivolous thoughts, which sometimes float around the bed of sickness. Be Thou with me, support and strengthen me now, I SACRED COMMUNINGS. 205 oh blessed Lord. Deprived of the amusements and pursuits of health and life, oh do Thou grant me those blessed thoughts of Heaven and of Thee, of religion and Thy Word, which will soothe me, not only in moments of weakness and langour, but even in the hour of intense and constant pain. If Thou art with me then, my God, if Thou wilt fill my mmd with Thee, the pangs of the body are as naught. Blessed Lord, do Thou make my bed in my sickness ; let me cling to Thee, and so trust in Thee and love Thee, that I may not look forward with gloom or terror, to a continuance of suffering, however long may be the period of my illness ; however distant ray recovery. Oh, merciful Father, guard me from repining, from impatience, from ill-temper ; oh permit me cheerfully, patiently, resignedly, to meet Thy will, however it may be clothed in bodily or mental suffering. Guard me from indulging in wishes that may be contrary to Thy decree ; in desires that may be sinful ; and permit me, oh God, humbly and gratefully to acknowledge and bless Thy hand, for the blessings that still surround me, for the plente- ous mercies that are daily mine. And may it please Thee, oh my God, to bless, protect, and reward all those who so kindly tend me ; let not their health 206 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. suffer, either from anxiety or fatigue ; let tliein trust in Thee, and be ready to meet Thy will, whatever it may be ; let not pettishness on my part, ever cause them pain ; let gratitude and love ever gain the ascendancy in my heart, towards those whom Thou so mercifully decreest should tend me. Oh look down and answer me, oh Lord, my God ; I pray not for the recovery of my body, but that it might please Thee to enlighten and deliver my soul from the sins of its polluted prison, that it may be prepared, should the final strife be near, for a glorified triumph over anguish and death. And while I thus pray, I acknowledge before Thee, oh Lord, my God, and the God of my fathers, God of the spirit of all flesh, that both my cure and death are in Thy power. May it be acceptable in Thy presence to heal me with a perfect cure, and may my memorial and prayer ascend into Thy pre- sence, and be acceptable as the prayer of Hezekiah in his sickness. But if the time of my visitation to death be near, oh let my death be an expiation for all my sins, iniquities, and transgressions, wherein I have sinned, offended, and transgressed against Thee fi-om the day of my existence ; and let my por- tion be in the Paradise of Eden, and purify me to enjoy the future state reserved for the righteous. SACRED COMMUNINGS. 207 " Oh show me the path of everhxsting life ; for in Thy presence is the plenitude of joy, and at Thy right hand everlasting pleasures." Blessed art Thou, oh Lord, who hearest prayer ! CONCLUDING SUPPLICATION FOR EVERY MORNING. Almighty Father, may it please Thee to per- mit this day to pass innocently, sacredly, acceptably to Thee. Grant me Thy Holy Grace, that I may be enabled to resist any unlooked-for temptation, strength to give up inclination and time if required, with cheerfulness and promptness ; wisdom to cul- tivate and improve the talents Thou hast so merci- fully bestowed on me. Enable me, oh blessed Lord, to remember and attentively to perform my domestic duties. Let not my favourite pursuits occupy my mind so much as to make me forget them, or turn my thoughts from Thee. In all things, oh merciful Father, permit me to remember Thee. Guard me from the sins I committed yesterday, Avhether se- cret or presumptuous. Preserve me from all ill- temper, irritation, and impatience, from too violent or foolish mirth, and from that depression which 208 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. bids me sorrow without a cause. Endow me with Thy Holy Spirit, oh Lord, that sin may not gain dominion over me, neither this day nor evermore. " Search me, oh God, and know my heart, try me, and know my thoughts, and see if there be any wicked way, and lead me in the life everlasting." — Amen. SATURDAY NIGHT, FEB. 25, 1S37. On, Lord, Thou art my God ! I will exalt Thee, I will praise Thy name, for Thou hast done wonder- ful things. " Thou, whose councils of old were faith- fulness and truth," Thou who, when Solomon implored Thee for the gift of wisdom, didst answer him with blessing, oh, merciful Father, may it please Thee to pour Thy blessing upon me, and increase and im- prove the gifts Thou hast vouchsafed mo. My every enjoyment I owe to Thee ; without Thy sustaining grace Thy gifts would not have procured me the aflfection and regard of those I love, nor the many hours of happiness that each day are mine. Father, Thou knowest the heart of Thy servant ; Thou readest its most earnest, yet most secret wishes. I call upon Thee, oh Lord, for Thine attribute is SACRED COMMUNINGS. 209 mercy, Thy name is love. Oh, hearken unto my prayer, let my cry come up to Thee. Oh, Almighty, Thou hast given me one talent, not bestowed on all Thy creatures ; one that permitteth me quietly and cheerfully to remain at home, without desiring a change, that maketh home the dearest spot to me. Blessed Lord, permit me, in Thy mercy, by that talent to do some little good to my fellow creatures. I know not the true motive of my wishes ; to my darkened and polluted eye, it seems but love of Thee, and love of them ; but Thou knowest my heart, oh Lord, oh, grant my prayer accordingly. If indeed the motive of these desires be vanity or ambition, oh, remove them from my heart, even if it be by fire. " Create in me a clean heart, oh God, renew a right spirit within me." Take from me such corrupted hopes, let them not remain secret, but not less powerful sins. But, if my humble petition be pleasing unto Thee, oh God, if my motive be pure and holy in Thy sight, oh, do Thou with me what seemeth best to Thee. Father, I have put my trust in Thee, let me not be ashamed ; deliver me in Thy righteous- ness. Blessed Lord, I know not for what I pray ; my whole heart is open to Thy awful inspection. Oh, have compassion on Thy poor servant. " Lord, Thou knowest my down-sitting and mine up-rising ; Thou understandest my thoughts afar off, for there 18 210 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. is not a ■word on my tongue but lo ! oh Lord, Thou knowest it altogether." Thou knowest the most earnest wish of my heart — by Thy gift, oh Lord, to assist my parents, to add my mite to tlie hap- piness of my fellow creatures, " to glorify Thy name in the great congregation, to praise Thee before much people." If my motive be but vain ambition, Almighty Father, in Thy mercy tear it from my heart, and consume it in Thy just wrath. But, if it be otherwise, if it be pure and pleasing in Thy sight, teach me to say, to feel, Thy will be done, that cheerfully, unrepiningly, I may bow to Thy decrees, whatever they may be. " Oh, God, Thou knowest my foolishness, and my sins are not hid from Thee." Hear me, oh Lord, for Thy loving kindness is great ; turn unto me according to the multitude of Thy tender mercies, and hide not Thy face from Thy servant, for I am in trouble. Let Thy salvation, oh God, set me on High. SACRED COMMUNINGS. 211 PRAYER FOR GUIDANCE IN TIMES OF INDECISIOISr. Father, merciful Father ! oli look down from Thy dwelling-place on high, and have compassion on a child of Israel who calleth on Thee ; Thou to whom all things are light, who knoweth all things at their very beginning, Thou seest the doubt and indecision of Thy servant. Oh guide me in this matter ; teach me what path is most acceptable to Thee, my God, and show me the clear line of duty to my parents. Father, my whole trust is in Thee. I know whatever Thou ordainest is best, however it may interfere with my own wishes and inclinations. I commit myself to Thee, oh God ; my soul and body are in Thy hands, and all my affections, hopes, desires, pleasures, are also Thine. Oh do Thou lead me in the right way ; mine eyes are darkened, and I shall stumble without Thy supporting hand. I know not my own heart, oh my God ; it is deceit- ful above all things ; its very wishes are hid from me. I know not what is for my happiness, and therefore am I hesitating and weak, varying and inconstant ; each day a new emotion seems pre- dominant within my heart. Were I called upon to decide, I know not in what way to do so. Oh, my Father, lead me in Thy way, and teach me what is 212 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. most pleasing unto Thee. Wherever I am, let Thy blessing hover round me as a shield. Be Thou with me, whether in the shelter of home, or by a stranger hearth. Let me feel Thy blessed spirit on my soul, guiding my every action, turning my secret thoughts to Thee. Let not my own will gain ascendancy ; let not my own wishes bid me forget to look to Thee ; govern my thoughts, that they may not rest too much on any one desire. Let not anticipation deck the future with colours whose brightness is tarnished as soon as the future becomes the present. Whichever way I turn there seems an equal degree of pleasure and of pain. I know not which is most acceptable to Thee. Father, Thou knowest that I trust in Thee, that my only hope is in Thy mercy. Oh, let that mercy guide me now ; and whichever way the darkness of inde- cision be removed, oh let me feel that it is Thy will, that Thou hast ordained it thus, that however my own wishes may appear to rebel, however my sinful thoughts may start objections, oh permit me still to trust in Thy wisdom, and lean on Thy unfailing mercy. I call upon Thee, oh my God, with my whole heart. Answer me for Thy Name's sake ! — Amen. SACRED COMMUNINGS. 213 THANKSGIVING AND PRATEK. Almighty and ever blessed God, oh permit a child of Israel to pour before Thee the thanksgiving of a grateful heart, and the prayer for continued mercies. The period to which I looked forward with pleasure and pain, is nearly over, and Thou hast hearkened to the fervent supplication I offered up at the commencement, and mercifully and abun- dantly answered it. Oh, my God, my lips would praise Thee, but my spirit is dull and tame, and I cannot raise it unto Thee. Oh, my God, truly I may say, I called upon Thee, and Thou didst answer me. " Never have I called in vain. Oh Thou who hearest prayer, why unto Thee will not all flesh come ?" Father, I thank Thee for Thy unnumbered mercies. I bless Thy name, for from Thee all blessings come. Oh accept my acknowledgment and praise, tame and spiritless though it be. Oh let Thy mercy purify it from imperfection and make it acceptable to Thee. I bless Thee, oh my God. Father in Heaven, Thou hast in Thy wisdom ordained, I should leave for a short space the home I love. The change to my darkened eye would promise pleasure, but Thou seest the dread and pain which is also mingled with 18* 214 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. it. Oh let Thy spirit be with me -wherever I may dwell. Guard me from the temptations that in scenes of pleasure will undoubtedly surround me. Grant me Thy grace to resist them all. Shield me with Thy wings ; let me not fall from Thee. Oh let me not desert the path I have chosen. Oh per- mit not over-excitement to gain ascendancy and banish self-possession. Guard me in Thy mercy from that miserable depression which ever follows extreme excitement. Grant me a holy frame of mind, oh God ; let me think, speak, and act, in all things soberly. Thou seest where my wishes tend ; Thou knowest anticipation is decking the future with many varied hues, which I know will fade and die. Oh, mighty Father, guide me on in safety ; oh let not such joyous fancies occupy my mind ; let me not think of the future, for I know it not. Man has already employed it, but it is not ours, it may never be. Thou mayest in mercy refuse the wishes that now seem predominant. Teach me submission to Thy will, patience under disappointment. Thou mayest ordain its fulfilment; grant that I may meet happiness calmly, soberly. Oh, my God, I commit myself to Thee. Do Thou preserve Thy servant, for my own plans are as no- thing. I know not the future. Let Thy blessing hover round me, oh my God, shielding me from SACRED COMMUNINGS. 215 evil, guarding me from temptation, from excite- ment; and if disappointment cometh, oh teach me to meet it submissively and cheerfully. Father, hear my prayer, for Thy Name's sake ! BIRTHDAY MEDITATION. This day have I completed my twenty-first year; and not only do I commence another year, but, ac- cording to many, another period, when feelings, habits, inclinations, change : will it be so with me ? Oh, blessed Lord, God of Israel, let not my reli- gious feelings change, save for the better ; and for all others, Lord, do Thy will. " My times are in Thy hand;" Thou knowest what is best for me, and to Thy Almighty care, without one doubt, I commit myself; for Thou hast been merciful unto me, oh God most merciful. To all my prayers, imperfect, stained with earth though they be, Thou hast given answers. I have never called on Thee in vain. In the midst of tribulation, of greater sorrow and anxiety than it had ever before been mine to know, I called aloud on Thee, and not only did Thy blessed spirit descend upon my soul, calming with its Hea- 216 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. venly influence my bewildered and miserable thoughts, but even creature-comfort Thou didst bestow on me, when I expected it not. Thou didst raise me up earthly friends. My prayers for the afflicted Thou badst return with blessing on my own bosom. I looked in Thy Book, and there were promises to soothe and cheer, for I felt they came from Thee. I have come unto Thee in all circumstances, I have prayed for Thy blessing, Thy guidance in all things, and graciously hast Thou permitted me to feel that my Father in Heaven heard and answere(ime. Thou hast removed the clouds that overwhelmed my onward path ; Thou hast preserved unto me all that are dear in health and life, while so many are laid low in suffering and bereavement. Thou hast enabled me to cultivate Thy gifts, and give pleasure by them to my friends. Thou hast permitted me to improve in the blessed knowledge of Thee and Thy Word, to satisfy the doubting, to give pleasure to my beloved parents. Oh, my God, I have prayed unceasingly to be their blessing ; their words would say my prayer was granted, but to Thee, to Thee alone, be all the glory, if I am indeed their comfort ; if the little attentions, the affection I endeavour to prove for them, afford them so much happiness, oh, my God, it is Thy work ; permit it to continue, enable me in the new dawning year to be even more SACRED COMMUNINGS. 1.'17 governed in my conduct towards them, permit me yet more to prove the love, the duty I owe them both. Let m8 never forget myself, let not one im- patient word, one rebellious thought, ever pass my lips or mind. Thou hast blessed me in my parents, oh my God ; oh, accept my fervent thanksgiving for Thy abundant goodness. Preserve them to me. Mighty Father, permit my brothers to be their blessing and support. I have prayed for my bro- thers, and Thou hast answered me. Father! in vain would I enumerate the blessings that have been mine this past year ; unceasing, un- changing they surround me, and my praise is too dull and tame to ascend to Heaven. Oh, my God, Thou seest I feel Thy goodness, my trust is still in Thee, Thee alone — let it never waver. The years of girlhood are passed, and now more than ever have I become a responsible being. Oh, guide me in the right path, let not my foot slip, let not my thoughts turn from Thee, my God. My God, in Thy mercy strengthen, purify religion within me : Oh, Thou knowest how I dread a change, that I may forget Thee, and that the good feelings of former years may fall away and die. Many have been the sins of the past year, yet religion has remained the mainspring of my every thought, and permitted me to be more contented than in either of the former 218 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. years. I have thought more of Thee, I have loved Thee more ; oh, let me love Thee more and more, that, when the hour of trial comes, I may fly to Thee for refuge ; guard me from sin. Thou kno^yest if suffering be best, and, if it be, oh, teach me hoAv to meet it. Let me on my next birthday feel I have drawn nearer Thee, that my spirit is quickened, my devotion warmer. Whatever may befall me in the newly-dawning year, permit it to tend to tlie im- provement of religion within me. Let me still trust in Thee, let me still rest securely on Thy loving mercy ; and, if death be my portion ere I behold the close of another year. Almighty Father, do Thou, in Thine infinite mercy, soften the mental terrors, the bodily anguish of a death-bed, and take me to Thyself. " I have trusted in the Lord, and therefore I shall not fall ; I called upon Him, and He answered me. Blessed be the name of the Lord God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting." — Amen. SACRED COMMUNINGS. 219 PRAYER. Father of mercies, Thou who hast given me not only the ability to think, but the power to express my thoughts in appropriate words ; Thou who hast gilded my earthly lot with a gift so precious, that time never hangs heavily, nor are my spirits de- pressed frora-'a mind vacant and unemployed ; oh, my God, may Thy blessing fall upon my new ap- pointed task. Grant me the power to embody the thoughts that are constantly flitting across my brain. Permit me to show forth Thy glory in all I write. And if worldliness and frivolity must mingle in my task, let them be hallowed by show- ing clearly those rocks against which, were I tempted, I might fall. In portraying the cha- racters of others, oh my God, let my own heart stand before me with all its natural sins and faults. Let Thy blessing so sanctify my appointed task, that it may assist me in the knowledge of myself. Let my religious and moral duties appear even more clearly before me as I thus write. Oh, my God, I acknowledge Thy beneficent hand with fervent gra- titude and thanksgiving, in the pleasure that Thy gift bestows ; do Thou bless it unto me, by enabling me thus to show forth Thy glory, and obtain a bet- 220 ^ ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. ter knowledge of myself. Father, Thou knowest my heart ; oh have mercy on Thy servant. In my newly designed task, let it not gain as much do- minion over my heart as did the last. I trust in Thy mercy, mighty Father. Oh guard me in future from such engrossing fancies. Enable me to give up with cheerfulness and good temper this, my favourite amusement, if duty in any way demands it. Guard me from sacrificing employments of more consequence to find time for this. Let Thy blessed spirit be with me, merciful Father ; and oh ! let me never for one moment forget that this enjoy- ment is Thy gift, and as such commands me ever to be prepared to render it back to Thee, whenever and however it may please Thee to recall it. Father, let not these thoughts depart from my soul, but sanctify and bless them. If it be acceptable to Thee, oh my God, grant me health and leisure, peace and ability to complete the task Thou hast enabled and permitted me to commence. But if such be not Thy will — if ill- health in those around me, increased duties, or any other cause, prevent the indulgence of my favourite pursuit, oh do Thou pour Thy blessing on my soul, that I may say from my heart with rejoicing love and trusting faith, "Not my will, not mine, but Thine, oh Lord, be done." My fervent petitions are SACRED COMMUNINGS. 221 before Thee, almighty and beneficent God, oh grant them according to Thy will. — Amen. EVENING PRAYER. Another day hath passed, oh most merciful and gracious God, and night, which Thou in Thy great goodness hast ordained to bring rest and sleep to the children of earth, is at hand. Almighty and ever blessed God, oh guard me and all the inhabit- ants of this house from the terrors of the night. Oh grant that gentle and refreshing sleep descend on mine eyelids, and that I may wake again in the morning, with health and strength renewed, to go through the duties of the day. Oh preserve me from evil dreams, and grant that happy and inno- cent visions may flit around my pillow. Guard my sleeping thoughts from impurity and guilt, oh Eternal, that when I wake in the morning my first thought may be on Thee, and on Thy unnumbered mercies, oh my Father. Let Thy glorious works, Thy never-ceasing mercies, be ever present to my mind, when I lie down at night and when I rise up in the morning ; permit them to be so strongly 19 222 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. impressed within me that love and gratitude may ever fill my heart towards Thee, gracious Sovereign of the Universe ! Lord alike of heaven and earth, blessed be Thy name ! Almighty Father, I have sinned through the past day, but mine eyes are blind, and my sins are hid from me. I have failed in love and devotedness to Thee, oh Lord, and many other sins from me con- cealed are known to Thee, oh Lord, and Thou wilt not forget them. Oh have mercy, and pardon, for Thy great Name's sake, the sins I have committed in the hours that are past, and through Thine infinite mercy. Almighty Father, give me strength to guard against them in the future. If I have performed my earthly duties pleasingly to Thee, oh my Father, to Thee be all the glory ! Lead me in Thy path, that I may perform my duty better and better every day, Father ! Have mercy on me, and in the hours of darkness be Thou my guardian and my shitld. Oh pour Thy blessing on me, and grant, oh Eternal, that on the morrow I may wake early to pray, and with renewed health and spirits rise to do my duties on earth. Oh hear me, Almighty Father, and through Thine infinite mercy grant my prayer. Blessed be Thy great Name, for evermore ! — Amen and Amen. SACRED COMMUNINGS. 223 PRAYER FOR EVERY NIGHT. Almighty Father ! if it please Thee to grant health and peace to descend on this my home, and all that are dear to me, that I jnay be enabled regularly to employ my time, oh let Thy blessing- attend me, and enable me to feel Thy spirit dwelleth "Within me, and encom-ageth all I do. Aid me to keep my resolutions. Assist me in the cultivation of those talents Thy loving kindness hath bestowed on me, that in the proper use of them I may show forth Thy glory, and repay my parents for the tender care they have taken of my infant years. And yet, Almighty Father, in Thy mercy guard me from the sin of selfishness ; let me not become so engrossed in my own pleasures and studies as to forget or neglect my domestic and social duties. Let me bear sub- missively whate"ver it please Thee to ordain, and give me grace cheerfully and willingly to give up my own inclination for the sake of others. Let Thy blessing be with me, oh Lord. Let health and peace be the portion of all around me, and permit me in Thy mercy to adhere steadily and calmly to the rules I have laid down. As Solomon saith, "for everything there is a time," permit m5 to perform 224 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. my earthly duties in that manner most acceptable to Thee. Blessed be Thy Name ! — Amen. MORNING HYMN. Blessed art Thou, oh gracious and ever blessed God, who hast ordained another day should dawn for me. Blessed art Thou, who, in Thy great mercy, hast permitted me to wake in health and strength from the terrors of the dark and silent night. Thy shield was around me; Thy arm sus- tained me ; even in sleep Thou wilt not forsake me. Thou withdrawest not Thy arm from me., lest I sleep in death. Thou hast recalled my flitting soul, and I wake and think, and rise and move, and my soul would praise Thee, oh my God, but it hath no words adequate to speak those glorious praises ! The sun, when it shines forth in its splendour, deluging all things with its flood of brilliant light, proclaims Thy Majesty, oh Lord ! The rain, the wind, speak of Thy unchanging mercy. Thy constant love for man. The little birds have raised their early carol, and their voices sing to the glory of their beneficent Maker: bul I know not how to utter forth Thy' SACRED COMMUNINGS. 225 praises, oh our Father ! my lips are mute. I look forth on all speaking nature, and my heart pro- claims Thy glory, and my soul is filled with grati- tude and love. Oh, my Father, accept the thanks- giving of my heart, for how can I praise Thee, oh Lord, according to Thy works ; how can I speak my thanks for Thy never-ceasing goodness ? Oh teach me to walk in Thy ways, oh my God, that I may come near Thy footstool. Oh lead me in the paths of righteousness, that my soul may utter forth Thy praises, that my lips may speak my gratitude and love. Oh Thou art my God ; Thou art my God, and I will praise Thee, and exalt Thee for ever, with my whole soul, and my whole heart ; and I will give thanks unto Thee, oh God, for Thy mercy endureth for ever. Thou hast given me blessings I deserve not. Thou hast given me mer- cies of which I am unworthy. Far above many of my fellow creatures hast Thou blessed me. Oh let me still feel how unworthy I am of such goodness, and each morning bless and glorify Thy Name. Blessed art Thou, oh Lord my God, now and for ever. Hallelujah ! Praise ye the Lord ! 19* ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. MORNING PRAYER. Another day hath dawned, oh most merciful and ever blessed God. Oh grant that it may be passed in virtue. Give me, oh our Father, that command over my heart during this day, that whatever may chance to annoy or grieve me, I may never lose that even temper and thankful spirit which are most ac- ceptable to Thee, oh God of mercy and of love. Let not trifling things have power to vex or irritate me, but give me that sense of my own unworthiness, that whatever be Thy almighty will, I may bow in submission to it. I am but a worm in Thy pre- sence, oh my God, and dare I murmur, whatever be Thy just decrees ? But in Thy great mercy, oh our Father, preserve me this day from sorrow and suf- fering ; grant that I may perform my earthly duties with a willing heart and joyous spirit. Oh preserve me from sin ; guard me from the temptations that encircle me, that when I pray before Thee at night, oh my God, my conscience may be at peace, and my whole soul glow in adoration unto Thee. Hear me, almighty and gracious God, hear me from Thy throne of justice and mercy, and if my prayer seem acceptable in Thy sight, oh my God, for the sake SACRED COMMUNINGS. 227 of that great and holy Name, by which Thou hast promised to show mercy unto thousands of Thy people Israel, oh pour Thy blessing on me, and grant my prayer. — Amen. PRAYER FOR A BLESSING ON DAILY PURSUITS. Almighty Father, may it please Thee to pour Thy blessing on the employments of this day, more particularly on those tasks Thou hast so mercifully permitted me to commence, both in deed and thought. Oh, give me Thy divine assistance in cultivating those talents Thou in Thine infinite goodness hast bestowed on me, that I may complete my self-ap- pointed task in a manner as acceptable to Thee as pleasing to my parents and improving to myself. Grant me strength, oh Lord, and talent to finish all I undertake, that, in all I do, I may remember to bless Thy hand and praise Thy holy Name, almighty Father, for giving me enjoyment within myself, that I need not look for pleasure farther than my parents' home. Oh, how can I praise Thee for Thine infi- nite goodness, almighty and gracious God ? How 238 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. can I praise Thee for the blessings with which Thou hast gilded my lot? Oh, add yet more to Thy great goodness, almighty Father, and improve and increase those talents Thou hast already bestowed on me, that I may not dread the quick flight of youth and all its appropriate pleasures; for if Thou, All-wise, All-merciful, wilt hearken to my prayer, enjoyment will yet be my portion, and I will praise Thy name in humble and fervent gratitude to Thee. Oh, pour Thy blessing on every employment, mer- ciful Father, that I may have strength and ability to complete the tasks I have begun. Oh, hear me, my God, oh hearken to the simple and fervent peti- tion I offer up in humbleness and faith to Thee. Thou wilt not disregard my prayer, for my trust is in Thee, and Thou hast promised to answer all who call upon Thee; then hear me and answer me, almighty Father, blessed be Thy holy name. — Amen. SACRED COMMUNINGS. 229 PRAYER FOR GRACE. In my distress I called on tliS Lord, and He an- swered me with enlargement — He hath hearkened to the voice of my supplication, and answered to my secret cry : and now, oh Lord, yet hear Thy servant. Thy promises have never failed, and yet, oh Lord, my thanks are dead, my praises spiritless, and thus, alas ! how can they be acceptable to Thee, who demandest the whole heart and soul of Thy servants, their whole affections ? Thou, oh God, to whom we owe our every blessing. Thou knowest the weakness of Thy creatures, and demandest but love and devotion in return, and even this we hesitate, and are loth to give. Oh, Lord, have compassion on me, unworthy as I am ; take not the joy of Thy salvation from me. Oh, so shed Thy Heavenly grace upon my heart that I may constantly feel devotion dwelling there, that gratitude may ever be glowing within me ; and then will my thanks be no longer dead, my praises spiritless. In moments of enjoy- ment, oh, pour Thy spirit on my soul, that I may feel it is to Thee, Thee alone, I owe all these things; not to myself, or to my earthly companions ; we are but tools in Thy hand : " not unto us, oh Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name, give glory." Oh, let 230 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. me think on this, and be my spirit warm within me ; and in Thy mercy, oh Lord, teach my heart to feel, my lips to speak, Thy goodness and Thy mercy. Give me Thy bles^d grace, that my soul may not be thus deadened, but that it may feel it is to Thee I owe all these things, every happiness I enjoy, and adore Thy glorious name. Father, have compas- sion on Thy servant, whose excessive weakness is known alone to Thee, and add yet more to Thy abundant mercy by granting me that blessed grace which will enable me to praise Thy name for ever- more. '' Praise the Lord, praise, oh ye servants of the Lord. Praise the Name of the Lord ; oh praise ye the Lord, all ye nations ; praise Ilim, all ye peo- ple. For His merciful kindness is great towards us, and the truth of the Lord endureth for ever. Praise ye the Lord! Hallelujah ! Praise the Lord!" PRAYER FOR THE SABBATH EVE. I THANK Thee, oh merciful Father, for permitting me to behold the close of another week in health and peace. I thank Thee for allowing me to look upon the Sabbath as a day of holy and blessed rest, SACRED COMMUNINGS. 231 mercifully granted to Thy people Israel. We may not assemble to worship Thee in Thy Holy Temple, oh Lord, yet let the prayer of the son of David, when he dedicated his house to Thee, still be ac- ceptable to our God — " and hearken Thou to the supplication of • Thy servant and of Thy people Israel, when they turn toward this place, however distant they may be, and hear Thou in heaven, Thy dwelling-place, and when Thou hearest, forgive ; and forgive Thy people that have sinned against Thee, and all their transgressions wherein They have transgressed against Thee, for there is no man that sinneth not." Oh permit me to pray in these words, oh Lord, for though removed from Thy House, I acknowledge my transgression, and will praise and worship) Thee. I thank Thee for the great mercies Thou hast vouch- safed me during the past week, for enabling me to do my duty in that station where.it has pleased Thee to place me ; for the divine assistance Thou hast given me in Thy mercy, Lord, in the culti- vation of my talents, Thy gifts, oh ray God ; for guarding me from evil temptations and presump- tuous sins. And I thank Thee more particularly, oh my God, for the kind parents Thou hast be- stowed on me, to whom, under Thee, I owe all enjoyments of this life : do Thou bless them, oh 232 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. Lord, bestow on them Thy holy spirit, and preserve them in health, long to guard their children. Have mercy on my brothers ; bless them, oh Lord ; forgive them the sins and faults they may have committed during the past week, either in deed or thought ; and in thine infinite mercy make them good and acceptable in Thy sight. Father of Mercy ! I have sinned during the past week, either in thought, word, or deed. I have failed in duty ; my thoughts have wandered continually, as I prayed to Thee. Thy spirit yet dwelleth not in me ; my mo- ments of devotion are too weak and tame ; the thoughts of this world too frequently occupy my mind. Oh, merciful Father, forgive these manifold sins. Thou readest my heart, and knowest the humble penitence with which I would confess my sins to Thee. What am I but a worm, an atom in Thy sight ? Less than the smallest particle of dust on which I tread is to me ; and yet I lean on the infinite, never-failing mercy of my God. I trust in Thee, oh my Father. Thou art my stay, my hope, my trust ; and I fear not man, for I feel that Thou art with me. Thou listenest to my cry, oh forgive my sins. I pray before Thee, oh Lord, bowed down beneath the sense of my own nothingness. Prostrate before Thee, I implore Thy mercy, not for my own sake, oh Lord, but for that great and SACRED COMMUNINGS. 233 awful Name, by which Thou hast promised to show mercy unto thousands of them that love Thee and keep Thy commandments. Unworthy as I am, withdraw not Thy great mercies from me ; still ex- tend Thy protecting arm over me, and guard me from my sins. Impress my every action, my every thought, with Thy Holy Spirit. Sanctify Thy servant in Thy sight, oh Lord. Cleanse me from my impurities and sins. Let- me feel that Thou art with me wherever I may go. Strengthen my soul, that should the future bring with it trials and sorrows now unknown, I may not sink beneath them, but perform my duty, painful as it may be, aided and encouraged by Thee. Whatever may befall me, let not the spirit of religion depart from my soul. Great God of Israel, Father of life, and love, and mercy, make me but worthy in Thy sight, and under all circumstances, in Thine infinite mercy, teach, oh teach me Thy will be done. — Amen. 20 234 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. PRAYER FOR THE SABBATH MORN. Father Almighty ! may it please Thee in Thine infinite mercy, to pour Thy blessing on Thy Sabbath day, and grant us that grace which will enable us to employ it in a manner acceptable to thee. Re- moved far from our own land, scattered as fugitives among the nations, as a just punishment for our sins against Thee ; oh my God, Thou knowest the many things which combine to render the task so difficult, to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy ; the many interruptions which disturb us, and prevent the sacred day from retaining that holiness which alone can render it acceptable to Thee. Oh remember these things, merciful Father. Remember Thou hast visited us in Thy wrath, and taken Thy Holy Spirit from us, and have compassion, for with- out the fulness of Thy grace within us, how can we address Thee with constancy and fervour ? Worldly thoughts, earthly objects, mingle with our prayers, and turn them away from Thee. Our weak and corrupted natures cannot fix attention on things I'elating to Thee alone, without the help of those SACRED COMMUNINGS. 235 outward forms, of which, in our exiled and destitute state, we are now deprived. Oh, my God, permit then Thy righteousness to he at work within us. Let Thy grace fix our hearts and souls on Thee this day, which by miracle and precept Thou hast sanctified unto Thyself. Let Thy blessing be amongst us this day, oh my God, more particularly on the members of this family ; and so sanctify us that Thy mercy may form Thy temple in the midst of us, where Thy spirit will dwell for evermore. Oh teach us to pray to Thee, to bless Thee for the innumerable blessings granted, us this week. Enlighten our eyes that we may look well within ourselves, to know and to confess our sins ; and give us Thy divine help to depart from them, and become more worthy in Thy sight, in the week that is now dawning. Let Thy spirit rest upon Thy Word, oh Lord, that we may understand it better ; and each Sabbath day improve us in the knowledge of Thee, and of Thy Law. Grant us that holy temper which will turn our thoughts to Thee, even if worldly interruptions occur to distract our atten- tion from those studies most acceptable to Thee. Oh sanctify us and bless us, amiighty Father ; we would devote this day to Thee. Oh guard 236 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. US from all temptation to turn aside from seeking Thee ; and, in Thine infinite mercy, teach us those things most acceptable to Thee. Blessed be Thy Name, merciful and beneficent Father, now and evermore. — Amen and Amen. HISTORY JEWS IN ENGLAND, 20* (237) HISTORY OF THE JEWS IN ENGLAND. The Hebrew nation, as is well known, has been for ages scattered over the face of the earth, and now exists in different portions in every civilized country; retaining, however, in all situations, the religion, manners, and recollections of its ancestry — almost everywhere less or more oppressed, yet everywhere possessing the same unconquerable buoy- ancy of spirit and the same indomitable industry. It would be a very long and dismal story to tell of the settlement and sufferings of the Jews in the va- rious countries of Europe, and we propose, therefore, to confine ourselves to a brief narration principally concerning their residence and treatment in Great Britain. Whence or by what route the exiles of Judea found their way to this island, cannot now be satis- (239) 340 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. factorily traced ; but, scattered as they were over the extensive domains of their Roman conquerors, it is not unlikely that they originally crossed the Channel whilst England also was under imperial sway, their numbers increasing as centuries rolled on, and as the gradual desertion of the island by the Romans gave them a more peaceful and secure re- treat than was enjoyed by their brethren scattered nearer the seat of empire. During the struggles between the Britons and Saxons, and afterwards between Saxons and Saxons, till the Heptarchy was finally established, the He- brew strangers remained unnoticed ; but when Christ- ianity was introduced, and monks and priests ob- tained supreme ecclesiastical authority, decrees were issued as early as 740 by Egbert, archbishop of York, and again in 833 by the monks of Croyland, prohibiting Christians from appearing at Jewish feasts. From these decrees we infer that the Jews must have become both numerous and influential, and their feasts and ceremonies attractive to the people, who in the very early stages of Catholicism might have found a puzzling similarity in the outward cere- monies of the two religions — gorgeousness and splen- dour being at that time characteristic of the rites of both. The distinctions of actual creed were too subtle and too carefully made the study of church- THE JEWS IN ENGLAND. 241 men alone to be understood or cared for by tlie mul- titude, and the priests must have feared some dan- ger to their new and simple-minded converts from a too close intimacy with the Hebrews, or these pro- hibitions need not have been made. No further allusion being made to the Jews dur- ing the Saxon monarchy, the decrees of .the priests were probably obeyed, and no excuse given for per- secution. When Canute of Denmark conquered England, however, the Jews shared the servitude of their Saxon brethren ; and in 1020, without any assigned cause but the will of the sovereign, were banished from the kingdom. They crossed the Channel, and took refuge in the dominions of Wil- liam Duke of Normandy, where they were so kindly received that, on his conquest of England and as- sumption of her crown, they returned, increased in numbers, to their old homes, and purchased from William the right of settlement in the island. The sons of the Conqueror pursued their father's kindly policy towards them. Under William Rufus they established themselves in London and Oxford, erecting in the latter town three halls or colleo;es — Lombard Hall, Moses Hall, and Jacob Hall — where they instructed young men of either persua- sion in the Hebrew language and the sciences. Until this reign the only burial-ground allowed them 242 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. in all England was St. Giles, Cripplegatc, where Jewen Street now stands ; but under Rufus they obtained a place of interment also at Oxford, now the site of part of Magdalen College. Indeed Rufus, from what is narrated to us by the chroni- clers, would appear to have respected the feelings of the Jews more than those of the Christian por- tion of his subjects. " He appointed," says Milman, " a public debate in London between the two parties, and swore, by 'the face of St. Luke,' that, if the rabbins defeated the bishops, he would turn Jew himself. He received at Rouen the complaint of certain Jews, that their children had been seduced to the profession of Christianity. Their petition was supported by a liberal offer of money. One Stephen offered sixty marks for his son's restoration to Judaism, but the son had the courage to resist the imperious monarch. Rufus gave still deeper offence by farming to the Jews the vacant bishop- rics." During this breathing-time from persecution their opulence naturally increased, and with it their un- popularity. The civil wars between Matilda and Stephen had drained the royal coffers ; money be- came more and more imperatively needed ; and, fol- lowing the example of the continental nations, charges the most false, but from their very horror THE JEWS IN ENGLAND. 243 and improbability eagerly credited by the ignorant populace, were promulgated against the Jews, and immense sums extorted from them to purchase remis- sion from suffering and exile. Those who refused acceptance of the royal terms were mercilessly banished, and their estates and other possessions confiscated to the crown. During the reigns of Stephen and Henry 11. these persecutions continued with little intermission, yet still they remained industrious and uncomplain- ing, eager on every occasion to testify their loyalty and allegiance. In the last year of Henry II. 's reign (1188), a parliament was convened at Northampton, to raise supplies for an expedition to the Holy Land. The whole Christian population were assessed at .£70,000, while the Jews alone, in numbers but a very small fraction of the king's native subjects, were burdened with a tax of £60,000; .£3330 having been during this one reign already tortured from them. The abandonment of the project, followed as it was by the king's death, prevented this illegal extortion; and it was perhaps from joy at this unexpected relief that the Hebrews thronged in crowds to Westmin- ster to witness the coronation of Richard, sumptu- ously attired, and bearing rich offerings, to testify their eager desire to conciliate the king. 244 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. This, however, was not permitted. The nobles and populace — whose strongest link of union in those days was jealous hatred of a people whose only crime was wealth — resolved on their exclusion. The presence of such ill-omened sorcerers at the coro- nation, it was declared, would blight every hope of prosperity for the reign, and commands were pe- remptorily issued that no Jew should be admitted to witness the ceremony. Some few individuals dared the danger of discovery, and made their way within the church. Their boldness was fatal; and not to themselves alone. Insulted and maltreated almost to death, they were dragged from the church, and the signal given for universal outrage. The popu- lace spread through every Jewish quarter, destroy- ing and pillaging without pause, setting even the royal commands at defiance ; for avarice and hatred had obtained sole possession of their hearts. For a day and a night these awful scenes continued in London, and not a Jewish dwelling in the city escaped. England was at that time thronged with friars preaching the Crusade ; and, as had previously been the case on the continent, they urged the sacri- fice of the unbelieving Jews as a fit commencement for their holy expedition. The example of London was held forth as an exhibition of praiseworthy en- thusiasm ; and at Edraondsbury, Norwich, and Stam- THE JEWS IN ENGLAND. 245 ford, the same scenes of blood and outrage were enacted. At Lincoln the miserable Hebrews ob- tained protection from the governor. At York, after a vain attempt to check the popular fury, a great number retreated to the castle with their most valuable effects. Those not fortunate or expeditious enough to reach the temporary shelter were all put to the sword, neither age nor sex spared, their riches appropriated, and their dwellings burnt to the ground. For a short time the castle appeared to promise a secure retreat, but gradually the suspicion spread that the governor was secretly negotiating for their surrender, the price of his treachery being a large portion of their wealth. "Whether this suspicion were correct or not was never ascertained, but it worked so strongly on the minds of the Jews, that they seized the first occasion of the governor's absence from the castle, on a visit to the town, to close the gates against him. They then themselves manned the ramparts, and awaited a siege. It hap- pened that the sheriff of the county (without whose permission no measures to recover the castle coufd be taken) was passing through York with an armed force ; the incensed governor instantly applied to him, and demanded the aid of his men. Recollect- ing the king's attempt to keep peace between his 21 246 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. Christian and Jewish subjects in London, the sheiifF at first hesitated ; but urged on by the indignant representations of the governor, he at length per- mitted the assault. The frantic fury with which the shouting rabble rushed to the attack, the horrid nature of the scenes which he knew must inevitably ensue, caused him, even at that moment, to revoke the order ; but it was too late. License once given, the passions of the surging multitude could not be assuaged. The clergy fanned them into yet hotter flame, by en- couraging their mad fury as holy zeal, promising salvation to all who shed the blood of a Jew ; and themselves, in strange contradiction to the profes- sions signified by the garbs they wore, joining in the afii'ay, and often heading the attack. The un- shrinking courage, the noble self-denial and heroic endurance of the hapless Hebrews, could little avail them against the wild excitement and immense mul- titude of their assailants ; yet still they resisted with vigour. Accused a« they were of never handling the weapons or experiencing the emotions of the warrior, it was now shown that circumstances and not character were at fault. The spirit of true heroism peculiar to their race in the olden time might indeed appear crushed and lost beneath the heavy fetters of oppression, but it burned still, ready THE JEWS IN ENGLAND. 247 to burst into life and energy wlicnever occasion de- manded its display. Notwithstanding the bold defence of the besieged, resistance was too soon seen to be hopeless, and in stern unbending resolution they assembled in the council-room. Their rabbi (a Hebrew word signify- ing chief or elder), a man of great learning and emi- nent virtue, rose up, and with mournful dignity thus addressed them : — " Men of Israel, the God of our ancestors is omniscient, and there is no one who can say, ' What dost thou ?' This day he commands us to die for his law — that law which we have cherished from the first hour it was given, which we have pre- served pure throughout our captivity in all nations, and for which, for the many consolations it has given us, and the belief in eternal life which it com- municates, can we do less than die ? Posterity shall behold its solemn truths sealed with our blood ; and our death, while it confirms our sincerity, shall im- part strength to the wanderers of Israel. Death is before our eyes ; we have only to choose an easy and an honourable one. If we fall into the hands of our enemies, which fate you know we cannot elude, our death will be ignominious and cruel ; for these Christians, who picture the Spirit of God in a dove, and confide in the meek Jesus, are athirst for our blood, and prowl like wolves around us. Let 248 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. US escape their tortures, and surrender, as our an- cestors have done before us, our lives with our own hands to our Creator. God seems to call for us; let us not be unworthy of that call." It Avas a fearful counsel, and the venerable elder himself wept as he ceased to speak ; but by far the greater number declared that he had spoken well, and they would abide by his words. The few that hesitated were desired by their chief, if they ap- proved not of his counsel, to depart in peace ; and some obeyed. It was night ere the council closed, and during the hours of darkness not a sound be- trayed the awful proceedings within the castle to the besiegers. At dawn the multitudes furiously renewed the attack, falling back appalled for the minute by the sight of flames bursting from all parts of the citadel. A few miserable objects rushing to and fro on the battlements also became visible, with wild cries entreating mercy for themselves, imploring baptism rather than death, and relating with groans and lamentations the fate of their' companions. The men had all slain their wives and children, and then fallen by each others' hands, the most distinguishel receiving the sad honour of death from the sword of their old chief, who was the last to die. Their precious eflfects were burnt or buried, according as they wore combustible or not; so that, when tbo THE JEWS IN ENGLAND. 249 gates were flung open and the rabble rushed in, eager to appropriate the wealth which they believed awaited them, they found nothing but heaps of ashes. Maddened with disappointment, all pledges of safety to the survivors, if the gates were opened, were for- gotten, and every human being that remained was tortured and slain. Five hundred had already fallen by their own hands, and these voluntary martyrs were mostly men forced by persecution into such mean and servile occupations as to appear incapable of a lofty thought or heroic deed. No punishment followed the atrocious proceedings at York. The laws of England never interfered in behalf of the king's Jewish subjects, though they would have been somewhat rigidly obeyed had the suiferers been the offenders. On King Richard's return from captivity, the Hebrews were, under certain statutes, acknowledged as the exclusive pro- perty of the crown. John commenced his reign with a semblance of extreme lenity towards them. The privileges formerly granted to them by Henry I. were confirmed. They might settle in any part of England, instead of being confined to certain quarters of certain towns ; hold lands, and receive mortgages. Their evidence might be taken in courts of justice. All English subjects were com- manded to protect their persons and possessions as 21 * 250 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. they would the especial property of the king. Other laws equally lenient were issued ; and, misled by such favourable appearances, many of the conti- nental Hebrews flocked to England. This increase of Jewish population of course materially increased Jewish wealth ; the hatred of the people was anew excited, and several indignities were perpetrated against the Jews. The king wrote a strong rebuke to the perpetrators ; and then, at the very time that the Jews were rejoicing at this undeniable proof of his sincerity and their own security, completely changed his policy, and from the extreme of lenity proceeded to the extreme of rigour. He had, in fact, only favoured them to multiply their wealth, and then revelled in its seizure ; glad that there were now some possessions he could appropriate without any interference from the pope. The un- happy Israelites were imprisoned, tortured, mur- dered, and their treasures all confiscated to the crown. A Jew of Bristol having refused to betray his hoards, was condemned to have a tooth pulled out every day until he should yield. The man suf- fered seven of his 'teeth to be extracted before he complied: the king gained 10,000 marks by his cruel device. In the war between John and his barons they were persecuted by both parties — by the king for their wealth ; by the barons, because THE JEWS IN ENGLAND. 251 they were vassals of the king. Even the stern and noble assertors of liberty, the heroes of the Magna Charta, seeking justice and freedom for all classes of Englishmen, had no pity for the wretched Jews ; seizing their possessions, and demolishing their homes, to repair the walls of London, which had been greatly injured in the civil war. The guardians of England during the reign of Henry III. sought in some degree to meliorate the condition of the Jews. Twenty-four burgesses of every town where they resided, were appointed to protect their persons and property; but the protec- tion even of royalty could avail little when every class of men conspired to detest and oppress them. The merchants were jealous of the privileges per- mitting the Jews to buy and sell. The people hated them from the idle tales of horrible crimes attributed to them, which had no foundation what- ever in truth, but which ignorance and prejudice not only believed, but so magnified and multiplied as to cause them to be inseparably associated with the word Jew. The clergy — men who, both pro- fessors and preachers of a religion of peace, should have been the first to protect the injured, and calm the turbulent passions of the populace — were the constant incitors to persecution and cruelty, be- lieving, by a most extraordinary hallucination, that 252 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. to maltreat tlie Jew was the surest evidence of Christian zeal. The guardians of the young king had, however, so guided him, that, for a brief interval after attain- ing his majority, the royal protection shielded the Jews in some measure from popular oppression. But this was only until the king's coffers became impo- verished : when these were empty, the only means of refilling them was to follow the example of his pre- decessors, and, by fair means or foul, extort money from* the Jews. In this reign, alone, the enormous sum of 170,000 marks was, under various pretences and various cruelties, wrung from them ; and when all other means of extortion seemed exhausted, an extraordinary spectacle was displayed in the con- vention of a Jewish parliament. The sheriffs of the different towns had orders to return six of the wealthiest and most influential Jews from the larger cities, and two from the smaller. In those times almost the only function of a parliament was to vote supplies; this Jewish parliament, therefore, in being informed by the sovereign that he must have 20,000 marks from the Jews of England, served for the Jewish part of the population pretty nearly the same purpose as the ordinary parliament served for the rest of the community. The assembled members were probably left to decide the amount THE JEWS IN ENGLAND. 253 of assessment which the various ranks of Jews should pay, so as to make up the total sum required ; and as this right of proportioning the assessment was generally the only right exercised by ancient parliaments, properly so called, the particular hard- ship of the Jews, as compared with their fellow-sub- jects, consisted not in having no liberty of refusal — for that is a liberty which only modern parlia- ments have acquired — but in the enormous sum demanded from them, and in the rigours which they knew would be employed to enforce its speedy collection. Assembled, and made aware of the demand which was made upon them, the unfortunate Jewish representatives were dismissed to collect the money from their own resources as speedily as pos- sible ; and, because it was not forthcoming as quickly as was requisite for the royal necessities, all their possessions were seized, and their families impri- soned. Believing, at length, that their wealth must be exhausted by such demands, or weary of the trou- ble of extortion, Henry consummated his acts of oppression by actually selling his Jewish subjects, their persons and effects, to his brother Richard, Earl of Cornwall, for 5000 marks. The records of this disgraceful bargain are still preserved ; and that the king had power to conclude it, marks the 254 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. oppressed and fearful position of this hapless peo- ple more emphatically than any lengthened narra- tive. Yet the barbarity of the sovereign met with universal approbation ; the wretchedness of the vic- tims with neither sympathy nor commiseration. On the election of Richard of Cornwall as king of the Romans, the Jews became again the property of the crown, and were again sold by Henry. This time their purchaser was the heir to the throne, Prince Edward, by whom they were sold, to still better advantage, to the merchants of Dauphin^ ; and this traffic was actually the sale and purchase of human beings, in all respects like ourselves, gifted with immortal souls, "intelligent minds, and the ten- derest affections. Husbands, fathers, sons, wives, mothers, innocent childhood, and helpless age. The sufferers were inoffensive and unobtrusive, seeking no vengeance, patient, and even cringing under all their injuries. Of all the crimes imputed to them, and some of these were of the most horrible nature, not one appears ever to have been really proved against them, except, perhaps, that of clipping the coin of the realm ; and even on this point the evi- dence is not clear. And yet, had all the accusations against them been true, one could hardly have won- dered, considering their treatment. After the battle of Lewes, reports became cur- THE JEWS IN ENGLAND. 255 rent that the Hebrews at Northampton, Lincoln, and London had sided "with the king against the barons. This of course roused the latter in their turn to plunder and destroy ; while Henry annulled his bargain with his son, and for a while treated them with greater lenity. But again one of the usual excuses for persecution — insult offered by the Jews to some symbol reverenced by the Catholics — found voice, and not only were extortions renewed, but a solemn statute was passed, disqualifying the Jews from possessing any lands or even dwellings. They might not erect any new habitations, only repair their present homes, or rebuild on the same foundations. All lands and manors already in their hands were violently wrested from them ; and those held in mortgages returned to their owners Avithout any in- terest on the bonds. All arrears of charges were demanded, and imprisonment threatened if payment were postponed. An extortion apparently more oppressive than all the rest, as we find the distress it occasioned amongst the Jews actually moved the pity of their rivals, the Caorsini bankers, and of the friars, their deadliest foes. The death of Henry was so far a reprieve that the above-named extortion was suspended ; but the accession of Edward I. only aggravated their social 256 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. bondage. Laws as severe, if not more severe in some respects than those of previous sovereigns, were issued against them, followed by an act of par- liament prohibiting all usury, and desiring the Jews to confine themselves to the pursuits of traffic, manu- factures, and agriculture ; for which last, though they could not hold, they might hire farms for fifteen years. But how could men, debarred so long from similar occupations, so debased by oppression, with minds so disabled as to render it diflGcult for them to commence any new pursuit, obey so violent a decree ? Had they received the fit education for traffic, manufactures, and agriculture before the laws commanding such employments were passed, there would have been many glad and eager to obey them ; but, as it was, obedience was impossible. That usu- rers and Jews in the dark ages were synonymous, and that the Jews in their capacity of money-lenders did exhibit an extraordinary spirit of rapacity and extortion, cannot be denied. But although this spirit of money-making, even by methods esteemed dishonourable, characterizing, as it did, the Jews of the Roman empire, as well as those of Europe in the middle ages, must be referred partly to an inhe- rent national bent ; there can be no doubt that much of the meanness and criminality displayed by the Jews of the middle ages, in their quest of wealth. THE JEWS IN ENGLAND. 257 is attributable to the binding oppression wbidi abso- lutely fettered them to that one pursuit. Even if there were times when a Shylock pressed for his pound of flesh, when it would have been nobler to show mercv, was it unnatural ? Can we ever expect oppression to create kindness — social cruelty to bring forth social love ? After eighteen years of persecution, little varied in its nature and its causes from the persecutions of previous reigns, the seal was set on Jewish misery by an edict of total expulsion, issued in 1290. All their property was seized except a very scanty sup- ply, supposed sufficient to transport them to other lands. No reason was given for this barbarous pro- ceeding. The charge previously brought against them of clipping and adulterating the coin of the realm, for which 280 had been executed in London alone, was never fully proved ; nor, as might natu- rally have been expected, had the chai-ge been really true, was it made the cause of their expulsion. A people's unfounded hate, and a monarch's cruel plea- sure, exposed 16,511 human beings to all the mise- ries of exile. There were very few countries which were not equally inhospitable ; for edicts of expul- sion had gone forth from many of the continental kingdoms. Even if they could find other homes, the confiscation of all their property before they 22 258 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. left England exposed them to multiplied sufferings, "which no individual efforts could assuage ; and the loss of life ever attendant on these wholesale expul- sions is fearful. The greater number probably never lived to reach another shore ; and to what retreats those who were more fortunate betook themselves, history does not say. From this date (1290), there- fore, all trace of the English Jews, properly so called, is lost. Their great synagogue, situated in Old Jewry, was seized by an order of friars, called Fratres de Sacra or De Penitentia, who had not long been esta- blished in England. In 1305, Robert Fitzwalter, the great banner-bearer of the city, and wl.ose house it adjoined, requested, we are told by the old chro- niclers, that it might be assigned to him ; a request no doubt complied with in return for a good round sum of money. During the fifteenth century it be- longed to two or three successive mayors, and was ultimately degraded into a tavern, known by the sign of the Windmill. The locality of this early Jewish house of worship, howevei', still retains its name and associations as Old Jewry. Their valuable libraries at Stamford and Oxford were appropriated by the neighbouring monasteries. From that at Oxford, fifty years previous to their expulsion, Roger Bacon is said to have derived much THE JEWS IN ENGLAND. 259 of that chemical and astronomical information which enabled him to startle the" age in which he lived by the boldness and novelty of his views. The Baby- Ionian Talmud, a series of gigantic tomes, of which, and of lesser works compiled from them, the Jewish libraries were composed, contained elaborate trea- tises on the various sciences which occupied the attention of the learned in the middle ages ; includ- ing of course magic and astrology ; and as it was to the Franciscan convent at Oxford, by which the Hebrew library had been appropriated, that Roger Bacon retreated on his return to England from Paris, it is by no means improbable that he may have been indebted to -the Hebrew books thus placed within his reach. From the year 1290 to 1655 the shores of Great Britain were closed against the Jews. No attempt ever appears to have been made on their part to re- voke the order of expulsion. Oppression, perhaps, had left too blackened traces on their memories for England to be regarded with that strong feeling of local attachment which bound them, even after ex- pulsion, so closely to Portugal and Spain. In France they were once and again recalled after being ex- pelled. In the German and Italian states they were constantly persecuted and murdered by thousands, but never cast forth from the soil. In Spain and 260 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. Portugal they had always held the highest offices, not only in the schools,'^i3ut in the state and the camp ; nay, royalty itself, in more than one instance, was closely connected with Jewish blood. Oppres- sive exactments and degrading distinctions were fre- quently made, but never interfered with the positions of trust and dignity which the larger portion of the nation enjoyed ; so that when the edict of their uni- versal expulsion from the peninsula came in 1492, there was no galling remembrance of debasing misery to conquer the love of fatherland, so fondly fostered in every human heart. Notwithstanding the danger from the constant dread of death, if dis- covered, secret Jews peopled the most Catholic king- doms of Portugal and Spain. The extraordinary skill and ingenuity with which these Spanish and Portuguese Jews preserved their secret, and their numerous expedients for the strictest adherence to their ancient religion, under the semblance of most orthodox Catholicism, constitute a romance in his- tory. If ever exposed to the suspicion of the Inqui- sition, however, the love of land was sacrificed to personal security ; the suspected individuals taking refuge either in Holland, or in some of the newly- discovered East and West India Islands, and there making public profession of their ancient faith. Joseph Ben Israel was one of these fugitives. He THE JEWS IN ENGLAND. 261 ■was a Portuguese Jew, and a resident of Lisbon. Suspicion of secretly following Judaism having fallen upon him, he was twice incarcerated by the Inquisition, and twice released, from the impo'ssi- bility of proving the charge against him. When confined within those dangerous precincts a third time, he would not wait another examination, but succeeded in scaling the walls, of his prison, and secretly flying from Portugal, bearing with him his young son Menasseh. At Amsterdam, where Ben Israel settled, both father and son received the pe- culiar covenant of their faith, and publicly avowed and confessed it. In the Jewish college of that city Menasseh Ben Israel received his education ; and so remarkable was his progress in the difficult studies of the Hebrew Acolyte, that when only seventeen he succeeded his master, Isaac Uzielij as preacher in the synagogue and expounder of the Talmud, and commenced the then difiicult task of arranging and amplifying the scanty rules of the Hebrew language in the form of a grammar — a work obtaining him much fame, not only from the extreme youth of the writer, but also for the assistance it rendered to the learned men of all countries in the attaining of a language so little known, yet so much valued. The grammar was speedily followed by numerous other works, written both in Spanish and Latin. 90 * 262 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. Their subject is mostly theology; but Ben Israel's OAvn learning was not confined to sacred subjects alone. Well versed in Hebrew, Greek, Arabic, Latin, Spanish, and Portuguese, he not only wrote these languages with ease and fluency, but was well acquainted with the literature of each, and had thus, by extensive culture and thought on a great variety of subjects, acquired larger views and sentiments than were possessed by the generality of his race. The confiscation of all his paternal property at Lisbon, compelled him to resort to commerce — an interruption to his literary pursuits which he would have gladly eluded; but, already a husband and a father, he met the necessity cheerfully, and soon became as influential and as highly respected in commercial affairs as in literature ; in which, not- withstanding the many and pressing calls of busi- ness, he never allowed his labours to relax. After the marriage of his daughter, he visited, partly for pleasure and partly on business, the Brazils, whei-e his brother-in-law and partner resided. It was a very unusual thing in those days for any Hebrew to travel : the minute and numerous ordinances of the Talmud interfering too closely with daily life, .ind rendering it difiicult to obey them anywhere save in cities, where there wore communities of Jews. THE JEWS IN ENGLAND. 263 But Menasseh Ben Israel, -wliile lie gloried in being inwardly and outwardly a follower of the Hebrew faith, had a mind capable of distinguishing between the form and the spirit. The death of his eldest son, a youth of great promise, occurred soon after his return from Brazil, and caused him such intense grief, as, according to his own acknowledg- ment, to render him incapable of the least mental exertion. His only comfort and resource was the perusal of that Holy Book which had been the origin and end of all his studies. It did not fail him in his grief; and after some severe struggles, energy returned. His literary fame had procured him the intimacy and friendship of the most eminent and learned men throughout Europe. Amongst these was John Thur- loe, who, in the year 1651, had gone to the Hague as secretary to St. John and Strickland, ambassa- dors from England to the states of the United Pro- vinces. During his stay in Holland he became acquainted? with Ben Israel, and with his earnest but then apparently fruitless wishes for the read- mission of his nation into England. In 1653, Thurloe became secretary of state to Cromwell ; and, discovering the enlarged and liberal ideas which the Protector individually entertained, he ventured, on his own responsibility, to invite Me- 264 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. nasseh Ben Israel to the court of England, and introduced him to Cromwell in 1655. The inde- pendence, the amiable qualities, and the great learn- ing of the Jewish stranger, obtained Cromwell's undisguised friendship and regard. Three hundred and sixty-five years had elapsed since a Jew had stood on British ground ; and during that interval many changes and improvements, national and social, had taken place. The Reformation had freed England from the galling fetters of ignorance and superstition which must ever attend the general suppression of the Word of Truth. Increase of tole- ration towards the Jews was already visible in those parts of the continent which were under Protestant jurisdiction ; and it was therefore extremely natural in Menasseh Ben Israel to regard England as one of those favourite countries of Providence, where his brethren might enjoy security and rest. Whether or not a formal act of readmission was passed during the Protectorship, is to this day a question. On the 4th of December, 16^5, a coun- cil was held at Whitehall, composed of the Lord Chief Justice Glynn, Lord Chief Baron Steele, the lord mayor and sheriffs of London, and sundry merchants and divines, to consider the proposals of Menasseh Ben Israel, which may be condensed into the followino;: — 1. That the Hebrew nation should THE JEWS IN ENGLAND. 265 be received and admitted into the commonwealth under the express protection of his highness, who was entreated to command all generals and heads of armies, under oath, to defend them as his other English subjects on all occasions. 2. That public synagogues, and the proper observance of their reli- gion, should be allowed the Jews, not only in Eng- land, but in all countries under English jurisdiction. 3. That a cemetery or graveyard out of the town should be allowed them, without hindrance from any. 4. That they should be permitted to mer- chandise as others. 5. That a person of quality should be appointed to receive the passports of all foreign Jews who might land in England, and oblige them by oath to maintain fealty to the common- wealth. 6. That license should be granted to the heads of the synagogue, with the assistance of offi- cers from their own nation, to judge and determine all differences according to the Mosaic law, with liberty to appeal thence to the civil judges of the land. 7. That in case there should be any laws against the nation still existing, they should, in the first place, and before all things, be revoked, that by such means the Jews might remain in greater security under the safeguard and protection of his serene highness. The council met again on the 7th, 12th, and 14th 266 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. of December, on the last of which days, according to some authorities, the Jews were formally admitted ; but, according to others, the council reassembled on the 18th, and dissolved without either adjournment or decision, the judges only declaring that there was no law prohibiting the return of the Jews. Burton, in his History of Oliver Cromw^ell, relates that the divines were divided in opinion ; but on some assert- ing that the Scriptures promised their conversion, the Protector replied, " that if there Avere such pro- mise, means must be taken to accomplish it, which is the preaching of the gospel ; and that cannot be had, unless they were admitted where the gospel was publicly preached." Thomas Violet, a goldsmith, drew up a petition in 1660 to Charles II. and his parliament, entreating that the Jews might be expelled from England, and their property confiscated ; and in this petition he asserts that, in consequence of the decided disappro- val of the clergy in the celebrated council of 1655, the proposal for their readmission had been totally laid aside. Bishop Burnet, in his " History of his own Times," refutes this assertion, and declares that, after attentively hearing the debates, Cromwell and his council freely granted Ben Israel's requests; and this appears really to have been the case, for the very next year, 1656, a synagogue for the Spanish THE JEWS IN ENGLAND. 267 and Portuguese Jews was erected in King's Street, Duke's Place, and a burial-ground at Mile End, now the site of the hospital for the same congregation, taken on a lease for nine hundred and ninety-nine years. Leaving the question, then, as to whether or not an act of readmission really passed, it is evident that the deed of toleration, granted from the Pro- tector individually, did as much for the real interests of the Jews as any formal parliamentary enactment. From that time the Jewish nation have found a se- cure and peaceful home, not in England alone, but in all the British possessions. We shall perceive, as we proceed, that prejudice was still often and vio- lently at work against them ; but though it embit- tered their social position, it did not interfere with their personal security, or prevent the public observ- ance of their faith. The pen of Menasseh Ben Israel had not been idle during this period of solicitation and suspense. Under the title of " Vindicie Judajorum" (" Defence of the Jews"), he published a work in which he ably and fully refuted the infamous charges which in darker ages had been levelled against his brethren. He had received, too, his degree as physician ; and thus united the industry and information requi- site for three professions — literature, commerce, and 268 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. medicine. " He was a man," we are told, " without passion, without levity, and without opulence." Per- severing and independent, full of kindly affection, and susceptible of strong emotion, with all the lofti- ness of the Spanish character, tempered, however, with qualities which gained for him the regard of the best and most learned men of his age. He did not continue in England — though it has been said he was solicited to do so by Cromwell — but rejoined his brother at Middleburg in Zealand, where ho died in the year 1657. The reign of Charles II. beheld the Jews fre- quently attacked and seriously annoyed by popular prejudice ; but their actual position as British sub- jects remained undisturbed. Thomas Violet's peti- tion we have already noticed ; but its vindictive spirit did harm only to its originator. Four years afterwards, the security of their persons and pro- perty being threatened, they appealed to the king, who declared in council, that as long as they de- meaned themselves peaceably, and with submission to the laws, they should continue to receive the same favours as formerly. At Surinam, the following year, the British government, by proclamation, con- firmed all their privileges, guarantied the full enjoy- ment and free exercise of their religion, rites, and ceremonies ; adding, that any summons issued against THE J^WS IN ENGLAND. 269 tliem on their Sabbatlis and holidays should be null and void ; and that, except on urgent occasions, they should not be called upon for any public duties on those days. That civil cases should be decided by their elders, and that they might bequeath their property according to their own law of inheritance. All foreign Jews settling there were recognised as British-born subjects, and included in the above- enumerated privileges. As a proof how strongly the affections of the Hebrews were engaged towards England by this exhibition of tolerance, we may mention that when Surinam was conquered by, and finally ceded to the Dutch, although their privileges were all confirmed by the conquerors, they gave up their homes, synagogues, and lands, and braved all the discomforts of removal, and settled in Jamaica and other English colonies, rather than live under a government hostile to Great Britain.* In 1673 we find prejudice again busy, in an indict- mei>t, charging the Jews with unlawfully meeting for public worship. They again unhesitatingly ap- pealed to the king, petitioning that, during their stay in England, they might be unmolested, or that * Surinam, or Dutch Guiana, situated on the north-eastera coast of South America, is still almost peopled with Jews ; but they are emigrants from the Dutch possessions in Europe, not descendants of the former Anglo-Jewish settlers. 23 270 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. time might be allowed them to "withdraw from the country. Charles, pursuing his previous policy, peremptorily commanded that all proceedings against them should cease ; and during the remainder of his reign no further molestation occurred. On the accession of James II. old prejudices were renewed, and thirty-seven Jewish merchants were arrested on the Exchange for no crime or fault, but simply for their non-attendance on any church. Certain writs in statute 23 of Elizabeth, instituted, probably, to suppress innovations in Protestantism, were the pretext for this aggression. , James, as his brother had done, befriended the Jews ; and summoning a council composed of the highest digni- taries of his realm, both church and laymen, declared " that they should not be troubled on this account, but they should quietly enjoy the free exercise of their religion as long as they behaved themselves dutifully and obediently to the government." The foregoing was the last public annoyance to which they were subjected in England. In 1690, indeed, a petition was sent to King William III. from the council of Jamaica, that all Jews should be made to quit the island ; but it was positively re- fused. And we infer that King William's sentiments towards the Israelites must have been even more favourable than those of his predecessors, from the THE JEWS IN ENGLAND. ■ 271 circmTQstance that a great increase of Jews took place in England during his reign. Until this reign, one synagogue had sufficed ; the service and laws of which were conducted according to the prin- ciples of the Spanish Jews. In 1692 the first Ger- man synagogue was erected in Broad Court, Duke's Place ; and from that time two distinct bodies of Jews, known as Spanish and Portuguese, German and Dutch, have been naturalized in England. , No new privileges were granted them, however, during the reigns of either William or Anne. It is not till the ninth year of George L, 1723, that we can discover a parliamentary acknowledg- ment of their being British subjects ; granting them a privilege, which, in the present age, would appear meagre enough, but which, at the time of its be- stowal, marked a very decided advance in popular enlightenment. " Whenever any of his majesty's subjects, professing the Jeivish religioyi, shall pre- sent themselves to take the oath of abjuration, the words, on the faith of a Christian, shall be omitted out of the said oath ; and the taking of it by such persons professing the Jewish religion without the words aforesaid, in the manner as Jews are admitted to be sworn to give evidence in the courts of justice, shall be deemed a sufficient taking." In the reign of George IT., 1740, another act 272 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. of parliament passed, recognising all Jews who resided in the American colonies, or had served as mariners during the war two years in British ships, as " natural born subjects, without taking the sacra- ment." Thirteen years afterwards, the naturaliza- tion bill passed, but was repealed the year following, according to the petitions of the city of London, and other English towns. Since then the Jews have gradually gained ground in social consideration ; but all attempts to place them on an exact equality with other British subjects of all religious denominations, by removing the disabilities which, the more fondly they cling to the land of their adoption, the more heavily oppress them, have as yet been unavailing. By the multitudes, the Jews are still considered aliens and foreigners ; supposed to be separated by an antiquated creed and peculiar customs from sym- pathy and fellowship — little known and still less understood. Yet they ai'c, in fact, Jews only in their religion — Englishmen in everything else. In point of fact, therefore, the disabilities under which the Jews of Great Britain labour are the last relic of religious intolerance. That which they chiefly complain of is, being subjected to take an oath con- trary to their religious feelings, when appointed to certain ofiices. In being called to the bar, this oath, as a matter of courtesy, is not pressed and a THE JEWS IN ENGLAND. 273 periodical act of indemnity shelters the delinquent. Jews, therefore, now practise at the bar, but only bj sufferance. The same indulgence has not been extended to entering parliament, and consequently no Jew is practically eligible as a member of the House of Commons. Is it not discreditable to the common sense of the age that such anomalies should exist in reference to this well-disposed, and, in every respect, naturalized portion of the community ? SOCIAL ARRANGEMENTS OF THE ENGLISH JEWS. In externals, and in all secular thoughts and actions, the English naturalized Jew is, as already mentioned, an Englishman, and his family is reared with the education and accomplishments of other members of the community. Only in some private and personal characteristics, and in religious belief, does the Jew differ from his neighbours. Many of the British Jews are descended from families who resided some time in Spain ; others trace their origin to families from Germany. There have always been some well-defined differences in the appearance, the language, and the manners of these 23* 274 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. two classes. The Spanish Hebrews had occupied so high a position in Spain and Portugal, that even in their compulsory exile their peculiarly high and honourable principles, their hatred of all meanness, either in thought or act, their wealth, their exclu- siveness, and strong attachment to each other, caused their community to resemble a little knot of Spanish princes, rather than the cowed and bending bargain-seeking individuals usually known as Jews. The constant and enslaving persecution of the German Hebrews had naturally enough produced on their characters a very different effect. Nothing degrades the moral character more effectually than debasing treatment. To regard an individual as in- capable of honour, charity, and truth, as always seek- ing to gratify personal interest, is more than likely to make him such. Confined to degrading employ- ment, with minds narrowed, as the natural conse- quence — allowed no other pursuits than that of usury, with its minor brandies, pawnbroking and old clothes selling — it was not very strange, that when the German Hebrews did make their way into England, and were compelled, for actual subsistence, still to follow these occupations, that their brethren from Spain should keep aloof, and shrink from all connexion with them. Time, however, looks on THE JEWS IN ENGLAND. 275 many curious changes: not only are the mutual prejudices of the Jews subsiding, but the position of the two parties is transposed. The Germans, making good use of peace and freedom, have ad- vanced, not in wealth alone (for that, even when oppressed, they contrived to possess), but in en- lightenment, influence, and respectability. Time, and closer connexions with the Spanish Hebrews, will no doubt produce still further improvements. These distinguishing characteristics, which we have just pointed out, belong, with some modifications, to the poor as well as the rich of these two Jewish sects. The faults of the poor Spanish and Portu- guese Jews are so exactly similar to those of the lower orders of the native Spaniards, that they can easily be traced to their long naturalization in that country. Pride is their predominant and most un- happy failing ; for it not only prevents their advanc- ing themselves, either socially or mentally, but ren- ders powerless every efibrt made for their improve- ment. The Germans, more willing to work, and push forward their own fortunes, and less scrupulous as to the means they employ, are more successful as citizens, and as a class are less difficult to guide. Both parties would be improved by the interchange of qualities. And, comparing the present with the past, there is some reason to believe that this union 276 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. •will be effected on British ground, and that the idle distinctions of Spanish and Portuguese, Dutch and Germans, will be lost and consolidated in the proud designation of British Jews. The domestic manners of both the German and the Spanish Jews in Great Bi'itain, are so exactly similar to those of their British brethren, that, were it not for the observance of the seventh day instead of the first, the prohibition of certain meats, and the celebration of certain solemn festivals and rites, it would be difficult to distinguish a Jevfish from a native household. The characteristics so often assigned to them in tales professing to intro- duce a Jew or a Jewish family, are almost all incor- rect, being drawn either from the impressions of the past, or from some special case, or perhaps from attention to some Pole, Spaniard, or Turk, who may just as well be a Polish or Spanish Christian, or Turkish Mussulman, as a Jew. These great errors in delineation arise from the supposition, that be- cause they are Hebrews they must be different from any other race. They are distinct in feature and religion, but in nothing else. Like the rest of the human race, they are, as individuals, neither wholly good nor wholly bad ; as a people, their virtues very greatly predominate. Even in the lowest and most degraded classes, we never find those awful crimes THE JEWS IN ENGLAND. 277 with which the public records teem. A Jewish mur- derer, adulterer, burglar, or even petty thief, is actually unknown. This may perhaps arise from the fact, that the numerous and well-ordered chari- ties of the Jews prevent those horrible cases of des- titution, and the consequent temptations to sin, from which such a mass of crime proceeds. A Jewish beggar by profession is a character unheard of ; nor do we ever find the blind or deformed belonging to this people lingering about the streets. The virtues of the Jews are essentially of the domestic and social kind. The English are noted for the comfort and happiness of their firesides, and in this loveliest school of virtue, the Hebrews not only equal, but in some instances surpass, their neighbours. From the highest classes to the most indigent, affection-, reverence, and tenderness mark their domestic inter- course. Three, sometimes four generations, may be found dwelling together — the woman performing the blended duties of parent, wife, and child ; the man those of husband, father, and son. As mem- bers of a community, they are industrious, orderly, temperate, and contented ; as citizens, they are faith- ful, earnest, and active ; as the native denizens of Great Britain, ever ready to devote their wealth and personal service in the cause of their adopted land. 278 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. Both the Spanish and German congregations have their respective charities, either founded by benevo- lent individuals, or supported by voluntary contri- butions and annual subscriptions. There are schools for poor children of both sexes and all ages, from the infant too young to walk, to the youth or maiden ready for apprenticeship ; orphan asylums and orphan societies for clothing, educating, maintain- ing, and apprenticing both male and female orphans ; hospitals for the sick, comprising also establishments for lying-in women, and an asylum for the aged; societies, far too numerous to specify by name, for clothing the poor ; for relieving by donations of meat, bread, and coals ; for cheering the needy at festivals; for visiting and relieving poor women, when confined, at their own dwellings, and enabling them to adhere to the rites of their religion in nam- ing their infants ; for allowing the indigent blind a certain sum weekly, which they forfeit if ever seen begging about the streets ; for granting loans to the industrious poor, or gifts if needed ; for outfitting boys who are to quit the country, and granting re- wards for good behaviour to "servants and appren- tices ; for furnishing persons to sit up with the sick poor, and granting a certain sum for the mainte- nance of poor families during the seven days' mourn- ing for the dead, a period by the Jews always kept THE JEWS IN ENGLAND. 279 sacred ; for relieving distressed aliens of the Jewish persuasion ; and, amongst the Portuguese, for grant- ing marriage-portions, twice in the year, to one or more fatherless girls, and for giving pensions to widows. There are also almshouses for twenty-four poor women annexed to the Spanish and Portuguese synagogue, and others in Globe Lane for ten respect- able poor families of the same congregation ; and not many years ago, a philanthropic individual (A. L. Moses, Esq., of Aldgate) erected almshouses for twelve poor families of the German congregation, with a synagogue attached, in Bethnal Green Road, at his own sole expense. When we remember how small is the number of Jewish denizens in the great city of London, com- pared with its Christian population, and observe the variety and number of these charities, we are surely borne out in our assertion, that benevolence is a very marked characteristic of the Jcavs. Nor is it a virtue confined to the rich. Beautiful is that charity which is shown by the poor to the poor, and it is in this that the Jews excel. To relieve the needy, and open the hand wide to their poor brother, is a repeatedly-enforced command of their religion, which they literally and lovingly obey. On the eve of their great festival, the Passover, the door of the poorest dwelling may be found open, an 280 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. extra plate, knife, and fork laid on the frugal table ; and whoever needs food, or even lodging for that holj festival, may freely enter and appropriate to himself the reserved seat. That he may be quite a stranger is of little consequence ; he is a Hebrew, and needy, and is therefore welcome to the same fare as the family themselves partake. Nor are these charities confined only to their own race ; they never refuse assistance, according to their means, whatever may be the creed. Neither prejudiced nor penurious in calls of philanthropy, their heart is open as their hand ; and if they amass gold too eagerly, the fault is in some degree atoned by the use to which it is applied. Nor can it be doubted that as time rolls on, and even the remem- brance of persecution is lost in the peace and free- dom which will be secured them, the mind as well as the heart will be enlarged ; and that, while they shall still retain their energy and skill on the Exchange and in the mart, literature and art will enliven and dignify their hours at home. We may mention as a hopeful symptom the recent establishment of the " Jews' and General Literary and Scientific Institu- tion" (the Sussex Hall of Leadenhall Street). Here Spanish and German Jews meet on common ground ; classes, lectures, and an excellent library are open alike to the artisan, the tradesman, the merchant. THE JEWS IN ENGLAND. 281 the professor, and the idler ; and from the eagerness with which all classes avail themselves of the ad- vantages afforded by the institution, it would appear that its value is duly appreciated. The domestic government of the Hebrews is very simple. Each synagogue is, as it were, a little inde- pendent state, governed by a sort of parliament, con- sisting of parnassim or wardens, gahoy or treasurer, and elders, with an attendant secretary, the congre- gation of the synagogue being like the members of a state. The wardens have the general superin- tendence of all the affairs of thq congregation : the treasurer, the charge of all the sums coming into his hands for the use of the congregation, and of their expenditure. These officers are elected yearly — two wardens being chosen 'about Easter, which is gene- rally the time of the Jewish Passover; and two more, and the treasurer, about Michaelmas, at the conclusion of the Jewish feast of Tabernacles. Four wardens, or parnassim, therefore, act together ; each performing the part of president three months alter- nately, and during the time of his presidency, con- sidered as the civil head of the little community, and receiving certain honours accordingly. The wardens and treasurer, attended by the secretary, whose business it is to take note of their proceedings, and bring cases before them for their 24 . 282 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. consideration, meet once or twice a week, in a large chamber adjoining the synagogue, to make grants of moneys, distribute relief, and endeavour, by strict examination and impartial judgment, to settle all causes and disputes, according to the laws, institu- tions, and penalties of the Jewish state (that is, synagogue), and so prevent the scandal of bringing petty offences and domestic differences before the English law. If, however, they cannot succeed in making peace, or the offence is of so grave a nature as to interfere with the British laws, the offender is indicted before the lord mayor, and must take his trial as any other English subject. When questions of general importance are agi- tated, the gaboy, or treasurer, summons the elders to monthly meetings ; where, in conjunction with the M'ardens, the subject is discussed, and decided by a majority. If the votes are eqiial, the president is allowed the casting vote in addition to his own ; but all resolutions passed at one meeting must be confirmed in the next, to be considered valid. No member of the synagogue can be an elder, unless he has served or been elected a warden or treasurer ; but there are some meetings to which, in the Spanish congregation, all the members of the synagogue are summoned, women as well as men ; all, in short, of either sex, who pay a tax to the THE JEWS IN ENGLAND. 283 synagogue ; the paying of "wliich tax, or finta, as it is called, constitutes a member. There is no fixed assessment, but each member is taxed according to his means. These remarks, however, refer principally to the Spanish and Portuguese congregation ; the Dutch and German diflfers in some minor points, such as having three wardens instead of four, who serve sometimes two years instead of one. And in addi- tion to the wardens and treasurer, they have an overseer of the poor and seven elders, who are an- nually elected from the members of the vesfi-y, and regularly attend at monthly or vestry meetings ; forming, with the honorary officers, wardens, &c., a committee, who deliberate on all matters essential to the congregation. The vestry of the Germans, like the elders of the Portuguese, consists of such members as have previously been elected to the honorary offices. Their duty is to attend all special and quarterly meetings for the general government of the synagogue. In both synagogues, Spanish and German, all members residing within twelve miles of the syna- gogue are eligible for either of the honorary offices, and are elected by ballot ; the president in this, as in other cases, having the casting vote. No election is considered valid without a majority of seven votes. 284 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. The individual elected may or may not accept, but is subject to a fine if he refuse, unless incapacitated for the duties of the office by ill health or old age. Persons above seventy years of age are exempted from the fine. In London, we might almost say in Enghmd, there is but one Spanish and Portuguese synagogue ; that founded by Menasseh Ben Israel in the time of Cromwell. The Germans have so multiplied, that not only have they four or five synagogues in Lon- don, but form a congregation in almost every pro- vincial 'town. It is a rare occurrence to find a family of Spanish or Portuguese extraction esta- blished elsewhere than in London ; but wherever the Germans can discover an opening for business, there they will be found active and persevering, self-satisfied and happy ; ever on the alert for the increase of wealth, and not over-scrupulous as to the means of its acquirement. The synagogues and Jewish congregations, therefore, in the provincial towns, it should be remembered, all belong to this body, and must not be considered as representatives of all the British Jews. Each synagogue belonging to the Germans has its OAvn government of honorary officers, &c., who superintend the affairs of their own congregations, rich and poor. Formerly they were all considered tributary to the great synagogue of THE JEWS IN ENGLAND. 285 Duke's Place ; but tliey are now independent, and the bond of union being one of amity and not of restraint, their individual and several interests have been preserved in mutual harmony. In addition to the already-mentioned officers, each synagogue has two or more deputies, elected every seven years, as representatives of the Jewish nation to the British government. Their duty is to take cognisance of all political and statistical matters concerning the Hebrew communities throughout the British empire. In cases of general national im- portance, they meet together, consult, and then re- porting the result of their deliberations to their elders and constituents, for such in fact are the seve- ral congregations by whom they are elected, and, receiving their assent, they proceed to act on the measures proposed. On all occasions of public re- joicing, as in the accession of a sovereign or national victory, &c., it is the office of the deputies to address the sovereign in the name of all their brethren ; and in cases of petitions for increased privileges for them- selves, or relief for their oppressed nation in other lands — as at the time of the Damascus persecution, or the recent Russian ukase — it is their duty to wait upon the premier, or any of the ministers in office, and request their interference. 24* 286 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. JEWS OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE. In the treatment of the Jews, Great Britain at present occupies a position between the United States of North America, Franco, and Belgium, on the one hand, and Germany and Russia, with some other countries, on the other. In the United States, Jews are eligible to all civil offices ; and there it is far from uncommon to find Jews performing the functions of judges of the higher courts, sheriffs, and members of Congress. All this is exactly as it should be. In France, Jews are likewise eligible for civil offices without violation of conscience ; and also in Belgium, the Jews are not proscribed in the manner they too frequently have been. Religious toleration cannot be said to extend far- ther in continental Europe than through France and the Netherlands. As respects the treatment of Jews, most continental nations are still less or more floundering in the darkness of the middle ages. In many nations the Jews are still liable to insults, oppressions, banishment, and even at intervals to torture and massacre. The same charge of kidnap- ping and murdering Christian children as in Poland, Prussia, and many parts of Germany, constantly fulminated against them — rousing the easily-kindled THE JEWS OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE. 287 ■wrath and hate of the more ignorant, and occasion- ing such assaults as frequently demand the inter- ference of the military to subdue — and the subse- quent discovery that the supposed victim of Jewish bloodthirstiness has fled from the cruelty of Christ- ian masters, found refuge, and kindness, and food in the Jewish households, to which he may have been tracked, and escaped thence, with their friendly aid, into the open country, where, happily for the release of his benefactors from unsparing slaughter, he is discovered and brought back. Repeatedly, however, as this occurs, and not only the innocence but the benevolence of the Jews is firmly established, it has no power to prevent the repetition of the same charges whenever a Christian child disappears : a perseverance in prejudice and perversion of huma- nity scarcely credible in the present day, but proved only too true by the constant Avitness of the conti- nental press. It is very difficult to obtain a just and correct view of the domestic history of the Jews on the con- tinent : scarcely possible, in fact, except by a resi- dence of some weeks in the midst of them. Tra- vellers notice them so casually, and these notices are so coloured with the individual feelings with which they are viewed, that we can glean no satis- factory information except as to their social position, 288 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. ■which has been always that of a people apart. The less privileges they enjoy, the more marked of course this separation becomes. The prejudice on both sides is strengthened ; and to penetrate the sanctu- ary of domestic life and their national government, is impossible. In France and Belgium, as we have seen in England, they are only Jews in the peculiar forms and observances of their religion : in every- thing else of domestic, social, or public life, they are as completely children of the soil as their Christ- ian brethren. Elsewhere on the continent, they are so marked by degrading ordinances, even to their modes of dress, and the localities of their dwellings, that their individual and social identity is known at once, and they are shunned and hated as possessors of the plague. In Rome, the Jews are still confined to one quarter of the town, called the Ghett, which several months in the year is so completely inundated as only to permit egress and ingress by means of boats. In the other towns of Italy, though the quarters of the towns assigned them may be some- what less unhealthy, their social position is the same. In Austria, though Francis I., and after him Joseph II., sought to meliorate their condition, the endea- vour does not appear to have been continued ; for tlie liumiliatins and distressing liabilities to which they are subject in the cmpii'e have degraded them THE JEWS OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE. 289 to the lowest ebb, and, except in a very few instances, uttei'ly prevent their raising themselves, either so- cially or mentally. It so chanced, however, that a wealthy Jew did obtain such favour from the empe- ror, in return for some weighty service, as to be oflFered a patent of nobility, which, with a nobleness of soul needing no empty title to make it more dis- tinguished, he refused, asking in its stead freedom of the city for his sons-in-law (he had no sons, and his daughters were then unmarried). It was granted; and the gift of his daughters obtained for their for- tunate possessors a privilege granted to none other; for the sons-in-law of this honourable Jew are the only free Jewish citizens and merchants of Vienna. In the time of Napoleon, several of the smaller German sovereignties befriended the Jews, issuing ordinances admitting them to many civil rights, ex- empting them from oppressive imposts, and per- mitting them to pursue trade and obtain professor- ships. In gratitude for these unusual privileges, several entered the army of the Allies, formed in 1813 to break the galling yoke of Napoleon, and so distinguished themselves, as to receive as many medals and decorations of honour as their more naturally warlike compatriots. It was only reason- able that, as they performed all the duties of pa- triots and citizens to their respective states, they 290 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. should demand and expect the abolition of all the oppressive enactments made against them in more barbarous times. And we find, in 1815, the Ger- manic Confederation assembled at Vienna, declaring in their sixteenth article, " The diet will take into consideration in what way the civil melioration of the JeAvs may best be effected, and in particular how the enjoyment of all civil rights, in return for the performance of all civil duties, may be most effect- ually secured to them in the states of the Confede- ration. In the mean time the professors of this faith shall continue to enjoy the rights already ex- tended to them." From the present condition of the Jews in Ger- many, however, this would appear mere words. With the cessation of the call for their patriotism from the general amnesty, the recollection of their services also ceased, and no decided means ever seems to have been taken to secure to them the pro- mised privileges. The great trading towns, Ham- burg, Lubcck, Bremen, and especially Frankfort-on- Maine, never showed even the profession of friend- liness towards them. The jealousy awakened by that spirit of commercial enterprise, so peculiarly a Jewish characteristic, continues still, and effectually retards their social consideration ; rivalry in com- merce being unhappily as great a fosterer of preju- THE JEWS OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE. 291 dice as the ignorance of former years. In Frank- fort, until. ;i very few years ago, so heavily were they oppressed, that if any Jew, even of the most vene- rable age, did not take off his hat to the mere child- ren of Christian parents, he was pelted with stones, and insulted by terms of the grossest abuse, for which there was neither redress nor retaliation ; and this was but one of those social humiliations, the constant pressure of which must at length degrade their subjects to the narrow mind, closed-up heart, and sole pursuit of self-interest of which they are accused. .The impoverished condition of the nobles and princes of the soil, during the late war, fre- quently compelled them to part with their estates to the only possessors of ready money — the Jews. When the immediate pressure of want had subsided, it was naturally galling to men, as proud as they were poor, to behold the castles and lands, the heri- tage of noble German families through many centu- ries, enjoyed by men of neither rank nor education, and whose sole consideration was great wealth. The very moans b}^ which that wealth was obtained — contracts entered into with the French emperor — increased the dislike of all classes towards them, heightened by the presumption and ostentation they displayed. In 1820 riots broke out against them at Meningen, at Wurtzburg, and extended along the 292 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. Rhine. Hamburg, and still farther northward, as far as Copenhagen, caught the infection ; and so serious were the disturbances, so sanguinary the in- tentions of aroused multitudes, that it demanded the utmost vigilance of the various governments to pre- vent the nineteenth century from becoming a repeti- tion of the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth cen- turies. The very cry which was the signal for the old massacres, and which, once heard, was as certain doom to the hapless Jew as if the sword was already at his throat — "Hep! hep!" from the initials of the old Crusade cry, " Hierosolyma est perdita !" [" Jerusalem is lost !"] — was revived on this occa- sion ; a curious fact, as full four centuries had elapsed since it had last been heard. Nine years later, we are told that " when the states of Wirtem- berg were discussing a measure which extended civil rights to the Israelites, the populace of Stutt- gard surrounded the Hall of Assembly with savage outcries of ' down with the Jews !' The states, how- ever, calmly maintained their dignity, continued their sittings, and eventually passed the bill." When we remember that this fanatical outbreak of prejudice took place scarcely twenty years ago, we may have some idea of the social position of the Jews in Germany. Notwithstanding its humiliating nature, however, they have shared the advancement THE JEWS OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE. 293 of the age in the zealous cultivation of intellect and art. The extraordinary genius of their great coun- tryman, Moses Mendelsohn, who flourished in the eighteenth century — the boldness with which he had flung aside the trammels of rabbinism, and the prejudices ai'ising from long ages of persecution, making himself not only a name amongst the first of German literati, but forming friendships with Lessing, Lavater, and other great spirits of the age, completely destroying in his own person the unso- cial spirit of his nation — had given an impulse to the Jews which even the excitement of the war, and its vast resources for amassing wealth, had not the power to diminish. German, and the other modern languages, which, until the master-mind of Mendel- sohn appeared, had been considered profane, and therefore neglected, are now zealously cultivated, the literature of each appreciated and studied. They attend the universities, and have greatly advanced in all the departments of mental and physical science ; thus proving that when the Jews appear so devoted to interest alone, as to neglect all the higher and more intellectual pursuits, it is position, not character, that is at fault. In the earlier ages we find them, in the brief intervals of peace, not merely merchants of splendour and opu- lence, but the sole physicians, sole teachers, sole 25 294 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. ministers of finance in their respective realms to nobles and princes. Their superior intelligence and education at a period when it was rare for nobles and kings, and even the clergy, to write their names, marked them out for offices of trust, which they never failed to execute with ability and skill. And it is notorious that the ambassador between the Catholic Emperor Charlemagne, and the no less famous Mohammedan potentate, Haroun al Raschid, holding in his sole trust the political interests of Europe and Asia — for at that time the princes we have named might be justly considered the representatives of the two continents — was neither knight, noble, nor prince, but simply Isaac, a Jew ! But when these breathing-times had passed, when kings and princes needed wealth, and their exhausted coffers could only be replenished by the treasures of the Jews — when the multitude asked but a rumour to fan suppressed hatred to a flame — the horrors of persecution recommenced ; the ser- vices of the Jews were forgotten ; and statute after statute, each more degrading than the last, bound them to such a position, such pursuits, that they became ignorant of their own power themselves, and made no effort to prove themselves other than they were believed. But the power was quenched — not lost ; and it is bursting forth again with re- THE JEWS OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE. 295 newed vigour wherever it has scope for development and growth. There is a street in Frankfort-on-Maine called the Juden Strauss, or Jews' Street, in which the houses look so aged and poverty-stricken, that to walk down it almost seems to transport one to the middle ages, and recalls all the painful stories of the Jews of that time, and the marvellous tale of the lavish splendour and great wealth which these hovel-like entrances concealed ; the affectation of poverty and abject misery assumed, not from any miserlike propensities in themselves, but to deceive their cruel foes, to whom the scent of wealth was always the signal for blood. In this street, dui-ing the late war, dwelt an honest, hardworking Jew, little regarded by his fellows of his own or the Christian faith ; he was poorer than the generality of his brethren, and there was nothing in his ap- pearance or manner to denote a more than common mind. How it happened that he was selected as the guardian of certain moneys and treasures be- longing to a German prince, whom the • fate of war had caused to fly from his possessions, does not ap- pear ; but certain it is that the trust was willingly accepted and nobly fulfilled. The confusion and alarm of the French invasion, and the various revo- lutions in Germany thence proceeding, extended to 296 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. Frankfort. Many of the Jews were pillaged ; for wealth being imagined synonymous with the word Jew, they were less likely to escape than any. The Jew we have mentioned was amongst the number, but so effectually were the prince's treasures concealed, that their existence was not even suspected. And when the tumult had ceased, and Frankfort was again left to its own quiet, the Jew's own little pro- perty had greatly diminished, but his tt'ust was un- touched. Some few years passed ; the pillaging of Frankfort had reached the ears of the dispossessed prince, and he quietly resigned himself to the belief that his own treasures had shared the common fate, or at least had been appropriated by the Jew to atone for his own losses. As soon as he could, he returned to his country, but he was so fully possessed with the idea that he was utterly impoverished, that he made no effort at first even to inquire after the fate of his property. His astonishment — which, how- ever, admiration and gratitude equalled — may be conceived when he received from the hands of the Jew the whole untouched ; some assert with the full interest of certain sums which his necessities had compelled him to use ; but this is traditional. "We can only vouch for the truth as far as the immediate undiminished return of the whole property as soon THE JEWS OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE. 297 as claimed. The effects of this honourable conduct can be traced to this day in the whole financial world. The prince was not of that easy nature to be satisfied with the mere expressions of gratitude. He spread the tale — which, regarded as an utter con- tradiction to the imagined characteristic usurious practices of the Jews, appeared far more extraordi- nary than it really was — over all the courts of Ger- many. From them it spread to other kingdoms: the Jew found himself suddenly withdrawn from obscurity, and all his talents for financial enterprise — of the extent of which, perhaps, he had been igno- rant himself till the hour found the man — called into play. Not only did he amass such wealth him- self as perhaps sometimes to cause a smile at the treasures which had seemed of such moment to their owner, but his family, ennobled, accomplished, prince-like in their establishments and position, may be found scattered in almost every European court, and acknowledged on every Exchange as the great movers of the money market of the world. But the widow of their founder, now nearly a century old, refuses all state or grandeur : she receives the visits of her descendants, but in the same lowly dwelling that beheld the rise and growth of her 25 * 298 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. husband's fortunes — in the old dilapidated Juden Strasse of Frankfort. While Poland was an independent sovereignty, the Jews there had greater privileges than in any other European kingdom except Spain ; and in fact many Spanish and Portuguese refugees fled to that country when expelled from their own. A charter is still extant, made by Duke Bodislas, who flour- ished in the thirteenth century, protecting them from oppressions of every kind, and breathing a spirit of toleration and benevolence strangely con- trasting with the cruel enactments of contemporary sovereigns. The love said to be borne by Casimir, the great-grandson of Bodislas, for a Jewish girl, occasioned the confirmation of this deed. And even when, at a later period, and in the first heat of the controversy between the Catholics and Protestants, the latter faith was prohibited, the Jews still re- mained unmolested. They formed the only middle class of the kingdom, and, as such, were the sole engrossers of traffic, constituting in several towns and villages nearly the whole of the population. They had numerous academies, where, however, the rabbinical, more than general learning, was made a first object. Poland might at that time have been termed the scat of rabbinism, for nowlierc were the traditions more considered, nor its teachers more THE JEWS OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE. 299 revered. Jewish parents from all quarters sent their sons to the Polish schools, satisfied that there they must attain all the necessary knowledge. With the dismemberment of Poland, the privileges of the Jews ceased. Prussia and Austria have often made professions of toleration, but there is little evidence in the condition of the Jews under either government to prove it. Nor was it likely that the Polish Jews should be the favoured portion of the emperor of Russia's Polish subjects, to be excluded from oppression. Mr. Herschel has thus graphically delineated their miserable condition : — " They are driven from place to place, and not permitted to live in the same street where the so-called Christians reside. It not unfrequently happens that one or more w-ealthy Jews have built commodious houses in any part of a town not hitherto prohibited ; this affords a reason for proscribing them. It is imme- diately enacted that no Jew must live in that quarter of the city; and they are forthwith driven from their houses, without any compensation for their loss. They are oppressed on every side, yet dare not complain ; robbed and defrauded, yet obtain no redress. In the walk of social life, insult and con- tempt meet them at every turning. The very children in the streets often throw stones at the most respect- 300 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. able Jews, and call them the most opprobrious names, unchecked and unrebuked." The late ukase, which, for the fault of one or two individuals, condemned 50,000 Jews to a doom far worse than the famous edict of expulsion from Spain in 1492, but too fearfully confirms this account. Banished from their dwellings, cast out from all trade, all employment, even from the poor occupation of breaking stones on the highway, by which three hundred families earned scarcely dry bread — not permitted to leave the kingdom, but sentenced to inhabit not only the most unhealthy part of the in- terior, but a space of ground not large enough to accommodate half their number, they perished by thousands ; and the misery of the survivors it needs a powerful pen to picture. There was no escape, no hope, no remedy. The decree of a single indi- vidual sentenced 50,000 of his harmless subjects to a fate than which the slaughters and massacres of the middle ages were almost merciful. And this horrible ukase is of so late a date, that neith^ its execution nor its misery can yet be looked on as the past. We would gladly turn from this melancholy pic- ture : but the history of the continental Jews is almost all the same. In the Mohammedan king- THE JEWS OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE. 301 doms, indeed, they have enjoyed a toleration which might shame many a Christian sovereignty; the extreme indolence of the Musselmans assisting in permitting them to obtain the almost exclusive trade of the Levant. Subject as they are to the oppression of individuals — sultans and pashas — needing wealth or excitement, still these are but temporary misfortunes. Their general position in the Ottoman provinces, both of Europe and Asia, is one of more security, peace, and consideration, than in contemporary and more enlightened king- doms. Scattered as they are all over the world, literally from north to south, and east to west, and in all the corners and islands of the globe, forming colo- nies, or being already domiciled in every newly- discovered land, yet America now seems their con- tinental central home. They have there privileges and freedom in common with any and every other faith ; they are debarred from no social advan- tages ; can enjoy piiblic honours, and perform public duties. Professions, military, naval, and civil, are open to them, and all the various branches of com- merce and trade. It is rather a remarkable coincidence, that the very year in which the Jews were expelled from Spain — the country which had been to them a 302 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. second Judea — Christopher Columbus discovered America, the land which was to be to these perse- cuted people a home of security and freedom, such as they then could never have even hoped to enjoy. The edict of expulsion from Spain was never re- called ; but yet, though outwardly and professedly the most rigidly Catholic kingdom of Europe, it was actually peopled with Jews, though with great secrecy. Many families now naturalized in England trace their descent, and in no very remote degree, from individuals whose history in Portugal and Spain have all the elements of romance. About the middle of the eighteenth century, a merchant, whom we will call Garcias, though that was not his real name, resided in Lisbon, commanding the respect and con- sideration of all classes from his upright character, lavish generosity, and great wealth. He conducted his family, consisting of a wife, two young daugh- ters, and a large establishment of domestics, so exactly in accordance with th*e strictly orthodox principles of Catholicism, that for several years all suspicion had been averted. How he contrived, with so many jealous eyes upon him, to adhere to the rigid essentials of the Jewish faith — keeping the festivals and Sabbaths, never touching prohibited meats, and celebrating the solemn fast once a year THE JEWS OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE. 303 — must now and for ever remain a mystery. We only know that it was done, and not only by him, but by hundreds of other families. At length sus- picion was aroused. It wg-s the eighth birthday of his younger daughter, celebrated with music and dancing, and all the glad festivities which such occa- sions call forth in an affectionate and generously- conducted household. His elder daughter, a young girl of sixteen, was engaged to the son of a friend, also in prosperous business in Lisbon, and life had never smiled more hopefully on Garcias than it did that night. In the midst of the festive scene, the merchant was called out to speak with some strangers, who waited on business — important business they said — which could not be delayed. He descended to the hall of entrance ; the strangers threw off their cloaks, and appeared in the garb and with the war- rant of the Holy Office, authorized to demand and enforce the surrender of his person. From the very midst of his family, friends, and household, he was borne to the prisons of the Inquisition, and there remained without any communication with the outer world, without even knowing the fate of his family, for an interval of eight years. He was several times examined — a word in the present instance syno- nymous with torture, always applied to compel a 304 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. confession of Judaism, which confiscated the -whole property of the accused to the use and pleasure of his accusers — hut Garcias was as firm and unflinch- ing as his examiners. Neither torture nor imprison- ment could succeed in obtaining one word which could betray the real truth, and condemn him as a secret Jew. The devices to which he resorted to beguile his imprisonment might fill a moderate-sized volume ; we have only space to mention one or two. His peculiarly gracious and winning manner, his cour- teous and gentle speech, which never changed, tried as he must have been by a variety of sorrows and anxieties in this weary interval, won him so far the regard of his jailor as to permit his employments to pass unnoticed, when otherwise they would undoubt- edly have been forbidden. Undoing with some degree of care one of his own knitted socks gave him not only the materials but the knowledge how, if he could but contrive the necessary implements, to knit a smaller pair from it. By excessive patience and perseverance he so sharpened the lid of a metal snuff-box as to serve for a knife, and with this he contrived to fashion a pair of knitting-needles from the bones of a chicken which had served him for dinner. With these he knitted socks for children, and presented them to the jailor for the use of his THE JEWS OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE. 305 family. His next wish was for the implements of writing, which, more rigidly than anything else, were denied him. His urbanity and his presents, however, permitted him the secret acquirement of some paper, the jailor quieting his conscience per- haps by the idea that no evil could come of it, as pen and ink it was quite impossible for the prisoner to make, and equally impossible, unless he wished to lose his situation, for him to grant. But Gar- cias's was not a mind to rest quiet without some effort for the accomplishment of his wishes. The snuff-box, knife, and chicken-bones were again in requisition, and a pen was successfully formed. The ink, or at least its substitute, was rather more diffi- cult, but necessity is always a sharpener of intel- lect, and even this was accomplished. He made a hole in the brick flooring of his prison, and supplied it regularly with lamp-black, procured from the lamp, which, as an unusual indulgence, was per- mitted him every evening. With these rough ma- terials, carefully secreted even from his friend the jailor, he beguiled his confinement with writing seve- ral plays and dramas, mostly on Scriptural subjects, which are still in the possession of his family, and display the elastic and versatile mind of the man as strongly as his urbane and gracious manner; his humorous gayety, which never failed him even in 26 306 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. prison, and his enduring patience, evince his calm and collected dignity of character. In the seventh or eighth year of his imprisonment, the great earthquake of 1755, which almost de- stroyed the whole of Lisbon, took place. The con- fusion and ruin extending to the prisons of the Inquisition, caused the guards and officials hurriedly to disperse, and left the gates open to the several prisoners. Many fled, but in so doing sealed their own doom ; for they were mostly all retaken, and their flight pronounced sufficient evidence of their guilt to condemn their persons, and confiscate their whole property. Garcias knew, or suspected this, and quietly abode in his prison, attempting no escape, and apparently regardless of the dangers around him. After this, all attempts to compel a con- demnation of himself appear to have ceased, and he was restored to his family. So little had his danger and various trials afifected him, that he would have continued calmly to pursue his business in Lis- bon as before, if his elder daughter had not besought him on her knees, and with tears, to fly from such a city of horror. The unknown destiny of her father had of course prevented all thought of the fulfilment of her marriage engagement : and not long after Garcias's summons, the parents of her betrothed were in the Inquisition likewise, and THE JEWS OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE. 307 Podriques, the young man himself, compelled to fly. So much secrecy and caution were necessary effectually to conceal all trace of such fugitives, that no communication could pass between the betrothed. She had not even an idea of the country which had given him refuge, nor of his means of subsistence. His mother, not herself an actual prisoner, was an inmate of the Holy Office, as a voluntary attendant on her husband, and twice herself exposed to immi- nent danger, both times foreshadowed by an extra- ordinary dream. Once she fancied herself in the arena of a bull-fight, exposed to all the horror of an attack from one of these savage animals, without any means of defence. The bull came roaring and foaming towards her ; death seemed inevitable, and in its most fearful shape, when suddenly the infu- riated animal stopped in its mad career, and laid itself quietly as a pet dog at her feet. She awoke with the strong feeling of thankfulness, as if some real danger had been averted, and the impression of this strange and peculiarly vivid dream remained till its foreshadowing seemed fulfilled. She was summoned to the "question," by her evidence to condemn her husband ; the instruments of torture were produced, and actually about to be applied, when the surgeon interfered with the assertion that she was not in a state of health to bear them, and 308 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. she was remanded, and not recalled. In her second dream, she was alone on the summit of a high tower, which suddenly seemed to give way beneath her, leaving nothing but space between the battlements where she stood and the ground several hundred yards below, causing the fearful dyead of immediate precipitation and death, yet still as if the doom were averted by her being upheld by some invisible power, and aid and a safe descent permitted, the means of which the vagary of her dream seemed utterly to prevent her ascertaining. Not long afterwards, the great earthquake already mentioned took place. She was in one of the upper chambers of the Inqui- sition at the time of the first shock, and rushing out on the landing with her infant in her arms, found, to her horror and consternation, that the staircase had disappeared, and nothing but space lay between her and the basement story, her only means of escape into the open air. While gazing with horror on her terrible position, the recollection of her dream re- turned to her, and she felt strengthened by faith that she and her child would both be preserved, though how, she could not indeed imagine. A few minutes passed, and then came a second shock, restoring the staircase to its place ; and in little more than a minute the awe-struck but grateful woman was in safety. THE JEWS OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE. 309 Incredible as this story seems, we have neither added nor diminished one item of the real truth, and our romance of real life is not quite concluded. Garcias and his family went to England, and not long afterwards the release of Podriques permitted him and his wife, the heroine of the above escape, to do the same. There they were joined by their son, and a brief interval beheld the nuptials of the long-betrothed, long-severed, whose children still survive. It would be wrong to dismiss the anecdote without mentioning it as our belief that all intelli- gent Roman Catholics of the present day disclaim the propriety of perpetrating such acts of oppres- sion, and as earnestly sympathize with the Jews as any class of the community. Such is the history of a people who, though for so many years denizens and subjects of this free and happy land, are yet regarded as aliens and strangers ; and still, unhappily but too often, as objects of rooted prejudice and dislike. To trace this prejudice to its origin might be difficult ; for it would be hard to say it proceeded from ignorance, when it is so often found amongst the educated classes. Yet ignorance in reality it is. The peculiar religion 26* 310 ESSAYS AND MISCELLANIES. of the Hebrews, and their habit of worshipping apart, keeps them strangers in a great degree to the community at large. But whenever it so hap- pens that the interdicted circle of a Jewish family is entered, and its inmates known, prejudice is sure to give way. The faults of the Hebrews, such as they are, may be traced, in a great measure at least, to the degrading influence of long-continued perse- cution, which they suffered from the bigotry of ancient barbarism, in this and in other countries. Now, however, the British empire has given the exiles of Judea a home of peace and freedom, and that they feel towards her an affection and reve- rence as strong and undying as any of her native sons, it is to be hoped that the prejudices against the Jews will ultimately disappear with the dawn of an era in which all Englishmen, however differ- ently they may pray to the Great Father of all, shall yet, so long as they fail not in duty to their country and to each other, be regarded as the com- mon children of one soil. THE END. 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