universal worship, a matter of fact visible to all.-Lecture IV. The visible relative position of Jews and Gentiles foretold.-Lectures V. and VI. Specimen of the Fulfilment of the New Testament Prophecy in the History of the Roman

Church.

In saying that the Jew would meet with fair usage from Dr. M'Caul, we referred rather to what we gather from his former publications, than from what appears in the present Lectures; we mean in regard to the declarations of prophecy relative to the calling and in-gathering of the ancient chosen people of God. The chief bearing of the present volume upon the Jews is, that the writer has consulted their authors, allowed for their difficulties, and replied to their objections, more than is customary with expositors of the Old Testament prophecies. The Jews having been the depositaries of the oracles of God, it is a question of some importance in weighing the evidences of Christianity, How it is that those whose language, education, and manners seemed likely to render them the best judges of the bearing of the predictions made to their fathers, should not see what to us is lucid in regard to the coming of the Messiah, and the great events hitherto accomplished respecting his kingdom? The moral solution, as the Apostle Paul tells us, is, that the veil is upon their hearts; and we know that it is with the heart that man believeth unto righteousness; but still the question recurs, how is it that their judgment-humanly speaking-can be so warped, and their intellect so blinded? Dr. M'Caul presents us with various illustrations of their difficulties and objections; and furnishes replies which would not have occurred to divines, however well-read in the Christian evidences, who have not directed their minds to the arguments used by

modern Hebrews, with a view to assail their strong-holds of infidelity. The very first Lecture furnishes an exemplification of this. The author proposes to prove the truth of the Gospel by an appeal to prophecy; to show that before the appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ certain predictions existed, which have been fulfilled in his history, and that of the world; thence to infer that the prophecies are divine, and that he in whom they are accomplished was the Redeemer of Israel and the Saviour of the world. But the modern Jews assert that the appeal to prophecy is vain, inasmuch as Christ's claims have been already examined, and not only rejected, but he himself condemned to death, by a tribunal instituted by God, and endowed with infallibility. The Sanhedrin, say they, have already adjudicated in the matter, and to their sentence Moses commanded an unhesitating and unconditional submission. (Deut. xvii. 8.)

In reply to this objection, Dr. M'Caul undertakes to shew, first, that the tribunal appealed to was not at all times, and under all circumstances, infallible; and, secondly, that the tribunal which condemned Christ was not identical with that whose institution is here prescribed. The first he proves from the history of Israel and the words of the prophets; demonstrating that during the first temple every class of the people was involved in the general rebellion against God, erring in doctrine, as well as in practice. For instance, “ the priests, and the prophets, and all the people" assembled in the house of the Lord, most unjustly condemned Jeremiah, and solemnly declared, "This man is worthy to die," for no other offence than simply declaring the will and purpose of the Almighty. So far were they from infallibility, that they solemnly pronounced the declaration of

Divine truth to be a crime punishable with death. To Ezekiel also was exhibited the melancholy sight of the seventy Elders, of whose infallibility modern Jews would persuade us, engaged in the practice of every species of idolatry. The Sanhedrin were not unerring even in the time of the first temple, still less can infallibility be claimed for them during the existence of the second, in which the ark of the covenant, the spirit of prophecy, and the miraculous answers from the oracle of God, had ceasedwhen the high priests were the mere creatures of heathen caprice, and their corruption and injustice were notorious. But, in the second place, the Sanhedrin, in the days of the second temple, was a very different tribunal from that which Moses clothed with such authority. The name itself, Sanhedrin, suggests a suspicion that its origin was not Mosaic but Greek; and the suspicion raised by the Greek name is confirmed by the silence which prevails in the Old Testament, as to the existence of a tribunal such as the rabbies describe the Sanhedrin. No mention is ever made of it, or of the important duties assigned to it. But the sacred history is not merely silent. It negatives the possibility of the Sanhedrin's existence; for its statements are directly opposed to all that the Talmud says of this court. Here Dr. M'Caul brings his Rabbinical lore to apply with powerful effect in connexion with Scripture story. For the details the reader must refer to his pages. The result is, that our Lord was not condemned by a divinely appointed infallible tribunal, but by one probably established by the Greeks, certainly of very modern date, that had no authority from God, and was opposed to the spirit and letter of the Mosaic command. The sentence, therefore, was not infallible, and can

have no force whatever except what might be derived from the wisdom, integrity, and piety of those by whom it was pronounced. But their character was so bad that their sentence is rather a testimony to the sincerity and zeal of the Lord Jesus Christ, and his claims to the Messiahship; in his being opposed and persecuted by such wicked men.

It will be seen that this line of argument is original. The objection probably never occurred to any Christian, or to any Gentile Infidel; but to a Jew it sounds plausibly, and it merited a reply; and even a Christian, when it is presented to him, may think that it ought to receive one.

We do not purpose analysing the other Lectures; as a bare outline of them would be dry to the reader, and not do justice to the writer. They are learnedly and ably argued; and they embody materials not worn-out or commonplace. The general sketch of the evidence for the truth of the Gospel derived from prophecy is familiar to every biblical student; but Dr. M'Caul has varied it and added to it, by proofs and illustrations derived from his own peculiar line of study as a Jewish scholar. The Lectures will be perused in full by those whose previous researches and taste for such inquiries allow and incite them to follow up and do justice to his arguments.

In the second Lecture the author replies to an objection urged by Jews against the incarnation of our Lord, that Deity cannot be united to materiality. The answer affords all that can or needs be said; it shews how in the Old Testament God is spoken of in connexion with voices, and appearances, and as if endued with bodily organs; but after all, the union of the divine nature with the human in the Person of Christ our Lord, is an incomprehensible mystery;-we

must receive it as it is revealed to us upon irrefragable evidence by Him" who cannot lie;" but to reason upon it metaphysically only leaves what is incomprehensible, and is matter of faith, just where we found it.

The following argument is proof that the prophecies and their fulfilment are not the result of imposture, is an instance of the new illustrations which Dr. M'Caul's acquaintance with the character and writings of the Jews enables him to bring to his subject.

"The more these prophecies are studied, the more certain will it appear that they are beyond the range of conjecture. But the question may still be asked, whether they and their fulfilment are not the result of successful fraud

whether the prophets were not impostors, who, pretending to supernatural wisdom, and obliged, in support of their assumed character, to predict something, uttered the prophecies which we consider, whilst succeeding generations of impostors determined to accomplish them? To this we reply, that an imposture of this kind is in the highest degree improbable, and its success altogether impossible. That any number of Jews should conspire to do good to the Gentiles, and to deprive their own nation of their religious ascendancy, is utterly incredible to those acquainted with the religion, opinions, and practice of that people from before the appearance of Christ to the present hour. Modern Judaism is far from breathing good will towards the other nations of the earth, and the expectations of the Rabbies are the very contrary of those expressed by the prophets. They regard those the Jewish people as incapable of any departure from the truth, and look not for the conversion so much as the destruction of the Gentiles. Their idea of conversion is also totally opposed to that entertained by the ancients. They

believe that those Gentiles who shall be converted, will submit to circumcision, and embrace modern Judaism, whilst the prophets simply expected a conversion to the God of Israel, not to the forms of the national religion. The Rabbies, and the great body of the nation, at the time when Christianity began to be propa

gated, and, from that time to the present hour, have considered it unlawful to receive converts, as the apostles did, without circumcision. make them zealous to proselyte, but unTheir principles willing to communicate to a Gentile, as such, the light of truth. It is, therefore, in the highest degree improbable that principles, should be able even to underany body of impostors, educated in such stand, much less have a desire to fulfil, the predictions of the prophets. There have been Jewish impostors enough who have pretended to the character of the Messiah, almost in every age from the apostolic to the end of the seventeenth century, but not one amongst them all ever attempted to fulfil the prophecies which announce Messiah as the light of the Gentiles. From Bar Kochav to Shabthai Ts'vee they all confined their efforts to the restoration of the kingdom and political power of Israel, and manifested hostility to the Gentiles. Here, then, history proves what we have already inferred from the genius and principles of Judaism, that Jewish impostors were not likely to engage in an undertaking for the benefit of the hea then, and the depression of their brethBut even if they had, success was entirely beyond the limits of possibility. To procure national unbelief on the part religions of heathenism; to effect the of the Jews; to overthrow the existing dispersion of the Jewish people, and their continued preservation in unbelief for eighteen centuries, and during the same time to maintain the fidelity of the Gentiles, is plainly beyond the capabilities of human wisdom or power."

ren.

WE have again to acknowledge the mercy of God to our beloved Queen in the birth of another daughter, and the preservation of her own valued life. The children of the royal circle are a bond of attachment between her Majesty's illustrious house and her loyal and affectionate subjects; and we earnestly pray that they may be so trained as faithful and obedient disciples of Christ, that, God blessing their nurture, they may be a pattern in days to come to all the sons and daughters of the land, and promote by their influence and example whatever is holy, lovely, and of good report, to the glory of God, and the best welfare of themselves and the nation; over whom long may successive members of their lineage rule in piety and peace.

The last intelligence from India presents the consummation of the late victories in the restoration of pacific relations on the North-Western frontier. War having now discharged its awful duties; for a duty surely it was to repel the invasion of the barbarous and blood-thirsty Seikhs, which threatened to deluge all India with murderous devastation-the arts of peace ought to be, and doubtless will be, diligently plied; commerce will be extended; the sword we may hope will rust in its scabbard, and the implements of useful industry grow bright; the people of the long-distracted countries connected with, bordering upon, or tributary to, the Anglo-India government, will witness and partake of the blessings attendant upon mild and equitable laws, the security of life, liberty, and property, and the expansion of the human mind in virtuous and enlightened education; and, to crown all, and without which everything else is comparatively nothing even in the present life, and absolutely nothing, or by its effects worse than nothing, in a future statethe Gospel of the Redeemer, it is devoutly to be hoped, will penetrate and pervade those direful strong-holds of ignorance and misery, of superstition and crime; bringing with it glory to God in the highest, peace and goodwill to man. It was a noble, a touching, a sublime apostrophe of the apostolical Metropolitan of India, when he beheld the waters of the Sutlej, and cast his eye upon the realm beyond, "I take possession of these dominions in the name of Christ;"-for his they are, the heathen being given to Him as

his heritage, and the uttermost parts of the earth as his possession. May it be so-if God will-speedily! and may our beloved land be privileged to prepare the way, and to share the triumph. Father thy kingdom come, and thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven! May all the other countries also, hitherto inaccessible, in the interior of Asia, be peacefully invaded by the Gospel ; till the bright beams of the Sun of righteousness, like those of the natural sun, progressing Westward, shall illumine Tartary, Persia, and Turkey; missionaries from the East meeting those from the West, having conquered for Christ, and in his strength, the intervening lands; and sending out North, and South, and wherever man, and sin, and misery are found, the glorious Gospel of the blessed God.

And here we cannot but recur with much satisfaction to our annual notice of those pious Institutions, which it has pleased the Great Head of the Church to incline the hearts of his servants to establish for setting forth his glory, and promoting the salvation of mankind; and many of which have been holding their anniversary meetings in London during the preceding month. They are now so numerous, and so ramified in their operations, that they mock our scant limits to give any detail of their vast achievements. Do we write thus in the spirit of boasting exultation; or in flattery to frail, fallible, feeble man, whose puny arm would in vain attempt the conquest over principalities and powers, and the rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in high places? No; far from it; we have attempted little as a nation-and too many of us as individuals-in comparison with what our duty required, and the talents committed to our trust for God's glory enabled us to essay ;-but when we hear this little disparaged; when the day of small things, if it be so, is sneered at and ridiculed, as the day of absurd things; when we are told that religion is now society ism, and the Church a joint-stock subscription company; that not only are we doing little, but that this little is all wrong; we must stand up for these blessed institutions, the glory of our age and nation; we must magnify the grace of God which has been bestowed upon them; and though religious and benevolent Societies, collecting funds, and dispensing them to promote the diffusion of the

a

word of God, to send out missionaries abroad, to increase the supply of pastors at home, and to extend scriptural education, are not in themselves church; yet they are instruments which the Church of Christ may lawfully use; the subscribers, conductors, and agents are members of that Church, and they are acting in that capacity as much as when they meet in the house of God. They violate no due ecclesiastical rule; and in our own portion of Christ's Church, we are thankful that they receive extensive support from our bishops and clergy; so that in fact, as well as in theory, they are bound up with our legitimate spiritual institutions.— We rejoice to say that the meetings of the Societies this year have been unusually solid, interesting, hopeful, and satisfactory-these words do not express all that we feel and would convey; but it is best not to speak in too confident a spirit; and it may be that some of the rebukes which God has permitted to fall upon our Societies, have been intended as a check to boasting.-It seemed to us, that the sound, able, and thoroughly Scriptural, Evangelical, and Anglican dis course of the Bishop of Calcutta before the Church Missionary Society, struck a key-note to which many of the speeches and meetings during the suc ceeding week responded. It was truly, as the Earl of Chichester said of it, a "stirring" discourse; it was as the sounding of a trumpet, and a trumpet of no uncertain intonation. His Lordship, in returning, as he proposes, if God permit, shortly, to the beloved scene of his arduous labours, will find that even the Punjaub has not been forgotten in preliminary measures for sending out bibles and missionaries; and we question not that before long there will be a bishop in North India superintending and directing them. The establishment of a bishoprick in Victoria, Hong Kong, is a hopeful indication of the zeal and love which God is infusing into our beloved Church. But we must not enter upon details, otherwise where should we stop? for most weighty and multifarious was the intelligence communicated last month in the reports, and at the anniversaries, of our Church Societies; as the Christian Knowledge, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, the Church Missionary, the Pastoral Aid, the Society for the Conversion of the Jews, and many others; not disparaging those which are not in connexion with the Church of England;

and especially that which is the handmaid to all-the Bible Society.

We now turn to a few of the proceedings in Parliament. The Corn-Law Bill has passed by a majority of ninetyeight votes, through the House of Commons; and is now under discussion in the House of Lords, the debate not having concluded as these lines are going to press. It would be fruitless for us to waste words in speculating upon what in a few hours, and before our remarks meet the eye of our readers, may be matter of certainty.

We greatly lament the failure of the measure for restricting the daily hours of women and children's work in factories to ten; but seeing that it was rejected by only the meagre majority of just as many votes as the hours proposed -ten in a list of 396 members who voted on the occasion; and this notwithstanding the powerful influence of her Majesty's ministers, who combined with the ultra-free-traders, the extreme political economists, in opposing the proposition; and the severe loss sustained by Lord Ashley's not having a seat in Parliament; the bare rejection as compared with the large majorities against the proposition in former years, indicates a steady advance by the friends of justice and humanity, and augurs a speedy triumph to the measure. As for the doctrines of strict let-alone political economy, our Legislature has never confined utility to its harsh precepts; to do so would often be folly, injustice, and cruelty; we have interfered already in cases innumerable, and we surely ought to do so still further in favour of women and children, as well for their individual benefit as for the general weal.

The House of Lords has rejected the Charitable Trusts Bill; though only by a majority of one-forty-one to forty. It was a most exceptionable measure; yet something is required to prevent the enormous abuses in many of our endowed charities.

We trust that the same fate awaits what is called "The Religious Opinions" Bill; at least that a separation of what is bad in it will be made from what is right and proper. The opposed clauses are likely to be much modified — at least we hope so-if not withdrawn ; we therefore defer any remarks till the measure is in a final definite form.