and intend to do so. They have indeed kept to the faith of their forefathers; but not to their religious observances. For, the chief part of the Jewish worship consisted in offering sacrifices distinctly appointed by the Lord Himself, in the law delivered by Moses. There was a sacrifice appointed to be offered up every day, and two on the Sabbath; besides several other sacrifices on particular occasions. Now, the modern Jews, though they abstain from certain meats forbidden in their law, and observe strictly the Sabbath and several other ordinances, yet do not offer any sacrifices at all; though sacrifices were appointed as the chief part of their worship.

The reason of this is, that they were strictly forbidden to offer sacrifices except in the one place which should be appointed by the Lord for that purpose. And the place last fixed on for these offerings having been the Temple at Jerusalem, which was destroyed about seventeen hundred years ago, and has never been restored, the Jews are now left without any place in which they can lawfully offer the sacrifices which their law enjoins.

The Jews. accordingly, of the present day, plead that it is not from wilful disobedience, that they neglect these ordinances, but because they cannot help it. But to say that it is not their own fault that they do not observe the ordinances of their religion, is quite a different thing from saying that they do observe them. They may explain why they cannot keep the law of Moses; but they cannot say that they do keep it.

G

Now Christians hold that the ceremonies of that law, were not originally designed to be observed by all nations, and for ever; that "the law had only a shadow of good things to come," (Heb. x. 1,) that is, of the Gospel; and that it was designed that the sacrificing of lambs and bullocks should cease at the coming of the Christ. A Jew, on the contrary, will not allow that these were designed ever to cease; but he cannot deny that they have ceased, and that, for above seventeen centuries. Let a Jew explain if he can, how it is, that for so long a time, Providence has put it out of the power of the Jews to observe the principal part of their religion, which they maintain was intended to be observed for ever.

And this also is very remarkable; that the religion of the Jews is almost the only one that could have been abolished against the will of the people themselves, and while they resolve firmly to maintain it. Their religion, and theirs only, could be, and has been, thus abolished in spite of their firm attachment to it, on account of its being dependent on a particular place the Temple at Jerusalem. The Christian religion, or again, any of the Pagan religions, could not be abolished by any force of enemies, if the persons professing the religion were sincere and resolute in keeping to it. To destroy a Christian place of worship, or to turn it into a Mahometan mosque, (as was done in many instances by the Turks,) would not prevent the exercise of the Christian religion. And even if Christianity were forbidden by law, and Christians persecuted, (as has in times past been actually done,) still if they were sincere and resolute, they might

assemble secretly in woods or caves; or they might fly to foreign countries to worship God according to their own faith; and Christianity, though it might be driven out of one country would still exist in others.

And the same may be said of the Pagan religions. If it happened that any temple of Jupiter, or Diana, or Woden, were destroyed, this would not hinder the worshippers of those gods from continuing to worship them as before, and from offering sacrifices to them elsewhere.

But it was not so with the Jews.

Their religion

was so framed as to make the observance of its ordinances impossible, when their Temple was finally destroyed. It seems to have been designed and contrived by Divine Providence, that as their law was to be brought to an end by the Gospel, (for which it was a preparation,) so, all men were to perceive that it did come to an end, notwithstanding the obstinate rejection of the Gospel by the greater part of the Jews. It was not left to be a question, and a matter of opinion, whether the sacrifices instituted by Moses were to be continued or not; but things were so ordered, as to put it out of Man's power to continue them.

LESSON XVIII.

MODERN JEWS. PART II.

It is likely that when Jerusalem and its Temple were destroyed, several of the Jews who had till then rejected the Gospel, may have been at length converted, by the strong additional evidence which was thus afforded. They saw the heavy judgment that fell on their nation; and that it was such as to make the observance of their law impossible. They saw, also, that the event agreed with what Jesus had predicted forty years before. And they saw too, that those of his followers who had been living in Jerusalem, had been enabled to escape destruction by following his directions, and fleeing to the mountains as soon as they saw Jerusalem encompassed by an army. It is, therefore, likely that several may have been led by this additional evidence, to embrace the Christian faith. But of this we have no records; as the book of Acts takes in only an earlier period. And in that book we have no particulars of the numbers of those Jews who were converted; though it appears they must have amounted to many thousands; indeed, many myriads; that is, tens of thousands; as is said in the original Greek of Acts XXI. 20. But still these made but a small portion only of that great nation. And as the Jewish Christians would soon become mingled with the Gentile Christians, and cease to be a separate People, hence, all those who are known as Jews at this day, are the descendants of those who rejected the Gospel.

These are computed to amount, at the present time, notwithstanding the prodigious slaughter of them, at the taking of their city, and on several other occasions, to no less a number than 4,800,000, scattered through various parts of the world; everywhere mixing and trading with other nations; but everywhere kept distinct from them by their peculiar faith and religious observances. And everywhere they preserve and read with the utmost reverence their sacred books, which foretel the coming of the Messiah, or Christ, at a time which (by their own computations) is long since past, namely, about the time when Jesus did appear. Their books foretel, also, such judgments as their nation is suffering; and foretel, too, what is most remarkable, that notwithstanding all this they shall still remain a separate People, unmixed with the other nations.

You should observe, too, that these prophecies are such as no one would ever have made by guess. Nothing could have been more unlikely than the events which have befallen the Jewish nation. Nothing like them has ever been foretold of any other nation; or has ever happened to any other. There are, indeed, many cases recorded in history, of one nation conquering another, and either driving them out of the country, or keeping them in subjection. But in all these cases, the conquered people who have lost their country, either settle themselves in some other land, or if they are wholly dispersed, generally become gradually mixed and blended with other nations; as, for example, the Britons and Saxons, and Danes, and Normans, have been mixed up into one People in England.