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Suffice it to fay, that in that part of it, wherein I declared my firm belief, that Jefus the Chrift was the son of Jofeph, the Jewels, who seemed to be a woman of true ferious piety, turned to her husband, and faid, "My dear, I really think this "gentleman will one day prove of great "service to our people." I am not ashamed to acknowledge myself so far an enthusiast as to declare, that this apoftrophe struck forcibly on my mind as a call from God, as a fecond caufe from him the firft caufe, to dispose my mind to engage in this call to you, and gave stability to thoughts on the fubject of your converfion, which before were unfettled and wavering. In short, from this moment, I came to a decifion on the matter, and refolved on the present work, praying to God from time to time to enable me to bring it to an happy conclufion, and withal to fupport the expences of the press, in publishing it to you and the world. I am unfeignedly thankful to God for his grant of thefe requests. My morning and evening addrefs of prayer, praise and thanksgiving,

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to this infinitely wife, great and good Being, the one fupreme and only Lord God of heaven and earth, your and my Jehovah and Creator, confifts partly of a petition to become his inftrument, under his guidance and protection, in promoting the knowledge and practice of Gofpel truth and morality, the political and religious liberty of my country and the world, and the converfion and restoration of his people, the houfe of Ifrael, to their own land. But whether you, my Jewish friends, may judge the preceding sheets to contain aught worthy of your notice, and illuminative of your mind, or not, on a fubject confeffedly of the first importance to you, the wife and good among you cannot but entertain a favourable opinion of the unfeigned good-will towards the whole house of Ifrael, which poffeffes and actuates the heart of

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I omitted to inform you, that remote Christian antiquity may be alledged in fupport of the fact, that Jefus was the real fon of Jofeph; for the Ebonites, who held the fame opinion, flourished, to the best of my recollection of ecclesiastical history, before the end of the first century. These Chriftians are fuppofed by the justly celebrated Dr. Lardner, in his Jewish and Heathen teftimonies to the truth of the Chriftian religion,' to be the defcendents of Jewish converts, and, confequently, may be supposed to have studied the prophecies of the Old Teftament with a more than ordinary attention, and to have understood them better than the Gentile profelites.

Moreover, on that prophecy of Mofes, Deut. xviii. 15, The Lord thy God will raife up unto thee a prophet, from the

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midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me,' the Emperor Julian, who reigned in the fourth century, in his work against the Chriftians, cited by the faid Dr. Lardner, from Cyril's anfwer to it, has the following

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just remark, This cannot be spoken concerning the fon of Mary,' that is, Mary alone, but evidently implies, that Jefus had as well a man for his father, as a woman for his mother.

Since I wrote the above, I have been informed, that the prefent liberal-minded Emperor of Germany, whom I mentioned in the beginning of this work, as having granted your people the privilege of educating their children in German univerfities, was defirous of giving them all the rights of citizenhip; but that he was oppofed in his benevolent defign by the Burgo-mafters. Hence you plainly fee, that, till you acknowledge the crucified Jefus the fon of Jofeph for your Meffiah, your unfettled, vagabond, difperfed ftate. will continue, in conformity

conformity to the prophecies of your Jehovah, in this refpect, who, by his fuperintending providence, will fo difpose his natural events, that while you remain in your unbelief, though good men, or kings of enlarged minds, may propofe the adoption of you into their respective civil communities, yet other men of more confined and unenlightened understandings will not be wanting, who will make it a point of duty to counteract and fruftrate their worthy humane intentions towards you.

I have also heard, that there are Jewish profelites to Chriftianity refiding at Lifle in Flanders, and in various parts of Germany, who have it in contemplation to return to their own land. If the report be true, I should not hesitate to encourage them to return without delay; and, if there be any fuchfincere converts in Britain, whether they be British or foreign Jews, or both, or those whofe converfion may be effected by the ar guments ufed in this affectionate Call to you,

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