prophecy of Daniel to Himself; and the overthrowing the claims of that book to authenticity and genuineness, became, therefore, a subtle expedient for flinging discredit on the knowledge possessed by Jesus. As Dr M'Call has ably shown, "it is impossible to separate the essential elements of Christ's teaching from the book of Daniel, and equally impossible to suppose that He, who came into the world to bear witness to the truth, would ground His claims and His most solemn doctrine on a forgery. The question of the genuineness and authenticity of Daniel cannot, therefore, be separated from that respecting the fallibility or infallibility of the Saviour."*

the

This question regarding Messianic Prophecy is of the greatest importance, and must always demand the closest and most reverent attention. We are not called to enter into it fully at this time, but we desire to remind scholars of the vital necessity of searching thoroughly into the subject for themselves, so that they may be armed with that sound knowledge which alone can be brought to parry insinuations of Bunsen's imitators. In Mr Young's Christology of the Targums" they will find not only translations, but the originals, in Chaldee and in Hebrew, of the passages referring to the Messiah, in the Jewish Targums, and the Bible. The book is invaluable to Biblical students, and the following remarks serve to indicate one great aim of the author in its publication :—

66

MESSIANIC PROPHECY, AS IT AFFECTS THE JEWS.

"In the early ages of Christianity the question between Jews and Christians was much narrower than it is at present. The dispute then was simply, Is Jesus of Nazareth the Messiah or not? No one ever thought of ques tioning the truth, that a great deliverer-the Messiah-was promised from the beginning of time by God Himself. It was the theme of the loftiest aspirations of the prophets, and poets, and patriots, of the Israelitish nation. It was that which gave meaning to the countless ceremonies of the Mosaic ritual; it bore up their fainting spirits whan they wept by Babel's streams; and it was that which nerved them to contemn and throw off the yoke of Imperial Rome, to resist even unto death, and to the utter overthrow of their temple and commonwealth. To all countries of the world whither they were scattered, they carried this precious doctrine along with them. and so late as the year 1180 it was formally enrolled by Maimonides among the Thirteen Fundamental Articles of the Jewish Faith, in these words:I believe with a perfect faith in the coming of Messiah; and although he may tarry, nevertheless I will look for him every day till he come.'

"Rabbi Joseph Albo, who lived about the year 1440, was among the first who openly denied that the belief in the coming of a Messiah was a fundamental doctrine of Judaism. (See his work entitled Sepher Ikkazim, Orat. 4. c. 42, published at Soncino in 1486, and at Sdilikow in 1836). Unfortunately, not a few since his day have embraced his opinion, that there is not in the law, or in the prophets, any prophecy that necessarily showeth anything regarding the coming of the Messiah, for all of them can be interpreted (according to their several places) concerning the times they refer to. Modern Jews are therefore disinclined to speak of the coming of the Messiah, and treat the subject as one of little or no importance. As long as they are in this position, and entertain these feelings, the Christian Missionary will make little impression on them. Addresses to their consciences will

* "Prophecy," in Aids to Faith. Murray. 1862.

be treated simply as an insult; and if they condescend to argue at all, they will point to their good deeds, to their strict observance of new moons and sabbaths, and to the righteousness of their fathers. It will therefore be the duty and the interest of Christian Missionaries to turn their attention more directly to the Scriptures of the Old Testament, to endeavour to arouse in their minds a desire to read God's Word which He revealed to their fathers, to show how the facts and the doctrines of Christianity are in unison with their own Scriptures, and how clearly the doctrine of a Messiah is therein revealed. And in prosecution of this he will find no more valuable auxiliary than the Chaldee Targums. Written at a very remote period, without any reference to Christianity, such is the Messianic feeling with which they are pervaded, that there are no less than seventy-two references in them to the coming Deliverer, and in which he is uniformly denominated 'THE MESSIAH.' It is true that in several of the scripture passages founded on, there is no proper reference to this Being: but this circumstance only brings out more fully the importance attached by the Targumists to the doctrine in question. Neither are we to suppose that they have quoted all the Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament; but certainly they have quoted enough to show that they understood all the more important passages that Christians quote from the Old Testament on the Jewish controversy, in precisely the same manner as we do now."

And Mr Young also mentions :—

"With the view of affording a convenient manual to the enquiring Jew or Gentile student, we have gathered together all the above-mentioned passages from the Targums, together with the original Hebrew passages on which they are founded, to which we have added a translation of the Hebrew and Chaldee Texts into English."

The value of the work is great, and of those who turn to it many, no doubt, will reap benefit and extend its good effects to others. Certainly it affords a body of proof which might ensure conviction in almost all unprejudiced minds.

JESUS OUR ARK.*

THIS is one of that class of books which are perpetually being needed by humble and earnest Christians, and find a welcome in many homes where they have assisted in bringing comfort. Without pretensions to new and startling views of Gospel truth, or a display of profound scholarship, their authors limit their endeavours to the enforcing those simple principles of Christianity which are so especially needed for the purification of the heart, the strengthening of the faith, and the direction of the conduct. These fundamental principles are always in danger of being neglected, on account of their apparent obviousness, whilst attention is being widely concentrated upon doctrinal difficulties or verbal criticisms which appeal to the understanding and not to the heart. "Jesus our Ark," is well fitted to become a favourite among religious readers for whom clearness and tender

* Jesus our Ark. By J. Christian Mongheir. London: William Freeman, 102 Fleet Street. 1862.

earnestness of address, possess more attraction than elaborate expositions could do. It may be regarded as a commentary on the history of Noah, as the type, and on the propitatory sacrifice of Jesus, the anti-type, to whom his repentant and faithful people are to come for rest and safety. The author observes :-" Various are the types and figures under which our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is set forth in the Holy Scriptures for our consolation and edification. Some of the most remarkable ones have engaged the pens of several eminent writers; but the type of the Noachic Ark has not received that consideration which its prominence deserved this desideratum has elicited the following pages." He accordingly considers, 1st, the cause of the Deluge; 2d, God's Elective Grace and the fruit of Holy Living; 3d, the Type; and lastly the Anti-type.

There is much of the directness and familiar strength of "Bogatsky's Golden Treasury" in this volume, and it may become a household friend with many who admire that well-approved companion of meditative hours. We furnish the following specimen of "Jesus Our Ark" :

"We are not to expect that in the ordinary dealings of God with man He will give special warnings to him, as he did to Noah-yet the man who has found favour in the sight of God is sanctioned to expect the motion of the Divine Spirit imperceptibly guiding him through his journey in life, and bringing him into a safe haven. Many who have experienced the motions of the Divine Spirit within themselves can testify to this, although to fleshly and worldly eyes such notions may not be observable; yet he who is wise and will observe these things, even he shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord.

"In the history of remarkable characters recorded in the Scriptures, we find numerous instances of the guiding providence of God, and we have a warranty in it, that he who puts his trust in God shall have God for his guide. He has declared, 'I will never leave nor forsake thee.' But it should be our care to be guided by the revealed will of God-in it are laid down directions for all occasions. We need only a prayerful, teachable, and relying spirit to be benefited thereby; and we should bear in mind not to quench the motions of the Spirit by any wilfulness of our own, but be guided by Him as faithful Noah was. He hesitated not, he doubted not, but, thus did Noah, according to all that God had commanded him, so did he."

MACPHAIL'S

EDINBURGH ECCLESIASTICAL JOURNAL.

No. CCIV.'

JANUARY 1863.

THE LADY OF LA GARAYE.*

"Who hath gone farther on the silent path
Which leads away from earth and all its ties,

Down whose dim track friends gaze with swimming eyes?

"For yet she bore her with a solemn air,
Like one who by a miracle was there,
And who but now had on the confines been
Of a far different but sublimer scene.
Then in my heart awoke this earnest prayer:
Since, in mysterious wisdom, The Most High
Ordains a longer stay in this rude place,
Sweet Lady, may its sin and vanity
Ne'er steal this holy quiet from thy face,
And when thou truly liest down to die,
May it be with the same religious grace.'

*

ALLAN PARK PATON'S POEMS, 1848.

THE incidents of the story of La Garaye are few and simple, but our knowledge of their being strictly true, and the manner in which they are told by Mrs Norton, give additional charm to the narrative. We learn from her that the beautiful little study of a head which forms the frontispiece to the volume, is "copied from an authentic picture of the Countess de La Garaye preserved in one of the religious houses of Dinan in Brittany, where the Hospital of Incurables, founded

The Lady of La Garaye, by the Hon. Mrs Norton. Macmillan, London and Cambridge. 1862. Second Edition.

VOL. XXXIV.

X

memory

of

by her and her husband, still subsists. The ruined château, and its ivy-covered gateway, are faithfully given [on the title-page], without embellishment or alteration, as they appeared when I saw them in the year 1860." She continues:-"The château is rapidly crumbling. The memory of the De La Garayes is fresh in the the people. They died within two years of each other, and were buried among their poor in the district of Taden; having, both during their lives, and by will after death, contributed the greater part of their fortune to the wisest and most carefully conducted charities. Among the bequests left by the Count de la Garaye, was one especi ally interesting to this country; for he left a large sum to the prisoners of Rennes and Dinan, consisting principally of English officers and soldiers, who were suffering, in these crowded foreign jails, all the horrors which the philanthropic Howard endeavoured to reform in his own land, and which at one time caused a sort of plague to break out in Dinan. This humane bequest is the more remarkable, as the Count was, in spite of the gentleness and generosity of his feelings towards imprisoned foes, patriotic enough to insist on marching to oppose the landing of the English on the coast of France in 1746, though he was then upwards of seventy years of age!"

The volume is dedicated to "the most noble the Marquis of Lansdowne," and not often is a poetical tribute of inscription to a friend given more gracefully and with more evident sincerity than this:

"Friend of old days, of suffering, storm, and strife,
Patient and kind through many a wild appeal;
In the arena of thy brilliant life

Never too busy or too cold to feel:

Companion from whose ever-teeming store

Of thought and knowledge happy memory brings
So much of social wit and sage's lore

Garnered and gleaned by me as precious things:

"So, in the brooding calm that follows woe,
This tale of LA GARAYE I fain would tell,-
As when some earthly storm hath ceased to blow,
And the huge mounting sea hath ceased to swell;

"After the maddening wrecking and the roar,

The wild high dash, the moaning sad retreat,
Some cold slow wave creeps faintly to the shore,
And leaves a white shell at the gazer's feet.

"Take, then, the poor gift in thy faithful band;
Measure its worth not merely by my own,

But hold it dear as gathered from the sand
Where so much wreck of youth and hope lies strown."