CONVERSION No. SSS OP DR. ^APADOSE, A JEWISH PHYSICIAN OF AMSTERDAM; AUTHOR OF THE TREATISE “JEHOVAH JESUS,” &c. Written by himself at the request of Rev. Prof. Pettatel and others, Neuchatel, Switzerland. ABRIDGED PKOM THE FRENCH OP THE SOCIETIES OF THE FRIENDS OP ISRAEL AT TOULOUSE AND NEUCHATEL. PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY, 150 NASSAU-STREET, NEW-YORK. D, Fanehawy Printer. 2 CONVERSION OF DR. CAPADOSE. Dr> Capadosc’s Journey with his Mother. So much agitation, (he says,) joined to the ardent desire I experienced to confess my Saviour openly, terminated by shattering a constitution that had never been remarkably vigorous. My uncle having advised me to go avray for several weeks and breathe the country air, I readily em¬ braced his proposition. My excellent mother, who had always loved me with a peculiar affection, was determined to accompany me. In this life of repose, at liberty to pur¬ sue the train of my thoughts, I felt myself urged to com¬ municate freely to my mother. One day, when I was walking alone with her, I opened the conversation on re¬ ligion ; at first, however, with trembling and hesitation. "You see, mothei%” said 1, "that I am much occupied with the study of the Bible : do you know that the prophe¬ cies may have been accomplished, and the Christians have reason on their side V’ " Whoever acts from a sense of duty is agreeable to God,” was my mother’s reply ; ” and you, my son,” con¬ tinued she, ” take care that you are not carried away by your enthusiasm and ardent imagination.” She then changed the topic of conversation, carefully avoiding every thing that might bring it up again. I thought she had not comprehended what I at heart wished to com¬ municate ; but my mother, a calm, reflecting woman, re¬ membered my words ; and, at the end of several weeks, on our return to town, this poor mother, (Lord ! forgive her, for she knew not what she did,) taking my brother aside, disclosed to him what had passed between us, and strongly exhorted him to be on his guard against seduction. Cbargcd wiUi cruelty to his Mother. One day, under the paternal roof, (says Dr. C.) my father, whose fiery temper had often burst out against me, took ray arm and led me into the chamber of my poor mother, who was ill from chagrin. I see her, even now, seated in a cor¬ ner, and absorbed in profound sadness ; she was cast down with grief. " You see her,” said he ; ” this is your work ; you are your mother’s murderer.” You may conceive ray feelings in this situation ; never had I experienced a like emotion, and I must avow, that what persecution could never do, the terrible sufferings of my poor mother might have at last attained. I felt ray faith shaken, and that the No. 3S8, See page 3 of cover. No. 388. CONVERSION OF DR. CAPADOSE, A JEWISH PHYSICIAN OF AMSTERDAM; AUTHOR OF THE TREATISE “ JEHOVAH JESUS," &c. Written by himself at the request of Rev. Prof, Pettavel and others, Neuchatel, Switzerland. ABRIDGED FROM THE FRENCH OF THE SOCIETIES OF THE FRIENDS OF ISRAEL AT TOULOUSE AND NEUCHATEL. No, my dear friends, I will no longer decline to meet your pressing demands, or to fulfil the engagement under which you have placed me, to relate to you how it pleased the Grod of all grace to call me to the knowledge of him¬ self, and bring me from darkness to his marvellous light. My soul is vividly, is deeply convinced, that it has never of itself sought the Lord ; but that the arm of his compas¬ sion was extended to it while in its lost condition. It would then be false modesty to refuse you that which, communicated in conversation, appeared somewhat edify¬ ing to many dear friends, who saw in it the Saviour’s un¬ speakable love for so wretched a sinner, and felt them¬ selves urged to glorify his name. By birth a Portuguese Jew, I was, nevertheless, far from being a zealot in the cause of the religion of my an¬ cestors. My education had been moral rather than reli¬ gious, inspiring me withJiorror of vice, and love for what the world styles virtue; but the goodness of God alone preserved me from open impiety, somewhat later in life. At an early age I was ardently engaged in the pursuit of literature and science: though living in society, and 4 CONVERSION OF DR. CAPADOSE, (2S sake of decorum, nothing affected me in the least; on the contrary, those heartless ceremonies, that want of respect, those shouts, those discordant songs, and the use of a tongue unknown to more than three-fourths of the assem- bly—all this spiritless and lifeless display so disgusted me that I no longer attended regularly ; for I had ever abhor¬ red hypocrisy. ; Nevertheless, to give us a change, and as if he had caught a glimpse of what was about to happen some years later, the tempter put it into the heart of my friend, and mine, to alter our mode of life. Both of us enemies to half measures, and not being able to suit ourselves with this modern Judaism, which had invented the art of taking up, or laying aside, according to convenience, the differ¬ ent injunctions of the Mosaic law, we firmly resolved to become true Israelites, rigid observers of every article of the law, intimidated by no authority, and compelling even Christians to respect the Jewish nation. National pride, that sentiment which in boyhood led me to say to my good mother, on seeing her afflicted, " Be consoled, mother; when I am grown up, I will carry you to Jerusalemincreased amazingly at this epoch, and took the place of every other emotion. It was in this disposition of heart, and with these reso¬ lutions, that we undertook the assiduous reading of the Bible. But, O disgrace! O wretchedness of the uncon¬ verted soul ! we could go no further than Genesis ! In¬ cessant irony, a spirit of mockery, and often even (Lord, enter not into judgment with us!) blasphemy was upon our lips while engaged in prayer. And this was carried to such a height that I ended by saying to my friend, that it were better to renounce our reading than to conduct it in this manner. Our plans for eminence in the Jewish religion vanished like smoke. The termination of my professional studies was at hand : this was in ISIS. I took my degree in me- 29) CONVERSION OF DR. CAPADOSE. 5 dicine, and left the academy where my time had not been altogether wasted. I returned to my native city, Amster¬ dam, full of high expectations for the future : a fair and honorable career seemed to open before me. I had an uncle, one of the first physicians of Holland, a literary man, and justly esteemed by the best families. He possessed public confidence, not only as a physician, but also on account of his social relations. Without children, he took me home to be his son and successor. I was soon introduced to a rich circle of families; very worthy and honorable, doubtless, but with whom Christianity was no¬ thing more than an exterior profession, attended by a life altogether worldly. Although for some years I had been oftener in the so¬ ciety of Christians than in that of my fellow-religionists, I am sure that none ever spoke to me of Christianity. My friends and young colleagues, with whom I often passed several evenings of the week, did not appear to have the smallest idea of religion. I remember that once, the con¬ versation falling on Christianity, they made a display of their infidelity, and spoke with very little respect of the Lord Jesus Christ. I expressed my astonishment; add¬ ing, that I, a Jew, did not believe in Jesus Christ; but that, in my opinion, every Christian who, disbelieving that Jesus Christ is God, still continued to offer prayer and homage to him, was an idolater. One of these young physicians was happily converted some years later: he recalled to my mind the conversation of that evening, and assured me how confused he had been, that so severe and yet so merited an apostrophe should be uttered by the mouth of a Jew. He is at this time one of my dear brethren in Jesus Christ, and walks with much faith and fidelity. How admirable are thy ways, O Lord ! and thy judgments, how righteous ! Nevertheless, in the midst of daily increasing occupa¬ tions, though surrounded by all the comforts of life, I was 6 CONVERSION OF DR. CAPADOSE. (30 far from being inwardly happy. The desire of knowledge, the thirst after scientific truths augmented within me, as worldly pleasures daily grew more sickening. But all my researches, all my studies, all my endeavors to satisfy the internal want that tormented me, continued fruitless, and left a frightful void in my soul. During long sleepless nights, occasioned by an oppres¬ sion of the chest, of which I had been a frequent sufferer in my youth, I asked myself, in the midst of sad reflec¬ tions, why I was on the earth ? " What is man V’ said I to myself. " Should I not be a thousand times happier if ’ I were only an inferior creature, an inhabitant of the air, a worm of the earth ! It is true I should move in a nar¬ rower sphere ; but then I should not undergo what I am now suffering in mind and body.” Many a time, at the close of my evening prayer, which I uttered aloud, my^ heart added, " would that this were the last day of my life!” I have preserved the correspondence that I held with two of my friends : the contents of their letters vividly re¬ calls to mind my sufferings at that time. One of these letters commences with these words; " I cannot express to you, dear friend, the shock your letter has given me. Your melancholy seems to assume the character of despair; and what must be the consequence with a constitution so feeble and a heart so sensitive as yours 1 No, your body cannot hold out, dear friend; I fear that you will soon succumb,” &c. Then follows some advice, which, though dictated by the kindest friendship, was yet wanting in what consti¬ tutes the spirit of all true consolation. My mode of life dissatisfied me. Eager in quest of truth ; seeking every where a certain principle, there was not a day of my life passed without, alas ! the deplorable necessity of acknowledging the uncertainty of the science to which I was devoted. I enjoyed, indeed, the confidence of my patients; and, by the grace of God, was what is 31 ) CONVERSION OF DR. CAPADOSE. 7 called a fortunate physician ; yet I passed my days in pain¬ ful constraint. My uncle, the worthy old gentleman in whose house I was residing, fatigued by the numerous occupations of the day, was not pleased to see me consecrating the evening hours to study. Impatient to give myself up to some oc¬ cupation more suited to my taste, I w'^as free only at night, and thus contracted the habit of sitting up till a very late hour. Nevertheless, all this midnight labor left still exist¬ ing in my heart the frightful void which so embittered life. It was not that I felt any disquietude for my sins; assuredly not, for in that case I should have shuddered to demand death : I was under the weight and curse of sin, without suspecting it, or even seeking a remedy. One day, going to see my intimate friend, who was just married, I found that he had received a letter from our celebrated professor, with whom he kept up a literary correspondence. " Will you listen to his letter,” said he, ” and hear with what fine verses he addresses me 1” Will¬ ingly, I replied. The lines, in which he described with energy and fervor the glorious hopes of Israel, were in truth sublime: they ended with this apostrophe:—” If thou, dear friend, the Christian’s name will take, contented I’ll my spirit yield. My life were a small boon to give for thy soul’s sake !” At these words, pronounced in a low tone, I felt my in¬ dignation aroused ; it appeared to me that my friend had not been sufficiently shocked at them. ” Take care,” said I, " there is a plan formed to seduce us and then hastily departed. The whole day my mind remained absorbed and lost in meditation. I could not conceive how a man of such profound science could believe in the Christian religion; nor how one, who, for so many years, had kept up the closest intimacy with me, without ever speaking to us of Christi¬ anity ; who even appeared to have so much respect for 8 CONVERSfON OP DR. CAPADOSE. . (32 the Old Testament, should suddenly resolve to speak to my friend in this tone. My heart, naturally inclined to mistrust, saw here only an adroit attempt to seduce us from our religion, and I suffered from the thought that my friend did not partake thoroughly of my indignation. From that day J took up the word of God with the inten¬ tion (f examining it. My friend did the same; and after¬ wards, whenever we walked out together, our conversation turned on passages of Scripture that especially fixed our attention. Having begun with the Gospel according to Matthew, I was struck, in the commencement, on seeing how this evangelist, very far from reversing the authority of the Old Testament, rested upon it, on the contrary, as his basis, and proposed nothing more than to prove the unity of the two Testaments in the accomplishment of the prophecies. In this way many months passed, when, more and more encouraged to pursue researches that daily afforded us greater interest, we resolved to effect what we had at¬ tempted some years earlier, though with a very different disposition of heart: it was to meet as often as possible, to read together and communicate our doubts and reflections to each other. To this effect we retired to a corner of the paternal mansion ; and it is not without vivid emotion, nor without adoring the goodness and wisdom of God, that I recall the remembrance of those happy moments, those hours so agreeable and so blessed, that we passed toge¬ ther, as it were in the presence of the God of our fathers. Our zeal and interest increased as we advanced. My mind, wearied with fruitless researches, beheld a vast and untried field open before it, into which it entered with an ardor and irresistible attraction that I recognized later as the expression of my heavenly Father’s love, by which He draws to his dearly beloved Son the souls he would save. This meditation on the word of God became at length the most urgent want of my heart. It was not enough that I 53 ) CONVERSION OP OR. CAPADOSE. 9 knew the truth, I felt the need of possessing it and living on its substance. Although I could not then discern clearly what was passing within me, nevertheless I remember to have had moments of rapture at^he thought that I could perceive in my path visible marks of divine assistance and protec¬ tion. One day, when my friend and I were together, oc¬ cupied with our accustomed researches, my brother sur¬ prised us ; he saw on the table, alongside of the open Bible, a Spanish author, the only work of human origin we pe¬ rused with the word of God. He opened the book and read the title. It was ''Defense de la foi chretienne;” ('' a defence of the Christian faith,”) by Professor Hey- deck. He read only these words : '' Defense de la foi,”— (” defence of the faith.”) '' What are you engaged in every day together?” asked he, replacing the book; ” do you de¬ sire to become Rabbis ?” Then changing the subject, he left us. Here we saw the protecting hand of God ; for if my brother had read the whole title, we should have been discovered ; at least, the suspicion of our families would have rested on us. On another occasion I was in my uncle’s library, and ever eager to meet with something relating to that which occupied me incessantly, I ran my eye impatiently over a multitude of books, to find one that would tell me some¬ thing in regard to Christianity. At last I discovered a large folio, entitled,'' The Works of Justin Martyr.” Although this writer was at that time entirely unknown to me, the title of Martyr excited a hope that I should find in it some¬ thing relating to Christianity. I opened it, and the first paragraph on which ray eye rested was the ” Dialogue with Trypho the Jew’' I lead it hastily, and found there a succinct exposition of the prophecies relating to the Mes¬ siah, which was very useful to me. Here was very evi¬ dently another interposition of Providence, and my heart was deeply touched with it. 10 CONVERSION OF DR. CAPADOSE. (34 One night I was reading the prophet Isaiah : when I came to the fifty-third chapter, the perusal of it made so vivid an impression upon me, and showed me so clearly, and, as it were, feature by feature, what I had read in the Gospel of the sufferings of Christy that I actually thought some other Bible had been substituted in the place of my own : 1 could not be persuaded that this fifty-third chap¬ ter, which may be justly styled a Gospel in brief, formed a part of the Old Testament, On reading this, it seemed impossible for a Jew to doubt that Christ was the promised Messiah. » Whence came so strong an impression ? I had often read this same chapter, but this time I read it with the light of God’s Spirit, From that hour I fully recognized in Christ the true Messiah, and our meditations on the word of God took a new turn. This was, as it were, the beginning, the aurora of a glorious day to our souls : the light continually spread'tnore of its vivifying rays, enlight¬ ened our minds, warmed our hearts, and afforded me even then indescribable consolation, I began to solve the where¬ fore of many of the enigmas of life, that had occupied my mind, rather to weary and sadden, than to tranquillize and instruct me. Every thing around me appeared to possess new life ; the end and interest of my existence were en¬ tirely changed. Happy days, blessed by a sense of the iSIaster’s presence ! I shall never forget them ! It seldom happens, when I review the journey of the two disciples to Emmaus, that the recollections of those days when my friend and I met and walked together, do not come up afresh into my memory. Like them we can say, " Did not our heart burn within us while he talked to us by the way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures V’ I have remarked above, that, by the guidance of God, we had abstained from communicating to any person what was passing in our hearts; and that, limiting ourselves to reading and comparing the word of God, we neglected every other book, excepting the work of Heydeck, which 35) CONVERSION OF DR. CAPADOSE. II vre consulted regularly. This author had been a rabbi in Germany; but having embraced Catholicism, he was elect¬ ed professor of the oriental languages at Madrid, where I believe he still resides. The work we had before us, writ¬ ten in the form of letters, possessed much of the spirit and knowledge of the Scriptures, and contained a defence of Christianity against rationalism. The perusal of this was doubly useful to us, since we had occasion to remark how powerful the logic and how forcible the proofs were, when contending against the opinions of a Voltaire and a Rous¬ seau ; and how weak they were when defending Catho¬ licism against the principles of the Reformation. Whenever I had a leisure moment in the morning I always absented myself to read the word of God ; for I did not dare to do so in my uncle’s presence. One day I had been more particularly engaged with this passage of the eighth chapter of Isaiah : " Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Imma¬ nuel.” I descended from the library, and found a Jewish physician, a friend of my uncle, waiting in the anti-cham¬ ber : he was turning over the leaves of a new edition of the Bible. " Here,” said he, ” is a fatal passage, that we can hardly wrest from the Christians.” It was the very passage of Isaiah on which I had been meditating. My mind was vividly touched, and I recognized again the hand of God. ” Ah! why,” replied I, '' should we not acknowledge the truth V’ In the meanwhile my uncle entered. It was the dinner hour. "What question are you debating?” asked he. The physician informed him; and knowing how versed my uncle was in the rabbinical writings, he inquired what our rabbins said of this passage. " Alas ! a heap of non¬ sense,” replied my uncle, rising up. We entered an ad¬ joining room where dinner was served. My heart beat strong, and I inwardly blessed the Lord for permitting me to hear even these words, much as they indicated his want 12 CONVERSION OF DR. CAPADOSE. (36 of reverence for the Divine oracles, from the mouth of a man whose rabbinical science gave him authority among the Jews. All these circumstances, guided by the wisdom and goodness of God, concurred to convince me more and more that t/ie truth xoas in Christianity alone. But what, at the outset, was only the desire of my understanding, had become that of my heart. Knowledge no longer satisfied me; I felt the need of love. Then it was that the rays of the Sun of Righteousness, which rises upon us gradually, conveyed to me, with the light that illumined me, that vivifying and celestial warmth which gives us the life of God. I acknowledged that it was through love the Saviour came to seek me : I now began to feel the weight of my sins; or, to use a better expression, my total misery. But this sentiment was absorbed in that of divine love. I had found Christ my life, the central point of all my affections and all my thoughts, the only object capable of filling the immense void in my heart; the key of every mystery; the principle of all true philosophy, of every truth—'' the Truth ” itself. By degrees, as the Spirit of God confirmed my faith, I felt more unhappy in the position in which I found myself, losing in ray uncle’s society so many precious hours and evenings that I could have desired to employ in further researches into the only subject that interested me on earth. Every day I felt more and more deeply the necessity of coming to an open declaration of my sentiments ; but my uncle, that uncle who had loaded me with kindness, who cherished me as a son, who saw in me the support of his old age—how could I resolve to avow to him what, con¬ sidering his age and choleric temperament, could not fail to make an impression and occasion a shock, the conse¬ quences of which were incalculable ? I can attest to the glory of God, that the certainty there was, in case I made the avowal, of losing a considerable inheritance that await¬ ed me, a certainty which the event has confirmed, formed 37) CONVERSION OF DR. CAPADOSE. 13 I no part of the grounds of my hesitation. All my fears were, lest I should compromise a life so dear to me'; and the idea that, by a word, I might give a fatal blow to this worthy old gentleman, deprived me of the strength and courage requisite to unfold my sentiments. Assuredly, with more faith I should have overcome every obstacle ; but in the state in which I then was, I could only sigh and ^roan in secret. During: these seasons of inward struggle and conflict, my sighs rose continually to the God who had called me; I conjured him to come to my aid and to open the way before me. Acknowledge how attentive the God of compassion was to my cry, and how he listened to the voice of my suppli¬ cation. My uncle was in the habit of reading the public journals aloud after dinner. One day, when I was seated at my customary place opposite to him, in a state of indes¬ cribable depression, I heard him reading a notice fi'om a Hamburg journal, which ran thus : " We have just been witnesses of an interesting fact: a rabbi, after having pub¬ licly announced in the synagogue, that an attentive exa¬ mination of the prophecies had given him a clear convic¬ tion that the true Messiah had come, has publicly confess¬ ed the Christian faith in our city, and been received as a minister of the Gospel of Christ.” Whereupon my uncle added these words, which my position rendered so remark¬ able : " You know my way of thinking : if this man has acted thus from any interested motive whatever, he de¬ serves contempt; if it is through conviction, he has a claim to respect.” Christians ! who happily compassionate the lively emo¬ tions of the heart of a fellow-being, I will not attempt to describe to you all that passed in mine at this solemn moment! In a transport of joy, I replied, ” Yes, uncle, God has given you these sentiments : know that he whom you love with paternal tenderness, and whom you call by the name of son, is in the same position as this rabbi!” I pronounced these words with such a tone of voice, 14 CONVERSION OF DR. CAPADOSE. (38 and wijth so much agitation, that my poor uncle, speech¬ less and alarmed, thought me deranged; and going out for a moment, as if to allow me time to return to myself, he re-entered and spoke of other matters. But my mind was too much absorbed and excited to listen to what he said : I was occupied with the God of my deliverance ; for, on this occasion, I had felt him to be near. It was the presence of the Adonai (God) of my fathers that sus¬ tained me, and who from that day afforded my soul a con¬ solation it had never experienced, a joy and energy it had never known. Nevertheless, I saw clearly that my uncle, although troubled by this scene, had not attributed to my words the importance they merited. I resolved, then, in God’s strength, to reiterate my declaration on the morrow. We were alone at the table, according to custom ; my uncle appeared somewhat pre-occupied ; he was, notwithstand¬ ing, on very good terms with me. After dinner I began, but this time with calmness and decision, by saying, I re¬ marked, with regret, that my avowal of the preceding evening had not been clearly understood, which laid me under the obligation to repeat it, as if in God’s presence, with the hope that he himself would one day acknowledge the truth. There was no longer any possibility of illusion, and a most trying scene followed. He beat his breast—cursed his existence, and cried out, in the bitterness of his soul, that I was bringing down his gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. These reproaches pierced my heart; but the Lord strengthened, consoled, and gave me grace to show this dear, venerable old gentleman, marks of love and tender¬ ness, which calmed him a little. The next day he communi¬ cated all to my parents, and it appeared that there was an understanding between them to treat me with tenderness. Who could tell, but that, by carefully avoiding all conver¬ sation upon this topic, these ideas might pass away ? Nevertheless, ray family were not slow to perceive that 39) CONVERSION OF DR. CAPADOSE. 15 this was impossible; I began even to embolden myself, sometimes preaching the.Gospel to them; and whenever occasion offered, I no longer dissembled my sentiments. My intimate friend, who had lost his father some months previous, enjoying more liberty, was at this time a great source of consolation to me. At last, my uncle seeing that mildness did not succeed in effacing my religious con¬ victions, and fearing still more the open manifestation of my faith, had recourse to other means, which led, how¬ ever, to results opposite to his expectation. There was not a sarcasm, humiliation, contempt, or severity even, that I had not to endure from him. I do not complain of these trials ; on the contrary, I ought to consider this treatment, severe and painful to the flesh, in the light of real blessings from God, since it con¬ firmed my faith, and was to me a new testimony of the truth of the Gospel, the open and full confession of which has ever been attended with every kind of persecution. My family, also, were not in the least appeased, seeing me persevere in my resolution in spite of all that had been attempted to divert me from it, and the severity practised towards me went on increasing. This was the period of severest trial to my soul. Rarely did I meet with one of my relations, w’hether at my uncle’s house, or in that of my parents, without enduring painful reproaches from them. It may be conceived that this state of things could not last, and but strengthened my ardent desire to confess my Saviour. We were already the subject of public conver¬ sation. Very many of our habits were altered; we no longer frequented the same society, and were very seldom seen participating in the pleasures of our friends. The cause w’as at length suspected, and called forth expres¬ sions of grief and regret on the part of our nation. They set some value upon us ; we were favorably known, and to national pride was added the flattery of the idea that I possessed, as a religious companion, such a man as my 16 CONVERSION OF DR. CAPADOSE. (40 i friend, who, though young, had superior talents, and was versed in many sciences ; above all, was a poet, whose ef¬ fusions, at that time published, had been received with universal applause. I will not pass over in silence an interesting interview that we had about this time with a respectable Rabbi, a man of fasting and prayer, emaciated by hard diet, and esteemed for piety by the whole Jewish nation. He de¬ sired an interview, and gave us calmly some written ob¬ jections. It was not difficult to refute them. Perceiving that his arguments did not persuade us, he attempted an appeal to our feelings. '' Gentlemen,” said he, rising up with solemnity, "in a few days all of our religion, in every quarter of the globe, will put on sackcloth and ashes, to celebrate the great day of propitiation. Then every Israelite who humbleth himself before our God, sincerely confessing his sins, is sure to obtain grace. I conjure you, gentlemen, to reflect seriously upon it; and if, as Israelites, you humble yourselves with remorse for the design you have dared to form, you will be pardoned by our'God.” We were touched, vividly touched by his zeal; but we reminded him, that, at any rate, the blood of the Messiah alone could wash us from all sin. As he was on the point of departing, he added these remarkable words : ” Well, gentlemen, I have acted in accordance with the command of duty ; now that we are about to separate, apparently never to meet again, I can¬ not conceal from you that I thank God for permitting me to find, even in our day, persons who believe the Bible.” We then separated, not without emotion on both sides. At length the moment of final decision had arrived ; I could defer no longer. My friend, whose position was very different from mine, and who had met with hardly any opposition, his father dying before our secret trans¬ pired, desired to wait some time longer ; but my decision was taken; he joined me, and I acquainted my family with mv resolution. I 41) CONVERSION OF DR. CAPADOSE. 17 They wished that I would postpone it, or at least that I would go into Germany, or elsewhere. Perhaps I might have yielded to this wish, but the fear of any appearance of shame in the step I was about to take, led me to reject every proposition of the kind ; only we promised not to join any church in the city where our families resided, and, as it were, in the face of our uncle, who was chief of a commission charged by the king to take care of the interests of the Jews of Holland. Our choice naturally fell on the city of Leyden, which had such sweet recollections in our hearts, and where that dear and excellent professor dwelt, with his worthy spouse, whose writings and conversation had exercised so marked O an influence over our minds. We set out for Leyden in September—my friend, his interesting wife, who partook our convictions at heart, and myself. We were received with open arms, and an affection truly parental, by these worthy friends, who had taken so much interest in our conflicts. Who more deserving than they to participate in the celestial joy that flooded our hearts % The 20th of October, 1822, was the day so ardently longed for, when we were solemnly received as members of the Christian church; there, on our knees, before the God of our fathers, the true God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we had the ineffable happiness, we, unworthy, miserable sinners, to confess, in the midst of the Christian church, the blessed name of that great God and Saviour who had sought us when lost. Glory be to his holy name ! The text selected by the pastor, as the subject of his discourse, was Romans, 11 : 5. ^'Even so then at this pre¬ sent time also there is a remnant according to the election of graced Election of grace ! This is the conclusion of what you have just read; it is an abridgment of the history of my conversion ; it is that of all other gratuitous grace ; grace that conducts, grace that illumines, grace that ena¬ bles one to sufler for the name of the Lord, grace that consoles, grace that draws to Christ, grace that gives faith, IS CONVERSION OF DR. CAPADOSE. (42 grace that justifies, grace that regenerates, that sanctifies; finally, grace for grace, and to the glory of God, whose free and gratuitous election, made before the foundation of the world, is the only source and principle of all grace, of all felicity. The day previous to our public entrance into the Chris¬ tian church, we took leave of the synagogue by letter. I addressed to the mamstrates of the Portuouese Jewish # O O nation a letter, in which, while authorizing them to con¬ sider me as no longer a member of the synagogue, I pro¬ tested that I remained an Israelite, hut an Israelite who had found his Messiah, and who ceased not to offer the sin- cerest wishes that his brethren, according to the flesh, might speedily return to the Lord their God, and to David their king. A few days after my public renunciation of Judaism, I received a letter from my uncle, in which he announc¬ ed to me, that, after what had passed and some new ar¬ rangements made in his household, I could not, on my return to Amsterdam, dwell under his roof; that he did not forbid my visiting him, but this was only under the express condition that I should never speak to him of' my sentiments. On my return to Amsterdam I hired a small apartment on a third floor, where, alone with my God, I experienced a heavenly joy and peace that passed all understandinsf. O My dear brother, with whom I often conversed on the subject nearest my heart, and who weighed the considera¬ tions I urged with great seriousness, at length fell sick, and died suddenly, crying to me in a strong voice, and with great earnestness, " Call, call my mother ; call my sister; I am dying—but I helieve in God the Father, the Hon, and the Holy Spirit. I believe in Jesus Christ, my Saviour. He is Master—King of kings. All must come to him. Europe, Asia, Africa, and America belong to him. He must reign over the ivhole earth. Announce in the syna- gogue that I die in his name." 43) CONVERSION OF DR, CAPADOSE, 19 And now, my brethren in Christ, it is to you I ad¬ dress myself in conclusion. If you have viewed with Christian joy, how the Lord has, in his unspeakable good¬ ness, graciously taken some little broken twigs to engraft them anew upon the ” cultivated olive,” forget not that in the whole world there are many of these scattered branch¬ es, now with neither form nor comeliness, neither fruit nor verdure, but possessing still the sap of the most glorious promises. Forget not, that if they are still " enemies, as touching the Gospel, for your sakes,” they are also " dearly beloved, as touching election, for the fathers’ sakes; for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance,” Rom. 11 : 28, 29. Remember, that ” as ye, in times past, have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.” Rom. 11: 30, 31. Above all, forget not the immense privilege to which you are called, that you may be, by your prayers for Israel, and your charity towards them, co-operators with God, who desires to save Israel for his glory, yes, for his glory; ” for if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead I” Rom. 11 : 15. The day is not far distant, the happy day which the apostle hails from afar with rapture and adoration, when he exclaims. '' O the depth of the riches both of the wis¬ dom and knowledge of God ! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” Rom. 11 : 33. *' And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations whither the Lord thy God hath driven thee, and shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thy heart and with all thy soul, that then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity. I 20 CONVERSION OP DR. CAPADOSE. (44 and will have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from among all the nations whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee. If any of thine be driven out to the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee. And the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it, and he will do thee good and multiply thee above thy fathers.” Deut. 30 : 1-5. Yes, the Lord is faithful. It is by an oath that he promised Abraham that his posterity should one day possess Canaan '' from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river EuphratesGen. 15 : IS ; Exod. 23:31; Gen. 26 : 3 ; Ps. 105 : 9 ; and that this possession should be " for ever;” Gen'. 13 : 15 ; '' an everlasting possession ;” Gen. 17 : 7, 8 ; for ever” 2 Chron. 20 : 7. Behold the great promise, that, until now, has not been accomplished ! Israel, it is true, has possessed the land of Canaan, but never with an extent of territory, nor for a period of time proportioned to the grandeur of the pro¬ mise. Under the reign of Solomon alone have the limits of Israel’s kingdom extended to the Euphrates; and this triumph was brief, for we find that the prophet Isaiah, in a touching supplication, in which he enumerates the bless¬ ings of the Almighty, and the numberless deliverances of which Israel had already been the object, calling to mind this promise of the inheritance of Canaan, exclaims, " Re¬ turn, for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance. The people of thy holiness have possessed ^7 (the country) iut a little tvhile.” Isaiah, 63 : 17, 18. > This promise of perpetual possession has not yet been fully accomplished ; but it will be. Yes it will be under the reign of the true Solomon, of the promised Messiah, of the Lord of Glory, of the King of Israel, for he it is who shall rule ” from sea to sea, from the river to the ends of the earth.” Ps. 72 : 8. Yes, it will be when the Al¬ mighty shall return unto Sion, and shall dwell in the of J<>vusalem; when "Jerusalem shall be called a 45) CONVERSION OF DR, CAPADOSE. 21 city of truth, and the mountain of the Lord of Hosts, the holy mountain.” Then the Lord shall say, ” Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country, and I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem : and they shall be my people, and 1 will be their God in truth and in righteousness.” Zech. 8 : 3, 7, S. ” There is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast. And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them to build and to plant, saith the Lord. Behold, the days come, that the city shall he built to the Lord, from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner. And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about Goath. And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse-gate towards the east, shall be holy unto the Lord; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down, any more for ever.” Jer. 31 : 17, 27, 28, 38, 39, 40. Ah ! if, by divine direction, these lines should fall into the hands of any of the children of Abraham, but who have not Abraham’s faith—of those Israelites, my dearly- beloved brethren according to the flesh, who are now poor, but with the riches of the divine word in their hands ; miserable, but having the blood of the prophets in their veins; despised and wandering over the whole earth, but with the promise of eternal glory, if they should be con¬ verted ; may these lines remind them that this word, these promises, this blood of the prophets, urge them to ex¬ amine attentively what these prophets have spoken, and CONVERSION OF DR. CAPADOSE. 22 (46 by whom their promises must have their accomplishment for them of whom this word is full. Yes, may they speedily, by God’s grace, acknowledge that this precious Bible, which they preserve, and upon which their faith as well as our own is founded, contains prophetically the entire history of the Messiah : his origin, his nature, his birth, his life, his death, his resurrection and ascension to the right hand of God his heavenly Fa- ther; his spiritual reign; his return to glory; finally his reign as King of Israel, priest and prc^het. Behold what I have been taught by my researches in the word of God. May these lines excite in them also the desire to seek after the truth ! They will see that the Messiah promised to our fathers, must have been the only begotten Son of God, God eternal, one with the Father and Holy Spirit, according to the Scriptures; for He is called ” God,” and " the Son of God,” by David; Ps. 45 : 6; Ps. 110 ; 1; by Isaiah, '' Wonderful, Coun¬ sellor, the mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace ;” Isaiah, 9:6; by Jeremiah, " The Lord our Righteousness ;” Jer. 23 : 6 ; by Malachi, "the Lord;” Mai. 3:1; that this Messiah was to take our nature and be born of a virgin, according to the Scriptures ; for he is called the seed of the woman, Gen. 3 : 15; "the child of a virgin ;” Isaiah, 7:14; that this Messiah was to be the descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, according to the Scriptures, for He is called " the seed of Abraham ;” Gen. 22 : 18; that He was to be of the tribe of Judah and of the house of David, according to the Scriptures ; for He is called " a Rod from the stem of Jesse ; Isaiah, 11:1; " out of David a righteous Branch ;” Jer. 23 : 5 ; that He was to be born in " Bethlehem,” Mich. 5:2; that at that time " the sceptre should be taken from Judah,” Gen. 49 : 10; that the Messiah should have Elias for his pre¬ cursor, " preaching in the wilderness and preparing the way,” according to the Scriptures, Isaiah, 40 : 3. Mai. 3 : 1 ; that the Messiah should accompany his preaching with 47 ) CONVERSION OF DR. CAPADOSE. 23 many miracles, Isaiah, 35: 5, 6; that He should " enter Jerusalem upon an ass,” Zech. 9:9; that He should ap¬ pear poor and humble, '' having no form nor comeliness, the despised and rejected of men,” Isaiah, 53:2, 3 ; that one of his disciples should '' betray him,” Ps. 41:9; that He should be sold for '' thirty pieces of silver,” Zech. 11: 12; that He should be "smitten with rods, reviled, spit upon,” Isaiah, 50:6; that He should be " numbered with the transgressors,” Isaiah, 53 : 12 ; " smitten, and af¬ flicted of God, Isaiah, 53 : 4; but that these sufferings should be upon him " for our transgi’essions,” Isaiah, 53:5; that He should be " crucified,” Deut. 21:23; that they should " pierce his hands and his feet,” Ps. 22:16; that He should be " reviled even on the cross,” and made to drink " gall and vinegar,” Ps. 22 : 7; 69 : 21 ; that they should " divide his garments among them, and for his ves¬ ture cast lots, Ps. 22 : 18 ; that " not a bone of him should be broken,” Exod. 12 : 46; 34 : 20; that his death should be violent, Isaiah, 53 : 8 ; Dan. 9 : 26 ; that He should " make his grave with the wicked, and be with the rich in his death Isaiah, 53:9; that He should " not see corruption,” Ps. 16 : 10; but that on " the third day ” he should "rise again,” Isaiah, 53 : 10 ; Jonah, 1:17; that He should " ascend into heaven and sit down at the right hand of the Father, Ps. 68:18; and that thence He should " send his Holy Spi¬ rit.” Joel, 2 : 28. When you have thus united all these features of the promised Messiah, which the Almighty has traced so clearly, so distinctly, to the very minutest details, that Israel should jiot be deceived by any false Messiah ; when you have placed before you, as it were, face to face, the image of him upon whom your salvation rests, open, O my dear brethren in the flesh, open the New Testament, praying God to enable you to examine its contents with a sincere desire to know the truth, and the glorious light of the God of truth will lead you to acknowledge, with adoration, that all these characterizing features of the true 24 CONVERSION OF DR. CAPADOSE. (48 Messiah are to be found, Avith the most scrupulous exact¬ ness, in the person, the life, and death of Jesus Christ, that Saviour blessed for evermore, who will soon come in glory with his holy angels. Then Jerusalem shall be to him a name of rejoicing, of praise and glory among all the nations of the earth, who shall hear the good that he will do to Israel; for, " I will cause the captivity of Judah, and the captivity of Israel, to return,” saith the Lord, ” and I will build them as at the first. And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me ; and I will pardon all their iniquities whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me.” Jer. 33 : 7, 8. '' And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judg¬ ment was given them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their fore¬ heads or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection : on such the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. Apo- cal. 20 : 4-6. '' And the Spirit and the bride say. Come. And let him that heareth say. Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” Apocalypse, 22 : 17. Amen ! Note. —Rev. Professor Pettavel has annexed to the French edi¬ tion a brief sketch of the history of Dr. Capadose down to August, 1837, showing how he had been sustained in trials, especially the death of a beloved and Christian w'ife ; and the blessing that had at¬ tended the first part, and his completion of the second part of his ‘' Jehovah Jesus,” or “ Crowd of Witnesses to the Divinity of Christ the Saviour.” END. CONVERSION OF DR. CAPAD0S:E. 3 suiest measure was flight. I left the room precipitately, and fled the paternal mansion. My anguish was calmed, my faith strengthened, and the Spirit of God shed a con¬ soling balm upon my wounded heart. Feeble in body, but sustained by an inward power, I returned ; and, tran¬ quil and submissive, re-entered the paternal abode. Christ had said to the raging sea, ” Be still; and suddenly there was a great calm.” Death of Mrs. Capadose. Rev. Professor Pettavel, after describing the agony that rent the heart of her husband during her last illness, adds—But the Lord had decided to take her to himself in glory: the succor of art was useless, and the worthy companion of Mr. Capadose yielded up her spirit with celestial joy, into the arms of her Saviour. This joy was preceded by the acutest sufferings. The evening before her death, or rather of her entrance into life, to use her husband’s language, she took leave successively of her three dear children. In the morning she sent for little Esther and said to her ; “ Dear child, pray continually to the Lord, that he may convert you. Your mother is dying; console your dear father and take care of him.” When the turn of Henry, the elder of her sons, came, it was a trying scene for the father, exhausted with watching and grief. She raised her eyes to heaven with an inimita¬ ble expression. ” How many happy days,” exclaimed she, “ I have passed with these dear children. I am but too conscious of this; I am still too much attached to my husband, to my children ; and yet the Lord has said, " Whosoever loveth father or mother more than me can¬ not be my disciple.” Towards evening she asked whether little Isaac was asleep; she embraced him : ” May the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob,” said she, " be your God !” The following morning, the day of her en¬ trance into eternal rest, she perceived a ray of sunshine that came into her room. ” How I have desired,” ex¬ claimed she, ” to see the spring in Switzerland ! but I am going to behold an eternal spring.” The ineffable consolations, says Professor Pettavel, tlmt our brother Capadose received from above during his hour of trial, are fully known only to God. ” Although 1 feel my heart torn asunder,” wrote he to a Christian friend No. 3SS. CONVKnsiON of dr. cap.^dose. in the first moments of grief, '' my soul is powerfully and strongly consoled by Him who is the resurrection and the life.” ” O my friend,” he writes me later, ” what a God i.s this we serve ! how well he manages the light and shade in the picture of the life of his chosen ! The fair and sublime promises that are made us appear to me more magnificent, more glorious than ever. To die and live, lliis is the Christian’s diary ; and if we had no conflicts here we should not know what it is to triumph. This sinful body ought to be crucified afresh every day, that the soul may one day be glorified : if we have not seen Geth- sernanes and Golgothas, how shall we enjoy the blessed resurrection and a place near our glorious Immanuel ! There is ever a cross for those who follow the crucified, as there will always be a crown for them when they follow their king in glory.” ” How little we yet know of the holiness of God ! O my friend, I speak for myself, I can affirm that the idea 1 have hitherto had of sin, is, when compared with what I now see of the justice and holiness of God, as a drop of water in comparison with the ocean.” Dr. Capadose’s worlc “ Jeliovali Jesus.” The Lord (says Dr. C.) who has powerfully sustain¬ ed me in my work, has just allowed me the happiness of publishing the second part of my " Jehovah Jesus,” or ” Crowd of witnesses to the Divinity of the Saviour.” As for the first part of this work, our good Master has given me testimony from every quarter, showing that the peru¬ sal of it has been blessed even for Isx’ael.” A friend of Mr. Capadose has cited the example of a Rabbi of the synagogue of G-, who, after perusing this first part, avowed, not without emotion, that it was the fir.st time in his life he had read any thing that gave him a certainty that the Messiah was God Eternal, and that he was compelled to acknowledge the truth of what he had read. 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