Since the establishment of this Society, many others have been instituted for like purposes, in this, and in most of the other states; and yet there is ample scope for all their exertions, and for the employment of all their means. The increase of these Institutions, the liberality with which they are supported, and the zeal with which their pious and benevolent objects are pursued, and the success with which their labors are rewarded, augur well to our country, and to the cause of our Redeemer. Let the members of this parent Society, which has led the way in these benevolent and most useful establishments, be animated with increasing zeal in their labors of love to the souls of their fellow men, and still maintain the rank they sustain, and be an example in Christian zeal and fidelity, to other similar Institutions. Let love to GOD, and love to men, prompt and govern all our measures and exertions; so shall we manifest that we are among the "wise, who understand," secure the liberal patronage of the friends of the Redeemer, and best accomplish the grand object of our Institution. Particularly let the peculiar and serious aspect of the times, and the wonderful means, which are in operation in all parts of the world, to effect the same glorious object, which we have in view, inspire us with corresponding ardor to be co-workers with our fellow Christians, and with GOD, in alleviating the miseries, which have already come, and are fast thick ening, upon our guilty world, and which are preparing the way for the millennial peace. To our efforts let us join our prayers and say, "Arise, Oh Lord, let thy work appear before thy servants, and let the whole earth be filled with thy glory." Let the united prayers of the multitudes of thy saints on earth come up before. thee, as incense, that the great voices may soon be heard in heaven, saying, "Alleluia, for the Lord GoD omnipotent reigneth." "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever, Amen." NOTES. Note A. p. 13. ABOUT two hundred and seventy years before the birth of Christ, the Hebrew Scriptures were translated into the Greek language, and deposited in the famous Alexandrian Library, by Ptolemy Philadelphus, one of the kings of Egypt. Here they remained neglected, till the time of our Savior. At this period this version was rescued from obscurity, and brought into use among all who spoke the Greek language, heathens as well as Jews. Our Savior and his Apostles all quoted this version, as did the primitive fathers. All the Greek churches used it, and the bible of the Latin churches, was a translation of it. The converted nations had the Scriptures translated into their language from this version, as the Illyrian, the Gothic, the Arabic, the Ethiopic, the Armenian, and the Syriac. It is remarkable, that at the time when the Septuagint translation of the Scriptures was made, God had brought under the dominion of the Greeks, by the instrumentality of Alexander the Great, all the eastern nations of the world; and that they continued members of the Grecian Empire, at the time of our Savior, and during the period of the first propagation of the Gospel. "In this manner did God remarkably prepare the way for the preaching of the Gospel, which was then approaching, and facilitate the union of so many nations of different languages and manners into one society, and the same worship and doctrines, by the instrumentality of the purest, most copious, and correct language in the world, and which became common to all the countries, which were conquered by Alexander."+ Note B. p. 19. THE late movements among the Jews, particularly the convocation of the Grand Sanhedrim at Paris by Bonaparte, (July Various fabulous and contradictory accounts of this translation have been given by Aristeas, and other anthors. Those who wish to see a full and satisfactory view of this whole subject, may consult Prideaux's Connections of the Old and New Testament, part ii. chap. i. p. 28-64. † Rollin's Ancient History, vol. vi. p. 79. Etheridge's edition + This Assembly consisted of 111 members. 15th, 1806,) may be considered as distant indications that the period of their dispersion is drawing to a close, and that a way is preparing for their return to the holy land. In remarking on this extraordinary assembly and its designs, it has been said, "The Deputies from the Dutch Jews and those from Frankfort on the Main, have been admitted into the Sanhedrim of France and Italy, and have declared their determination to adhere to its decisions. It will doubtless be the policy of Bonaparte, to attach to his person and government, the whole body of this dispersed, and enterprising people, and to avail himself of their services in promoting his ambitious views. The ready entrance, which they obtain into every country of Europe, makes them peculiarly fit instruments for his purposes.' What effects are to follow from this meeting of the Grand Sanhedrim, and in what ways it may tend to effect the return of this scattered people to the country of their ancestors, cannot be foreseen. This extraordinary people, by a standing miracle, have been preserved for nearly 1800 years, distinct from all the nations among which they have been dispersed. By means of their holy scriptures they have maintained a general uniformityin their religious faith, and a knowledge of their original language, in which they can readily converse, and maintain intercourse with each other. The meeting and transactions of this Grand Assembly may therefore be intended by Divine Providence, (though the Emperor of France, who convoked it, doubtless had quite different objects in view,) to give rise to a more intimate and extensive connexion and correspondence between the scattered remains of the tribes of Israel, wherever they are found, and to lay plans for combining their pecuniary means, and their influence in effecting, in due time, not merely the ambitious views of an earthly monarch, but the purposes of Heaven, and the object of the desire and expectation of this people, viz. a return to the holy land. The following extracts from the work alluded to, give countenance to these conjectures The learned and eloquent President of this Sanhedrim, in an address to the Commissioners of the Emperor, has the following sentence. "Methinks I see the muse holding her immortal burin, and tracing on her adamant table, amidst so many deeds, which make this reign so conspicuous, that which the hero of the age has done to destroy utterly the barrier raised between nations, and the scattered remains of the most ancient people." This expression marks the extent of the views of this Assembly. In a communication of the Emperor to the Sanhedrim are the following passages, from which some of his views may be collected, that have a bearing on the subject in question. * Christian Observer, vol. vi. p. 405. |