1 r' f^ //.y./>v ^ PRINCETON, N. J. ^ Presented by "Dr-. ^. <:^."Vc7\-Wo>n Division .X)..C)...I..4- ^ O ?^P; o y^ ( APR 8 1914 ^ ON ^^^ ' ^*^ THE FOUR LAST BOOKS OF THE PENTATEUCH ; DESIGNED 70 SHOW THE DIVINE OTxIGIN OF THE JEWISH RELIGION; CHIEFLY FROM INTERNAL EVIDENCE IN THREE PARTS. I. THE AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH OF THE HISTORY. II. THE THEOLOGICAL, MORAL, AND POLITICAL PRINCIPLES OF THE JEWISH LAW. III. REVIEW OF THE EFFECTS OF JUDAISM AS PREPARATORY TO CHRISTIANITY. DELIVERED IN THE CHAPEL OF TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN, AT THE LECTURE ESTABLISHED BY THE PROVOST AND SENIOR FELLOWS, UNDER THE WILL OF MRS. ANNE DONNELLAN. BY THE LATE REV. RICHARD 'GRAVES, D.I). M.R.I.A. OmN OF ARDAGH, PROFESSOR OF DIVINITY IN TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIP EIGHTH EDITION. LONDON: HENRY G. BOHN, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN, 1850. EXTRACT FROM THE REGISTRY OF TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN. " Whereas a Legacy of One thousand two hundred and forty- three Pounds, has been bequeathed to the College of Dublin, bv Mrs Anne Donnellan, for the encouragement of Keligion, Learning, and good Manners ; the particular mode of application being intrusted to the Provost and Senior Fellows : — " Resolved, " I. That a Divinity Lecture, to which shall be annexed a Salary arising from the interest of One thousand two hundred Pounds, shall be established for ever, to be called Donndlan's " IL That the Lecturer shall be forthwith elected from among the Fellows of said College, and hereafter annually on the 20th of November. " IIL That the subject or subjects of the Lectures shall be determined at the time of election by the Board, to be treated of in six Sermons, which shall be delivered in the College Cha- pel, after morning service, on certain Sundays, to be appointed on the 20th of November next, after the election of the Lecturer, and within a year from said appointment. " IV. That one moiety of the interest of the said ^£'1,200 shall be paid to the Lecturer, as soon as he shall have delivered the whole number of Lectures ; and the other moiety as soon as he shall have published four of the said Lectures — one copy to be deposited in the Library of the College, one in the Library of Armagh, one in the Library of St Sepulchre, one to be given to the Chancellor of the University, and one to the Provost of the Colleo-e.'" INTRODUCTION. When the Friends of Irreligion and Anarchy in this country, some years ago, disseminated with a malignant industry the First Part of Mr Paine's " Age of Reason," containing a bold and virulent attack on the Scriptures of the Old Testament, the Heads of tlie University of Dublin judged that it might be expedient to direct the attention of the Students to the clear and convincing evidence by which this part of Revelation is sustained. On that occasion, the Subject of the following Lec- tures was selected for the ensuing year, when it was my duty to deliver them. But before that period arrived, so many able and satisfactory answers* appeared to Mr Paine''s pamphlet ; and the extreme ignorance of its author, the futility of his rea- sonings, and the grossness of his misrepresentations, were so clearly exposed; that I judged it unnecessary to conduct my researches or form my arguments with any particular reference to the objections urged in that tract ; and determined on taking a wider range, and entering into a more radical discussion of the divine original of the Jewish Scheme, than I had at first * Amongst these, the excellent Apology of Bishop Watson undoulftedly ranks the fir>t. Ip this country, th»> Rev. Mr Hincks, of Cork, produced a very useful compila- tion on the same subject; and Dr Stokes, of Trinity College, Dublin, published a briel but able answer to Mr Paine, which was circulated with excellent etiei-t amongst tne Students. VI IN'JRODUCTIOX. designed. For that purpose I resolved to examine the four last books of the Pentateuch with all the attention in my power, and discover how far they carried internal evidence of their genuineness and truth, in the detail both of the common and the miraculous events. The following Work is the effect of that determination. The Friends of Religion will, I trust, receive this attempt to explain and defend a part of Revelation most frequently assailed by infidels,* with candour and indulgence. I am deeply sensi- ble of the importance of the subject, and would not have pre- sumed to enter upon it, had I found it already pre-occupied by any writer of established reputation. But it appeared to me, that all, or very nearly all the distinguished authors, whose labours have been employed in illustrating the Old Testament in parti- cular, or stating the proofs of Revelation in general, have been in some degree led away from bestowing on this subject that continued attention which its importance deserved, and combin- ing the various characters of truth incidentally dispersed through the writings of the great Jewish Legislator, in one distinct view^ in which each would communicate new lustre to the rest. Such authors as have illustrated the Scriptures with continued com- mentaries, were, by the very nature of their undertaking, pre- vented from uniting in one view the many important observa- tions and proofs which the separate parts of tlie sacred text sug- gested. Those who were employed in refuting the objections of any one particular antagonist, M'ere almost inevitably led to mag- nify these objections beyond their relative importance in any general consideration of the subject. The same writers also were * Tliat infidels or sceptics still direct their chief attacks against the Old Testament, is daily experienced. The reader will see some very recent instances, in tlio piiblicar- tlous ill' lliw late Rrv. Dr G«dd«s, and of Mr De Wetta, noticed in tho Aitkndix INTRODUCrriON. VH frequently induced to employ their attention almost exclusively on such passages, as seemed obscure or objectionable ; and pass with less distinct notice the clear and direct arguments and proofs, which were to be derived from those parts of the sacred history which scepticism itself could scarcely venture to attack : — thus suffering the adversary of revealed truth to lead its advo- cate from the strongest to the weakest ground ; and to prevent him from employing those topics which would operate most powerfully on every candid and unprejudiced mind. Works con- structed entirely on this plan, have sometimes a most pernicious effect on the young, the uninformed, and the wavering. They lead them to consider Revelation as consisting chiefly of obscu- rities, and founded chiefly on questionable facts. Wliile on the contrary, the great truths it establishes are as clear and intel- ligible as they are important : and the series of proofs on which it rests, when viewed in their natural order, are so firmly con- nected and plainly conclusive, that, if considered with attention and candour, they carry with them the fullest conviction. And when contrasted with the improbabilities which must be credited without proof, and the wild conjectures which must be admitted as certain, by those who reject all supernatural interposition in the history of religion, they render it evident that Uind credu- lity* is much more imputable to those who helieve the sacred his- tory to be false, than those who admit it to be true : and that sound reason and philosophy, far from being opposed to religious faith, do in reality coalesce with and support it. In what I have now said, I beg that I may not be misunder- stood ; as if I undervalued the labours of those Writers, who have stepped forward with such manly and pious zeal, to repel * Vide for some instances of this, the Appenilix, Sect. II. in the review of the man- ner in wK'ch Dr Geddes attempts tn arrmint for the Mosaic Miracles. Vin INTRODUCTION. the assailants of Revelation. No, their exertions have beon most praiseworthy and usefuh They have shown, that the most obscure parts of Scripture admit a fair and natural explanation, and that the most plausible objections to it are founded on mis- conception and mistake. They have exposed in the strongest colours, the disingenuousness and the uni-easonableness of infidel writers : and in various important particulars, have illustrated many truths of Revelation with great clearness, and strength- ened its evidence by new proofs. I only mean to say ; that works entirely or chiefly controversial, are not the best calculated for impressing conviction on the yet wavering mind of youth, or conveying that information which is most necessary to the uninstructed. They rather prepare the way for, and facilitate the labours of, the direct and general advocate for the truth of Revelation, than pre-occupy his office or supersede the necessity of his exertions. It was on this view I undertook, and with these feelings I composed, the following Treatise. In that part of it, which ia entitled a Review of the chief Effects of Judaism^ as connected with and preparatory to Christianity, I hope it will be found, that I have endeavoured to attend to the principles I have now stated; and to combine the answer to each objection with the statement of the positive evidence for the truth of the facts, or the rea- sonableness of the principles, objected to ; in such a manner, as may prevent this Work from having any tendency to perplex the minds, or unsettle the faith of that class of Students, to whom the different parts of it were separately addressed ; and to whom it is my most ardent wish and humble prayer that it may now be useful. If it be asked, why I have separated the evidences of Judaism from those of Christianity ? I answer, not only because the INTRODUOTION. IX admirable works of many eminent writers, particularly of Arch- deacon Paley,* had already exhibited the distinct evidence of the Gospel history in the clearest view ; but because I conceive the combination of these two subjects in most preceding works, in which the divine original of the Jewish Law has been defend- ed, has in some measure prevented the distinct evidence for this part of Revelation from being as fully and clearly stated as it ought to be. Where the Law and the Gospel are at once in a writer's contemplation, the immediate and as it were practical importance of the latter must appear so much greater than that of the former, that it is natural this should engross almost the V; liole of his attention. Besides, the proofs and principles of the Mosaic Law are so distinct from those of the Gospel, and the period of human history with Avhich they are connected so dif- ferent, that it is not easy to combine them in one system of rea- soning with clearness and effect. At the same time, I am fully sensible of the inseparable connexion between these two grand parts of the divine economy of grace ; and that to represent either as independent of the other, would be to misrepresent and undermine it. I hope it will be found that this principle has not been neglected in the following Work.-f* Tf it be asked why I have exhibited the internal evidence of the Mosaic Law separate from the external f I answer, because I conceive it a completely distinct topic of argument, to which the external evidence is properly a supplement, which may be resorted to with much more advantage and effect when the in- ternal has been first distinctly considered. Besides, the external testimonies for the truth of the Mosaic history have been lately * In his Evidences of Christianity, and his Horcs Paulince ; which last I consider as one of the most original, most convincing, and most important ilhistrations of th« truth of the Gospel History, ever published. t Vide Part III. Lect. V. & Vf. X INTRODUCTION. examined and exhibited by many learned and able writers (par- ticularly by Mr Facer, in his Horse Mosaics) so fully, that it would be as unnecessary as it would be arrogant to attempt to supersede their labours, when I can do my reader so much more service by simply referring to them.* * As this Work may come into the hands of some theological Students desirous to acquaint themselves with the external evidences for the truth of the Old Testament, I annex the following references to some of the chief authors who have treated of them. JosEPHUS, in his first book against Apion, quotes many testimonies to the antiquity of the Jewish nation; the circumstances attending their emigration from Egypt, aod the later periods of their history, from a number of authors then extant, and whom he appeals to as perfectly known, though only fragments of a few of their works now re- main. He appeals also to the public records of the Tyrians, " which (says he) are " kept with great exactness, and include accounts of the facts done among them, and " such as concern their transactions with other nations also." These records state the Duilding of the temple of Solomon, and the time it took place, and various circum- stances connected with it. — Josephus also quotes Manaetho, Dius the historian of Phoe- nicia, and Menander of Ephesus, to the same purpose. He also quotes Berosus the Chaldean, " well known (says he) by the learned, on account of his publication of the " Chaldean books of astronomy, and philosophy among the Greeks. This Berosus " therefore, following the most ancient records of that nation, gives us a History of " the Deluge of fFaters that then happened, and of the destruction of mankind thereby, " and agrees with Moses's narrative thereof ; he also gives an account of the Ark " wherein Noah the origin of our race was preserved, when it was brought down to the " highest part of the Armenian mountains ; after which he gives a catalogue of the pos- " tf rity of Noah, and adds the years of their chronology, and at length comes down to " Nabolassar (or Nabopollassar) who was king of Babylon." — I earnestly recommend the entire Book to the perusal of the Student. The concurrence of the Sacred Records with those of Pagan history, and the pro- bable derivation of much of tiie ancient philosophy from the Scripture, is confirmed by EiTsEBins in his Prceparaiio Evangelira, much more fully than by Josephus — a work of such signal importance that it may be u'Juful to give an Abstract of its Contents, to excite the attention of the Student. In his first book, Eusebius exhibits a vi. xvu. ^ Cap. .\xvii. INTRODUCTION. I submit this Work to the Public. To them I answer, that the history of the four last books of the Pentateuch forms one subject perfectly distinct from the history of the book of Genesis, except BO far as it is connected with the account of the fall of man in Gale, in his Court of the Gentiles, has ti^aced the original of human literature, both philologic and philosophic, from the Scriptures and the Jewish Church, with a great vai iety uf argument, and a great extent of erudition. Vide his First Part, as to the traduction of the Pagan literature and mythology from the Jews ; and his second, as to the original of philosophy. In this work, the zeal for carrying his system to a great extent has perhaps led this learned Author too far, but unquestionably he has collected a body of most important evidence, which establishes the truth of the Scripture His- tory. Bochart's Phaleg, tracing the dispersion of mankind; and Bryant's Analysis of Jncicnt Mythology; confirm this coincidence. But the Works of Bochart and Bryant are perhaps too voluminous and learned for the generality of students. They will find the testimonies of antiquity to the truth of the Scriptures clearly but briefly exhibited, oy Grotius, in his Truth of the Christain Religion, with Le Clerc's valuable notes — oy Allix, in his Reflections on Genesis xix. and xx., and on the Historical and Pro- phetical Books, Chap, ii., a work included in Watson's Tracts — by the Bishop of Lin- coln, in his Elements of Christain Theology, Part I. chap, i.— and especially by the learned Mr Faber, in his HonB Mosaicae, Book I. Sect. 1. to whose work I refer, as superseding the necessity of my entering any further into this subject. It may not be inexpedient to observe here, that another topic from which the autho- rity and credibility of the Pentateuch, and indeed of the entire Old Testament, derives great confirmation, is the agreement of the manners and customs of the East, as they incidentally appear in the Sacred Records, with the manners and customs which history proves prevailed in the East at the period when the events related in Scripture took place; and from the great illustration which the Scriptures have received, by comparing them with the observations of modern travellers, on the productions, the manners, and the feelings prevalent in the East at this day; where, from the peculiar stability of established manners and customs, clear vestiges still remain of that state of society which the Scriptures describe. On this subject, I refer to Harmer's Observations on Scripture which have been judiciously added to, improved and applied, by Mr Border, in his Oriental Customs applied to illustrate the Scriptures. I will conclude this already too long, but I hope not useless note, by referring the Student desirous at once of extending his knowledge, and confirming his faith to the Rev. Mr Madrice's History of Ilindostan, and to the accomplished Sir William Jones's Researches into the History and Antiquities of Asia, and those of his learned Cqlleagues; where he will find multiplied confirmations of the truth of the Scripture history, derived from the most unsuspected sources, and delivered with the greatest clearness and candour. To limit his search, I would direct the student particularly to consult Mr Maurice's History, Vol. I. chap. i. where he points out the striking circumstances of similairty between the Hindoo, the Hebraic, the Phoenician, the Egyptian, and the Grecian systems of cosmogony! as in their account of the incumbent wind or spirit agitating' the abyss — of water> being tlie priniieval elcinunt. »tc. I would also refer to liis secomi LNTRODUCTIO.V. the grand economy of grace. The evidence of the divine original of the Mosaic Law may therefore be clearly exhibited without including the consideration of the facts recorded in the book of Genesis. I add, that in the natural order of reasoning, the chapter, which shows that the Indian claims to antiquity are fallacious and cannot be opposed to the Mosaic history and the Hebrew chronology: to his tenth chapter, in which he concludes his learned and laborious investigation into the histoiy of astronomy, and proves that the result of the whole survey, so far from subverting, gives a decided support to the Mosaic records. In the eleventh chapter, we find the Mosaic history of Adam and the/o// confirmed by the Indian records and traditions — in the twelfth, the Mosaic account of the antedeluvians receives similar illustration ; and in the thirteenth, the history of the deluge receives the most full, and I had almost said, irresistible con- firmation. In Vol. II. Book ii. chap. ii. the Student will find many solid arguments to prove that ancient Sanscreet writings corroborate the Mosaic records; and in Book iv. he will find it, I think, irrefutably established, that "immemorial traditions diflused over all the East, and derived from a patriarchal source, concerning the fall of man, *fae original promise, and a future Mediator, had taught the whole gentile world to expect the appearance of a sacred and illustrious personage about the time of Christ's advent," Here also the opinions I have ventured to advance concerning Zoroaster and the Magi,* are illustrated and confirmed; and the similitude between the life and coo- duct of the Messiah and of Creesluia, the great Indian preserver, described and ac- counted for. And in the fifth chapter of the same book will be found ancient predic- tions traditionally preserved, respecting the day of judgment, and the destruction of the world by fire. From the Asiatic Researches I will point out some testimonies to the truths of the Sacred History, most directly connected with the subject of this work. — In the first volume, p. 229, we find a dissertation on the Gods of Greece, Italy, and India, in which Sir William gives his reasons for believing that " the fable of the life of Saturn " was raised on the true history of Noah, and translated from the Bhagavat. The " history of Menu or Satyavrata, an Indian king of divine birth, eminent for his piety '• and beneficence, whose story seems evidently to be that of Noah disguised by " Asiatic fiction, and of whom we may safely offer a conjecture that he was the same as ♦' Saturn." On this epitome of the first Indian history which is now extant, Sir William Jones remarks: "it appears to me very curious and important; for the story, though whimsi- •' cally dressed up in the form of an allegory, seems to prove a primsBval tradition in " this country, of the deluge described by Moses, and consequently fixes the time when '* the genuine Hindoo chronology actually begins. In page 244, Sir William tells us, " that water was the primitive element and first " work of the creative power, is the uniform opinion of the Indian philosophers: but as " they gave so particular an account of the geneial deluge, and of the creation, it can " never be admitted that their whole system arose from traditions concerning the flood f alone j and it must appear indubitable that their doctrine is in part borrowed from liXTRODUCTIOJf. divine mission of Moses should be proved by its peculiar evi- dence, hefore the truth of the antecedent facts can be decid- edly admitted, because the credibility of the facts recorded in this history must always chiefly rest on the authority of their " the opening of Beresith or Genesis, than which a more sublime passage from the first " word to the last never flowed or will flow from any human pen — ' In the beginning " God cieated the earth, and the earth was void and waste, and darkness was upon the " face of the deep, and the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters; and God " said, Let light be, and light was.' — The siiblimity of this passage is considerably " diminished by the Indian paraphrase with which Menu, the son of Brama, begins his " address to the sages who consulted him on the formation of the universe: " This world (says he) was all darkness undescribable, untlistinguishable, altogether •' as in profound sleep, till the self-existent irresistible God, making it manifest with "five elements and other glorious forms, perfectly dispelled the gloom: he desiring to " raise up various cieatures by an emanation from his own glory, first created the " waters and impressed them with a power of motion — by that power was produced a "golden egg, blazing like a thousand suns, in which was born Brahma, self-existing, " the great parent of all rational beings. The waters are called Nara, since they are " the offspring of Nera or Iwara, and thence was Narayana named, because his first " ayana or moving was upon them. That which is the invisible cause eternal, self- " existing but unperceived, becoming masculine from neuter, is celebrated among all "creatures by the name of Brahma; that God having dwelled in the egg through "revolving years, himself meditating on himself, divided it into two equal parts, and " from these halves formed the heavens and the earth, placing in the midst the subtle " ether, the eight points of the world, and the permanent receptacle of waters." " To this curious description with which the Manaya Sastra begins, I cannot refrain " (says Sir William) from subjoining the four first verses of the Bhagavat, and which " are believed to have been pronounced by the Supreme Being to Brahma. The fol- " lowing version is most scrupulously literal : ' Even I was at first, not any other thing, that which exists unperceived, supreme; ' afterwards / am that which is, and he who must remain am I. * Except the first cause, whatever may appear and may not appear in the mind, know that to be to the mind, m&y&, (or delusion) as light to darkness. « As the great elements are in various beings, entering yet not entering, (that is, ' pervading, not destroying) thus am I in tlum, yet not in tlicm. ' Even thus far may enquiry be made by liim who seeks to know the principle of * mind in union and separation, which must be every where, always.' " Wild and obscure (says Sir William) as these ancient verpes must ajipear in a "naked veibal translation, it will perhaps be thought by many, that the poetry or my- " thology of Greece and Italy aflbrd no conceptions more awfully magnificent; yet the ' beauty and simplicity of tiie Mosaic dicticn are unequalled." I may be permitted to add, tliat these verses seem to have been composed by sonic one acquainted with the character in which Jehovah describes himself to the Jcwisn Lawgiver, / am thai I am — / am hath sent you. At the close of this most interesting dissertation, Sir '\Vilii;iin Jones remarks: "I am *' persuaded that a connexion sulnistcd between the old idolatrous nations of Egypt, INTRODUCTION. XV inspired Historian, which I have here endeavoured to estabHsh. I trust, therefore, this Work will be found one distinct and unmutilated system, embracing the full extent of the subject it professes to discuss, I will, however, candidly confess, the great cause why I nave not attempted to comply with the suggestions of my very respec- table but certainly partial friends, is my inability to do so. The work they prescribe is on a subject of great importance and extent, and on which the daily increasing knowledge of Orien- tal literature and history, and the extension of physical and geological* discoveries are perpetually throwing new light. To " India, Greece, and Italy, long before tliey emigrated to their respective settlements, " and consequently before the birth of Moses ; — but the truth of this proposition will in " ac degree affect the truth and sanctity of the Mosaic history ; which if confirmation " were wanted, it would rather serve to confirm. " The Divine Legate, educated by the daughter of a king, and in all respects highly " accomplished, could not but know the mythological system of Egypt ; but he migh "have condemned the superstitions of that people, and despised the speculative absur- " dities of their priests, though some of their traditions concerning the creation and the " flood were grounded on truth. Who was better acquainted with the mythology of " Athens than Socrates ? who more accurately versed in the Ral)binical doctrines than " Paul ? who possessed clearer ideas of all ancient astronomic systems than Newton ? " in whom could the Romish Church have had a more formidable opponent than Chil- " lingworth, whose deep knowledge of its tenets rendered him so competent to dispute " them ? in a word, who more exactly knew the abominable rites and shocking idola- *' tries of Canaan, than Moses himself ? yet the learning of these great men only in- " cited them to seek other sources of truth, piety, and virtue, than those in which they "had long been immersed. There is no shadow then of foundation for an opinion that ♦' Moses borroived the first nine or ten chapters of Genesis from the literature of Egypt. " Still less can the adamantine pillars of our Christian faith be moved by the result of "any debates on the comparative antiquity of the Hindoos and Egyptians, or of any " inquiries into the Indian theology." For the remainder of this interesting article, T refer to the Work itself. * On this subject, my countryman and friend, the celebrated Mr Kirwan, has dis- tinguished himself; vide his Essay on the primitive State of the Globe and its subse- quent catastrophe, in the 6th volume of the Transactions of the Royal Irish Acadfrny, p. 233; and his three Essays in support of it, in the beginning of the 8th vol. — Vide also the Rev. Mr Graydon's curious memoir on the fish inclosed in stone in Mount Bolca, vol. 5. p. 281. As to the univer.iality of the deluoe. I believe there is now no material difference of opinion among naturalists; it is supportea Dy phenomena which carry with them de- cisive conviction. I will not presume to say that the formation of the earth from the INTKODUCTION. treat such a subject superficially, would be neither creditable nor useful. To examine and discuss it with any moderate de- gree of accuracy, would demand much research, much labour, and much time ; and I have no prospect of leisure for such a Work, were I even in other respects competent to it. In truth, these Lectures which I now venture to submit to the public, have been composed with so many interruptions, and amidst so many avocations, as have. I am sensible, produced many inaccuracies of style which a careful revision might have enabled me to avoid; and too often, I fear, have prevented me from supporting my conclusions with as full an induction of facts, primiiive chaos to the habitable state, has been yet so clearly explained by geologists, that we can appeal to any one theory as decidedly proved and clearly coincident with the Mosaic account; but sure I am, there is no theory decidedly proved and clearly contradictory to that account. The study of mineralogy (I do not think it is hitherto entitled to the name of science) is scarcely yet more than fifty years standing; that of geology is still more modern. Let us not then rashly decide that either the Neptunian or the Volcanic theory is clearly proved, or that the credit of Scripture depends upon the admission of either. We certainly are not yet competent to decide the exact mode and order of the divine operations, in which Almighty Power must have proceeded in creating and preparing this world for the use of man. Possibly we may never be com- petent to ascertain it. A power must then have been exerted veiy diflerent, at least, in the mode and degree of its operation, from that by which the ordinary course of nature is now conducted, and this last alone is the subject of our present observations. This I am sure of, that the progress of natural history, and the discovery of any laws of nature to which it may lead, will never be found ultimately subversive of the truth of Revelation. But prejudice, presumption, and rashness, may give plausibility and currency to conclusions apparently inconsistent with the truth of Scripture, and shake the faith of those in whom such dispositions prevail. Against such causes of error, I would earnestly warn my readers. Time was, when papal authority declared the theory of the earth's motion was so subversive of revealed religion, that the Jesuits, who commented on the Principia of Newton, prefixed to the 3d Volume the following declaration : Newtonus in hoc libro, Teliurls motae Hypothesin assumit, Autoris propositiones aliter cxpiicari non poterant nisi eadem quoque facta Hypothesi. Hinc alienam coacti sumus gerere personam ; cocterum latis a summis Pontificibus contra Telluris motum decretis nos obsequi profitemur Lot tliis declaration stand as a monument of the rashness of supposing Scripture at war with a philosophic theory. The decrees of the Popes did not stop the motion of the earth, nor has this overturned the Cliristain faith, though it may have shaken Paps.1 infallibility. — Such, I am persuaded, will always be the final event. "Opiinonnni commenta delet dies, naturre fet Revelationis) judicia confirniat." nvrnoDucTio?^. 3cvu and as great a variety of illustrations and authorities, as might have been adduced. But 1 trust these defects have not extended to the essential parts of the Work, and that my general system of reasoning may be approved by the friends of virtue and piety. For that system I hold myself strictly responsible. No man has a right to trifle with the eternal interests of his fellow-creatures, and produce un weighed conjectures and crude opinions on such a subject as that of the following Work. For such presumptuous temerity, no pressure of business can apologize, and no display of learning or talents could atone. I would not indeed have noticed a circumstance so unimportant to the reader as my pri- I beg leave to subjoin a remarkable instance of this, in tlie ceUbrated ohwciicn ad- vanced with such confidence by Mr Hrydone and others, to disprove the Mosaic account of the period when the world was formed, which allows not quite 6,000 years to have yet elapsed, while these philosophers thonght they had found a full proof that at least 14,000 had elapsed. So that these philosophers complain, that Moses hangs as a di;ad weight upon them, and blunts all their zeal for inquiiy. Their proof is this:* "The " Canonico Recupero, who is engaged in writing tlie history of Mount Etna, has dis- " FUTURE LIFE AMONG THE JEWS, Sect. I. — Doctrine of a future state, though it does not form the sanction of the Mosaic Law, is yet contained in the writings ol Moses — Warburton's assertions on this subject, hasty and incon- sistent with each other — And with the Seventh Article of tho Church of England — Future state intimated in the history of the creation and the fall — By the circumstances attending the death of Abel — By the translation of Enoch — By the command to Abraham to sacrifice Isaac — Future state mus"i have been known to the Patriarchs, and influenced their conduct — Attested in the Epistle to the Hebrews — Instanced in the history of Jacob — Of Moses — By our Lord's reply to the doubts of the Sadducees — The declaration of Balaam — Future state an object of popular belief among the Jews — From the laws relating to necromancers, &c. ------ 288 Sect. II. — Doctrine of a future state, why not more clearly and frequently inculcated in the Pentateuch — Or under the Judges — Gradual improvement of the Jews — Future state gradually promulgated suitably to this improvement — By David, in Ps. xvi. xvii. xxxvi. xhx. ciii. cxv. cxxxix. — By Solomon, in Proverbs, passim, particularly in ch. iv. viii. xiv. xxiv. : Still more fully in Ecclesiastes, of which work this doctrine is the basis, particu- larly in ch. iii. viii. xi. and at the conclusion of the book — How further impressed on the Jews by miraculous facts — By three resurrections from the dead — By the translation of Elijah — This doctrine frequently intimated, and gradually taught with the greatest clearness by the Prophets — Isaiah — Jeremiah — Ezekiel • — Hosea — Joel — Amos — Nahum — And above all, Daniel — And also in the book of Job ----- 308 LECT. V. EFFECTS OF JUDAISM ON THE GENTILES, Bbct. I. — Objection to Judaism, first from its being confined to a single nation — Secondly, from its implying mutability in God, as being opposed to Christianity — Answer to the first — Judaism not confined in its eflccts to one nation, but intended, through the instrumentality of the Jews, to enlighten mankind — This eflfect foreseen and attended to in the Jewish scheme — Various instances to show this — Solomon's prayer at the consecration of the temple establishes the same inference — The miracles wrought for tlie Jews made a strong impression on the Egyptians — On the Canaanites — On the Philistines — On the heathens in the reign of Solomon — But counteracted by the principles of idolatry — Instanced in the history of the Samaritans — Who were how- ever prepared by Judaiym for Christianity — Efliects produced by Judaism on the heathens during the Captivity — Instanced in tjie history of Jeremiah — Of Daniel — Of his three friends — Of Belshazzar — Of Cyrus — These facts publicly attested — Impor- tance of such attestations — Traces of these effects in the East — Traces of the same eflccts in the religion of Zoroaster — Of Ma- CONTENTS. XXlX hornet — Recapitulation — Universal reformation not to be ex- pected at that period of the world — Objection derived from partial effects of Judaism, erroneous in its statement of facts — Inconclusive in reasoning — A revelation not being universal, implies no injustice in God - - - - - 336 Ssct. II. — Philosophy not mtroduced into Europe until near the period of the Babylonish Captivity — Thales — Anaximander — Anaxagoras — Probability that some of their opinions were ulti- mately derived from the Jews— General circumstances in the history of Grecian philosophy and rehgion, render the same thing probable of them — Their sages travelling for learning into Egypt and the East — Connexion of the Jews with Egypt at this period — Early philosophers of Greece delivered their tenets dogmatically — Inference from thence — The higher we trace the philosophy and religion of Greece, the purer it is found — Infe- rence— Providence gradually prepared the world for the Gospel — Grecian language and literature — Connexion of Greece with Asia increased — Conquests of Alexander — Singular distribution of the Jews at this period — Jews in Egypt use the Greek tongue — Septuagint translation, its importance — The formation of the Alexandrian library — Sects of Grecian philosophy — Their effect — Extension of the Roman empire — Facilitated the spread of Christianity - - - - . . -263 LECT. VI. JUDAISM PJIEPARATGRY TO CHRISTIANITY Sect. I. — Objection derived from the supposed inconsistency of the Jewish and Christian schemes — The Law and the Gospel consistent — Jewish scheme intended, from the first, to introduce the Gospel — Proved from the promise to Abraham — Circum- stances attending the repetition of this promise, to show that Abraham was a type of Christ — Jacob's prophecy concerning Shiloh — Psalm ii. xxii. xlvii. Ixvii. and Ixxii. — Isaiah ii. and xlix. • — These prophecies clearly prove the Mosaic Law was to intro- duce, and then give place to the Gospel — Why Moses did not expressly announce the intended abrogation of the Mosaic Law — He has intimated this in his promise of a prophet to arise " like unto himself" — Our Lord alone answers this character — Christ a priest after the order of Melchisedek — Meaning of this declaration explained in the epistle to the Hebrews — Argu- ment in this epistle, ch. x. — Jeremiah prophesies the substitu- tion of the Go?pel for the Law — And the spiritual nature of the Gospel --..._ 370 Sect. II, — The Law and the Prophets not only professedly design- ed to introduce the Gospel, but did in fact prepare the way for it — Necessity of the Law as a preparation for the Gospel, shown by considering the probable state of the world, if Judaism had never existed' — Extreme difficulty of introducing true religion in such a state of mankind — Such universal degeneracy prevented by the Jewish dispensation — Proved by a brief view of the facts adduced in this work — Adherence of the Jews to their Law, proves the reality of a providential interposition — The prophecies delivered by Moses on this subject prove the same — The Law was typical and figurative of the Gospel — Instances — The moral character of the Law prepared for the Gospel — The connexion of the two schemes shown by various instances — The Jews employed as the immediate instruments for introducing the Gospel — Rejection of the Gospel by the mass of the Jewish nation does not disprove the connexion of the Law and the Gospel — Confirms the proof from prophecy — and from miracles 385 LECT. VIL THE PAST AND PRESENT STATE OF THE JEWS EXHIBITS THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF PROPHECY. Evidence from Prophecy applicable to Judaism — Prophecy of Moses — As to the prosperity of the Jews — As to the punishments they were to suffer — Considered in their variety — Their sources — their duration — The face of their country — These predictions antecedent to the events — Clearly applicable to them — Not such as human wisdom or political sagacity would have dictated — In- stanced in the three Jewish Feasts — The Sabbatic Year — The remoteness of their destroyers — The circumstances attending the destruction of Jerusalem — In their subsequent dispersion — In their present state and sufferings - - - - 403 CONCLUDING LECTURE. ON THE FUTURE CONVERSION AND RESTORATION OF THE JEWS. Expectations of the Jews on this subject — justified by Prophecy — Prophecy of Moses — of Isaiah — Predicts a second restoration. . . and different in its circumstances from the Return fi-om Babylon • — After a larger period — more permanent— This restoration is to be connected with the extension of the Gospel — Present cir- cumf'tanccs of the world consistent with this expectation — As to Palestine — Commercial character of the Jewish nation — The origin and circumstances of the Parisian Sanhedrim — Its ten- dency to remove Jewish prejudices — Society in England to pro- mote Christianity among the Jews — Other circumstances in the present state of the world, which seem to prepare the way for the accomplishment of the proi)hecies tis to the final triumph of the Gospel — Conclusion - - - - - 419 CONTENTS. XXXI APPENDIX. SECT. I. Tlie Texts which were collected by Le Clerc, as affording reason to doubt whether the Pentateuch was composed by Moses, con- sidered : with the answer to the objection founded on each text annexed to it - - - - - - 439 Dr Geddes's opinions on the authenticity of the Pentateuch, con- sidered— Specimens of his reasonings on this subject - - 452 An Article in the Appendix to the eighth Volume of the Critical Review for Sept. 1806, in which M. De Wette's Work on the Old Testament is briefly considered — An humble remonstrance to the Reviewers - - - - - -458 SECT. II. Remarks on some circumstances which have occasioned doubt as to the reality of some of the Mosaic miracles —General remarks on the improbability of objections which affect only some one miracle, not the entire seiies — Miracles in which the Magicians appeared to imitate Moses ; Mr Farmer's opinion on this sub- ject, and the arguments by which he supports it — The passage of the Red Sea attempted to be accounted for without a miracle, from a passage of Josephus — True import of this passage — Sup- plies no evidence against the miracle — It is represented by Moses, and was beheved by the Jews to be clearly miraculous — Inference from thence — Improbability of the Jews being able to escape by an extraordinary ebb of the sea — Dr Geddes's observations on this subject — The pillar of cloud and fire which accompanied the Israelites — Attempted to be accounted for without a miracle — Account entirely inconsistent with the circumstances of the his- tory, and with probability — Objection, from Moses's application to Hobab — Inconclusive — Miraculous preservation of the raiment of the Jews in the wilderness — Objected to — Why necessary — Review of the mode in which Dr Geddes accounts for the whole series of Mosaic miracles, without admitting any super- natural interposition — His account unphilosophic and incredi- ble .... - 465 ADVERTISEMENT TO THE SECOND EDITION. In preparing for tliis Edition, I hare endeavoured to avail myself, as far as I could, of the different kind and candid criti- cism which have been passed upon this Work. But it is par- ticularly gratifying to me to find that no criticisms have been offered, which rendered it necessary to alter my statement of facts, or my reasoning upon them, in any material particular. I have judged it expedient to add Three Lectures ; one on the Originality and Design of the Jewish Ritual, which appeared necessary to complete the series of reasonings there adduced to confirm the divine original of the Jewish religion ; — and the other two on the Accomplishment of Prophecy in the past his- tory of the Jews, and the expectations which the same prophe- cies appear to justify as to the future Conversion and Kestoration of this chosen People, and on the Circumstances of the World, at the period when these Lectures -were written, which seemed preparatory to the accomplishment of these Expectations — a spe- culation into which the existence of those circumstances, together with the nature of the subject on which I had treated, almost irresistibly led me, but in which, I trust, it will not be found I have unreasonably or presumptuously indulged. LECTURES ON THE FOUR LAST BOOKS OF THE PENTATEUCH, PART I. ON THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE PENTATEUCH, AND THE TRUTH OF THE HISTORY, BOTH OF COMiMON AND MIRACULOUS EVENTS, CONTAINED IN THE FOUR LAST BOOKS OF IT. LECTURE I. The Jewish Nation has received the Pentateuch as containing the only authentic Historf of their Lawgiver and his Institutions, from the very Mra when these Institutions commenced at the present day. Arguments to prove the reception of the Pentateuch from the present day, back to the return of the Jews from the Babylonish Captirity — Arguments to prove that the Pentateuch was not first compiled at that jEra, or altered and modified according to circumstances then existing ; but that it was a previously existing and acknowledged Code — Pentateuch proved prior to the separation of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah — Prior to the establishment of the Regal Government in Isr-ael^Not first x:ompiled by Samuel — Acknowledged hy Joshua. DEUTERONOMY, XXxi. 9, 10, 11. *• And Moses wrote this Law, and delivered it unto the Priests the sons of Levi, which bare the " Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, and unto all the Elders of Israel : and Mosea commanded •* them, saying. At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the " Feast of Tabernacles, when all Israel is come to appear before the Lord thy God, in the place •• which he shall choose : thou shalt read this Law before all Israel, in their hearing." Such is the charge which the Jewish Lawgiver is related to have delivered to his nation, while they were yet collected in one body under his command, on the borders of the land of their inheri tance ; solemnly publishing the volume of his law, and inculcating its constant preservation and periodical public recitation as a 2 AUTHENTICITY AND TIUJTH [Part I. sacred duty, to which the priests and rulers of the people were bound most religiously to attend. It shall be the object of this lecture to examine, how far it can be proved, that the Pentateuch which our Bible contains, is in all material points the same as the book of the LaAV thus uninterruptedly received by the Jewish nation, as having been Avritten and published by their Lawgiver at the period of their first settlement in the land of Canaan; a point of the highest importance, to establish the truth of the facts which this portion of the Scripture history contains, and the divine original of that Law which it promulgates. That the Jews have acknowledged the authenticity of the Pentateuch, from the present time back to the eera of their return from the Babylonish Captivity, a period of more than 2,300 years, admits not a possibility of doubt. The five books of Moses have been during that period constantly placed at the head of the Jewish sacred volume, and divided into fixed por- tions, one of which was read and explained in their syna- gogues, not only every Sabbath with the other Scriptures, but in many places twice a-week, and not unfrequently every even- ing when they alone were read. They have been received as divinely inspired by every Jewish sect, even by the Sadducees, who questioned the divinity of the remaining works of the Old Testament. Li truth the veneration of the Jews for their Scriptures, and above all for the Pentateuch, seems to have risen almost to a superstitious reverence.* Extracts from the Mosaic Law were written on pieces of parchment, and placed on the borders of their garments, or round their wrists and foreheads. Nay, they at a later period counted with the minutest exactness not only the chapters and paragraphs, but the words and letters, whicli each book of their Scripture contains. Thus also the translation, first of the Pentateuch, and afterwards of the remaining works of the Old Testament, into Greek, for the use of the Alexan- drian Jews, disseminated this sacred volume over a great part of the civilized world, in the language most universally understood, and rendered it accessible to the learned and inquisitive in every country : so as to preclude all suspicion that it could bo mate- * Comparo Diiit. xxii. 12. and Numbers, xv, 38 and 39, with Matt, xxiii. 5. Tliey are in use at this ilny, Vid. Picart's Ceremonies Heligieuses, for the forms and modes in whicli they are written and worn: \'i'l. [. \\ o. Part I. cii. xi. :>. LeCt. I.] OF THE HISTORY. 3 rially altered by either Jews or Christians, to support their re- spective opinions as to the person and character of the Messiah ; the substance of the text being by this translation fixed and authenticated at least 270 years before the appearance of our Lord. But how far have we reason to believe that the Pentateuch was not first compiled after the Babylonish Captivity, from the indistinct traditions of the history of the Jewish nation, which, in an absence of seventy years from their country, may perhaps have lost all clear records of former events ? In answer to this suspicion I observe, that it is not supported by any semblance of probability, because the period of seventy years was not long enough to lose all clear public records of former events : nine- teen years of the Captivity of the Jewish nation had elapsed before the burning of the Temple, and the carrying away the last of the people; it is therefore perfectly credible that many individuals tli-en alive may have survived the close of the Captivity, and witnessed the rebuilding of the second Temple I and of this really having taken place we have direct testimony. " Many," says Ezra,* " of the Priests and Le- " vites, and chief of the Fathers, who were ancient men, that *' had seen the first house; when the foundation of this house was " laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice ;" Doubtless from the melancholy contrast between the magnificence of the old Temple, and the infancy and poverty of the new. Still further. Not only the individuals who remained, could compare the circumstances which had existed before the Captivity, and thus could not be deceived by so gross an imposition as any attempt to fabricate, as the public code of the national religion and government, a new compilation never before heard of; but we know that writings of far less importance were preserved. For example; no priests were admitted to resume their ofiices, who could not trace back their genealogy to Aaron and the heads of the Levites contemporary with Moses. In the book of Ezra who presided over the Jews after their restoration from the Babylonish Captivity, the particular families are specified, " who sought their " register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, \ but '* they were not found, therefore were they, as polluted, pui * Ezra, iii. 12, and Nehem. vii. 64. f Ezra, ii. 62. 4 AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH. [Part I. "from the priesthood." Nor was this exactness in tracing genealogies confined to the Priests ; we are told of others,* who " could not show their father's house and their seed, whe- " ther they were of Israel." And the reason of this exactness is plain from this; that such of the Jews as believed their prophets, expected a return into their native land after a period of seventy years, and preserved their genealogies,t as the titles on which they might resume their properties, with the same care which they had always employed from the very first commencement of the state. Thus Jeremiah the prophet, for the express purpose of impressing upon the Jews the expecta^- tion of their deliverance, is represented as " purchasing a field "according to the right of redemption, subscribing the evi- " dence, and sealing it before witnesses, and giving it to Baruch " the scribe," and charging him before all that were present, say- ing, " Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel,| Take " these evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both that which " is sealed and that which is open, and put them in an earthen " vessel, that they may continue many days ; for thus saith the " Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, houses and fields and vine- " yards shall be possessed again in this land." Now is it possible that the whole nation should lose all public records of their pub- lic Law, when they preserved public records of the descent of private families ? Is it possible that the genealogies of the priests and their distinct offices should be preserved, while the Law that described these offices, and assigned them to different families, was forgotten? Is it probable the§ identical vessels and furniture of the Temple which had been carried away at the beginning of the Captivity, should be restored as they are recorded to have been, and that no one copy of whatever code existed to regulate the laws and religion of the whole nation, as well as the Temple worship, should be preserved ? Tiie only thing which gives the least plausibility to this suspi- cion is, that we are told that the Jews had during the Captivity * Ezra, ii. 59 and 60. •j* To stiow the constant accuracy of the Jews in preserving their genealogies, and the necessity of tiitur doing so, vid. Numb, i. compared witli ch. xxxiii. 54, and Josh, xiv. Vid. also 1 Chronicles, the nine first chapters, particularly ch. v. 7 and 17, and di. ix. 1 and 22. X Vide Jeremiah xxxii. 14. Vide the entire chapter from ver. ti to the end. § Ezra, vi. 5. LeCt. T.j OF THH HISTORY. 5 (as these objectors say) lost their language ; hence it is rashly inferred, that they also lost all records in the language. Now the real fact is this, that the original language of the Jews had indeed degenerated among the great mass of the people, by the corrup- tion of foreign dialects ; but the learned part of the nation still perfectly understood it, and were able to interpret it with ease ; and the records contained in it * lost nothing of their clear- ness or their use. Further, this very circumstance supplies no weak presumptive argument, that as the Pentateuch which now exists is written in pure Hebrew, it was composed before the Cap- tivity. This probable conclusion acquires almost resistless force, when we consider the direct testimony, first of the Jews, and next of the Samaritans. The tenor of their history after the Captivity represents the Jews, not as regulating their religion and policy by any new Law, but as reviving the observance of the old Law given by Moses, interpreting it with humble veneration, and sub- mitting to it with the most prompt obedience. Ezra is distinguished as the scribe, becaiise he was a ready scribe in the Law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given ; and very many others also are mentioned, " who caused " the people to understand the Law." The manner in which, by the assistance of those learned interpreters, it was read and explained to the people, is so decisive of the present point as to deserve our whole attention. We are told thatf "all the people " were gathered together as one man ; and they spake unto " Ezra the Scribe, to bring the book of the law of Moses, which " the Lord had commanded, to Israel ; and Ezra brought the Law " before the congregation both of men and women, and all that " could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh " month — and he read therein from the morning until the mid- " day, and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book " of the Law. — And all the people went their way, to eat and to " drink, and to make great mirth, because they had understood " the words which were declared unto them ; and on the second " day were gathered together the chief of the fathers of all the " people, the Priests and the Levites, to Ezra the scribe, to under- "• stand the words of the Law ; and they found written in the Law * Vid. Ezra, passim ; particularly ch. ii. 2. vi. 18. X Vid. Nehemiali, the entire chapters, viii. ix. and x- 6 AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH [Part I. " which the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the children of " Israel should dwell in booths, in the feast of the seventh month ; " and all the congregation of them that were come again out of " the Captivity made booths, and sat under the booths ; for since " the days of Joshua the son of Nun unto that day, had not the " children of Israel done so, and there was very great gladness. ^' Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read *' in the book of the Law of God ; and they kept the feast seven " days, and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly according ■ ' to the manner which the law prescribed."" Undoubtedly it is probable that Ezra prepared for use new copies of the Mosaic I^aw, that a sufficient number might be ready to supply the demands of the people. • In doing this he may have inserted some notes, to explain or complete passages obscure or defective. But what symptoms are there in this history of a new compilation, a code of doubtful authority, a collection of uncertain traditions ? How idle is it to talk of these things, when the fact is so plainly tho reverse. We have yet a stronger proof that the Law thus offered to the people was not a selection and revival of such former laws alone as suited their present temper and situation ; such laws as were agreeable to the general wishes of the people, and therefore might be supposed to obtain general submission Avithout any minute in- quiry into their authority. No, the case was otherwise ; the code thus received enjoined in some instances sacrifices the most severe and distressing to individuals, sacrifices which no politic governor would have ventured to propose, and which no people would have submitted to, if any doubt could have been raised as to the au- thority of the Law requiring them. For, as the Scribes read the book of Moses " in the audience of the people, therein was found " written,* that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come " into the congregation of the Lord for ever ; now it came to " pass, that when they had heard the law, that they separated " from Israel all the mixed multitude." Even this must have created great discontent, and excited much opposition, if the authority of the law requiring it had not been clear and unques- tioned. But there was yet a more trying proof of obedience I'oquired. The Mosaic code commanded that Jews should not intermarry * Nchemiah, xiii. 1 and 3. Lect, L] OF THE HISTORY. 7 with any of the neighbouring idoLatrous nations. On the dis- Bolution of the state and the dispersion of the people at the Captivity, this law was violated in numerous instances ; on the Te-assembling of the people, the violation was too glaring to escape the notice of the zealous supporters of the divine code. The history of Ezra describes in the strongest colours the feel- ings of grief and alarm which this discovery excited, the vast numbers who were involved in this guilt, and the high rank and authority of many of the offenders.* " The princes," says Ezra, " came to me, saying. The people of Israel, and the " Priests and the Levites, have not separated themselves from " the people of the Lands, doing according to their abominations; *' for they have taken of their daughters for themselves and for " their sons, so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with " the people of those lands ; yea, the hands of the princes and " rulers have been chief in this trespass." " When Ezra," says the history, " had prayed, and when he "had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the " house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel, a very " great congregation of men, and women, and children ; and the " people wept very sore, and Shecaniah on the part of the chiefs " of the people, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed " against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people " of the land, yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this " thing. Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God, " to PUT AWAY ALL THE STRANGE WIVES, AND SUCH AS ARE BORN OF *' THEM, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that " tremble at the commandment of our God, and let it be done " according to the Law. Then arose Ezra, and made the chief " priests, the Scribes, and all Israel, to swear that they should do " according to this word : and they sware." And proclamation was made unto all the children of the Captivity to enforce this law. The greatness of the sacrifice may be estimated by the se- verity of the penalty under which it was enjoined : " Whosoever " would not come within three days, to comply with this law, all " his substance was to be forfeited, and himself separated from the " congregation." And the offenders assembled in great numbers, and certain of the elders and judges were appointed to examine * Ezra, the entire chapters ix. and x. 8 AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH [Part I. the matter, and so many did the enquiry extend to, that it held for three entire months ; and among the offenders we find many of the Priests and Levites : it was not therefore a contrivance of tneirs to strengthen their influence. In a word, I rely on this fact as a full proof, that the code the Jews received after the Cap- tivity was in all respects the very same they had been subject to before it ; not then newly compiled, not then artfully modified ; but brought forward exactly as they found it, in the known re- cords of the nation, and submitted to with scrupulous reverence, as of undoubted and divine authority. Strong as this proof is, we have another, which may perhaps be deemed even stronger ; the Samaritans,* we know, from the period of the Captivity became the most bitter enemies of the Jews ; this animosity was greatly enflamed at the close of the Captivity, because the Jews would not permit them to join in building the Temple. For they proposed to the chief of the fathers ; " Let us build with you, for we seek your God, as you " do, and we do sacrifice unto him, since the days of Esarhaddon, " king of Assyria, who brought us up hither." But their pro- posal was rejected with contempt. These Samaritans must then have derived their knowledge of the Mosaic institutions from a code which existed at the commencement of the Captivity. According to the history,t which relates, " a priest from amongst " the captive Jews was sent to teach the colony planted by the " king of Assyria in Samaria, the manner of the God of the " land, and he came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how " they should fear the Lord," undoubtedly by instructing them in the Mosaic law. They would never have received as the rule of their religion a new compilation, formed by their ene- mies at the very moment when they rejected their alliance, and would not acknowledge them as partakers of their religion, or admit them to worship at their Temple, And what is the code which the Samaritans acknowledged? The Pentateuch, and no- thing but the Pentateuch. This they preserved, written indeed in a different character from that which the Jews use ; they have in some few places altered it, to support the claim of their Tem- ple to a precedence and a sacredness above the Temple at Jerusa- * 2 Kings, xvii. from ver. 21 to the ciul ; and Ezra, iv.; Ndiem. iv. and \i, f 2 Kings, xvii. 27, 28. Lect. L] OF TIIK HISTORY. 9 lem ; but in all other respects it is precisely the same with the Pentateuch which is preserved by the Jews with the same scru- pulous reverence, as of unquestioned divine authority. Does it then admit a doubt, that the code thus received by these two hostile nations, had been acknowledged by both as of divine authority before that hostility took place ? I conclude that the Pentateuch was the known sacred Law of the Jews before the Babylonish Captivity commenced, about 580 years before our Saviour's birth. Further : An argument of a similar nature brings us through a period of 377 years, and establishes the authority of the Pen- tateuch, from the destruction of the kingdom of Judali by the Babylonish Captivity, back to its separation from the kingdom of Israel under the son and immediate successor of Solomon. From the revolt of the ten tribes, it became the decided politi- cal interest of their monarchs, to alienate them as far as possible from the religion and the Temple of the monarch of Jerusalem. The very first king of Israel discerned this interest, and prose- cuted it to the utmost of his power, without the least scruple as to the religious or moral consequences of the means which he determined to adopt. For " Jeroboam* said in his heart. Now " shall the kingdom return to the house of David ; if this people " go up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, " then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their Lord, " even unto Eehoboam, king of Judah, and they shall kill me, " and go again to Eehoboam, king of Judah. Whereupon the " king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto "them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold " thy Gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of " Egypt. And he made an house of high places, and made " priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons " of Levi : and he ordained a feast in the eighth month, like " unto the feast which is in Judah ; and he placed in Bethel the " priests which he had made."" Such was the design of the first king of Israel ; a design almost uniformly adhered to by all his successors. Now, to the full and secure completion of this design, the Pentateuch interposed the great obstacle. It allows no such separation of the tribes ; it supposes them all united in one confederate body, governed by the same common comisel, * I Kings xii. 26. 10 AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH [Part I. recognizing one High Priest, by whom they were to consult the oracle ; and commands all the males of the twelve tribes to repair three times a-year to their common Temple, to join in a common form of worship, in adoration of their common God. This system was therefore entirely unfavourable to the views of the kings of Israel. If, then, its authority had not been acknow- ledged before the separation of the two kingdoms would these monarchs, so watchful and so politic in guarding their separate sway, have permitted it to be introduced and received, to be fabricated and imposed upon the whole Jewish race, and pub- lished before the face of that part of it which they governed, as the system which both nations, when united, had acknowledged as of divine authority ? Would they, I say, have permitted all this, without making one effort to detect and expose an imposition so flagrant in itself, and so injurious to them ? Nay, more, would they, in the very act of forming a new system of worship, while they indulged the gross ideas and idolatrous propensities of their people, by representing the true God un- der idolatrous symbols ; would they, at that very moment, have imitated the rites, and fasts, and sacrifices, of that very code, whose influence they wished to undermine ; " ordaining a feast " in the eighth month like unto the feast which is in Ju- " dah f* Assuredly not, except that code had been previous- ly and universally admitted as of divine original, which they knew their subjects had been long habituated to reverence and obey. I conclude from hence, that the authority of the Pen- tateuch was acknowledged antecedent to the separation of the kingdom of Israel and Judah, above 970 years before the birth of Clirist. But perhaps it may be asserted, that the support which the Pcntateucli gives to the claims of the kings of Judah, renders it probable that it may have been compiled for the purpose of favouring their views : and that perhaps its authority was re- jected by the kings of Israel and their subjects, though the history of their opposition is now lost — the kingdom of Judah having long survived that of Israel, and reunited all the Hebrews under one common government ; and having perhaps' taken care to obliterate all records that could justify the past or lead to a future separation. To this I answer, that the Samaritans, wji3, * 1 Kings, xii. 32. Lect. I.] OF THE HISTORY. 11 though hostile to the Jews, acknowledged the Pentateuch, suc- ceeded to the ten ti;ibes in the possession of* their country ; that they were intermingled with their posterity ; and that it is not possible such a circumstance could have taken place, as that the original Samaritans should have rejected the Law which the Jews received, and for a series of 230 years should have combated its authority ; and that immediately after, their successors should have received this Law, and this only, as of divine original, without preserving the least trace of its ever having been dis- puted ; though an hostility as strong subsisted between them and the restored Jews, as had before the Captivity divided the separate kingdoms. Two particular examples, deserving peculiar attention, occur in the Jewish history, of the public and solemn homage paid to the sacredness of the Mosaic law, as promulgated in the Penta- teuch, and by consequence afibrding the fullest testimony to the authenticity of the Pentateuch itself: the one in the reign of Hezekiah, while the separate kingdoms of Judah and Israel still subsisted : and the other in the reign of his great grandson Josiah, subsequent to the Captivity of Israel. In the former we see the pious monarch of Judali,* assembling the Priests and Levites, and the rulers of the peo[)le, to deplore with him the trespasses of their fathers against the divine Law, to acknowledge the justice of those chastisements which according to the pro- phetic warnings of that Law had been inflicted upon them, to open the house of God which his father had impiously shut, and restore the true worship therein according to the Mosaic ritual ; (with the minutest particulars of which he complied, in the sin- offerings and the peace-offerings which in conjunction with his people he offered, for the kingdom and the sanctuary and the people, to make atonement to God for them, and for all Israel :) and thus restoring the service of God as it had been performed in the purest times. " And Hezekiah," (says the sacred narra- tive!) " rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the ' people : for the thing was done suddenly :" immediately on the king's accession to the throne, on the first declaration of liis pious resolution. How clear a proof does this exhibit of the previous existence and clearly acknowledged authority of those laws which the Pentateuch contains ! * 2 Kings, xviii. 2 Cliron. xxix. and xxx i lb. xxix. 36. 12 AUTHENTICITY AND TRin'II [ !^:i: t I. But a yet more remarkable part of this transaction still re- mains. At this time Hoshea was king of Israel, and so far disposed to countenance the worship of the true God, that he appears to have made no opposition to the pious zeal of Hezekiah. For he, with the concurrence of the whole congregation which had assembled, sent out letters, and made a proclamation, not only to his own people of Judah,* " but to Ephraim and Ma- " nasseh and all Israel from Beersheba even unto Dan, that " they should come to the House of the Lord at Jerusalem, to " keep the Passover unto the Lord God of Israel ; saying,t Ye " children of Israel, turn again to the Lord God of Abraham, " Isaac, and Jacob, and he will return to the remnant of you who " are escaped out of the hands of the kings of Assyria ; and be " not ye like your fathers and your brethren, which trespassed " against the Lord God of their fathers, who therefore gave " them up to desolation as ye see. Now be ye not stiff-necked " as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the Lord, and " enter into his sanctuary which he hath sanctified for ever, " and serve the Lord your God, that the fierceness of his wrath *' may turn away from you. So the posts passed from city to " city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh even unto *' Zebulun." Now, can we conceive that such an attempt as this could have been made, if the Pentateuch, containing the Mosaic Code, had not been as certainly recognised through the ten tribes of Israel as in the kingdom of Judah ? The success was exactly such as we might reasonably expect if it were so acknowledged; for, though many of the ten tribes laughed to scorn and mocked the messengers of Hezekiah, who invited them to the solemnity of the Passover, from the impious contempt which through long disuse they had conceived for it ; " Nevertheless," says the sacred narrative,^ " divers of Asher, and Manasseh, and of Zebulun, " humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem. And there as- " sembled at Jerusalem much people to keep the feast of " unleavened bread in the second month, a very groat con- " gregation. And they killed the Passover ; and the Priests " and Levites stood in their places after their manner, ac- " cording to the law of Moses, the Man of God, So there " was great joy in Jerusalem : for since the time of Solomon, * 2 Cluon. XXX. 1. + 111. xxx.O. &c, Jib. XXX. 11. Lcct. I.] OF THE HISTORY. 13 " the Son of David, king of Israel, there was not the like at "Jerusalem;* and when all this was finished, all Israel that "■ were present went out to the cities of Judah, and brake the " images in pieces, and cut down the groves, and threw down " the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin in " Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed " them all." Can any clearer proof than this be desired, of the constant and universal acknowledgment of the divine authority of the Pentateuch throughout the entire nation of the Jews, not- withstanding the idolatries and corruptions which so often pre- vented its receiving such obedience as that acknowledgment ought to have produced ? Not less remarkable was the solemn recognition of the divine authority of the Pentateuch by king Josiah and the whole people of the Jews, whose pious monarch while he was " yet young be- "gan to seek after the God of David his father,"! destroying idola and banishing idolatry throughout the entire extent of his domin- ions, and proceeding to repair the House of the Lord, that he might restore his worship with due solemnity. On this occasion, says the narrative, when they brought out the money that had been brought into the House of the Lord (to receive which they had probably opened the most secret and secure place for a deposit in the Temple);]; " the priests found "a book of the law of the Lord given by Moses," (more accuratelv by the hand of Moses, possibly the Sacred autograph of Moses himself originally deposited in the Ark); "and Hilkiah said to " Shaphan the Scribe, I have found the book of the Law in the " House of the Lord, and he delivered the book to Shaphan, who " read it before the king." The passage read, seems to have been that part of Deuteronomy which contains the prophetic declarations of the Lawgiver against the future apostasies of his people, which were so awful and severe as to excite the utmost terror in the young and pious monarch,§ " for he rent his clothes, and sent to enquire of the " Lord concerning the words of the book that is found ; for great is " the wrath of the Lord that is poured out upon us, because our " forefathers have not kept the word of the Lord, to do all " that is written in this book." And Huldah the prophetess, who was consulted, declared that God would certainly fulfil the * 2 Cluon. xxxi. + lb. xxxiv. 3 . ^I lb. xxxiv, 14. ^ lb. xxxiv. 19, &c 1 i AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH [Pai'tl, denunciations of that book ; but yet that, in consequence of the Immiliation and repentance of the king, " he should be gathered " to the grave in peace, neither should his eyes see all the evil " which God would bring upon Jerusalem. And the king," con- tinues the narrative,* " went up into the House of the Lord, " and all the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and " the Priests and the Levites, and all the people great and small, "and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the " Covenant that was found in the House of the Lord. And the " king stood in his place and made a Covenant before the Lord, " to walk after the Lord, and to keep his commandments and his " testimonies and his statutes, with all his heart, and with all his " soul, to perform the words of the Covenant which were written " in this book; and he caused all them that were present in Jeru- " salem and Benjamin to stand to it : and the inhabitants of Jeru- " salem did ac( " their fathers.' The sacred history proceeds to detail the particular circum- stances of the Levites being employed in their due courses,t and the solemn celebration of the Passover, " as it is written in " the book of the Covenant :" and there was no such Passover says the history, kept in Israel, from the days of Samuel the Pro- phet : probably because the recent captivity of the ten tribes awak- ened the fears and secured the universal concurrence of all Judah and Israel, who were present, as well as of all the inhabitants of Jerusalem ; who now concurred with the king,:]: " to perform the " words of the Law, which were written in the book that Hilkiah " the priest found in the house of the Lord." Which could not possibly have been any other than the Pentateuch of Moses ; probably the very copy written by himself. These facts and arguments seem sufficiently decisive. They may be confirmed by another argument from the internal struc- ture of the Pentateuch ; which I do not recollect to have seen noticed ; and which not only meets this objection, but goes fur- ther: and seems to prove it highly improbable, that the Pentateuch should have been compiled and received, if of a late date or doubtful authority, during any period of the regal government in Judah. The argument is this ; — that the civil form of govern- ment which the Pentateuch exhibits, is not regal. It is indeed * 2 Cliron. xxxiv. 30. f 2 Chron. xxxv. 18. % 2 Kings, xxlii. 24. Lect. I.] OF THE mSTOTlY. 15 ot ;x very singular kind. " It will easily appear," says the judi- cious Lowman,* "that the general union of the tribes as one " body, may be conceived after this manner. That the congre- " gation of Israel or the whole people, enacted by themselves or " their representatives ; that the great council advised, consulted, " and proposed : that the judge presided in their councils, and had " the chief hand in executing what was resolved in them; and that " Jehovah, by the oracle, was to assent and approve what was re- " solved, and authorise the execution of it in matters of the greatest " importance to the whole state. So that the general union of the " whole nation may not improperly be thus expressed ; It was by " the command of the people, and advice of the senate; the judge " presiding, and the oracle approving." The Jewish govern- ment was, therefore, what no other ever was, a theocracy ; in which the last appeal was to Jehovah himself expressing his will by the oracle ; and in which there was no power either to make or repeal new laws, the laws of the nation being the laws of Jehovah. We must also observe, that the judge was rather an occasional than a constant magistrate, nominated, or at least approved by the oracle ; never invested with authority for more than his own life, and without the least idea of an hereditary right. Further : The Mosaic code does not merely appoint a constitu- tion, of which kingly government was no part ; but it notices this government as an innovation which the people would intro- duce, after the example of the surrounding nations : and it lays the kings under restraints which were equally irksome to their sensuality and their ambition.t " He shall not multiply wives " unto himself, that his heart turn not away : neither shall he "greatly multiply to himself silver and gold; neither shall he " multiply horses to himself nor cause the people to return into " Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses ; forasmuch " as the Lord hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no " more that way." And the Law of Moses was to be in every point his guide : " and it shall be," saith the legislator, " when he " sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him " a copy of this Law in a book, out of that which is before the " Priests and the Levites : and it shall be with him, and he shall * Vitle Lowman on the Civil Government of the Hebrews, ch. vii. ■}• Deuteronomy, xvii. IG, &.C. 16 AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH [Part I. " read therein all the days of his life ; that he may loarn to fear " the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this Law and these "statutes to do them." When the Jews first solicited from Samuel* a king, after they had lived near 400 years under their original form of government, he was displeased, and represented this demand as in some degree a rejection of God as their king ; and he stated in strong terms the oppressions and the mischiefs they should suffer under the kingly government. Now it is re- markable, that the restraints imposed by the Mosaic Law were grossly and fatally violated by Solomon, the most renowned and powerful of the Jewish kings. On this fact then I argue; that if the Mosaic Law had not been universally known and revered as of divine authority long be- fore the time of Samuel, it could never have been compiled and received during the kingly government. He would not have ventured to oppose the wishes of the people in appointing a king, on the pretext of its being a rejection of God for tlieir king ; nor would he have attempted to impose such restraints on the monarchs of the Jews, if unsupported by a previously admitted authority. Such a fabrication would never have escaped detec- tion and exposure, either by Saul, who for the last years of his life was in constant enmity with Samuel ; or by Solomon, who amidst his power and prosperity must have felt his fame wounded, and his passions rebuked, by the stern condemnation of the Mosaic Law. The preceding argument shows the extreme im- probability of a supposition which has been sometimes resorted to, that Samuel was the compiler of the Pentateuch. We have now ascended to within less than 400 years from the promulgation of the Mosaic Law ; — a period during which, the Jews had lived in the uninterrupted possession of the land, in which they were settled by Moses and his immediate successor ; and without any fundamental alteration in the form of that go- vernment, under which they were originally placed. And if wo have reason to believe, that the Pentateuch was admitted as the true system of the Mosaic Law at the close of that period, no possible ajra during its continuance can be pointed out, at which the fabrication of such a code may be supposed probable or so much as credible ; no motive or circumstance can bo assigned as the origin of such a fabrication, or to account for the ready and * 1 Samuel, viii. 10. Lect. I.] OP THE HISTORT. 1 7' universal credit which it must have obtained ; no body of men, even no individual can be discovered, whose interest it was to form such a fabrication, or who could have had an iniluence sufficiently powerful and permanent to give it currency. The history of the Jews proves, indeed, that they were very far from adhering strictly to the Mosaic Law during that period. We find that they frequently violated it in the grossest manner, and fell into great disorders and idolatries, and in consequence suffered great calamities. But what was the general effect of these calamities ? That they repented of their disobedience, and again submitted to the Law of Moses as the Law of God. Now would this have been natural, if they entertained any doubts of the authenticity of the code containing that Law? Would the people and the rulers and the priests, on the authority of a new compilation, have received as the ancient constitutions of the land, laws and customs they had never before heard of, which condemned the vices and idolatries of every class in the strongest terms, and threatened them with the severest punishments ? Surely this is utterly improbable. That prosperity should cor- rupt a nation, and lead it to neglect the most sacred obligations, is credible. That, though corrupted and depraved, calamity should rouse them to repentance, is also credible. But that they should ascribe their calamities to the violation of a Law whose authority they had never acknowledged : that in the midst of vice and corruption a new code should be fabricated, condemning that vice and corruption, and imposed upon the nation as the known Law of their fathers without opposition, is surely most improbable and strange. We are not, however, driven to rest the universal reception of the Pentateuch on presumptive arguments or probable conjec- ture alone. We have the most decisive and uninterrupted, the most positive and direct external testimony. We have a num- ber of different tracts, acknowledged by the Jews as not only genuine, but divine. These works are, the latest of them, written during or shortly after the Babylonish Captivity, as their very language indicates. They take up the history of the Jews from that period, and carry it regularly back to their first settlement in their country by Joshua the successor of Moses, and thus oring us into contact with the legislator himself. They are to a certainty written by a great variety of persons and for yery 18 AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH [Part I. different purposes ; some of tlieni plain histories, and almost chronological annals : others of them prophetical and mysterious; others poetical and popular ; hymns in praise of God, his pro- vidence, and laws, or celebrating great national events or deplor- ing national calamities. And all these multiplied and various compositions unite in presupposing the existence and the truth of the Pentateuch : and uniformly refer to and quote it, as the only true and genuine account of the ancient history, and known laws of the Jews. They recite its facts, they refer to its laws, they celebrate its author ; they appeal to the people, to the kings, to the priests ; they rebuke and threaten them for neg- lecting the Mosaic Law, as it is contained in the Pentateuch ; and what is most decisive, they never once give the least hint of any rival law, of any new compilation, of any doubt as to its authenticity. To quote from all, would be as unnecessary as it would be tedious. I will adduce one or two testimonies from the book of Joshua, the immediate successor of Moses, which will, I trust, be satisfactory and decisive. When Joshua is represented as receiving the divine commis- sion to undertake the command of the Jews, it was on this con- dition : * " Only be thou strong, and very courageous, that thou " mayest observe to do according to all the Law which Moses my " servant commanded thee : turn not from it to the right hand " or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou "goest. This book of the Law shall not depart out of thy "mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, tliat " thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written there- " in." When he had conquered a considerable part of the pro- mised land, we find him forming a great assembly of the people, in compliance with the direction of the Law : and he " built an " altar unto the Lord God of Israel in Mount Ebal, as Moses the " servant of the Lord commanded the children of Israel, as it is " written in the book of the Law of Moses,-f- an altar of Avhole " stones, over which no man hath lift up any iron : and they offer- " ed thereon burnt-offerings unto the Lord, and sacrificed peace- " offerings. And he wrote on the stones a copy of the Law of *' Moses, which he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel.J * Josh. i. 7. t lb. viii. 30. ^ This, as Mr Locke obi?eivos, is evidently a completion of the direction in Deuter- onomy, ch. xxvii. Anil the Law engraven on the plastered stones, now set up, was no Lect. I.] OP THE HISTORY. 19 "And all Israel, and their elders and officers and their judg- " es, stood on this side the Ark and on that side, before the " Priests and the Levites which bare the Ark of the Covenant "of the Lord, as well the stranger, as he that was born " among them ; half of them over against Mount Gerizin, and " half of them over against Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant " of the Lord had commanded before, that they should bless "the people of Israel. And afterwards he read all the words "of the Law, the blessings and cursings, according to all ** that is written in the book of the Law : there was not a "word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not " before all the congregation of Israel, with the women, and the "little ones, and the strangers that were conversant among them." Such was the solemn promulgation of the Mosaic Law, at the very commencement of the settlement of the Jews in the land of their inheritance ; and in every subsequent transaction of Joshua, we find he acted according to the same Law.* " As the " Lord commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command " Joshua, and so did Joshua ; he left nothing undone of all that " the Lord commanded Moses." Moses had appointed the mode of distributing the land among the tribes, and according to his command was the mode adopted. He commanded the Levites should have no inheritance in land, and no inheritance was given them. He commanded that six cities of refuge for him who had been unintentionally guilty of manslaughter should be appointed, and they were appointed. He commanded that eight-and-forty cities should be given to the Levites out of the difierent tribes, by lot, and they were so given. When the conquest of the land was completed, and the people had rest, the soldiers of the two tribes and a half, whom Moses had planted east of Jordan, wished to be dismissed to their families ; Joshua dismissed them with this panegyric and this charge :-f- " Ye have kept all that Moses the servant of the Lord com- "manded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I com- " manded you ; therefore now return ye, and get ye unto your more than the decalogue itself, or the formula of blessing and cursing in confirmation of the decalogue, contained in twelve verses of that chapter, and to be solemnly pro- nounced by the twelve tribes assembled for that purpose at the erection of this public monument, of the solemn public reading and recognition of the Mosaic Law. * Joshua, xi. 15. -j- Joshua, xxii. 2, 4, 5. 20 AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH [Part I. *' tents, and unto the land of your possession, which Moses the " servant of the Lord gave you on the other side Jordan. But " take dihgent heed to do the commandment and the Law, "which Moses the servant of the Lord charged you, to love " the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep " his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him " with all your heart and with all your soul." And, to close all, when Joshua was old, and was conscious of his approach- ing death, he " called for all Israel, and for their Elders, and " for their Heads, and for their Judges, and for their Officers ;"■ he Eecounts the benefits of God, he recapitulates the history and the warnings of the Pentateuch, and commanded them, "Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is " written in the book of the Law of Moses, that ye turn not " aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left. And the "people said unto Joshua, the Lord our God will we serve, " and his voice will we obey : so Joshua made a covenant with " the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance " in Shechem ; and Joshua wrote these words in the book of the " Law of God, and set up a monument of the transaction by the " sanctuary of the Lord."* Now what was this book of the Law ? Undoubtedly the same of which it is said, that "when Moses had " made an end of writing the words of the Law in a book, until " they were finished ; he commanded the Levites, and said, take " this book of the Law, and put it in the side of the Ark of the " Covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be a witness against " you." That book which he commanded to be read before all Israel, at the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, at the feast of tabernacles. This surely must have been the same with that which the Jews have received, from the present hour back to the Babylonish Captivity : which must have preceded that event, because it is also received by the hos- tile Samaritans, who were planted in Judea at the commencement of the Captivity ; which must have preceded the division of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, because it was acknowledged in both ; which must have preceded the establishment of the kings because it supposes no such form of government, but rather con demns it. In a word, that book of the Law, which every writer, • Joshua, xxii. 2, 6. xxiv. 24 — 26. Vide the entire twenty-third and twenty-fourth ehapters. Lect.I.] OF THE HISTORY. 21 and every sect amongst the Jews have quoted and acknowledged, in every possible form of quotation and acknowledgment, from the present period, back to the immediate successor of Moses him- self, who solemnly attests its authenticity and divine original. I trust, therefore, I have sufficiently established the introductory point I wished to prove ; even that the Jewish nation has re- ceived the Pentateuch, as containing an authentic account of the conduct and institutions of their celebrated legislator, from the very gera when these institutions commenced. AUTHENTICITY AXD TRUTH [Part I, LECTURE II. The Authenticity and Truth r^f the four last books of the Pentateuch, provea from the sub- ject and structure of the history, so Jar as the facts are not miraculous. Imi-\)rta%i:e and peculiar nature of its various regulations concerning property — Publicity and importance of the main series of facts— Marks of truth in the minute detail of these facts — Simplicity of style and narrative — Selection and arrangement of facts and cir cumstances, such as is natural if Moses were the writer, unaccountable otherwise- Impartiality — Comparison of the Pentateuch, in this respect, with Josephus. DEUTERONOMY, XXxi. 9. ' And Moses wrote all this Law, and delivered it unto the Priests, the sons of Levi, and unto all the Elders of Israel." It is the object of these lectures, to prove the divine original of that Law which the Jewish legislator is stated to have thus solemnly delivered to his nation. The four last books of the Pentateuch contain this Law, and the history of the facts on which its authority is founded. It is therefore necessary to prove that these books are genuine, and the history they relate true. The proof of this may be deduced, either from the external testimony by which their truth and genuineness is supported, or from the internal structure of the works themselves. The former topic I have already noticed, and endeavoured to show that these books have been received by the Jews from the very first settle- ment of their nation, as containing an authentic and faithful account of their Lawgiver and his institutions. And if they have been so received, we can scarcely doubt the truth of the facts which they detail. For it must be remembered, that the history does not relate the origin of the Jews as a nation, after a length of time had elapsed, when we might suppose fiction may have been employed to conceal the weakness or the bar- barism of its infancy ; but that it was published and received Lect. II.} OP THK HISTORY. 23 while these events were transacting, or immediately after they had taken place ; and that it was incorporated with the system of Laws by which the religion of the people was from the very first regulated ; on which their liberties were founded ; by which the rights and privileges of every class and every profession were adjusted; and, above all, by which the distribution and the descent of property were determined. We may also remark, that the nature of several Laws concerning property, was such, that if they had not been enacted before its distribution among the people, and established as the tenure and condition on which it was held, their introduction at any subsequent period would have excited a great ferment and great opposition. Such was the Law of release from all debts and all personal servitude every seventh year ;* and that Law which ordered, that if the property of any family had been alienated by sale, it should be restored to the family every fiftieth year, or year of Jubilee. All who know the com- motions which attempts to discharge debts, and change the dis- tribution of property, have always excited, and who recollect the examples of Sparta, Athens, and Rome, in this matter, will be sensible, that a code, containing such regulations as these, could not have been established a3 the regular Law of the Jewish state, without opposition, except before the distribution of property, and as the condition on which it was held ; and therefore before the settlement of the Jews in the land of their inheritance. Another regulation as to property, occurs in Leviticus, of a sin- gular kind, " When," (says the Lawgiver-f-) " ye shall come into " the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then " shall ye count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised; three years " shall it be as uncircumcised unto you : it shall not be eaten of. " But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy to " praise the Lord withal. And in 'the fifth year shall ye eat of " the fruit thereof : I am the Lord your God." Now, would such a regulation as this have been observed, if it had not been es- tablished on clear authority, before the Jews took possession of the promised land ? And if it never had been established and ob- served, what motive could have induced a fictitious writer to load his account with so improbable and so apparently useless a cir- * Vj*^ Deuteronomy, xv. and Leviticus, xxv j- Leviticus, xix. 23 — 25i 24- AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH [Part I. cumstance I* Does it not, therefore, supply a presumptive argu- ment, that the system of which it forms a part, was known and eceived by the Jewish nation before their settlement in the pro- mised land? I now proceed to confirm the conclusion thus derived from the testimony of the Jewish nation, still farther, by considering the internal structure of the history itself. If the Pentateuch is not the work of Moses, it is a forgery imposed upon the nation in his name. It is totally impossible this should have been done during the life of the legislator, or immediately after his death, during the lives of his contemporaries. If then the Pentateuch was not the original record of Moses himself, it was the work of some compiler in a period long subsequent, who assumed the character, and wrote in the name of the Jewish Lawgiver, to answer some design different from genuine truth. And if so, we can hardly fail of discerning, in the texture of the work itself, marks of a compilation long subsequent to the facts it relates. We cannot but perceive some traces of the particular purpose for which it was composed. If it was calculated to obtain fame for its author, as an elaborate and beautiful composition, this will appear in its style and sentiments. If it was intended to falsify the history, in order to gratify personal vanity, party interest, or national pride, this will be discernible. Let us then examine whether the four last books of the Pentateuch are liable to any such suspicions as these. Are the facts and institutions which they contain, so public and important that we cannot suppose any account of them materially false could at any time be fabricated and imposed upon the nation ? And if this bo so evident that we must admit the main substance of the history to be true, yet can wo be sure of truth in its minuter detail? Does this relation bear in it the marks of simplicity and undesignedness, of impartiality and sincerity ? Does it exhibit such particularity, and exact suitableness to the different situations in which the author is supposed to have been placed, as indicate a writer engaged in the transactions he describes, and recording them from his own personal knowledge with exact fidelity ? And finally, are the miraculous facts of the history so blended with, and * It was not, I am persuaded, really useless; it may have been to give the trees age and streiigtli, and to give the eaters a luiowledgo of what was wholesome or other- wise, which, after their lung detention in the desert, they might not be sufficiently ictjuainted with. Lect. IL] OF THE HISTOBY. 25 so necessary to the common events, and related with such clear characters of simplicity and reality, as to form one inseparable, uniform, and consistent narrative, evidentiy dictated by nature and truth? On the most cursory perusal of the four last books of the Pen- tateuch, it seems most evident that the main facts (considering at present only such as were not supernatural) were so public, so sin- gular, and so important, affecting in their consequences the most valuable rights and interests of every order of society, nay, almost of every individual ; that we cannot suppose any man could have ventured to fabricate a false account of them, and have been suc- cessful in gaining for such a fabrication, that universal credit and permanent authority, which it has been proved the Pentateuch certainly obtained amongst the Jews from the very commence- ment of their state. The rapid *increase of the Jews in Egypt ; the severe oppression they sustained there ; the treasure cities, and other public works raised by their labours ; above all, the cruel edict to destroy all their male children, in order, gradually and totally, to exterminate the nation ; all these were facts, which must have been engraven on the hearts, and handed down in the traditions of every Hebrew family. Nor were the -{-circumstances which led to their departure from the land of bondage, less public and notorious. On the first application of Moses, united with the Elders of Israel, to Pharaoh, entreating him to permit their depar- ture, he was so incensed as to increase the severities under which they laboured, by a public order rigorously enforced throughout the land. The people complain heavily of this new grievance, many public interviews take place between the Jewish Lawgiver and the Egyptian monarch ; at length the obstinacy of the latter is overcome, he not only permits the Jews to retire, but his j people are eager to implore and hasten their departure. The Hebrews § demand of the Egyptians gold and silver and jewels, and the Egyptians comply with the demand; the nation emi- grates in a great body, Pharaoh soon repents his having permitted them to retire, and pursues them with the chief force of his king- dom ; the Jews notwithstanding escape, Pharaoh and his host are destroyed. |1 Moses, instead of leading his people the shortest way *o the land which they hoped to possess, detains them forty * Exod. i. t Ibid. V, t Ibid. xii. 33. § Exod. xii. 33. Compaie Exod. iii. 21. i| Exod xiv. 26 AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH [Part I. years,* marcliiug or encamped in the wilderness of Arabia. At the •f-commencement of this period, he lays down a code of religious institutions and civil Laws ; he builds a tabernacle of great expense and elaborate structure for divine worship, to which all the nation contributed ; he sets apart a tribe for divine service, and for in- structing the people in religion. At the I close of their abode ir. the wilderness, Moses recapitulates all the Laws which he had before delivered in detail, and appeals to the people in attestation of the different events which had befallen them. He prescribes the mode in which they should divide the land they were proceed- ing to conquer.§ They take possession of so much of it as lay east of Jordan; II and before they proceed to the conquest of the' rest, their legislator dies, having shortly before his death com- posed a popular song or hymn, IT which he " spake in the ears of " all the congregation of Israel, and taught it them, that it should " not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed, but testify " against them," if they should attempt to forsake the Law and the God of their fathers. Such is the series of facts which the four last books of the Pen- tateuch detail, separated from the miracles to which many of them are ascribed. Now can we believe that these facts were not true, and yet that the Jewish nation should have universally received them as such ? Let it be remembered that this history does not recount the origin and growth of an infant colony, or the emigra- tion of a savage horde, but the march of a numerous nation ; for they** " journeyed about 600,000 men, besides women and chil- " dren; and a mixed multitude went up also with them, and flocks "and herds, and very much cattle." While the magnificent structure of their tabernacle, the distribution of property, the tribe of the Levites set apart for ministers of divine worship and for public instructors, and the code of their religious and civil insti- tutions, prove that a great degree of civilization prevailed amongst ths Jews at the very time when these facts were said to have taken place. Now can wo believe a nation so great and so civi- lized were universally and palpably deceived as to a whole series of facts, so public and important as this history details ? * Compare Numb. xiv. 33, and Deut. i. 3. f Vide Exodus and Leviticus, passim. t Vido Deut. i. § Numb, xxxiii. 54, Deut. xix. 3. Compare Josh, xviii. || Numb, xxxii. U Deut. xxxii. Compare xxxi. 21. ** Exod. xii. 37, aiid 38. Lect. II.] OF THE HISTORY. 27 If then the leading events of the Pentateuch were so public, so momentous, and so recent, that the history detailing them could have found no credit had it not been true ; if the laws and institu- tions it contains, were so important, and of such a singular nature, that had they not been derived from unquestioned authority they could never have been adopted : it remains to enquire how far the relation carries with it marks of truth, even in its minutest detail. Now in this view, the first character of the Pentateuch which strikes us, is the perfect artlessness and simplicity of its style and structure. Writers mix fiction with truth, either to form a beauti- ful and engaging composition, or to gratify some particular interest or passion. In either case it is impossible but the object always uppermost in the mind of the writer should frequently discover itself to the attentive reader. If to please and interest be his design, this will appear by his selecting such circumstances as are adapted to afi"ect the passions and impress the imagination, and by his keeping out of the way, as far as is consistent with probability, every thing tediously minute and uninteresting. We shall find sometimes the sublime and sometimes the pathetic resorted to. In a word, the design will appear in the entire structure of the work, and in the effect which is evidently intended to be produced upon the mind. It is not unimportant to remark, that had this been the object of the writer of the Pentateuch, he undoubtedly might have pursued it with considerable success. In the triumphant * hymn which he has inserted on the deliverance of the terrified Israelites from the host of Pharaoh, we discover a boldness and sublimity of composition seldom excelled. In the ^address to the assembled nation, supposed to be delivered by Moses shortly before his death ; in the blessings promised for obedience, and the curses denounced against offenders ; and especially in the song he taught the people, recapitulating the wonders of God's providence which they had witnessed, and the judgments they might expect ; we discover a judicious selection of striking circumstances, strong imagery, pathetic appeals to the tenderest feelings, and the autho- ritative language of the legislator -and the prophet combined so aptly, as prove the writer fully capable of commanding most powerfully the attention, and interesting the heart. * Exod. XV. •J- Vicio Deut. iv. to ix. ; also from xxviii. to xxxiii.; pai'ticularly xxxii. and xxxui. 28 AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTii [Part I. But nothing is more evident in the entire structure of the Penta- teuch, than its being written without the least effort to form an elaborate and engaging history, an impressive and beautiful com- position. A writer who had such a design, would have separated the history from the Laws ; the former he would have related with such a selection of circumstances as would most interest and aifect his reader ; the latter he would have delivered in some regular system, and avoided minute detail and frequent repetitions. On the contrary, the author of the Pentateuch proceeds in such an order as was indeed most natural to a writer relating the different occurrences which took place, exactly as they took place ; but which renders his work exceedingly irregular, and even tedious as a composition. The history in Exodus is perpetually interrupted with exact details of the laws as they were occasionally delivered; with minute and even tedious, though necessary descriptions of the materials and work of the tabernacle and its furniture, of the altar, the ark, the dress of the priests, and the mode of offering the sacri- fices; these are detailed in the mostinartificialmanner,if we consider the book as intended for a finished or interesting composition. The description of the method* in which these things should be formed, is spread through near six chapters ; then the history proceeds for five more ; and then succeeds a relation of the fact, that each par- ticular directed to be made was made according to the direction given, in most cases word for word the same as the direction, and this extended through five long chapters. The measures of the curtains, and the boards, and the borders ; the number and size of the rings and the loops, of the tenons, and the pillars, and the sockets of the curtains and the hangings ; are enumerated with such exactness, as proves the detail was not at all designed to display in strong and glowing colours the magnificence of the objects described ; for such a purpose it is totally unfit, but it is exactly such as was necessary to instruct the workmen in the making of them. Now, I argue, that all this is just and natural, if Moses was really the author of Exodus, and if he detailed the circumstances at the time when they occurred. Because he con- ceived the formation of all this work according to a particular model,-f- as a matter of important obligation, and worthy a pecu- liar record, when he tells us, J that " According to all that the * Exotl. from xxv. to xsx. loth included; also from xxxvi. to xl. t Exod. xxv. 8, 9, and 40. t Exod. xxxix, 42 and 43. Lect. II.] THE HISTORY. 29 " Lord commanded Moses, so the children of Israel made all the " work ; and Moses blessed them." But such an enumeration would have been utterly irrational and unnatural in any other writer, or for any other purpose. Additional proofs, that the writer of the Pentateuch was care- less of ornament, and attentive to objects which no mere inventor of a fiction would have thought of, and no compiler even of a true history, who designed to interest and amuse his readers, would have dwelt on, may be derived from the manner,* in which, the rules about sacrifices, the distinctions of meats, clean and unclean, the different modes of contracting pollution, and the rules about purification, and in particular, about the symptoms and the cure of leprosy, are detailed. We must not forget that these rules continued to be observed amongst the Jews ; that they are so minute, they could scarcely have been remembered distinctly for any length of time, if they had not been written : that this ac- count of them must therefore have been published very soon after they were first observed ; that many of them are so tedious and burdensome, that they would not have been submitted to, if the authority inculcating tliem had been at all doubtful ; in short, if they had not been inculcated by the same authority which regu- lated the rest of that religious and civil system of which they form a part. It follows, that they were observed from the time when the Jewish lawgiver established his code, and that they were published either by him, or immediately after him. The frequent genealogiesf which occur in the Pentateuch, form another strong presumptive proof that it was composed by a writer of a very early date, and from original materials. The genealogies of the Jewish tribes were not mere arbitrary lists of names, in which the writer might insert as many fictitious ones as he pleased, retaining only some few more conspicuous names of existing families, to preserve an appearance of their being founded in reality. But they were a complete enumeration of all the original stocks, from some one of which every family in the Jewish nation derived its origin, and in which no name was to be inserted, whose descendants or heirs did not exist \ possession of the property which the original family had possc. sed at the first division of the promised land. The distribution . f property by trioes and * In Deut. the first twenty-three chapters, t Vide Numb. i. ii. and iii. and especially xxvi. and xxxiv. so AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH [Part I; families proves, some such catalogue of families as we find in the Pentateuch must have existed at the very first division of the country. These must have been carefully preserved, because the property of every family was unalienable, since, if sold, it was to re- turn to the original family at each year of Jubilee. The genealogies of the Pentateuch, if they differed from this kno'VNTi and authentic register, would have been immediately rejected, and with them, the whole work. They therefore impart to the entire history all the authenticity of such a public register. For surely it is not in -the slightest degree probable, that the Pentateuch should ever have been received as the original record of the settlement and division of Judea, if so important a part of it as the register of the genealogies had been known to exist long before its publi- cation, and to have been merely copied into it from pre-existing documents. Again, we may make a similar observation on the geographical enumerations of places in the Pentateuch ;* the accounts con- stantly given, of their deriving their names from particular events and particular persons ; and on the details of marches and en- campments which occur, first in the progress of the direct narra- tive, when only some few stations distinguished by remarkable facts are noticed, and afterwards at its close, where a regular list is given of all the stations of the Jewish camp. All this looks like reality. Whenever the Pentateuch was published, it would have been immediately rejected, except the account it gives of the origin of these names, and of the series of these marches, had been known to be true by the Jews in general. For the book states, that many of these names were adopted in consequence of these events, from the very time they took place ; and it also states, that the entire nation was engaged in these marches Now, the memory of such circumstances as these cannot long exist without writing. If the Pentateuch was not what it pre- tends to be, the original detail of these circumstances, it could not have been received. For, if it was published long after the events, and there was no pre-existing document of these details, which it delivers as things well known, how could it be received as true ? If it was copied from a known pre-existing document, how could it be received as being itself the original ? Besides, it * Vide Exod. xiv. 2. xv. 27. xvii. 7. And lompare Numbers, xx. xxi. and \xxi;i. xxxiv. XXV.; also Deut. i. ii. iii. Lect. II.] OP THE HISTORY. 81 is natural for the spectator of events to connect every circumstance with the place where it happened. An inventor of fiction would not venture upon this, as it would facilitate the detection of his falsehood ; a compiler long subsequent would not trouble himself with it, except in some remarkable cases. The very natural and artless manner in which all circumstances of this nature are intro- duced in the Pentateuch, increases the probability of its being the work of an eye-witness, who could introduce them with ease ; while to any body else it would be extremely difficult and there- fore unnatural ; since it would render his work much more laborious, without making it more instructive. All these things bespeak a writer present at the transactions, deeply interested in them, recording each object as it was sug- gested to his mind by facts, conscious he had such authority with the persons to whom he wrote, as to be secure of their attention, and utterly indifferent as to style or ornament, and those various arts which are employed to fix attention and engage regard; which an artful forger would probably have employed, and a com- piler of even a true history would not have judged beneath his attention. Now, though it does not at all follow, that where these arts are used, falsehood nmst exist ; yet their absence greatly in- creases our confidence, that we shall meet nothing but truth. When the writer has no vanity, no anxiety about the eloquence or beauty of his composition ; when he writes without art, with- out any solicitous selection of circumstances to interest or gratify his reader ; what can he design, but to instruct and inform ! Must he not feel, that what he writes is true, and therefore ought to be told, and so important, that it is sure of being attended to? But the most decisive character of truth in any history is its IMPARTIALITY. And here the author of the Pentateuch is distin- guished perhaps above every historian in the world ; whether we consider the manner in which he speaks of the Hebrew patriarchs, the Jewish nation in general, or of its legislator and his nearest relations. Of the patriarchs, he speaks in such a way as not only did not gratify the vanity of his countrymen, but such as must have most severely wounded their national pride. He ranks some of their ancestors very high indeed, as worshippers of the true God, and observers of his will, in the midst of a world rapidly degenerating into idolatry ; yet there is not one of them (Joseph 32 AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH [Part I. perhaps excepted) of whom he does not recount many weaknesses, which a zealous partisan would have been careful to suppress ; and to many he imputes great crimes, which he never attempts to palliate or disguise. In this point, the advocates of infidelity may be appealed to as judges. They dwell upon the weaknesses and crimes of the patriarchs with great triumph. Let them not deny then, that the scripture account of them is impartial and true in all its points, good as well as bad ; and we fear not but it will be easily proved, that, notwithstanding their weaknesses and even crimes, they were upon the whole^ and considering the moral and religious state of the human mind in that age, characters not un- worthy of pardon and acceptance with God, and fit instruments for the introduction of the divine dispensations. Of the Jewish nation in general, the author of the Pentateuch speaks, it may be said, not only impartially, but even severely. He does not conceal the weakness and obscurity of their first origin, that " a Syrian ready to perish, was their father ;"* nor their long and degrading slavery in Egypt ; their frequent mur- raurings and criminal distrust of God, notwithstanding his many interpositions in their favour ; their criminal apostasy, rebellion, and resolution to return to Egypt ; first, when they erected the golden calf at mount Sinai ;-|- and next on the return of the spies from the land of Canaan, when they were so afraid of the inhabi- tants, that they durst not attack them ::|: he repeatedly reproaches the people with these crimes, and loads them with the epithets of stiffnecked, rebellious, and idolatrous. § He inculcates upon them most emphatically, that it was not for their own righteousness that God gave them possession of the promised land. He declares to them his conviction, that in their prosperity they would again || relapse into their rebellions and idolatries, and imitate the foul vices of those nations, whom God had driven out from before them for these very crimes. Here again we may appeal to the judgment of infidels. They triumph in the apostasies and crimes of the Jews, and represent them as totally unworthy the divine protection and regard. Surely then they must confess, that the historian who has thus described them is strictly impartial ; and that as he has concealed nothing that would disgrace, we may also bo confident that he has feigned nothing to exalt his country- * Deut. xxvi. 5. f Exod. xxxii. J Numb. xiii. and xiv. § Vide in particular Deut. ix. also Exod. xxxii. || Vide Deut. xxxi. Lect. II.] OF THE HISTORY. S3 men. And admitting this we may easily show that, notwith standing the crimes and the subbornness of the Jews, it was not yet unworthy of the divine wisdom to employ them as the medium of preserving the worship of the true God amidst an idolatrous world, and of preparing the way for the introduction of a pure and universal religion. The impartiality of the author of the Pentateuch, is not less remarkable in the mode in which he spoke of the nearest relations and connexions of the Jewish Lawgiver. His brother * Aaron, is related to have been engaged in the great crime of setting up the golden calf, to have joined with his sister ^ Miriam, in an unjustifiable attack on the authority of Moses, and to have of- fended God so much, that he was excluded from the promised land : and the | two eldest sons of Aaron are related to have been miraculously put to death by God himself, in consequence of their violating the ritual Law. The tribe and kindred of the Lawgiver are not represented as exempt from the criminal rebellion of the Jews on the return of the twelve spies. Caleb and Joshua, who alone had opposed it, were of different tribes, one of Judah, and the other of Ephraim. In a word, nothing in the narrative of the Pentateuch exalts the characters of any of the near rela- tives of Moses and Aaron, except only in the instance of || Phine- has, the grandson of Aaron ; who, for his zeal in restraining and punishing the licentiousness and idolatry into which the Midiani- tish women had seduced his countrymen, was rewarded bv the high priesthood's being made hereditary in his family. Of the family of the legislator we are told nothing, but that his § father- in-law, Jethro, was a wise man, who suggested to Moses some regulations of utility ; that his IT wife was an ^Ethiopian woman, and as such the object of contempt and opposition even to his own brother and sister ; and that he had two sons, of whom, or their families, the history takes no notice, so that nothing about them is known, but that they were -undistinguished fi-om the rest of the Levitical tribe. How different is all this from the embel lishments of fiction or the exaggerations of vanity ? How strongly does it carry with it the appearance of humility and truth ? The most decisive proof of impartiality is, however, found in * Exod. xxxii. f Numb. xii. J Numb. iii. 4, and Deut. x. 6. || Numb. xxv. § Ex'od. xviii. U Numb. xii. 1. 34 AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH [Part I. the manner in which the Pentateuch speaks of Moses himself. To point out this more clearly, let us compare it with the account which Josephus has compiled of the same facts. He indeed, re- ceived the Pentateuch as authentic, true, and sacred ; he there- fore preserves all the leading events of his history, but he some- times departs from its simple narrative, and in almost every in- stance of difference, we shall perceive a wish, either to adorn with fictitious splendour the character of the Jewish Lawgiver, to in- crease the credibility of his miracles in the eyes of the Gentiles, or to disguise and palliate the misconduct of his countrymen. The entire account which the book of Exodus delivers of the private life of Moses, for the eighty years which preceded his divine mission to deliver the Israelites, is comprised in twenty- two verses.j All is plain and artless, full of the simplicity of patriarchal life, and unmixed with a single circumstance tending to exalt the personal character of the Lawgiver, or mark him out as peculiarly fitted for so high a destiny ; but one action of his maturer years is mentioned, " that he went out unto his bre- " thren, and looked on their burdens ; and he spied an Egyptian " smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren" (probably attempting to murder him ;) " and he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the " sand." When he finds the fact discovered, and that Pharaoh sought to slay him, he flies to Midian, marries, and remains there for a long series of years, unaspiring and unknown, till at the advanced age of fourscore, the divine command urges and compels him to become the instrument of executing the will of heaven, in the deliverance of his nation. Compare with this short and modest narrative, the embellish- ments which national vanity added in subsequent traditions, and which Josephus collected and adorned.f We are told that the sacred scribe of the Egyptians announces to their monarch, that about this time a child should be born to the Israelites, who would bring the Egyptian dominion low, and raise theirs ; who would excel all men in virtue, and obtain a glory which would be remembered through all ages ; and to the terror arising from this prediction, (of which not one word occurs in the Pentateuch) Josephus ascribes the edict to put to death all the male children of the Hebrews. Nor is this all ; the birth of this future hero * Exod. ii. + Vide Josephus's Antiquities, B. II. ch. x. xi. Lect. n.] OF THE HISTORY. SI and legislator of the Jews, is granted to the prayers of his fathet, and announced to him also in a prophetic vision. Even his •brother Aaron's fame, and his dignity as high priest, is also pro^ phesied. The original narrative, with a beautiful simplicity, notices the very natural circumstance, " that when the mother of Moses *' saw he was a goodly child, she hid him three months." On this single expression, Josephus raises the most extravagant description of the distinguished and captivating stature and beauty of his hero, and ascribes to this, some of the most remarkable events with which he embellishes his life. His understanding too, is re- presented as greater than his age ; the sports of his childhood are ominous of his future exploits. When arrived to maturity, he is said to have been appointed general in a war with the Ethiopians who had reduced Egypt to the extremest distress. His good con- duct and success are represented as unparalleled, and such as to excite the most violent jealousy amongst the Egyptians, and especially to raise the envy and hatred of Pharaoh ; and to this Josephus ascribes his flight into the land of Midian ; after which he is compelled to adopt the narrative of the Pentateuch, which here becomes too particular, and on a subject too sacred, to allow any material deviation. Yet, even here, we find him in various minute circumstances, suppressing and softening difierent parti- culars which appeared uncreditable to Moses, but which the Pen- tateuch puts forward with the most faithful exactness. When the divine glory appeared to Moses in the burning bush, and commanded him to undertake the deliverance of his country- men, the Jewish Lawgiver displays a degree of reluctance and distrust which surprises us ;* after God had wrought three dif- ferent miracles, and enabled him to repeat them, Moses replies, " 0 my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since " thou hast spoken to thy servant : I am slow of speech, and of a " slow tongue. And the Lord said unto him. Who hath made " man's mouth ? have not I the Lord ? Now therefore go, and I " will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.'' Yet even to this gracious assurance, Moses returns almost an absolute refusal to undertake the mission on any terms : for he said, " 0 my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whow ♦ Vide Exodus, iv 36 AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH [Part I. " thou wilt send." We cannot be surprised to be told, that on this, " the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and " he said. Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother ? I know that he " can speak well : and I will be with thy mouth, and with his " mouth ; and he shall be thy spokesman unto the people : and he " shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him " instead of God :" (that is, you shall direct and authorize him to act in the name of God.) Accordingly, when the people and elders of Israel were assembled, it was Aaron* who " spake all " the words which the Lord had spoken unto Moses, and did the " signs in the sight of the people," And in every subsequent conference with Pharaoh, and the whole deliverance from Egypt, Aaron is the inseparable companion of Moses, and always acts the same subordinate, indeed, but yet necessary and important part. Now Josephus-f* softens all this into a modest apology on the part of Moses, stating his natural incompetency : " Lord, " I am still in doubt, how I, a private man, and of no abilities, " should persuade my countrymen or Pharaoh."" Even this is represented as antecedent to the miracles which Moses saw, and was enabled to perform ; and not one word is said of God's anger being kindled against him, or of Aaron's being deputed to assist him ; nor in the whole history is any notice taken of the impor- tant part which Aaron bore in every subsequent transaction ; it is barely said, that by the command of God he met his brother, but Moses appears the sole ambassador of God to Pharaoh. Thus again we find, on the refusal of Pharaoh to comply with the first demand of Moses to let the Hebrews go, and on his in- creasing their burthens, the Pentateuch represents the people as angrily reproaching Moses and Aaron. " The Lord look upon " you, and judge you : for you have made us to be abhorred in " the eyes of Pharaoh and his servants, to put a sword into their " hands to slay us ;" and immediately Moses as impatiently ex- postulates with God, " Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil-entreated *' this people ? why is it that thou hast sent me ? For since I came " to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this " people : neither hast thou delivered thy people at all."]; Of all this, we find not one word in Josephus, Josephus also suppresses the signal crime of the Jews in set- * Exod. iv. 30. t Joseph. Antiq. Book II. ch, xii. § 2. % Exod. V. from 21 to 23. Lect. II.] OF THE HISTCRY. 87 ting up the golden calf. And, above all, lie omits altogether th^i offence which both Moses and Aaron were guilty of at Meribah, where the Pentateuch relates their being directed to bring watei out of the rock. Instead of doing this in the name and for the glory of God, they spoke unadvisedly, not manifesting a firm faith, or giving to Grod the glory of the miracle; for they gathered the congregation together before the rock, and Moses said unto them, " *Hear now, ye rebels ; must we fetch you water out of " this rock ? And Moses lifted up his hand, and smote the rock " twice ; and the water gushed out abundantly. And the Lord " spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to " sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel ; therefore ye " shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have " given them." This offence, so frequently alluded to in the Pentateuch, and the punishment, of which Moses is represented as repeatedly deprecating, entreating to be permitted to enter the promised land, though in vain, is totally omitted by Josephus. While in the original, nothing can be more affecting than thft manner in which it is alluded to. It is expressed as if the heart was weighed down with sorrow for the disappointment of its fondest hope ; and as if occasions of venting this sorrow were in- dustriously sought, even a remote allusion or reference is enough; yet it concerned only himself ; it was not to his credit, but it was that which he felt most deeply, and which he only could feel so truly. ' Thus we clearly perceive the difference between the genuine narration of Moses himself, and the cautious compilation of a remote historian. In short, we find Josephus doing what it is natural every compiler of history should do, when describing the character of a legislator whom he looked up to with reverence,, and detailing the conduct of his countrymen whom he wished to place in the best light : we find him magnifying the talents and virtues of the one, and palliating or excusing the murmurs and idolatries, the obstinacy and crimes, of the other. Now, what I contend for is this, that if the Pentateuch had been compiled by any historian guided by the mere uncontrolled feelings and parti- alities of the human mind, we should discover them in his describing the cliaracter of the man who is represented as the * Numb. XX. 10—12 35 AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH [ Plirt t legislator and head of the nation who were the chosen people o God. I could show by a minute induction, that nothing af this kind occurs in the Pentateuch, and that multiplied instances of it are found in Josephus, who is yet admitted to be an historian ol general veracity and integrity. But I forbear ; I trust I have said enough to prove that the Pentateuch is written with such strict impartiality as enables us to rely on the truth of its relation, even in the most minute particulars. I have but one further remark to make, and that is, that we find, although the subject-matter of Josephus is essentially the same with that of the Pentateuch, yet, in the selection and order of their circumstances they differ, exactly as we should expect the woi'ks of a compiler anxious to interest and keep up his reader's attention, would, whenever composed, difier from the original narrative of an eye-witness, detailing (as Moses did) every circum- stance as it occurred, and totally careless of every thing but minute precision and strict fidelity. Josephus chooses ta separate the Laws from the narrative ; he says,* he will " describe the form of government which was " agreeable to the dignity and virtue of Moses ; these settlements, " says he, are all still in writing as Moses left them ; and we " shall add nothing by way of ornament, nor any thing besides " what Moses left us ; only we shall so far innovate, as to digest " the several kinds of laws into a regular system ; for they were " left behind him in writing as they were accidentally scattered " in their delivery, and as he, upon enquiry, learned them from « God;* Thus also we find Josephus describes minutely and elaborately the tabernacle and its furniture, and the dress of the priests ;-f but not like the detail of them in the Pentateuch, which is cal- culated to instruct the artists how to make them ; while that of Josephus is calculated (as undoubtedly any man but Moses him- self would have calculated it) to describe the effect of what had been made, their beauty and splendour, their connexion and use. Thus also the account which Josephus gives]: of the rites of puri- fication and sacrifice, is formed to be read with ease, free from the repetitions, and from the minute, and though necessary yet sometimes unpleasant, particulars of the original detail. ♦ Joseph. Antiq. Lib. IV. viii. §. 4. f lb. Lib. HI. vi. & vii, t lb. ix. X. & xi. Lect. II.] OF THE HISTORY. 39 All these difierences, I contend, strongly illustrate and confirm the originality and the truth of the Pentateuch ; and tend to prove it was the work of an eye-witness, and even of an eye-wit- ness whose business and anxious care it was to superintend and direct every circumstance of what he was described : such an eye- witness was Moses, and Moses alone. If then he was the author, can we doubt the truth of the narrative ? Were not the leading facts too recent, too important, to admit of the least falsification? Is not the detail formed with such artlessness and simplicity, such particularity and minuteness, such candour and impartiality, that we cannot doubt of its truth, even in the most minute particu- lars ? This is the conclusion I wished, in this lecture, to estab- lish. But there is another mode of argument which seems to establish it still more decisiv^^Iy, which I shall adduce in the next lecture. 40 AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH [Pait I. LECTURE III. The Authenticity and Truth of the four last books of the Pentateuch confirmed, ly a comparison of the book of Deuteronomy with those of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. Statement of the general argument deduced from this comparison — Mow far similar, how far dissimilar to that used by Archdeacon Foley, in his Horce Paulina: — Its appli- cation to the history, so far as it relates events not Miraculous — Instanced in general coincidence between the recapitulation in Deuteronomy, and the direct narration in the preceding books — In particular facts and circumstances — As to rules of purification — Directions for carrying the tabernacle — Disposition of the tribes in camp, ^c. — An ap- parent contradiction — How reconciled — As to the appointment of inferior judges — And of the twelve spies. DEUTERONOMY i. 1, 8. ' These were the words which Moses spake unto all Israel, on this side Jordan in the wilderness: " In the fortietli year, in the eleventh month, Moses spake uuto the children of Israel according «' unto all that the Lord had given him in commandment unto them.'' This exordium to the book of Deuteronomy is exceedingly remark- able. It states, that it is not, like the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, a direct narration or journal of the various events which occurred to the Jewish legislator and nation, from the com- mencement of their deliverance from Egypt ; but that it was a recapitulation of every thing which Moses thought it necessary to notice, in addressing the people shortly before his death, at the close of the forty years, during which he had acted as their law- giver and judge. I beg leave to direct my reader's attention, to this peculiar character of the last book of the Pentateuch, because it seems to me, to supply the ground-work of an argument for the genuineness and truth of the entire, somewhat different from those which I have seen generally and distinctly noticed. In my two last Lectures, I endeavoured to collect the topics in proof of the authenticity and truth of the works ascribed to Moses; Lect. 111.] OF THE HISTORY. 41 from their general reception among the Jews ; from the important and public nature of the facts they relate ; from the simplicity of their style and structure; from the particularity of their narrative, natural to an eye-witness, and to an eye-witness alone ; and espe- cially from the admirable impartiality they every where display. But if the distinct nature and purpose, ascribed to the book of Deuteronomy, really belongs to it, a comparison of this, with the preceding books of the Pentateuch, ought to afford a distinct proof of the truth and authenticity of all, from the undesigned coinci- dences between them. Arguments of somewhat a similar kind, have been lately ap- plied by Archdeacon Paley,* with a force which seems unanswer- able, to confirm the authenticity and truth of the Acts of the Apostles, and the Epistles of St Paul, by comparing them toge- ther, and pointing out the undesigned coincidence between the direct narration in the Acts, and the indirect allusions to the same facts in the Epistles ; and thus establishing the truth of both, on the same principle as that by which we yield entire credit to two unsuspected witnesses, who deliver accounts of the same transactions, if it appears that neither was acquainted with the testimony of the other, and yet that their evidence exactly agrees. An argument of precisely the same nature as this cannot be applied to confirm the truth of the Pentateuch, because we have not any cotemporary writings to compare with it ; all the works of the Old Testament (the book of Job perhaps excepted) being plainly subsequent to it, all presupposing its truth, deriving from it almost every account of the facts which it details ; and in al- most every allusion to these facts, adapted to the narrative which the Pentateuch delivers. This circumstance proves undoubtedly that the history of the Pentateuch was received by all subsequent Jewish writers, as the only authentic account of their nation; and thus establishes its truth exactly in proportion as it is improba- ble the whole Hebrew people ighould be mistaken in receiving such a narrative as true, if it were really fictitious ; an improbability which can scarcely be stated too high, if we consider the public nature and great importance of the facts which the Pentateuch details, the high authority of the person to whom it is ascribed, * Vide Paley's Horse Pauliiiie. 42 AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH [Pal't I. and the early period at which it was received. But having touched upon these topics, I now dismiss them, and proceed to enquire, whether we may not even from the internal structure of the Penta- teuch, derive some arguments for its genuineness and truth; which, though not exactly the same with those of the distinguished writer to whom I have alluded, are yet somewhat of a similar nature. We cannot indeed compare the entire with cotemporary writers, and thus confirm it by the agreement of different and independent testimonies ; but we can compare the difierent parts of it together, and weigh the coincidence between the different parts of the same testimony. We may examine whether there exists a natural and exact agreement between the direct narrative and the various references to the same facts in the recapitulation, as well with each other as with the different situations in which the supposed author is related to have been placed, and the various views and feelings which these situations would naturally The direct narrative was written at the time of the transac- tions, as they were passing ; the recapitulation was delivered at a period long subsequent to many. The former was intended to record all the particulars of the events, most necessary to be known. In the latter, it was intended to notice only such particulars as the immediate object of the speaker, in addressing the people, rendered it expedient to impress upon their minds. In each, the laws are intermixed with the facts, and both laws and facts are referred to for different purposes and on differ- ent occasions. This gives room for comparing these statements and allusions, and judging whether they agree in such a manner as appears to result, not from the artifice which forgery or false- hood might adopt, but from the consistency of nature and truth. We may thus weigh the different testimonies of the same witness, delivered at different times and on different occasions, and judge, as it were by a cross examination, of their truth. And we may remark, that if a coincidence appears in minute and unimpor- tant circumstances, it is therefore the more improbable it should have been designed ; also, the more indirect and circuitous it is, the less obvious it would have been to a forger or compiler. If the situations in which the writer is placed, and the views with which at different times he alludes to the same facts, are different, and the terms which ho employs are adapted to this difference, Lect. III.] OF THE HISTORY. 4S in an artless and natural manner, this is a strong presumption of truth. Finally, if the direct narrative, and the subsequent references and allusions appear in any instance to approach to a contradiction, and yet on closer inspection are found to agree, this very strongly confirms the absence of art, and the influence of truth and reality. Having thus expounded the general meaning of my argument, I proceed to exemplify it by some instances, which seem sufficient for establishing the conclusion contended for. Some presumption that the four last books of the Pentateuch were really composed by an eye-witness, at the time of the trans- actions, arises from their describing the nation and the Lawgiver in circumstances totally different from any which ever existed before or after that peculiar period ; from their adapting every incident, however unimportant, every turn of expression, however minute, to these peculiar circumstances. The Jews are supposed to have left the land of Egypt, and not yet possessed themselves of the land of Canaan. In this interval the nation was all collected together, never before or after ; it then dwelt in tents, never before or after ; no one possessed any landed property or houses ; no local distinctions, no local tribunal could then exist ; these and a variety of other circumstances of the same nature, necessarily attended this peculiar situation. Now such is the nature of the human mind, that though it may be easy to imagine a peculiar situation of fictitious characters, and describe their conduct in this situation with sufficient consistency, as in a poem or a fiction entirely unconnected with reality ; yet, when characters that have really existed are described in circum- stances entirely or even partly fictitious ; when it is necessary to combine a considerable degree of truth with a certain portion of fiction ; when it is necessary to describe this unprecedented and fictitious situation, not merely in general terms, but in a very minute detail of facts and regulations ; to connect it with particular times and places and persons, to combine it with subsequent events which were real, and with the laws and customs which the writer himself lives under, and which prevail through an extensive nation; then, indeed, it requires no ordinary ingenuity, and no common caution, to preserve a perfect consistency ; never once to suff'er the constant and familiar associations which perpetually obtrude them- selves upon the mind from present experience, to creep into our 14 AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH [Part I. language or sentiments, when we wish to describe or relate facts suitable only to past experience. Nay, admit that all this may possibly be done, it certainly can be done only by great care and art ; and it is, I should conceive, next to impossible but that this care and art should somewhere or other betray itself in the turn of the narrative or the expression. Now, an attentive perusal of the Pentateuch will, I doubt not, prove that it is written without any the least appearance of art or caution; and it is certain beyond all doubt, that its facts, sentiments and language, are adapted to the peculiarities of the situation which have been noticed. The present tense is constantly used in speaking of the facts in the wilderness; " I am the Lord, who bring- " eth you up, out of the land of Egypt :" the future, in speaking of any thing to be done in the land of Canaan :* " I drive out before " you, the Amorite and the Oanaanite : take heed to thyself, lest " thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither " thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee. But ye " shall destroy their altars. Three times a year shall all your " male children appear before me. For I will cast out the nations " before thee, and enlarge thy borders." Thus also, it is perpetually supposed in every direction, as to public matters, that the whole congregation can be collected together at the shortest warning. We are told -foi dead bodies " carried out of the camp;"" of victims on particular occasions being burned without the camp.| This peculiarity of situation mixes itself with every circumstance of the narrative, directly and indirectly, in express terms, and by incidental allusions, and always without any appearance of art or design. But to proceed to compare the direct narrative with the re- capitulation. We may observe, that a variety of circumstances which it was natural and necessary to notice on the entrance of the Jews into the land of their inheritance, occur for the ^rst time in the last address which Moses delivered to the people on the borders of Canaan. Then, and not before, does the legislator speak of the " place which the Lord should choose to put his " name therein.''''^ Then, and not before, does he add to the precepts concerning the observance of the three great feasts, * Excd. xxxiv. 11 — in, and 23, 2t, f Vide Levit. nine first cliaps. also x. 5. X Levit. iv. 21, and viii. 17- Nunili. xix. i). § Deul. xii. 5. Lect. III. OF THE HISTORY, that they were to be celebrated at that holy place. Then, and not before, does he enjoin the Jews to bring their offerings, their sacrifices, their tithes, and the firstlings of their flocks and of their herds, to the same holy place, and not to eat them in the gates of their own cities; and if that house of the Lord should be too far from them,* to turn their offerings into money, and employ that for the celebration of the religious festivals, at the place which the Lord should choose. Now also does the legislator add to the rules relating to the Levites, that which gave them a right of -f" migrating from any other city, and joining with those who were employed in the service of God at the place which he should choose. Thus also in recapitulating the regulations of the civil Law the legislator now, for the first time, introduces the :|: appointment of judges and officers in the difierent cities which they should inhabit : and fixes the right of appealing, in difficult cases, from these judges to the high Priest and his accessors at the place which the Lord should choose ; and determines what the elders of each city may finally decide on, and the manner in which they should examine the cause, as in the instances of an uncertain murder § of the rebel- lious son, and in the ceremony of taking or refusing the widow of a brother who had died childless. The city, the gate of the city, the elders of the city, are now perpetually introduced, never before. We may also observe, that in this last address, when the peo- ple were going to attack the great body of their enemies, and as they conquered them, were to inhabit their land ; difierent cir- cumstances are mentioned, suited to this new situation. The causes which were to excuse men''s going to war are now first stated, " Having built a new house, planted a new vineyard, or " betrothed himself to a wife ;"|| all of which supposed a separa- tion of the people from the common camp of the whole congre- gation, in consequence of their possessing the promised land. Now also the rules about IT besieging cities, about not destroying such trees around them as were good for food, are specified much more minutely than before, because now sieges would be frequent. Now also Moses enlarges more frequently and more fully than he ever did before, on the fertility and excellence of the promised * Deut. xiv. 23. f Ibid, xviii. 6. J Ibid. xvi. 13. xix. 11. xxi. IS. § Ibid. xxi. II Ibid. xx. 5. &c. IT Ibid. xx. 19. 46 AUTHENTICITY AND TRTITH [ Part t. land.* Tliis was natural ; such a topic at an earlier period, would have increased the murmurings and the impatience of the people at being detained in the wilderness ; whereas, now it encouraged them to encounter with more cheerfulness, the opposition they must meet with from the inhabitants of Canaan. These general and obvious features of diiference, which dis- tinguish the last book of Moses from the preceding ones, when compared with the evident artlessness and simplicity of the nar- rative, seem to result from truth and reality alone. Such dif- ferences were natural, nay unavoidable, if these books were really composed by Moses who was the witness of the facts, and the author of the Laws which these books contain. They would be much less likely to occur, if any other man were the author, even if he were an eye-witness; and they are totally unlike the general detail of a remote compiler, or the laboured artifice of fiction and forgery. This general suitableness of manner in the different books of the Jewish Lawgiver, to the peculiar circumstances in which he was placed, seems to supply a proof of authenticity at once na- tural and convincing. But there are coincidences of a less ob- vious nature, more circuitous and indirect, which occur in the statement of particular facts, and deserve to be accurately attend- ed to, as supplying still more decisive characters of truth and authenticity. In delivering rules about the leprosy^ it is said, " When ye "be come into the land of Canaan^ which I give you for a pos- " session, and I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land " of your possession," ye shall do thus and thus.-f- I notice this instance, because that a house is spoken of, not at all with a design to mark the circumstance of their not yet being come into the" land of their possession, but is of necessity introduced from the nature of the case. The subject here is the discovery and the purification of leprosy. As to this, particular directions are given with respect to a house, but nothing is said of a tent ; whereas, with regard to the impurity contracted by the presence of a dead body,J all the directions relate to a tent, and nothing is said of a house. Now, this difference is, by a little attention, * Deut. vi. 3, and 10. viii 7. xi. 10. xv. 4 + Leviticu";, xir. 34. X Numbers, xix. 14; also compare 11 and 21, wliicli prove the rules as to a dead body, were of permanent obligalinn. Lect. III.] OF THE HISTORY. 47 easily accounted for; the writer applies the rules about the purification from a dead body, to the object then most familial with him, a tent. And as its lying in a house would produce no effect different from its lying in a tent, and require no difference of purification, he says nothing about a house, but leaves the nature of the thing to suggest the regulation when it should be- come necessary. Whereas, in detailing the rules for discovering and purifying the leprosy, all the materials of which tents are made,* wool, and canvas, and leather, are particularized, aa exhibiting each of them peculiar symptoms of the plague ;-f and this being done, it was unnecessary to say any thing of a tent itself ; but as the materials of a house were quite different, and the appearances of infection in it peculiar, this required a particular specification. All this has the appearance of reality, and is exactly the way in which an eye-witness would have spoken : but it is such a difference as a writer of fiction would scarcely have thought of. A similar observation may be made, on the manner in which the service of the Levites, in taking care of the tabernacle, is described.]: We find the families of the Levites enumerated, the numbers of each, and the heads of them, and which were to be entrusted with the most holy things. If it should be conceived that all this may have been inserted in a fictitious narrative, like the catalogues of Homer and Virgil, to preserve the semblance of probability, and to compliment existing fami- lies, by representing their supposed ancestors in situations ot peculiar dignity ; yet, how can we on such a principle, account for the exact detail which is given, not only of the arrange- ment of these families round the tabernacle, but the particular parts § of that structure, and the particular sacred vessels which each family was to carry on the march ; and still more, the minuter directions given, as to the mode of taking these differ- ent parts asunder, protecting them from the injuries of the weather during the march, carrying and setting them up ? How unnatural and irrational would all this appear in the remote compiler of a general history, who lived long after these marches had ceased, when all such directions were utterly superfluous, * Lev. xiii. 47 to 58. f Ibid. 48. 59. t Numbers, iii. and iv § Numbers, iii. 25, 26, 31, 35, 56; also Numbers, iv. particularly 15, 20. 48 AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH [Part I. Surely we cannot suppose that such particulars as these should proceed from any writer but an eye-witness of the events ; nor even from an eye-witness, except he had been engaged as Moses was, in originally directing and constantly superintending these operations. Different circumstances occur in the detail of these directions, which seem to supply more decisive characters of truth and authenticity ; because they display coincidences more minute, or more circuitous and indirect. Thus it is mentioned, that Aaron as High Priest, and his family, had charge of the Ark of the Lord, and the furniture of the Holy of Holies ; but they were to be carried, during the progress of each march, by an inferior family ; and the writer remarks, these were not to ap- proach them, until '* Aaron and his sons had made an end of " covering them, at the commencement of the journey.""* What forger or mere compiler would have thought of such a circum- stance ? A coincidence still more remarkable on this subject, is the following. In the third and fourth chapters of Numbers, the parts of the tabernacle to be carried by each family of the Levites, on the march, are minutely specified. The fifth and sixth are taken up with a detail of Laws entirely unconnected with this subject ; the seventh begins with relating, that the different princes of Israel made an offering of six covered waggons and twelve oxen, which Moses employed to carry the tabernacle, and distributed to two families of the Levites, " according to their service ;''''f (for the third were to carry the part assigned to them, the furniture of the Holy of Holies upon their shoulders ;) to one are assigned two, to another four waggons. The reason of this inequality is not specified ; but on turning back, we find that the family to which the fourj waggons are assigned, had been appointed to carry the solid, and therefore heavy parts of the tabernacle, its boards, and bars, and pillars ; while that family to whrdi the two § waggons are as- signed, was appointed to carry the lighter, its curtains and coverings, its hangings and cords. Such a coincidence as this is extremely natural, if Moses, who directed this matter, recorded * Niimlwrs, iv. 15. f Ibid. vii. 5 to 9. J Compaiu Numb. vii. 8, with iv. 31. 50 AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH [Part I, as judge of every private litigation between the people, tells him,* " The thing that thou doest is not good. Thou wilt surely wea»r " away, both thou and this people with thee : this thing is tofi " heavy for thee ; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone. *' Hearken now unto my voice : Thou shalt provide out of all the " people able men, such as fear God, place such over them, to be " rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and " rulers of tens ; and let them judge the people. If thou shalt do " this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able " to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in " ppace. So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law, " and did all that he had said. And Moses chose able men out " of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of " thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of " tens. And they judged the people at all seasons ; the hard " causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they "judged themselves." Such is the direct narrative. In the very beginning of his address to the people, Moses is represented as alluding to this fact, but with this remarkable difference; that he not only says nothing of Jethro, but that, instead of repre- senting himself as the person who selected these magistrates, he states that he had appealed to the people, and desired they should elect them. " I spake unto you at that time, saying, I am not " able to bear you myself alone : The Lord your God hath multi- " plied you, and behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven *' for multitude. (The Lord God of your fathers make you a " thousand times so many more as you are, and bless you as he " hath promised you.) How can I myself bear your cumbrance, " and your burden, and your strife ? Take you wise men, and " understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make " them rulers over you. So I took the chief of your tribes, wise " men, and known, and made them heads over you. And I " charged your judges at that time, saying. Hear the causes be- " tween your brethren, and judge righteously between every man " and his brother, and the stranger that is with him. ^'e shall " not respect persons in judgment, but yc shall hear the small as well as the great ; yc shall not be afraid of the face of man, '' for the judgment is God's : and the cause that is too liard for * Exod. xviii. 17, &c. Lect. III.] OF THE HTSTORY. Jll " you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it."* There is a great and striking difference between these statements, but there is no contradiction : Jethro suggested to Moses the appointment ; h* probably after consulting God, as Jethro intimates, " if God " shall thus command thee," referred the matter to the people, and assigned the choice of the individuals to them; the persona thus selected he admitted to share his authority as subordinate judges. Thus the two statements are perfectly consistent. But this is not all ; their difference is most natural. In first record- ing the event, it was natural Moses should dwell on the first cause which led to it, and pass by the appeal to the people as a subordinate and less material part of the transaction ; but in addressing the people, it was natural to notice the part they themselves had in the selection of those judges, in order to conciliate their regard and obedience. How naturally rlso does the pious legislator in his public address, dwell on every circum- :stance which could improve his hearers in piety and virtue. The multitude of the people was the cause of the appointment of these judges : How beautifully is this increase of the nation turned to an argument of gratitude to God ! How affectionate is the blessing with which the pious speaker interrupts the narrative, imploring God, that the multitude of his people may increase a thousand fold ! How admirably does he take occa- sion, from mentioning the judges, to inculcate the eternal prin- ciples of justice and piety, which should control their decisions ! How remote is all this from art, forgery, and imposture ! Surely here, if any where, we can trace the dictates of nature, truth, and piety. A similar difference occurs between the direct narrative of the appointment of those who were sent to spy out the land of Canaan, and the manner in which Moses recapitulates this fact, when he addresses the people.-f* In the former it is stated, " The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Send thou men, that they " may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the Chil- " dren of Israel : of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a " man, every one a ruler among them. And Moses, by the " commandment of the Lord, sent them from the wilderness of " Paran." The history then reckons up their names, and re- * Deut. i. 9, to the end. +Nunib. xiii xiv. 52 AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH [Part I counts the evil report which they brought up of the land which they had searched ; the fatal effect it produced in exciting the congregation of Israel to rebel against their God ; the consequent wrath of God, who threatened to cut off the whole nation by the pestilence, and to raise up of Moses a people greater and mightier than they. It relates at full length, the intercession of Moses to avert this dreadful doom, and its being changed into a sentence of condemnation against the adults of that gene- ration, from twenty years old and upwards, that they should never enter into that good land, but should be detained in the wilderness for forty years, and there die. This relation takes up two long chapters. The recapitulation of this event, addressed to the children of that generation at the interval of forty years, is contained in half a chapter. It exhibits a view of the transac- tions materially different from the original narrative, yet recon- cileable with that narrative : and of such a nature, that (as it seems to me) every variation may be accounted for, from the peculiar views and feelings of the Jewish legislator in this address to the people. The recapitulation* begins with relating what took place when the people came to Kadesh Barnea, before any idea of sending spies had occurred. " Then,"" says ISIoses, " I said unto you " Ye are come unto the mountain of the Amorites, which the " Lord our God doth give unto us. Behold the Lord thy God " hath set the land before thee : go up, and possess it, as the *' Lord God of thy fathers hath said unto thee ; fear not, neither " be discouraged. And ye came near unto me, every one of you, " and said. We will send men before us, and they shall search us " out the land, and bring us word again by what way we must " go, and into what cities we shall come. And the saying pleased " me well : and I took twelve men of you, one of a tribe, and they " turned and came unto the valley of Eshcol, and searched it " out." Here then the legislator reminds the people of two cir- cumstances omitted in the original narrative : one, that when they had first approached the promised land, he had commanded them to go up at once and possess the land, fearing notliing, for God was with them : the other, that the idea of delaying to do this, a,nd sending spies to search out the land, had originated, not * Deut. i. from verse 19, to the end. Lect. III.] OF THE HISTORY. 63 With the legislator, but with the people ; and that it was in com- pliance with their own request, that God had commanded Moses to appoint the spies. This variation is extremely natural : it is not to be wonderei at, that Moses should omit these circumstances in the origina. narrative, where he was more intent upon the final event itself, than the subordinate causes that led to it ; but it was highly expedient, when addressing the people, that he should recall these circumstances to their memory, as they so strongly proved that the prime origin of this destructive event was found in their disobedience to the command of their legislator, and that they were themselves the authors of a scheme which terminated so fatally. As naturally can we account for Moses, in his recapitula- tion of his own conduct on this occasion, omitting altogether the menace of God, to disinherit the Jews, and raise up a nation from himself in their stead ; and for his taking no notice of his own successful intercession, on which God had deigned to wave the execution of this awful menace. To dwell on a fact so dis- graceful to the people whom he addressed, and so honourable to himself, would have served rather to wound the feelings and kindle the jealousies of his hearers, than to awaken them to piety and repentance, and would not have suited the character of hira " who was the meekest of men ;"* though, in recording the dis- pensations of Providence for the cool reflection of his country- men, it was a lesson too important to be left out. And that this was the real cause of the omission here, we may be satisfied, from the singular circumstance of Moses sliding into this part of his address to the people, a fact which took place at a quite diff'erent time, but which tended to conciliate his hearers by humbling himself in their eyes, and reminding them that he, as well as their fathers, had offended God ; so that like them he was condemned never to enter into the promised land. For trhen he states that God swore saying, " surely, there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land, • which I sware to give unto your fathers, save Caleb the son of • Jephunneh, because he hath wholly followed the Lord ;" he Adds, " Also the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, saying, ' Thou also shalt not go in thither ; but Joshua the son of Nun» * Vide Numbtrs, xii. 3. M AUTHENTICITY AND TEUTH [Part I. " who standeth before thee, shall go in thither ; encourage hiiu, " for lie shall cause Israel to inherit it."* The introduction of this his own rejection, and the substitu- tion of Joshua, as the person destined by God to lead the Jews to conquer the promised land, was here peculiarly natural and useful ; lest the people recollecting their former defeat, in at- tempting to invade that land when Moses did not accompany them, should dread a similar defeat now, when they were to be entirely deprived of him. But this awful menace of God to destroy the Jews, and raise from Moses, a nation mightier than they, is introduced on another occasion, when its introduction was indispensably necessary ; when he warns that people, "Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the Lord thy God " hath cast out this nation before thee, saying. For my right- " eousness the Lord hath brought me in to possess this land. " Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine " heart, dost thou go to possess their land : but for the wicked- " ness of these nations, the Lord thy God doth drive them out " from before thee, and that he may perform the word which " the Lord sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. *' Understand therefore, that the Lord thy God giveth thee not •' this good land to possess it, for thy righteousness ; for thou " art a stiff-necked people. Remember, and forget not how " thou provokedst the Lord thy God to wrath in the wilderness: " from the day that thou didst depart out of Egypt, until ye " came unto this plact , ye have been rebellious against the " Lord."""!- To inculcate deeply this humiliating, but necessary truth, nothing was more conducive than to state to them, that the greatness of their rebellion had almost induced that God in whom they trusted, totally to disinherit and destroy them, and raise up another nation in their place ; and therefore this circum- stance is here noticed. | It is observable, that on two occasions, the whole nation had united in rebelling against God, and determining to return into Egypt : the first, when they caused Aaron to set up the golden calf ; the second, after the return of the spies from the promised land. And the direct narrative informs us, that on both occa- sions the divine menace against the Jews was accompanied with the same offer to Moses, to raise up from him a mightier nation • Deut. i. 34—38. t Ibid. ix. 1—7. J Vor. 14. LeCt. III.j OF THE HISTORY. 55 in their place. In reminding the people of their guilt on both these occasions, Moses mentions the great wrath of God against the Jews ; but on one of them only does he notice the divine * offer so honourable to himself, while he repeatedly alludes to his offence against God, and his consequent exclusion from the pro- mised land. Is not all this well worth our attention ? In every circum- stance which the legislator adds to his original narrative, or omits from it, do we not discern the feelings of nature, and the coin- cidence of truth? I might add different similar instances of such natural and undesigned coincidence ; but I trust I have adduced enough to confirm my position, so far as relates to the general history of common events. It shall be the object of my next Lecture to evince, that simi- lar characters pervade the accounts of the miracles which the Pentateuch contains, and connect them with the common events in one uniform and consistent narrative. * In Deut. ix compare 14 and 25 with each other; and also Exod. xxxii. 10, and Numb. xiv. 12. £6 AUTHENTICITY AND TllUTH [Part 1. LECTURE IV. Tht argument stated in the preceding Lecture applied to the narrative of miraculoui events in the four last books of the Pentateuch, in order to show that they are related with the same marks of truth as the common events. Instanced in the manner of refers ring to the delivery/ of the Law in Horeb — And to the punishment inflicted for the wor- ship of Baal Peor — And to the delivery of the Decalogue— In the general manner of allusions to different Miracles — In the account of various Miracles wrought to punish opposition to the authority of Moses — Apparent contradiction as to the different state- ments of circumstances attending the punishment of Korah, Dalhan, and Abiram — It» explanation — Inference from thence. DEUTERONOMY, Xi. 2, 7. *• Know ye this day, for I speak not with your children, which have not known and which hava " not seen the chastisement of the Lord your God, his greatness, his mighty hand, and his " «tretched-out arm. But your eyes have seen all the great acts of the Lord which he did." Thus directly does the book of Deuteronomy purport to be the language of an eye-witness to all the miracles recorded in the preceding history of the deliverance of the Jews from Egypt, addressing a nation who were also themselves eye-witnesses to the same great acts. It is on this ground, and this ground only, the legislator claims obedience to his Laws as evidently of a divine authority. If then this character really belongs to the book of Deuteronomy ; if the miracles alluded to, were really performed in the sight of Moses, who thus addresses the nation, and in the sight of the entire nation which he addresses ; we shall certainly be able to find in the internal structure of this address, and in the nature of the allusions it contains, some proofs of this. We shall be able to perceive in the history of the miraculous events and the allusions to them, the same exact suitableness of the sentiment and language of Moses to the eituations in which he is placed ; and the same natural and un- designed coincidence between the address to the people in Deu- Lect. IV.] OF THE HISTORY. 57 teronomy, and the direct narrative of the preceding books, which we have before noticed in the history of the common events, and the allusions to them. We shall perceive, that the miracles and common events cannot be separated from each other, that they are all woven into one uniform, natural, and consistent narrative ; that they are all mentioned with the same artlessness, the same precision and particularity, the same evident conscious- ness of truth. I shall now state a few instances where the undesigned coin- cidence, the exact suitableness, which we have been noticing in the recital of the natural events of the history, are also ob- servable in the relation of the miraculous facts and the allusions to them. We may remark then, that in the direct narrative, the miracles are related minutely and circumstantially. The time, the place, the occasion of each being wrought, are exactly specified ; and such circumstances are introduced, as, when considered, prove the miraculous nature of the fact, though no argument of that kind is instituted. The miracles also are related in the exact order of time when they happened, and the common and super- natural events are exhibited in one continued, and indeed, inse- parable series. Now, had the recapitulation of events been formed, for the purpose of gaining credit to a doubtful narrative of supernatural facts, we should, I presume, perceive a constant effort to dwell upon and magnify the miracles, to obviate any objections to their reality ; we should find their writer accusing his country- men of obstinate incredulity, asserting his own veracity, and appealing in proof of the facts to that veracity. But it is most evident that nothing of this appears in the book of Deuteronomy. The people are never once reproached with having doubted or disbelieved the miracles, but constantly appealed to as having seen and acknowledged them ; though notwithstanding this, they did not preserve that confidence and that obedience to God, which such wonderful interpositions ought to have secured. The speaker never produces arguments to prove the miracles, but always considers them as notoriously true and unquestioned, and adduces them as decisive motives to enforce obedience to his laws. This is the only purpose for which they are introduc- ed ; and such circumstances in the history as, though not mira- 58 AUTHENTICITY AND TRTJTH [Part I. culous, would show the necessity of obedience, are dwelt on as particularly as the miracles themselves. Thus the object of the three first chapters of Deuteronomy, is to assure the people of the divine assistance in the conquest of Canaan, and to convince them of the guilt of not confiding in that assistance. For this purpose the speaker alludes to the former disobedience of the people, when forty years before they had arrived at the borders of Canaan ; and mentions the miracles they had previously to that time witnessed, in general terms, merely as aggravations of their guilt. " I said unto you, dread " not, neither be afraid of them. The Lord your God, which " goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that " he did in Egypt before your eyes : And in the wilderness, " where thou hast seen how that the Lord thy God bare thee, " as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until " ye came to this place. Yet in this thing ye did not believe *' the Lord your God, who went in the way before you to search " you out a place to pitch your tents, in fire by night to show " you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day."* H© then states the denunciation of God, that all the men of that generation should be cut off", and that their little ones, who they said should be a prey, should go in to possess the promised land. He mentions the defeat of the Jews by the Amoritea, when they went up presumptuously; and shows the deep im- pression these events made upon the minds of their fathers ; by their waiting for the divine permission before they changed their march, by their not attempting the territory of the Edoraites, the Moabites, or the Amorites, because God had assigned these lands as their possessions. And he here mentions a fact never he/ore noticed^ but well fitted to encrease the confidence of the Jews in the divine protection ; even that the nations who had inhabited these countries before the children of Esau and of Lot, had been " great and many and tall," but that the Lord " had destroyed them before these nations.^f He then notices the success of the Jewish arms against the kings of the Amorites and of Bashan, whom they attacked with the divine permission ; and concludes with assuring them, that Joshua was appointed by God to cause them to possess the land of their inheritance. Is not this whole exhortation natural ? Is not the brief inci- * Deut. i. 29—33. f Deut. ii. 10, &c. LeCt. IV.] OF THE HISTORY. 59 dental introduction of the miracles, and their being blended with other facts not miraculous, but tending to impress the same con- 'iusion, natural 2 Does not the whole appear totally unlike the ^midity and artifice of fiction or imposture ? It might be proved by a minute induction of every instance in wliich the miracles are referred to in Deuteronomy, that the al- lusion is naturally suggested by the nature of the topic which the legislator wishes to enforce ; and that it is addressed to the people in that manner, which would be clear and forcible if they had been spectators of the miracle alluded to, and on no other supposition. Thus the whole miracle is never related, but that leading circumstance selected which suited the present subject. When, in the fourth chapter of Deuteronomy, he calls on the people to keep and do the statutes and judgments which he taught them, and to teach them to their sons, and their sons' sons ; his argument is derived from the solemn manner in which the people had heard them promulgated by the voice of God himself : " Especially," says he, " in the day when ye stood be- " fore the Lord your God in Horeb ; when the Lord said unto " me. Gather the people together, and I will make them hear " my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that " they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their " children. And ye came near and stood under the mountain, " and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, " with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness. And the Lord " spake unto you out of the midst of the fire ; ye heard the voice " of the words, but saw no similitude, only ye heard a voice." We may ask why, of the many awful circumstances attending this dread appearance, is this of their, having seen no similitude thus singled out ? The next paragraph explains : " Take tliere- " fore good heed unto yourselves, for ye saw no manner of " similitude on the day when the Lord spake unto you in Horeb " out of the midst of the fire ; lest ye corrupt yourselves, and " make you a graven image." Now here let me ask, Would it have been natural to ground this prohibition against making a graven image, not on the absurdity of it, not on the danger oi its leading them to forget God, but simply on this circumstance, of their having seen no similitude when God spake to them in fire from mount Horeb ? Would this, I ask, have been natural, if any doubt could have been raised on this particular fact, or if 60 AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH [Pait I. this account had been first published when all the generation who could be supposed to witness this fact had disappeared ? Another circumstance still more remarkable occurs in this exhortation. The Midianites had seduced the Israelites to join in their idolatry to Baal Peor. The original narrative relates , the manner in which this took place ;* and states, that a plague from the Lord destroyed 24,000 Jews, and that it was stayed by the zeal of Phinehas, in putting two of the highest rank amongst the offenders to death. The legislator, in order to deter the Jews from idolatry, alludes to this fact ; but he notices no cir- cumstance of it but one, which, though in the original narrative not stated, was infinitely the most important to advert to on this occasion ; but which no persons but spectators of the fact, and perfectly acquainted with every individual concerned in it, could possibly feel the truth of. " Your eyes," says he,t " have " seen what the Lord did because of Baal Peor ; for ^ all the " men that followed Baal Peor, the Lord thy God hath destroy- " ed them from amongst you. But ye that did cleave unto the " Lord your God, are alive every one of you this day." It was extremely natural for Moses himself to use this argument ; but I confess it seems to me improbable in the extreme, that it should be used when nobody who had been witness of the fact remained alive ; or if a compiler had resolved to make this asser- tion at hazard, and put it in the mouth of Moses it seems very strange, that it is the only circumstance he should forget to notice in the direct narrative, and the only one he should notice in his reference to it. I add some few instances of incidental allusions to miracles, to Bhow how naturally they are introduced, and how exactly the manner in which they are spoken of, suits the situation of Moses himself addressing the eye-witnesses of the fact. The Ten Commandments had been the only precepts of the Law, which God had distinctly proclaimed from mount Horeb to the assembled nation of the Jews ; the rest of it had beet promulgated by Moses himself, as the divine command. Nov- how does ho argue with the people, in order to induce them lo receive what he announced as the divine will, equally with that * Numb. XXV. "j- Deut. iv. 3 and 4. X How decidedly does this statement justify the punishment extending to such a multitude ; a circumstance so often objected to. Lect. IV ] OF THE HISTORY, 61 which Grod himself had directly proclaimed ? He might have urged that the miracles which God had wrought by him, estab- lished his divine authority ; that the Ten Commandments, being of pre-eminent importance, God had himself proclaimed them to impress them the more deeply, and chosen to employ him as the medium of conveying the rest of the Law. He might have urged the severe punishments which God had inflicted on those who had contested against his divine mission (as he does in another * passage,) and rested the point on these arguments ; but he chooses a quite different ground. He states, that the people had declined hearing the rest of the Laio directly from God himself and had ientreated that it should be conveyed to them through him. He recites the Ten Commandments, and adds, •f- " These words the Lord spake unto all your assembly in the " mount, out of the midst of the fire, and he added no more ; " and he wrote them on two tables of stone, and delivered them " unto me. And ye came near unto me, even all the heads of " your tribes, and your elders ; and ye said, This great fire will " consume us ; if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any " more, then we shall die. Go thou near, and hear all that the " Lord our God shall say : and speak thou unto us all that the " Lord our God shall speak unto thee, and we will hear it, and " do it." Such is the ground on which Moses claims the obedi- ence of the people to the statutes and judgments which he asserts the Lord commanded him to teach them. Now if this argument had never been used by the legislator, if the fact had never occur- red, if the Pentateuch had been the invention of fancy, or even the compilation of some historian long subsequent to the events, what could lead him to clog his narrative with such a circum- stance as this ? In short, what but truth and reality could sug- gest such an argument, or gain it the slightest credit from the people to whom it was addressed 2 Sometimes the allusions to the miracles are so brief, that their application to the topic which it is meant to enforce cannot be made without an intimate knowledge of the facts. Exhorting the people to love and obey God, it is said, " If je hearken to " these judgments, the Lord will take away from thee all sick- " ness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt (which thou " knowest) upon thee.":]: Commanding the people, that in the * Deut. xi. 6. t Ibid. v. 22, &c. $ Deut. vii. 12 and 15; and Exod. xv. 26 62 AUTHKXTICITY AND TRUTH [Part I. plague of leprosy they should do according to all that the Priests and the Levites should teach them — to confirm this injunction it is added, " Remember what the Lord thy God did unto Mi- " riam by the way, after that ye were come forth out of Egypt."* Threatening the people with punishment, if they should " at all " forget the Lord their God, and walk after other gods," it is said, if ye do so, " I testify against you this day, that ye shaL " surely perish. As the nations which the Lord destroyed be- *' fore your face, so shall ye perish."-f- Commanding the Jews to take care lest in their prosperity they forget their God, it is added, " God, who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, " the house of bondage, and led thee through that great and ter- " rible wilderness, where were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and " drought, where there was no water : who brought thee forth " water out of the rock of flint ; who fed thee in the wilderness " with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might hum- *' ble thee. Thou slialt remember the Lord thy God : for it is he *' that giveth thee power to get wealth."]: And again, "Love the " Lord, and keep his charge ; for I speak not with your children " which have not known, and which have not seen the chastise- " ment of the Lord your God, his greatness, his mighty hand, " and his stretched-out arm, and his miracles, and his acts, which " he did in the midst of Egypt, unto Pharaoh the king of Egypt, " and all his land ; and what he did unto the army of Egypt, " unto their horses, and to their chariots, how he made the water " of the Red Sea to overflow them, as they pursued after you, " and how the Lord had destroyed them unto this day ; and " what he did unto you in the wilderness, until ye came unto " this place ; and what he did unto Dathan and Abiram the sons " of Eliab, the son of Reuben : how the earth opened her mouth " and swallowed them up, and their households, and their tents, " and all the substance that was in their possession in the midst " of all Israel. But your eyes have seen all the great acts of the " Lord, which he did. Therefore shall ye keep all the command- " ments which I command you this day."§ Is not this brief allusion to all the miracles which God had wrought, this more full statement of two, calculated, the one to inspire gratitude, and both to strike terror ? Is not resting the ci-edit of the facts on * Compare Numbers, xii. with Dent. xiv. 9. •)• Dent. viii. 19, 20. X Dout. viii. 14— IS. § Ibid, xi, 1 to 8. Lect. IV.] OF THE HISTORY 6b the persons addressed, being themselves spectators of these facts, and not merely the children of those who had been spectators , is not all this natural in Moses addressing his cotemporaries ? Would it not be most unnatural in any body else, addressing the Jews at any subsequent period? In the promises of divine assistance which Moses announces to the people, I meet with one circumstance of a very singular nature. When he encourages the people not to be afraid of the nations of Canaan, as mightier than themselves, and declares God shall deliver them unto thee, and destroy them with a mighty destruction until they be destroyed, he interposes this limitation : " I will not drive them out from before thee in one year, lest the *'land become desolate, and the beasts of the field multiply " against thee ; by little and little I will drive them out from be- "fore thee, until thou be increased and inherit the land.''"'* Here is a remarkable instance of miraculous interference being extended no further than was absolutely necessary, and combined with a regard to the general analogy of nature and the regular course of Providence. Would the author of a fictitious narrative, the compiler of fugitive and uncertain traditions have thought of such a limitation, when his whole object must have been to exalt the divine power, whose interference he described as immediate and resistless ? In the account of the return of Moses from Mount Sinai, after having received the tables of the Ten Commandments, a second time, a remarkable fact is related. " When he came " down from the mount, Moses wist not that the skin of his " face shone. And when Aaron and all the children of Israel *' saw it, they were afraid to come nigh him. And Moses called *' unto them ; and till he had done speaking with them, he put " a vail on his face. But when he went in before the Lord tc " speak with him, he took the vail off until he came out.'"+ This divine splendour caught, as it were, from the near approach to the glory of the divine presence, with which the inspired legislator had just been honoured, was admirably calculated to impress the Jewish people (ever strongly affected by sensible objects) with reverence for the Lawgiver and his Laws. But surely it was such a circumstance as no dealer in fiction, no compiler of traditions can be supposed to have thought of. We * Deut vii. 22, t Exod xxxiv. 29. &c. 64 AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH [Part I. may further remark, that this circumstance is never again al- luded to, either in the direct narrative or the recapitulation in Deuteronomy ; though every other fact connected with it is re- peatedly noticed. Now supposing the fact true, and Moses the writer of the Pentateuch, this silence is perfectly natural ; it suited not the modesty of his character, who was the meekest of men, to dwell on such a circumstance. But if any one else had been the author of the narrative, supposing so singular a fiction to have suggested itself at all, is it likely he woula notice it huf once ? One miracle, and only one, occurs in the last exhortation of Moses, to the assembled nations of the Jews, of which no men- tion is made in the direct narrative. " Thou shalt remember," says he, "all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty "years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee. " He sufiered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna (which "thou knewest not) that thou mightest know that man doth " not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth " out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live."" He adds, " Thy " raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell " these forty years ;"" or (as it is expressed in another subse- quent passage) " I have led you forty years in the wilderness ; " your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not " waxen old upon thy foot. Ye have not eaten bread, neither " have ye drunk wine or strong di"ink : that ye might know " that I am the Lord your God."* If Moses was really the author of the Pentateuch, he could not have noticed this miracle one day before he is said to have first mentioned it, even on the border of the land of Canaan, when the Jews were just pre- paring to enter it, and when natural means of procuring jFood and raiment being afforded them, all supernatural aid in these points was to cease. Their being fed with manna, is indeed frequently mentioned, because this was a miracle which, though constantly repeated, was in each particular instance plain and distinct. But the circumstance, of the raiment of the whole nation not waxing old for forty years, was a continued super- natural operation, which at no one period could have had its commencement distinctly marked : and therefore never could be noticed with such clear certainty and full effect wlien it was no * Deut. viii. 2 — 4 ; and xx'w. 5 and 6. Lect. IV.] OF THE HISTORY. 'Go longer to continue, and Its cessation would arrest the attention of the most careless. Let me ask, what imaginer of fiction, what compiler of vague tales, would have thought of such a miracle at all ; or, if he did, would have thought of the propriety of not mentioning it till the very close of his narration ? Is not this coincidence of the matter and order of the narrative with that which would be natural if the facts were exactly true, and Moses himself the historian, and unnatural on any other supposition ; — is not such coincidence a strong character of genuineness and truth ? Some of the most distinguished miracles were wrought to curb and to punish the opposition of the Jews to the commands or authority of their legislator, which some individuals occa- sionally raised. It is well worth remarking, that we can in every instance of this opposition discover some circumstance in the rank and situation of the individuals exciting it, which na- turally accounts for their admitting more readily than others that spirit of pride and jealousy in which this opposition origi- nated. We find Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the -Ethiopian woman whom he had married ; and they said, " Hath the Lord spoken only by Moses ? hath he not spoken " also by us f '* Aaron was elder brother to Moses, and when on receiving the divine command to go to Pharaoh, he had complained of his slowness of speech, Aaron was appointed by God to supply this defect, and to be his spokesman to the peo- ple. " He spake all the words which the Lord had spoken unto " Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people." Through the whole history Aaron acts a part second only to Moses, and he was invested with the High Priesthood, a sacred dignity per- manent and hereditary in his family ; while the family of Moses had not been honoured with any hereditary dignity, but remain- ed undistinguished from the rest of the Levitical tribe, subordi- nate to the High Priest. Hence it was not unnatural that Aaron should be ready to avail himself of a circumstance in the conduct of Moses, which seemed to render him unworthy of any superiority over a person so much honoured of God as the High Priest conceived himself to be. But why should Miriam, a woman, join in such a contest ? Turn back to tlie first and only occasion in which the historian mentions her, and it seems to me * Compare Numbers, xii. 2, with Exod. xv. 20. C6 AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH [Part I. to explain the reason. She was the only sister of Moses and Aaron, and on the signal deliverance of Israel from the host of Pharaoh at the Red Sea, when Moses pronounced his celebrated triumphal hymn in gratitude to God, accompanied by the thousands of Israel, Miriam was the person who headed the women in the triumphal procession. " Miriam the Prophetess, " the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand : and all the "women went out after her, with timbrels and with dances. " And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath " triumphed gloriously ; the horse and his rider hath he thrown " into the sea."* Miriam, then, here appears to occupy the first rank amongst the women of Israel, and even seems to have joined in this triumphal hymn, actuated by a divine inspiration, which explains that remarkable phrase, uniting her with Aaron " Hath not God " spoken by us V It is very remarkable, the punishment was confined to her ; for God struck her with a sudden leprosy, which obliged her to be shut out from the camp, as unclean, seven days, thus effectually humbling her in the sight of all the women of Israel. Is it too great a refinement to suppose that this oppo- sition may have originated in her jealousy at the respect -f-which, perhaps, the women of Israel paid to the wife of their revered legislator, and that hence she may have been peculiarly prompt to remark and to bring forward the objection, of Moses being married to an Ethiopian woman ; thus designing to degrade her rival, even though, in order to do so, she must attack the character of the divine legislator? Does not the whole trans- action, which, at first, seems very singular and unaccountable, when thus explained, assume the appearance of nature and reality I I We find Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not ; and there went out fire from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. We are to remark that this event * Exod. XV. 20. f It appears from Exod. xviii. that the wife of the Jewish legislator nad not been brought to rfjoin him by her father, until after the part Miriam had borne in the triumphal procession above recited. Perhaps on her arrival, Miriam found that respect which she had exclusively enjoyed, transferred to, or divided with this stranger; and hence her jealousy. ^ % Compare Exod. xxiv. 9, with Levit. ix. 24; also Lev. x. and Numb. iii. Lect. IV. J OF THE HISTORY. 67 took place immediately after Aaron and they had been conse- crated to the service of God, and when God had miraculously sent down a fire from heaven which had consumed the sacrifice, and from which the fire that was to be employed in future sacri- fices was to be taken. The ofience, therefore, of Nadab and Abihu, seems to have been their despising this miracle, and em- ploying, instead of the sacred fire, common elementary fire ; as if they countenanced the reverence paid to that element, in oppo- sition to the reverence due only to God. It would seem also, that they had been betrayed into this act of presumption, by in- temperance at the feast upon the peace-oflerings ; for immediately after, and apparently in consequence of their fate, Moses delivers the injunctions against the priests drinking wine and strong drink when they approached the sanctuary. Perhaps also, their presumption may have been increased^ by the Idgli honour which they alone, ofAaroris sons, had enjoyed, when they, with Moses and Aaron, and seventy of the elders of Israel, were called up to Mount Sinai, to behold the glory of the God of Israel. This distinguished honour, may have pufi"ed them up with the imagination, that they were not to be controlled by the restraints which the other priests were subject to, but that they might approach the altar without observing the strict regulations of the divine command ; a presumption which, if suffered to pass with impunity amongst a people so prone to disobedience as the Jews, and just after the observance of the ritual Law had commenced with a public miracle, to attest its divine original, might have introduced a contempt of the system, and apostasy from God. But the most bold and open rebellion against the inspired Lawgiver, was that of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Now the narrative no whegi-e notices the circumstances which led them in particular to unite in this rebellion ; but when minutely ex- amined we discover from it, that they had such pretensions from their rank, as may have encouraged them to resist the authority of Moses and Aaron. Korah was one of the chiefs of the family of Kohath, which it appears was* specially employed to carry the ark, and the Holy of Holies, though not permitted to look into them. They were therefore, amongst the Levites, the next in sacredness of function, to Aaron and his sons, and may there- * Numb. iii. 31. 6S AUTHENTICITY AND TKUTH [Part 1. fore the more readily have formed a scheme to contest with Aaron his exclusive right to the High Priesthood. Dathan, Abiram, and On, were cMefs of the trihe of Beuhen, the first-horn of the sons of Jacob, and may, therefore, have conceived them- selves better entitled than Moses to pre-eminence in temporal power. If these reasons for the conduct of both parties are natural, the silence of the narrative about them, serves only to render it the more probable, that the coincidence arises from truth, not from artifice. A coincidence of a still more remarkable nature seems to me to ocoxvc^ in comparing the narrative of the signal punishment inflicted on these rebels, with subsequent passages ; which I will state in the very manner in which it struck my own mind, that it may more truly appear, whether it be overstrained and fanci- ful, or natural and just. On reading the direct narrative of this punishment, I concefved that Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and all their families, were destroyed. It relates,* that " Korah, " Dathan, and Abiram, took men, and rose up before Moses, "with certain of the Children of Israel. And they gathered "themselves together against Moses, and against Aaron, and " said unto them : Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the " congregation are holy, and the Lord is among them ; wherefore " then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord!" Here they all seemed equally implicated in one common crime. In relating their punishment, it is said : " The Lord spake unto " Moses, saying speak unto the congregation, saying : Get ye up " from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and " Moses rose up, and went unto Dathan and Abiram ; and he " spake unto the congregation saying : depart, I pray you, from " the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest " you be consumed in all their sins. So they gat up from the "tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side."" Afterwards we are told, that the " ground clave asunder that was " under them ; and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed " them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained " unto Korah, and all their goods ; they, and all that appertained " to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed " upon thorn. And there came out a fire from the Lord and * Vide Numbers, the entire chaiiter xvi. ; and compare xxvi. 9, 11. Lect. IV.] OF THE HISTORY. 69 " consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered hicense.'" On a cursory perusal of this narrative, I was quite certain that the tents and famihes of all three had been all equally destroyed. In the book of Numbers, when the names of the different families are reckoned up, on mentioning the names of Dathan and Abiram, it is said : " This is that Dathan and Abiram, who were "famous in the congregation, who strove against Moses and " against Aaron in the company of Korah, when they strove " against the Lord ; and the earth opened her mouth, and " swallowed them up, together with Korah, when that company " died, what time the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men ; " and they became a sign."* But I was extremely surprised to find it added: "Notwithstanding, the children of Korah died " not." This seemed a direct contradiction. I returned to the original narrative, and on examination, thought I found that though it did not assert the preservation of the family of Korah, it plainly left room for implying it. Dathan and Abiram showed their rebellion in resisting the authority of Moses as temporal judge, refusing to come when called on to attend his summons : for " Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab ; " which said. We will not come up."-f- Korah's rebellion con- sisted in his laying claim to the High Priesthood ; and the direc- tion given for bringing his claim to a test, was, " that he and all " his company should take their censers, and put fire in them, " and lay incense thereon, and stand in the door of the tabernacle *' of the congregation with Moses and Aaron ;" and it is said, that " Korah gathered all the congregation against them unto " the door of the tabernacle of the congregation." Here then a separation took place between these different parties. When indeed the divine command was given, that the congregation should separate themselves from all three, speaking of them all collectively, because involved in one common crime, it is said : " Get ye up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and " Abiram." Yet in delivering this direction we find the separ- ation continued ; for Moses was, at the time he received it, standing at the door of the tabernacle with Korah and his com- pany : and it is said, " Moses rose up, and went unto Dathan " and Abiram," (undoubtedly leaving Korah where he was, a^ * Numb. xxvl. 9, and 10. f Ibid. xvi. 12. 70 AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH [Part 1. the door of the tabernacle) " and the elders of Israel followed " him ; and he spake unto the congregation, saying : Depart, I "pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch •' nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in their sins. So they " gat up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on " every side." Here they are united, as the people were to separate themselves from all three, as joined in a common cause. Yet they are again spoken of as still separate ; for it is said : " Dathan and Abiram came out and stood in the door of their " tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children." On this circumstance turns the explanation, which seems to ac- count for the final difference of the event. We here perceive that Dathan and Abiram collected their families round them, as their abettors in this rebellion, and as determined to abide all its consequences with themselves. But this is not said of the family of Korah, and the nature of the case shows the reason. Korah did not remain in his tent, but was at a considerable distance from it ; the tabernacle being in the centre of the camp, the tents of the Levites surrounding it on every side, and outside them the tents of the other tribes ; he had therefore no opportunity of col- lecting his children about him ; he only had all the men of his family who supported his rebellion, along with them at the door of the tabernacle. Now it is not said, nor is it a natural suppo- sition, that the wives and children of Korah and his followers should in their absence assemble of themselves, and stand at the door of their tents, in the same manner as Dathan and Abiram caused their families to do ; hence they escaped from being so openly and contumaciously involved in the guilt of this rebellion, and hence they escaped its punishment. The tents of Dathan and Abiram, who both belonged to the tribe of Reuben, were probably together ; and the earth opened her mouth, and swal- lowed them up. The tent of Korah, as belonging to the tribe of the Levites, must have been remote from theirs ; it displayed no such open rebellion as those of Dathan and Abiram, it therefore escaped, liut Moses and the ciders of Israel having quitted the door of the tabernacle, leaving there Korah and his rebellious company ; at the same instant that the earth swallowed up the tents and families of Dathan and Abiram, a fire went out from the Lord, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who offered up incense with Korah at their head. And when in the LeCt. IV.] OP THE HISTORY. 71 thirty-second verse it is stated that the earth swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods, it can only mean Dathan and Abiram, to whose tents only Moses is said to have gone, and against whom only he has denounced this species of punishment. The word, " appertaining to Korah,*" means only that they belonged to his party, and supported his cause. For in the third verse after it is said, that the two hundred and fifty men who offered incense perished by a fire from the Lord, amongst whom was Korah and all the men of his family. If indeed it had been said, that Moses went to the tents of Korah, and Dathan, and Abiram, there would have been a contradiction. But he only went to those of Dathan and Abiram, and could have no occasion to go to that of Korah, having just left him and all his company at the door of the tabernacle. Thus the narrative, though it seems to approach to contradiction, yet when examined accurately, it not only escapes it, but enables us to discover how the children of Korah, and they only, came to survive the punishment which involved their parents, and the entire families of Dathan and Abiram. Such a coincidence as this, so latent and indirect, is surely a character of truth. Such a narrative could scarcely have proceeded from any but the pen of an eye-witness. And what eye-witness can we suppose to have been its author, but that Moses, to whom tlie Jewish race have universally ascribed it. and therefore admitted it as a code of their law, and the rule of theu yelip:ion. and the only true record of their history \ T2 AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH [I'illt f . LECTURE V. 7A« coTnmon events of the Jewish history incredible if teparated from the miraculotUf hut ichen combined with them, form one natural and consistent narrative. Instanced in the history of Moses before he undertook the deliverance of the Jews— In the difficulties attending that attempt, from the Jews and from the Egyptians — Hit conduct as leader of the emigration unaccountable if unaided by supernatural power — At the departure from Egypt — At the Red Sea — On the return of the twelve spies from Canaan — In the detention of the Jews in the wilderness fort^ years. EXODUS, V. 22, 23. ' And Moses returned unto the Lord, and iaid, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil-entreated thi» " people ? why U it that thou hast sent me ? For since 1 came to Pharaoh to speak in thy " name, he hath done evil to this people ; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all." This was the expostulation of the Jewish legislator with the Deity, in the bitterness of his heart, at the severe disappointment he experienced, on his first application to the Egyptian monarch, in the name of the God of Israel, for permission to let his people go, that they might serve him. In the three last Lectures I endeavoured to deduce presumptive proofs of the authenticity and truth of the Jewish history, from the structure of the narrative in which it is presented to us : and to show, that these proofs apply with equal clearness to tne mir- aculous as to the common facts ; both being interwoven in one detail, and related with the same characters of impartiality, artlessness, and truth. This conclusion will receive great confir- mation, should it be found that the common events of the history, if we attempt to separate them from the miraculous, become un- natural, improbable, and even incredible, unconnected, and unac- countable ; while, if combined with the miracles which attended them, the entire series is connected, natural, and consistent. In order to lead the way to this conclusion, I have directed the attention of my readers to the singular narrative from which Lect. V.J OP THB HISTORY. 73 this passage is taken : as Introductory to an inquiry, Whether it appears probable or improbable, that the deliverance of the Jews from Egypt, the promulgation of the Jewish Law, and the establishment of the Jewish nation in the land of Canaan, can bo rationally and adequately accounted for, by unassisted human agency, using merely natural means, and taking advantage of natural occurrences? Or, whether on the contrary, the difficulties attending the accomplishment of these events, and the consequent establishment of the Hebrew polity, were not such as no mere human power could have overcome ; and whether it be not indis- pensably necessary to admit the account which the Sacred History delivers of a divine interposition, as the only cause fully adequate, to the production of effects so important and certain, yet so extra- ordinary, as the deliverance of Israel, the legislation of Moses, and the settlement of the Hebrew nation in the land of Canaan ? For this purpose, let us consider the objects to which this narra- tive naturally directs our attention ; the character of the Jewish legislator, the resistance he encountered from the Egyptian government, the disposition and circumstances of the Hebrew people, and impediments which presented themselves to their set- tlement in the land to which they emigrated. Let us review the narrative of these events, separating the leading facts not mira- culous, which form the basis of the history, from the miraculous ; and consider whether it be rational to receive the former, and re- ject the latter. Let us first contemplate the character and conduct of the leg- islator. Born at that period, when his nation groaned under the most oppressive and malignant despotism which ever crushed a people ; rescued by 9 singular providence from that death to which he was destined by the cruel edict of Pharaoh ; adopted by the daughter, and educated in the court, of that monarch ; there is reason to believe, with the inspired martyr Saint Stephen, that he was " learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians," and that he may have been "mighty both in words and deeds:"* that is, con- versant in learning, skilled in writing, and judicious in conduct; for his own positive declaration prevents us from believing him elo- quent. When commanded to act as ambassador from the God of Israel to Pharaoh, he pleads as an apology for his reluctance, * Acts, vii. 22. AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH [Part I. to undertake the dangerous task, the want of this quality so ne- cessary for a popular leader.* And that he did not possess, or at least that he did not display, any military prowess, appears from his employing Joshua to head the Jewish troops, in the very first battle they had occasion to fight, whilst he stood on an eminence to secure to them divine aid, by holding up his hands to heaven.-f- But, notwithstanding these defects, it is not improba- ble that, in the vigour of manhood, and the ardour of his honest indignation, at the sufferings of his people, he may have con- ceived the project of rousing them against their oppressors, and rescuing them from Egypt. His religious principles were shocked with the idolatry and vices of the Egyptian court, as his humanity and patriotism revolted at the cruelty exercised against his wretched countrymen. He trusted that God would assist his praiseworthy intentions, and by him accomplish the promised deliverance. " By faith," says the Apostle,:]: " Moses, " when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of " Pharaoh's daughter ; choosing rather to sufier aflliction with " the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a " season ; esteeming the reproach of Christ " (the seed in whom all the nations of the earth were to be blessed, and to which he looked as the sure pledge of his nation's deliverance) " as greater *' riches than the treasures of Egypt ; for he had respect unto " the recompence of the reward." Thus animated, he seems to have attempted that deliverance he hoped for. " When he was " full forty years old," says Saint Stephen,^ " it came into his " heart to visit his brethren the chilcben of Israel. And seeing " one of them sufier wrong, he defended him, and avenged him " that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian : for he supposed " his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand " would deliver them ; but they understood not." Indeed, this attempt, prematurely undertaken, and utterly unsuccessful, ter- minated in such a manner as seems to have banished every such idea totally from his thoughts, and to have rendered any such attempt in future, to all human judgment, desperate and im- practicable. For, " the next day he showed himself unto " two of his countrymen, as they strove, and would have set " them at one again, saying, Sirs, ye are brethren : why do yo • Exod. iv. 0. + Ibid. xvii. 8—1 •>. t Hil). xi. 24— 2f>. ^ Acts, vii. 23-25. lieCt. v.] OP THB HISTORY. 75 •* wrong one to another? But he that did his neighbour wrong, " thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge " over us ? Wilt thou kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian " yesterday?"* " And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing " is known. And when Pharaoh heard this, he sought to slay " him ; but he fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the " land of Midian."-f- Thus exiled from his nation, his life exposed to the most im- minent hazard should he presume to return to Egypt ; forsaken by his countrymen, and persecuted by their enemies ; he appears to have relinquished all hope of efi"ecting their dehverance, and to have abandoned every idea of personal ambition or public enterprise. He marries ; two sons are born to him ; and he devotes forty years,| the prime and the vigour of his days, to the humble and peaceful employments of rural life. His family and his flocks occupy the entire attention of the patriarch and the shepherd. If we exclude the idea of a divine interposition, we must believe that at the end of forty years, without any outward change of circumstances, merely from a rash and sudden im- pulse, this exile, so long appearing to have forgotten his people, and to have been by them forgot, resumes, at the age of four- score,§ the project which, in the full vigour of manhood, and the yet unabated ardour of youthful confidence, he had been com- pelled to abandon as desperate. He forsakes his family and his property, revisits his nation, determined again to ofier himself for their leader, and to attempt their deliverance. Yet he appears not to have cultivated in the interval, a single talent, and not to have formed a single preparation to facilitate his enterprise. Of eloquence he confesses himself destitute; of military skill or prowess, he never made any display ; he appears to have formed no party among the Jews, no alliance with any foreign power ; he had certainly prepared no force. But it will be said, he employed an engine more powerful than eloquence or arms, with an unenlightened people, who looked upon themselves as the favourites of heaven, and who long had hoped for their deliverance by a divine interposition. * Acts, vii. 26—28. t Exod, ii. 14, 15. J C'jmpare Exod ii, 11- -23, with V § Fvocl. ii. 7, and Acts, vii. 7 , vii . 23 aud 30. 76 AUTHENTICITT AND TRUTH [Part 1. He claimea the character of an ambassador commissioned by the God of their fathers, to free them from the bondage under which they groaned ; he supported his claim by some artful deceptions and mysterious juggling, which his former acquain- tance with Egyptian magic enabled him to practise ; and this was sufficient to gain the faith and command the obedience of a superstitious race, always credulous, and now eager to be con- vinced, of what they wished to be true. Thus we may account for his success. This might appear plausible, if the only thing wanting was to prevail on his countrymen to quit the land of bondage ; but let it be remembered, that the great difficulty lay in the neces- sity of prevailing on the Egyptians to permit their departure.* Supposing the Hebrew slaves were willing to encounter the difficulties of emigration, and the dangers of invading a warlike nation (a point by no means certain ;) yet who shall prevail on their proud and mercenary lords to suffer themselves to be de- prived of their service ? Every circumstance which would enable a chief to establish his party with the one, would rouse suspicion, resentment, and opposition, in the other. As to forcing their way by arms, and thus vindicating their liberty, this was an attempt so hopeless and desperate, that it appears never to have been thought of. For near three hundred years had the Hebrews submitted to the yoke of servitude, Avithout a single struggle to shake it off. Above fourscore years before, the malignity of their tyrants had proposed to destroy the nation, by cutting off all their male children, yet this cruelty had ex- cited no revolt. The operation of this dreadful edict had been some way or other eluded, and it had, in all probability, gra- dually ceased. But who could hope to rouse such a people, de- based and dejected with long continued " bondage, la mortar, " and in brick, and in all manner of service in tne field,''''-f- against one of the most vigilant and most powerful monarchies tlftn existing in the world ; by whoso forces they, their wives, and their children, might be immediately cut off if they at- tempted to unite and to resist 2 At all events, their aged leader * Vide Exod. xiv, 11. Numb. vi. 5, and Numb. xiv. 3, and xx, 5, which prove clearly how ready the Jews were to return to Egypt on any reverse of fortune, and how much they regretted the plenty and peace they enjoyed there, whenever afterwards at a loss for sustenance, or menaced by war. t Exod. i. 14. Lect. v.] OF THE HISTORY. 77 made no such attempt ; he bore no armB, but that rod by which he professed Jehovah would enable him to work miracles ; and in the name of that God he applied to the Egyptian monarch, to obtain permission for his people to go and hold a feast in the wilderness. The haughty tyrant, unacquainted with the name, and des- pising the majesty of Jehovah, rejected the demand with con- tempt. And Pharaoh said, " Who is the Lord, that I should " obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither " will I let Israel go." And he said, " Wherefore do ye, Moses " and Aaron, let the people from their works ? get ye unto your " burdens. And Pharaoh commanded the same day the task- " masters of the people, and their officers, saying. Ye shall no " more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore ; let " them go and gather straw for themselves. And the tale of *' the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon " them ; ye shall not diminish ought thereof : for they be idle ; " therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God, " Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may la- " hour therein ; and let them not regard vain words.""* This severe command was proclaimed, and obedience to it per- emptorily required : to execute it was found impracticable. But despotism roused to anger, and rejoicing to oppress, would not admit as an apology the impossibility of executing its will. " The " officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh's task-masters " had set over them, were beaten, and demanded. Wherefore have " ye not fulfilled your works, your daily tasks, as when there " was straw ? And the officers came and cried unto Pharaoh, " saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants ? But " he said. Ye are idle ; therefore ye say. Let us go and do sa- " crifice to the Lord. Go therefore now and work : for there " shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of " bricks. And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the " way, as they came forth from Pharaoh, and they said unto " them. The Lord look upon you, and judge ; because ye have " made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and " in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to " slay us.^f On this distressing accusation, Moses, dejected with disap- * Exod. V. 2—9. t Ibid. v. 14—21. 78 AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH [Part T. pointraent, and overpowered with the unexpected sufferings which he appeared to be instrumental in producing, poured forth his complaint before his God : he returned unto the Lord, and said, " Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil-entreated this people ? Why " is it that thou hast sent me ? For since I came to Pharaoh to " speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people ; neither " hast thou delivered thy people at all."* Here then is the first crisis, in which the attempt to deliver Israel from Egyptian bondage seems, if we consider human means, utterly desperate. Its author is resisted and scorned by the Egyptian monarch : deserted, and almost execrated by his countrymen, for involving them in new miseries, to which yet tliey submit without any attempt to shake off the yoke. He stands on one side, without arms, without followers, without resources of any human kind ; opposed to a mighty sovereign, surrounded by his wise men and priests, his counsellors, his officers, his armies, invested with despotic power, which he is determined to exercise, in opposition to the authority of that God, whose ambassador the Jewish legislator declares himself, and in contempt of those menaces which he denounces. Thus the claim of Moses, to a divine mission, is rejected and scorned, and he has no resource but those magical deceptions, which he is supposed to derive from his Egyptian education. But what hope of succeeding in these, when surrounded, watched, and opposed by all the masters of this art, by whom he himself must have been taught, the wise men, and priests, and magicians of Egypt, supported by the majesty of their monarch, and the power of their state ; while their opponent is without a single associate but his own brother to support or assist him ? A very short period elapses, and what is the event? No human force is exercised, not a single Israelite lifts the sword or bends the bow ; but the Egyptian monarch is humbled, his people terrified, they urge the Israelites to hasten their depar- ture. These are now honoured as the masters of their late oppressors: they demand of the 'Egyptians, (the idea of horrow- tng^ which our translation expresses, and which implies the hu- mility of a request, and an obligation to return, is wholly foreign 10 the original :) " The Israelites " (in obedience to the express injunction of Jehovah) " demand of the Egyptians silver, and * Ex(.(l. V. 22. 21^. Lect. v.] OP THE HISTORY. 79 " gold, and jewels,"* as the remuneration due to their past un- requited labours, conceded by divine justice, and obtained by divine power ; as the homage due to their present acknowledged superiority, and the purchase of their immediate departure. The Egyptians grant every thing ; the Israelites begin their emigra- tion : " Six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and " children ; and a mixed multitude Avent with them, as well as " flocks and herds, and much cattle."-}* But, notwithstanding his unparalleled success in his main project, the leader of this great body acknowledges himself to have acted in a mode utterly destitute of the slightest human foresight or prudence ; for this multitude are so little prepared for their emigration, that they had not time so much as to leaven the bread which they brought out of Egypt ; " Because " they were thrust out, and could not tarry, neither had they " prepared for themselves any victual."! -^^^ ^^ if ^^ *^^6 first step to display his total neglect of every precaution which a wise leader would adopt, he is afraid of conducting them " by " the way of the land of the Philistines, though that was near, " lest they should see war, and return to Egypt ;""§ yet he takes no care to guide them in such a course as would enable them to escape from pursuit, or contend to advantage with their pursu- ers. He leads them into a defile, with mountains on either side, and the sea in front. At this moment the Egyptians recover from the panic, under the influence of which they had consented to their departure ; and they said, " Why have we " done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us ? And " they pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, " and his horsemen, and his army, IT and soon overtook tho " fugitives, for they were entangled by the land, the wilderness ♦' had shut them in."|| Perhaps at this crisis, despair inspired them with courage ; No, all is dismay and lamentation ; they cried unto the Lord, and said unto Moses, " Because there were no graves in Egypt, " hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness ? Wherefore " hast thou thus dealt with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt ? " Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, " Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians ? for it had * Compare Exod. iii. 22, with xii. 35. t Exod. xii. 37, 38. J lb. ver. 39. § Exod. xiii. 17. IT Ibid. xiv. 6 and 9. || Ibid. xiv. 3. 80 AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH [Part L " been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should *' die in the wilderness."'''* Here now is a second crisis, in which no human hope or help appears to sustain their leader : on one side, a regular discip- lined army, assured of triumph — on the other, a rabble of women and children, and men as spiritless as they, expecting nothing but certain death, lamenting they had left their servi- tude, and ready to implore their masters to permit them again to be their slaves. But if their leader had betrayed unparalleled imprudence in exposing his host to such a danger, the high strain of confidence he now speaks in, is equally unparalleled ; " Fear ye not,"" (says he to the terrified multitude :) does he add, rouse your courage ; there is no way to avoid slavery or death, but by one manly efibrt ; turn then on your pursuers, and your God will aid you ? No ; his language is, " Stand ye still, and see the salvation of " the Lord, which he will show you to-day ; for the Egyptians " whom you have seen to-day, you shall see them again no " more for ever ; the Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold " your peace.""-!- What would this be in any mere human leader, but the ravings of frenzy ? yet, wonderful to relate, the event accords with it. The Israelites escape " by the way of " the sea ;"'"' the Egyptians perish in the same sea, we know not how or why, except we admit the miraculous interposition which divided the Red Sea, " the waters being a wall on the right and " left hand,"'"' to let his people pass free; and when the infatuated Egyptians pursued, overwhelmed with its waves their proud and impious host. Let us now pass by the intermediate events of a few months, and observe this people on the confines of that land, to estab- lish themselves in which they had emigrated from Egypt. Their leader, with his usual confidence of success, thus addresses them; "Ye are come unto the mountain of the Auiorites, " which the Lord our God doth give unto us. Behold the Lord " thy God hath set the land before thee ; go up, and possess it, " as the Lord God of thy fathers hath said unto thee ; fear not, "neither bo discouraged."*"*! ^^^ the people propose to adopt some precautions which human pi'udence would naturally dictate. " We will send men before us (say thoy) to mark out tiio land, * Ibid, xiv. 11 and 12. f Kxod. xiv. 13, 14. t ^^''•'t- '• 20, 21. Lect. v.] OF THE HISTORY. 81 " and bring us word again, by what way we must go up, and " into what cities we shall come." They are sent : they report ; ^ The land is a good land, and fruitful; but the people be strong " that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very " great : we be not able to go up against the people, for they are " stronger than we ; all the people that we saw in it are men of " great stature ; we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and " so we were in their siglit."* At this discouraging report this timid and unwarlike race were filled with the deepest terrors. " All the congregation " lifted up their voice, and cried ; and the people wept that " night. And they murmured against Moses and Aaron ; and " the whole congregation said unto them : Would to God we " had died in the land of Egypt, or would to God we had died " in the wilderness. And wherefore hath the Lord brought us " unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our " children should be a prey ? were it not better for us to return " to Egypt f ' In vain did Moses and Aaron fall on their faces before all the congregation ; in vain did two of the chief men, who had searched out the land, and who adhered to them, re- present its fertility, and endeavour to inspire the host with a pious confidence in the divine protection. So incurable was their despair, and so violent their rebellion, that they resented, as the grossest crime, the advice of these honest and spirited men : for " all the congregation bade stone them with stones " till they die."" They even determine to abandon altogether the enterprise ; to depose their leader in contempt of the divine authority which he claimed ; to elect another captain, and return to Egypt At this crisis, what conduct would human prudence have dictated ? No other, surely, than to soothe the multitude till this extreme panic might have time to subside ; then gradually to revive their confidence, by recalling to their view the miseries of that servitude from which they had escaped, the extraordinary success which had hitherto attended their efforts, and the con- sequent probability of their overcoming the difficulties by which they were now dispirited ; then gradually to lead them from one assault, where circumstances were most likely to ensure victory to another, till their courage was reanimated, and the great object * For this entire transaction vide Numb. xii. and xiv. F 82 AUTHENTirrrY and tkuth [Part I. of their enterprise might be again attempted with probabihty of success. But how strange and unparalleled is the conduct of the Jewish leader ! He denounces against this whole rebel- lious multitude the extreme wrath of God : instead of animating them to resume their enterprise, he commands them never to resume it : instead of encouraging them to hope for success, Jio assures them they never shall succeed : he suffers them not la return to Egypt, yet he will not permit them to invade Canaan. He denounces to them, that they shall continue under his command ; that he would march and countermarch them for forty years in the wilderness, until every one of the rebellious multitude then able to bear arms should perish there ; and that then, and not till then, should their children resume the invasion of Canaan, and infallibly succeed in it. " Say unto them, as " truly as' I live, saith the Loi-d, as ye have spoken in mine ears, " so will I do to you : your carcasses shall fall in this wilder- " ness ; all of you, from twenty years old and upward, which *' have murmured against mo. But your little ones which ye " said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall •' know the land which ye have despised. And your children " shall wander forty years in this wilderness, until your car- " casses be wasted in it : I the Lord have said, I will surely do " it unto all this evil congregation that are gathered together " against me : in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and " there they shall die. Joshua and Caleb, they shall come into " the land, for they had not joined to make the congregation " murmur against the Lord." Now let me ask in seriousness and simplicity of mind, can we believe that such a denunciation as this could have been uttered by any human being, not distracted with the wildest frenzy, if it had not been dictated by the clearest divine autho- rity ; or if uttered, whether it could have been received by an entire nation, with any other sensation than that of scorn and contempt, if the manifestation of the divine power from which it proceeded, and by which alone it could bo executed, had not been most certain and conspicuous ? But can we bo sure, it is said, that it was ever uttered I I answer, yes ; because it was assuredly fulfilled. And its accomplishment forms the last par- ticular I shall notice in the history of this unparalleled expedi- tion, as exhibiting a fact partly natural; (for the existence of a Lect. v.] OF THE HISTORT. 83 whole nation in a particular country for a certain length of time, is an event of a natural kind,) yet inseparably connected with a continued miraculous interposition, which if not real, no human imagination could have invented, and no human credulity be- lieved. I mean the miraculous sustenance of the whole Jewish nation of six hundred thousand men, besides women and chil- dren, for forty years, within the compass of a barren wilderness, wnere a smg;e caravan of travellers could never subsist, even marching through it by the shortest route, without having brought with them their own provisions. Yet so long the host of Israel remained in it. They had first refused to obey their leader's order to invade Canaan ; then when they heard the de- nunciation of divine vengeance, " all the people mourned greatly, " and early the next morning they rose up and said, Lo, we be " here, and we will go up to the place which the Lord hath *' promised : for we have sinned."" But " Moses said, Where- " fore now do you transgress the commandment of the Lord ? " but it shall not prosper. Go not up, for the Lord is not among " you ; that ye be not smitten before your enemies. But they " presumed to go up unto the hill-top : nevertheless, the Ark of *' the Covenant of the Lord, and Moses, departed not out of the " camp. Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites which dwelt " in that hill, came down and smote them, and discomfited them, " even unto Hormah.*"* And " they returned and wept before " the Lord ; but the Lord would not hearken unto their voice, " nor give ear unto them. And ye abode," says their leader, (recapitulating the history of this event-f-) " in Kadesh (where it '• took place) many days. And the space inwhich we came from " Kadesh, until we came over the brook Zered, was thirty-eight " years ; until all the generation of the men of war were wasted ■' from among the host, as the Lord sware unto them." Then, and not before, was the Jewish host permitted to invade the country in which they were to settle : then, and not before, were they permitted to combat and to conquer. In the interval, they were fed with food from heaven, even \i\i\\\ manna, until in the plains of Jericho they did eat of the corn of the land ; and the manna ceased the morrow after they had eaten the old corn of the land. * Numb. xiv. 39, &c, f Deut. i. 45, 46. and ii. 14. X Vide Exod. xvi and Josli. v. 12. i^4 AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH [Part I. Here then I close this argument. And I contend, that the ex- istence of the Jewish nation in the wilderness for forty years, their submission during that period to the authority of their leader, without attempting either to return to Egypt or to invade Canaan, is a fact which cannot be accounted for, without ad- mitting the uninterrupted and conspicuous interference of the power of Jehovah, miraculously sustaining and governing this his chosen people ; and by consequence establishing the divine ori^al of the Mosaic Law. X/ect. VI.| OF THE HISTORY. 80 LECTURE VI. Admitting the authenticity of the Pentateuch, the miracle* recorded tn the four last books of it are unquestionably true, and clearly supernatural. Leslie's four marks of certainty — Their application to the Mosaic miracles — First character, the facts public — Second, clearly supernatural — Various instances of this — Third and fourth, recorded by public monuments and commemorative rites, commencing at the time of the facts Instanced in the tribe of Levi — The three great feasts — The entire Jewish ritual The form of government — The distribution of property, %e. — Recapitulation and Con elusion of the First Part. DEUTERONOMY, vi. 20, &C. " When thy son asketh thee In time to come, saying. What mean the testimonies, and the sta- " tutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded you ? Then thou shalt " say unto thy son, We were Pharoah's bondmen in Egypt, and the Lord brought us out of " Egypt with a mighty hand. And the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon " Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes. And the Lord commanded " U8 to do all these statutes." Such was the injunction of the Jewish Lawgiver to his people. He addresses them as witnesses of the miracles wrought for their deliverance ; and they were to hand down to their children the statutes and judgments of their Law, derived from the com- mand of God, whose interposition these miracles proved. It shall be my object in this Lecture to show, that this appeal of the Jewish Lawgiver to his nation, as eye-witnesses of the mi- racles he had wrought, is just and conclusive ; that the super- natural facts he alludes to, must certainly have taken place ; the Law he established, being founded on the belief of these facts, and proving their reality. This has been a topic frequently discussed ; and it would but ill suit the importance of the subject, if, in a vain affectation of novelty, I were to decline adopting the clear and decisive node of reasoning, which Dr Leslie has employea on this sub- ^6 AUTllEXTICITY AND VRUTH [Part I. jeci, in his " Short Method icith the Deists ,•" which seenis to me to comprise the substance of every thing material which can be adduced on this argument. I shall therefore do little more than state his mode of proof, and show the justice of its application to the Mosaic miracles. This celebrated Author establishes the truth of the Mosaic miracles, by applying to them four rules ; which, whenever they can be truly applied to iivy {yvents, exclude every reasonable doubt of their reality. These rules are ; first, That the facts be of such a nature, as that men's senses can clearly and fully judge of them ; and in the second place. That they be performed publicly. These two rules make it impossible for any such facts to be imposed upon men at the time they are said to take place, because every man's senses would detect the imposture. The third rule is. That not only public monuments be kept up, but that some outward actions be constantly performed in memory of the facts thus publicly wrought ; and the fourth, that These monuments be set up, and these actions and observances be instituted, at the very time when those events took place, and continued without interruption afterwards. These two rules render it impossible tkat the belief of any facts should be imposed upon the credulity of after ages, when the generation asserted to have witnessed them, has expired. For, whenever such facts come to be recounted, if not only monuments are said to remain of them, but that public actions and observances had been con- stantly used to commemorate them, by the nation appealed to, ever since they had taken place ; the deceit must be immediately detected, by no such monuments appearing, and by the experience of every individual, who could not but know that no such actions or observances had ever been used by them, to commemorate any such events. The part of this argument which its able author places last, even that the books containing the account of the Mosaic mira- cles and institutions, were written at the time of the events, and by eye-witnesses, lias been, I trust, sufficiently established. We are therefore, fully prepared to examine particularly the detail of the miracles themselves, and to enquire, how far the four marks of trutli which have been enumerated, can apply to them. We may perhaps, in applying llieso rules to miraculous facts. Lcct. VI.] OK 'J'lIE IIISTOUY. 87 vary with propriety, the mode of expression their author has adopted, and state them to be, first, that the facts be performed pubUcly ; and secondly, that they be of such a nature, that men"'s senses can certainly perceive, both that the events are real, and their origin supernatural. Now, that both these cha- racters belong to the Mosaic miracles, is evident. That the facts were most public is undoubted. The plagues in Egypt were witnessed by the whole nation of the Jews, and felt by all the Egyptians ; at the Eed Sea, the Jews passed through, and saw the whole host of Pharaoh perish ; for forty years Avere all the Jews sustained in the wilderness with food from heavejQ ; and for " forty years their raiment waxed not old, neither did their foot " swell."* Sometimes they were supplied with water from the flinty rock; and always they beheld the-f- cloud of the Lord upon the tabernacle by day, and the fire by night, throughout all their journeys. At the promulgation of the Law from Mount Sinai, J all the people perceived the thunderings and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpets, and the mountains smoking. On the rebellion of § Korah and his company, the whole con- gregation were gathered together, and saw the ground cleave asunder, and swallow them up; "And all Israel," says the historian, " fled at the cry of them." And at Jordan, " the " waters stood and rose up upon an heap ; and all the Israelites '• passed over on dry ground in the midst of Jordan."]] Here then were a series of facts, witnessed certainly by above two millions of souls, who remained collected in one camp, for forty years ; an assembly so great probably never before or since remained collected in one body for so long a period. If then this whole nation had not been entirely without eyes and ears, if they were not bereft of reason and sense, it was im- possible that, at the time these facts were said to take place, they could have been persuaded of their existence, had they not been real. The frequent appeals to the whole nation, as eye-witnesses of them, with which the Pentateuch abounds, would have been regarded as the ravings of a lunatic, instead of being received as the solemn dictates of an inspired Lawgiver. But though it must be impossible to have persuaded any nation, * Deut. viii. 4. f Fxod. xl. 38. J Ibid. xx. 18. § Numb. xvi. II Joshua, iii. IG and 17. •S8 AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH [Pill'. I. at the time of the events, that such facts existed, if they did not exist ; perhaps it may be said. They were deceived as to their miraculous nature : these supposed miracles, were either artful delusions practised on their senses, or natural, though uncommon appearances, which the superior genius and science of their legis- lator enabled him to persuade a barbarous multitude, were super- natural and divine. To judge of this, let us proceed to consider the particular narrative of these facts in the Pentateuch ; which we have already proved, discovers in its style* and structure, the utmost artlessness, particularity, and fairness ; the most natural -j- coin- cidence between the different parts of the narrative ; and the most exact suitableness of the different allusions to the facts, with the various circumstances and causes which introduce such allusions. Now, though somej few of the facts alleged in the Pentateuch as miraculous, have been the subject of objection and dispute ; far the greater number are such, that, admitting them to be real, no scepticism can find a plausible pretext to question their super- natural original. In the plagues inflicted upon Egypt, it is true, that visible agents were in most instances employed, and these producing effects correspondent to their natural powers. But their introduction, their degree and their continuance, are plainly subservient to the command of the Jewish Lawgiver ; and this, when it was impossible he should have any natural power to hasten, to limit, or to direct their operations. Yet that he exercised such a power, every instance proves. When he de- nounces to Pharaoh, that swarms of flies should infest his land ; and again, that a grievous hail should lay it waste ; and after- wards, that the locusts should consume it ; he foretels and fixes the precise time when these judgments should take place. " To-morrow shall this sign be in the land." " To-morrow, " about this time, I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail " throughout all the land of Egypt.''"' " To-morrow I will bring ' locusts into thy coasts, and they shall cover the face of the ' earth ."§ And as the infliction, so also the removal, of these punishiiienta • Vide supra, Lect. II. -f Vide Lect. III. a-id IV. \ As to the most impwtant of thuse I'acts, viilu the Apjicmlix. € ExoJ. viii. 10 23.— i.\. 5, 18 x. 4 ami 5. Lect. VI.] OF THE HISTORY. 89 took place, only on the command, and according to the prediction of this delegate of divine power. " Behold," says he to Phai-aoh, on his apparent repentance, " I will go out from thee, and I will " entreat the Lord, that the swarms of flies may depart to-mor- " row." And again, "• As soon as I am gone out of the city, I " will spread abroad my hands unto the Lord, and the thunder " shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail ; that thou " mayest know, how that the earth is the Lord''s." Thus also, these plagues were unprecedented in their nature and degree. " Behold," says Moses, " to-morrow, about this " time, I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath " not been in Egypt, since the foundation thereof, until now. " Send therefore, and gather thy cattle, and all that thou hast " in the field ; for on every man and beast which shall be found " in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come " down upon them, and they shall die. So he that feared the " Lord among the servants of Pharaoh, made his servants and " his cattle flee into his house ; and he that regarded it not, left " them in the field. And the hail smote throughout all the land " of Egypt, all that was in the field, both man and beast ; fire " mingled with hail, very grievous, such as there was none like " it in all the land of Egypt, since it became a nation." Thus also the locusts were such as the Egyptians had not seen ;* " for they covered the face of the whole earth, and went " up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of " Egypt : very grievous ; before them," says Moses, " there " were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be " such." Still more decisively to prove that these awful punishments were under the immediate control of the God of Israel ; they were not permitted to afiect his chosen people, though from their nature, nothing intervened to prevent their doing so, and no human power could limit their eSects.-|- " I, the Lord, will " sever between the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, " that no swarms of flies shall be there, to the end that thou " mayest know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth." Thxis also, thej hail destroyed " every herbof the field, and brake " down every tree of the field, throughout the land of Egypt ; " only in the land of Goshen, whore the CJiildren of Israel dwelt, * Exod. X. 14. + Ihid. vili. 22. J Ibid. fx. ?5, 20 90 A'nilENTICITY AND TRUTH [Part I. " >vas there no hail." And again, Moses denounces to Pharaoh, " if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, the hand of the " Lord is upon thy cattle which is in the field : there shall be a " ^^^'y grievous murrain. But the Lord shall sever between the " cattle of Israel, and the cattle of Egypt, and there shall nothing " die of all that is the Children's of Israel." And still more signally in the* two last dreadful visitations, which completely subdued the Egyptians. The first, of " thick darkness through- " out all the land of Egypt, so that they saw not one another, " neither rose any from his place for three days, while all the " Children of Israel had light in their dwellings." And last of all, when " the Lord smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt, '' from the first-born of Pharaoh who sat on his throne, to the •' first-born of the captive in the dungeon. Of the Children of "• Israel there died not one." Their doors were to be marked with the blood of the passover ; " For the Lord," says Moses, " when he passeth through to smite the Egyptians, he will not " sufter the destroyer to come into your houses to smite you." Of all these facts is it not most evident, that they could never have been believed at the time they were said to take place, if they had not been real ; and that if real, they must have been miraculous ? We see every element and every class of animated beings subservient to the command of Moses ; he gives notice when they shall begin, and when they shall cease their operations ; he sets them their bounds, beyond which they shall not pass ; and while the raging storm and the silent pestilence sweep away thousands on every side, they presume not to touch the chosen laee of Israel. The destroying angel selects from each family through the land of Egypt the single victim pointed out, and while with uncrrinii hand, he aims at this the shaft of death, he passes over every habitation of Jacob, marked with the sign ap- pointed by the divine command. Do we not in all this, discover the })lain operation of that Being, who alone is the God of nature, and the Lord of life ; whose will controls every element, and directs every event ? Nor is the same Almighty hand less conspicuous during the entire passage of the Israelites to the promised land ; a nation amounting to some millions of souls, with their flocks and * !;.\i"l. X, 2?, 2:\, iiiid xii. 29. liCct. VI. 1 OF THE IIISTOUY. 91 liords, are for forty years frequently supplied with water out ot the flinty rock, and constantly with a regular quantity of food from heaven. And lest by the constancy and sameness of this supply, they should forget its supernatural original, they find it regularly interrupted, and even its nature altered, in conformity to the divine institution of the Sabbath. " Six days ye shall " gather the manna," says Moses,* " but on the seventh shall " be none : G-ather it each day according to your eating, and let " no man leave of it till the morning,"" In conformity to this, they found, that if on any of the first five days they gathered more than that day''s consumption required, as if they distrusted the divine supply for the next day, it became putrid and unfit for use : whereas, when on the sixth day they gathered twice as much, and laid it up till the morning, it remained fresh and wholesome. And when some went out on the seventh day to gather it they found none ; and the Lord said unto Moses, " How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws ? " See, for that the Lord hath given you the sabbath, therefore " he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days : let no " man go out of his place on the seventh day." Who can doubt whether this was miraculous ? Thus also when the Law was delivered from Mount Sinai, it was at an appointed time. It was not therefore any awful phe- nomenon of nature which accidentally occurred, and which the Lawgiver took advantage of, to impress his Laws on an ignorant and terrified multitude. They had full notice : for-}- the Lord said unto Moses, " Go unto the people, and sanctify yourselves " to-day and to-morrow, and be ready against the third day ; " for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all *' the people, upon Mount Sinai." And when the appointed time arrived, this awful promulgation of the divine Law took place, with such circumstances as no human power could produce ; for " Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord ''' descended upon it in fire, and the smoke thereof ascended as " the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. " And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed *' louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a '*• voice," and delivered the ten commandments distinctly, in the hearing of the multitude. For thus Moses appeals to them in * Vide Exod. xvi. from 17 to the cud. + Exod. xix. from 10 to the end. 92 AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH [Part I. attestation of this fact, after reciting these commandments :* " These words the Lord spake unto all your assembly in the " mount, out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the " thick darkness, with a great voice, and he added no more." Equally signal was the miraculous nature of the punishment inflicted on Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Had the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up without any previous notice on the part of Moses, and had this been afterwards ascribed by him to a divine interference for the punishment of liis enemies. some shadow of objection might have been advanced. But what can we say, when before the event, on Korah's, Dathan''s, and Abiram's resistance to the authority of Moses and Aaron, we find Moses telling Korah, " Be thou and all thy company before the " Lord, thou and they, and Aaron to-morrow V On to-morrow they gather all the congregation unto the door of the tabernacle. On the warning of Moses, the people got up from the tents of these rebels on every side ; Dathan and Abiram stand in the doors of their tents with their families, in defiance of Moses, and ho pro- nounces this awful sentence :-f- " Hereby ye shall know that the " Lord hath sent me to do all these works : for I have not done " them of mine own mind. But if the Lord make a new thing, and " the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that " appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit, then " shall ye understand that these men have provoked the Lord. " And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these *' words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them : " they, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into " the pit, and the earth closed upon them : and there went out a " fire from the Lord, and consumed the two hundred and fifty " men that offered ilicense.''"' What human power could thus command the earth and the heavens to unite in executing in- stantaneous vengeance on these rebels, who despised that God, wliose interference to secure obedience to his legislator, they had so often seen ? An authority, the opposition to which was thus fearfully punished by the God of nature, was assuredly divine. And to close this enumeration; the passage by Joshua over Jordan was assuredly as miraculous as any of the facts which wc have recounted; it was not an accidental occurrence, niagni * Dent. V. particularly 22, 23. -j- Numb. xvi. partipulai ly 2S, &c. Lect. VI.] OF THE HISTORY. 93 fied into a miracle. * Joshua said unto the people, " Sanctify " yourselves, for to-morrow the Lord will do wonders among you." And on the morrow he said, " Hereby ye shall know that the " living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive " out from before you the Canaanites, &c- Behold, the ark of *' the Covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth before you " into Jordan. And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles " of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord " of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the " waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come " down from above, and they shall stand upon an heap." To make this miracle more signal, the river was then naturally most impassable ; for, says the sacred historian, " Jordan overfloweth all " his banks all the time of harvest. And it came to pass, when " the feet of the priests that bore the ark, were dipped in the brim "of the water, that the waters which came down from above " stood, and rose up upon an heap, very far from the city Adam, " that is beside Zaretan ; and those that came down toward the " sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and "the people passed over right against Jericho. And the priests " that bare the ark of the Covenant of the Lord, stood firm on " dry ground in the midst of Jordan, until all the people were " passed clean over Jordan." It requires no argument to prove this fact miraculous. It was not accidental, or it could not have been foreseen. It was not natural, for the river was at its height; and the waters that had been descending stood on a heap. It was not the effect of art, for any artificial alteration of the channel the people must have known ; and besides, the effect would not have been instantaneous. On the whole, may we not conclude certainly ; that no sucn facts as these could have been imposed upon any nation, at the time they are said to have taken place : and that if they took place, they were assuredly miraculous ? Let us next consider, whether it is credible, that the belief o( these facts could have been introduced at any period subsequent to the supposed time of their existence, if they had never really taken place. Now we assert this is impossible. Because not only public mon- uments were preserved, but many publi institutions and cere- 94 AITTHEXTICITY AXD TRUTH [Pai'tT. monies were constantly performed amongst the Jews, in memory of tlie facts thus publicly wrought ; and these monuments and observances state themselves to have been instituted, and to have commenced at the very time when these facts took place. To prove this, we must again resort to the narrative of the Penta- teuch. But the proof may be brief, for the fact is notorious. We find then many public memorials of the most signal mi- racles, not only in the names given to the places where they had been wrought, from the event and at the time, but in sensible objects and monuments set up at the moment the miracles had taken place, and constantly preserved with the most religious reverence. Thus the tables of stone in the ark, were a monu- ment of the miraculous deliverance of the Law of Sinai : the vessel of manna, of the miraculous food in the wilderness : Aaron's rod that budded, and the censer of Korah and his company formed into large plates for covering the altar, were a memorial to the children of Isi-ael of their offence, and miraculous punishment.* The Brazen Serpent, by looking on which God ordered the people should be healed of the bites inflicted by the serpents in the wil- derness, was preserved even to the days of king Hezekiah.-f- Thus also twelve stones were taken out of the midst of Jor- dan, at the time of the miraculous passage over it, and set up by Joshua at Gilgal, as a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever. How irresistible is the reasoning of Leslie J on this last monument : " To form our argument," says he, " let us " suppose that there never was any such thing as that passage " over Jordan ; that these stones at Gilgal were set up on some " other occasion, in some after age : and then that some de- " signing man invented this book of Joshua, and said it had " been written at that time, and gave this stonage at Gilgal for *' a testimony of its truth. Would not every body say to him, *' We know the stonage at Gilgal, but we never before heard " of this reason, nor of this book of Joshua. Where has it *' been all this time ; and when, and how came you, after so " many ages to find it ? Besides, this book tells us, that after " this passage over Jordan, it was ordained to be taught our " children from age to age, and therefore, that they were always * Vide Meb. ix. 4. Exod. xvi. 33. Numb. xvii. 3. and 10, and xvi. ."^9. f Vide Numb. xxi. and 3 Kings, xviii. % Vid,; Leslie's Slu.rt Metliod witli the Deists P- 1 C, in Uiendedit. Diil)lii., 1758. Lect. VI,] OF THE HISTORY. ^5 " to be instructed in the meaning of this monument. But we " were never taught it, nor did we ever teach our chikh-en any " such event. Thus impossible would it be to gain credit for a " fact thus circumstanced, after the period when it was supposed " to take place ; and surely at the time it would be as strange " such a fact should gain credit, as that all tlie inhabitants of " London should be persuaded that any man had divided the " Thames, and let them pass through it at noon-day on dry " ground, the waters standing in a heap. How is it possible to " suppose such a fact, or the memorial of such a fact, should gain " credit in any age or nation, if unsupported by reality V But we have still stronger proofs, that the belief of the miracles on which the Jewish Law was supported, could never have been imposed upon the nation at any subsequent age, from the very nature of their religion and government, and the meaning and purport of almost all their rites and institutions. These were confessedly cotemporary with Moses, commencing at the very time the miracles are supposed to have been wrought ; and were so directly and clearly commemorative of them, and it may be truly said, we have two histories of Moses and his miracles ; one in the books which bear his name, the other engraved in the laws and ceremonies of the Jews ; the practice of which is, as it were, a living witness, not only of the general history of the Pentateuch, but of the most signal miracles which it contains. A few instances will prove this beyond dispute. The tribe of Levi was set apart,* not merely for the service of religion, but in memory of the miraculous destruction of the fu-st-born in Egypt. For the Lord spake imto Moses, saying, ■f-" Behold, I, even I, have taken the Levites from amongst the " Children of Israel, instead of all the first-born ; for all the " first-born are mine : for on the day that I smote all the first- " born in the land of Egypt, I hallowed unto me all the first-born " in Israel, both man and beast : mine shall they be : I am the * Vide Exod. xiii. compared with Numb. iii. and viii. particularly Numb. iii. from ver. 40 to end. t I beg leave to call my reader's attention to one circumstance, connected with this separation of the Levites for the first-born of the Children of Israel, which (as it seems to me) it is scarcely to be conceived, any thing but reality could have suggested to thfi mind of any writer; or that any writer but an eye-witness of the 96 AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH [Part I. " Lord." And this separation of the Levites for tlie first-born of men, and this consecration of all the first-born of the flocks, and of the herds, as devoted to God, was not an institution for which this singular reason was arbitrarily assigned at a remote period from its original, when the true reason might be forgot- ten ; but it was assigned at the time it took place, to be perpe- tually recorded as its true cause. " It shall be," saith the Lord, " when thy son asketh thee in time to come. What is this ? thou " shalt say unto him. By strength of hand the Lord brought us " out from Egypt, and slew all the first-born in Egypt, both of " man and beast : therefore I sacrifice unto God all the first-born " of beasts, but the first-born of my children I redeem."* event, would have thought of recording. On the destruction of the first-born of the Egyptians. "God spake unto Moses, (Exod. xiii. 1.) saying, Sanctify unto me all the " first-bom among the Children of Israel, both of man and beast : it is mine." We are afterwards told, that in about fourteen months after this, " The Lord spake unto "Moses, (Numb. iii. 11.) saying, And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from "among the Children of Israel, instead of all the first-born among the children of "Israel: therefore the Levites shall be mine; because all the first-born are mine: for " on the day that I smote all the first-bom in the laud of Egypt, I hallowed unto me "all the first-born in Israel, both man and beast: mine they shall be: I am the Lord." The importance of this general fact, in proof of the miracle thus commemorated I have noticed in this Lecture ; and this statement of the general substitution of the Levites for the first born is, I conceive, the only circumstance which any historian, not an immediate eye-witness, would have thought of recording. But we are shortly after told, that Moses was commanded to number all the males of the Levites from a month old and upwards; and that they were found to amount to 22,000. He is then com- manded to number all the first-bom of the males of the Children of Israel, and to " take the Levites instead of all the first-born among the Children of Israel, and the " cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstlings among the cattle of the Children of " Israel." On thus numbering them, the first-born males of the Children of Israel were found to amount to 22,273; and we are told, (Numb. iii. 46,) that the Lord commanded Moses, " For those that are to be redeemed of the two hundred and " threescore and thirteen of the first-born of the Children of Israel, which are more "than the Levites; thou shalt even take five shekels apiece by the poll, after the ** shekel of the Sanctuary shalt thou take them (the shekel is twenty gerahs:) and thou "shalt give the money wherewith the odd number of them is to be redeemed, unto " Aaron, and to his sons. And Moses took the redemption-money of them that were "over and above them that were redeemed by the Levites: of the first-born of the " Children of Israel took he the money ; a thousand, three hundred, and three-score " and five shekels, after the shekel of tlie Sanctuary. And Moses gave the money of "them that were redeemed unto Aaron and to his sons, according to the word of the " Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses." Now, on this narrative I ask, could any thing but REALITY have suggested such a circumstance P Would any but an kyk- wiTNE«s have recorded it. * Exod. xiii. 14 and 15. Lect. VI.] OF THE HISTORY. 97 Further, the Jewish ritual appointed three great feasts, all of which were commemorative of the miraculous deliverance from Egypt. The * Passover expressly commemorated, and every ceremony of it indelibly recorded some circumstance of that memorable night, when the destroying angel slew the first-born of Egypt, and passed over the houses of the Israelites. The month in which it took place was, from being the seventh, reck- oned as the first month of the year, to mark it as the era of this illustrious deliverance ; it was eaten with bitter herbs, to remind them of their severe bondage and servile food in Egypt : with unleavened bread, because the Egyptians in their terror urged them to depart, and would not allow them time to leaven their bread, for they said, We be all dead men. It was eaten in the posture of travellers just prepared for a journey, to mark its having immediately preceded their sudden and final departure from the house ofTjondage. Another great feast was that of Tabernacles, accompanied with this singular ceremony : " Ye shall take, saith the Lord, " on the first day, the boughs of goodly trees to make booths : " for all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths seven days, *' that all your generations may know that I made the Children " of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the " land of Egypt : I am the Lord your God.^-f* A third great feast was the feast of Pentecost, fifty days after the Passover : to commemorate the miraculous deliverance of the Law from Mount Sinai, which took place fifty days after the destruction of the first-born, and their consequent march irom Egypt, at a time of the year when the harvest usually closed. And the Law prescribed, that each head of a family should take of the first-fruits of the earth, and bring it to the place which the Lord should choose, to set it down before the altar of the Lord, with this solemn acknowledgment of the whole series of peculiar and miraculous providences which the nation had experienced : " thou shalt say and speak before the " Lord thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father ; and " he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and " became there a nation, great, and mighty, and populous : and the " Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us " hard bondage : and when we cried unto the Lord God of our * Exod. xii. •{• Levit. xxiii. 40, &c. G 98 AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH [Part I. " fathers, the Lord heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, " and our labour, and our oppression : and the Lord brought us " forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretch- " ed arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with " wonders : and he hath brought us into this place, and hath " given us this land, even a land which floweth with milk and " honey. And now, behold, I have brought the first-fruits of " the land, which thou, 0 Lord, hast given me.""* Thus the three great annual feasts, when all the males of the nation assembled at the house of God, were solemn commemora- tions of the miraculous deliverance from Egypt ; of the miracu- lous promulgation of the Law from Sinai : and of the manifold displays of divine protection and assistance, by which the Hebrew nation were put in possession of the promised land. But the miraculous deliverance from Egypt was not comme- morated by these great feasts alone ; it was assigned as one reason for the observance of the Sabbath day ; it was the ground-work of the whole Jewish ritual which was established in honour of God, who was the peculiar God of the Jews ; " be- " cause he had brought them forth from the house of bondage, " from the land of Egypt."*!- "^^^ observances of this ritual, its new moons and feasts, and periodical sacrifices, were all directly or indirectly commemorative of this great event, which was thus recalled to the memory of the Jews, monthly, weekly, daily, while a vestige of their religion remained. In addition to this, it must be recollected that the civil govern- ment of the Jews, the distribution and the tenure of property, and the most important regulations which affected it (about the grounds and authority of which men are always sufficiently solici- tous, however indifferent they may be as to religion;) these were all founded on the belief of the Mosaic miracles, and many on a direct acknowledgment of them. Jehovah was acknowledged, not only as the God, but as the temporal King, of the Hebrew nation. Their religious and civil system were inseparably combined ; God was the autlior of their laws, which could not be | altered without consulting him. The judges and kings were his vice- roys, enjoying only a ddogatod authority.^ The High Priests and the Levitcs were civil magistrates and ||judges, as well as * Deut. xxvi. 5 — 10. + Exod. xxxiv. 33. J Deut. iv. 1, 2. ^ Numb, xxvii. 16, &c. and Deut. xvii, 15. |1 Deut. xvii. 8—12. LeCt. VI. J OF TIIR HISTORY. 99 ministers of religion. The Sanhedrim, the princes of the con- gregation, the elders, the heads of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, of tens, all traced their authority to a divine appoints ment.* The original distribution of property in the Jewish na- tion was founded on this principle, that the Lord Jehovah having been the sole power which gave them possession of the land of Canaan, each individual was to consider himself as holding his portion of it directly by a divine grant, on such te- nure and under such conditions as that grant prescribed. And these conditions were many of them of such a nature, as implied a direct acknowledgment of the miraculous deliverance from Egypt, and a full conviction of a perpetual and peculiar provi- dence over the Jewish race ; a conviction which could be grounded only on the belief of these miracles. Thus the land was originally divided by the divine command ; and all property alienated from any family, was to be restored to its original proprietors every fiftieth year, or year of jubilee. Mark now the reason assigned by the Law as authorising this regulation :-f- " The land shall not be sold for ever, for the land is mine : " ye are strangers and sojourners with me, saith the Lord." Again, every Jew was to be released from all personal servitude every seventh year. " Then shall he depart from thee (says the ^ Law,) for they are my servants whom I brought forth out of " the land of Egypt ; they shall not be sold as bondmen." But the most extraordinary injunction of all, with respect to property, and the most decisive on the present point, was that of the sabbatical year. " Every seventh year," says the Law,J " shall be a Sabbath of rest unto the land, a Sabbath for the " Lord ; thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vine- " yard. That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest, " thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine " undressed ; for it is a year of rest unto the land." We may well ask what sanction or authority could induce any nation to receive so singular an ordinance ? The sanction which enforced it on the Jews was this : " If ye shall say. What shall " we eat the seventh year 1 behold, we shall not sow, nor gather " in our increase : Then will I command my blessing upon yoii " in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years. * Numb. xi. 16, 17. Deut. i. 15. t Lev. x>tv. p;rticularly ver. 23, 42, 65 % Lev x\v. 4, 5. 100 AUTHENTICITY AND TRUTH [Part I. " Ye shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them ; " and the land shall yield her fruit, and ye shall eat your fill, " and dwell therein in safety. But if ye will not hearken unto " me, and will not do all these commandments ; I also will set " my face against you, and I will bring the land into desolation, " and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at " it ; and I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw " out a sword after you, and your land shall be desolate, and *' your cities waste. Then shall the land enjoy her Sabbaths, as " long as it lieth desolate it shall rest ; because it did not rest in " your Sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it."* How incredible is it, that any legislator would have ventured to propose such a law as this, or any people have submitted to receive it, except in consequence of the fullest conviction on both sides, that a divine authority had dictated this law, and that a peculiar providence would constantly facilitate its execu- tion. When this law, therefore, was proposed and received, such a conviction must have existed in both the Jewish legislator and the Jewish people. Since, then, nothing could have pro- duced this conviction, but the experience or the belief of some such miraculous interposition as the history of the Pentateuch details, the very existence of this law is a standing monument, that when it was given the Mosaic miracles were fully believed. Now this law was coeval with the witnesses of the miracles themselves. If then the facts were so plain and so public, that those who witnessed them could not have been mistaken as to their existence or miraculous nature, the reality of the Mosaic miracles is clear and undeniable. Let me now very briefly recapitulate the process of the ar_ gument which I have adduced in this series of Lectures, to esta- blish the certainty of the Mosaic miracles, and by consequence, the divine original of the Jewish religion. The relation of them is found in a work which contains the Religion and Laws of a numerous and not uncivilized nation ; and which it has been shown -f* they have always received as written by their legislator himself, at the time the facts took place, and as the only authentic code of their Religion and their Laws, as well as the only sure record of their history, and the authority fixing the tenure on which private property was held, and the regu- * Ley. XXV. xxvi. particularly xxvi. 34, 35. f Vide Lecture I. Lect. VI.] OF THE HISTORY. 101 iationa affecting it established. Now I think I may venture to assert, that there occurs not in the history of mankind, a single instance of any nation being so grossly imposed upon, as uni- versally to receive a forged book of Laws, and submit to its authority not only as genuine, but divine ; especially when the tenor of these Laws is such (as I endeavoured to prove) that no period can be assigned in the history of the nation, when their introduction would not have been likely to excite great opposi- tion ; and that no body of men, nay, no individual, can be pointed out, whose interest it was to form such a fabrication, or gain it that universal credit it certainly acquired, with the divided subjects of the kings of Judah and Israel, and the hos- tile tribes of the Jews and the Samaritans. To give further satisfaction on this important point, and tQ evince that the Pentateuch was not a compilation of Laws which were indeed acknowledged, but which were combined with a fictitious history and this implicitly received from the influence of national vanity, or party and personal interest ; I have examined the internal structure of the Pentateuch,* and from this (the most unerring criterion, whenever it can be applied) I endeavoured to evince, that the facts it relates, so far at least as they were not miraculous^ were undoubtedly true ; and that the relation it delivers may be depended on, as exact and faithful even in the most minute particulars : because it is evi- dently written with the most perfect artlessness and simplicity; with such particularity of time and place, and person and cir- cumstance, as none but an eye-witness can be reasonably sup- posed to have preserved ; and with such strict impartiality, as leaves no room to doubt that it delivers every circumstance without any attempt to disguise or alter it. The relation may therefore be depended on, as faithfully drawn up by some eye- witness. In the third Lecture I went further, and endeavoured to prove, that as the Pentateuch had been shown to be the relation of SOME EYE-WITNESS TO THE FACTS ; SO also it Carried internal evidence, that this eye-witness was no other than moses himself, and that it was written with the strongest regard to truth : because on comparing the different books of it together, an exact agreement appeared in the different parts of the narrative, as * Vide Lecture II. 102 AUTUENTICITY AND TRUTH [PiU't I, Avell with each other as with the different situations in which Moses, its supposed author, is placed, and the different views and feelings which would naturally arise from them ; and this, dis- covering itself in coincidences so minute, so latent, so indirect, AND EVIDENTLY UNDESIGNED, that nothing could have produced them but reality and truth, influencing the mind, and directing the pen of the legislator. Further, lest it should be imagined the common facts were indeed related hy Moses himself, but that the miracles may have been afterwards interpolated by some different and later hand, I endeavoured to prove in the Fourth Lecture, that the same exact suitableness of the sentiments and language of Moses to the situations in which he was placed, the same natural and UNDESIGNED COINCIDENCES bctwccn the addrcss to the people in Deuteronomy, and the direct narrative in the preceding books which had been observed as to the common facts, were equally apparent in the manner in which the miracles were related and alluded to ; and that the whole series of facts, common and miraculous, are blended together in one uniform and consistent narrative ; all related by the same writer, and with equal artlcssness, fidelity, and precision, and equal regard to nature and truth. ,' Having thus far pointed out the general character of the Pentateuch ; having evinced that its common facts are beyond all doubt true,* as well as inseparably connected with, and DEPENDENT ON THE MIRACULOUS ; and showu, that the relation of all the facts both common and miraculous, is evidently the work of an eye-witness, bearing with it the strongest internal characters of simplicity, impartiality, and truth ; also that it is next to a certainty, that this eye-witness could be no other than Moses himself : having thus prepared the way ; I have in this Lecture considered the particular detail of the miracles recorded in the Pentateuch, and the proofs on which they depend ; and it has I trust appeared, that the four (I may venture to call them) iufiillible marks of truth, which the acute mind of the celebrated Leslie has pointed out, clearly apply to them ; that they were, in the first place wrouglit most publicly ; two nations affected by them, and above two millions of souls for forty years t(»gcther witnessing them. Next, that they were of such a n*' * Vide Lecture V. N LeCt. VI.] OF THE HISTORY. l03 ture, that men's senses could not be mistaken, either as to the existence of the facts, or their reason deluded in ascribing to them a supernatural original. They could not therefore have gained credit in any nation at the time they were said to have taken place, if they had not been real. And if we suppose any attempt to impose them on the credulity of after ages at any subsequent period, this also has appeared impossible; because, in the third place, the history of these miracles states, not only that sensible monuments of many of them, were set up from the very time of the events, but that, lastly, outward actions and obser- vances, public rites and institutions, had been appointed to com- memorate them, commencing at the very time of their existence, and afterwards uninterruptedly continued. In a word, it has I trust appeared, that these miracles were the foundation of the entire frame of the Hebrew polity and religion, clearly and indelibly recorded in all their rites and institutions ; expressly commemorated in the three great festi- vals of the Jewish ritual, and recognised as the principles on which the tenure and regulations of property were founded ; a point the more important, because however cold and indifferent nations sometimes become about religion, they never become careless as to property. And finally, we have observed in the Hebrew laws and ritual, a connexion between the religion and government, of so close a nature, and regulations of so singular a kind, as evidently pre-suppose the expectation of a peculiar Providence : an expectation which could be founded on nothing but the certainty of the Mosaic miracles, and which therefore forms the strongest proof of their reality, and the most authen- tic record of their existence. From all this we are, I thinK, warranted in concluding. That the Miracles ascribed to the Jewish Lawgiver were undoubtedly real ; and therefop'? his mission undoubtedly divine. 104 THEOLOGY or [Part IT, PART II. ON THE THEOLOGICAL, MORAL, AND POLIl CAL PRINCIPLES OF THE MOSAIC LAW. LECTURE I. Theology of the Mosaic Law, General subject and arrangement of this Part. Origin, nature, and effects of idolatry. Corruption of Patriarchal religion — By the worship of the heavenly bodies — The elements — Deified men. Egyptian hieroglyphic) introduct the worship of animals and vegetables, ^-c. Connexion of idolatry icith magic, %c. Idolatry not to be checked by ordinary means. Vices attending it. Design of cove- nant with Abraham. Jewish scheme conducted according to the analogy of nature. Theology of the Mosaic Law — Declares the self-existence of God — His unity — Hi* moral perfections — His providence. Such a Theology affords a strong presumptive argument of a divine revelation. EXODUS, iii. 14, 16. " And God said unto Mosea, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thns shalt thou say unto the chU- " dren of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt " thou say unto the children of Israel, the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the " God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you ; this is my name for ever, and tbii " is my memorial unto all generations." In the series of Lectures which I am now called upon to deliver, it is my purpose to endeavour to illustrate and defend that part of revelation, which contains the scheme of directions and insti tutions promulgated from God to the Jews by the ministry o. their celebrated Lawgiver. In considering the Mosaic code as a system of religious doo trincs and moral laws, it seems necessary, first, to review tH doctrines which it delivers, as to the existence and attributes of God : next to develope the principles it lays down, and the precepts it inculcates, on the chief points of moral duty : thirdly. Lect. I.] THE JEWISH LAW. 105 to examine how far it supports these principles and precepts, by a suitable system of penal Laws ; and by that institution of civil government, which the Jewish Lawgiver ascribes to the same divine authority from which his religious scheme originated. Having thus taken a general view of the Hebrew religion and government, we shall be prepared to estimate, on what foundation the chief objections against them rest ; and whether the Mosaic institutions deserve to be slighted, as containing little more than a multitude of useless, burdensome, unmeaning ceremonies, ill calculated to promote true religion and pure morality ; or to be abused as inculcating unsocial principles, and commanding or en- couraging inhuman practices. To prepare our minds for estimating justly the necessity and importance of the Jewish code, as a system of religious institu- tions, it is necessary to recall to our recollection the nature, extent, and effects of that gross idolatry, which had overspread the world at the time of its promulgation ; since the Jewish Lawgiver states it to be one chief design of that system of reli- gious and civil institutions, which he delivered to his nation by the appointment of God, to guard them against the infection of idolatry, and its attendant crimes ; to separate unto himself a holy people, who by a steady adherence to the code of laws he had prescribed, should preserve amongst them a system of rational faith, and pure morality. " When the Lord thy God shall cut " off the nations from before thee, take heed to thyself that thou " enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations *' serve their gods ? even so will I do likewise. Thou shalt not " do so unto the Lord thy God ; for every abomination to the " Lord which he hateth have they done- unto their gods : for even " their sons and their daughters they have burned in the fire to " their gods. Whatsoever thing I shall command you, observe " to do it : thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it."* M Tom tnis emphatic injunction, not to add to or diminish aught trom the Mosaic code, it appears that every part of it had a direct and necessary connexion with its main design ; and that in order to discover and to expound the purpose and the relation of its various parts, it is necessary previously to consider the origin and the nature of that idolatry, against which it was calculated to guard. * Dtut xii. 29, &:c. 1 06 THEOLOGY OF [Part II. Tliat tlio worship of the one true God was the religion of Noah and his posterity before the dispersion of mankind, admits not a doubt. In this primitive and patriarchal religion, as incidentally- disclosed by Moses, we discover the leading characters of that worship which was afterwards restored and guarded by the Jewish institutions ; and which was calculated to preserve the knowledge of God, as the Creator of the world, by the observance of the Sabbath ; as well as to inculcate the heinousness of sin, and typify the death of Christ, by the use of sacrifice. These simple ceremonies, together with the observance of the great rules of morality, and the prohibition of blood, in order to excite a stronger abhorrence against shedding the blood of one another, formed the entire exterior of the religion of Noah. The higher we are able to trace the history of every ancient nation, and the nearer we approach the sources of Eastern tradition, the more plain traces do we discover of this pure and simple worship ; in which every father of a family acted as its priest, and assembled his progeny round the rustic altar of earth, to join in the sacri- fice and the prayers he offered to the Creator and Governor of the world ; to deprecate his wrath, and implore his blessing. But the corrupt imaginations of men's hearts would not per- mit them to rest satisfied with a religion so pure and a ritual so simple : they looked to the sun* in its glory, they observed the moon and the stars walking in their brightness : they felt the benefits which through their influence were derived to men. They perhaps first considered them as the peculiar residence, or the chief ministers, or the most worthy representatives, of the Divinity ; and in honouring and worshipping them, possibly con- ceived they were honouring the majesty, and fulfilling the will of their Creator. But they soon forgot the Creator whom they could not see, and gave his glory to the creature, whose existence was obvious to sense and captivating to the imagination. They seemed to have conceived these luminaries to bo moved and animated by distinct and independent spirits,-]- and therefore fit * Vide Job, xxxi. 26, 27. Deut. iv. 19. Wisdom of Sol. xiii. 2, 3. Maimonides de Idololatria, the five first chapters. Diod. Siculus, Lib. 1. cap. 1. Euseb. Prtepar. Evang. Lib. 1. cap. ix. Herodotus, Clio, cap. cxxxi. Plato in Cratylus, p. 397. — Vide also Banier's Mythology, Book IIL ch. iii. Lelaud's Advantage of Revelation, Part L ch. iii. And Bryant's Analys. of Mythology, who aflirms, the gods of Greece were originally one got), the sun. Vol. I. .305. t Cicero de Natura Duoruni, Lib. 11. c^j). xv. to xxiii. Lect. I. THE JEWISH LAW, 107 objects of immediate worship. To represent them in their ab- sence, thej erected pillars and statues on the tops of hills and mountains, or on pyramids and high buildings, raised for the purpose ;* as if they could thus approach nearer the presence of their divinities. They set apart priests, and appointed times and sacrifices suited to the luminary they adored. Hence the rising and the setting sun, the different seasons of the year, the new and full moon, the quarters of the heavens, the constellations and conjunctions of the stars, acquired a peculiar sacredness, and were conceived to possess a peculiar influence. It now became the interest of the priests to persuade men, that the-j- pillars and statues set up as representatives of the host of heaven, partook themselves of the same spirit, and communicated the same influence, as the sacred objects which they represented. Thus degraded man bowed down to the senseless image which he had himself set up, and forgot " that there was a lie in his right " hand."| From similar principles,§ other men adopted different objects of worship ; light and air, wind and fire, seemed to them active spirits, by whose beneficent energy all the operations of nature were conducted and controlled. Water and earth || formed the universal parents, from which all things derived their origin, and to which they were still indebted for their sustenance. Thus these also became the objects, first of gratitude and admiratiiDn, next of awe and reverence. They also had their temples and emblematic images, their priests and worshippers. But the folly of idolatry did not stop here. Not satisfied with adoring the host of heaven and the elements of nature, as the beneficent instruments of blessing ; human weakness led man, first to tremble with horror, and then to bow down with a base and grovelling superstition to objects of an opposite nature, to every thin": which seemed gloomy and malignant. ThelT mix- * Maimonides More Nevochim, Pars III. cap. xxix. p. 423. Winder's History d Knowledge, Vol. I. cap. xii. sect. 3. f Maimonides ut supra, Herodot. Clio, cap. xiii. ; and as to the use of mountains by the Persians, Ibid. $ Isaiah, xliv. 20. § Wisdom, xiii. 2. Herod. Clio, cap. cxxx. Cicero de Natura Deorum, Lib. 1. cap. xxviii. Hutchinson, Vol. I. p. 24, 25, II Cicero de Natura Deorum, Lib. I. cap. x. 11 Vide Vossius de Idololatria, Lib. I. cap. v. Vossius however imputes, as appears IGi THEOLOGY OF [Part II. ture of good and evil in the world, suggested the idea of an evil principle, independent of and at war with the good, which it was necessary to soothe and conciliate. Darkness, storm and pestilence, the fates, the furies, and a multitude of similar objects, were honoured with a heart-debasing homage, by their terrified and trembling votaries. Nor was this yet the worst : * Gratitude to the inventor of useful arts, to the wise legislator, to the brave defender of his country, combined with the vanity of kings, the pride of conquerors, and even private affection and fond regret for the parent, the child, the consort, the friend, led men first to erect monuments to the memory of the dead, and then to worship them as divine. They sometimes trans- ferred to these their fellow-creatures, the names of the luminaries and elements of nature, whose utility and beneficence they con- ceived were thus best represented. Hence in process of time, arose a-f* communication of attributes and honours, of priests and worshippers. And, to close the degrading catalogue of idolatrous absurdities, and verify St PauFs assertion, that " professing " themselves to be wise they became fools," Egypt,^the chief seat of ancient wisdom and policy, of arts and letters, introduced objects of worship, still more grovelling and base than any which had preceded. In some instances, the policy of its kings led them to encourage the preservation of those animals, whose labours they employed in cultivating the earth, or whose useful activity they saw exerted in destroying the venomous reptiles and destructive animals by which they were infested. For this purpose, they sanctified them as emblematic of some divinity, to me, a much greater antiquity to this species of idolatry, than the testimony of history warrants. Vide the authorities quoted in the note, p. 106. * Cicero de Natura Deorum, Lib. II. cap. xxiv. Leland's Advantage of Revela- tion, Part I. ch. iv. t VVarb. Div. Leg. B, II, sect. vi. i Vide Seidell de Diis Syris. Prolegomena, cap. iii. p. 53; and Bryant's Analys. of Mythology, Vol. I. p. 331, &c. Warburton's Divine Legat. B. IV. sect, iv. Vol. III. p. 197. Cicero de Natura Deorum, Lib. I. sect, xxxvi. Cudworth's Intellectual System, ch. iv. sect, xviii. This last learned writer maintains, that the Pagans gene- rally acknowledged one supreme Deity. Admitting, however, his proofs to have all the force he himself attributes to them, they in no degree contradict the wide extent or practical mischiefs of idolatry, or the importance and necessity of a divine Revelation W counti-ract them. For, speaking of the diflerence which he supposes the Pagans generally to have made between the one supreme unmade Deity and their other inferior fieiieruted gods, he adds, ' Wc are the rather concerned to make out this dillcrence, lied. I.] THE JEWISH LAW. 109 or even worshipped them as in themselves divine ; while, on the other hand, the Egyptian priests, with an affectation of myste- rious wisdom, expressed the attributes of God, the operations of the elements, the motions and influences of the heavenly bodies, the^ rising and falling of the Nile and its effects, by symbolic representations derived from the known and familiar properties of animals and even vegetables. Hence these became first, representations of their divinities, and afterwards the direct objects of divine reverence. Thus man was taught to bow down to birds and beasts and creeping things, to plants and herbs, to stocks and stones. Nothing was too base for grovelling superstition to adore ; the heavens, the earth, the air, the sea, each hill, each river, each wood, was peopled with ima- gmary deities ; every nation, every city, every family, had its peculiar guardian gods. The name and reverence of the Su- preme Father of the universe was banished from the earth ; or, if remembered at all, men scrupled not to associate with him their basest idols ; and deeming him too exalted and remote to regard human affairs, they looked to these idols as the immediate authors of evil and of good ; they judged of their power, by comparing the degrees of prosperity their worshippers enjoyed. Was one nation or family more successful than another, their guardian gods were adopted by their rivals ; and every day extended more widely this intercommunity of folly and of blas- phemy. Connected with this worship was the opinion of the power of " because it is notorious that they did many times also confound them together ; attri- " buting the government of the whole world to the gods promiscuously, and without '• putting any due discrimination between the supreme and inferior. The true reason " whereof seems to have been Ujis ; because they supposed the supreme God not to do " all immediately in the government of the world, but to permit much to his inferior •' ministers : one instance of which we had in Ovid, and innumerable such others " might be cited out of their most sober writers." Cudworth further grants, " That *' the same names were used to express, sometimes the supreme God, sometimes the " parts of nature, sometimes an hero or deified man." Vide Cudworth, p. 255. Amidst this confusion, the difference occasionally acknowledged by speculative men, to exist between the Supreme Intelligence, and the subordinate but more immediate agents in the government of the world, could produce no practical effect in checking the contagion of idolatry and its attendant crimes, and rather served to aggravate the guilt of those, who " knowing God, honoured him not as God," than to enlighten or reform mankind. 110 THEOLOGY OP [Parti!, magic,* or the arts to which the priests pretended, of discover- ing and even directing the effects ascribed to the operations of the elements,*!- the conjunctions of the stars, the influence of lucky and unlucky days, the power of invisible spirits, and the rabble of their idol gods. Connected with idolatry also was the trade of oracles and augurs, of diviners and sooth-sayers ; to whom the dupes of heathen priestcraft resorted, to calm their fears of futurity, and direct their conduct in every enterprise of doubt or hazard ; while the babble of wretches distracted with fanaticism, or convulsed with intoxicating vapours, the flight and chattering of birds, the recollection of fleeting dreams, the inspection of entrails, and a thousand other modes equally capricious and absurd, were used by impostors, to blind and cheat their fol- lowers. Thus impious and absurd was the Avhole system of idolatry ; yet was it so extensive and deeply rooted, as to seem utterly incapable of being checked or reformed by any of the ordinary dispensations of Providence. There is reason to believe, that before the dispersion of mankind, a great part of them had apostatized from the worship of the one true God, and struck perhaps with the influence of the air and of the winds, in remedying the efiects of the deluge, had commenced the struc- ture of the tower of Babel ; not with the wild conceit of rais- ing it till its top should reach to heaven, but that its top should be sacred to the heavens,J the common temple of worship, and centre of their idolatrous union. And it is probable that their dispersion was designed to defeat this impious design, by con- founding not only their languages, but still more their idolatrous creed, and rendering their universal combination, in this base apostasy, impracticable and transient. But however this may be, it is certain that in the five centuries which elapsed from the birth of Abraham, to the Mission of Moses, idolatry had in- fected every part of the world, of which any records can be * Vide, for a full account of this subject, Banier's History of Mythology, Lib. IV.; and on the whole of this subject of idolatry, Leland's very useful work on the Advanlago and Necessity of Revelation, Part I. ch. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. + Vide Stanlcii Ilistoria Philosophic Orientalis, cum notis Clerici, Lib, L ch. xvi, xvii.; and from ch. xxiii. to the end of the first Book. J Vide Hutchinson's Works, i. 2S, or the Abridgment of them by Duncan Forbes, la a Letter to a Bishop, p. 30 of liis Works. Lect. I.] THE JEWISH LAW HI • traced. It had been carried to the fullest extent of mischievous and absurd impiety bj the Egyptians, the wisest and most cele- brated nation of the then civilized globe : it had totally cor- rupted the Assyrians, and above all the Canaanites, who were the most warlike nations of the earth ; as well as the Phoeni- cians, who conducted the commerce of the world, and who diffused it wherever they extended their traffic, or planted their colonies. Unhappily indeed experience proves, that the progress of reason and science has ever been totally ineffectual in checking the pro- gress of idolatry. The order and beauty of the heavens ; tha grateful vicissitudes of days, and nights, and seasons ; the fertility of the earth ; all these, the more they were contemplated, instead of raising men''s thoughts to the great first Cause, only rivetted more deeply the admiration and the idolatry which were paid to the host of heaven, and the elements of nature.* The ordinary judgments of God, famine and earthquake, sword and pestilence, were ascribed to the influence of the invisible and malignant powers and spirits, whom fear had created, and superstition adored. Pride and policy, gratitude and affection, daily added to the number of deified men : the whole system of paganism was defended by kings and legislators, who employed it as an engine of government, and derived from it sacredness and dignity; as well as by priests and divines, who relied on it for subsistence. While to the great mass of the people it presented temples and statues, pomps and festivals, to interest the imagination, and gratify the sense ; it raised their curiosity, by the hope of prying into futurity ; it employed the influence of magical arts and ma- lignant powers, to work upon their fears ; while it interested their private partialities and prejudices, by local, national, and even family gods. But above all, idolatry recommended itself to degraded and corrupted man, by indulging and almost conse- crating every licentious passion, and every vicious propensity of the human heart. We have seen how man, who had been formed after the image of his Creator — man, who bore that sacred image stamped upon his soul in the bright characters of reason, truth, and virtue — forgot that Creator, and, stooping from his high original, degraded that sacred image, by bowing down to his fellow- * For a remarkable instance, vide Jer. xliv. 17. 112 THEOLOGY OF Part II. creature, and blasphemously deifying his fellow-man. Thus reason, and truth, and virtue seemed to vanish from his nature; folly, and error, and vice to triumph in their stead. When men were exalted into gods, every the basest passion and the foulest vice found an example to justify, and a patron to protect it.* Gods, whose characters and actions had been impure, revengeful, and cruel, were honoured by adopting, as parts of their worship, impurity, cruelt}'; and bloodshed. Demons, who were wor- shipped, not from love but fear, not because beneficent but malignant, it was naturally supposed could be appeased or conciliated, only by the suppliant inflicting sufferings and death even on the object whom he held most dear. Hence " every *' abomination to the Lord which he hateth did the heathens do " unto their gods :" so that " even their sons and their daugh- " ters did they burn in the fire to their gods.""-!- In truth, we know from other sources than the Scripture, that theft, blood- shed, and cruelty, that incest, adultery, and unnatural crimes, were sanctioned by the example of the heathen gods, and even consecrated as parts of their worship. We know that every species of lewdness was practised in the temples of some, and that I human sacrifices bled upon the altars of others, and this amongst the most polished and celebrated nations of anti- • Vide Lucian passim — Hesiod, Homer, Euripides, and Sophocles passim — Ovid, Terence, &c. &c. — Cicero de Nat. Deorum, Lib. I. cap. xvi. Vide also TertuUian'a Apology, ch. ii. 10, 15. Augustine de Civitate Dei, passim. The Octavius ol Minutius Felix, especially sect. xx. to xxx. And Leland's Advantage of Revul. ch. vii. — Cicero's words are worth transcribing : " Exposui pene non philosopliorum "judicia sed delirantium somuia (speaking of the stoics' opinions) nee enim niulto *' absurdiora sunt qure poetarum vocibus fusa, ipsa suavitate nocuerunt; qui et ira "inflammatos, et libidine furentes induxerunt deos ; feceruntque ut eorum bclla, "pugnas, proelia, vuluera, videremus; odia praeterea, dissidia, discordias, ortus, interi- " tus, querelas, lamentationes, effusas in omni intemperantia libidines, adulteria, " vincula, cum humane genere concubitus, mortalesque ex immortali procreates, cum " poetarum autem errore conjungere licet portenta magorum, ^gyptiorumque in •' eodem genero dcmentiam, turn etiam vulgi opiniones quae in maxima inconstantia, " veritatis ignorantia versantur." Yet Cicero was a worshipper, nay a. priest, »i these very gods ! 1 t Deut. xii. 31. t Vide supra note; also a full collection of testimonies to this fact, by my learned friend, Dr Magee, in his very able work on Atonement and Sacrifice, notes, p. 90 to p. 102. When we reflect on the facts briefly but faithfully sketched here, and in the authorities referred to, what nuist we think of the understanding, or the moral arid religious feelings, of those who, to discredit Revelation, panegyrize heathenism, under the pretext of its tolerance ? Thus Mr Gibbon, Ilibtuiy of tlie Decline of the Roman Lect. I,] THE JEWISH LAW. 113 quitv ; amongst the Egyptians and Assyrians, the Canaanites and Phoenicians — and from them were these abominations trans- ferred to Greece, and Carthage, and Rome. Thus foul and odious was the nature, thus wide the diflfusion, ; and thus fatal the effects, of that idolatry ; to provide an anti- dote to which in the Jewish nation, a special divine interposition was employed. Former interpositions had been tried in vain , the deluge, the dispersion of mankind, the divine communica- Empire, Vol. I. ch. ii. sect. I. confesses indeed, that not only " every virtue, but even *' vice acquired its divine representation; that tlie philosopher could not adore as gods " those imperfect beings whom he must have despised as men." Yet he speaks with evident approbation of these philosophers who, " viewing with a smile of pity and "indulgence the various errors of the vulgar, diligently practised the ceremonies of "their fathers; devoutly frequented the temples of the gods, and, sometimes conde- " scending to act a part on the theatre of superstition, concealed the sentiments of an "atheist under sacerdotal robes:" and tells us, "That the emperors, who always "exercised the office of supreme pontiff, were convinced that the various modes of " worship contributed alike to the same salutary purposes; and that in every country "the form of superstition which had received the sanction of time and experience was "the best adapted to the climate and its inhabitants." Tlie same Mr Gibbon tells us of " the mild spirit of antiquity, less attentive to the diflerence than to the resent "blance of their religious worship:" of "the elegant mythology of Homer (see it 'described by Cicero in the last note,) which gave a beautiful and almost a regular " form to the polytheism of the ancient world :" of " the public festivals which "humanized the manners of the people," (probably by accustoming them to obscene rites, or gladiatorial combats;) and of "the arts of divination, managed as a con- "venient instrument of policy." Of the same system of polytheism, Mr Hume* tells us in his Natural History of Religion, sect. xi. " That if we examine without ♦'prejudice, the ancient heathen mythology, as contained in the poets, we snail not "discover in it any such monstrous absurdity as we may at first be apt to apprehend. "Where is the difficulty," (asks this cautious investigator ef probabilities) "in con- " ceiving that the same powers or principles, whatever they were, which formed this "visible world, men and animals, produced also a species of intelligent creatures of " more refined substance and greater authority than the rest ? That these creatures •'may be capricious, revengeful, passionate, voluptuous, is easily conceived ; nor is " any circumstance more apt among ourselves to engender such vices tnan the license " of absolute authority. And in short " (concludes this cautious academic investigator of truth) " the whole mythological system is so natural, that in the variety of planets and "worlds contained in this universe, it seems more than probable, that somewhere or "other it is really carried into execution. The chief objection to it with regard to "this planet is, that it is not ascertained by any just reason or authority. The " ancient tradition insisted upon by heathen priests and theoiogf is, is but a weak "foundation, and transmitted also with such a number of contradictory reports, "supported all of them by equal authority, that it became absolutely impossible to "fix a preference among them. A few volumes, therefore, must contain all tlm * Vide Hume's E^iays. Viil. Up. 442. IH THEOLOGY OF [Part II. tion to Noah, and (we have reason to believe) to other patriarchs, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah all had been ineffectual. Idolatry extended, till there was scarce any apparent mode of preventing its involving all mankind in guilt and profligacy, efi'acing every trace of primeval piety, as well as of moral virtue, from the earth. So that if at any time the Deity should comnmnioate a new revelation of his will to men, they would be totally unprepared to estimate the truth of its principles, and the weight of its evidence, in order to convince themselves of its divine original. If at any time the imposture and falsehood of heathen priests and oracles, and the vanity of idols, should be "polemical writings of Pagan priests; and their whole theology must consist more "of traditional stories and superstitious practices, than of philosophical argument "and controversy." This want of philosophical argument and controversy, to help out the ancient mythologists, and remove the objection against admitting the poetic polytheism of the heathens in this our planet, must have been a disadvantage not a little to be lamented in the judgment of our philosopher, for he had told us in the preceding page, " That where the Deity is represented as infinitely superior to "mankind; this belief, though altogether just, when joined with superstitious terrors, " is apt to sink the human mind in the lowest submission and abasement, and to •'represent the monkish virtues of mortification, penance, humility, and passive suf- " fering, as the only qualities which are acceptable to him. But where the gods are "conceived to be only a little superior to mankind, and to have been many of them "advanced from that inferior rank, we are more at our ease in our addresses to " them, and may even without profaneness aspire sometimes to a rivalship and emu- " lation of them: hence activity, spirit, courage, magnanimity, lovfi of liberty, and " all tke virtues which aggrandize a people." Alas! how lamentable the departure from so happy a state of things ! To bring it back would be tlie triumph of modern philosophy. Let us hear another mintUe philosopher, the Abbe Raynal, mourning over the ill- fated virtues of expiring polytheism, and indignant at the edict of Constantine, which prohibited Paganism in the entire extent of his empire. How destructive the conse- quence. I copy the words of the eloquent Abb6, Histoire Philosophique, Introduction, page 10. "Ces vastes contr^es se trouverent couvertes d'liommes, qui n'etoient plus " lies entr'eux ni a I'etat, par les n'ceuds sacres de la religioB et du sermeut: sans "pretres, sans temples, sans morale puilique , quel zcle pouvoient-ils avoir pour repous- " ser des ennemis, qui venoient attaquer une domination k laquelle ils ne tenoient plus." The public morals of Paganism lost, all was lost! From this it seems pretty clear, that if idolatry had continued in this country to this hour, these philosophers would, to use the words of Mr Gibbon, " have condescended "to act their part on the theatre of superstition, that the interests of the priests, and "the superstition of the people, might be sufficiently respected.'' When such repre- sentations are disseminated by writers so eloquent and admired, I trust I shall be ex- cused for having dwelt somewhat at length on the absurdity, impiety, and atrocious crimes attendant on idolatry; which, it appears (particularly from tliiir writings,) nothing but Revelation <'ould liave chocivcil. Leet. I.] THE JEWISH LAW. 115 detected ; there yet would have existed no system of true reli- gion in the world, whence good principles and a pure worsliip could be restored. To prevent an apostasy so fatal and irremediable, the moral Governor of the world determined to select one nation, amongst whom to cultivate the principles of true religion and consistent virtue. For this purpose Moses relates, that God selected Abra- ham,* a man of distinguished virtue and piety : he tried his faith and obedience in various ways, commanding him to quit his country and his kindred, and go into a strange land, which he promised to give unto his seed : he enters into a national covenant with him, that he and his posterity should serve the one true God alone and God promised on his part " that through " HIS SEED, ALL THE NATIONS OF THE EAllTH SHOULD BE BLESSED ;" that so long as his descendants preserved their obedience, God would multiply them, and bless them with the possession of the land of Canaan, and every species of temporal prosperity. As the seal and record of this covenant, God prescribed circumcision to the Jews, which effectually distinguished and separated them from every other people Before this divine promise could be carried into full effect, it was necessary this family should multiply into a nation. The time for this, after which they were to take possession of the promised land, is fixed at the original formation of the compact ; " Know of a surety (says God to Abraham) that thy seed shall " be a stranger in aland which is not theirs, and shall serve them, " they shall afflict them for four hundred years. And also that " nation whom they shall serve, will I judge: and after that they " shall come out with great substance."-f- At the close of the appointed period, Moses was raised up to accomplish the promised deliverance of this chosen nation from their land of bondage; to inflict the judgments God had menaced on the idolaters who had so long oppressed them ; to lead the chosen people to the land of their inheritance ; and to convey to them, from God himself, such a system of religious and civil government, as was suited to their situation, and to those designs for the accomplishment of which the Divine Wisdom had selected and preserved them : even to erect in the midst of this nation * Genesis, xii. three first verses — xiii. from v. 14, and ch. xv xvii and xxii 116 THEOLOGY OF [Part II. the standard of the one true God, in opposition to idolatry : to exhihit them as an example of divine providence, continually superintending their conduct, rewarding their adherence to piety and virtue, and punishing their deviations into idolatry and vice ; and finally to employ them, in order to prepare the way for the introduction of that blessing, which it was promised should be conveyed through them to all the nations of the earth ; even the PROMISED SAVIOUR, CHRIST JESUS ; who at the appointed time ap- peared, to instruct, to reform, and to redeem all who would return and repent ; to break down the wall of partition between the Jews and the Gentiles ; to call all nations into one fold, under one shepherd, and turn men every where " from the " works of darkness unto light, and from the power of Satan " unto God."* Such were some of the chief purposes for which the Jewish race was selected, and the Mosaic law promulgated ; but in exe- cuting this purpose, it was necessary, according to the universal system of God's moral government, to treat the individuals who were to be employed in accomplishing it, as moral agents. In no instance does the Divinity control the actions of human beinga by mere physical violence and compulsory restraint ; in no instance are men's moral characters wholly neglected and set aside, so as to compel them to sustain a part contrary to the dictates of their judgments, and the feelings of their hearts. No: when the God of nature interferes to direct the conduct of these creatures, whom he has formed with reason to judge and freedom to act for themselves, and whom he has made responsible for the application of that reason, and the exercise of that free will, he employs means adapted to that moral nature he has himself be- stowed. These means have for their immediate object, either to enlighten the understanding by instruction suited to the purposes of the divine economy, or to bias the will by such niotives, and work on the aflfections by such instruments and influences, as are adapted to the general character and situation of the agent,, as well as to the particular mode of conduct they tend to produce ; and to communicate such strength and aid, as, without disturbing the progress or subverting the principles of moral agency, may yet prevent men from being tempted above their power, but witl) Acts, xxvi. 18. L^t. I. } THE JEWISH LAW 117 the " temptation may make them a way to escape, that they may " be able to bear it."* If therefore we wish to estimate the authority of any supposed revelation, from its internal evidence, we are led to consider the nature as well of the instructions it conveys, as of the motives by which it engages the affections and influences the will ; and to compare both with the situation and character of the moral agents to whom these instructions and motives are addressed. Let us apply these principles of enquiry to the Mosaic code, and first consider the purport of these instructions which it addressed to the Jewish people, on the existence and attributes of God, and how far it adapted these instructions to the character and circumstances of the peculiar people for whom they were designed. If then we examine the Jewish Law, to discover the principle on which the whole system depends, the primary truth, to incul- cate and illustrate which is its leading object, we find it to be, that great basis of all religion, both natural and revealed, the self-existence, essential unity, perfections and providence, of the •l^' supreme Jehovah, the Creator of heaven and earth. The first line of the Mosaic writings inculcates this great truth : " In " the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."" When the Lawgiver begins to recapitulate the statutes and judgments he had enjoined to his nation, it is v>ith this declaration, " Hear, " 0 Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord ;'"f or, as it might be more closely expressed, Jehovah our Elohira, or God, is one t. ehovah. And at the commencement of that sublime hymn, delivered immediately before his death, in which this illustrious Prophet sums up the doctrines he had taught, the wonders by which they had been confirmed, and the denunciations by which they were enforced, he declares this great tenet with the sublim- ity of Eastern poetry, but at the same time with the precision of philosophic truth : " Give ear," says he, '* O ye heavens, and " I will speak : and hear, 0 earth, the words of my mouth. " My doctrine shall drop as the rain ; my speech shall distil as *' the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the " showers upon the grass."| What, is that doctrine so awful, that the whole universe is thus invoked to attend to it \ So * 1 Cor. X. 13. t Dent. vi. 4. % Ibid, xxxii. 13, &c. 118 THEOLOGY OF [Purt IL salutary, as to be compared with the principle, whose operation diffuses beauty and fertility over the vegetable world ? Hear the answer : " Because I will publish the name of Jehovah ; ascribe " y® greatness unto our God. He is the Eock, his work is per- " feet ; a God of truth, and without iniquity, just and right is " he." This then is one great loading doctrine of the Jewish code. But the manner in which this doctrine is taught, displays such wise accommodation to the capacity and character of the nation to whom it is addressed, as deserves to be carefully remarked. That character by which the Supreme Being is most clearly dis- tinguished from every other, however exalted ; that character, from which the acutest reasoners* have endeavoured demonstra- tively to deduce, as from their source, all the divine attributes, is SELF-EXISTENCE. Is it not then highly remarkable, that it is under this character the Divinity is described on his first mani- festation to the Jewish Lawgiver ? The Deity at first reveals liimself unto him as the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob ; and therefore the peculiar national, and guardian God of the Jewish race. Moses, conscious of the degeneracy of the Israel- ites, their ignorance of, or their inattention to the true God, and the difficulty and danger of any attempt to recall them to his exclusive worship, and to withdraw them f^om Egypt, seems to decline the task ; but, when absolutely commanded to undertake it, he said unto God, " Behold, when I come unto the Cliildren " of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers ' liath sent me unto you ; and they shall say to me, What is ' his name ? What shall I say unto them ? And God said unto * Moses. / aw, that I am : and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto * Vide Dr Clarke on the Attributes ; Wollaston's Religion of Nature, sect. v. Bishop Gastrell Boyle's Lectures, sub initio. And particularly, vide Dr Hugh flamilton (once a Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin, and late Bishop of Ossory,) On the Being and Attributes of God. I gladly embrace tliia opportunity of paying my humble tribute of respect to the memory of a man, who applied the most powerful talents to the most useful purposes; equally eminent in mathematical and theological learning (for he was the author of a Treatise ou Conic Sections, one of the most Diiginal and beautiful specimens of pure geometrical reasoning ever cxliiljiad, and as such generally adopted.) Highly respectable also for his private virtue, lie will ever •ank as a most distinguished ornament of the University of Dublin, and the church of •reland. And as his life was estimable, so its close was enviable; he died full of years md of honours, encircled by a virtuous and rtspeclable family, trained bv his urecepts lO cn^ulnte his example. Lect. L] THE JE^VISH LAW. 119 " the Children of Israel, / am hath sent me unto you.'"'* Here we observe, according to the constant method of the divine wisdom, when it condescends to the prtyudices of men, how in the very instance of indulgence it corrects their superstition. The religion of names arose from a^i idolatrous polytheism ;•{• and the name given here directly opposes this error, and in the ignorance of that dark and corrupted period establishes clearly that great truth, to which the most enlightened philosophy can add no new lustre, and on which all the most refined speculations on the divine nature ultimately rest, the self-existence, and by consequence, the eternity and immutability, of the one great Jehovah. If we adopt the opinion of those interpreters,:}: who discover in this passage not only a declaration of the self-existence and im- mutability of the Deity, but an intimation of that great deliverer, " who was, and is, and is to come, the same yesterday, to day, " and for ever ;" the indication of a truth so certain, and yet to mere human imagination so unthought of at that early period, would confirm, beyond possibility of doubt, the original of a de- claration, which divine wisdom alone could promulgate, and divine power alone could fulfil. The progress of this interesting narrative supplies new proofs of the wisdom with which this revelation was adapted to the nation to whom it was address<'d, and the purposes for which it was designed. Immediately after the command, " Thus shalt " thou say unto the Children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto " you," it is added,§ " And God said moreover unto Moses, " Thus shalt thou say unto the Children of Israel, The Lord " God of your fathers," (or rather, Jehovah the God of your fathers) " the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the " God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you : this is my name for " ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations." Does not this passage clearly intimate, that the peculiar and incom- municable character of the one true God, was self-existence, » Exod. iii. 13, 14. •}■ Vide Warburton's Divine Legal. B. IV. sect. vi. sub initio. $ Vide Houbigant en Exod. iii. 14.; Parkhurst's Lexicon, on the words Tn"< antf r-* and Bibliotheca Biblira in locum. Compare John viii. 68. and Revel, i. 4. ana iv. 8. § Exod. iii. 15. 120 THEOLOGY OF [Part II. that he was the great I Am ; yet that this abstract and philoso- phic description of the Supreme Being was not sufficiently cal- culated to arrest the attention, conciliate the confidence, and command the obedience, of a people entirely unaccustomed to scientific speculations, and incapable of being influenced by any other than temporal motives ; and that it was therefore neces- sary to represent to them the Supreme Governor of the universe in a more circumscribed and attractive form, as the God of their fathers, who had conferred the most distinguished favours on Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to whom their posterity might, from the full assurance which fact and experience supply, look up with confidence, as their peculiar guardian God ; and in the religion framed for them, recognize a system clearly and cer- tainly exalting them above all idolatrous nations who hoped to derive prosperity from the protection of their peculiar tutelary gods. This necessity of accommodating the religious instructions communicated to the Jews to their capacity and feelings, should never be forgotten, when we consider the meaning and objects of these instructions. If they are really of divine original, it may be required, that they should certainly be in no instance incon- sistent with the more complete discoveries of religious truth, which subsequent researches and subsequent revelations supply ; and perhaps it might be expected that they should (as in thi^ instance is evident) contain such intimations of these truths, as would to future ages prove the divine wisdom, which so far de- velope them. But w^e are not, surely, to wonder that doctrines of more immediate necessity, and more powerful influence, should be more frequently insisted on : we are not to wonder that the Belf-existence of the Deity should be rarely dwelt on; his character as God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, perpetually brought for- ward ; we are not to wonder that the attributes and the conduct of the Divinity should be described in language, and illustrated by metaphors, derived from the human character, and even from human passions : we are not to wonder that immediate and tem- poral sanctions should be preferred to spiritual and remote ; and in general wo may expect that the language and manner in which religious truths are inculcated, should be adapted to the gross imaginations and short-sighted views of the people, for wliom they were designed. Lect. I.] THE JEWISH LAW 121 But though the self-existence of the Deity was a fact too abstract to require its being frequently inculcated: his essential UNITY was a practical principle, the sure foundation on which to erect the structure of true relijiion, and form a barrier against the encroachments of idolatry. For this commenced not so frequently in denying the existence, or even the supremacy of the one true God, as in associating with him for objects of adoration, inferior intermediate beings, Avho are supposed to be more directly employed in the administration of human affairs. To confute and resist this false principle was, therefore, one great object of the Jewish scheme. Hence the unity of God is inculcated with perpetual solicitude ; it stands at the head of the system of moral Law promulgated to the Jews from Sinai by the divine voice, heard by the assembled nation, and issuing from the divine glory, with every circumstance which could im- press the deepest awe upon even the dullest minds, " I am the " Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of " Egypt, out of the house of bondage ; thou shalt have no other "gods beside me.""* And in the recapitulation of the divine Laws in Deuteronomy, it is repeatedly enforced with the most solemn earnestness: " Hear, 0 Israel, The Lord our God is one " Lord ;" and again, " Unto thee it was shewed, that thou " mightest know that the Lord he is God ; there is none else " beside him. Know, therefore, this day, and consider it in thine " heart that the Lord he is God in Heaven above, and upon the " earth beneath : there is none else,""}- This self-existent, supreme, and only God is, moreover, described as possessed of every perfection which can be ascribed to the Divinity. " Ve shall be holy," (says the Lord to the people of the Jews ;) " for I the Lord your God am holy. " Ascribe ye," says the Legislator, " greatness unto our God ; " he is the Rock, his work is perfect ; a God of truth and " without iniquity, just and rig] it is he."| And in the hymn of joy and thanksgiving on the miraculous escape of the Israelites at the Red Sea, this is its burthen : ■' Who is like unto thee " 0 Lord, amongst the gods ! who is hke unto thee, glorious in " holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders ?"§ And when the Lord delivered to Moses the two tables of the moral Law, he * Exod. XX. 2 and 3. + Deut. iv. 35 and 39. and vi. 4. t Lev. xix. 2. Deut. xxxii. 3. § Exod. xv. II. 122 THEOLOGY OF [Part II. \s described as descending in the cloud, and proclaiming the nani.^ of the Lord. " And the Lord passed by before him, and " prujlaimed, the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, " long-suffering, and abundant in goodness, keeping mercy for " thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin, and that " will by no means clear the guilty ; visiting the iniquity of the " fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, " unto the third and to the fourth generation."* Thus while one character is ascribed to the Deity, which is peculiarly con- nected with the particular scheme of moral government exer- cised by Divine Providence over the Jews, that of visiting the iniquities and the virtues of the parents upon the children ; at the same time every virtue is ascribed to Him, which the most exalted benevolence can desire, or the most refined philosophy conceive. But to teach the self-existence, the unity, the wisdom and the })ower of the Deity ; nay, even his moral perfections of mercy, justice, and truth, would have been insufficient to arrest the attention and command the obedience of a nation, the majority of which looked no farther than mere present objects, and at that early period cherished scarcely any hopes higher than those of a temporal kind — if, in addition to all this, care had not been taken to represent the providence of God as not only directing the government of the universe by general laws, but also per- petually superintending the conduct and determining the fortune of every nation, of every family, nay, of every individual. It was the disbelief or the neglect of this great truth, which gave spirit and energy, plausibility and attraction, to the whole system of idolatry. While men believed that the supreme God and Lord of all was too exalted in his dignity, too remote from this sublunary scene, to regard its vicissitudes with an attentive eye ; and too constantly engagedf in the contemplation of his own perfections, and the enjoyment of his own independent and all-perfect happiness, to interfere in the regulation of human affairs ; they regarded with indifference that supreme Divinity, who seemed to take no concern in their conduct, and to interfere not as to their happiness. However exalted and perfect such a Being might appear to abstract speculation, he was to the gene- * Exod. xxxiv. 6 and 7. f Vide Cicero dc Nat. Peonim, Lib. I. rap. Ixi. to tlie ejid. Led. I.J THE JEWISH LAW. 123 rality of mankind, as if he did not exist : as their happiness or misery were not supposed to be influenced by his power, they referred not their conduct to his direction. If he delegated to * inferior beings the regulation of this inferior world ; if all its concerns were conducted by their immediate agency, and all its blessings or calamities distributed by their immediate determi- nation ; it seemed rational, and even necessary, to supplicate their favour, and submit to their authority ; and neither unwise nor unsafe to neglect that Being, who, though all-perfect and supreme, would on this supposition appear, with respect to man- kind, altogether inoperative. There are abundant proofs, how deeply these feelings and opinions were imbibed by the whole Jewish race ; and how indis- pensably necessary it was to counteract their influence. Soma examples are necessary, and a few will be sufficient. When the Patriarch Jacob, after being solemnly invested by Isaac, acting under the divine authority, with the blessing of Abraham, was honoured by a celestial vision,-}- to renew the same covenant with him personally, and repeat to him the divine promise, not only " that his seed should multiply as the dust of the earth, " and should inherit the land in which he slept, but that in him " and his seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed ;" the Patriarch awakes impressed with the deepest awe and reve- rence; he rears an altar, pours upon it a libation, and vows a vow: but such a vow, as proves that even here his imagination was occupied, not so much with the character of God as supreme governor of the world, not so much with any anxiety to secure the temporal but remote part of the promise which regarded his posterity, or the spiritual part which announced that in his seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed, as with that which promised immediate protection and prosperity to himself. — • " Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and " will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to " eat and raiment to put on ; so that I come again to my father's " house in peace ; then shall Jehovah the Lord be my God. " And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's " house : and of all that thou shalt give me, I will surely give " the tenth unto thee."j * Vide supra, p. 108, the note. f Gen. xxviii. 12— 15. X Gen. xxviii. 20—22. 124 THEOLOGY OF [Part II. Further, as the expectation of temporal blessings was the most powoi-tul motive to attach man to the worship of the true God ; 80 was it the source of all idolatry to false divinities, through every period of the Jewish history. Hence, on the defeat of the Syrians by the Jews, " the servants of the king of Syria " said unto him, Their gods are gods of the hills, therefore " they were stronger than we : but let us nght against them in " the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they." * This then was the radical error on which idolatry was founded. To counteract it, the Jewish legislator uniformly represents the supreme Jehovah, as the sole distributor of every present good and evil, as perpetually watching the conduct of mankind, and rei'ulatino- the whole series of their fortunes according to their merit or demerit ; and states the Jewish people to be selected, that, by the plan of their religion, the constitution of their government, and the constant adjustment of their prosperity or adversity, to their fidelity towards Jehovah, and their obedience to his will, they might exhibit a decisive nroof of his overruling providence in all human afFairs.f * 1 Kings XX. 23. f I have been much gratified at finding the idea here adduced, of one leading object of the Jewish scheme, confirmed, and very ingeniously illustrated by the late Rev, Newcome Cappe, a writer of considerable learning and talent, in his " Critical Remarks on Scripture," Vol. II. p. 195 ; in his Idea of Judaism and its peculiar End and Object; — viz. " to exhibit a sensible specimen, by way of •' God's moral Government.'" On this he observes, that " the essential principle " of the Jewish economy was — that this people as a nation, should be secure and " prosperous, while they obeyed the civil and religious institutions of their country — " endangered and distressed, when they departed from them, or neglected them." And he proceeds to remark, that " the Jev/s, in their character and fat«", and the " correspondence of Uiem to one another, might be an exhibition of the moral '' government of God, it was neree^ary that their Law, and their circumstances " should appear to be the work of Gud ; tliat their obedience to God should be in such " things as are obviout and sensilile, in respect of which all men might judge of tbeir " character, whether it were correspondent to the Law or not ; and that their circum- " stances, in like manner, and their correspondence, to the respect they paid to the " Law, should be obvious and observable." In order that such a sensible specimen, by way of proof, should be given ot God's moral government, he observes, very truly, that " it was necessary." " 1st, That it should not be in individuals merely, who could not be conspicuous " or interesting enough to engage the attention of mankind at large, or would, il " extending to any great number, be too obscure, and require as great attention «' and discernment to perceive it, as are necessary to collect the moral govoriiments '* of God from tho gumral laws of creation and providence. Lect. L J THE JEWISH LAW 1 25 The declarations of the Jewish Lawgiver on this topic are most full, especially in the book of Deuteronomy, in which he recapitulates the wonders of divine power in their behalf, which tlie Jews themselves had witnessed ; and is therefore able to impress the conviction of the divine providence from their own experience. It is, however, frequently inculcated on other occa- sions. Before the solemn publication of the ten commandmentSj God, by Moses, addresses the Children of Israel : " Ye have " seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bore you on " eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, " if you will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then " you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people : for " all the earth is mine."* Most remarkable is the declaration in the solemn hymn which closes the writings of the illustrious Lawgiver : " Hemember,"*' says he, addressing the assembled nation, " remember the days " of old, consider the years of many generations : ask thy father, " and he will show thee; tliy elders, and they will tell thee, " When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, " when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the " Nor, 2dly, in the world at large promiscuously ; for this could not be well " discerned, or form a striking object for distinct observation. " Nor, 3dly, in respect of moral virtue merely, for of moral merit mankind can- " not judge, the motives of human conduct are not penetrable by human eye, its •' external expressions are uncertain and unequivocal. But whether or no, men prac- " tise a certain mode of external conduct, this or that form of worship, for instance, " this or that mode of domestic life, may be ascertained ; and such actions, though " not of themselves moral, yet, when made the subjects of command by a rightful " superior, put on a moral quality — but for this they must be the subject of a positive " law ; the promulgation and execution, therefore, of such a Law, is an argument and •' exhibition of the moral government of God. " In the 4th place," Mr Cappe observes, " the remuneration must be sensible " and obvious, like the conduct which is its object ; it must not, therefore, consist *' in any thing merely internal, as in mental joys and hopes -or regret and fears." And therefore, / add, and not in the hopes or fears of a future life, solely or prin- cipally. I cannot here avoid expressing my regret, that these two volumes of Mr Cappe do not contain more of his reasonings on the general evidence of Christianity, or of those beautiful moral discourses, some extracts from which his ingenious and ami- able Editor gives in her very interesting account of his life, rather than those con troversial discussions and criticisms, in which, from his unfortunate attachment to Socinianism, it must seem to so many of his readers (as it certainly does to me) that liis judgment is clouded by prejudice, and his ingenuity employed to defend error. * Exod. xix. 4. 126 THEOLOGY OF [Pai't 11. " people according to the number of the Children of Israel. For " the Lord's portion is his people ; Jacob is the lot of his inhe- " ritance. He found him in a desert land, and in the waste " howling wilderness ; he led him about, he instructed him, he " kept hiin as the apple of his eye/"'* And this sublime hymn closes with the following awful declaration, on the subject of which we now treat. "When foreseeing the apostasy of the Jews, in turning to false gods, and denouncing the punishments which should in consequence be inflicted upon them, he describes the Deity as expostulating with his wayward people : " Where are " their gods, the rock in which they trusted, which did eat the " fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink-offer- " ings ? let them rise up and help you, and be your protection. " See now that I, even I am he, and there is no God with me. " I kill, and I make alive ; I wound, and I heal : neither is there " any that can deliver out of my hand ; for I lift up mine hand " to heaven, and say, I live for ever."-}* In truth, this fact of the perpetual providence of God extend- ing even to the minutest events, is inseparably connected with every motive which is offered to sway the conduct of the Jews, and forcibly inculcated by every event of their history. This had been manifested in the appointment of the land of Canaan for the future settlement of the chosen people, on the first cove- nant which God entered into with the patriarch Abraham ; in the prophecy, that for four hundred years they should be afflicted in Egypt, and afterwards be thenco delivered : in the increase of their nation, under circumstances of extreme oppression, and their supernatural deliverance from that oppression. The same Provi- dence was displayed in the destruction of the Egyptians in the Red Sea ; the travels of the thousands of Israel through the wil- derness, sustained by food from heaven ; and in their subsequent settlement in the promised land, by means entirely distinct from their own strength. lleliancc on the same Providence was the foundation of their civil government, the spirit and the principle of their constitu- tion. On this only could they be commanded to keep the sab- batic year without tilling their land, or even gathering its spon- taneous produce : confiding in the divine promise, that God would send his " blessing on the sixth year, so that it should * Deut. xxxii. 7. t !>'• ver. 37. &c. Lect. 1.] THE JEWISH LAW. 127 *' bring forth fruit for three years."* The same faith in divine Providence alone could prevail on them to leave their properties and families exposed to the attack of their surrounding enemies while all the males of the nation assembled at Jerusalem, to cele- brate the three great festivals, enjoined by divine command, with the assurance, that " no man should desire their land, when they *' went up to appear before the Lord their God thrice in the *•• year."""!- And finally, it is most evident, that, contrary to all other lawgivers, the Jewish legislator renders his civil institutions entirely subordinate to his religious ; and announces to his nation, that their temporal adversity or prosperity would entirely depend — not on their observance of their political regulations, not on their preserving a military spirit, or acquiring commercial wealth, or strengthening themselves by powerful alliances — but on their continuing to worship the one true God, according to the religi- ous rites and ceremonies by him prescribed, and preserving their piety and morals untainted by the corruptions and vices which idolatry tended to introduce. How clear and impressive are the concluding words of the last exhortation of their illustrious Law- giver, to the assembled nation : " See," says he, " I have set " before thee this day life and good, death and evil ; in that I " command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in " his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, " and liis judgments, that thou may est live and multiply : and " the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou " goest to possess it. But if thine heart turn away, so that thou " wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, " and serve them ; I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall " surely perish, and that you shall not prolong your days upon " the land whither thou passest over Jordan to possess it. I " call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I " have set before thee life and death, blessing and cursing: there- " fore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live ; that " tliou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey " his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him, (for he is thy " life and the length of thy days) that thou mayest dwell in the " land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to " Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them."| Such was the theology of the Jewish religion, at a period • Li V. XXV, 21. -j- Exod. xxxiv. 24. J Deut. xxx. I.'i, An, 128 THEOLOGY OP [Part II when the whole world was deeply infected with idolatry ; when all knowledge of the one true God, all reverence for his sacred name, all reliance on his providence, all obedience to his laws, were neai'ly banished from the earth ; when the severest chastise- ments had been tried in vain ; when no hope of reformation ap- peared from the refinements of civilization or the researches of philosophy ; for the most civilized and enlightened nations adopted with the greatest greediness, and disseminated with the greatest activity, the absurdities, impieties, and pollutions of idol- atry. Then was the Jewish Law promulgated to a nation, who, to mere human judgment, might have appeared incapable of in- venting or receiving such a high degree of intellectual or moral improvement; for they had been long enslaved to the Egyptians, the authors and supporters of the grossest idolatry ; they had been weighed down by the severest bondage, perpetually harassed by the most incessant manual labours ; for the Egyptians " made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar and in " brick, and in all manner of service in the field."* At this time, and in this nation, was the Mosaic Law promulgated, teaching the great principles of true religion, the self-existence, the unity, the perfections and the providence, of the one great Jehovah ; reprobating all false gods, all image-worship, all the absurdities and profanations of idolatry. At this time, p.nd in this nation, was a system of government framed, which liad for its basis the reception of, and steady adherence to, this system of true religion ; and establishing many regulations, which would be in the highest degree irrational, and could never hope to be received, except from a general and thorough reliance on the superintendence of Divine Providence, controlling the course of nature, and directing every event, so as to proportion the pros- perity of the Hebrew people, according to their obedience to that Law which they received as divine. In the mode in which the doctrines of their religion were pro- mulgated, we find a minute attention to the moral and intellec- tual character of the nation for whom it was designed, and the most admirable precautions used, to impress attention and com- mand obedience, if the authority of the Lawgiver was in reality divine ; but precautions of such a nature as would render his whole scheme abortive, and expose it to derision and contempt^ • Exod. i 14. Lect. I.] THE JEWISH law. 12,9 if he had contrived it only by human artifice, and relied on no- thino' but human aid. Here then, I rest the first presumptive argument for the divine original of the Jewish scheme. And I contend that the promul- gation of such a system of theology, at such a period, and to such a people, so connected with the form of its government, and adopting such extraordinary regulations and precautions, cannot be satisfactorily accounted for, without allowing the truth of the Mosaic history, the deliverance of Israel by supernatural aid, and the establishment of their religion and government by divine* authoritv. 131) MOKAL PTiiNciPMio [Part II. LECTURE II. The Ten Commandments due to the Mosaic Law. Their extent. Their importance illut- trated hy the practices of the heathen world. The Jewish religion inculcates the two great principles, oj love to God, and love to man — Also love to otir enemies, an far at was practicable under the Jewish economy. It did not substitute outward observances for internal piety — Proved from the general principles of internal religion which it establishes — From the conditions on which alone it proposes the forgiveness of trans- gressions— From the connexion it points out, between the ceremonies of the ritual and internal religion. Recapitulation. DEUTERONOMY, iv. 8. •* What nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous, as all this La.v which I set before you this day ?" It shall be the object of this Lecture to enquire, how far this character, which the Jewish Legislator ascribes to his Law, is justified by the nature of the general moral principles which it inculcates, and the specific precepts it lays down, compared with the period at which they were promulgated, and the dis- position and capacity of the nation for whom they were designed. In the first place, then, it is an obvious, but it is not therefore a less important remark, that to the Jewish reli- gion we owe that admirable summary of moral duty, contained in the Ten Commandments. All fair reasoners will admit, that each of these must be understood to condemn, not merely the extreme crime which it expressly proliibits, but every inferior offence of the same kind, and every mode of conduct leading to such transgi-ession ;* and on the contrary, to enjoin opposite conduct, and the cultivation of opposite dispositions. Thus, tlie command, " Thou shalt not kill," condemns not merely the * That tlie Ten Commandments were understood in this extensive sense by the Jews themselves, is evident, not only from the various declarations of the inspired Psalmist and the Prophets, but from the testimonies of such Jewish writings as have reached ns, particularly those of Josephus and the celebrated Philo. I refer in parti- cular to the following passages: — Psalms iv. xv. and xjx. 12, 13.; Psalm x. 16, to the end, particularly 23.; Psalm Ixxxii. 2, 3, 4.; Psalms ci. and cxix. passim, par- ticularly 151, 163, 172.; Iiaiah, i. from 10 to 20; also Ivi. Iviii. Ixi.; Jeremiah, vii. Lect. IT.] OF THE JEWISH LAW. 131 single crime of deliberate murder, but every kind of violence, and every indulgence of passion and resentment, which tends either to excite such violence, or to produce that malignant disposition of mind, in which the guilt of murder principally con- sists : and similarly of the rest. In this extensive mterpretation of the Commandments, we are warranted, not merely by the deductions of reason, but by the letter of the Law itself. For the addition of the last^ " Thou shalt not covet," proves clearly that in all, the disposition of the heart, as much as the immediate oiitward act, is the object of the Divine Legislator ; and thus it forms a comment on the meaning, as well as a guard for the ob- servance of all the preceding commands. Interpreted in this natural and rational latitude, how compre- hensive and important is this summary of moral duty. It in- first sixteen verses. All these passages show clearly, that sincere and heartfelt piety and virtLif, not Pharisaical strictness or mere ceremonial worship, was demanded by the Jewish law. In confirmation, consult Josephus, Book II. against Apion, from sect. xvi. to the end. The following beautiful and important passage is very full and express: — "The "reason," says he, "why the constitution of this legislation was ever better directed " to the utility of all, than other legislations were, is this : that Moses did not make " religion a part of virtue, but he saw and he ordained other virtues to be part of " religion: I mean justice, and fortitude, and temperance, and an iniiversal agreement *' of the members of the community with one another ; for all our actions and studies, "and all our words (in Moses's settlement) have a reference to piety towards God." And again, sect, xxiii. " What are the things then that we are commanded or for- " bidden ? They are simple, and easily known. The first command is concerning "God, and affirms that God contains all things, and is a Being every way perfect " and happy, self-sufficient, and supplying all other beings ; the beginning, the middle, "and the end of all things. He is manifest in his works and benefits, and mora "conspicuous than any other Being whatsoever. But as to his form and magnitude, "he is most obscure; all materials, however costly, are unworthy to compose an " image for him ; and all arts are unartful, to express the notion we ought to have of "him: we can neither see nor think of any thing like him, nor is it agreeable to piety " to form a resemblance of him. We see his woi-ks — the light, the heaven, the earth, " the sun and the moon, the waters, the generations of animals, the productions of "fruits: these things hath God made, not with hands, not with labour, nor as wanting •' the assistance of any to co-operate with him; but as his will resolved they should be "made, and be good also, thuy were made and became good immediately. All men •' ought to follow this Being, and to worship him in the exercise of virtue; for this way " of the worship of God is the most holy of all others." In explaining the other princi- ples of moral duty, he combines the direct commands of the Decalogue with their various additions, explanations, and improvements, which are dispersed through the entire Pentateuch; thus applying them in the most extensive latitude. The view which Pliilo takes i»f this subiect. in his Tract on the Decalogue, and Iho 1 .')2 MORAL PRiNciPLFS f Part II. ciilcates the adoration of the one true God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is ; who must, therefore, be infinite in power, and wisdom, and goodness ; the object of exclusive adoration, of gratitude for every blessing we enjoy ; of fear, for he is a jealous God ; of hope, for he is merciful. It proliibits every species of idolatry ; whether by associating false gods with the true, or worshipping the true by symbols and images. Commanding not to take the name of God in vain, it enjoins the observance of all outward respect for the Divine authority, as well as the cultivation of inward sentiments and feelings, suited to this outward reverence ; and it establishes the obligation of oaths, and, by consequence, of all compacts and deliberate promises ; a principle without which the administration of laws would bo impracticable, and the bonds of society must be dissolved. two subsequent Tracts on the special Laws connected with the different parts of it, is equally extended. He says, " The commands which God himself proclaimed, are not "only Laws, but the summaries or general heads of particular Laws; and those which '• he promulgated hy liis prophet Moses, are all to be referred to the former."* On the fiist and second commandments,! he argues at large against the absurdity and guilt of idolatry in all it« points; on the third, t he impresses with the greatest earnest- ness, the guilt either of perjury or rash swearing in conversation: " He who is about " to swear," says he, " ought diligently to examine all the circumstances attending the "subject about which he is to swear; whether it be important, whether it be true, " whether it be certainly apprehended by him. Next he ought to consider himself, " whether his soul is pure from guilt, his body from pollution, his tongue from evil- " speaking; for it is criminal to permit any thing miworthy to be uttered by that " moutii, which pronounces the most holy name." Considering the Ten Command- ments as summaries of general Laws, he observes, || that "To the fourth is to lie refer- "red every thing relating to festival days and sabbaths, vows, sacrifices, purifications, *' and every other part of religious worship." On the fifth he observes, " That in the "precept, ' Honour your parents,' are included many Laws, prescribing the duties of " tiie yo\nig to the old, of subjects to magistrates, and servants to masters, and those who have received benefits to their benefactors." And thus of the rest. I have made these quotations, to prove that the Mosaic Law effected the purpose, which I have contended it was calculated to promote; by rectifying and enlai-ging the moral views of the reflecting and enlightened, part of the Jewish nation, to a degree far Superior to that which Pagan morality liad attained; a circumstance particulaily »«- markahle, in the extent which Philo (p. 592, Letter/,) gives to the command, " Thwi "shalt not commit adultery," as prohibiting any irregular desire and licentious ind' ^cfce. A strictness utterly unknown to the heathen world. + Vide Plilonis Opern, p. 576, Letter c. t lliid. from p. STO, Letter/, to m3. Letter *. I Philo, p. 583, Lettor/, and 584, Letter ds and hundreds, and their officers," &c. Lowman quotes the authorities of Harrington, Sigonius, Meuochius, and Calmet ; to which we may add Leydekker, p. 416, whose opinion is of great weight ; and the authors of the Universal History Book I. ch. vii. Vol. I. p.. 701. Ib8 POLITICAL PRINCIPLE? [Pr.il If. be terrified, too opulent to be bribed, too attached to each other and to their officers to be disunited, any attempt to enslave such a people, or subvert a constitution so guarded, would have been the extremity of madness ; and we may safely pronounce, no state ever exi&ted where the constitution was more stable, and the na- tional liberty more perfectly secure than amongst the Jews, while they obeyed the statutes ordained by their inspired legislator. Nor were these institutions less wisely adapted to secure the state against foreign violence, and at the same time, prevent offensive wars and remote conquests : pursuing in this, but by means infinitely more wisely contrived, and permanently effectual, the same objects which Lycurgus afterwards attempted. He in vain prohibited from engaging in offensive wars, a people who were trained to no other business than military exercises, and sought no other dis-tinction than military glory. Far dif- ferent was the effect of the Jewish Agrarian Law ; it provided, indeed, a hardy body of six hundred thousand yeomanry, ever ready to protect their country when assailed ; but, perpetually employed as they were in agriculture, attached to domestic life, enjoying the society of friends and relatives, by whom they were encircled, all war must have been to them in the highest degree wearisome and odious. Religion concurred with their mode of life to prevent them from being captivated by the false splen- dour of military glory. On returning from battle, even if vic- torious, in order to bring them back to more peaceful feelings after the rage of war, the Law ordered that they should consider themselves as polluted by this perhaps necessary slaughter, and unworthy of thus appearing in the camp of Jehovah ;* they were therefore to employ a whole day in purifying themselves, before they were admitted. Besides, their force was entirely infarrtry, the law forbidding even their kings to multiply horses in their train ; and the ordinance requiring the attendance of all the males three times every year at Jerusalem, proved the in- tention of their legislator to confine the nation within the limits of the promised land, and rendered long and distant wars and conquests impossible, without renouncing that religion which as incorporated with their whole civil polity, the charter by "bich they held all their property, and enjoyed all their rights. In the circuiiistanccs of tlie Jewish }>olity we have hitherto * V^i.le Nurnl.rrs^ cli. xix. 13 to Hr ; aiu) xxx^. 10. Lect. IV.] OF THE JEWISH LAW. 169 considered, there is some resemblance to the institutions of sub- sequent Lawgivers ; yet how decided is the superiority of the Mosaic code. But in the regulations as to the tribe of Levi, we see an object pursued, which until Christianity was established, no Lawo-iver but the Jewish thought of attending to. Ministers of relio-ion are indeed found in every state. Wherever any idol was worshipped, there must have been altars and priests, there generally were soothsayers and diviners ; but such men never attempted any thing beyond the immediate performance of re- lio-ious ceremonies, or employing that influence over the public mind, which their sacred functions gave them, to promote private gain, or, in some instances, political views. Religious and moral instruction to the great mass of the people, they never attempted, and never desired. But the Jewish legislator set apart the entire tribe of Levi, one twelfth of the nation, not merely to perform the rites and sacrifices which the ritual enjoined, (a purpose which I do not now particularly insist on) but to difi"use over the great mass of the people, religious and moral instruc- tion, for which they were expressly set apart. " Of Levi," says the legislator, (when in his last solemn hymn he sketches the characters and the fortunes of the different tribes) " Let " thy Urim and thy Thummim be with thy holy one ; they have " observed thy word, and kept thy covenant ; they shall teach " Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law : they shall put in- " cense before thee, and whole burnt-sacrifice upon thine altar."* To them was the custody of the sacred volume consigned, with the ark of the covenant : and Moses commanded the priests, the sons of Levi, and the elders of Israel, " At the end of every " seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the " feast of tabernacles, when all Israel is come to appear before " the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall choose ; thou "• shalt read this Law before all Israel, in their hearing.^ '•'■ Gather the people together, men and women and children, '" and the stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear^ * Deut. xxxiii. 8 — 10. "f Among the various wise reasons for choosing this period, one most principal ap- pears to be, its being the year of release, when the general abolition of debts and dis- charge from personal slavery, periodically took place ; circumstances which would necessarily secure constant attention to this solemnity, and contribute to insure the observance of this command. Tlius closely were the religious and civil pasts of the Mosaic code connected. 170 POLITICAL PRINCIPLES [Part II' " and that they may learn, and fear the Lord your God, and " observe to do all the words of this Law ; and that their children " which have not known any thing, may hear and learn to fear " the Lord your God, as long as you live in the land whither " ye go to possess it.""* This public and solemn periodical in- struction, though eminently usetul, was certainly not the entire of their duty ; they were bound, from the spirit of this ordi- nance, to take care that at all times the aged should be improved and the children instructed in the knowledge and the fear of God, the adoration of his MajesfJ* and the observance of his Law : and for this purpose the peculiar situation and privileges of the tribe of Levi, as regulated by the divine appointment, admirably fitted them. Possessed of no landed property, and supported by the tithes and offerings which they received in kind, they were little occupied with labour or secular care : de- riving their maintenance from a source which would necessarily fail if the worship and the laws of God were neglected, they were deeply interested in their support. Their cities being dis- persed through all the tribes ■)• and their families permitted to intermarry with all, they were every where at hand to admonish and instruct ; exclusively possessed of the high-priesthood, as well as of all other religious offices, andj associated with the high-priest and judge in the supreme court of judicature, and with the elders of every city in the inferior tribunals, and guardians of the cities of refuge where those who were guilty of homicide fled for an asylum, they must have acquired such in- fluence and reverence amongst the people, as were necessary to secure attention to their instructions: and they were led to study the rules of moral conduct, the principles of equity, and above all, the Mosaic code, with unceasing attention ; but they were not laid under any vows of celibacy, or monastic austerity and retirement, and thus abstracted from the intercourse and the feelings of social life. Thus circumstanced, they were assuredly well calculated to answer the purpose of tlioir institution, to preserve and consolidate the union of all the other tribes, to in- struct and forward the Jews in knowledge, virtue and piety ; " To teach Jacob the judgments, and Israel the law of Jehovah;'* that they might hoar and fear, " and learn to obey the will of " their Sovereign and th(!ir God."" And as no more important * Dout. xxxi. 10 — 13. + Nuriil.irs xxxv, J Duut xvii. 9. and xxvi. a Lcct. IV.] OF THE JEWISH LAW. ' 171 object could be aimed at by any Lawgiver, so the almost total neglect of other legislators in this respect, and the caution and wisdom of the Jewish institutions for this purpose, seem to sup- ply one important presumotive argument for the divine original of the Mosaic code. Hitherto we have considered the Jewish Law chiefly as it se- cured the rights and promoted the happiness of the higher and middling classes of society, the nobility and gentry, the Levites and the great mass of the Jewish yeomanry or freemen.* But the Mosaic Law extended its paternal care to the very lowest classes, the stranger and the slave, the poor, the fatherless and the widow. These it represents as the peculiar objects of the divine care, and denounces against any injury to them peculiar indignation and punishment from God. " If a stranger sojourn " with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him ; but the stranger " that dwelleth among you shall be unto you as one born among " you and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers "in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord thy God."f " The " tithes of the third year thou shalt give to the Levite, the " stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat " within thy gates, and be filled." | That part of the Hebrew constitution which forbade tlie ac- ceptance of interest § from a fellow-citizen, and established a septennial abolition of debts, and a periodical restitution of all lands which had been alienated from their original proprietors, though necessary for the general balance and security of the Hebrew Government, might yet have operated to increase in some instances the pressure of poverty, by rendering it more difficult to obtain immediate relief. It is therefore important to observe how anxiously the Legislator guards against any such effect from these regulations. " If there be among you," says the Law, " a poor man, one of thy brethren, within any of thy " gates, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou " shalt not harden tliine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy * Vide the Je\Tish Letters, Part III. Letter iv. Universal History, B. I. ch. vii. sect. 4. on the Laws relating to the sabbatic and jubilee years, p. 61o and 617. t Lev. xix. 33, 34. J Deut. xxvi. 12. § Interest from any one not a fellow-citizen, was permitted, but subject to the limitation of using him with the strictest regard to equity and benevolence, wliich tlie quoted in the last paragraph require. ]72 POLITICAL PRINCIPLES [Pai'tll. " poor brother. Nor let there be a thought in thy wicked heart, " saying, The seventh year, the year of release is at hand ; and " thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest " him nought, and he cry unto the Lord against thee, and it be " sin unto thee. Thou shalt surely give, and thine heart shall " not be grieved when thou givest unto him ; because that for " this thing the Lord thy God will bless thee in all that thou " puttest thine hand unto. For the poor shall never cease out " of thy land ; therefore, I command thee, saying. Thou shalt *' open thine hand wide to thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy " needy in thy land.""* With equal energy does the Law maintain the cause of the hired labourer : " Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that " is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy " strangers that are in thy land within thy gates. At his day " thou shalt give him his hire ; neither shall the sun go down " upon it for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it, lest he " cry unto the Lord, and it be sin unto thee.""-}- Thus, also, how are the feelings, as well as the wants of the poor consulted, in that precept which directed, " When thou " dost lend thy brother any thing, thou shalt not go into his " house to fetch his pledge :"" ^ as if the Legislator said, Intrude not into his abode, if he is not willing to expose to the stranger's eye the humiliating circumstances of want and nakedness which attend his destitute state ; or perhaps there is some little monu- ment of his better days, which he reserves to console his misery, which he would not wish the person from whom he implores aid to see lest he should demand that in pledge, and either, if denied, refuse relief, or, by tearing away this almost sacred relic to which his heart clings, embitter his distress. No, says the Law, the hovel of the poor must be sacred as an holy asylum; the eye of scorn and the foot of pride must not dare to intrude : even the agent of mercy must not enter it abruptly and unbid, without consulting the feelings of its wretched in- habitant. " Thou shalt not go into nis house to fetch his pledge ; " thou shalt stand abroad, and the man to whom thou dost lend " shall bring out the pledge unto thee.""§ In the same strain of humanity the Law goes on : " If tlio • Dciit. XV. 7 — II. + lb. xxiv. 14 ami l.'j. + T),.ut. xxiv. 10. § lb. vcr. 11. Lcct. IV,] OF TiiE JEWISH LAW. 173 " man be poor, thou slialt not sleep with his pledge. In any " case thou shalt deliver him the pledge again when the sun " goeth down, that he may sleep in his own raiment, and bless " thee : and it shall be righteousness unto thee before the Lord "thy God."* The same spirit of benevolence was to regulate the conduct and soften the heart of the husbandman in all his labours. " If " thou cuttest down the harvest of thy field," says the Law, " and hast forgot a sheaf, thou shalt not turn again to fetch it: " if thou beatest thine olive-tree, thou shalt not go over the " boughs again : when thou gatherest thy grapes, thou shalt not " glean it afterward : it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, " and the widow, that the Lord thy God may bless thee in ail " the work of thy hands." -f- With equal solicitude does the Law impress reverence for the authority, and attention to the wants of the aged, delivering as the direct command of Jehovah : — " Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face " of the old map, and fear thy God : I am the Lord."| How much praise have the Spartan institutions justly obtained for cherishing this principle ; yet, how much more energetic and authoritative is the language of the Jewish Lawgiver. With a similar spirit the same Lawgiver inculcates in the strongest man- ner the duty of showing tenderness to those who labour under any bodily infirmity : " Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put *' a stumbling-block before the blind, but shalt fear thy God : I " am the Lord."§ And with a still more exalted sense of the im- portance of virtue above every external advantage and the pro- portionable obligation of promoting it in all with whom we have any intercourse, the inspired Lawgiver considers the neglecting to do so as a proof of criminal malignity : " Thou shalt not hate " thy brother in thine heart : thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy " neighbour and not suffer sin upon Mm. Thou shalt not avenge, " nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but " thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself : I am the Lord." || How admirably are such language and such sentiments as these suited to the sacred original from whence they are supposed to flow ! How strongly do they attest the divine benevolence, * Deut. xii. 12 and 13. + Deut. xxiv. 19—21. %, f .evit. xix. 32. § Levit. xix. 14. |l Levit. xix. 17 and IS.^ 174 POLITICAL PRIXCIPLE3 [Part IL which dictated the Jewish law, and the divine authority which alone could enforce such precepts by adequate sanctions, and impress such sentiments upon the human heart with practical conviction ! If the intermixture of such sentiments and pre- cepts with the civil code, and the union of political regulations with moral instruction and religious observances, is unparalleled in any other country, and by any other Lawgiver — does not this circumstance afford some presumptive evidence of the divine original of the Mosaic code. To REVIEW THE SICETCH WE HAVE EXHIBITED OF THE JeWISH Constitution, we have seen that it provided for the settlement of 600,000 freeholders, with independent properties, derived not from any human superior, but held in fee from the Sovereign of the Jewish state, even God himself. This distribution of property was guarded by preventing the accumulation of debt, and, if alienated for a time, securing its reversion to the family of the original proprietor at regular periods. The distribution of this body of freeholders through the land, by their tribes and families, forms an additional provision for their union and hap- piness. They are employed in agriculture, attached to domestic life, estranged from war, but bound to assemble for their coun- try's defence, and thus forming a secure barrier against hostile violence or insidious ambition. They are governed by a nobility, by magistrates and by elders, possessing properties suited to their several ranks, respected for their patriarchal descent, uniting in their persons civil and military authority, by an hereditary rioht which precluded jealousy and discord. The whole tribe of Levi is set apart to attend to the religious and moral instruction of the nation, for which they have the fullest leisure, and to which they are bound by the strongest interests ; dispersed over the whole, and forming a cement and bond of union between the remaining tribes. In this domestic and family government, as it has been justly termed, population is encouraged, freedom secured — agriculture and residence in the country, and, by con- sequence, purity and simplicity of manners provided for — do- mestic virtue, reverence to the aged, kindness to the stranger, bounty to the fatherless and the widow, justice to all, are incul- cated in the most forcible manner, and with the most awful sanctions, even the favour or the displeasure of the Lord Jehovah, who is the immediate Sovereign under whom this government I^Ct IV.] OF THE JEWISH I,AW. 175 is exercised, by whom its Laws are formed, from whom all pro perty is held, to whose powerful interposition the nation owed i& settlement, and on whose protection it depended for its contini* ance. All the blessings, therefore, which the Jew enjoyed undt^ this constitution, and by this government, ought to have had the eft'ect of animating his gratitude and piety to God, and enlarging nis benevolence to the poor and the stranger, the fatherless and the widow, those peculiar objects of the divine patronage and protection. Is not such a scheme of government worthy of the divine Author to whom it is ascribed I and does not its establish raent at so early a period, and amongst a people so apparently incapable of inventing it as the Jews, strongly attest its heavenly oriijinal. 17(> ORIGINALITV AND DESl.'IN j I'ait II LECTURE V. rmjmrtntice of the question, whether the Jewish Ritual is opposed to the system of Heaihei worship, or in any degree borrowed from it? — The latter improbable, if Judaism is of divine original. Spencer^s opinion — grounded on supposed political wisdom of such a proceeding — Examples he adduces — mistaken as to these examples — as to reformation from Judaism to Christianity^ — and from Gentilism to Christianity, Attempt to accom- modate Christianity to pre-existing customs, ^c. — its mischiefs — Reformation from Popery to Protestantism. Spencer's opinion contrary to Scripture. Farts of the Jewish Ritual more ancient than Moses — Origin of circumcision — Designed contrast between Judaism and idolatry — Jewish Ritual a barrier against idolatry, proved by experience — Josephus — Tacitus. Spencer's opinions supported by insufficient evidence. How far Judaism resembled idolatry — Instances of contrast. Minute- ness of Ritual, how useful — and its sanctuary, priests, Ssc Ritual not burthen. ORIGINALITY AND DESIGN OF THE JEWISH RITIAr In the preceding Lectures an attempt has been made to con- trast the theological, moral, and political principles of the Mosaic Law, with the idolatries and corruptions almost univer- sally prevalent at the period of its promulgation, as well as with the carnal temper and short-sighted views of the Jewish people, and their pronencss to imitate the worship, and sink into the corruptions of their idolatrous neighbours. And it has been inferred, that the establishment of such a system, at such a period, amongst a people so apparently incapable of inventing it, as the Jews, and so evidently unwilling to submit to it, strongly attests its heavenly original. In the prosecution of this argument, I did not judge it necessary minutely to examine a question which has been agitated by writers of considerable note. How far the apparent resemblance between certain parts of the Jewish Ritual, and certain pra^jtices of the Egyptians, Lect. v.] OF THE JEWISH RITUAL. ] 77 and other idolatrous nations, should induce a doubt of the originality of the Jewish Law ; and lead us to believe that the Legislator of the Hebrews borrowed many of his rites from the practice of the Egyptians, and others of the surrounding nations, in order to accommodate his Ritual to the habits and propensities of his countrymen, by preserving a similarity between his institutions and those idolatrous rites and customs to which they had been familiarized and attached ; and, many of which he in a great measure, retained, (as these writers suppose) only altering them so far as to change their object, appropriating them to the service of the true God, and blending them with the rites which originated solely in the divine appointment. Some judicious and candid critics have considered my omitting to notice this question, as a defect in this work. And in deference to their judgment, I feel myself called on to adver^ to it as far as I judge it necessary in my present view of the subject. In the first place, then, if the principles and reasonings ad- duced in the preceding Lectures, and confirmed in those which follow, are just and conclusive, the supposition which we are now considering, becomes totally superfluous, and even in the highest degree improbable. If the great Jehovah, the moral Governor of the world, did in reality separate the Jewish nation to be the depositaries of true religion and sound morality, in the midst of an idolatrous world, and for this purpose brought them forth out of Egypt by a series of stupendous and uncon- trolled miracles : if he promulgated to them the Moral Law of the Decalogue, with the most awful display of divine power and majesty ; if he established over them, as their form of national government, a Theocracy, which could not be sup- ported without the continued interposition of an extraordinary providence ; if he retained them in the wilderness for forty years, to discipline and instruct them, until the entire genera- tion, which had been familiarized to the idolatry and corruptions of Egypt, had perished ; and if he then planted them in the land of Canaan by a supernatural power, driving out before them its inhabitants, or compelling the Jews to exterminate them, as a punishment for their inveterate idolatry and its attendant crimes, commanding them carefully to avoid all simi« lar profanation and guilt, under the terror of suffering similar 178 ORIGINALITY AND DESIGN [Part II. punishment ; — if these facts have been established, so as to prove that the Jewish Lawgiver was clearly delegated by God to institute a particular form of worship, with a variety of regu- lations and rites, to preserve the separation of this chosen people from the surrounding nations ; — then the supposition that he should borrow any thing from these rites and customs, in order to accommodate his system to the prejudices, habits, and propen- sities of his countrymen, becomes unnecessary, in proportion as we more clearly discern that he possessed authority to conciliate attention and enforce obedience without resorting to any such artifice. And if such an expedient was unnecessary, surely its adoption is extremely improbable. Thus to blend divine ap- pointments and human inventions ; to degrade the worship of tlie great Jehovah with the intermixture of rites, originally desio-ned to honour the basest idols ; to reprobate the whole system of idolatry, all its profanations and crimes, with the most vehement and indiscriminate condemnation, and pro- hibit every attempt to introduce any part of it, under the severest penalties ; and yet secretly, as it were, pilfer from it some of its most attractive charms, varnish them with a new colouring, and exhibit them as the genuine features of true religion ; this seems altogether irreconcilable with the dignity of an inspired Legislator, and the purity of a divine Law, and indeed forms a scheme so jarring and inconsistent, that it appears utterly incredible it should be adopted by Divine Wisdom. The learned Spencer,* the most distinguished champion for this opinion, of the rites of the Jewish Law having been bor- rowed from those of the Gentiles, especially the Egyptians, argues from the political wisdom of such a gradual reformation, by grafting new institutions on customs already familiarized ; and he adduces examples from "the triple reformation, first " from Judaism to Christianity ; next from Gentilism to Chris- *' tianity ; and lastly, from Popery to Protestantism : in each of "which (as he truly alleges) many instances occur, in which " the rites of the old religion were retained or imitated in the " new."-|- But in this reasoning he seems entirely to overlook the real bearing of the very examples he adduces. Christianity • Spencer de Legibus Hebraeorum, Lib. III. Hogae Comitura — a. n. 1686. ^ Spencer, ut supra, Lib. IIL cap. ii. feet. 4, p. 27. Loct. v.] OF THE JEWISH RITUAL. 179 borrowed from Judaism, because it was the completion of that system which in Judaism had been begun. Christ came, " not " to destroy the Law and the prophets, but to fulfil them."* Hence the moral precepts of the Old Testament were preserved and perfected in the New ; the rites and ceremonies of the Law were typical of the grand events and leading truths of the Gros- pel ; and the chief festivals of the Jewish church were succeeded and superseded by corresponding festivals in the Christian. But the moment that human prejudice in favour of ancient usages would have overstepped the bounds prescribed by scriptural truth, and obtruded upon Christians the observances of a national and ceremonial law, inconsistent with the character of a univer- sal religion and a purely spiritual worship, that moment Divine Wisdom interposed its direct prohibition against an abuse so mistaken and so mischievous.-f* And can we suppose the saniv^ wisdom would have acted so opposite a part at the establishment of the Jewish Law, as to permit this chosen people to receive by divine appointment a Ritual, which, by its similarity to idola- trous rites, could scarcely fail to make them regard such profan- ations with respect, and throw in their way a most seductive temptation to imitate them more extensively? — Human policy, short-sighted in its views and defective in its authority, might, to facilitate its immediate objects, find it necessary to employ aa expedient attended with so much future hazard ; but surely this were unworthy of a Divine Lawgiver. The second example appealed to by Spencer — the reformation from Gentilisra to Christianity, as conducted by the well-mean- ing, but weak and mistaken men, who influenced the proceed- ings of the Western Church in the fifth and sixth centuries, exhibits a memorable and melancholy instance of the corruptions originating from thus preferring the crooked artifices of human policy, to the plain dictates of divine truth. From what other source than this were derived the errors and idolatries adopted and sanctioned by the Church of Rome ^ which for so many ages obscured and disgraced the whole system of the Christian faith, till the wise and manly zeal of the Protestant Reformers tore off this disfiourinoj mask of Pao-anisra, and again exhibited * Matt. V. 17. -f Acts X. xi. and xv. 1 Vide Middleton's Comparison of Popery and Paganism, 4th edit. Lend. 1741. 180 ORIGINALITT AND DESIGN [Part TT the unadulterated beauties of genuine Christianity, to attract the admiration and command the reverence of mankind. But. says Spencer,* even in this reformation, many of the principles and usages of the Romish church were retained, and the pro- gress of that reformation thus accelerated. True ; the Christian world will always remember with gratitude, that though the Eoman Church introduced many most injurious innovations, and loaded Christianity with a multitude of errors and supersti- tions, still she preserved all the great truths of the Gospel, and handed down to posterity many of the most valuable rites and usr.gcs of antiquity. These, therefore, it became the duty and the wisdom of the Reformers to retain, and only to reject those novelties and corruptions which artifice and superstition had introduced. And admirably indeed did the venerable founders of the Church of England execute this important discrimination. But they succeeded, because they made it their object to clear the divine Law from all intermixture of human depravation ; not, as Spencer supposes of the inspired Lawgiver of the Jews, to debase the divine institutions to the level of idolatrous profa- nations. But if the patrons of this system cannot defend it, as being evidently reasonable and useful, and recommended by examples of sufficient authority ; still less can they support it by the au- thority of Scripture. Its greatest advocate indeed acknowledges, " It is no where in Scriptiire asserted in express words, that the " rites used among the Heathens gave occasion to any of the " Jewish institutions." He adds this reason for such silence : " perhaps because this circumstance could easily be discerned " by men of more penetrating sagacity ; or because, if God had " openly declared this origin and reason of the Mosaic Laws, " they would have fallen into contempt with the vulgar part of " mankind, who are wont to despise what is plain, and revere " only what is mystical and obscure."-}- It is obvious to mark how inconsistent this observation is with the general scheme ot this writer. The sole purpose of such imitation of Heathen rites, is supposed to be its tendency to attach the multitude by the adoption of customs to which they were already familiarized. Could it produce this effect, if it was not discernible by tliat * IJt supra, Lib. III. cap. iii. sect. 4. p. 27. f Si'OiictT, Lib. in. cap i. initio. LeCt. v.] OF THE JEWISH RITUAL. 181 multitude? or if discerned, it would expose the Law to con- tempt. Or could the similarity be obvious, and the design to imitate unseen? Spencer however affirms, that, though it is not directly asserted, it is not obscurely intimated by some pas- sages of Holy Writ ; and at the head of these he places the sublime appeal of the Jewish Lawgiver to his people ; " What " nation is there so great, that hath God so nigh unto them, as " the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for ? " And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and " judgments so righteous as all this Law which I set before you " this day V * — " In this passage,*" says this learned writer, " Moses, in order to attach the Jews to God and his institu- " tions may be considered as thus addressing them — I know " that yuu earnestly desire a God not hid in clouds or removed "to a distance from you, and to be perceived only by the " mind's eye, but a God who may prove his presence by prodi- " gies, oracles, and illustrious signs, and almost exhibit himself " to your sight. I know that you look with a desiring eye on " the manners and sacred rites of other nations, and that nothing " can be more grateful to you, than that you, like other nations, " should have a religion full of rites and observances. And " assuredly God has proved so compliant and indulgent to your " desires and wishes, that I now confidently ask you. What " nation is there which hath its gods so near, or exhibiting to " their worshippers such illustrious proofs of their presence and " their favour ? And if you view the institutions of foreign " nations, learn, even such of you as regard with the greatest " partiality and attachment the rites of other religions, what " nation is there which celebrates the worship of the Divinity ' with rites so conspicuous for purity, dignity, and splendour ; ■' for we do not worship the supreme and glorious God with - ' that barbarous mixture of ceremonies, in which the ignorance " and superstition of the Heathens had combined so many ' tilings ridiculous and impure, but with rites amended, and " that have undergone the correction of the most wise God, " which are yet retained in the worship of the Heathens entire, " and Avithout any correction." The latter part of this para- phrase, containing the peculiarity of this author's opinion (which I cannot but deem erroneous) assuredly receives no sup- * Dent. iv. 7 and 8. l82 ORIGINALITY AND DESIGN [Part II. port from the passage of Scripture on which he here attempts to found it. Indeed were I to select a passage decidedly con- trasting the whole Mosaic Law with the religions of every surrounding nation, it would be the entire chapter from whence this is selected. With what energy does the inspired Lawgiver warn his countrymen to hearken to the statutes of their God, statutes which they were not to presume, in the least degree, to alter — " Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, " neither shall ye diminish aught from it, that ye may keep the " commandments of the Lord your God."" * With what solem- nity does he caution them against the impure and seductive pro- fanation of Baal-peor, which had already brought down upon them the wrath of God ;-|- — against the use of every graven image, as a similitude of the Divinity ; | — against the adoration of the sun and moon, and host ol heaven,§ which at that period was so universal in a deluded world. How incredible is it, that while every principle and species of idolatry is thus repro- bated and condemned, any practices or ceremonies of that very idolatry should be adopted and consecrated in the worship of the great Jehovah. The more we examine the Mosaic institutions, the more strikingly conspicuous do the characters ot originality and designed contrast to the principles and rites of idolatry appear ; as far at least as I can investigate or judge of them. It is true, some parts of the Jewish religion derived their origin from an authority more ancient than that of Moses : the obser- vance of the Sabbath appears to have been coeval with the creation, and the use of sacrifice to have been instituted by God immediately after the Fall. |1 These, therefore, it is per- fectly natui'al to suppose, had been received by other nations from the remotest antiquity, and when adopted into the Mosaic insti- tutions, it was only requisite to free them from the superstitions and corruptions with which they had been blended, restore them' to their original purity, and direct them to their true object. The rite of circumcision had been the peculiar seal of the cove- nant with Abraham, had been given four hundred years before tlie Mosaic Law, had been received by all the numerous descen- * Di:ut. iv. 2. t lb. vcr. 3. % lb. ver. 16. § lb. ver. 19. || Vidu 2 SKTTLKMENT OF THE PART III. A REVIEW OF THE CHIEF EFFECTS OF JUDAISM, A.S CONNECTED WITH, AND PREPARATORY TO CHRISTIANITY. In examining wliicli, many of the principal Objections which have been advanced agains divine original of the Mosaic Law are considered. LECTURE I. SECT. I — The Objection arising from the treatment of the Canaanites considered, so far as relates to the Canaanites themselves. Objection includes two questions— Doubt as In the extent of the severity/ exercised against the Canaanites — This severity justified by their crimes — Their idolatry not an error of judgment alone — Cruelties and pollu^' lions it produced — Necessity of expelling them from the land in which the Jews were to settle — Their guilt incorrigible. The objection proved to lead to Atheism, Analogy tetween the general course of providence, and the treatment of the Canaanites — In the sufferings of the innocent — Connection of this measicre with the entire scheme of the divine economy. Mevieio of the considerations offered on the first part of the objection. SECT. II. — Second part of the objection which relates to the Jews. A clear divine command changes the moral character of the action. Jews mere instruments in the hands of God — Series of facts proving this. Jews not actuated by the common passions of conquerors — Avarice ana licentiousness checked by the situation in which they were placed — And sanguinary passions — Abhorrence of idolatry impressed upon them, but not a spirit of personal or national hostility — Proved by their conduct to the Canaan- ites. Necessity of employing the Jews as instruments of this severity — To alienate the two nations — to overturn the grand support of idolatry — to impress a salutary terror on the Jews themselves — to supersede the necessity of a continued series of miracle*. Treatment of the Amalekttes -Nature of their crimen— Connection of their punishment with the general scheme of the Jewish dispensation. General answer to all objections of this kind — This dispensation did not encourage a spirit of general persecution or con- quest— Care taken it should not harden the hearts of the Jews — General laws of war among the Jews merciful— Great care to encourage a spirit of humanity. Conclusion. DEUTERONOMY, XX. 16, 18. ' Of the cities of these peopt, Jehovah, their guardian God, and immediate sovereign Lord, was in this, as in every other respect, decidedly superior to all the Gentile idols confederated together ; and that as He had promised to be '^ an enemy to their enemies, and an adversary " to their adversaries," so he was able effectually to fulfil his promise of " sending his fear before them, and destroying all the " people to whom they should come, and making all their " enemies turn their backs unto them."* And as their con- fidence in the divine protection was thus established, by their being made tne instruments of exterminating the Canaanites, more than it could have been by any other possible mode of effecting their settlement in the promised land ; so by the very same dispensation was a salutary terror impressed upon them, preparing them for being governed without any further con- tinued miraculous interposition. Their God had denounced against them, that if they forsook his worship and violated his Law, he would cause them to bef " smitten before their ene- " mies ; that they should go out one way against them, and flee " seven ways before them : and that they should be removed " into all the kingdoms of the earth." They now clearly perceived the full power of God to execute this dread denun- ciation, they noio felt practically and decisively the power of Jehovah to maJce man the instrument of punishing idolatry, how- ever previously unwilling, or apparently unable, to inflict this pun^ ishmenf : they were now experimentally convinced that no mili- tary superiority of multitude or discipline could protect them from the sword of their enemies, or preserve their nation from total destruction, if they forsook the covenant of their God. Hence, after their settlement in the land of Canaan, the terror which tlie hostility of the surrounding nations inspired was fitted to be- come tlie principal check to restrain them from idolatry ; they were prepared to recognise in their defeats the effects of divine displeasure, and the arm of man was fitted to become the in- strument of that punishment which their God might deter- mine to inflict. Thus the scheme of discipline and correction which Divine Wisdom judged it necessary to exercise over his chosen people, was couductcd, by a system which was easily con- nected with the couimon course of events, and assimilated to * Exod, xxiii. 2v t l>eut. xxviii. 25. Lect. I.] JEWS IN CANAAN. 215 and blended with the general, and as it were, natural progress of the providential administration of human affairs. In this view, the punishment of the Canaanites by the sword of the Jews, rather than by any other means, seems a necessary part of the divine economy ; and the event proves, that the rigour and extent of that punishment were not ^rm^^r than the objects of that economy indispensably required ; for if the dreadful example thus exhibited in all its terrors to the Jews, and imprinted, one would suppose, indelibly on their hearts, was yet insufficient to prevent them from yielding frequently to the seductions of idolatry, what must have been the result, had no such severity of discipline been employed ? Assuredly the ex- clusive worship of Jehovah could not have been preserved beyond a single generation, or restored by a less signal or prolonged display of miracles, than that which was first employed to establish it. Now, either the total abolition of true religion, 01 its repeated restoration by such repeated and continued in- terruptions of the course of nature, and the regular tenor of the providential government of man, seem utterly inconsistent with the purposes of the divine dispensations. The TREATMENT OF THE Amalekites has also been consi- dered as a great difficulty. Much of what has been said as to the treatment of the Canaanites applies to it ; but it has its par- ticular circumstances, which it becomes necessary briefly to consider. The first notice of the Amalekites is in Exodus, where it is' said,* " Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Re- " phidim." Their miraculous defeat is there recorded, and the monument which Moses sot up to preserve the memory of it, and the order of God concerning it. " And the Lord " said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, " and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua : for I will utterly " put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heav^en. " And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah- N!i,ii;t for he said, Because the Lord hath sworn, that the ! * Exod. xvii. from 8 to the end. t "The Lord my banner." The next verse ought, as seems to me, to be translated, *♦ For he said, Because the hand of the Lord shall be for ever upon the banners *' of war against Amalek." This translation is justified, by changing D3 " a throne," *' into DJ "a banner;" the alteration was propos* by Houbigant, and seems prefer— 2J6 SETTLEiMEJVT OF THE [Purllll, " Lord will have war with Anialek from generation to genera- " tion." But in the recapitulation* of this history, Moses mentions the particulars, which prove this to have been an hostility on the part of the Amalekites totally unprovoked, and attended with very aggravating circumstances. " Remember,'* says he, " what Amalek did not unto thee by the way, when ye " were come forth out of Egypt ; how He tnet f thee by the " way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were " feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary ; and he " FEARED NOT GoD. Therefore it shall be, when the Lord thy " God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, " in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inhe- •■' ritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance " of Amalek from under heaven : thou shalt not forget it." Here then the Divine command to exterminate Amalek as a nation, is grounded, first, on their conduct towards the chosen people of God. They had displayed in their attack on them, a spirit of unprovoked, cruel, treacherous and inve'terate hostility It was unprovoked, because there appears no reason to believe that the Jews had the remotest intention of either injuring their persons or seizing on their territory ; which does not appear to have formed J any part of that land of which the Jews were commanded by God to take possession. Accordingly we never find the Amalekites mentioned among the nations who were to be expelled from the promised land. It was a cruel, treacherous and inveterate hostility, because they attacked the Jewish host, as appears, by surprise, so as to cut off the hindmost, who were feeble and weary and faint. And surely an enemy acting in such a manner as this, might at that time have been regarded as an inveterate and malitinant foe, whoso destruction might bo con- sidcred as almost necessary to the safety of those whom they at- Aible to any other. Those readings, proposetl by Le Clerc in locum, and by Shuck- ford, Vol. III. p. 31, seem, though ingenious not so natural. Vide Dodd's note on the passage. * Deut. XXV. 17. "f In 1 Samuel xv. 2. it is " liow lie laid wait for him in tlie way." X Vide Patrick on Exod. xvii. 8, and Deut. xxv. 17, &c. Universal History, Vol. I. J). 318. Most commentators consider these Amalekites as the descendants of Esau, who would therefoie, but for their own misconduct have enjoyed the same exeinptioii fconi all attempts of the Jews on tlieir tcnitiiry, as the children of I dom. Vide I)eufe> ^ 5. But tills seems uncertain. Lect. I.] JEWS IN CANAAN. 21 7 tacked. But this was not the chief cause of the doom denounced against them ; it was not so much the cruelty of their conduct, as the impiety of their motive which drew down upon them the divine vengeance : " they feared not God." The Amalekites could not but have known the signs and wonders, by which Je- hovah had rescued his chosen people from Egyptian slavery, and declared himself openly their guardian God. They must particularly have known the recent destruction of the Egyptian host in the Eed Sea. But the Amalekites, notwithstanding all this, " feared not the God of the Jews." They set themselves voluntarily and audaciously in direct defiance of the power of Jehovah, and this at a period when this kind of opposition was peculiarly repugnant to the purposes of the divine dispensations. jFor we are informed, that " God led not his people through the " way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near ; " for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they " see war, and return to Egypt."* Under these circumstances, the unprovoBfed, inveterate and presumptuous attack of the Amalekites, must have been considered both by them and the Jews, as a direct insult to the majesty of Jehovah, in his character of peculiar guardian and immediate Lord of his chosen people. It was not consistent with the purposes of the divine economy to vindicate the honour of Jehovah by any general punishment of the Amalekites at that time : their attack was repelled, but not retaliated, nor was their territory invaded. This contemp- tuous defiance of the power and Majesty of God would therefore have appeared to escape with impunity, if no further notice had been taken of it ; a circumstance which might have degraded the Deity in the estimation of the Jews, who judged of his power, as all other nations then judged of their guardian gods, by his vigour and promptitude in defending his people and punishing their enemies. This seems to be a reason why God iudged it necessary to announce to the Jews, that though he would not at present punish the insult of the Amalekites, he yet would not sutler it to pass finally unpunished ; but that he would authorize and employ them to inflict at a remote period, the punishment it merited ; thus impressing the Jews them- selves with the salutary conviction, that where the Majesty of * Esoti. xiii. 17. 218 SETTLEMENT OF THE [Pai't III. Jehovah was insulted,* present delay of punishment afforded no presumption of final impunity. In addition to this I would remark, that this sentence was a prophecy as well as a command, repeated afterwards bv Balaara,f and in which the Jews were made the instruments of executing the will of their God, and supplied with a striking proof of the divine foreknowledge of their legislator: which being recalled to their remembrance 400 years after, when Saul was commanded to carry this sentence into execution, tended to impress upon them a salutary awe for the authority, and an humble obedience to the precepts, of the Mosaic Law ; a lesson peculiarly necessary at the beginning of the regal govern- ment, which the people had called for from a certain degree of impatience under that theocracy which God by Moses had esta- bhshed ; " When," says Samuel, " ye saw that Nahash the king " of the Children of Amnion came against you, ye said unto me, " Nay, but a king shall reign over us ; when the Lord your " God was your king. Now therefore, behold tlf? king whom " ye have chosen, and whom ye have desired ; and behold, " the Lord hath set a king over you. If ye will fear the Lord, •" and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the " commandment of the Lord, then shall both ye, and also the " king that reigneth over you, continue following the Lord your " God. But if ye will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel " aoainst the commandment of the Lord, then shall the hand of " the Lord be against you, as it was against your fatlicrs."| As the great criterion of this obedience, Samuel enjoins on Saul the execution of this command against the Amalekites. They had joined with his numerous and inveterate enemies to destroy him in the miancy of his reign ; and the divine aid had o-iven him a victory over the Philistines, and enabled him to extricate himself from his enemies on every side: and now Samuel reminds him,|| "That God had anointed him king " over Israel," and informs him, that he in consequence re- quired him to execute his judgments on Amalek. And that the Jews might feel they were acting merely as executioners of tJte divine sentence, and that the war was not undertaken or to be * Vide Butler's Analogy, Part I. ch. ii. p. 23G. + Numbers xxiv. 20. % I Sam. xii. 12-13. II 1 Sam. x/. 1, &c. Lect. l.J JEWS IN CANAAN. 219 carried on from the common motives of conquest, they were for- bidden to make any prisoners, or take any spoil. Saul violated this part of the command, saving the king of the Amalekites, and permitting the people to take of the spoil, under the pretence of offering it to God. But Samuel exposes the shallow pretext, for he said,* " Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt-offerings " and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord ? Behold, " to obey is better than sacrifice ; and to hearken, than the fat " of rams : for rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stub- " bornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast re- " jocted the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from " being king." Thus the original sentence against the Amale- kites, and still more its final execution, appears to have tended to impress powerfully upon the Jews, the necessity of obedience to the will, and awe for the majesty of Jehovah ; and may there- fore have formed a necessary link in the great series of the divine dispensations This is the light in which this transaction strikes me. Other writers have observed,-}- and certainly with truth, that the ap- parent severity of this sentence is greatly diminished, when we consider that the Amalekites continued to manifest the most liostile disposition to the Hebrew nation, by attacking them whenever they had an opportunity, and joining their enemies upon all occasions to oppress and enslave them.j They joined the Canaanites, and destroyed many of the people upon their first attempt to enter into Canaan ; they,§ with the Moabites, went and smote Israel, dispossessed them of the city of Palm- trees, and helped to reduce them to an eighteen years' servitude : they also joined with the Midianites to oppress them, and utterly impoverished the Jews by their rapines and plunders, j| destroying the increase of the earth, and leaving no sustenance for man or beast; and afterwards in conjunction with the Midi- anitish army, attacked them in battle. Under SauFs reign, they continued their ravages and violence ; and when he had repulsed * 1 Samuel, xii. vcr. 22 and 23. t Vide Patrick on Exod. xvii. 8. and Deut. xxv. 17 ; also Poli Synopsis, and Dodd ; vide also Maimonides More Nevochim, Pars III. cap. xli. p. 466; Leland's Answer to Tiiidal Vol. II. p. 36; Chandler's Life of David, Vol. I. Book I. ch. iv.; and Lcc- luns on the Old Testament, b) Samuel Parker, sect, vi; d. 122. i Numbers, xiv. 46. ^ Jcdges, iii. 13 and 14. 1| Judges, vi 3 220 SETTLEMENT OF THE []';al III. them, he proceeded, in compliance with the divine sentence, utterly to extirpate them. Thus from the first step to the last, they appear to have pursued the chosen people of God with a deep and unwearied malignity, originally unprovoked, and never to be satisfied, so that, humanly speaking, they drew their own fate upon themselves. Their conduct being foretold, and their final punishment being authorized by God, can scarcely b«» matter of surprise ; when we consider the peculiar relation in which Jehovah stood to the Jews, as their tutelary God, and even their natural Sovereign. And Dr Chandler well remarks concerning this order of God, " If he foresaw that the safety of " his people materially depended upon it, the order was wisely " and justly given ; and if they were ripe for that vengeance, " with which they had been threatened above four hundred years " before, and which had been so long mercifully delayed by the " patience of Almighty God, I presume, it was no injustice in " him, who best knows the proper seasons of his own conduct, " and is the best judge of the means and instruments to execute " his own purposes, to put the sword of justice into Saul's hand, " and command him to cut off those whom he thought fit to " make examples of, for the numerous vices, oppressions, and " cruelties, of which he knew them to be guilty. Samuel terms " them, those sinners the Amalekites, to denote, that even at that " time they were a very wicked people : that they themselves " were ripe for the judgments of the Almighty, and that they " were punished for their own sins, though mention is made of " the evil conduct of their ancestors ; and it had been long pre- " dieted that Amalek should be destroyed." The observations here adduced, with regard to the treatment both of the Canaanites and Amalekites, may, it is hoped, diminish somewhat that appearance of contrariety to the bv/« nignity of the divine attributes, which at first sight they bear ; and tend to develope the connexion of these transactions with the entire scheme of that dispensation of which they form a part. But the true refutation of the objection derived from these events, is undo\ibtedly founded on that principle stated in pp. 26 and 27, and defended by Butler and Cumberland in the an- nexed note. Even the absolute dominion of the Supreme God over the lives and ])ro|iorties of all human beings, and his power to transfer that dominion to whomsoever his inHniti.! wisdom Loct. L JEWS IN CANAAN. 221 shall judge meet, by a clear promulgation of his sovereign will ; rendering actions performed in obedience to that will, not only- innocent, but instances of obedience and piety ; which without such an authority, must have originated from unjustifiable motives, and therefore have been deservedly condemned as crimi- nal. To expect that the supreme Governor of the world should, in every instance, disclose to beings such as we are, not only that a particular mode of conduct is certainly commanded, but also all the reasons why it is commanded, is surely most irrational and presumptuous ; though, wherever he has thought fit to com- municate the reasons of his dispensations, we are bound to trace them with caution, to contemplate them with humilitv, and to acquiesce in them with gratitude. It is further objected, that the destruction of the Oanaanites by the sword of the Jews, would afford precedent for continued persecution and butchery, under the pretext of religious zeal ; and encourage the Jews to invade, pillage, and exterminate all their weaker neighbours, under the pretence of supporting the dignity, and extending the worship of Jehovah. In answer to this, let it be remembered, that the same divine authority which granted the chosen nation the land of Canaan, fixed limits to their conquest, positively restrained them, as well during their approach to the promised land, as after their settlement in it, from attacking the neighbouring nations. The circumstance of the inhabitants being idolaters did not justify them in invading any country. They were allowed only to take possession of such territories as Jehovah expressly assigned to them. Thus, in their march towards the promised land, they were strictly commanded to take good heed to themselves with respect to the children of Esau. " Meddle not with them," saith the Lord, " for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot " breadth ; because I have given Mount Seir unto Esau for a " possession."* With equal strictness were they prohibited from ' dispossessing the children of Moab and the children of Amnion ; yet these three nations were involved in gross idolatry. Indeed the whole constitution of the Jews, religious and political, was admirably calculated to check all spirit of invasion and conquest, though it prepared them effectually for self-defence. The whole * Dent. ii. 5, amU9. 222 SETTLEMEXT OF THE [Pait III nation was so busied in agriculture, as to have neither time nor inclination for war. Prohibited from multiplying horses, and obliged to assemble three times a year at the place which the Lord should choose, distant conquests and tedious wars were utterly impossible. So that there was no danger the Jews should conceive they had the smallest right to inflict on other nations punishments for idolatry, similar to those which they were made the instruments of inflicting on the Canaanites ; and the entire tenor of their history proves that such an idea never entered their thoughts. This objection therefore is refuted by the direct letter of the Mosaic Law, and the whole history of the Jewish dispensation. otill it may be suspected, that to employ the chosen people of God to be the instruments of divine vengeance on a whole nation, however atrocious their guilt, had a tendency to train the people thus employed to deeds of blood, to harden their hearts, and deprave their character. It may be admitted, this objection would have considerable weight, if no care had been taken to guard against this eflect : but nothing is more conspi- cuous than the wise and effectual precautions of the Jewish Law- giver for this purpose. It has been shown, that the tenor of the command given to punish the Canaanites, taught the Jews to regard with abhorrence, not so much the persons of idolaters, as the crime of idolatry ; while every thing connected with such false worship, animate and inanimate alike, was devoted to destruction. It has been shown that the thirst of plunder, and the indulgence of licentious desires, were completely checked and defeated in the Jewish soldiery by the very conditions on which alone they were enabled to subdue the condemned nations; and that the feelings of national hostility and personal animosity, were controlled and mitigated, by solemrvly enjoining the exer- cise of as great severity in punishing idolatry among the Jews themselves, as they were compelled to exercise against the con- demned nations of Canaan. And it is evident from the event,* tliat it was with reluctance, and only by compulsion, tiiey exercised these severities, because, as soon as the impulse of divine control w,as withdrawn, they ceased to exercise any such severity; and, on the contrary, treated with culpable lenity, and regarded with a * V'iilu ?ii|iia. Lect, I.] JEWS IN CANAAN, 22S dan^eioue complacency, the remnants of these impious nations, whose total extermination they had been warned was necessary to guard against the contagion of their vices and idolatries. It has also appeared,* from an examination into the established principles and direct precepts of the Jewish Law, that it was calculated to inspire a spirit of universal and active benevolence even to enemies, as far as the peculiar situation of the chosen people would allow ; and that it tended to soften and humanize the soul, by cherishing sentiments of sympathy and tenderness, even to the brute creation. The laws of war*}- of the Jews towards all nations (the Canaanites and Amalekites excepted) were, for that period of the world, peculiarly humane. No enemy was to be attacked till peace had been offered. On conquest, only the males who had borne arms, were permitted to be put to death, and even of these they might make prisoners : women and children were protected : female captives were guarded from abuse and treated with tenderness and respect : all unnecessary waste and havoc were strictly forbidden. Strangers and slaves were objects of peculiar attention in the Mosaic Law, and their interests and rights guarded with the most tender humanity. " Thou shalt " not oppress a stranger," says the Law, " for ye know the " heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of " Egypt. Ye shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child. " If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me. * Vide Vol. L.Part II. Lect. II. III. and IV. t Concerning these laws of war, consult Josephus's Antiq. Book IV. sect. xlii. and contra Apion, Book II. sect. xxx. In concurrence with the most respectable rabbles, and the general tradition of the Jews, he interprets Deut. xx. 13. only to imply a permission, not a command, " Thou mayest kill (not thou shalt kill) the " males, that is, the adult males;" or as Josephus interprets it, " those who had ' borne arms against them," which at that time included all the adult males. Com- pare 2 Kings, vi. 22. which, however interpreted, shows an instance of mercy to prisoners by express divine authority. Selden, de Jure Gentium apud Hebrceos, Lib. VI. cap. xvi. Vol. I. p. 673, quotes various authorities to show the Jews were authorized to spare all prisoners who would become proselytes (even of the seven nations,) as there would then be no danger of learning abominations from them ; Deut. XX. 18 ; and he proves it was an ancient tradition among the Jews, that in besieging a city, an interval was to be left, .to give the besieged an opportunity of escaping. For the treatment of female captives, consult Philo de Cbaritate, p. 547. And on the Laws of War, vide Jew's Letters to Voltaire, Vol. II. Letter III.; and Leland's Answer to Morgan, ch. iv. 224 SETTLEMKXT OF THE [Part III. *' saith the Lord, I will surely hear their cry ; and my wrath " shall wax hot, and I will smite you with the sword ; and your " wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless. If thou " meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt " surely bring it back to him again. If thou see the ass of him " that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear " to help him, thou shalt surely help with him." * Thus also the most sacred ordinances of religion, were stated to have a reference to the comforts of the poor, and the ease even of in- ferior animals. When the land was to rest each Sabbatic year, the Lawo;iver assigns as a reason, " Ye shall let it rest ; that the " poor of thy people may eat : and what they leave, the beasts " of the field shall eat.""! Thus also as to the Sabbath day: " Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou " shalt rest; that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son " of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed,"]: *' Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn.§ If " a bird's nest chance to be before thee, and the dam sitting upon " her young, thou shalt not take the dam with the young : thou " shalt in any wise let the dam go, that it may be well with thee, " and that thou mayest prolong thy days." \\ These were pre- cepts inculcating humanity to the most helpless of inferior ani- mals, with an anxiety and solemnity unparalleled, I do not hesitate to say, in any code of laws ancient or modern. And shall we notwithstanding all this, stigmatise the Jewish system as sanguinary and cruel : because under an express divine com- mand, and for the important purposes of establishing in one chosen people the worship of the true God, and the principles of pure morality, and above all, for the purpose of preparing for the gospel scheme, it commanded the extermination of one impious, polluted, and cruel nation; thus inculcating the horror of idolatry on the Jews who were to be treated with similar severity for similar crimes; thus also proving the superiority of Jehovah over the idols oi Canaan, and the terrors of the divine wrath against the vices pursued with such signal vengeance, in the only way at once intelligible and impressive, amidst a people dull and worldly minded, seldom extending their views beyond ' EjukJ. xxiii. n. xxii. 22—24. xxiii. 4, ii. f IWoi. xxiii. II J Exod. xxiii. 12. ^ Dcut. xxv. 4. || lb. xxii. (i fjeci. I.] JEWS IN CANAAN. 21?5 temporal rewards and punishraentf?, and who by these means only could be disciplined and controlled, so as afterwards to be governed in a mode coincident with the general course of divine administration ? Surely to neglect the various circumstances which thus explain and vindicate the severity exercised against the Canaanites by the divine command, and on account of these reject the whole scheme of revelation, would be a degree of incredulity and presumption, equally irrational and irreligious. Far be tliis from us, my brethren : be it ours to weigh the dis- pensations of Providence with more humility, and derive, from the severity, as well as the mercy, of the divine administration, new motives to persevering watchfulness and holy obedience. 226 CONDUCT OP [Part II L LECTURE II. CONDUCT OP THE JEWS. Sect. I. — Objections against the reality of the Mosaic miracles, derived from the frequent idolatries of the Jews, invalid — These idolatries did not prove any doubt of the divine original of the Mosaic Law, First species of 'idolatry by forbidden symbols, %c. — \rhence so frequent — Implied acknowledgment of Jehovah. Second species of idolatrous wuinliip, in forbidden places, and with idolatrous rites, implied the same. Third species, worship of idols with Jehovah— Whence. Fourth, worship of idols without God— Yet not an absolute denial of God, or rejection of his worship. Defects and apostasies of the Jews confirm the certainty of a divine interposition, rather than weaken it. Objection against the divine economy, from the temptations they were ex- posed to, unreasonable. Residence of Jews in Egypt considered — 47id the tempiationt from the surrounding Canaanites. Degree and duration of the divine interposition suited to the analogy of nature. Mr Gibbon accuses the Jews, falsely, of being indif- ferent spectators of the most amazing miracles. JOSHUA, xxiv. 81. " And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joahua, aud all the days of the elders that over-lived " Joshua, and which had known all the works of the Lonl, that he had done for Israel." It has frequently been asserted by infidels, that the repeated relapses of the Jews into idolatry, at various periods of their history, render the reality of the Mosaic miracles suspicious. For, as these writers conceive, it is not credible that the witnesses of such stupendous miracles, or their immediate posterity, could have so soon forgotten the divine power thus plainly manifested, or apostatized from a religion thus awfully enforced. But these reasoners entirely mistake the nature of this apostasy, and forget the character of the people among whom, and the period when, it took place.* These relapses into idolatry never implied a rejection of Jehovah as their God, or of the Mosaic Law, as if they doubted of its truth. The Jewish idolatry consisted, first, in worshipping the true God by images and symbols ; such were tlic golden calf of Aaron, those afterwards set up by Jeroboam in Israel, tlie ephod of Gideon, and the cphod, the teraphim, and the images • Vide Warburtoii's Dirine Legation, Book V. sect. ii. v. vi. 197 to 201. Lect. 11.] THE JEWS. f>27 of Micah. But in every one of those instances, far from rejecting Jehovah as their God, the images, symbols and rites employed, were designed to honour him, by imitating the manner in which the most distinguished nations the Jews were ac- quainted with, worshipped their supreme divinities ; or they were assimilated to the Mosaic institutions, as far as the pecu- liar views of their authors would admit. Thus the golden calf which the people compelled Aaron to form, was probably an imitation of the Egyptian representative of Osiris, but cer- tainly intended .as a representative of that Jehovah, who had brought* the Jews out of Egypt; as on forming it, Aaron proclaimed a feast to be held to Jehovah. The golden calves set up by the first king of the ten tribes, were also probably imitations of the Egyptian symbols, with which Jeroboam must have been familia^rized during his residence in Egypt, -f- for the five last years of Solomon's reign ; but certainly intended to represent the same God who was worshipped at Jerusalem, who had brought Israel out of Egypt, and in imitation of the Mosaic institutions ; the king ordaining a feast like unto the " feast (of tabernacles) that is in Judali." And of Micah we are told, that the silver of which the images were made,| " had been wholly dedicated to Jehovah, to make a graven " image and a molten image.' And when he had found a Levite to officiate as his priest, he is represented as declaring, " Now know I that the Lord will do me good, seeing I have '' a Levite for my priest :" — so obstinate was the attachment ot the Jews to idolatrous symbols, and so dull their sense of the necessity of worshipping their God in that manner which he himself required. A principal cause of this inattention to the divine prohibitions seems to have been, that the law was not read, as it regularly should have been to the people. And when the Shechinah, or visible splendour of the divine glory, had ceased to appear in the tabernacle, and the unsettled state ot society, and frequent wars under the Judges, and the permanent hostility between the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, rendered it difficult or inconvenient to meet at that place which the Lord had chosen, each tribe or family adopted the idea of mak- ing a sanctuary in their own city or their own house, and setting up there some symbol of the Divine Presence imitated ♦ Exod. xxxii. 4. t 1 Kings, xi 40. J Jtwlges, xvii. 3, 1S» 228 CONDUCT OK [Part III. from their neighbours, as a substitute for the Shechinah, and some rites of worship in imitation of the worship at the taber- nacle. But this no more imphes a rejection of the Mosaic Law, than the idolatry of Roman Catholics implies a rejection of the Gospel. The next species of idolatry was worshipping the true God in forbidden places, on high hills and under groves ; which it is yet certain did not proceed from any doubt of the existence or divinity of the true Jehovah, but from the same proneness to admire and imitate the superstitions of the neighbouring nations, Avhich we noticed in the former case. Many of these superstitious observances, we find, prevailed during the reigns of Asa and Jehoshaphat, who yet utterly prohibited and strictly punished all direct idolatry ;* but could not overcome the rooted attachment of the people to these favourite places of worship. " The high places were not taken away ; for the " people offered and burnt incense yet in the high places." And in another passage we find this remarkable and decisive testimony on this subject : " Nevertheless the people did sacrifice still upon " the high places, yet unto the Lord their God only." A similar observation may be made on the observance of idolatrous rites, which, instead of implying a rejection of the Mosaic ritual, were, however strangely and criminally, yet not unfrequently, combined with it. Thus we are told,f " four- " score men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, " and having cut themselves," (contrary to the express direction of the Law, yet) proceeding " with ofterings and incense in " their hands, to bring them to the house of the Lord." Thus Isaiah :{: complains, " I will recompense into their bosom your " iniquities, and +.he iniquities of your fathers together, saith " the Lord, which have burnt incense upon the mountains, and " blasphemed me upon the hills." Another and more criminal species of idolatry was, § joinin" the worship of God and idols together ; a practice which the principle borrowed from the heathens, of an intercommunity • 1 King=;, xv. 13, 14, and xxii. 43. 2 Chron. xxxiii. 17. f Compare Deut. xiv. 1. and Lev. xix. 27, 28. with Jeremiah, xli. 5. J Isaiah, Ixv. 6, 7. ^ Vide on this subject Warburton's Divine Legation, B. II. Sert. vi. and B. V. Sect. ii. Vol. IV. p 212; and Law's Theory of Religion, p 85 Vide Lect. IT.] THE JEWB. 229 ; of gods, sanctioned ; and the apparent policy of conciliating the guardian gods of Canaan encouraged ; but which still preserved the acknowledgment and worship of Jehovah. " In these principles of intercommunity," says Warburton, " they saw the whole race of mankind agree ; and from the " practice of them in the worship of tutelar deities, they thought " they saw a world of good ready to arise. But not only the " hope of good, but the fear of evil drew them still more " strongly into this road of folly. Their Egyptian education " had early impressed that bugbear notion of a set of local " deities, who expected their dues of all who came to inhabit ■" the country which they had honoured with their protection, " and severely resented the neglect of payment in all new '• comers. This will easily account for the frequent defection of " the Israelites, in the divided service of the gods of Canaan.""' The last and most flagrant species of idolatry, was the wor- ship of idols without God. Yet even here they did not so much reject the true God, as conceive that intermediate and subordinate deities were those only with whom they had immediate concern, and from whose hand they must expect all temporal blessings. In truth, the temptations to some or all those kinds of idolatry were so powerful, from errors in opinion wide spread, and sanctioned by the Egyptians, the wisest, and the Canaanites, the most warlike people in the world, and strengthened by the habitual attachment of the Jews to the idols, the symbols and the rites of Egypt, as well as the sensual allurements of idolatrous worship, and the overpowering terrors of idolatrous superstitions ; that we have reason to wonder that the Jews, dull, sensual, and stubborn as they were, could by any system of discipline be effectually corrected and ultimately reformed, so as at length to forsake idolatry, (as after the Baby- lonish captivity they certainly did), rather than just cause to suspect that no such system of divine superintendence and control was really exercised, because they frequently relapsed into it. alsn Mede's Apostasy of the Latter Times, Part I. chap. ii. Vol. II. of his Works, p. 772, and ch. ix. p. 795. Thus JEnehs, on his landing in Italy, iEneid, Lib. VII. 135:— ." Geniumque loci, primamque Deorum, " Tellurem, nymphasque et adhuc ignota precatur " Numina Vi'Je also Macrobii Saturnalia, Lih. III. cap. ix. de Evocandis Diis tuttlaribui. 230 CONDUCT OP [Part in. In reality the defects, and even the apostasies of the Jews magnify the divine power and wisdom, which, by such appar rently inadequate instruments, effected the gracious purpose of preserving in the world the principles of true religion and sound morality, when all the philosophic and celebrated nations of the earth sunk every day deeper in idolatry and corruption of manners. Had a nation as celebrated for mystery and wisdom as the Egyptians, for literature and genius as the Greeks, for policy and success as the Romans, been made the channel of conveying to us the revelations of God, it would have been difficult to persuade the sceptic that the scheme had not originat- ed in the wisdom and policy of the first rulers of the state ; and had not been acquiesced in, from the admiration with which the enlightened part of the people regarded the system and its authors, and the credulity with which the multitude received a scheme flattering to their national vanity, and adapted to their intellectual character and taste. But amongst the Jews, parti- cularly under their judges, the Mosaic law received no support from any permanent authority, or the influence of any set of men possessing a decided mental superiority ; while it was evi- dently contrary to the sensual appetites and idolatrous propensities of the great bulk of the nation. But the most remarkable circumstance in the various Jewish apostasies, seems to be this, that it was only in their prosperity the Mosaic Law was neglected and violated. In adversity, when reflection was awakened, and seriousness restored, they always cried to their God as the only sure source of deliverance, and as uniformly received the deliverance they sought. Surely this can be accounted for only on the supposition, that the Mosaic Law was really dictated by a divine authority, and continually supported by a divine interposition. It may however be asked, Why did God expose the Jewish people to such multiplied temptations to forsake his law? Why suff"er them to continue in Egypt, until they contracted so strong an attachment to Egyptian manners, symbols and idol- atries ? Why afterwards permit so many remnants of the idolatrous and depraved Canaanites to remain in the midst of them ? And why leave them at any time without a regular supreme judge evidently invested with such plain divine autho- rity as would retain them in constant obedience ? To all this» Lect. II.] THE JEWS. 231 'it may be answered, that if we could give no solution to those queries, it would not affect the direct proofs that the Jewish scheme was really a divine dispensation ; and that so long as these proofs remain unconfuted, it is more presumptuous than wise to insist upon knowing why God did not act differently fi'om what he has done. But though this would be a rational and adequate answer to objections of such a nature, yet in the instances alluded to, it has pleased Divine Providence to allow us some insight into the direct reasons of its dispensations which we may without presumption endeavour to develop, in order to the best of our power to " vindicate the ways of God to man." To the query. Why did God sufter his chosen people to con- tinue in Egypt until they contracted so strong a relish for Egyptian manners and Egyptian idolatries 1 it may be answered. That when God determined to preserve in one nation the prin- ciples of true religion and moral duty, in opposition to the universal* idolatry and corruption of mankind, the mode of effecting this purpose, most analogous to the regular course of nature, was, by selecting a particular individual of distin- guished piety and virtue, raising from him a family, and from that family a nation, which, by the regular transmission of parental instruction, should be trained up in the principles of their first ancestors ; and being protected and disciplined by the peculiar care of Providence, should remain the depositary and example of true religion, until, the fulness of time, when Divine Wisdom perceived this sacred treasure might be opened to mankind in general, with advantage and effect. But as all God's dispensations are in a moral way, and adapted to the nature of rational agents, all these methods of instruction and discipline would be so conducted, as to leave human actions in their former state of freedom. Hence this chosen family and people must be subject, like all others, to the influence of example, and the trials which the state of mankind in that age would naturally induce. In their progressive increase from a family to a nation, they must, wherever they were placed, in a world universalli/ idolatrous and depraved, have been exposed to the contagion of irreligion, and vice. The objection, that they had been so exposed, would therefore have been equally plausi- ble and equally false, vary their situations as you please. Except indeed these objectors to revealed religion, because founded in a. ^2 CONDUCT OP [Piiit ill. miraculous interposition, conceive this chosen family should hava been miraculously placed in solitude, and secluded from all com- merce with the rest of mankind, till, by a perpetual exertion of miraculous instruction, miraculous civilization, and miraculous support, which such a solitude would have required, they ha(? multiplied to a nation, and thence were miraculously produced, to astonish and reform the world, notwithstanding their total ignorance of the character of those whom they were designed to instruct, and theii entire unacquaintedness with, and consequent unfitness to resist, those temptations to which they must be ex- posed. Such are the wild ideas on which superficial thinkers object to the divine economy. But why, it is asked, was Egypt chosen as their residence, the parent of idolatry and superstition ? To this it may be answered, that there was no spot in t]ie civilized world where so many causes concurred to prevent the Israelites from im- bibing deeply and permanently the contagion of idolatry, or from being seduced by the depraved examples around them, as in Egypt. At their very first introduction into the country they were as shepherds, peculiarly mean and contemptible, or, as the sacred text expresses it,* " an abomination to the Egyp- " tians :" and so strong was this aversion, that " the Egyptians " might not eat bread with the Hebrews ; for that is an abomina- " tion to the Egyptians." Their religion was not less an object of aversion than their profession, for they used, in sacrifice -f* to God, the same animals which the Egyptians worshipped, and thus " sacrificed the abomination of the Egyptians." Add to * Genesis xlvi. 34, and xliii. 32. f Exod. viii. 26. That the idolatrous worship of djflerent animals amongst tiie Egyptians was the source of mutual aversion, sometimes even stimulating tliem to inutual war, we have the testimony of Plutarch, de Iside et Osiride; and of Juvenal, Sat. XV. line 33 : — 'Summus utrinque Inde furor vulgo, quod numina vicinorum Odit uterque locus, cum solos credat habendos. Esse decs quos ipse colit, &c. And Tacitus, mticing the opposition between the customs of the Jews and the Egyptians, remarks, " Cwso ariete velut iu contumeliam Hammonis, bos quoqua *' immolatur quem yEgyplii Apim colunt." Herodotus, Euterpe, cap. Ixiv. p. 107, lOS, notices this diversity of animal worship, and the aversion of some Egyptians to the persons employed to attend certain animals. And it is possible, from this diversity of sentiment, that Pharaoli might have flocks and herds, and might at th»' tar^ji time trieh to employ persons ditierent from the jiative Egyptians, in the c-Ar* Lect II.] THE JEWS, 233 this, that they were placed in a distinct province, where they were preserved a separate body ; and what is most important of all, that for a long series of years, towards the conclusion of their stay, the Egyptians oppressed them with the most cruel slaver.y ;* " they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, " in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of service in the " field f and finally attempted totally to destroy the nation, by of them. Yet the testimony of Diocforus Siculus seems to show, that of the na- tive Egyptians one class were shepherds. Vide Diodorus, Lib. I. sect. ii. In truth, such was the variety of opinions and customs amongst the different inhabitants of Egypt at different times, it is not wonderful much obscurity and difTerence of opi- nion should be found to exist in different writers concerning it, which the brevity of the Mosaic history does not dispel. But surely this supplies not the smallest presumption against the truth of the sacred narrative. Vide Poll Synopsis, Le Clerc and Patrick, on Genesis xliii. 32. and xlvi. 34. and Exodus viii. 26; ivho have collected the various opinions on this subject. Mr Bryant, in his Observa- tions on the ancient History of Egypt, has a distinct Diisertation on the Shepherds of Egypt and the Land of Goshen, p. 140; and from a minute examination of an- cient history, part'lfcularly of Manetho and Josephus, seems to account much more satisfactorily than any preceding writer, for the circumstance mentioned in the sacred history. I will conclude this note by citing one passage from him, which contains his chief conclusion on this subject. After citing Exodus viii. 26, he observes, "The abomination of the Egyptians was a sacrifice of blood; which " offering was so offensive to the Egyptians, that the .Israelites could not venture •' on it. The offerings of the Egyptians consisted in the fruits of the earth ; on " the other hand, the shepherds increase was from the fold only, and his offerings " were the firstlings of his flock. This made the Egyptians dislike shepherds, not " their occupation, than which nothing was more innocent or necessary. Besides, " they had flocks of their own, and consequently people to tend them. But they " disliked foreign shepherds, on account of their different rites and customs; which " hatred must have arisen from an intimate intercourse, for we do not abominate •' what we are little acquainted with. We may dislike at a distance, and disap. "prove; but this was a total abhorrence, it was a general and national disgust, " vo promote which, many things must have concurred. Iii the first place, the " Egyptians were a fastidious people from the beginning, and held every nation but " their own in low esteem. The Egyptians (says Herodotus) call all men barba- " rians, who do not speak the same language with themselves. This contempt was "carried into disgust, by the contrariety in their religious customs; and this stil) " heightened and embittered by the tyranny of the pastor kings, and the cruel usage " that the Egyptians experienced from them ; particularly when they broke down the •' shrines of their gods, and overturned their altars. Hence arose that fixed hatred " we have been speaking of, which was prior to the coming of the Israelites; for " ' every shepherd was an abomination to the Egyptians,' before they knew Joseph. " The reigns therefore of the Cusean kings were antecedent likewise." On these pastor kings, vide Bryant, p. 143, &c. On the situation and fertility of the land of Goshen, vide ibid. p. 154, et seq. ♦ Exod. i. 14. 234 CONDUCT OF [Part J 11. ordering all their male children to be put to death. Surely all this naturally tended to inspire the Jews with aversion to the manners, the idolatry, and the vices of their oppressors, and led them to accept with joy the promised settlement in the land of Canaan, combined with submission to that system of religion and government which God meant to establish. If they still re«- tained some veneration for Egyptian manners and idolatry, because they were the manners and the idolatry of a great and celebrated nation, the mode in which God delivered them from this land of bondage was calculated to counteract this eflect. For they beheld Jehovah with a mighty hand inflicting the severest plagues on Pharoah and all his people ; making the elements and the creatures which they worshipped, * the in- struments of their chastisement, and involving the animals, whom they adored as gods, in one common punishment with their deluded votaries : " Executing judgment" (as the sacred historian declares) "upon the gods of Egypt." -f- Thus chas- * Vide on this suliject Hutchinson's Essay towards a Natural History of the Bible, or Bryant's learned and ingenious treatise on the Plagues of Egypt. I con- sider the coincidence between these works as a strong confirmation of the truth of the arguments they adduce, for I am fully persuaded, Mr Bryant did not know any such observations had been made by Hutchinson. Vide his preface. Idolaters, says Hutchinson, ascribed all power to the machine of the heavens, in the condi- tion of fire, light and air: hence at the establishment of the Mosaic economy, God appeared to Moses in the bush in the form of fire, &c.: hence the multiplied mira- cles in Egypt showed the superiority of Jehovah over all the Gods of the Egyptians, in their pretended attributes and power; thus the river turned into blood, though femblematically sacred; the wind brought locusts to destroy the votaries of the wind; the air rendered pestilential ; the dust of the earth noxious ; the wind made the waters of the Red Sea stand on an heap ; the plague of darkness showed the abso- lute power of God over the air; the murrain was on beasts, who were the repre- sentatives of the Egyptian gods, thus destroyed through the instrumentality of tliat air which was itself considered as divine; thus the first-born had, in many cases, as Hutchinson thinks, been sacrificed to the false gods, and were now in punishment destroyed by Jehovah. Vide Hutchinson, Vol. I. p. 120, and sequel. Mr Bryant, without adopting the particular system of Hutchinson, or even (I am persuaded) knowing that he had thus supported it, was led on by his own re- flections and researches to form the same opinion, and has established it, as it ap- pears to me, irrefutably, by a variety of facts and illustrations ; proving his principle by showing its application to every one of the plagues inflicted on the Egyptians; for instance, in the circumstance recorded, that the " fish in the river died," see Ills proofs of the idolatrous veneration in which the fish of the Nile were held, p. £7 to 83; and on the iilagnc of flics, which he also proves were objects of worship from p. G5 to S4. But for full conviction, I refer my reader to the Work itself. t Exod. xii. 12. Lect. II.J ^ . THE JEWS. 235 tising superstition in the very country that was its source, and magnifying the majesty of God on the most conspicuous stage then in the world, in the country the most famed for arts and learning, and most frequented by men of genius and curiosity. It is further admitted, that the system of the Jewish ritual in various respects, was calculated to proscribe and counteract * the idolatries and superstitions of Egypt. That all these judg- ments and all these precautions did not produce, upon the dull and carnal-minded Jews, such decisive effects as to root out all propensity to imitate or adopt the superstitions of Egypt, which they had seen admired and practised by this the most celebrated nation in the world, is not wonderful. But surely no human wisdom can presume to assert, that any other scheme of settle- ment or discipline could have been better calculated to prevent amongst the Jews the growth of idolatry and its attendant crimes. The defeat of the warlike Canaanites, who were f " great '■ and tall, and their cities walled up to heaven," by the unwar- like Jews, and this by means proving a supernatural inter- ference, had a similar tendency to establish the superiority of Jehovah over all the celebrated idols of Canaan ; nor can we conceive any mode of providence- better calculated to preserve among the chosen people the observance of the divine institutions. As to the trials the Jews were exposed to from the example of the neighbouring countries, and particularly from the corruptions of the Canaanites, many of whom they permitted to remain amongst them ; it is evident, that wherever they were settled in an idolatrous world they would have been exposed to similar danger, from the depraved examples of the surrounding nations. But it seems impossible to conceive any system more wisely calculated to check such contagion, than that which was adopted in the settlement of the Jews in the promised land. They were previously disciplined forty years, until the generation who had from their birth been infected by the contagion of Egyptian idolatry, and debased by the degradation of Egyptian slavery, had completely perished, and made way for a more pure, free- * Some instances of this are adduced, p. 149^ in the note. Consult also Witsii Egyptiaca, Lib. III. cap. xiv. from sect. iv. to x. ; Lowman on the Hebrew Ritual, Part I. ch. ii. and iii. and Part II. ch. v.; and Grotius on Exod. xx. and Lev. xviii. but especially Maimonides More Nevochim. Pars III. cap. xlvi. to xlix. t I>e"t- »• 28. 236 CONDUCT OP [Part III. born, and noble-minded race, who might be trained under the immediate miraculous control of God in the wilderness, to sub- mit implicitly to the divine direction, and aspire after the divine favour. They were defeated by the Oanaanites when they attacked them without divine permission, to make them feel ex- perimentally, that they must ascribe all their future success against them to the protection of Jehovah. The conquest of the promised land was effected by the miraculous assistance of God, who declared', that the Oanaanites were to be exterminated in consequence of their idolatries and crimes, and commanded the Israelites to execute the divine sentence. They were punished by certain defeat when they violated, and crowned with certain victory when they obeyed, this direction of their God ; until their settlement in the promised land was so far completed, that the few remaining Oanaanites were totally in their power, and all necessity for supernatural assistance to their arms, in the ex- ecution of the divine command, had plainly ceased. Thus far Providence had, as it were, compelled them to proceed ; still however observing in this, as in every other supernatural dispensation, a due analogy to the regular coui'se of nature, and ■the moral agency of man. " The Lord thy God (says their legislator) " will put out these nations before thee by little and *' little : thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts •" of the field increase before thee : but the Lord thy God shall " deliver them unto thee ; and destroy them with a mighty des *' truction until they be destroyed."* And in another place we perceive an effect of leaving some remnants of the Oanaanites perfectly analogous to the course of nature, assigned as a reason why God permitted it ; " That the generations of the Ohildren •' of Israel might know, to teach them war ; as many as had not " known all the wars of Oanaan."f Thus the Oanaanites were expelled as rapidly as the nature of things could admit. The Jews were strictly commanded to complete their expulsion, fully empowered to do so, and warned of the guilt of neglecting it ; the temptation it would expose them to, and the certain punishment that would await their transgression ; but they disobeyed the divine command.]: " It ** came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the * Deut. vii. 22 and 23. t Judges iii. 1 and 2. t Judges i. 28- Vide the entire second and third chapters of Judijen. Lect. II.] OF THE JEWS 237 " Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out." Or, as their historian Josephus* more fully explains it, " Con- " tenting themselves with the tributes which were paid them, " they grew effeminate as to fighting any more against their " enemies ; but applied themselves to the cultivation of their " lands, which producing them great plenty and riches, they " neglected the regular disposition of their settlement, and in- " dulged themselves in luxuries and pleasures." And now the Lord sent an angel unto them, who reminded them of the divine command : -f- " I said, ye shall make no league with the in- " habitants of this land ; ye shall throw down their altars ; but " ye have not obeyed my voice : why have ye done this ? " Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before " you ; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods " shall be a snare u^to you;" or, as it is more fully expressed in another passage % vvhere the sacred historian relates, that on account of thei; evil ways, " the anger of the Lord was hot " against Israel ; and he said. Because this people hath trans- " gressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and "have not hearkened unto my voice; I also will not henceforth " drive out from before them, of the nations which Joshua left, '^ when he died : that through them I may prove Israel, whether " they will keep the way of the Lord, to walk therein as their " fathers did keep it, or not. Therefore the Lord left those " nations without driving them out hastily ; neither delivered he " them into the hand of Joshua." Thus God continued his miraculous agency only so long as was indispensably necessary to introduce and settle the Jewish nation in the land of their inheritance, and establish this dispen- sation, so as to answer the purposes of the divine economy. After this, he gradually withdrew his supernatural assistance; he left the nation, collectively and individually, to act according to their own choice, not unnaturally and violently counteracting their moral character, and destroying their free agency. The people, at the rebuke of the Lord, mentioned above, " lifted up " their voices and wept, and they sacrificed there unto the " Lord." " But," says Josephus, " though they were in heavi- " ness at these admonitions from God, they were still very * Vide Josephus's Antiquities, Book V. sect. vii. t Judges, ii. 1, 3. J lb. ver. 20—23. 238 . , CONDUCT OP I Pasrt IIL ** unwilling to go to war,""' Yet though thus left to themselves, the effect of the wonders they had already seen, and the dis- cipline they had been trained under, produced on that generation a decisive and iwrmanent effect ; " For the people served the Lord " all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders that out- " lived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord that " he did for Israel.*" Indeed we cannot desire a stronger proof of the zeal of the whole nation for the observance of the divine Law, than the transaction between the two tribes and a half who were settled beyond Jordan, and the remaining tribes ; on the termination of the general war against the Canaanites, and the dismissal of the several tribes to their respective inheritance. Here we see the two tribes and a half building an altar at the passage of Jordan, a pattern (or after the pattern) of the altar of the Lord.* The remaining congregation, alarmed at the idea of this being a rebellion against God who had connnanded that there should be only one altar for all his people, prepared to punish it by instant war, but first send ambassadors to expostulate ; " Thus saith " the whole congregation of the Lord, What trespass is this that " ye have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away " this day from following the Lord, in that you have builded you " an altar, that ye might rebel this day against the Lord ? Is " the iniquity of Baal Peer too little for us, from which we are " not cleansed to this day, although there was a plague in the " congregation of the Lord ? and it will be, seeing that ye rebel " against the Lord, that to-morrow he will be wroth with all " the congregation of Israel." And the two tribes and a half answered : "• The Lord God of gods, the Lord God of gods " knoweth, and Israel he shall know, if it be in rebellion, or if *' in transgression against the Lord (save us not this day) that " we have built us an altar ; but that it may be a witness " between us and you, and our generations after us, that wo *' might do the service of the Lord, before him ; that your " children may not say to our children, Ye have no part in the " Lord. God forbid that we should rebel against the Lord, and " turn this day from following the Lord, to build an altar for " burnt-offerings, for meat-offerings, or for sacrifices, besides the " altar of the Lord our God before his tabernacle.'' So deep * Joshua, xxii. Lect. II.] THE JEWS, ,239 was the impression which the judgments of God haa made on the whole nation; so watchful their anxiety to fulfil the Law, and avoid the wrath of Jehovah, at once their Sovereign and their God ; and so gross is the misrepresentation of Mr Gilhon* when he asserts, that " the cotemporaries of Moses and Joshua " beheld with indifiference the most amazing miracles" The very reverse of this assertion is evidently the truth. SECT. II. — The conduct of the Jews, subsequent to the death of Joshua, is not incon sistent with the divine original of the Mosaic' Law. Situation of the Jews under their judges, adapted to the purposes of the divine economy — Expediency of placing them in this situation — Severity of the punishment inflicted by Providence for their offences, no valid objection. Establishment of the kingly government a confirmation of the authenticity of the Pentateuch — Why desired by the people — Why permitted by God — ■ Theocracy preserved under the kings — Illustrates the nature of the divine control over the Jews — And of the Jewish character — Both show the credibility of the Jewish idol- atries, notwithstanding the divine original of the Mosaic Law, Separation of the ten tribes an apparent objection — Its origin — Idolatry of Solomon — Inference from it as to the idolatries of the Jews — Separation of the two kingdoms, why expedient — How effected — Its natural tendency — Abused by Jeroboam — From his conduct confirms the divine original of the Mosaic Law — Schism he introduces consistent with that belief- Cave occasion to manifest the divine providence, in the history of the ten tribes — Effects of this separation on the two tribes — Instanced in the history of Abijah — Of Kchoboam — Of Asa — Of Ilezekiah. General reflection on the providential government of the Jews— On the caution to be exercised in estimating the characters described in the Old Testament — Arid the effects of the Jewish scheme. In the former section we noticed the strong impression which the divine interposition had made on those who were witnesses of them ; insomuch, '' that the people served the Lord all the " days of Joshua, and of the elders who outlived Joshua, who " had seen the great works of the Lord." That this impression, however, should not be permanent enough to preserve the Jews from corrupting their religion and their morals, by imitating the idolatries and vices of the Canaanites, their neighbours, will not seem wonderful, if we consider that the Jews were, at this period, mere children in moral and religious conduct, as is most evident from the whole tenor of the Scripture narrative. They were very inattentive to the history of past transactions, so that many of the very next generation after Joshua, " knew * Vol. I. ch. XV. p. 457 240 CONDUCT OF [Part II T. " not," that is, tliey considered not, and therefore acted as if they had not known, the wonders which God had wrought for Israel. The temptations to intermarry with their neighbours, and adopt their manners and worship, were too powerful for ti.eir unsteady and carnal minds. The beauty of the women ot Canaan ; the pomp and gaiety of their festivals ; the voluptu- ousness of their impure rites : the hope of gratifying their curiosity for prying into futurity, by idolatrous divinations ; the overpowering fears impressed on their souls by idolatrous super- stition; their anxiety to conciliate the favour of those divini- ties, who were represented to them as the peculiar guardian gods of the country which they were newly settled in ; these and other similar motives, adapted, if I may so speak, to childish understandings, childish feelings, and childish appe- tites, demanded an immediate and strict discipline to counter- act their influence, and preserve, amidst this backsliding and unstable people, the main principles of religion and morality ^ notwithstanding their continual propensity to corrupt the purity of both. And we evidently perceive, that the system of divine government exercised over the Jews, under their judges, was exactly adapt-jd to their situation and their moral character. For the sacred history relates,* that " the children of Israel dwelt " amo'-^gst the Canaanites, and took their daughters to be their " wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served " their gods, and did evil in the sight of the Lord. And the " anger of the Lord was kindled against them, and he sold " them into the hands of their enemies, as the Lord had said " and as he had sworn unto them : and they were greatly dis- " tressed. And when they cried unto the Lord, he raised up " judges ; and then the Lord was with the judge, and delivered " them out of the hands of their enemies all the days of the " judge. And it came to pass when the judge was dead, that " they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their " fathers ; and ceased ngt from their own doings, nor from " their stubborn way." That the government of the Israelites -required this occasional interposition of God, in appointing the supreme magistrate, appears as well from the tenor of the eacrod history, as the testimony of Josephus ;f who remarks, " That as thoy got largo tributes from the Canaanites, and wore " indisposed for taking pains, by their luxury, they suffered their * .Iii<];cs li. iii. t Joseph. Antiq.Book. V. scrt. vil. Lect. IL] OF THE JEWS. 2ii " aristocracy to be corrupted also ; and did not ordain them- " selves a senate, nor any other such magistrates as their laws " had formerly required."" Here then either the Divinity musj have incessantly/ interposed, never suffering a moment to pass without placing at the head of the Jews a vicegerent supported by all the terrors of the divine power, to restrain them foi-cibly from yielding to their idolatrous and vicious propensities, thus counteracting their whole moral character ; — a mode of proce- dure altogether unexampled in God's government, and indeed it should seem inconsistent with the very idea of a moral gover- nor— or, he must altogether have abandoned them to the influ- ence of those propensities, which would have speedily plunged them irretrievably in idolatry and vice with the rest of the world, and defeated the entire purpose of the divine economy ; or, lastly, he must have taken that course which the sacred history declares he did, appointing occasionally vicegerents, as circumstances called for their interposition ; and supporting the authority of his law, by thus visibly controlling the nation, and proportioning their prosperity and adversity to the degree of obe- dience which they voluntarily yielded to that law; and habitua' ting them to look up immediately to his protection, without terposing any permanent human authority on which they might be too apt exclusively to depend, and thus forget their God. Such was the system of divine administration over the Jews under their Judges. Thus the chosen people,* who were, as it should seem (like all the nations of that period) mere children in religion and morality, were treated as children, kept in a state of tutelage under the constant guardianship and occasional cor- rection of their heavenly Father ; taught to feel experimentally their total dependence upon his protection ; taught to feel that none of their chiefs or elders possessed power or wisdom to govern and defend them, except as they were raised to the supreme authority, and maintained in it by God himself. That this system was as effectual in securing the obedi- ence of the Jews to the divine law, as from their situation and character we could reasonably expect, may appear, when we recollect, that of* four hundred and fifty years which elapsed from the settlement of the Israelites in Canaan by *It is not easy to be accurate iq the statement of these periods of prosperity Mid good conduct, adversity and punishment; because that sometimes part of the VOL. ir. Q 242 CONDUCT OP [Part III, Joshua, to the first election of a king in the person of Saul, when taken together, distinct from the intervals of occasional relapses into idolatry, above three hundred and fifty seem to have passed under the government of the various judges, whom God raised up at different periods, to recall his people from their errors, and retain them in the observance of his Law. And children of Israel transgressed the divine Law, and were punished distinct from the rest. Thus it is recorded, Judges, x. 7. 8, " That the Lord delivered Israel into " the hands of the children of Ammon, and they oppressed them eighteen years, all " the children of Israel which were on the other side Jordan, in the land of the " Amoiites." Something similar to this appears to have been the case in the deliverance wrought by Shamgar, Judges iii. 31 ; and even the servitude to Jabin, king of Canaan, Judges iv. 2, does not appear to have been universal, though it is said he mightily oppressed the cliildren of Israel ; for it is said " Deborah judged Israel at that time." But the following periods appear to have been clearly periods of tran- quillity, during which the Israelites lived under their own law. From the time when Joshua took the whole land, and the land rested from war, Joshua, ch. xi. 23, about 1443 years before Christ, to the time when God delivered them into the hands of the king of Mesopotamia, about the year A. C. 1410 --_.,-.. 35 years. Judges, iii. II — the land had peace under Othniel - _ - 40 ditto. iii. 30 — under Ehud and his successors ... 80 ditto. V. 31 — under Deborah and Barak, and their successors - 40 ditto. viii.28 — under Gideon . - - . . 40 ditto. X. 2 — under Tola ..... 23 ditto. X. 3 — under Jair ..... 22 ditto. xii. 7 — under Jephthah ..... 7 ditto. ■ xii. 9 — under Ibzan - .... 7 ditto. xii. 11 — under^lon - - - - _ 10 ditto. . xii. 14 — under Abdon . _ _ . . 8 ditto. Under Samuel, at least -_.___ 25 ditto. Total 337 Without taking into the amount the forty years during which Eli had judged Israel, 1 Sam. iv. 18, during which the worship of the true God, and the observance of the law, had been in a great measure preserved, though not perfectly ; this would make the period during which the law of Moses was the regular established religion of Israel, 377 years out of the 450 under the Judges; and it must be re. collected, that it was always the religion of probably a great multitude of the people, though the public idolatry of others brought down tlie judgments of God : and above all, let it not be forgotten, that those idolators did not renounce the worship of Jehovah, but only added to it the worship of idols. They corrupted, but never entirely forsook, their national religion; and such corruption never implied any doubt of its divine original, or any positive disbelief of the Mosaic miracles. If with I'slier in his Chronology, and others, we suppose the periods of tranquillity above to have been only partial, we must also admit the idolatries through the entire period of the Judges to have been also partial, and the argument will be un- aifected. Lect. II.] THE JEWS. 243- that during the lives of each of tliese judges, tliern was Vf} material apostasy from the national religion, and no material interruption of the public tranquility and prosperity by these punishments, which always attended such apostasy. It is pecu- liarly necessary to notice this circumstance, because, by a super- ficial reader of the sacred history, the whole period under the judges may be easily mistaken as one uninterrupted series of idolatries and crimes ; from his not observing that the lapses which incurred punishment, and the divine deliverances which attended repentance, are related so fully and distinctly as to occupy almost the entire narrative ; while very long periods, when, under the government of their judges, " the people followed " God, and the land enjoyed peace," are passed over in a single verse, as productive of no occurrence which required a particular detail. The situation of the Jewish nation, during the government of its judges, seems calculated to promote the efficacy of that system of discipline under which it was placed, by the very circumstance which at first view appears most repugnant to it, the want of a close union and common interest between the difierent tribes. If, on the one side, this prevented them from regularly uniting under a common leader, except when such a one was pointed out by some clear manifestation of the divine will in his appointment, and divine aid in his support, and thus left them both as tribes and individuals, to do what was " ricfht in their own ei/es,'''* with- out any immediate visible and regular control ; this very cir- cumstance on the other hand, enabled the Deity to exhibit more conspicuously the operation of that particular providence, which he had declared should distribute temporal prosperity and calam- ity according to the degree of obedience or disobedience to \he Mosaic Law ; and which not only the people collectively, but each distinct tribe and family should manifest ; and thus gr du- ally to imprint more deeply on the whole nation the necessity of obedience to the divine will, by examples within their immediate observance, and the full force of which they could distinctly com- prehend. Now the exercise of such a particular providence ov er a numerous and widely-extended nation, where one supreme government from the very first had uniformly controlled the en- tire, and rendered each tribe and family less obviously the masters * Judges, xvii, 6. 244 CONDUCT OF [Part III. of their own conduct, must have been more gradual and extended in its operation, and less plainly discriminative and observable, than in the situation of the Jews under their judges. This cir- cumstance though not noticed (as far as I can recollect) by writers on this subject, appears to me to have been the most decided effect, and therefore to supply the most satisfactory ex- planation of this part of the divine economy. And be it observed, that this mode of exhibiting the particular providence of God in the distribution of temporal blessings, was the more necessary, as the Jewish people was the only one which acknowledged the authority of Jehovah, or expected any such administration of providence. All the surrounding nations looked up to their own idols as their guardian gods ; and the general superiority of Jehovah over these had been sufficiently displayed in the circum- stances attending the deliverance of the Jews from Egypt, and their settlement in Canaan. But it was still requisite that it should be proved, that merely belonging to the chosen people, and acknowledging the general authority of Jehovah, would be insufficient to secure his protection, except to this was added an humble and vigilant obedience to that law which God had pro- mulgated, and by the observance of which alone the purposes of the divine economy could be completely fulfilled. That this plan was pursued under the judges, in distributing prosperity or calamity to the different tribes, according to their good or ill conduct, we have many instances. Thus we are told that* Judah and Simeon went to attack and dispossess the Canaanites who were remaining in the territory allotted for their inheritance ; and that the Lord was with them, and gave their arms success as far as they continued their confidence in the divine aid. A similar observation is made with regard to the tribe of-}* Joseph. While;]: five other tribes are enumerated, who, indulging their own indolence, or destitute of sufficient faith in the divine aid, would not drive out the Ginaanites, but were satisfied with making them tributaries. And the subsequent history shows, that tliis was the cause of the severest calamities to these tribes. For these nations soon became " tliorns in their " sides,'"^ the instruments of the divine chastisement, merited by this disobedience, and the subsequent idolatries to which it led. • Judges, ch. i. nineteen first verses. "f Ibid. i. 22. t IMI. I. 21, 27, 29, 30, 33. § IWd. ii. 3. Lect. II.] THE JEWS. 245 The history of the manner in which " God rendered the " wickedness of Abimelech which he did unto his father, in " slaying his seventy brethren : And all the evil of the men of " Shechem did God* render upon their heads : and upon them " came the curse of Jotham, the son of Jeruhbaal," * supplies another striking instance of the administration of Providence here supposed. These and various other facts supply additional instances of the same administration of Providence. The ap- parent severity in some of these instances either arose from the operation of human passions in the agents employed or permitted to execute these judgments, without being miraculously con- trolled in their conduct ; or if directly commanded, we may be well assured was indispensably necessary to effect the purposes of the divine economy, when even that degree of severity was not sufficient entirely to prevent subsequent offences. Indeed the objection so frequently, but so causelessly" advanced, that the supposed divine government over the Jews was not as com- pletely effectual as might naturally be expected, shows the divine interference was confined to cases of unquestioned neces- sity, and interrupted as little as possible the operation of the laws of nature, and the regular course of moral discipline, under which mankind is placed. We are entirely -j- incompetent judges a priori of the degree of interference which ought to have taken place under such a particular providence as God exercised over the Jews, as well as of the effects which ought to have been pro- duced by it. The existence of such a system is proved by undeniable facts, and its effects have evidently been highly important ; and this should satisfy our doubts, and excite our gratitude. To insist on more extensive discoveries of the reasons and process of the divine government is equally irra- tional and presumptuous. As the object of these Lectures does not require, and their limits will not allow, a minute inquiry into the whole series of the Jewish history, and the discussion of every difficulty or ob- jection which may appear to arise from it ; I shall proceed to point out such leading circumstances in the progress of this dispensation, as may illustrate its general tendency to prevent the existence, or check the spread of those idolatries and apos- tasies, which form the subject of our present discussion. * Judges, the entire ch. ix. particularly ver. 56 and 57. Butier's Analogy, Part III. ch. iii. paiticularly p. 200. 24)6 CONDUCT OF [Part III. The ESTABLISHMENT OF THE REGAL FORM OF GOVERNMENT IN *UDEA forms a distinguished era in the history of the chosen people. It has been already remarked, that this change has been * provided for in the divine economy, having been fore- told, in the prophetic declaration of Moses delivered to the assembled nation shortly before his death, in such a manner as supplies a striking proof of the authenticity of the Pentateuch. It was not however established until above 400 years had elapsed, and then with circumstances deserving accurate attention, as they appear to illustrate strongly the character of the Jewish people, as well as the kind of discipline, and degree of control, which the divine wisdom thought fit to exercise over this chosen race. It is related, that the elders of Israel came unto Samuel, and said unto him,f " Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not " in thy ways : now make us a king to judge us like all the " nations." This inconvenience arising from the misconduct of the sons of Samuel was so plainly temporary and easily re- movable, that it could have been but a mere pretence. The real motive undoubtedly was, that they should be governed " like *' all the other nations ;" a motive originating in their not suffi- ciently attending to the divine interpositions of the judges, but yielding to their ardent and culpable fondness for the manners and customs of the surrounding idolatrous states. This fondness they were restrained from indulging, by the control of that theocracy established by the Mosaic Law : a control which in all probability they secretly hoped, would be less strict if they changed the form of their civil government. This criminal dis- position God exposes and reprobates. " They have not," says he to the Prophet, " rejected thee, but they have rejected me, " that I should not reign over them. According to all the " works which they have done since the day that I brought " them up out of Egypt unto this day wherewith they have " forsaken me, and served other gods : so do they also unto " thee," J Yet the Divinity would not exercise such a resistless control as totally to disregard the choice of his people, and chain down their free will : this would have been inconsistent with his character as a moral governor. He indeed commands the Pro- * Deut. xvii. from ver. 14, compared willi 1 Sam. viii. x. and xii. + I Sam. viii, 5. J 1 Sam. viii. 7 and vS. Lect. II.] THE JEWS. 247 phet solemnly to protest unto them, declaring unto tliem his condemnation of their criminal desires, and warning them of the various* inconveniencies which should attend the kingly government ; yet on their persisting in their demand — for " the " people refused to obey the voice of Samuel ; and they said, ♦• Nay, but we will have a king over us, that we also may " be like all the other nations ; and that our king may judge us, " and go out before us, and fight our battles ;"-(- — the Prophet is commanded to hearken " to their voice, and set a king over *' them."" But the mode in which this is done is peculiarly re- markable. The people retain such reverence for their God, and such confidence in their Prophet, that they do not attempt to elect a king themselves, but wait for the divine appointment. In this appointment care is taken to preserve in its full force that theocracy originally established over the Jews.;}: A king is elected by the express declaration of the divine oracle ; raised from an obscure family,§ so that he himself, as well as the entire nation, should know and feel that he derived his authority solely from that appointment. || The rules and forms of the regal government are prescribed by the Prophet, which proves that the executive power alone was confided to this vicegerent of Jehovah, who still reserved to himself all legislative autho- rity. Nor is the solemn inauguration of the new monarch com- pleted until God by a miracle had convinced the people of his displeasure at the criminal motives in which their demand of a king had originated ; and thus filled them with terror, humbled them to repentance, and led them to confess their crime, and implore pardon and a continuance of the divine protection.^ " Now therefore stand and see,"" says the Prophet, " this great *' thing, which the Lord will do before your eyes. Is it not " wheat harvest to-day ? I will call upon the Lord, and he shall " send thunder and rain ; that ye may perceive and see that " your wickedness is great which ye have done in the sight of " the Lord, in asking you a king. So Samuel called unto the " Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day ; and all * 1 Sam. viii. ver. 10 to the end. •j' lb, ver. 19 and 20. J Vide Waiburton's Divine Legation, Book V. sect. iii. who, in opposition to Le Clerc and others, has (as appears to me) clearly established that the theocracy was continued under the kings, and even to the appearance of oiu- Saviour. Vol. IV p. 225. § 1 Sam. ix. 21. || Ibid. x. 2.1. IT Ibid. xii. 16. to the uid. 248 csoNDucT OF [l*ait II f. " the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel. And all the " people said unto Samuel, pray for thy servants unto the Lord " thy God, that we die not ; for we have added unto all our " sins this evil to ask lis a king. And Samuel said unto the " people. Fear not ; ye have done all this wickedness : yet turn " not aside from following the Lord, but serve the Loi-d with all " your heart ; and turn ye not aside : for then should ye go " after vain things which cannot profit ; for they are vain. *' For the Lord will not forsake his people, for his great name's " sake : for it hath pleased the Lord to make you his people. " Moreover, as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the " Lord, in ceasing to pray for you : but I will teach you the '' good and the right way. Only fear the Lord, and serve him " in truth with all your heart : for consider how great things he " hath done for you. But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall " be consumed, both ye and your king." How clearly does this transaction, in all its circumstances, illustrate the nature of that government which God exercised over his chosen people, and prove how admirably it was adapted to their situation and character ! It exhibits not the over- whelming violence of resistless power, but the steady yet mild control of parental authority, correcting the transgressions of this wayward race with a necessary strictness, and enforcing their submission with immovable firmness ; yet attentive to their feelings, indulgent even to their weakness, ever ready to hear their supplications, and accept their penitence ; and inces- santly directing every circumstance so as most effectually to provide for their improvement and their happiness. While in the people we perceive a puerile turn of mind, easily caught by outward show, and breaking* forth into tumultuous ap- plause at beholding the stature and beauty of their new sove- reign ; anxious to imitate their neighbours in the splendour of a court, and placing their dependence more on the warlike cha- racter of their leader, than the experienced protection of their God ; yet rather weak and inconstant in their moral and reli- gious character, than obstinately impious and depraved : in the ordinary course of things inattentive to the guardian hand of Providence, but never (piostioning the divine original of their religion and governmcuf, or deliberately rejecting the authority of their heaveiily King. On the contrary, when their refiectiun * 1 Sam. X. 23, 21. Lcct. II.] THE JEWS. 249 is roused, and their seriousness awakened by a sensible proof of the divine displeasure,* they, as it should seem, humbly confess and deeply lament their transgressions ; acknowledge gratefully Jie past mercies of their God, deprecate his wrath with heartfelt terror, and engage for their own future obedience, with evident sincerity. Such appears the real character of the Jewish people ; such the nature of that discipline, and the degree of that control which the wisdom of God exercised over them, as sufficient for securing the great objects of the divine dispensations. Now it seems undeniable, that the various idolatries and transgressions of the Jews, not only naturally resulted from this their national character, but that they are perfectly consistent with the reality of such a divine government, and therefore in no degree diminish the credibility of those miracles, by which the existence of that government is attested ; or the divine original of that Law, which was by its authority promulgated and upheld. It has been already remarked, that the authenticity of the Pentateuch, and, by consequence, the certainty of the Mosaic miracles, and the divine original of the Mosaic Law, derives considerable evidence from the late introduction of the regal form of government in Judea. In truth, had this been established by their legislator from the first, it would have been difficult to remove the suspicion, that temporal motives and political arts might have contributed to give a fictitious divine authority to a code of laws, which an able legislator had contrived, and a series of powerful kings had maintained, as the support of the regal government. But in the present case, all such suspicion is precluded ; as the Law must have been univer- sally recognized before the establishment of that regal authority ; which, though it in a certain degree provides for, it yet disap- proves of and restrains. It was not, therefore, unproductive of advantage to the permanent interests of religion, that this great change was delayed by Providence until the Mosaic Law had subsisted long enough to prove that its first establishment had not originated in any human policy, ajid that its subsequent support was independent of any human power. And it has, •I trust, appeared, that every circumstance attending this trans- action is not only consistent with the original estabhshment of the Jewish scheme by divine power, but confirms the con- * 1 Sam. xi. 15, with xii. 4 and 19. 250 CONDUCT OF [Part JIT, tinned interposition of ]*rovi(lcnco in its Kuperlntoiidcnco and Bii])|)ort, Tlio next leading event of the Jewiah liistory, wlucli, in this view of our subject, it is necessary to consider, is tlio * hkpara- TiON OP TiiK TKN TiiiiiKs from tlic liouso of David, and their ostablishtnent in a separate kingdom by Jeroboam. This event may iippear at first view to indicate a total contempt of the Mosaic Law, since it was attended with a de[)lorablo schism, and idolatrous corruption in the Jewish church ; — a corrup- tion which, as it was supported by worldly policy in the nionai'clis, and by the propensity to selt'-indulgf^ico and idolatry in the mass of the p(!opl(!, was unhaj>[)ily p(!rmanent. For every king of Israel, however praiseworthy in other respects, adhered to the sin of " Jeroboam, who made Israel to sin." A close attention to the circumstances and efl'ects of this event, will how(!ver show, that it is perfectly consistent with the reality of that divine superintendence which directed the Jewish dispensation. The •[• origin of this sc^paration is declared to have been a divine judgment on (h(! house of David, in consequence of the id(jlatrous worsIii[» introduced by the foreign wives of Solomon, and criminally j)ermitt(;d or partakcui of by that prince. We are however completely certain, that Solomon long worshipped the true God, revered the Law of Moses as divine, and was one of the most clear and impressive teachers of religious truth and moral duty that over enlightened mankind. Yet in the decline of life and of reason, excessive sensuality, inflamed by the long en- joyment of royal power and uninten-upted j)rosj)erity, lulled to sleep the vigilan(!0 of his piety, and betrayed him into guilt. Says i\w sacred historian, | "lie loved many strange women, " of the nations concerning which tho Lord said unto the chil- " dren of lsra(il. Ye shall not go in unto them, neitluu' shall " they come in unto you : for surely they will turn away your " heart after their gods : but Solomon clave unto tlu^so in love. " And it came to pass, that when Solomon was old, his wives " turned away his heart after other gods." It is a nmlancholy but c(!rtain trutli, such is tho weakness and corruption of human nature, that this narrative is perfectly natural and credible. And surely tlu! crimes and idolatries of the Jewish nation in * Villi! 1 Kings xi. xii. uiid xiii. ; anil 2 Ciiroii x. (iiid xi. -j- Viilc 1 Kiiiys xi. J II). vor. 1 to 13. Lect. II.] THE JEWS. 2.')1 general, were not more incredible or unnatural, on tlio suppo- sition of their general sincere acknowledgment of the divine origin of their Law, than the similar misconduct of this en- lightened and favoured monarch. Certainly no instance can show more clearly the general futility of tliis objection. Ihit let us pursue the history. Had this offence rcnuiined un- punished, so contagious an example would probably have in- fected the whole mass of the people, which would thus have irretrievably sunk into idolatry and vice : and does it not appear probable, that so lon(^ as t/te whole nation continued united under one soverei(jn^ this danger might frequently/ recur ? Does not therefore this division of the people under two monarchs appear, even to our short-sighted views, not only a just punishment for the crimes of Solomon, but the most probable method of pro- venting that universal apostasy, from similar misconduct in future, which might have entirely defeated the design of the Jewish dispensation? And the more accurately we consider the circumstances and effects of this revolution, the more clearly shall we perceive, tliat the prevention of such a total apostasy, was the chief cause why it was permitted, nay, even forwarded, by a divine interference. When the prophet* Ahijah was commissioned to announce to Jeroboam his selection by Grod as sovereign of the ten tribes, he declares in the clearest terms that this was designed as a pu- nishment for the idolatries of Solomon ; that it was intended to reserve one tribe for the house of David, in reward of his un- shaken adherence to the worship of his God ; and that a similar adherence on the part of Jeroboam was the condition on which his kingdom should be secured to him. Thus, in its first origin, this revolution was a providential dispensation. But yet it was not brought about by any resistless operation of divine power ; human passions and human agency were, in appearance, its oidy effective cause. Th(!f imprudent and tyrannic answer of Ilolio- boam to the demands of the Jewish people for a rodress of griev- ances, at the commencement of his reign, was its immediate oc- casion. But when the king of Judali made preparations to redu(J0 the revolted tribes, the Divinity interpos(!d to prevent the mise-. ries of civil war, in opposition to a measure originating in bis decree, and authorized by his prophet. ]:" Ye shall not go * 1 Kings xi. 33. f Ilj'tl- ^''- ^'^^^ fifteen verses. X "•'''• "'•• '^^- ^aH coNDijcT OF [Pait 111. " up, nor fisht against your brethren ; for tWs thing is from "me;' Thus every circumstance attending this revolution had a most direct and powerM tendency to excite in both these kings, and (heir subjects, a spirit of pious emulation in their obedience to the divine law. But with an impious policy, Jeroboam, forget- ting the divine promise, looked only to worldly means for secu- ring his power: and* afraid lest his subjects, if they attended the temple-worship at Jerusalem, where the house of David reigned, should be tempted to submit again to their ancient so- vereigns, set up idolatrous symbols of the divine presence in two places of his own dominions ; and ordained priests who were not of the tribe of Levi, and celebrated religious festivals to counteract the attraction of the feasts at the temple. This con- duct, however, though it proves a most criminal inattention to the injunctions of the Mosaic Law, yet it implies no deliberate disbelief of its divine original, or rejection of its authority, in either the monarch or the people. On the contrary, the conduct of Jeroboam bears (as has been already noticed) the strongest attestation to the universal notoriety and established authority of that Law. Apprehensive as he was lest the observance of its ritual should alienate his subjects, and endanger his crown, he yet attempts not to dispute its authority, or discredit its rites. He merely introduces an innovation as to the place where these rites were to be observed, and the persons by whom they were to be performed. He endeavours to captivate a people addicted to idolatrous emblems, by introducing the same symbols of the divine presence which the Jews had compelled Aaron to set up, and which he himself had been familiarized to in Egypt. He yet declares them the symbols of that Divinity who had delivered the nation from Egypt, and thus recognises the reality of that divine interposition on which the Mosaic Law was founded. " Behold,"" says he, " thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee " up out of the land of Egypt." And still more, he appoints a feast similar to the feast of tabernacles at Jerusalem, which solemnly recognised the abode of the Jews in the wilderness, •and all the miracles which attended it. Such was the nature and extent of that schism and corruption introduced by Jeroboam, dictated by the policy of the monarch, * 1 Kings xii. from 25 to tlfe end. Lect. II.] THE j-EWB. 253 aud adapted to the idolatrous propensities of his subjects, but not at all indicating any disbelief of the Mosaic history, or tlie divine original of the Mosaic Law ; on the contrary, evidently admitting both. But this, it will be said, was a strange incon- sistency ; true — but yet it is an inconsistency by no means in- credible or unnatural. The history of Christianity, confirmed by our own experience, may teach us, that a departure from the pure simplicity of a religion derived from an acknowledged re- velation, may be introduced by policy, recommended by idola- trous corruptions to an unreflecting multitude, and subsist for ages ; while, at the same time, nothing is farther from the ideas of that multitude, than any disbelief or rejection of the original revelation itself. Nor ought it to be forgotten, that this schism and idolatry of the ten tribes gave occasion for the most signal displays of divine power, and the most emphatic denunciations and manifestations of divine justice, in the correction and government of this per- verse race and their guilty monarchs. The miraculous reproof and punishment of * Jeroboam himself ; the death of his -|- favo- rite son ; the utter destruction of the three royal houses of]: Je- roboam, of § Baaslia, and of || Ahab — all foretold by the pro- phets ; afforded awful examples of the divine vengeance. There also were exhibited the miracles of IT Elijah and Elisha. And concerning the kings and people of the ten tribes, were pro-' nounced some of the most distinguished prophecies of ** Amos, Hosea, and Isaiah, And finally, after a series of instructions and chastisements, which illustrated the spirit of the divine Law, manifested the perpetual control of Divine Providence, and ve- rified all the denunciations of their inspired Lawgiver : but which, though doubtless operative on many individuals, could not reform either the sovereigns or the great mass of the people ; God executed judgment on this deluded and corrupted race, for " he removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his '* servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their * Vide 1 Kings xiii. f Ibid. xiv. $ Compare 1 Kings xiv. 10, with xv. 29. ^ Ibid. xvi. 11. II 1 Kings xxi. from 20 to 22 ; and 2 Kings ix. and x. H Vide 1 Kings, from xvii. to tiie end of the book; and 2 Kings, ch. i. to vii. and ch. xiii. ** Videlsaiahi. viii. and ix. 18; xvii, and xxviii,; Hosea passim, particularly viii. ix. X. and xiii. 15, to (he end. 254 CONDUCT OF [Part 111. " own land to Assyria ; tliere was none left but the tribe of " Judah only."* If, from the effects of this revolution on the ten tribes, we di- rect our reflections to its corresponding effects on the remaining two, we shall, I think, perceive, that it was the most powerful means of preserving in them whatever degree of attention to the divine Laic subsisted amongst them, and preventing that universal idolatry and corruption in the entire Jewish nation, which would, to all appearance, have defeated the great purposes of the divine economy. This event rendered it the obvious political interest of the kings of Judah to adhere with strictness to the Mosaic Law, and promote its observance amongst their subjects, to the utmost of their power. Thus to act, became the boasted dis- tinction of these kings, and the popular topic by which they maintained their superiority over the kings of Israel. Thus, when Abijah, the grandson of Solomon, was preparing to en- gage with Jeroboam the first monarch of the ten tribes, this is the topic he selects to rouse the ardour of his own soldiers, and depress his adversary, whom he reproaches not only with his revolt, but his idolatry and impiety, in casting out the priests of the Lord the sons of Aaron, and with setting up the golden calves, which Jeroboam made for gods, -f-" But as for us,"" says he, " the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken him ; " and the priests which minister unto the Lord are the sons of " Aaron, and the Levites wait upon their business ; for we keep " the charge of the Lord our God ; but ye have forsaken him. " And behold, God himself is with us for -our captain, and his " priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O " house of Israel, fight ye not against the Lord, the God of " your fathers ; for ye shall not prosper." The event justified the pious confidence of the young monarch, notwithstanding the superior generalship of Jeroboam, who had placed an ambush behind Judah ; and notwithstanding the troops of Israel were 800,000, those of Judah but 400,000, (the entire force of both nations being brought forward on this occasion, which rendered this providential dispensation more decisive) so that " when Ju *' dah looked back, behold, the battle was before and behind : " yet when they cried unto the Lord, it came to pass, that God * Vide 2 Kings xvii. particularly from 18 to 23. ■f- 2 Cliron. xiii. from 4 to the end. Lect. II.] THE JEWS. 255 " smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. And " there fell of Israel 500,000 chosen men. Thus the children " of Judah prevailed, because they relied on the Lord God of their fathers." This awful instance of divine vengeance must have operated as a powerful encouragement to the inhabitants of Judah to persevere in the pure worship of the true God, and to the reflecting part of Israel to reform. In truth, this national separation formed, almost from the moment it began, a broad line of distinction between those vrho suffered themselves, from idolatrous propensities, or worldly views, to be seduced from the observance of the divine Law, and those determined conscientiously to adhere to it. At its very commencement, not only the Levites, * " whom Jeroboam " cast out of the priests' office, left their suburbs and their pos- " sessions, and came to Judah and Jerusalem ; but after them, " out of all the tribes of Israel, such as set their hearts to seek " the Lord God of Israel, came to Jerusalem, to sacrifice to the " Lord God of their fathers. So they strengthened the kingdom " of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong." It is true, this strict observance of the divine Law was not per- manent even in Judah. Rehoboam, corrupted by prosperity, fell into the same crimes as his father Solomon. But when chas- tised by the invasion of the king of Egypt, and roused to re- flection by the warning of a prophet, the " princes and the king " humbled themselves ; and they said, the Lord is righteous :" and on their repentance they were preserved from ruin, -f- The son and successor of Rehoboam gained the decisive victory above related over the revolted and idolatrous tribes — an event which appears to have made the deepest impression on the people of Judah. For immediately after, his son| Asa succeeding to that throne, displayed the most pious zeal in the service of Jehovah, removing his mother from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove, and entering into a solemn covenant with his whole assembled nation,§ " to seek the Lord God of Israel " with all their heart, and with all their soul ; and that whoso- " ever would not do so should be put to death. And all Judah " rejoiced at the oath ; for they had sworn with all their heart, " and sought him with their whole desire, and he was f'^imd of * 2 Chron. xi. from 13 to 17. f 2 Chron. xii. 5, 6, 7. J Ibid. xiv. XV. and xvi. "J Ibid. xv. particularly 9 to 15. 256 coNnucT OF [Part IT 1, " them : and the Lord gave them rest round about.'*' And not only had all Judali and Benjamin joined in the covenant, but " the strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh and " Simeon ; for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, " when they saw that the Lord his God was with him." Another instance, where the piety of Judah was exerted to recal the Israelites to their duty, occurred in the reign of Heze- kiah, which has been already noticed.* But as it is not my in- tention to do more than give a general view of the providential government over the Jewish nation, in order to effect the pur- poses of the Mosaic economy, it is sufficient here to recollect what has before been noticed ; how strongly the recognition of the Mosaic Law in these divided kingdoms establishes its authen- ticity : and to remark, that from the solemn covenant with God formed by Asa, the majority of the kings of Judah were pious and exemplary ; particularly so long as they avoided any close connexion with the monarchs of Israel. For the*)* affinity formed by Jehoshaphat with the depraved family of Ahab appears to be the first occasion, after this event, of introducing idolatry and vice into the royal house of Judali. In process of time, these corruptions extended, and, notwith- standing the various chastisements by which they were checked, required at length the severe discipline of seventy years capti- vity in Babylon, completely to subdue the idolatrous propensi- ties of the Jews, and convince them of the guilt and danger of associating any other god with the supreme majesty of Jehovah. And to him ever since that period they have paid exclusive adora- tion ; and have, notwithstanding a series of unexampled calami- ties and trials, observed the Mosaic Law, as of unquestioned authority and divine original. Another opportunity will occur for tracing out the various steps by which Divine Providence, under this and every other part of the Jewish dispensation, advanced the interests of truo religion, and prepared the way for the Gospel of Christ. Enough, I trust, has now been said, to show that the idolatries and trans- gressions of the Jewish nation, far from proving that their reli- g'on and government were not of divine original, or conducted by any providential control, evince the contrary ; and evidently sppear to have proceeded from causes perfectly consistent with • 2 Cliron. xxx. 1 to 3. f 2 Cliron. xviii. 1. and xxi. L r.CCt. IL] THE JEWS. 257 the divine promulgation of the Mosaic Law : causes whose influ- ence must have produced a total and irremediable apostasy from • true religion in the whole Jewish race, if it had not been perpe- tually counteracted by that Providence, which, without violating the analogy of nature, or infringing on the freedom and moral accountableness of man, yet directs the whole series of events so as to accomplish its own all-gracious purposes, out of evil bringing forth good, and perpetually advancing the cause of truth and righteousness. I shall conclude this Lecture with some observations sug- gested by the subjects we have been now discussing. Let mo then warn my readers against adopting a preconception, very injurious to the cause of religion with unthinking minds; — even that all the individuals whom God made use of as instruments for the deliverance of his people, are brought forward to our notice in Scripture as worthy of divine favour, and fit models for our imitation in the entire tenor of their lives. They gene- rally indeed possessed the important and praiseworthy qualities of zeal and intrepidity in defence of their national religion and constitution, and were active and effective instruments in re- storing the worship of Jehovah, and thus in the main for- warding the interests of virtue and religion. Hence, God frequently assisted their efforts with miraculous aid, or is said to have raised them up,* or been with them as judges or kings of Israel. But we must by no means conceive that this implies, that the divine approbation attended all their conduct. The * Most of the difficulties and objections which appear to discredit the divine original of the Jewish revelation, are derived from the misconduct of the nation in genera), or from the errors and crimes of some distinguished individuals, who were employed as instruments to forward the progress of the divine economy. In addition to such circumstances as have been advanced in this and the preceding Lectures, to obviate such difficulties and objections, the following remarks may perhaps not be useless. It is said to be utterly incredible, that persons raised up, aided, inspired, directed, or assisted by God, should have been guilty of such crimes as David; such idola- tries as Solomon ; such weaknesses as Samson ; such apostasies and cruelties as the Jews. To this it may be answered, that it is perfectly ciedible they should be raised up for particular purposes; aided in effecting a particular object; inspired with a certain degree of knowledge; assisted at particular periods, and in a special manner; and yet, that beyond this, their natural character, their external tempta- tions, their acquired habits, may have produced all the irregularities and crimes which gave so much offence. To ask, why God did not prevent this ? is to ask, why he did not exercise a greater degree of supernatural control than the peculiar VOL. n. R 268 CONDUCT OF [Part III. excesses of Samson, the rash vow of Jephthah, the ephod of Gideon, which proved a snare unto him and all his house, involving them in the guilt of idolatry ; the excessive indul- gence of Eli to his profligate sons ; the manner in which the purposes of Providence required ? A question as absurd as it is presumptuous. On this subject, I transcribe the observations of Butler, Analogy, p. 260, which appear to me decisive. Having illustrated, by a variety of examples, that the system of nature is liable to objections, "o priori," analogous to those advanced against the scheme of revelation ; and that as the former are admitted to be inconclusive objec- tions to natural religion, the latter are equally so v^ith regard to revelation ; he pro- ceeds, " By applying these general observations to a particular objection, it will " be more distinctly seen, hovir they are applicable to others of the like kind : and " indeed to almost all objections against Christianity, as distingmshed from ob- " jections against its evidence. It appears from Scripture, that as it was not un- " usual in the apostolic age, for persons, upon their conversion to Christianity, to " be endued with miraculous gifts ; so, some of those persons exercised these gifts " in a strangely irregular and disorderly manner ; and this is made an objection ** against their being really miraculous. Now the foregoing observations quite " remove this objection, how considerable soever it may appear at first sight. For, ^* consider a person endued with any of thtse gifts ; for instance, that of tongues: *' it is to be supposed, that he had the same power over this miraculous gift, •• as he would have had over it, had it been the effect of habit, of study and use, " as it ordinarily is ; or the same power over it, as he had over anj other natura) " endowment. Consequently, he would use it in the same manner he did anj *' other; either regularly and upon proper occasions only, or irregularly and im •' proper ones : according to his sense of decency, and his character of prudence, ^^ Where then is the objection ? Why, if this miraculous power was indeed given " to the world, to propagate Christianity and attest the truth of it we might, it " seems, have expected, that other sort of persons should have been chosen to he ■"invested with it; or that these should, at the same time have been endued with •' prudence ; or that they should have been continually restrained and directed " in the exercise of it: i. e. that God should have miraculously interposed, if at *' all, in a different manner or higher degree. But from the observations made " above, it is undeniably evident, that we are not judges, in what degrees and " manners, it were to have been expected, he should miraculously interpose ; upon " supposition of his doing it in some degree and manner. Nor, in the natural " course of Providence, are superior gifts of memory, eloquence, knowledge, and " other talents of great influence, conferred only on persons of prudence and de- " cency, or such as are disposed to make the properest use of them. Nor is the " instruction and admonition naturally afforded us for the conduct of life particu- " larly in our education, commonly given in a manner the most suited to recom- •« mend it; but often with circumstances apt to prejudice us against such instruc- " tioii." Such are the observations of Butler ; and they seem to show most clearly, the unreasonableness of disbelieving the reality of the divine interpositions in the Jew- ish scheme, merely from the crimes and idolatries of the nation at large, or of the Most remarkable persons employed in those interpositions. God raised up various judges, and kings and prophets, to deliver, to instruct, and to govern his people ; Lect. II.] THE JEWS. 2o9 sons of Samuel himself abused their pious parent's authority ; the crimes even of David and Solomon ; all these facts supply abundant proofs, that as in the people, so in the chiefs, there was a mixture of weakness and unsteadiness, an immaturity of and he gave them such aids of valour, prudence, knowledge, and such a degree of success, as were sufficient for the purposes they were necessary to answer. But he did not make them, or the nation at large, infallible or impeccable. The judges often fell into errors and crimes : Samson abused his supernatural strength; David's piety and virtue were overpowered by criminal desire acquiring an undue ascendancy; Solomon, notwithstanding his extraordinary wisdom, was corrupted by sensuality, and fell into idolatry: and thus of the rest. But does this render it incredible that they were at all employed by God to effect his purposes, or on particular occasions assisted with extraordinary aid ? Assuredly not. This would be to affirm that God could not interpose at all in human afl'airs, without interpos- ing to such a degree, as would totally subvert the laws of man's moral nature, and the principles of his own moral government, by forcibly controlling human agency, and subverting all free will. The unreasonableness of supposing or ex- pecting that the Deity should interpose to such a degree as this, is strongly and beautifully illustrated by aichbishop King in his celebrated Treatise on the Origin of Evil; and his observations are applied to the subject before »is, by his learned and ingenious annotator, bishop Law. I shall insert a short extract from each; vide King's Origin of Evil, translated by Law, chap. v. sect. v. Subsect. in. p. 359. " Such an interruption as this,'' (viz. God's restraining all exercises of free will, when they tend to vice and absurdity; vide the two pre- ceding paragraphs, particularly p, 336.) "would not only do violence to nature, " but quite invert the method of treating free agents. This method is to hinder "or excite elections by rewards or punishments, to divert them from unreason- " able or absurd things, and draw them to better by the persuasion of reason. *' But it is doubtful whether the nature of the thing will permit an election to be " determined by impulse, or as it were by immediate contact, for it seems equally " absurd to attempt a change of election by any other means than those above " mentioned, as to desire to stop the motion of matter by entreaty or offering re- " wards. May we not with the same reason expect that matter should be moved " by rewards and punishments, as the will influenced by physical impulse, as they call " it ? for it is by these means they wo\iId have God to stop or alter the choice. So " preposterous an interposal would confound every thing, and leave nothing certain " in nature. How fatal such an experiment would be, and how it would affect *' the minds of the observers ; or what suspicions concerning God and their own se- " curity, it might suggest to the whole system of thinking beings.. God only knows. " We see that human laws cannot be dispensed with, without very many inconve- " nfencies, which yet, as they are made upon an imperfect foresight and can provide '• for few cases, seem naturally to require some interposition. How much gi-eater "evils may we apprehend from a dispensation with the divine, the natural laws, oa " the observance of which the good of the whole depends. This seems to be the " reason why God makes use of so much labour and pains, so great an apparatus of •' means, so many precepts, persuasions, and even entreaties for the amendment of •mtrVInd, which nevertheless he could effect in a moment if he were pleased to **PP'7 foi'ce; and he would undoubtedly do it, if he had not foreseen more iucotw 260 CONDUCT OF [Part ill. intellect, and dullness of sentiment as to morality and religion, which, though controlled and overruled by Providence, so as to prevent them from defeating the great objects of the divine dis- pensations, which these individuals were otherwise qualified to " veniences from a change in the order of nature, and violence done to elections." On the preceding paragraph his Annotator very truly remarks, " The history of the *' Jewish nation affords good instances of this : what an apparatus of outward means " was continually made use of in the government of that stiff-necked people ! What " trequent murmurings, rebellions and apostasies were permitted and then punished ! *' What numerous miracles, both of the remunerative and vindictive kind, were ap- " plied, in order to bring them to some tolerable sense of their dependence on God, "and suitable practice of the duties resulting from it ! All which would have been " unnecessary at least, if one miracle exerted on their minds could have done the " business : if their understandings could as well have been illuminated, atid their •• wills reformed at once ; and if their practice produced by this means, and, as it " were, extorted from them, v/ou]d have been equally agreeable to the Deity. And " in this, as well as many other respects, they seem to have been types and representa- " lives of all mankind." Archbishop King's idea of the nature of God's moral government, in Subsect. T. of the same chapter, seems to me so just, and to cast so much light on many facts and arguments considered in this Work, I cannot forbear traascribing it. *' As it would be prejudicial to man, to all nature, for God to hinder bad elections " by his absolute power, so nothing can be conceived so disagreeable to himself. " We have said, that God made the world, in order to have something whereon to " exercise his attributes externally. But since he has several attributes, he cannot "exercise them nW in every thing alike: his power, therefore, exerts itself chiefly " in one thing, his wisdom and goodness in another. He exercised his power in " creating the world and putting it into motion ; his goodness and wisdom in the " order and agreement of things. But the Divine Wisdom seems to have set apart "the government of free agents as its peculiar province; herein it fully exercises "itself, and acts up to its infinity; for if it were finite, it would not be equal to so " great a task. It does not seem a very extraordinary thing for God to be able to •» govern and absolutely direct such beings as are merely passive, and deprived of "all motion of their own, whereby they might make resistance; for those things " obey easily which do not move but when they are moved, neither is there need "of infinite wisdom to govern them; for infinite power with a moderate use of " wisdom would have been sufficient. That there might be a subject, therefore, " whereon the infinite wisdom of God should display itself, he created free agents ; " which being as it were put out of his power and left to themselves, might act in " a manner independent of his will. It is evident to any person, how much more " difficult it is, and how much greater exercise of wisdom it requires, to direct a *' multitude of these to a certain end, and make them conspire to the common good, •' than to order brute beasts, and such as have no power of themselves, in what " manner you please. To them that consider the vast multitude of free agents, *• which is almost infinite, and their independence (since every one is, at least in " many cases, absolute master of his own actions, and is permitted by God to act •'according to that liberty) God seems to have given a specimen of the extent of his " wisdom, which is able thus certainly and effectually to bring to the end propcsed Lect. II.] THE JEWS. 261 promote, yet should always prevent us fiom considering them as held forth by Scripture as, in every instance of their conduct favored of God and to be imitated by man. In general, indeed, this * is expressly noted in the Scripture itself, and an inime- " so many free spirits, so many agents that were in a manner set at liberty from " his dominion, and committed every one to his own government. Here is the " proper place for wisdom, wherein setting aside and in a manner suspending the " exercise of his power, he attains his ends by prudence only, by mere dexterity of " acting; and brings it to pass, that so many jarring wills, depending on themselves " alone, and no more inclined to either side by the divine Power, than if there " were no such thing, shall yet conspire together to promote the good of the uni- " verse." Collider's opinion, as quoted by Law, shall close this already too long note, for which the importance of the subject will, it is hoped, apologize. " It " was highly suitable," (says this judicious writer) " to the Divine Wisdom, in the " government of the world, both to pre-ordain some of the principal events, with " relation to the entire human community, or to the more considerable parts of it, " and to reserve to himself a right of interposing, and influencing particular agents; " as in other cases, so more especially in order to the accomplishment of these events. " That he has actually done so, is abundantly evident from Scripture prophecies " and histories ; and that in so doing he has acted in a manner most worthy his '* wisdom, is no less manifest. For hereby it appears, that the divine government " is equally opposed to chance and destiny. Had the Deity taken no cai-e of futu- " rity, but left every man to the conduct of his own inclination, and natural effects " in general to the influence of their causes without ever interposing to direct them " to the attainment of his great design, this would have been almost in effect to di- *' vest himself of the government of rational agents, and to subject their affairs to " chance, and to the hazard of the utmost disorder and confusion; or had he on *' the contrary, absolutely or fatally determined every event, though this would have " been far enough from divesting himself of the government of the world, yet it " would have been a government unworthy of the Deity, a government entirely ex- •' elusive of all proper sin and punishment, virtue and reward ; wherein he himself '• would have been in effect the only agent, and we the creatures stupid and pas- " sive ; whereas, by pre-ordaining the more material events and suffering the crea- " tures freely to exert their faculties in all convenient cases, he appears most wisely " to have chosen the middle way, and thereby to have equally avoided the mischiefs " of both extremes." For more on this difficult subject, I refer to King's Work at large, to which, as far as appears to me, no adequate answer has been given. I would also entreat the iuquiring reader to consider what has been advanced by Butler, in his Ana- logy, Part I. ch. iii. Of the moral government of God ; ch. vi. Of the opinion of necessity, as influencing practice ; and ch. vii. Of the government of God, as being imperfectly comprehended / as well as ch. \. Of a state of maral discipline. He would soon be convinced how idly, ignorant and superficial sceptics object to what God has done ; from their wild theories as to what, in their opinions, he might, shouHj or could have done. * This is remarkably conspicuous in the cases of Samson and Eli, David and Solomon. 262 CONDUCT OP [Part III. diate punishment declared to be inflicted for their offences. Whore it is not, we are undoubtedly called on to compare their conduct with the pekfect model of our Lokd and Saviour Jesus Christ, and by this comparison judge how far they are worthy of our imitation ; adopting the sentiment of the Apos- tle, who declared, * " For such an High Priest became us, who " is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made " higher than the heavens ; who needeth not daily, as those " high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and " then for the people : for this he did once, when he offered up " himself. For the law maketh men high priests which have " infirmity ; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, " maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore." I shall here close these remarks, by entreating my younger rciiJers, that in considering this as well as every succeeding part of the Jewish dispensation, they may recollect, that the effects arising from it were at no one period so complete and ex- tensive, as to justify us in supposing the state of things at that period was that on which Providence rested as perfect and final. No, it was still a system in progress. To this hour the Jewish scheme is yet in progress. Important as are the effects it has already produced, still the singular situation of this people at this moment, (outcast as they appear to be from the kingdom of Christ,) when compared with the prophetic declaration of their future conversion, after the " fulness of the Gentiles shall have " come in,""!- must convince us, that we cannot yet fathom the counsels of God, in the entire series of the divine economy Yet we perceive its perpetual tendency : — sometimes to produce in the whole mass of the Jewish nation, an increasing sense of virtue and religion, by counteracting their prejudices and errors, and punishing their crimes and apostasies ; sometimes leading a chosen few within the bosom of this nation, to far higher attainments in piety, and making them the instruments of im- jjressing religious instruction, and religious sentiments, not so nmch on their immediate countrymen, as on remote nations in remote ages ; and thus at a great distance preparing the way for the Christian scheme. Finally, let it be recollected, that the design of the Jewish economy was not solely or chiefly to preserve the Jews themsej/c^ * Heb. vii. 26—28. t R*"". xi. 25. LeCl. n.J THE JEWS. 2C3 iu Dor'*ect separation from the surrounding nations, and in per- fect obedience to the divine law ; so that where this effect was not fully produced, it should be supposed to have failed in ac- complishing its purpose. No, the great object of this dispensation was, to preserve in the world, a standing monument and a stand- ing PROOF OF the unity, THE SUPREMACY, AND THE PROVIDENCE OP Jehovah. And this effect was ^perpetually and uniformly pro- duced in all the periods, and by all the events of the Jewish history. Whether the Jews were obedient and prosperous, or idolatrous and depressed, in their apostasies and captivities, as well as their repentance and restorations, the power and provi- dence of Jehovah were equally conspicuous. And, so far as concerned the great bulk of mankind, the interests of religion equally promoted and secured, and that providential dispensation Buccessfully conducted, which was necessary to prepare for Wid jutrodace the Gospel of Christ. 2(^t SANCTION OF [Part III. ' LECTUKE III. SANCTIONS OF THE JEWISH LAW. r'ECT. I. Objections against the Mosaic Law, from its employing temporal icnction» — and visiting the iniquities of the fathers on the children. JFarburton's opinion on this subject— his Work incomplete — his reasoning not perfectly conclusive— hoto far I agree with, and how far I differ from, his opinion. Two conclusions seem true : firtt, that Moses employed temporal sanctions in his Law : second, the history of the Old Testament shows he believed a future state, and contains a gradual development of it. Moses employs temporal sanctivns huth nationally and individually — This at- counted for— from the nature of the Jewish theocracy — Reality of the extraordinary providence exercised over the Jews proved in this IVork, without resorting to JVarbur- ton's medium — Temporal sanctions sufficient — necessary to confute idolatry — adapted to the intellectual and moral character of the Jews — best mode of introducing the doc- trine of a future state with effect — a necessary part of the theocracy — exemplified to man 'he principles of God's moral government. DEUTERONOMY, XXX. 15, 16. •• See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil ; in tliat I command thee " this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments, and " his statutes, and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God " shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it." In reviewing the system of religion and policy established by the Jewish Lawgiver, two circumstances claim particular atten- tion : one, that the rewards and punishments of a future life were not inculcated by Moses as sanctions of his laws ; and the other, that he has employed as a sanction the declaration, that " God would visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children " to the third and fourth generation of them that hate him ; and " show mercy unto the thousandth generation of them who should " love him, and keep his commandments.* Both these circumstances have been the subject of long and warm discussion. The former has been objected to as an omisr- sion of necessary truth, which no genuine revelation could * Exod. XX. 6, 6. Lect. III.] THB JEWISH LAW. 265 overlook ; and the latter has been represented as a violation of natural justice, which God cannot be supposed to perpetrate or authorize.* While, on the other side, the defenders of revelation contend, that both these circumstances naturally arise from the peculiar character and views of the Jewish law, and are closely connected with the reality of that extraordinary providence by which the Jewish scheme was introduced and supported ; and therefore, far from being inconsistent with the divine original of that system, they, on the contrary, illustrate and confirm it. On this subject the celebrated Warburton has peculiarly dis- tinguished himself: to do him justice, I shall state his argu- ment in his own words.-f* " In reading the law and history of " the Jews, with all the attention I could give to them, amongst *' the many circumstances peculiar to that amazing dispensation, " (from several of which, as I conceive, the divinity of its " origin may be fairly proved) these two particulars most for- *' cibly struck my observation; the omission of the doctrine of a ** future state, and the administration of an extraordinary provi- " dence. As unaccountable as the first circumstance appeared, " when considered separately and alone, yet when set against " the other, and their mutual relations examined and compared, " the omission was not only well explained, but was found to *' be an invincible medium for the proof of the divine legation " of Moses : which, as unbelievers had been long accustomed " to decry from this very circumstance, I chose it preferably to " any other. The argument appeared to me in a supreme de- " gree strong and simple, and not needing many words to en- " force it, or, when enforced, to make it well understood." " Religion hath always been held necessary to the support of " civil society, because human laws alone are ineflectual to " restrain men from evil with a force sufiicient to carry on the " affairs of public regimen ; and (under the common dispensa- " tion of Providence) a future state of rewards and punishm^^iits * These objections have been brought forward by a number of infidel w iters. Vide their arguments, collected and answered by Warburton, Div. Leg. Vol. IV. In the appendix to his Fifth Book, he refutes those of Bolingbroke. Vide a!-o LeI&iid's View of the Deistical Writers, Vol. II, Letters xxv. xxvii. xxx. and xxn-fi. Vide also Leland's Answer to Morgan, eh. xi. Vide also Calmet's Dis'^f^rtstinn s«ur la Nature de I'Ame, Tom. xxvi. p. 196. \ Warburton's Divine Legation, B. VI. sect vi. the Recapitulation, p. 362, 2^0 SANCTIONS OF [Part III. * is confessed to be as necessary to the support of religion, be- cause nothing else can remove the objections to God's moral government under a providence so apparently unequal, whose ' phenomena are apt to disturb the serious professors of religion •' with doubts and suspicions concerning it, as it is of the ' essence of religious profession to believe, that God is a rewarder " of them that diligently seek him. " Moses, who instituted a religion and a republic, and incor- " porated them into one another, stands single amongst ancient " and modern lawgivers, in teaching a religion without the " sanction, or even so much as the mention of a future state of " rewards and punishments. The same Moses, with a singu- " larity as great, by uniting the religion and civil community of " the Jews into one incorporated body, made God, by natural " consequence, their supreme civil magistrate, whereby the form " of government arising from thence became truly and essen- " tially a theocracy. But as the administration of govern- " ment necessarily follows its form, that before us could be " no other than an extraordinary or equal providence. And " such indeed not only the Jewish Lawgiver himself, but all " the succeeding rulers and prophets of this republic, have in- " variably represented it to be. In the meantime, no lawgiver " or founder of religion amongst any other people ever promised " so singular a distinction ; no historian ever dared to record so " remarkable a prerogative. This being the true and acknow- " ledged state of the case, whenever the unbeliever attempts " to disprove, and the advocate of religion to support, the " divinity of the Mosaic dispensation, the obvious question " (if each be willing to bring it to a speedy decision) will " be, whether the extraordinary providence thus prophetically " promised, and afterwards historically recorded to be perform- " ed, was real, or pretended only. We believers hold that it " was real : and I, as an advocate for Eevelation, undertake to " prove it was so : employing for this purpose as my medium, " the omission of a future state of rewards and punishments, * the argument stands thus. " If religion be necessary to civil government, and if religion " cannot subsist under the common dispensation of Providence, " without a future state of rewards and punishments ; so con- '^ sumniatc a lawgiver would never have neglected to inculcafo Lect. III.] THE JEWISH LAW. 267 ^^ the belief of such a slate, had he not been well assured that *' an extraordinary providence was indeed to be administered o\er " ms people. Or were it possible he had been so infatuated, the " irapotency of a religion wanting a future state, must very soon " have concluded in the destruction of his republic : yet never- " theless it flourished and continued sovereign for many ages. " These two proofs of the proposition, that an extraordinary " providence was really administered, drawn from the thing " omitted, and the person omitting, may be reduced to the fol- *' lowing syllogisms. " First, Whatsoever religion and society have no future state " for their support, must be supported by an extraordinary " providence. The Jewish religion and society had no future *• state for their support ; therefore the Jewish religion and ^ society were supported by an extraordinary providence. '•'' And again, secondly. The ancient lawgivers universally be- '* Heved, that a religion without a future state could be supported " only by an extraordinary providence. Moses, an ancient law- " giver, learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, (the princi- " pal branch of which wisdom was inculcating the doctrine of a " future state,) instituted such a religion : therefore Moses be- " lieved that his religion was supported by an extraordinary " providence." " This," says the learned writer, " is the argument of the Di- " vine Legation ; plain, simple, and convincing, in the opinion of " its author ; a paradox in the representation of his adversaries." This argument he afterwards sums up in the following words. " The doctrine of a future state is necessary to the well-being "of civil society, under the ordinary government of providence ; " all mankind have ever so conceived of the matter. The Mo- " saic institution was without this support, and yet it did not " want it. What follows, but that the Jewish aflairs were ad- ** ministered by an extraordinary providence, distributing re- " ward and punishment with an equal hand, and consequently " that the mission of Moses was divine."* The learned writer, in another passage, -f- explains why he judged it necessary to prosecute his argument in the very e-v- iended manner in which he has pursued it ; " including a severe * Warburton, B. VI. sect. vi. vol. v. p. 404. J Warburton, B. VI. sect. vi. the Recapitulation, particularly 3C6. 268 SANCTIONS OP [Part III. " search into the religion, the politics, and the philosophy ot " ancient times, as well as a minute examination into the nature " and genius of the Hebrew constitution." It is indeed to be " lamented that he was induced to take so loide a range : as, in his researches* into heathen antiquity, and sometimes in his theological criticisms, he has been led into discussions altogether unnecessary for the defence of revelation : and in some of which, it can scarcely be denied, that his proofs are deficient and Ills conclusions precipitate. And this is still more to be lamented, as the bulk into which these discussions swelled, and the controversies arising from them, occupied his attention so long, that they appear to have made him finally weary of his subject, and prevented him from giving that minute attention to the nature and genius of the Hebrew constitution, wliich he originally designed. Thus he never completed the last volume of his work, intended to support what had been already proved,-f* " in " a seventh book, which was intended to contain a continued " history of the religious opinions of the Jews, from the time " of the earlier prophets to the time of the Maccabees ; an * I believe few impartial reasoners will be found to admit the full truth of this learned writer's opinions, as to the origin and use of the Pagan mysteries, in Book II. sect. iv. Compare Leland on the advantage of Revelation, Vol. 1. Part I. ch. viii. ix. and Vol. II. Part III.; the entire of which appears to prove, that much of the Second Book of Warburton is overstated. In truth, the supposition that "none of the ancient philosophers believed a future state, nay, that they held " such principles that they could not possibly believe it, thou!;h they universally '• taught it," appears as ill-founded as it is paradoxical. The views of these ancient gages on this subject were indeed obscure, and their arguments neither clear nor certain; their opinions therefore were unsteady and fluctuating. But that they all steadily agreed in firmly disbelieving, and yet hypocritically affirming, the doc- trine of a future state, nobody, I think, can believe, who will read with an unpreju- diced mind Plato's PhcBdon, or the Jirst book of Cicero's Tusculan Questions. I have always been impressed with tlie fullest conviction of tlie siiu:erity of these writers; while I could not but pity and lamtiit the darkness and uncertainty wliich concealed from these great luminaries of the heathen world this most important truth. Consult, on this subject, Leland's Advantage of Revelation, Vol. II. Part iii. Warbmton's opinion as to the recent date of the book of Job, is, I believe, very generally questioned by the best critics; vide Peters on Job, and Dr Magee's Dis- sertation on that subject, in his work On Atonement and Sacrifice, from p. 321 to 347. And surely much of what Warburton has advanced, on the sixth book of the iEneid, the Rise of the Art of Medicine, the Interpretation of Dreams, &c. however ingenious and entertaining, can scarcely be considered as necessarily connected with the defence of Revelation. Vide Warburton, Book I. sect, iv.; Book I. sect. i. iii. iv.; and Book IV. sect. iii. iv. "i Vide Warburton, tho two last pares of tlie Divine LeRation, Lect. III.] THE JEWISH LAW. 2()9 " eighth book, which was destined to consider the personal " character of Moses, and the genius of his law, as far as it " concerns or has a relation to the character of tlie lawgiver, *' and to supply a full and satisfactory answer to those who may " object, that a revealed religion without a future state of rewards " and punishments is unworthy the Divine Author to whom it is " ascribed." And we have still further to lament, that only a fragment exists of the ninth book, " intended to explain at large " the nature and genius of the Christian dispensation, and to as- " sign the great and principal reason of the omission of future " rewards and punishments in the sanctions of tlie Jewish law." This able writer has thus left us to deplore the want of his learning and sagacity, in the illustration of those topics whicli it is necessary here to discuss : it becomes therefore the more incumbent on us to consider this important subject with the most patient attention, and conduct our reasonings concerning it with the most cautious sobriety. That there is a close connexion between the extraordinary providence by which the Jewish law was supported, and the omission of future rewards and punishments in the sanctions by which the inspired lawgiver enforced its observance, was, I believe, first perceived by this able writer, though, when stated, it appears not only undeniable, but obvious. It does not how- ever appear to me, that the reasoning of this celebrated prelate establishes his conclusion as certainly and clearly as he himself supposes, or that the omission of a future state of retribution in the sanction of the Mosaic Law, will singly and independently ■prove^ that an immediate and extraordinary sanction must have subsisted. It appears to me, a concurrence of circumstances may be conceived, where such a conclusion would not follow from the omission of future sanctions. Because the good effects generally resulting in the present life from virtue, particularly from the observance of our social duties, and the corresponding pernicious consequences of vice, may form a certain degree of present sanction to the moral precepts of religion, even without any certainty of an immediate extraordinary providence, and the punishments of civil law, and the protection of the civil magistrate may supply an additional present sanction to the practical part of religion, and give some authority to its positive institutions. True it is, both these sanctions must ne- 270 SANCTIONS OF [Part III. cessarily be very inadequate, and the system of religion founded on them must be very imperfect. Yet a state may be supposed to commence, and to continue at least for a considerable length of time, even with a system of religion thus imperfect, and a degree of sanction thus inadequate. And if we suppose a legis- lator to find a nation indisposed to receive the belief of a future state, wliile he feels that he has no pretensions to the aid of an extraordinary providence, it is not incredible, that he may en- deavour to make the best he can of so disadvantageous a situa- tion ; and promulgate a system of religion and policy, relying only on abstract reason to prove the existence of some superior power, who prefers virtue to vice, and sanctioning his laws only by civil penalties. Conceiving this combination of circum- stances possible, I do not concur with the learned Warburton, when he maintains, that the omission of a future state in tlie religious system of a legislator, is singly and directly sufficient to prove that system supported by an extraordinary providence. But I do most fully coincide with him in thinking, that the particular circumstances of the Jewish legislator, and the par- ticular nature of the system he established, are such, that no such hypothesis can be at all applied to account for the omission of future sanctions in the Mosaic law ; and that nothing but the reality of an extraordinary providence, clearly experienced both by the legislator and the people, could have originally estab- lished and afterwards preserved that system, notwithstanding the omission of a future sanction. And I contend, that the reality of an extraordinary providence being established by unquestioned testimony, and by the general nature of the Mosaic code, we can thence satisfactorily account for the omission of a future sanction, and that this is the only way in which it can be accounted for. So that such omission, far from being inconsistent with the divine original of the Jewish dispensation, results from the operation of that extraordinary providence which attends such divine original. In a word, Warburton considers the omission of a future sanc- tion, as a medium from which, independent of all other proofs, an extraordinary providence may be proved to have attended the Jewish dispensations. I consider it only as a fact for which an extraordinary providence (the reality of which ought to be proved Irom other sources,) will satisfactorily account. I liave thus endeavoured clearly and briefly to explain, Jiow Lect. III.] THE JEWISH LAW. 271 far I dissent from, and how far I adopt, the general argument of this celebrated prelate ; and I am the more anxious to do this, because I do not recollect that any writer on this subject has viewed that argument with an impartial and unprejudiced mind. While its author lived, his splendid talents and exten- sive learning raised in his followers and defenders such enthu- siastic admiration, they could not perceive, or at least would not allow, he had been in the minutest point erroneous. While the keenness of his controversial asperity, the loftiness of his literary pretensions, and the paradoxical form in which he too frequently chose to clothe his opinions, roused in his answerers a zeal of opposition, which would sometimes yield him no cre- dit for the discovery of any truth. Time should now enable us to view him in his true light. In reasoning sagacious, yet precipitate ; in criticism ingenious, but not unprejudiced ; his comprehensive view sometimes embraced in the process of his inquiries too wide an extent ; while his quick imagination some- times led him to combine his arguments with too slight a con- nexion. But when he directed to any one grand point his undi- vided and unprejudiced attention, he frequently diflused over it the radiance of genius, and discovered the recesses of truth. Happy had his humility been equal to his talents, and had his tem- per been as calm and tolerant, as his understanding was luminous and penetrating. His researches would then have been conducted with more caution and impartiality, would have produced more un- exceptionable conclusions, and been attended with happier success. But to return to the immediate object of our present inquiry. It seems to me, on the fullest examination I could institute into the sacred records of the Old Testament,* first, that 3Ioses did not sanction Ms Laws hy the promise of future rewards and pun- ishments ; and secondly, that the history he records, shows not only that he himself believed a future state of retribution, (which Warburton admits) but contains such proofs of it, as must natu- rally suggest it to every serious and reflecting mind, though with less clearness than the succeeding works of the Old Tes- tament. These exhibit this great truth with a perpetually in- creasing lustre : till by David, Solomon, and the prophets, it was so authoritatively revealed, as to become an article of * The reader will easily perceive, that the first of these opinions I ho^6 in rmgw men with Warburton ; and that in the second, I directly oppose nlro 572 SANCTIONS OF [Part III. popular belief and practical influence among the Jewish people, and thus prepare the way for the reception of the Gospel scheme. I proceed to prove these facts, and endeavour to account for their existence, and point out their connexion with each other, and with the whole scheme of the Jewish revelation, in order to show, that the entire system was worthy that divine original to which it is ascribed. That the Jewish Lawgiver supports his Laws by the declara- tion, that an extraordinary Providence would punish their vio- lation, and reward their observance In the present life, without any express declaration of a further sanction in a future state, seems clear and undeniable on the most attentive consideration of the Pentateuch.* Not only is the wJiole nation menaced with temporal punishments, but individuals are threatened and en- couraged in the same manner. In the twenty -seventh chapter of Deuteronomy, we find the Legislator directing the solemn denunciation of the curses due to every violater of the Law, to be proclaimed in the great congregation of the twelve tribes, and assented to by all the people. In the twenty-eighth, tha nature of the curses thus denounced, and of the opposite bles- sings, is fully and emphatically described, when we find both to he entirely temporal, though in the highest degree awful and im- pressive. And in the twenty-ninth we are distinctly told, that if any individual transgressed, he would be subject to the same curses. " Lest," says the Lawgiver -f* " there should be among " you man or woman, or family or tribe, whose heart turneth " away this day from the Lord our God, to go and serve the " gods of these nations ; lest there be among you a root that '' beareth gall and wormwood; and it come to pass when he " heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his " heart, saying, "^ I shall have peace, though I walk in the ima- " gination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst. The " Lord will not spare him, but then the anger of the Lord and " his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and aU the curses " that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the Lord " shall blot out his name from under heaven. And the Lord " shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, ac- " cording to all the curses of the covenant which are written in • Vide, for a full view of the proofs of this point, Warburton's Divine Legation. B— 17. § lb. iii. 14, 15. II lb. ver. 17, 19. Lect. IV.] » KNOWN TO THE JEWS. 293 " and to his wife, did the Lcrd God make coats of skins, ani " clothed them."* Then follows a very remarkable passage which is peculiarly worthy of attention, on this subject : " A-* " the Lord God said, Behold the man is become as one of us, to " know good and evil. And now, lest he put forth his hand, " and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever ; " therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of " Eden, to till the ground, from whence he was taken. So he " drove out the man : and he placed at the east of the garden " of Eden, cherubins, and a flaming sword, which turned every " way, to keep the way of the tree of life.''"'-f" From the entire of this account it seems clearly deducible, that man, by his original constitution, was destined for immor- tality. When God is said to have created man after Ms oton image, surely it is no straining of this expression to interpret it as denoting not only reason and freedom of will, moral recti- tude, and the power of dominion over inferior animals, but also a nature capable of and designed for immortality, without which, all the preceding endowments, however exalted and splendid, would have been so transient and ineffectual, so vainly and unworthily bestowed. When of all animated beings, it is asserted of man alone, that God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and that man became a living soul ; ^ we cannot • Gen. iii. 20, 21. f lb. iii. 22, &c. $ I am aware that the words which are translated " living soul," .T^n tt•S^ are the same which are employed in Gen. i. 30, to denote all inferior animals in which " is life," or as it is more accurately rendered in the margin of our Bibles, •' a living *' soul." But my argument is, that man alone being made after the image of God, man alone being described, as having received from God immediately the breath of life ; and man alone being represented capable of living for ever, by partaking of the tree of life ; the whole tenor of the history marks him out as in his original nature destined for immortality; and that the divine promise of a future deliverer, inspiring a strong assurance of mercy, must have produced an humble but confident hope in every pious, reflecting and believhig mind, of being ultimately restored to this privilege of ■ -.mortality. This interpretation of the Sacred History is justified by the most re- spectable authorities, ancient and modern. The Targum of Onkelos, though it retains in Gen. i. 30, the original expression, common to men and inferior animals, of a living soul ; yet in Gen. ii. 7, substitutes the expression, of a spirit enjoying the capacity of speech, MSSoann"? — and the Arabic version renders the same verse, "And Adara was made a rational soul;" thus showing how strongly these translators felt the reasonableness of distinguishing the principle of life in man and inferior animals. And in this distinction, the Targum of Jonathan B. Uziel concurs with the Targiim of Onkelos, in adopting the same expression in Gen. ii. 7. Vide Biblia Polyglotta Waltoni. 294 A FUTURE STATE , {Part TIT, much dissent from those commentators, who conceive the breath of Hfe, thus immediately derived from God, partook of the im- mortahtj of its divine Author, and that the living soul which man thus acquired, deserved that title much more eminently than the animating principle of any of the brute creation, all of which are described as formed with such different views, and sharing so inferior a degree of their Creator's favour. And, finally, to prove clearly that man was originally intended for immortality, we are told that the iree of life was placed in the midst of the garden, whose efficacy was such, that if man was permitted to take of it, he would live for ever. Can it be denied that these passages suggest some intelligible hint of immortal " It is not to be doubted," (says Perrerius) " that from these few words, in which " Moses has related the creation of a rational spirit, it may be proved that the soul is " immortal; which Moses has frequently intimated both in this and his other books." " And Rivetus on this passage, disputes at large on the immortality of the soul. '^ S. Method. Conviv. Firff. p. 75, asserts, "It is false doctrine, that the Immortal " substance of the mind, which God himself breathed into us, was generated along with ^'the mortal and frail substance of the body." Cyrill Alex, de Adorat. lib. x. Vol. I. p. 356, and Comment, in Joan, lib. v. p. 471, resolves the immortality of the soul into " the virtue and support of the divine breath breathed into man," " Man," says Theodoret and several of the ancient Fathers, " must be certainly admitted to a noble *' share of divine intelligence and ideas, since these were a privilege breathed into him " by his Maker at his creation, a dignity amd eminence of natme superior to that of all " other animals." The expression of the imat/e of God also plainly implies the idea of the soul's im- mortality, according to the best commentators. Abarbinel explains it to mean, " an " approach to the divine likeness in understanding, freedom of choice, spirituality and " immortality." And Tertullian contra Marcion, cap. ix. " Habent illas ubique " lineas Dei, qua immortalis anima, qua libera, et sui arbitrii, qua prescia plerumque, M qua rationalis, capax intellectus et scientife." Vatdhlus and Paulus Fagius make this image to consjst " in immortality, innocency, holiness, and the other perfections of the " soul, as well as in man's dominion over inferior animals." The learned and judicious Edwards, in his Survey of the various Methods of Religion, Vol. I. p. 13, and 17. ob- serves, " Besides the dominion over the creatures, and something in the outward man, " the image of God consists chiefly in the soul: first, as this part of us is of an im- " material and spiritual nature, and such is God, 'he is a spirit,' John iv. 24. Again " the soul of man is immortal, and therein is God's image and representation. This " indeed follows upon the former quality ; it being immaterial and incorporeal, it must <' needs be in its own nature incorruptible ; herein we signally resemble the Deity. " And therefore it is rightly asserted by St Augustin, that because of the immor- •' tality of the soul, though not only for that, man is said to be made after God's image." Vide also T»ylor's Scheme of Scripture Divinity, ch. v. the three last paragraphs, whieh express the same sentiments. Vide also Poli Synopsis, Patrick, and BibliothecaBiblica on Genesis, i. 26, and ji. 7, LeCt. iV.j KNOWN TO THE JEWS. 295 life, some idea at least of the capacity of the human soul to enjoy an eternal existence I It will be said all this relates to the state of man before his fall, but that by this fatal transgression the hope of immortality was totally cut off, and eternal death was the melancholy doom which every human being must look to as the close of his existence. Now to me the Sacred Narrative seems to imply the very contrary conclusion ; and to hold out to penitent man the hope, that notwithstanding his privilege of enjoying eternal life in this present world was withdrawn, he yet might hope for the continuance or the renewal of his existence in another state. It may be remarked, that the very words of the curse denounced against him by his offended God, in which, if any where, this awful doom would be declared, seems not at all to convey it. Man had been described originally consisting of two distinct parts ; he was " formed of the dust of the earth," and " God " breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became " a living soul."" Now to the former part, and to the former part alone, does the letter of the curse confine itself. " In the " sweat of thy face," says the divine Judge to fallen Adam, " shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground ; for " out of it wast thou taken : for dust thou art, and unto dust " shalt thou return." Here the dissolution of the bodily frame, and its return to its original dust is the only thing menaced. The extinction of that breath of life which God had inspired, the destruction of that living soul which man had been described as possessing, is not so much as hinted at. But if from the letter we direct our attention to the spirit of the narrative, this conclusion seems to acquire irresistible strength. It is admitted, that in the very condemnation of deluded man, his heavenly Judge tempered the severity of justice with mercy, and guarded against that despair which would have estaguished the vital principle of virtue ;* by giv- ing assurance of a deliverer to spring from the seed of the woman, who should bruise the head (that is, subdue the power and punish the malignity) of the serpent who had seduced them. If we admit the divine institution of sacrifice,-)* at this crisis, fwhich is surely the most rational interpretation of tho * Vide Sherlock on tLe Use and Intent of Prophecy, Discnurse III. p. 60. t Vide on this subject, Taylor's Scheme of Scripture Divinity, chap. xiv. ; and Dt. j1igee'« Second Sermon on Sacrifice and Atoneanent, with the notes. 296 A FUTURE STATE [Part III. narrative concerning the beasts slain immediately after the fall, and of the sacrifices of Cain and Abel,) it will follow, that the very mode in which this deliverance should be effected was not indistinctly pointed ont : even that God would accept the life of the great Sacrifice, which the sacrifices now instituted pre- figured, as a substitute for the life, and an atonement for the sins, of man. But whether Adam could or could not conceive the particular mode in which it was to be effected, he certainly cherished a sure hope of future deliverance. Now let me ask, what hope could he have cherished, if he conceived of death as the final extinction of his being? If eternal annihilation was his own fate, what consolation could he derive from the promise of a future deliverer? What mixture of hope would have remained to sustain the energy of virtue, had he conceived of that death which inevitably awaited him and all his posterity, as a total extinction of being ? I contend, therefore, that the very history of the creation and fall of man, not only suggested the idea, and gave an intelligible hint of a future state, but was calculated to inspire every serious and pious mind with an humble but assured hope that they were in the hands of a merciful Judge ; who, though he thought it necessary to remove them from this world by a corporeal dissolution, would yet preserve that breath of life, that living soul, which he had himself inspired and which had been formed after the image of God, from total anni- hilation and eternal death. Such seems to have been the conclusion naturally suggested by the history of the Fall. But this conclusion must have derived great additional clearness and strength, from the cir- cumstances attending the very first instance of death inflicted upon man ; combined with the knowledge of the divine attributes, which revelation and experience had supplied. " Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering to the " Lord ; and Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock, " and of the fat thereof: and the Lord had respect unto Abel and his " offering, but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect : " and Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell." God pointed out the unreasonableness of this wrath : For " the Lord " said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth ? and why is thy counte- " nance fallen ? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted ? '' and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door." But no Lect. IV.] KNOWN TO THE JEWS. 297 admonition could correct the moroseness of his malignity : for " it came to pass when they were in the field, Cain rose " up against Abel his brother, and slew him." Immediately divine justice arraigns the murderer, and pronounces condemna- tion. God said, " What hast thou done ? the voice of thy " brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now " art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth *' to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand. When thou " tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee " her strength. A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be upon " the earth."* Yet the severity of the divine justice was tempered with mercy. When the wretched criminal deprecates the infliction of his punishment as " greater than he could bear," and, distracted by the horrors of conscience, views in every human being an avenger eager to retaliate his cruelty on himself, exclaiming, " it shall come to pass, that every one who findeth me shall " slay me." God mercifully assures him his life should be pro- tected, and sets a mark upon him, lest any finding him should kill him. He is indeed banished from the sacred spot where the immediate presence of the Lord displayed its glory : but yet abundant time is afforded him for repentance, his life is pro- tracted, and we find his family flourishing and numerous : This is entirely conformable to our ideas of the divine attributes. But contemplate the fate of Abel, and let us consider what would have been its effect upon the mind of every human being, if they conceived death was total annihilation, He perished in consequence of his acting in a manner conformable to the will, and acceptable in the sight of God. " By faith," says the Apostle, " Abel ofiered unto God a more acceptable sacrifice " than Cain ; by which he obtained witness that he was righte- " ous, God testifying of his gifts : and by it he being dead, yet " speaketh."-f- What is the plain meaning of the Apostle's de- claration ? This, assuredly, that the death of Abel speaketh the immortality of the soul, in language too plain to be misun- derstood. Nor can we conceive that the circumstances attending this first infliction of death upon man, could have been ordered hj Providence so as to testify more plainly this great truth of a future state of recompense, had this been the sole purpose for * Genesis, iv. 3—12. + Heb. xi. 4. 298 " A FUTURE STATE [Part III. which they were designed. To conceive that a just and merciful God should openly approve the sacrifice of Abel, and yet permit him, in consequence of that very action, to sufi'er a cruel death,* which put a final period to his existence ; while his * This transaction has been viewed in the same light by some very respectable commentators. Paulus Fagius observes, '♦ His blood poured forth, witnesses that " you put him to death. Let this comfort the pious, who are slain for their jus- " tice that they still live with God, and are his chief care." Vide Poli Synop- sis.— Taylor, p. 102, observes, " The Patriarchs before and after Job, and the " Israelites before Christ, had a notion of a future state. By sacrifices was plainly " shown, that a way was open to the divine favour and acceptance ; and the favour " of God imports happiness ; which to Abel, who was for that very reason, be- *' cause he was accepted of God, unjustly slain, could be only in a future state ; " Heb. xi. 4, and dying on account of that faith, ' he yet speaketh' an invisible •' future state of reward. The translation of Enoch and Elijah in two distant " ages were well known demonstrations of a future state of reward and glory. The " Jews were certainly acquainted with God, and angels, and heaven, where both " resided, Gen, xxii. 11 ; and the connexion between this world and heaven, by the •' ministry of angels, was clearly represented to Jacob, Gen. xxviii. 12; they must " therefore have a notion of another and a better world." Vide Taylor's Scheme, ch. xxiv. p. 102. It is likewise remarkable that the Pelagians turned the death of Abel to an argument, that there was no evil in death, because it conveyed him, and does all such, to a more happy and glorious state; the fallacy of which St Augustine ex- poses, by distinguishing between the act, which was that of murder in Cain, and the consequence, which was martyrdom in Abel. St Augustini Opus imperfect, contra Julian, lib. vi. tom. x. col. 1355. — Doddridge also interprets the words, " being dead yet speaketh," as referring to the testimony borne as it were to a fu- ture state by his story, &c. Vide his Family Expositor on Heb. xi. 4. — But perhaps the most decisive testimony is that of Philo, who in his tract on the sub- ject of the Evil ■plotting against the Good, comments on the death of Abel at large, and amongst other things observes, " Abel (paradoxical as it may appear) though " cut off, lives : he is cut off in the judgment of the unwise, but he lives in God a "life of bliss; and this the divine oracle attests, for it expressly declares, he cries " out against the criminal by whom he suffered : but if he no longer existed, how " could he thus cry out ? Thus the wise man who appears deprived of this mortal " life, lives an immortal one ; but the wicked man, living in guilt, is, with respect " to that blessed life, dead," &c. — Vide Philonis Opera, p. 127, Letter c. — Vide also my learned friend, the Rev. Peter Roberts' note on this passage, in his very useful Work on the Harmony of the Epistles, p. 605. He observes, that " the " words of God, Gen. iv. 6 and 7, probably gave rise to a dispute about the justice of " God, which Abel's insisting on, was, with such an evil disposition as Cain's, likely " to provoke the fatal resentment that followed. In this opinion the Jewish comments " agree; and the examples of a faith which was maintained to death, being a lessoa " to posterity, it is no hard straining of language to say, that Abel preaches or speaks '• still to us of the purity and firmness of his faith in a future life; because as to thi< " life, all his hopes and interest vanished the moment in which he risked the lossof th« •' present." fiOct. 1 v.] KNOWN TO THE JE\\'a. 295 murderer, wliGm the same God openly condemned, was yet permitted to live ; — all this is so monstrous, so contradictory to the divine attributes, as to prove beyond possibility of doubt, that this event was permitted to take place, partly at least, in order to show that death was not a final extinction of being, but on the contrary a passage from this world to another, where the righteous should be recompensed for their adherence to the will of their Heavenly Father, in opposition to suffering and death, by a sure and eternal reward. In the next chapter,* another fact is recorded, which surely conveys an intelligible hint of another state of existence; by giving an instance of one mortal, distinguished for piety, being translated to that state without passing through death :-f- For we are told of Enoch, that he " walked with God, and he was " not ; for God took him." It has been said, that this fact is related with a studied obscurity and brevity, as if to conceal the idea of another life.ij: But this is surely an unfounded in- ference. It is related in exactly the same style and manner as every other fact in this part of the patriarchal history ; and it is so plain, that the only possible way of concealing or obscur- ing the information it contains, would be entirely to suppress the fact. Enough is told to justify the observation of the Apos- tle, " By faith Enoch was translated, that he should not see " death ; and was not found, because God had translated him : " for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased " God."§ And the inference of the author of Ecclesiasticus, " Enoch pleased the Lord and was translated, being an example " of repentance to all generations." || The next circumstance I shall notice in the history of the Patriarchs, is the command of God to Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. As to the purport and object of this command, I * Genesis, v. 24. ■f This is the clear interpretation established by the authority of the Apostle. By others, the original has been differently explained; " he did not appear," or " was " not found," say the Samaritan and the Septuagint versions: the Syriac, " he ceased '' to be:" the Arabic, " he died." The Targum of Onkelos indeed asserts, " he did *' not appear, and God did not cause him to die:" but all unite in declaring that God ■«ok him: and the direct declaration of this will establish a future state with equal Clearness, even if he passed through death. This fact must therefore have suggested Km intelligible hint of a future state from the first, however interpreted. Vide Biblia Polyglotta Waltoiii. § Heb. xi. 5. % Warbuiton, Book V. sect. v. subs. ii. Vol iv. p. 322. || EccV*» ~'.iw, IS. 300 A FUTURE STATE [Part III. adopt with the greatest pleasure the opinion of the learned Warburton,* who with equal ingenuity and truth, as (appears to me) has proved, that when God says to Abraham, ' Take now * thy son, thine only son Isaac,' &c. " the command is merely an " information by action, instead of words, of the great sacrifice " of Christ for the redemption of mankind, given at the earnest " request of Abraham, who longed impatiently to see Christ's " day ; and is that passage of sacred history referred to by our " Lord, where he says to the unbelieving Jews, ' Your father " ' Abraham rejoiced to see my day ; and he saw it, and was " ' glad.'" To this able writer I refer, for the proof of this being the true explanation of this contested passage : and I entirely agree with him in the consequences he adduces from it. " Two " great ends,"" says h.e^'f " seem to be gained by this interpreta- " tion ; the one to free the command from a supposed violation " of natural law ; the other to support the connexion and de- " pendency between the two revelations : for this interpretation " makes the history of the command a direct prophecy of Christ " as Redeemer of the world." I have introduced this part of the sacred history for the pur- pose of quoting another part of this learned Writer's reasoning on this passage, which appears important on the present subject. " Of the principle reason of this command," says he,+ " the " words of Jesus are a convincing proof. Nay, I might go " farther, and say that this is not the only place where the true " reason of the command is plainly hinted at. The Author of " the Epistle to the Hebrews, speaking of this very command, " says. By faith, Abraham, when he was tried, oflFered up " Isaac, accounting that God was able to raise him up even " from the dead, from whence also he received him in a figure ; " EN IIAPABOAH/, in a parable ; a mode of information either " by words or actions, which consists in putting one thing " for another. Now, in a writer who regarded this commanded " action as a representative information of the redemption of " mankind, nothing could be more fine or easy than this expres- " sion. For, though Abraham did not indeed receive Isaac " restored to life after a real dissolution, yet the son bemg in " this action to represent Christ suflering death for the sins * Divine Leg. Book VI. sect, vi.j the very satisfactory Dissertation on the coro- maiid to sacrifice Isaac. t Divine Leg. Book VI. sect. v. Vol. v. p. 223. J Ibid. Vol. v. p. 236. -jieCt. IV.] KNOWN TO THE JEWS. 801 " of the world, when the father brought him safe from Mount " Moriah after three days (during which the son was in a state *' of condemnation to death) the father plainly received him, " under the character of Christ's representative, as restored " from the dead. For as his being brought to the Mount, there " bound, and laid upon the altar, figured the death and suffer- " ings of Christ, so his being taken from thence alive, as pro- " perly figured Christ's resurrection from the dead. With the " highest propriety, therefore, and elegance of speech, might " Abraham be said to receive Isaac from the dead in a parable, " or in representation." Adopting this (as appears to me) just and ingenious explana- tion of this piece of sacred history, it is obvious, and indeed is confessed by this learned writer, that the doctrine of a resurrec- tion to life, even of Christ's resurrection, must have been known to Abraham and Isaac, as well as to their families. Can we then suppose so important a truth would have been by them suppressed ? No it was assuredly communicated from them to the succeeding Patriarchs, and formed the support of their virtue and the source of their consolation, through all the sorrows and sufierings of their eventful lives. True it is, the peculiar pur- poses of the divine economy did not permit the Jewish Lawgiver to employ it as the sanction of his Laws, which were to be en- forced by an immediate extraordinary Providence, and therefore he was not allowed to promulgate it so plainly as to make it a direct article of the popular creed ; but it was intimated with sufficient clearness to be discernible to minds of a superior class, capable of reflection, and adapted to rise to greater heights of piety, exhibit bright examples of virtue, and prepare the way for the full manifestation of the counsels and the mercies of God, by that Jesus, the only-begotten Son of God, whose suSerings and resurrection for the redemption and justification of man, the remarkable transaction we have been now considering so plainly represented and prefigured. But to establish the fact, that the conduct of the Patriarchs was influenced by the prospect of a future life, I should choose to rely on an authority superior to that of any article of mere human composition, even the authority of the Apostle to the Hebrews, who has distinctly stated and clearly illustrated this position : " By faith," says he, " Abraham, when he was called " to go up into a place, which he should after receive for an in- 302 A FUTURE STATE [Part in, *• heritance obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he " went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise as in a " strange country, dwelhng in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, *' the heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked for a " city, which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God."* And again, speaking of the Patriarchs : " These all (says the " Apostle -f") died in faith, not having received the promises, but " having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and " confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims upon earth. " For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a " country. And truly if they had been mindful of that country " from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity " to have returned ; but now they desire a better country, that " is, an heavenly. Wherefore God is not ashamed to be called " their God :J for he hath prepared for them a city." In this passage the Apostle plainly refers to the remarkable declaration of Jacob to Pharaoh, when that monarch inquired from the venerable Patriarch, " How old art thou f And he answered, " The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hun- " dred and thirty years : few and evil have the days of the years " of my life been, and I have not attained to the days of the " years of my fathers, in the days of their pilgrimage."^ In truth, had there been no state of existence beyond the present life, this Patriarch would have received very inadequate proofs of that distinguished favour, with the hope of which God encour- aged him, when, in the vision at Luz, he declared himself " the God of his father Abraham, and of Isaac ; and that he " would give the land whereon he lay to him and to his seed ; and " that in his seed all the families of the earth should be blessed." || Nor was this all. To the promise of this public distinction and general blessing was added a promise of personal favour and pro- tection. " And behold," saith God, " I am with thee, and will * Heb. xi. 8—10. t Ibid. xi. 13—16. J On this subject, Witsius, in his QDconomia Fcedenim, Lib. III. cap. ii. Sect. v. p. 262, observes: " When God declares himself a God to any, it includes eternal life; " for when God from his free grace gives himself to man, he gives liim every thing, " for in himself he is every thing : man therefore finds in him a shield against all evil, "and an exceeding great reward (according to the promise to Abraham. Gen. xv. 1.) " And what more can he desire to secure full and perfect happiness, which includes ♦'eternity? Whence the Apostle joins these two, Hebrews xi. 16 : Now God is not * ashamed to be called their God, for he hath prepared for them a city." ^ Gen. xlvii. 8, 9. || Ibid, xxviii. 13, It. Loct. IV.] KNOWN TO THE JEWS. 30^ " keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee " again into this land ; for I will not leave thee, until I have " done that which I have spoken to thee of."* This promise was certainly fulfilled to a certain degree, in the preservation of the Patriarch and his family during his eventful history. Yet; the life of Jacob was undoubtedly embittered from the very be- ginning with disappointDient and sorrow :-f- — from his twenty years of exile and laborious servitude under Laban ; the terror of his brother's vengeance ; the violent passions and great miscon- duct of his children ; the premature death of his beloved wife Rachel ; the early loss of his favourite child Joseph, which so af- flicted him, that " he refused to be comforted, saying, I will go " down into the grave unto my son, mourning- ;"| the anxiety which the apprehension of famine must have excited, and his still greater terror at the apprehended loss of Benjamin, which wrung from him his pathetic complaint unto his remaining sons, " Me " have ye bereaved of my children : Joseph is not, and Simeon " is not, and ye will take Benjamin away : all these things are " against me."§ And when Reuben undertook for his security, how melancholy the perseverance of his refusal ! " My son " shall not go down with you : for his brother is dead, and he is " left alone : if mischief befall him by the way in which ye go, " then shall ye bring down my grey hairs with sorrow to the " grave." II And when at length the pressure of famine com- pelled his assent, how strongly does the solemnity of his parting benediction bespeak the anguish of his heart ; " Take your bro- " ther, and arise, go again unto the man. And God Almighty " give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your " other brother and Benjamin : if I be bereaved of my children, " I am bereaved."ir I mention these circumstances, to show that then as well as now (until God undertook, by an immediate and extraordinary Providence, to support the interests of virtue**) * Gen. xxviii. 15. f Vide from ch. xxviii. to ch. 1. J Gen. xxxvii. 35. § Gen. xlii. 36. II Gen. xlii. 38. IT Ch. xliii. 13, 14. ** The learned Witsius expresses this argument in the following strong terms ~ *' Extra controversiam est Deum praestantissimum aliqm'd, et in quo, supra cseteros " minus Numinis reverentes, eximii essent, clarissimis illis Patriarchis promississe, " qiiando se Deum ipsorum nuncupabat. Nihil autem supra caeteros homines eximium " adeo in hac terra obtinuerent, quod promissi hujus magnitudinem aequarat; multi " improbi in terra Canaan alibique vixerunt, restat ergo ut altius hsec spectarent, et ad " seteraain coelestemque vitam pertinerent." 504 A FUTURE STATE [Part III human nature required the prospect ot another life to sustain pietj and obedience, under the trials to which they were exposed; and this increases the probability that such a prospect was af- forded, when such trials were imposed by the immediate agency of God. The life of the Jewish Lawgiver affords a remarkable instance in confirmation of the truth of this position. In his youth, grieved and wearied at beholding the cruel oppression of his countrymen, he is led to attempt their deliverance, and sacrifice for this purpose all prospects of regal grandeur and present en- joyment.* But he is totally and lamentably disappointed : re- jected and despised by those who were the objects of his gene- rous patriotism, he is compelled, in order to preserve his life, to fly into exile, where he remains for forty years. Then at the age of fourscore -f he is compelled to quit his retirement, place him- self at the head of his nation, expose himself to the resentment of the Egyptian monarch ; and after having escaped this, is con- stantly harassed with the murmurs, the terrors, the idolatries, the rebellions of this wayward race ; — even his own brother and sister join in opposing his authority. This scene of severe trials lasts for forty years, in a dreary desert, surrounded by a dis- contented multitude. And at the end of this long period, he is not permitted to enjoy the glory of conquering the promised land, or witnessing the happiness of his nation's settlement there, but is barely allowed to see a distant prospect of this long wished-for resting place, and then hurried away by the sudden stroke of death. Yet this is the fate of a man of exemplary piety, who, though sometimes in the heaviness of his spirit he is driven to entreat of God, " If thou deal thus with me, kill me, " I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight ; " and let me not see my wretchedness ;"| yet still preserves to God constant resignation, and to his ungrateful countrymen un- abated affection. Now we may ask, is it not natural to suppose that God, who employed this distinguished character as the chosen instrument for communicating his Law to the whole Jewish nation, should have sustained him in so severe a trial, by the clear prospect of a future recompense ? And though the peculiar purposes of the divine economy would not permit him to employ a future recom- * Vide Exod. ii. 11, et seq. "i Exod. vii. 7. J Numb. xi. 16. Lect. IV,] KNOWN TO THE JEWS. 305 pense as the sanction of his laws, is it not extremely probable that he communicated this joyful hope to those select and pious men who shared his burdens and assisted his councils ? Or, when they compared his character with his fate, and observed that God sustained his bodily and mental powers with superna- tural vigour, to the last moment of his life, so that at the age of " one hundred and twenty years," immediately before his death, " his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated ;"* when they observed all this, could they suppose that on a sudden his existence was closed for ever, and the favour of his God with- drawn ?-f- Surely this could never be the conclusion of any pious or reflecting mind. How much more just and rational is the reasoning of the Apostle to the Hebrews on this subject, even if we were to pay no regard to his inspired authority. " By " faith," says he, " Moses, when he was come to years, refused " to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter — choosing rather " to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the " pleasures of sin for a season ; esteeming the reproach of Christ " greater riches than the treasures in Egypt : for he had respect " unto the recompense of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, " not fearing the wrath of the king : for he endured, as seeing " him who is invisible-^J Finally, if on considering the entire history of the Patriarchs, and comparing the decided declarations of the divine favour to- wards them, with the very inadequate efiects of that favour in this life, the certainty of a future recompense was not a natural as well as a just conclusion, obvious to every pious, reflecting, and unprejudiced mind ; could our blessed Lord, when he urged * Deut. xxxiv, 7. t On tliis subject the learned and judicious Edwards makes an important observa- tion. Vol. I. p. 168, he is employed in proving, "that the benefit of the legal sacri- •' fices expiated the offences of all true penitents, though they were never so great." And he confirms it thus: " Is it not acknowledged, and that because it is manifest «' from several instances, that the crimes of persons have been forgiven and pardoned, " though they themselves were not exempted from the penalty? Moses' death was the " recompense of his unbelief, though none doubted of his expiring in the divine " favour. David was punished with the death of his child, though we read that his " sin teas pardoned * Josiah was justly snatched away in battle, because he engaged '• in it against the divine will and command ; but yet he ' died in peace,' i, e. " in the favour of God, and was translated to the place of everlasting peace and happi- *♦ iiess." J- • Samuel, xii. 13, U. f Compare 2 CI roii. xxxv. 22. with 2i. and Jer. xxii. lo. % Heb. xi. 24—27. ir 306 A FUTURE STATE [Part III. this conclusion against the Sadducees, have charged them with error, because they " knew not the Scriptures, nor the power " of God ;"* that is, because they did not consider the Scripture history as they ought, or argue fairly from the divine attributes ! In answer to their difficulty against the belief of a resurrection, deducible, as they conceived, from the Mosaic Law respecting marriage, our Saviour replies, " Do ye not therefore err, because " ye know not the Scriptures, nor the power of God ? For ' when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage ; but are as the angels which are in " heaven. And as touching the dead, that they rise : have ye " not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake " unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of " Isaac, and the God of Jacob ? God is not the God of the " dead, but of the living ; ye therefore do greatly err.""-f- This is not the language of one announcing a nsw argument, which, before his application of it, had been utterly undiscoverable by human sagacity ; but rather of one drawing an ohvious conclusion from plain facts, vi\nch.noi\i\xig\)Vii wilful blindness or culpable prejudice had prevented from being previously seen. I therefore contend it is reasonable to suppose, that minds neither inattentive nor prejudiced, but on the contrary candid, pious and reflecting, may have argued in a somewhat similar man- ner, and from the Scripture history of the Patriarchs, concluded the divine favour towards them was not confined to the present life ; though no one, before our blessed Lord, had established this conclusion with such clear reasoning and such irresistible force. We may further observe, that though the Jewish Lawgiver did not directly promulgate the doctrine of a future state, as the sanction of his Laws ; yet there is no reason why he should suppress any declaration of that doctrine made by others ; or why we should distort any expression which naturally conveys that doctrine, when recorded by Moses as used by others, on a supposition that it was not intended to convey it. I therefore see no reason to doubt that the remarkable expression ascribed by Moses to Balaam, " Let me die the death of the righteous, and ' let my last end J be like his," really means what it obviously * Matt. xxii. 29. t Mark, xii. 24—27. :J: Taylor affirms, and it seems on good grounds, that the word jn-flK translatttd " last end," means strictly an after or future state, not only here but in many Le«t. IV.] KNOWN TO THE JEW*. 307 imports — a wish to die the death of the righteous, in order to enjoy the happiness of another hfe, which the righteous only cau share. Balaam was certainly gifted at this time with a portion of the prophetic spirit, though he abused this favour of his God. And the interpretation now assigned, is surely more natural than that of Warburton ; which explains these words as merely expressing his wish, " Let me die in a mature old age, after a life of health " and peace, with all my posterity flourishing about me ; as was " the lot of the righteous observers of the law ;"* an interpreta- tion which appears most forced and unnatural. It is an obvious remark connected with this subject, that the clauses of the Mosaic Law directed against those who had fami- liar spirits, and against wizards and necromancers, which are repeated at least four diflerent times in the Pentateuch,-f- and also the continuance of this superstition, notwithstanding that all these prohibitions were frequently enforced with the greatest rigour; — a continuance so clearly instanced by the history of Saul, and particularly by his own recourse to the witch of Endor;J — all these circumstances prove, that the existence of the soul in a separate state was deeply fixed in the popular belief among the Jews, and that the abuse of this tenet formed a leading feature of the popular superstition. This circumstance, the learned Prelate so frequently alluded to, appears to have forgotten, when he as- serted in such an unqualified manner, " that the Jews under " the Mosaic Law never expressed the least hopes or fears of a " future state, or so much as any common curiosity concerning " it."§ other places cited in this argument; of which as they occur, vide Taylor's scheme oi Divinity, ch. xxiv. 103. * Div. Leg. Vol. v. p. 143, and Deut. xviii. 11. t Lev. xix. 31. XX. 6. xx. 27. J Vide 1 Sam. xxviii. § Div. Leg. Book VI. sect. vi. Vol, v. p. 395. — It is unnecessary to enter into a minute comparison of the grounds on which Warburton maintains his assertion, and those on which I oppose it. Such a comparison can be satisfactorily made only by an impartial examination of both our arguments. I would heie merely obseive, that of the circumstances I have noticed in this section, some, and those not the least impor- tant, are either not at all or very slightly adverted to by the learned Prelate, where ha professes to consider the texts adduced by his adversaries. For example, in the con- sideiation of the texts from Genesis, &c. he takes no 7iotice of the mentiou made of the tree of life, of the death of Abel, or the history of Moses. Vide Div. Leg. Bock VI. sect. ii. iii. and iv. SOS A FUTURE STATE I I*art II SECT. 11.— ~Doclrtne of a future state, why not more clearly and frequently incuicaif^ in the Pentateuch — or under the Judges. Gradual improvement of the Jews. Future state graaually promulgated suitably to this improvement — By David in Ps. xvi. xvii. xxxvi. xlix. ciii. cxv. cxxxix. — By Solomon in Proverbs, passim, particularly in ch. iv. viii. xiv. xxiv. ; still more fully in Ecclesiastes, of which work this doctrine is the basis, particularly in ch. iii. viii. xi. and at the conclusion of the book. How further impressed on the Jcics by miraculous facts — By three resurrections from the dead— By the translation of Elijah — 7'his doctrine frequently intimated and gradually taught with the greatest clearness by the Prophets — Isaiah — Jeremiah — Ezekiel — Rosea — Joel —Amos. — JVahum — And above all, Daniel — And also in the book of Job. DANIEL, Xii. 2. " Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and soma to shame and everlasting contempt." The passages we have hitherto adduced from the history re- corded by the Jewish Lawgiver, and which show that he himself beheved a future state of retribution, and contain such proofs of it as would naturally impress that belief on every pious and reflecting mind, have been chiefly taken from the Book of Gene- sis. In the remaining part of the Pentateuch we are not to wonder that the rewards and punishments of a future life are not expressly introduced. It has been shown that God exercised over the Jews an extraordinary providence, rewarding obedience, and punishing transgression, whether national or personal, by immediate and temporal blessings and calamities ; and that this system was rendered necessary by the intellectual character and peculiar situation of the Jewish people, as the only mode of counteracting their carnal dispositions and idolatrous propensi- ties ; the only mode adapted to their short-sighted views, their inadequate ideas of the divine perfections, and their unsteady faith in the divine promises. This system was pursued, first during that most evident dis- play of divine and miraculous power, at the. promulgation of the law, and the settlement of the chosen people in the promised land ; and afterwards under their judges, when for above four hundred years the Jewish nation continued, if I may so express it, under the immediate tutelage and direct control of Jehovah. During this rude and yet unsettled period, the nation seems (naturally speaking) unfit to receive or improve any further TiPCt. IV.] KNOWN TO THE JEWS. 309 religious instructions. Hence, during this period we find no inspired teacher, whose admonitions or prophecies have been handed down as a part of the sacred volume, except some pro- phecies briefly and incidentally mentioned in the history of the Judges and the book of Samuel, relating merely to immediate and temporal occurrences. No addition was now made to the instructions delivered by Moses, no further development of the divine plans vouchsafed. But after a sufficiently long trial of the immediate power of God to guide and protect the chosen people, they were permitted to estabhsh a regal government, and rise into notice among the surrounding nations : — their foes were subdued by Saul and David ; a magnificent temple was erected by Solomon, where the public worship prescribed by the Mosaic ritual was conducted with the strictest regularity, and accompanied with all the attractions of pomp, and harmony, and splendour, which could rouse the attention and command the reverence, not only of the Jews themselves, but of the sur- rounding nations. A lucrative trade was opened with the East :* which continued in a great measure to be conducted by the Jews, from David to Ahaz, above two hundred and fifty years. A great part of this time the Jews were powerful and wealthy ; their minds were gradually enlightened by commerce and softened by peace, and the conviction of Jehovah's overruling providence gradidilly established by a still increasing length of experience ; and thus a foundation laid for a more firm reliance on the divine promises respecting a future life. And while the temporal discipline and fortune of the Jews thus prepared the way for the reception of religious instruc- tions, we observe that Samuel founded the schools of the pro- phets, where numbers of the Levites, and probably other pious Jews, were trained from their youth to study and expound the word and the will of God, to warn the people against idolatry, impiety, and vice, and become instruments of extending the knowledge of the Jewish religion, and the worship of the great Jehovah. We now perceive Providence raising up for them in- structors, first in the persons of their two most distinguished kings David and Solomon, the former as a prophet, the latter chiefly as a moral sage. Their works, from the dignity of their * Compare 1 Kings, ix. 26, with 2 Kings, xvi. 6: and vide Prideaux's Connccl!on% Poot I. from p. 7 to 17. 31 0 A FUTURE STATE [Part III. authors, and from the very form of their compositions, must have been extremely popular. The pious hymns of the inspired Psal- mist, praising the wonderful works of God for his chosen people, and adorning the sentiments of piety with all the charms of poetry and music, must have been read with avidity, and remembered with delight ; and the sententious maxims of the royal preacher, the pride of his nation, for wisdom, power, and majesty, could scarcely fail of exciting attention to religious truth and moral duty. After these we behold a series of prophets, delivering their ad- monitions and predictions, with the most intrepid resolution and the most awful menaces, to the kings and the assembled multi- tudes of Judah and Israel. We see some of their predictions immediately accomplished in the most important public events ; and therefore their remaining prophecies must have excited general attention and anxious expectation. In truth, the schools of the prophets, established first by Samuel, supplied for ages the civil historians as well as the religious instructors of Judea ; and the most distinguished prophets were so deeply engaged in public events, that their lives and writings were blended with every thing interesting in history, and preserved as parts of the national records. The important doctrine of a future state of retribution was by these various inspired teachers gradually developed with perpetu- ally increasing clearness and force, as the circumstances of the Jewish people required its promulgation; as well from the exten- sion of their views by the improvement of their intellectual character, as from the gradual cessation of that extraordinary providential superintendence which became unnecessary for the support of religious and moral principle in proportion as the peo- ple became more sensible of the perpetual providence and moral attributes of the Divinity, and therefore more capable of being duly impressed with the divine promises of a future retribution. And here, though the learned prelate so often alluded to, hurried away, it should seem, by a zeal for establishing his system on the broadest possible basis, seems originally to have maintained that no ideas of a future state were to be found umongst the Jews, previous to the captivity : yet he afterwards found it necessary to admit they were gradually inculcated by ihe Prophets siibse'jHent to David* But assuredly he ought to * Vide Warbuitoii, Vol. v. p. 9. and tlie fust Section of this Lecture. Lect. IV.] KNOWN TO THE JEWS. Sit have included this inspired Psalmist in the number of those who promulgated this great truth, not indeed with the same clearness as the last prophets, but yet sufficiently to prove hia own firm belief of it, and to suggest it to the consideration of every pious and reflecting mind. In Psalm xvi. after solemnly attesting his warm attachment to the pious, that " his delight was upon the saints that were " upon the earth, and upon such as excel in virtue ;" he de- clares his firm confidence in the mercy and protection of his God, and his full assurance of a future state : " I have set God " always before me ; for he is on my right hand, therefore I " shall not fall. Wherefore my heart was glad, and my glory " rejoiced : my flesh also shall rest in hope. For why ? Thou " shalt not leave my soul in hell ; neither shalt thou suffer thy " Holy One to see corruption. Thou shalt show me the path of " life ; in thy presence is the fulness of joy : and at thy right hand " there is pleasure for evermore."* It is true, the entire passage is prophetic of our Lord''s resurrection, to whom alone the words, " thou shalt not suff"er thy Holy One to see corruption," are ap- plicable, as the Apostle Peter -f- argues with the Jews. But as- suredly the Prophet had a clear idea of future eternal happiness, and a firm confidence that he would himself enjoy it. The next Psalm is not less express. He here opposes the sensual enjoyments on which the wicked fix their desires, to the pure celestial happiness of another life. " Deliver me, O Lord, " from the ungodly, which is a sword of thine ; from the men of " thy hand, O Lord, from the men, I say, and from the evil " world, which have their portion in this life," &c. " But as " for me, I will behold thy presence in righteousness : and when " I awake % up after thy likeness, I shall be satisfied with it." * In this passage I use the translation of our Prayer Book; it seems clearer than that in our Bible, and fully as accurate. In the meaning of the three last verses, all the interpretations agree ; except that the Syriac translates the last clause, " I shall b€ " satisfied with the pleasures of victory at thy right hand, ' Vide Biblia Waltoni. Yet even this does not exclude the idea of eternity. " np sBternitatem significat, sic dictam " quasi victoriam temporis," says Rivetus, and adds, " Nomen hie in adverbii naturam •' transit; est hoc adjunctum perpetuum beatitudinis, qua 'ioqui beatitudo non esset, is " perpetua non foret." Vide Poli Synopsin. t Vide Acts, ii. 2&, &c. % The word translated " awake," seems by an apt metaphor to mean, awakening from death to life, vpn. It is used in this sense in Isaiah, xxvi. 19, and Dan. xii. 2, wheift it CR.n bear no other sense. Vide infra. 312 A FUTURE STATE [Part ITT. Thus again, in Psalm xxi. (which appears to me principally prophetic of the Messiah's glory, though several commentators conceive it to be spoken of David himself alone) celebrating the divine mercy, which distinguished the king, of whom he speaks, with the blessings of goodness, and set a crown of pure gold upon his head ; the Psalmist adds, " He asked life of thee, and " thou gavest him a long life : even for ever and ever. His " honour is great in thy salvation ; glory, and great worship shalt " thou lay upon him.* For thou shalt give him everlasting " felicity ; and make him glad with the joy of thy countenance." Tn Psalm xlix. the inspired author f with unusual solemnity This passage was adduced by Leland, to prove the same point as I employ U for; and Warburton with his peculiar maniur, observes, " In this the dissenter Leland, as " I remember, in some of his things, seems much to triumph : but I shall show that it " means nothing less." Warburton proceeds to observe, that the words our translators render " shall have their portion in this life," ought to have been, "shall have their portion in this life of theirs ;" i. e. " shall be perfectly prosperous." This, as seems to me, may be admitted, without affecting either mine or Leland's argument ; the entire force of which lies in the contrast the Psalmist dra«s between the wicked, who are thus perfectly prosperous, and who transmit this prosperity even beyond their own lives, to their children^ and his own expectation, which is, most literally, " I will behold thy face in righteousness ; I shall be satisfied in awaking, with thy " likeness." The Septuagint reads, " In righteousness shall I be seen by thy counte- " nance ; I shall be satisfied when thy glory shall appear:" and with this the Arabic and Ethiopic agree. The Syriac reads, " I shall be satisfied when thy fidelity shall " awake ;" " and this," says Warburton, " means only, God's glorious and powerful " interposition in David's present rescue from his enemies' hands." But let me ask, what then becomes of the contrast between the expectation of the Psalmist, and the fortune of those who are perfectly prosperous, and leave this prosperity to their children? Interpret David's expectation as of present deliverance, and the passage is obscure, unmeaning, and forced : take it in its obvious meaning of a future happi- ness, it is clear, rational, and beautiful. The former interpretation, therefnre, could be justified only by the certainty that the Psalmist had and could have no idea of a future life ; which is a plain petitio principii, a logical error with which all War- burton's interpretations appear to me to be infected ; though he charges his opponents with exactly a similar petitio principii on their part. Vol. v. p. 157. The Public must decide. * Our Bible translates the fifth verse, " Honour and majesty hast thou laid upon " him," instead of " shalt," which makes the text less decisive. Undoubtedly the original will bear this sense, yet it seems not so natural as the other ; and the Targum of Jerusalem, the Septuagint, the Ethiopic, the Arabic, and the Vulgate versions, all use the future tense. The Syriac only agrees in adopting the past tense in this and the next clause. But all unite in the sense of the fourth verse, " a life for ever and ever." Vide Biblia Waltoni. f Tlie author of this Psalm is uncertain; and some verses, particularly the 5lh, 6th, and 9th, are obscure. I use the tiaiu-Jation of our Biblt), which appears to Lect. IV.] KNOWN TO THE JEWS. 313 demands attention to the doctrine he purposes to enforce : " O *' hear ye this, all ye people ; give ear all ye inhabitants of the " world." The doctrine thus solemnly promulgated, is the folly of the wicked who trust in their riches, and forget the approach of death, which strips them of all, and exposes them to the ven- geance of God, whom riches cannot disarm. " They that trust " in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their " riches, none of them can by any means redeem his brother, " nor give to God a ransom for him, (for the redemption of " their souls is precious, and it ceaseth for ever) that he should *' still live for ever, and not see corruption," &c. And again, follow the original very closely; indeed so closely as to retain its obscurities. Houbi- gant, in his version, removes these obscurities by some very slight alterations of the original text, which seem perfectly justifiable. The 5th verse (with him the 6th) he translates, " Why should I fear in the evil day, because that misery surrounds me?" and justifies the change, by an easy and obvious alteration of the text. And the 9th (with him the 10th) he renders " Qui desinit in sseculum, adhuc vivet, non in perpe- " tuum videbit foveam, etiamsi videbit earn ;" and his criticism on this verse, if ad- mitted, would directly establish the doctrine for which we contend. " In this verse," says he, " is contained the enigma which the Psalmist prepared for, in the 4th verse; " viz. that though man must pay the debt of nature, yet he would survive his fate, " and would not eternally remain in the pit. And then the Psalmist, on account of •'this hope of the immortality proposed to man, reproaches him with not providing "for this immortality, but limiting his hopes to the present life, and thus becoming "like the brutes." This interpretation Houbigant justifies, by a mere alteration of the punctuation in the original. Vide Houbigant. But there is scarcely any am- biguity of meaning, or difference of interpretation, as to the 14th and I5th verses, on which my argument depends. The Ethiopic, the Syriac, and the Arabic ver- sions all give the same sense. The Arabic is, if possible, more exclusively applica- ble to a future life in ver. 15: "But God will free my soul from the power of the " grave, when we shall receive it," i. e. my soul. Bishop Patrick, who was not sedulous to discover in the Old Testament indications of a future state, applies both these verses to the resurrection. But Home's paraphrase is so strikingly beautiful, 1 cannot refrain from transcribing it. Ver. 14 : "The high and mighty " ones of the earth, who cause people to fear, and nations to tremble around •'them, must one day crowd the grave; in multitude and impotence, though not in " innocence, resembling sheep driven and confined by the butcher in his house of " slaughter. There death, that ravening wolf, shall feed sweetly on them, and de- " vour his long-expected prey in silence and darkness; until the glorious morning of " the resurrection dawn, when the once oppressed and afflicted righteous, risen from " the dead, and sitting with their Lord in judgment, shall have the dominion over " their cruel enemies, whose faded beauty, withered strength, and departed glory, " shall display to men and angels, the vanity of that confidence which is not placed in " God." — Warburton interprets " in the morning," to mear, " by the judgment of the " law, which was administered in the morning hours." What straits is a system driven to, to require such an interpretation! SI 4 A FUTL'RE STATE [Part IIT. speaking of the wicked, who tliiiik their houses shall continue for ever, and call the lands after their own names, he exclaims, " This their way is their folly ; yet their posterity approve their " sayings : like sheep they are laid in the grave ; death shall " feed upon them, and the righteous shall have dominion over *' them in the morning, and their beauty shall consume in the " grave from their dwelling. But God will redeem my soul " from the power of the grave, for he shall receive me." Surely these expressions cannot be understood' to denote any thing- short of an eternal deliverance from the power of death, and a blessed reception into the presence of God. I would here notice the remarkable verses in Psalm xxxvi. ; where, speaking of those who put their trust in the Lord, the Psalmist declares, " They shall be abundantly satisfied with the " fatness of thy house : and thou shalt make them drink of the " river of thy pleasures ; for with thee is the fountain of life ; " in thy light shall we see light." Warburton, strongly as this passage appears to indicate eternal life sustained by that presence which is the fountain of life, dismisses it with this short and decisive observation ; " Here, to prove the immortality of man, " a text is produced, which teaches the eternity of God. But " I know some who think there is a necessary connexion be- " tween those two truths." It may perhaps be answered as shortly, that though there is no general necessary connexion be- tween those two truths, yet if the Scripture asserts^ not only that God is to exist for ever, but that man shall witness that eternal existence, partaking of that inexhaustible fountain of life which is with God ; it is not very far from asserting that man himself will be also immortal. The same sentiment observed in Psalm xlix. is more con- spicuous in Psalm Ixxiii. in which the author (whether David or Asaph* is not material in the present question, as they were contemporary,-}- and equally prove that the sentiments which they express existed in the most pious and reflect- inf minds) chooses as his subject the worldly prosperity of jhe ungodly, and th^* doubts and perplexities which this excited * Vide 1 Clinm. + If, as Patrick tliiiiks mis Psalm was composed l)y Jsaph the Sccr, it \Wli belong to the days of Ilezekiah. Lect. IV.] KNOWN TO THE JEWS. SI 5 in his mind, as to the equal dealing of Divine Providence, antil these doubts were dispelled by the lights which religion affords as to the final doom of the wicked, contrasted with the glory reserved for the good. " Then," says he, " thought I to know " this, but it was too painful for me ; until I went into the " sanctuary of God : then understood I their end. Surely thou " didst set them in slippery places : thou castedst them down " into destruction. How are they brought into desolation, as in " a moment ! they are utterly consumed with terrors. As a " dream when one awaketh : so, 0 Lord, when thou awakest '• thou shalt despise their image." Such was the fate of the wicked : which going into the sanctuary, where religious reflec- tions naturally suggested themselves, enabled him to appreciate in its true colours, and to contrast with that blessing the pious author hoped himself to enjoy : — " Nevertheless I am always " with thee : thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou " shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to " glory.""* How plain and strong the hope of eternal life, here expressed. And the inspired author, enraptured at the thought, * I adopt here our Bible translation as the most clear and accurate. Nothing seems more plain and decisive in asserting a future retribution. But Warburton dismisses this also, with his usual majestic brevity. "Thou shalt guide me with " thy counsel, and afterwards receive me to glory ; or, as an excellent critic has it, " ' ConsiJio tuo deduxisti me, et postea cum gloria excepisti me,' Thou wast or ."shalt be always present with me in difficulties and distresses; and shalt lead and " conduct me to better fortunes. This literal sense the context requires." With great deference to this great critic (who was Le Clerc) I cannot help thinking that this, though adopted in some versions, is not the true literal sense; and that the context requires the direct contrary. How is it possible that the Psalmist should, in ver. 12 — 14, declare, That while the wicked increased in riches he should think his own iniiocency was in vain ; because " all the day long have I been plagued, "and chastened every morning:" and without intimating that any sudden change \n his own external situation had done away this difficulty, he declares that entering into the sanctuary had solved it; religion taught him a truer judgment. Was this merely to expect better fortunes in this life ? A most poor and unworthy lesson for so sublime an instructress. But as I would also wish to shelter myself under critical authority, I would refer to the Rabbi David Kimchi, who on ver. 17, remarks, " That the Psalmist entering into the sanctuary, implies his entering by his reflections *' into that world of spirits, where is retribution, where the just are to be discriminated " from the impious; and I there understood that we are formed to a celestial more "than an earthly life." And Taylor, "Then understood I their (Ahharith) future "state after death: Surely thou hast set them in slippery places, thou hast cast them ••down into eternal destruction. And ver. 20; "Asa dream after one is awake, " so, 0 Lord, when thou awakest, (Tiya in awaking them, or when they are awakened) SXCk a future state [Part ITT. dwells on and exults in it. " Whom have I in heaven but thee? "■ and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My " Hi'sh and my heart faileth; but God is the strength of my heart *' and my portion for ever." Nor is Psalm ciii. less expressive of feelings, which no pros- pect of mere temporal blessings could excite ; which impel the divine Psalmist to exclaim, " Praise the Lord, O my soul : and *' all that is within me praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, " O my soul, and forget not all his benefits."" These benefits then the Psalmist, with a sublime fervor of gratitude, enume- rates. But he dwells chiefly on such topics as an elevated soul anxiously looking forward to another life would most naturally select. He glances at temporal blessings, but he enlarges on the spiritual mercy of God."* " The Lord," says he, " is full " of compassion and mercy, long-suffering, and of great good- " ness ; he will not always be chiding ; neither keepeth he his " anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins ; " nor rewarded us according to our wickednesses. For look " how high the heaven is in comparison of the earth ; so great " is his mercy also towards them that fear him. Look how wide " also the east is from the west ; so far hath he set our sins from " us." This passage could scarcely have been dictated by any hope of mere temporal and momentary forgiveness. It is irreconcilable with the feelings of a mind which looked forward to annihila- tion and eternal death as the irreversible doom decreed against the sin of the first man, and still to be executed without any relaxation of its severity on all the human race. But t(? *'thou wilt despise (debase, pour contempt, as Dan. xii. 2) upon their image, their " vain, shadowy, unsubstantial condition." Vide Taylor, p. 103. — The 24th verse Hammond (whom Warburton so highly approves as an excellent critic and as an orthodox divine, Div. Leg. Vol. iv. p. 153) explains, "afterwards receive me to glory, "that is to thyself." Vide also Calmet, Patrick, and Home, Poli Synopsis, and Dodd'a Notes. * The 4th verse, " Who redeemeth thy life from destruction," is in the original, •' Who redeemeth thy life from the pit. And the Chaldee renders it, " Who re- " deemeth it from Gehenna." The Syriac and Arabic, "From corruption." The 5th verse, " Thy youth is renewed like the eagle's," is, by the Chaldee paraphrased, " In the future world thou shnlt renew thy youth like the eagle." But I rely on tlie general turn and spirit of the entire context, not on isolated, and perhaps ambiguous expressions. All the versions agree as to the literal meaning of the verses quoted in the text. Lect. IV.] KNOWN TO THE JEWS. SI 7 put this beyond all doubt, the Psalmist proceeds to contrast the divine mercy with the transitory and wretched life of man, when that mercy does not interpose. " Yea,"" says he, " like as a father pitieth his own children, even so is the Lord " merciful unto them that fear him. For he knoweth Avhereof " we are made ; he remembereth that we are but dust. The days " of man are but as grass ; he fiourisheth as a flower of the " field ; for as soon as the wind goeth over it, it is gone, and *' the place thereof shall know it no more. But the merciful good- " ness of the Lord endureth for ever and ever upon them that fear " him, and his righteousness upon their children's children ; even " upon such as keep his covenant, and think upon his com- " mandments to do them." But it has been said, the expression of righteousness upon cMldren''s children shows the Psalmist had in his view nothing more than the continued protection of the posterity of the good in this world, according to the promise of the second commandment.* The very next verse refutes the degrading suggestion, and shows the views of the Psalmist were raised to a higher world. " The Lord," says he, " hath " prepared his seat in heaven ; and his kingdom ruleth over all. " O praise the Lord, ye angels of his, ye that excel in strength, " ye that fulfil his commandments, and hearken unto the voice " of his word. 0 praise the Lord, all ye his hosts ; ye servants " of his that do his pleasure O speak good of the Lord, all ** ye works of his, in all places of his dominion : praise thou " the Lord, O my soul." Can we doubt whether the soul which breathed forth such praises as these, did not look for- ward to the society of those angels, whom it calls even now to join with one voice and one consent, to celebrate the univer- sal goodness of their common God. These angels are combined with the servants of God, " that do his pleasure ;" an expression exactly parallel to that of the Apostle, when he says, " Ye are ' come to an heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable com- " pany of angels, to the general assembly of the first-born of " the church, which are written in heaven, and to God, the " judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect."-}* * Vide Warburton, Vol. v. p. 156. This is the only expression of tlie Psalm whirh Warburton considers ; thus entirely overlooking the tenour and context of the rtrrposi- tion. Any system may be supported by such a mode of criticism. t Heb. xii. 22, 23. 518 A FUTURK STATE [Part ITT. Assuredly the mind of the holy Psalmist was exalted by the eame ideas, and animated by the same hopes. In Psalm cxv, after declaring the privilege of Grod*s people over the idolatrous world, " That their God was in heaven, and " did whatsoever he pleased," but that the idols of the heathen " were silver and gold, the work of men''s hands," dead, sense- less and impotent ; and that " they who make them shall be " like unto them, and all they that put their trust in them ;" (that is, they shall become dead and senseless as their idols, without any hopes of a renovation or restitution to a state of happiness :) he proceeds to contrast this with the hopes and the blessings that awaited the people of God : which he plainly in- timates, will not be confined to the enjoyments of this transitory life, but extend to a future and eternal state. " You are the " blessed of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. The hea- " ven, even the heavens are the Lord's ; but the earth hath he " given to the children of men. The dead praise not the Lord, *' neither any that go down into silence. But we will bless the " Lord from this time forth for evermore." On which a judi- cious and learned critic observes ;* " What can be the meaning " of the opposition here put between God's people and the " dead ; and the one's not praising Jehovah, the other praising " him for ever ? Could the Psalmist possibly mean their living *' to praise him upon earth ? The earth, he had told us just " before, was given to all the sons of Adam ; and the Gentiles " lived upon it as long as the Jews, for any thing that appears to " the contrary. Could he mean that they should never undergo " the state of death ? But this too could not be, for they died " as naturally and as soon perhaps as the heathens, and their " posterity must do the same, though it extended itself to a "•' thousand generations. What then is that discriminating bless- " ing here intended, that should distinguish the worshippers of " Jehovah, all those who feared the Lord, both small and " great, from the idol worshippers and contemners of Jehovah. " 1 freely own I can make no sense of this passage, otherwise " than by understanding the word dead of the heathen nations, " who having no part in God's covenant of redemption, but " being estranged from him by their idolatries and wickedness, ** were to be left for ever in a state of death, so as never more • Peters on Job, p. 223 to 226. LeCt. IV.] KNOWN TO THE JEWS. 319 *' to rise to happiness at least ; while God's people, on the " other hand, hoped for a joyful resurrection, and a future '' state of blessedness, wherein they should praise God for ever, "• in the most extensive sense of that expression. There is no- " thing forced," continues the learned critic, " that I can per- " ceive, in this explication, taking with us the notion (so well " estabhshed by a very learned prelate*) that God's covenant " made, or rather renewed, with Abraham and the Patriarchs, " implied in it a conquest over death, and a removal of that " curse denounced on Adam at the fall: and this notion stands *' confirmed by our Saviour's reasoning in the Gospel, where " he exempts Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, from amongst the " dead^ by virtue of God's covenant with them to he their God ; " and from thence, as from an unanswerable argument, proves a " future resurrection." I close this series of proofs — that a future state was almost perpetually in the contemplation of the holy Psalmist — with Psalm cxxxix. in which with such a divine penetration as no- thing but an heaven-taught wisdom could inspire, he celebrates the all-seeing omniscience of his God, whom he describes as " about his path and about his bed, and spying out all his ways ; " acquainted with every word in his tongue long before." When he describes that Omnipresent Spirit, which fills the expanse of heaven, and penetrates to the recesses of hell, from whom no darkness can conceal, because the darkness is no darkness with him, but the night is as clear as the day : when he acknow- ledges that creative love by which he was fearfully and won- derfully made : when he exclaims, " How dear are thy counsels " unto me, O God ? yea, how great is the sum of them \ If I *' tell them they are more in number than the sand : when I " awake up, I am present with thee ;" what is the practical infftrence which the holy Psalmist deduces ? It is nothing less than the destruction of the wicked, and the eternal happiness of the good, in which he expresses a firm confidence that he himself will share : " Wilt thou not slay the wicked, 0 God ? ^* Depart from me, ye blood-thirsty men." And thus he con- cludes : " Try me, O God, and search the ground of my heart ; " prove me, and examine my thoughts. Look well if there be * Shf^rlock on Prophecy, Disc. V. particularly p. 112. S20 A FUTURE STATE [Part J 1 1. " any way of wickedness in me, and lead me in the way over- " lasting."* In the moral works of Solomon we find sufficient proofs that he was certain of a future state of retribution, and felt its import- ance as the strongest sanction of virtue. The book of Proverbs, consisting chiefly of rules of prudence for the direction of human conduct, so as to obtain prosperity in the present life, does not so frequently aff"ord occasion for directly enforcing the doctrine of a future state ; but in many places it is plainly intimated, and in some directly asserted. When in chapter iv. the preacher exhorts " Enter not into the " paths of the wicked, and go not into the way of evil men ;" he enforces this admonition by declaring, " the path of the just " is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the " perfect day ; but the way of the wicked is as darkness, they " know not at what they stumble."-f- Words beautifully ex- pressing the reward of virtue increasing from day to day, until it terminates in endless glory; and the terrors of conscience, which incessantly disturb the guilty. In chap. viii. after celebrating the praises of Wisdom, which the Lord possessed in the beginning of his way, before his works of old, even from everlasting, she is introduced solemnly calling on all the sons of men : " Now therefore hearken unto me, O " ye children ; for blessed are they that keep my ways. For " whoso findeth me, findeth life^ and shall obtain favour of the * All the versions agree in translating the last words of this Psalm, " the way ever- " lasting." Indeed the original will scarcely bear any other meaning ; and it is op- posed to the way of " pain or grief," (as we have it in the margin of our Bibles) which would make the sense still more expressly to indicate the eternal rewards of a future life, as (ipposed to its punishments. Yet I know not why, except from not observing this antithesis, and being led away by the translation of the first clause, as a way of iniquity ; many of the best commentators have interpreted the second as the way of piety and righteousness, which alone is durable and eternal. But the word 3Sj; ori- ginally meaning grief and pain," seems to be by a metaphor, only applied to idols and idolaters, as bringing misery on their worshippers ; while dSij? •' eternity," is very seldom used in such a metaphorical sense. I cannot see why the more literal meaning of both should not be here preserved, and the sense would be, Look well if there be any way deserving of pain or pvnishment in me, and lead nie in the way of eternity. f Prov. iv. 18, 19. This passage is not noticed by Warburton. Theie is no difler- ence of interprttation as to the words quoted, and many of the most reputable commen- tators give them the same sense as I do here : as Mercerus, Glassius, Baynus, Patrick, Dodd. Vide Poll Synopsis, &c. Lect. IV.j KNOWN TO THE JEWS. 321 " Lord. But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own " soul : all they that hate me love death.'''' These words can scarcely signify any thing less than the destruction brought upon the soul by death eternal. But this is still more clearlj asserted to be the punishment of yielding to the seductions of the adulteress and the harlot ; whose house the royal Preacher describes as " the way to hell, going down to the chambers " of death." And again, when she saith to the dupe of her vice, " Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is " pleasant ;" the Preacher adds, " But he knoweth not that the " dead are there, and that her guests are in the depth of hell." While in chap. xii. 28, we are told, " In the way of righteous- " ness is life, and in the pathway thereof there is no death.'''' Thus again, in chap, xiv. we are assured, that " The fear of the " Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death," And still more expressly we are assured, that " The wicked is " driven away in his wickedness ; but the righteous hath hope " in his death."* And the contrary fate of the wicked is ex- pressed with equal clearness, in ch. xxi. 16 : " The man that " wandereth out of the way of understanding, shall remain in " the congregation of the dead," that is, (as Patrick explains it) " shall be sent down to hell, confined to the company of the " old giants, who, giving themselves up to violence and de- " bauchery, were swept away by the Deluge." And by a similar sanction doth the royal Preacher enforce his beautiful exhorta- tion to active benevolence, chap. xxiv. 11, "If thou forbear " to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and ready to be " slain ; if thou say est, Behold, we knew it not : doth not he " that pondereth the heart, consider it? and he that keepeth thy " soul, doth not he know it ? and shall not he render to every " man according to his works ?" And immediately after, " When " thou hast found wisdom, there shall be a reward, and thy ex- " pectation shall not be cut ofF."-f- * Prov. xiv. 32. " Hath hope in his death," i. e. says Warburton, " the righteous " hath hope that he shall be delivered from the most imminent dangers. So the " Psalmist, upon them that hope in his mercy, to deliver their soul from death, and " to keep them alive in famine." But to me no ideas seem more different than having hope in death, and hope to escape from death ; except in and from are taken as synonymous and convertible prepositions, vrhich they certainly are not in Hebrevf more than in English. t Warburton interprets Prov. xi, 7, " When a wicked man dieth, his expectation X S22 A FUTURE STATE [Part III. But if the doctrine of a future retribution is only incidentally mentioned in the book of Proverbs, it forms the great basis^ and the leading truth of the book of Ecclesiastes. In this the royal Preacher expatiates on the transitory condition of mankind, if considered as confined to the present state of existence ; the ranity and vexation of spirit attending all present human enjoy- ment, which his own experience had so abundantly proved ; the apparent inequality of Providence, except under the Jewish dispensation, by which there appears one event to the righteous and the wicked. " This," says he, " is an evil among all things " that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all ; " yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and mad- " ness is in their heart while they live, and after that they " go down to the dead.*** But in all the difficulties and per- plexities, all that vanity and vexation of spirit, which this partial view of human nature implies, the royal Preacher brings forward the prospect of a future life and just retribution, as the solution and the remedy, the consolation and the cure.-f- In "shall perish; and the hope of unjust men perisheth," combined with the verse now quoted to apply merely to the expectation of wicked men, to establish a house in theit posterity} which expectation would deceive them; and to the expectation of wise and virtuous men in the success of their honest endeavours, which should not deceive them. Now to me it seems the former passage must imply a much more serious disappoint- ment, the latter a much higher reward. But other passages already quoted appear sufficiently clear. Vide Warburton, Vol. v. p. 157. * Eccles. ix. 3. i" The ingenious and learned Desvoeux, in his Dissertation, Comment and Para- phrase on the Book of Ecclesiastes, has bo clearly proved the scope of it to have been the enforcement of a future life, that I need only refer to his Work. He also points out the mi&inttrpretations of Warburton. Vide his Dissertation, ch. ii. sect iii. particularly p. 72, compared with Warburton, Vol. iv. p. 158. — Those who have not Desvoeux's Work, may be pleased to see his view of this very im- portant part of Scripture. " The author's design," says he, " is to prove the ira- " mortality of the soul, or rather the necessity of another state after this life, from "such arguments as maybe afforded by reason and experience: ajid his whole dls- " course may be reduced to three propositions, every one of which, when properly " reflected upon, yields a strong proof of a future state of rewards and punishments. " First, No labour or trouble of men in this world can ever be so profitable as to *' produce in them a lasting contentment and thorough satisfaction of mind. Se^ "condly, Earthly goods, and whatever we can acquire by our utmost trouble and "labour in this world, are so far from making us lastingly happy, that they may be " even looked on as real obstacles to our ease, quiet, and tranquillity. Thirdly, "Men know not what is or is not truly advantageous to them; because they are "either ignorant or unmindful of that which must come to pass after they are dead; f* therefore any one may conclude, that there must be a state of true and solid hap- Lect. IV. j KNOWN TO THE JEWS. 323 •hap. iii. he tells us; " I know that whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever : nothing can be put to it, nor any thing " taken from it : and God doeth it, that men should fear before " him." Having thus asserted the uniformity and consistency of the diviiie conduct, he contrasts them with the perversion of right by human guilt ; and declares this can only be rectified by the righteous judgment of God. " And moreover, I saw under " the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there ; " and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there. I " said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the " wicked ; for there is a time there for every purpose, and for " every work." In chap. viii. ver. 11, he remarks, " Because sentence against " an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart " of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil." He adds, " Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be " prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them " that fear God, which fear before him : But it shall not be well " with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are " as a shadow ; because he feareth not before God." Evidently denoting, that present impunity, during the longest life, is as a shadow only, compared with that future duration through which " pincss for men ; except God, who is allowed to have made them what they are, " to have implanted in their hearts that strong desire of happiness which often makes " them unhappy in this world, and to have the absolute command of their fate, be "absurdly supposed to have acted whimsically in their formation, and to act so still in *• the dispensation of providence. Thus from all these propositions, but especially the *' last, the Preacher infers, that we must seek for happiness beyond the grave." This scheme the learned author supports by an accurate analysis of the entire work. Vide his dissertation, chap. iii. Vide also Patrick's Preface, which, as to my present argu- ment, is equally conclusive; and Poll Synopsis. Should it be objected, that this system supposes an unequal providence in Solomon's reign, contrary to the declaration of the Mosaic Law, I answer, no such inference can be drawn. Solomon had, in consequence of his father's fidelity and his own early piety, enjoyed the highest temporal prosperity. This had corrupted his mind, seduced him into vice, and involved him in disappoint- ment and calamity, which were the present consequences and pum'shment of his offences. But this whole series of events operated not only to convince him, that God had punished his own abuse of temporal prosperity, but that all such prosperity was in its own nature inadequate to the aspirings of an immortal spirit, which ought to seek its happiness in the rewards of another life, to be secured only by the constant fear of God and obedience to his laws. Besides, we cannot but suppose that Solomon's views were enlarged, to coi.sider the general state, conduct, and prospects of man- kind, even beyond the precincts of the Jewish state, and the sanctions of the Jewish Law. 324 A FUTURE STATE [Part III. the punishment of the wicked shall extend. And in chap. xi. is this remarkable passage. ' Eejoice, 0 young man, in thy youth, " and let thy heart cheer tnee in the days of thy youth, and " walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thine eyes : " but know, that for all these things God will bring thee into " judgment."" And finally, to prove a future state of retribution was the object he held out, through the entire of his exhortation, as the only adequate sanction of virtue, the only sure prop of re- ligion ; and eternal happiness the only rational object of human pursuit ; he closes this admirable work with a solemn admo- nition. " Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, " while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when " thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them." Then after describing, with singular beauty and philosophic precision, the symptoms of decay preceding that awful hour, when, as he ex- presses it, " The dust shall return to the earth as it was, and the " spirit shall return unto God who gave it ;" he imprints upon the heart of his reader, that great truth, which it was his chief object to promulgate and enforce : " Let us hear the conclusion " of the whole matter : Fear God, and keep his commandments : " for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every " work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be " good, or whether it be evil."* The great truth of a day of divine judgment and strict retri- bution, was thus clearly promulgated by the royal Preacher, whose distinguished glory as a monarch, and unparalleled wisdom as a sage, must have excited the greatest attention to his instruc- tions, amongst all his countrymen. But it seems to have been the intention of Providence to impress the conviction that the soul survived death, and that man was capable of a blessed immortality, by miraculous facts, as well as by inspired instructions. This must have been the effect of those three great instances of resurrection from the dead, produced by the miraculous power of Elijah and Elisha, the most illustrious of the Jewish Prophets : — first the son of the widow of Zarephath, whom Elijah revived immediately after he had expired ;-f- se- condly, the son of the Shunamite, whom Elisha restored to life, after he had been dead for a considerable length of time, even during the journey of his mother from Shuncm to CarmeL to * Ecclesiastes, two last verses. ■}• 1 Kings, xvii. Lect. IV.] KNOWN TO THE JEWS. 325 implore the Prophefs aid, and their return;* and lastly, the resurrection of the man who was bearing to his burial, and who, on being let down into the sepulchre of Elisha, revived.f Each of these facts arose above the preceding, both in the public notoriety of the event, and the magnitude of the miraculous interposition. In addition to these facts, the glorious translation of Elijah to heaven, so sublimely described by the sacred historian, when " there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted " them both (that is, Elijah, and Elisha) asunder ; and Elijah " went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, " and he cried. My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and " the horses of Israel. And he saw him no more."| These miracles, combined with others of a different kind wrought by the same Prophets, which must have excited general attention, could not fail of impressing extensively and deeply on the Jewish nation, the opinions of the souFs surviving death, and being capable of a blessed immortality. And in the writings of the subsequent Prophets we find these truths introduced sometimes in metaphor and scenic description as familiar to the minds of the Jewish people, and sometimes directly revealed and autho- ritatively enforced, to support the interests of virtue and the sacredness of religion. I select a few instances from the energetic and sublime Isaiah. How awful the description of the destruction which was to await the king of Babylon. This, though a scenic and meta- phorical description, could not but suggest the idea and impress the belief of a future state ; or rather indeed proves that such ideas and such a conviction were perfectly familiar both to the Prophet and his readers. " Hell from beneath is moved for thee, " to meet thee at thy coming : it stirreth up the dead for thee, " even all the chief ones of the earth ; it hath raised up from " their thrones all the kings of the nations. All they shall " speak, and say unto thee. Art thou also become weak as we " are ? art thou become like unto us V i In chap. xxv. the Prophet describes the faithfulness of God in executing his me- naces on the wicked, and his promises of salvation to the faithful in terms which in their full meaning are applicable only to the * 2 Kings iv." t Ibid. xiii. 21. J Ibid, ii, 1\, 12. § Ii«'^h, xiv. 9. and IP. 326 A FUTURE STATE [Part in great day of final retribution, however they may in a more con fined sense have been fulfilled by antecedent and temporal judg ments. " O Lord," says the Prophet, " thou art my God : I will * exalt thee, I will praise thy name ; for thou hast done won- *' derful things ; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth." And then after describing the vengeance of God on his enemies he proceeds to describe the salvation of the faithful. " And he " will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast " over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations. " He will swallow up death in victory ; and the Lord God will " wipe away tears from off all faces ; and the rebuke of his " people shall he take away from off all the earth ; for the Lord " hath spoken it."* In chap. xxvi. the Prophet pursues the same subject, in terms which yet more directly suggest the resurrection at the last day. *' In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah : " "We have a strong city ; salvation will God appoint for walls " and bulwarks. Thy dead men shall live ; with my dead body " shall they rise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust ; " for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast " out the dead. Come, my people, enter thou into thy cham- *' bers, and shut thy doors about thee : hide thyself as it were " for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, • In Lowth's beautiful translation, the idea of an immortal state is still more clearly expressed, ch. xxv. 8^ '* He shall utterly destroy death for ever; " And the Lord Jehovah shall wipe away the tear from off all faces. " And the reproach of his people shall he remove from off the whole earth. " For Jehovah hath spoken it." And on verse 6, Lowth remarks, " The feast here spoken of is to be celebrated on " Mount Sioii, and all the people, without distinction, are to be invited to it ; this can " be no other than the celebration of the establishment of Christ's kingdom, which Is '« frequently represented in the Gospel, under the image of a feast where ' many shall *« » come from the East and West, and shall sit down at table with Abraham, Isaac, and «» • Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.' Matth. vii. 11. Luke xiv. 16, and xxii. 29. litis *< sense is fully confirmed by the concomitants of this feast, expressed in the next versci • tVe removing the vail from the face of all nations ; and the abolition of death. The " first of which is obviously and clearly explained of the preaching of the Gospel. •• And the second must mean the blessing of immortality procured for us by Christ, ♦• who hath ' abolished death, and through death hath destroyed him that had the power »pf death.'" Lect. IV.] K^owN to the jews. 327 " behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inha- " bitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall " disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain."* In chap, xxxiii. how awfully does the Prophet describe the judgments of God ! " Hear ye that are afar off, what I have " done ; and ye that are near, acknowledge my might. Tlie • Isaiah, xxvi. 1, 19, 20, 21. Lowth's translation of these last verses is somewhat difierent, though, for the purpose I adduce them, not materially: ver. 10. " Thy dead shall live, my deceased they shall rise. " Awake and sing ye that dwell in the dust; " For thy dew is as the dew of the dawn, " But the earth shall cast forth as an abortion, the deceased tyrwits." And ver, 21. " For behold, Jehovah issueth forth from his place. " To punish for his iniquity, the inhabitant of the earth. " And the earth shall disclose the blood that is upon her, " And shall no longer cover her slain." On this passage Lowth remarks: " The deliverance of the people of God from a ** state of the lowest depression, is explained by images plainly taken from the resur- •* rection of the dead. In the same manner the Prophet Ezekiel represents the restora- " tion of the Jewish nation from a state of utter desolation, by the restoring of the •' dry bones to life, exhibited to him in a vision, chap, xxxvii. which is directly thus "applied and explained, ver. 11; and this deliverance is expressed with a manifest •* opposition to what is here said above, ver. 14, of the great lords and tyrants under " whom they had groaned: " They are dead, they shall not live ; " They are deceased tyrants, they shall not rise. " That they should be destroyed utterly, and should never be restored to their former " power and glory. It appears from hence, that the doctrine of the resurrection of the *' dead was at that time a common and popular doctrine : for an image which is *' assumed, in order to express or represent another in the way of allegory or metaphor, " whether poetical or prophetical, must be an image commonly known and understood, " otherwise it will not answer the purpose for which it is assumed." Here I "\nN here used. The Chaldee paraphrase renders the words " shall be written in earth," hy falling into Gehenna. ■f Primate Newcome, in his note on the ISth verse of this chapter, observes: "In •' the land of their captivity, the Jews seemed as absolutely deprived of their own "countiy, as persons committed to the grave are cut ofT from the living. The fore- " going similitude showed in a strong and beautiful manner, that God, who could even " raise the dead, had power to restore them." Having been led to recur to the Works of this truly learned and Christian divine, I cannot forbear expressing the fond and grateful remembrance which must ever remain imprinted on my heart, of a man, whose encouragement animated, whose advice guided, my earliest studies, and in whose friendship, terminated alas! only by his death, I received the most honourable reward. But he is gone in peace — he rests in glory; though dead, his example and his works still speak to the living; and Oh ! " may we die the death of the righteous, aiid may our last end be like his." % This verse is otherwise, and, as it seems to me, more accurately rendered by Pri- mate Newcome: " Yet I will redeem thee from the grave, " I will deliver thee from death. " O death, where is thine overthrow! •' O grave, where is thy destruction! *• Repenting is hidden fiom mine eyes." "i. e." says Newcome, " change of purpose, my veracity being concerned." And Lect. IV.] KNOWN TO THE JEWS. 331 " the grave ; I will redeem them from death : O death, I will be " thy plague ! O grave, I will be thy destruction : repentance " shall be hid from mine eyes." Joel, with all the energy and sublimity of Isaiah himself, pre- dicts the wonderful effusion of divine grace under the Gospel scheme; and passes on to describe the signs that should precede, and the terrors that should attend, the coming of the day of judgment, that great and terrible day of the Lord : " And I " will show wonders in the heavens, and in the earth, blood and " fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into dark- " ness ; and the moon into blood, before the great and the ter- " rible day of the Lord come. And it shall come to pass, that " whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be de- " livered ; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, shall be deliver- " ance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord " shall call."* Amos also first describes the temporal sanctions of the Mosaic law, and their exact distribution by the immediate hand of God, who " caused it to rain upon one city, and not to rain upon " another city ; one piece was rained upon, and the piece where- " upon it rained not withered. So two or three cities wandered " unto one city to drink water ; but they were not satisfied : " yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord. I have " overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Go- " morrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burn- " ing ; yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord." -f* He then proceeds to point out that great day of judgment, the prospect of which ought to restrain, as its punishment would as- suredly chastise the obstinacy of their guilt : " Therefore thus " will I do unto thee, 0 Israel ; and because I will do this unto " thee, PREPARE TO MEET THY GoD, 0 IsRAEL. For lo ! ho that " formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth " unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning dark- he remarks, that " St Paul naturally applies to the resurrection of the dead, what the " Prophet says of future national happiness." Admitting the Prophet means only this, we have here a very strong instance how distinct and familiar was the idea of a resur- rection to the Prophet and his countrymen. * Joel, ii. 30. Primate Newcome understands this passage, of the events which took place at the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. But from onr Saviour's language. Matt. xxiv. 29, we are certainly warranted in applying them also to the day ♦/general judgment. •}• Amos, iv. 7, 8, 11, 332 A FUTURE STATE fPart III. " noss, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The Lord '' God of Hosts is his name." Nahura with equal sublimity, describes the vengeance of God in terms applicable only to the general judgment on all the in- habitants of the earth. " He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it " dry, and driefh up all the rivers : Bashan languisheth, and " Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth. The moun- " tains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burnt " at his presence ; yea, the world, and all that dwell therein. " Who can stand before his indignation ? and who can abide in " the fierceness of his anger ? His fury is poured out like fire, " and the rocks are thrown down by him. The Lord is good — " a strong hold in the day of trouble ; and he knoweth them that " trust in him. But with an overrunning flood he will make an " utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his " enemies."* Finally, I close this series of prophetical denunciations of the great day of final retribution, with the distinct and awful descrip- tion of it by the Prophet Daniel. " I beheld," says the Prophet, " till the thrones were cast " down, and the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was " white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool ; " his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning " fire. A fiery stream issued, and came forth from before him ; " thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand " times ten thousand stood before him : the judgment was set, " and the books were opened." And again, " I saw in the night " visions, and behold, one like the Son of man came with the " clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they " brought him near before him. And there was given him do- " minion and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and " languages, should serve him : his dominion is an everlasting " dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that " which shall not be abolished."-|- And at the conclusion of this wonderful and solemn prophecy, in the last chapter of Daniel ; " And at that time shall Michael " stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of " thy people : and there shall be a time of trouble, such as was " never since there was a nation, even to that time : and at that * Nahum, i. 4—8 '' Dan. vii. 9, 10, and 13, U. Lect. IV.] KNOWN TO THE JEWS. 833 " time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be " found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in " the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and " some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be " wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament ; and they " that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever."* Thus clearly do the Jewish Prophets promulgate that truth, so plainly declared by another inspired writer, who probably did not live under the Jewish dispensation, and who, at a much earlier period, proclaimed the same awful doctrine, even the Patriarch Job, who, with all the solemnity which its importance required, demands for it the attention of mankind, when he exclaims,-f- " 0 that my words were now written, that they " were printed in a book ! that they were graven with an iron " pen and lead, in the rock for ever ! For I know that my " Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day " upon the earth. And though after my skin worms'l destroy * Ibid. xii. 1—3. f Job, xix. 23 — 27. That this passage of Job really means the redemption of the just at the last day, has been abundantly proved by many writers, in opposition not only to Warburton, but to Grotius and Le Clerc. Vide particularly the notes of the very learned Schultens, and of Peters. The ancient origin of the book has also, as appears to me, been abundantly proved by many writers, but by none more ably than by my learned friend Dr Magee, in his work on Atonement and Sacrifice. I think it unnecessary to dwell longer on this subject, the argument on which has already swell- ed far beyond my original intention. I would only remark, that notwithstanding his laboured dissertation, Warburton appears to have entertained some doubt, as to the validity of the proofs he had given of the modern date of this book. Since if this was certain, it was unnecessary for him to maintain, that this passage was to be understood only of a future temporal deliverance of the Jews. For no- thing could justify such a forced interpretation, but the supposition that the author lived at a period when the idea of a future life had never been entertained, if such a period can be assigned. If, on the contrary, Job was written about the close of the Babylonish Captivity, as Warburton contends, it is quite certain, and even admitted by himself, that the ideas of a future life and retribution were then familiar to the Jews; and there would remain no possible reason for suspecting they were not familiar to and plainly expressed by the supposed author of the Book of Job. % Our translation introduces the word "worms" in this verse unnecessarily; it may be more closely and clearly translated, " And that even I, after my skin is " consumed, shall in my flesh behold my God." This is Houbigant's version, with which Schultens and Peters nearly agree. I have been much gratified at finding that a very learned writer confirms the exposition I Iwd given % of the expressions used by the Jewish lawgiver, in the § Vkle supra, p. 29!. 334 A FUTURE STATE [Part III. *' this hody^ yet in my flesh shall I see God : whom I shall see " for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another ; " though my reins be consumed within me."" We have now traced the gradual promulgation of the great doctrine of a future retribution, from the first gracious intima- tion of final deliverance from the power of Satan, vouchsafed at the fall, to its full disclosure by David and Solomon, and its history of the Creation, when he declared that God said, '* Let us make man in our " own image, after our likeness: and let him have dominion over the fish of the sea, "and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth." After clearly proving that this image included reason, which qualified man for that dominion with which he was vested, he proceeds to observe: " But now the substance in which " the faculty of reason resides, could not be a material substance, as the best philosophy " evinceth.* Man, therefore, must needs consist of an immaterial substance, joined •'to a material: or, in other words, he must be a compound of soul and body. And " this seems to be intimated, and not obscurely neither, by the words of the text : ' The " Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils "the breath of life, and man became a living soul.' By the words the breath "of life, and a living soul, which discriminate life in man from life in brutes, we " are not to understand immateriality simply; since all animals, as we say, have this " in common; but the continuance of life after the separation of the compound, in " virtue of man's rationality, which making him responsible for his actions, may, ac- *♦ cording to the diflerent parts in God's moral economy, require that separate exis- " fence." The learned author afterward remarks, that "the place which points out this difTer- "ence, is made to serve for an introduction to the history of the free gift of immorta- " lity. And a better cannot be conceived than that which teacheth us, that the " subject on whom this gift was bestowed, is by the immateriality of his physical "nature, capable of enjoying it; and, by the freedom of his reasonable nature, ac- " countable for the abuse of it. So much is observed in honour of that exquisite " knowledge with which the sacred writer was endowed." The reader will perhaps be surprised as much as I was, at discovering that the learned writer now quoted is no other than WaRburton himself; the identical Warburton who had so strenuously maintained that in all the writings of Moses not so much as an intelligible hint of a future state was to be found. The passage now quoted occurs in the ninth bookf of the Divine Legation, written many years after the first six, and which though print- ed, so far as it goes, by the author, was left unfinished, and not published until afler his death. It is, however, not unfair to conclude, that hints of a future state which were unintelligible to him, while he saw only through the medium of his own sjrstem, became intelligible, as they must, I think, be to all others, when that mist was gradually removed. But while I make this remark, I am fully conscious of the possibility that variations and inconsistencies may be found in my own pages; though I sincerely hope truth is the great object of my pursuit. I therefore impute not to \Varburton any deliberate neglect of that sacred principle, I would rather claim ♦ Alluding to Clarke and Baxter. t Vide Vol. HI. pp. C20 and 621 of Warburton's Works, In leven volumes 4to. printed IIU. LeCt. IV,] KNOWN TO THE JEWS. 335 solemn enforcement and impressive description by the last pro- phets. And we are thus, I trust, fully prepared to receive and admit the clear truth and full force of our divine Lord's declara- tion, that the Jews derived the knowledge of this truth from the Scriptures of the Old Testament ; when appealing to them for the prophetic attestation of his own divine mission, he calls on his hearers, " Search the Scriptures ; for in them ye think ye have " eternal life : and they are they which testify of me." And though the disquisition which this inquiry has produced, has swelled to an unexpected length, I trust this will be excused, from its obvious tendency to vindicate the truth and illustrate the con- nexion of both revelations. for him, as well as for myself, the old privilege of authors — " Opere in longo fas est " obrepere somnum." I have not judged it necessary in this argument to notice particularly the different texts which Warburton brings to show, " That his conclusion may be proved, not only " from the silence of the sacred \'VTiters, but from their positive declarations; in which " they plainly discover, that there was no popular expectation of a future state or a " resurrection."* If the numerous passages alleged in this work to prove the contrary, are fairly interpreted, these positive declarations showing the expectation of a future state, cannot be done away by any texts from the same authors, which speak of death as the period of existence, or the grave as the land of forgetfulness, &c. &c. ; for these all may be obviously and easily interpreted as meaning no more than that death closes our present state of existence, puts an end to our present projects, prevents us from de- claring in i\\6 present world the faithfulness of God, &c. &c. ; or at the utmost, that so long as the state of death continues, until men are raised from the dead and called to judgment, they remain insensible,^ an opinion held by many Christians. And in some instances these texts seem to be opinions which the sacred writers suppose pronounced by irreligious or atheistical objectors, and which they afterwards expressly refute; or vehement exelamations of recent sorrow reducing the mind almost to despair. It is worthy of remark, that the SadduceesJ alleged the same texts to prove the same con- clusion, yet our Loid charges them with not knowing the Scriptures; an assertion which surely should warn us against arguing from the Scriptures, in the same manner which they did. Nor is the declaration of St Paul less express, as to what he conceived to be the real tenor of the Law and the Prophets on this subject, "This," says he to Felix, " I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, worship I the "God of my fathers; believing all things which are written in the Law and the Pro- "phets: and have hope towards God, which they themselves also allow, that there ** shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. And herein do I " exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence both toward God and " toward men." Acts, xxiv. 14 — 16. ♦ Vide Div. Le^. Book v. Sect. v. Vol. iv. p. 353. t Vide tiie Appendix to Bishop Law's Theory of Religion. t Vide Menasse Ben Israel, as qwoted by the learned David Humphreys, in his Easay on f.hs Notions of the Jews concerning the Resurrection, p. 89; is wtiich the texts adduced by the Sad- dacees are quoted and considered. EFFECTS OF JUDAISM TPftTt III. LECTURE V. EFFECTS OF JUDAISM ON THE GENTILES. Sect. I. Objection to Judaism — First, from its being confined to a single nation—' Secondly, from its implying mutability in God, as being opposed to Christianity. .Answer to the first — Judaism not confined in its effects to one nation — but intended, through the instrumentality of the Jews, to enlighten mankind. This effect foreseen and attended to in the Jewish scheme. Various instances to show this. Solomon's prayer at the consecration of the temple establishes the same inference. The miracles wrought for the Jews made a strong impression on the Egyptians — On the Canaaniles — On the Philistines — On the Heathens in the reign of Solomon — £ut counteracted by the principles of Idolatry — instanced in the history of the Samaritans — TSTio were how. ever prepared by Judaism for Christianity. Effects produced by Judaism on the Heathens during the Captivity — Instanced in the history of Jeremiah— Of Daniel— Of his three friends — Of Belshazzar — Of Cyrus. These facts publicly attested— Importance of such attestations. Traces of these effects in the East. Traces of the same effects in the religion of Zoroaster — Of Mahomet. Recapitulation — Universal re- formation not to be expected at that period of the world — Objection derived from partial effects of Judaism, erroneous in its statement of facts — Inconclusive in reasoning— ji revelation not being universal, implies no injustice in God. EXODUS, ix. 16. " And in vpry deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to sliow in thee my pon-er ; and that " ray name may be declared throughout all the earth." It yet remains to observe, that the Jewish system has been objected to, on grounds distinct from its immediate doctrines, or its direct eflfects upon the Jews themselves. First, as being partial ; — wholly confined to one obscure and insignificant nation, and therefore unworthy of a divine interposition, and inade- quate to that stupendous apparatus of miracles by which it is supposed to have been introduced. Secondly, as indicating a capricious mutability on the part of God, who (as those objec- tors aflfirm) first promulgated the Mosaic Law as of eternal obli- gation ; and yet afterwards is supposed to have abrogated it, and introduced the different and even opposite system of Christianity. Lect. v.] ON THE GENTILES. 337 To the former of these objections it is answered ;—;^rs^, that the Jewish scheme was never intended merely for the benefit of the Jews alone, but by their instrumentality for the benefit of all mankind, whose instruction and reformation it had the clearest tendency to promote, by exhibiting the most striking proofs of the existence and power of the true God, not only to the Jews them- selves, but to all the nations placed in their vicinity or affected by their fortunes ; amongst whom were the Egyptians the wisest, the Canaanites the most warlike, and the Phoenicians the most commercial nations of remote antiquity : and afterwards the four great empires of Assyria and Persia, Greece and Rome, which successively swayed the sceptre of the civilized world. So that whatever knowledge of true religion was preserved amongst man- kind, was in all probability principally derived from this source, or at least was from thence materially extended and improved.* * That the Jewish Constitution was adapted to attract the attention and improve the religious knowledge of mankind, from the particular time at which it was in- troduced, has been satisfactorily evinced by a late ingenious writer.-j- He observes, " had it been erected at a period nearer to the Deluge, whether during the time •' while the light from the old world, shed upon the survivors of that catastrophe, " remained iaextinguished, or during the darkness and barbarism that succeeded it, " it does not seem that the period would have been (at least to human judgment) " so wisely chosen. It would have been superfluous while men remained under the •' deep and recent impressions of the Deluge ; and to the uninformed and unobser- " vant minds of their successors, who were sinking into barbarism, it would have " been lost, like a spectacle exhibited to the blind or the careless : and even had its " benefits been extended to all mankind, the number would have been then (com- " paratively at least) but few. But not being erected until men were multiplied *' and divided into separate communities, some of them grown up into some con- " siderable magnitude, and to some good degree of improvement in powers and " knowledge, it had, for the eflectual exhibition of God's moral government, the " advantage of being presented before many and qualified observers capable o» " apprehending such a truth, of being gratified, or at least struck, with an easy " proof and a conspicuous display of it. Beginning after the commencement ot " such nations as Babylon, Syria, Persia, and Egypt; continuing during the pro- " gress of these nations through various conditions and vicissitudes, and unavoidably " having some connexion with them, because settled in the midst of them, and " some share in the changes which took place amongst them, the circumstances of " the Jewish nation, and their correspondence with its character, and its obser- " vance and neglect of its peculiar constitution, could not but be well known to " those nations; it must have exhibited an experimental, obvious, and clear proof " of the moral government of God, a spectacle attracting their attention through " all the stages of civil society, and all the different conditions incident to such combina- " tions of men." t Mr Cappe, Vol. ii. p. 206. Y 3-38 EFFECTS OF JUDAISM [Part III. Secondly^ a still more decided proo^ that the Jewish scheme was designed for and subservient to the general benefit of man- kind, is derived from that great feature of it which supplies the answer to the second objection ; even this : — ^that there has been no cJiange in the divine purposes, and no inconsistency between the Jewish and Christian dispensations ; but that the Mosaic Law was from the first intended not to be of eternal obligation, but declared to be subservient to and introductory of the Gospel. In order to establish the tendency of the Jewish economy to promote amongst other nations the knowledge of the true God, it is important to remark, that to produce such a tendency is ex- pressly pointed out as part of the divine plan, and as a motive frequently influencing the measures of the divine dispensations. Thus the Jewish Legislator represents God as declaring concern- ing Pharaoh, " In very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, " to show in thee my power ; and that my name may be declared " throughout all the earth."* And when on the impious rebellion of the Jews, after the return of the twelve spies, God proposes to destroy this ungovernable race, and raise from his faithful ser- vant Moses a nation greater and mightier than they, the patriotic Legislator, in deprecating the execution of the divine menace, employs this topic as the most powerful dissuasive : " Now if thou " shalt kill this people as one man, then the nations which have " heard the fame of thee will speak, saying. Because the Lord " was not able to bring this people unto the land which he sware " unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness."-f- He then proceeds to entreat, that the long sufi'ering mercy of God may now be exercised : " And the Lord said, Behold I have " pardoned according to thy word ; but as truly as I live, all the " earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord."j The awful sentence is then pronounced, that the nation shall continue forty * Exod. ix. 16. + Numb. xiv. 15. The same motive is represented as constantly operating to prevail upon Jehovah to withhold the full punishment in justice due to the crimes of this wayward people. Thus In his last solemn hymn, in which the Lawgiver exhibits a prophetic sketch of the entire dealing of God with his people; after enumerating the signal punishments which would follow their apostasies, he adds, Deut. xxxii. 25, 27, " I would scatter them into '• comers, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men. " Were it not that 1 feared the wrath of the enemy, lest tin ir adversaries should '• brfi^ive themselves strangely, and lest they should saj , Our hand is high, and the " Lord ^lath not done all this." JNunib. xiv. 20, 21. Led. v.] ON THE GENTILES. 339 years in that wilderness, until " all the men of that evil genera- " tion should perish there:" a sentence the miraculous execution of which undoubtedly did, and still does, exhibit in the strongest light the power and justice of Jehovah to all the nations of the earth. Thus again, when the Legislator labours to impress upon his countrymen the observance of the divine laws, he urges a simi- lar motive : " Keep therefore and do them, for this is your wis- " dom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which " shall hear all these statutes, and say. Surely this great nation " is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there " so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our " God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what " nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so " righteous, as all this Law which I set before you this day."* And certainly the wonders of divine power wrought in behalf of the Jewish people, combined with the character of the Jewish Law, justify this appeal of the Jewish Legislator to all nations ac- quainted with these awful facts. And how extensively has the knowledge of these facts been disseminated, how perpetually is it still spreading, through all the civilized regions of the globe. Thus again, when the Legislator, with that spirit of prophecy which so strongly attests his divine mission, declares to his nation the prosperity which should reward their obedience, and the calamities which should chastise their transgressions, he states that both would be so signal as to attract the attention of the neighbouring countries, and evince to them, the greatness of Jehovah : " The Lord shall establish thee an holy people unto '^ himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou wilt keep the " commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways. " And all the people of the earth shall see that thou art called " by the name of the Lord : and they shall be afraid of thee. *' But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the " voice of the Lord thy God, all these curses shall overtake " thee ; and thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and " a by -word among all nations whither the Lord shall lead thee ; " so that the generation to come of your children that shall rise " up after you, and the stranger that shall come up from a far " land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, and " the sickness which the Lord hath laid upon it ; even all * Deut. iv. 6—8. 340 EFFECTS OF JUDAISM [Part III. " nations shall say: Wherefore hath the lord done thus unto " this land ? what meaneth the heat of this great anger ? Then " men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of " the Lord God of their fathers, which he made with them " when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt ; and " the Lord rooted them out of thoir land in anger and in wrath, " and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it " is this day."* Assuredly, as this prediction was illustriously verified in the various fortunes of the Jewish nation under their judges and their kings, even to the total expulsion of the ten tribes, the signal captivity of the remaining two, and their as signal re- storation ; so it is still more illustriously verified by the present unparalleled dispersion of the Jews and their equally unparal- leled preservation as a distinct people, notwithstanding that dispersion.-f- Assuredly they at this day exhibit the most irre- futable proof of an overruling Providence, and of the divine original of those Scriptures which contain the laws they were bound to observe, and predict the calamities which should chastise the breach of that sacred obligation. In the devout and beautiful prayer of Solomon, on the con- secration of the temple, we find the principle here stated, pub- licly and solemnly recognised. " Moreover, concerning a stran- " ger that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far " country for thy name's sake, (for they shall hear of thy great " name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched-out arm) " when he shall come and pray towards this place, hear thou in " heaven thy dwelling-place, and do according to all that the " stranger calleth to thee for : that all people of the earth may " know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel ; and " that they may know that this house which I have builded, is " called by thy name."" | And again, at the conclusion of this devout address, the monarch prays, " Let these my words, " wherewith I have made supplication before the Lord, be nigh " unto the Lord our God day and night, that he may maintain " the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel, * Deut. xxviii. 9, 10, 15, 37; also xxix. 22, 24, 25, 28. •j- On this subject consult Newton on the Piopheries, Dissertation vi. vii. viii.; and Laidner's Three Discourses to prove the circumstances of the Jewish People an argu. ini-nt for the truth of the Christian religicii, in his tenth volume, p. 63 et seq. Kin-Ts viii. 41 — 43. Iject. v.] ON THE GENTILES. S il ** as the matter shall require : that all the people of the earth may " know that the Lord is God, and that there is none else."* In this remarkable passage, which is the more decisive as it contains a solemn recognition of the principles and objects of the Jewish Law, proceeding from the highest human authority, and sanctioned by the immediate approbation of God, whose glory filled the house of the Lord during this solemn supplication, we perceive it is clearly laid down, not only that the Jewish scheme was adapted and designed to make " all the people of the earth " know that the Lord was God, and that there was none else ;" but also that the stranger from the remotest region, who should be led to believe in and to worship the true God, was not only permitted, but called and encouraged to " pray towards the " temple at Jerusalem," to join in the devotions of the chosen people of God, and equally with them hope for the divine favour^ and the acceptance of his prayers ; without becoming a citizen of the Jewish state, or submitting to the yoke of the Mosaic ritual or civil law.-j- For the words of Solomon evidently suppose, that the stranger whom he describes as thus supplicating God, re- mained as he had originally been, " not of the people of Israel." How far the decided superiority of Jehovah over the idols of Egypt and Canaan,| and the clear manifestation of divine justice, mercy, and power, so conspicuously exhibited by the deliverance of the Jews from Egypt, and their settlement in the promised land, were eftectual in diffusing the knowledge of the true God, it is perhaps impossible accurately to ascertain ; that they did * 1 Kings, viii. 59, 60. f From 2 Chron. ii. 17, it appears Solomon found in Israel strangers of such a rank of life as were fit to be employed in assisting to build the temple, 153,600. These (as the commentators agree, vide Poli Synopsin, and Patrick, &c.) were proselytes to the worship of the true God, and the observance of the moral law, though not circumcised. Patrick observes, " These were the reliques (as Kimchi " thinks) of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, mentioned " afterwards, ch. viii. 7. But they were not idolaters, for then David would not " have suffered them to dwell in the land. But they worshipped God alone, though " they did not embrace the Jewish religion wholly, by being circumcised. These ♦' David had numbered, that he might know their strength and their condition ; " which did not proceed from such vanity as moved him to number his own people; '• but out of a prudent care that they might be distinguished from Jews, and be " employed in such work as he did not think fit to put upon the Israelites." See 1 Cliion. xxii. 2. + Vide supra, Lett. II. 342 EFFECTS OF JUDAISM [Pillt III. not produce any extended permanent national reformation in any idolatrous country is certain. Indeed to produce such an effect at that period of the world, it seems evident, nothing but such a system of perpetual discipline and control as God exercised over his chosen people, would have been sufficient. The Scripture history, however, supplies various instances of the deep impression made on the minds of those, who were perfectly apprised of the miraculous interpositions of God in behalf of his chosen people. In reciting the plagues of Egypt, we are told, that the magicians, when their own power was clearly exceeded and their arts baffled, acknowledged, " This is " the finger of God."* And when Moses warned the Egyptians of the approaching plague of a very grievous hail, we find, " He " that feared the word of the Lord among the servants of " Pharaoh, made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses."-f- On the increasing accumulation of plagues, inflicted in conse- quence of the impious obduracy of Pharaoh, his servants at length ventured to remonstrate with that proud and inflexible monarch : they said unto him, " How long shall this man (Moses) " be a snare unto us ? Let the men go, that they may serve " the Lord their God : knowest thou not yet that Egypt is " destroyed V'l And we are told that " the man Moses was " very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's " servants, and in the sight of the people."§ Nor can a more probable account be given of that " mixed multitude " || who accompanied the children of Israel out of Egypt, than that it consisted of Egyptians, deeply convinced, by the miracles they had witnessed, of the supreme divinity of Jehovah, and thence determined to adhere to his worship, and for that purpose join themselves to his chosen people, share the same fortune, and submit to the same law.lF On the approach of the Jews to the land of Canaan, we per- ceive the terror of their God had gone before them. " Verily," says Rahab to the spies, " I know that the Lord hath given you " the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all " the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. For we " have heard how the Lord dried up the waters of the Red Sea * Exod. viii. 19. t Il^'d- i^^- 20. t H'iil- x. 7. § Kxod. xi. 3. II Ibid. xii. 38. It Vide Patriik in locum, and Seldeu de Syncdriis, lib. i. di. iii. p. 77(5, Vol. I. 'r...n. II. Lcct. v.] ON THE GENTILES. .'^45 " for you, when you came out of Egypt ; and what you did *' unto the two kings of the Amorites that were on the other " side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. And " as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, " neither did there remain any more courage in any man, be- " cause of you ; for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven " above, and in earth beneath."* The similar avowal of the Gibeonites is equally express and strong. " From a very far " country thy servants are come, because of the name of the " Lord thy God ; for we have heard the fame of him, and all " that he did in Egypt, and all that he did to the two kings of " the Amorites that were beyond Jordan. Therefore now make " ye a league with us."-!- Their apology for the artifice they had practised is not less striking. " Because," say they, " it " was certainly told thy servants, how that the Lord thy God " commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and " to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you ; " therefore we were sore afraid of our lives because of you, and " therefore we did this thing.""! It cannot be doubted but the Gibeonites being permitted to preserve their lives and property, on condition of becoming " hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation " and for the altar of the Lord," must have renounced idolatry ; for the attendance of avowed idolaters at the altar for any pur- pose, would have been an intolerable profanation. Had the other nations of Canaan imitated their conduct in submitting to the chosen people, and renouncing idolatry, they most pro- bably would also have experienced mercy.§ But relying on the protection of their idols, they encountered the host of Jeho- vah, and their destruction served to increase and to diffuse the terror of his power :|| a terror, of which we trace the impression three hundred years after ; when the Philistines, hearing that the ark of God had been brought into the camp of Israel, ex- claimed, " Wo unto us : who shall deliver us out of the hands " of these mighty gods ? These are the gods that smote the " Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness." IT On tliis occasion, God, by permitting the Israelites to be defeated * Joshua, ii. 9—11. t Il'id. ix. 9—11. J Joshua, ix. 24. § Vide supra, Lect. I. I Vidu suj^ira. IT I Samuel, iv. 8. 344 EFFECTS OF JUDAISM [Part III, and his ark taken, punished their presumption in relying on his protection without repenting of their crimes. While on the idol of the Philistines * and his worshippers, he inflicted such signal chastisement,-}* without any intervention of human agency, as seems admirably adapted not only to punish but to reform their idolatry ; yet in vain : at that period the human Mind appears incapable of being thus reformed. The deluded Philistines acknowledged the resistless power of Jehovah ; but they were thence stimulated merely to remove the immediate pressure of that power from their idols and themselves. They never once felt the reasonableness of forsaking such base ab- surdities, and adhering steadily to the worship of the God of Israel. In the reign of Solomon, the tendency of the Jewish scheme to diffuse the knowledge of the true God appears increasingly conspicuous. The prosperity and wealth of this monarch, the magnificence of his temple, and above all, his fame for wisdom, attracted universal attention. " For his fame was in all nations " round about, and there came of all people to hear the wisdom " of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth, which had heard " of his wisdom."! We have observed the solemn and public manner in which he encouraged the stranger who was not of the people of Israel, to worship the God of Israel. And it is probable many strangers may have been at this period attract- ed to rank themselves with the worshippers of the true God. Still, however, the human mind appears not to have been pre- pared for any general and permanent reception of that pure religion, which, acknowledging " God to be a spirit," declares " he must bo worshipped in spirit and in truth." § And when we see that Solomon himself, with all his advantages, did not resist the seductions of idolatry, we cannot wonder if no considerable portion of those who may have been attracted by * On this subject Warburton judiciously observes: " After this transaction we hear " no more of any attempts among the Gentile nations to join the Jewish worship with " their own. Thoy considered the God of Israel as a tutelary Deity, absolutely un- " sociable, who would have nothing to do with any but his own people, or with such " particulars as would worship him alone, and therefore in this respect ditierent from " all other tutelary gods, each of which was willing to live in community with the " rest." — Vide Div. Leg. f 1 Samuel, ch. v. and vl. If. 1 Kings, iv. 29 tu ;J4 ; and x. 1 to 13, § Gospel of St John, iv. 23, 24. Led. V.J ON THE GENTILES. S45 his fame, and attentive to his instructions, could permanently emancipate themselves from its fascinating power. We have indeed abundant proofs how deeply rooted was the opinion of the world's being governed by an indefinite number of local and national guardian Gods, rivals in power and influ- ence ; no one of whom however absolutely excluded the worship of the rest. So that it was believed to be the interest and the duty of each nation to adore and conciliate the gods of every country they conquered or settled in — retaining at the same time, with undiminished reverence, the idols of their own ancestors, as their peculiar guardian deities. While this was a principle universally admitted, no display of power and majesty on the part of the God of the Jews, could produce any other effect than an abortive and absurd attempt to associate the worship of Je- hovah with that of those base idols which a deluded world adored;* an attempt which the dignity of the true God must necessarily resent and punish. A most remarkable instance of the truth of this observation occurs in the conduct of the colony planted by the king of Baby- lon in Samaria, to supply the place of the ten tribes whom he had carried into captivity. Their history casts so much light on the subject now under discussion, that I conceive it necessary to transcribe it in a note, as we find it related with all the charac- ters of truth by the sacred historian. f * Consult, on this principle of intercommunity in the Pagan religions, Warburton, Book ii. sect. vi. Vol. ii. p. 33. And this being the principle on which the Samari- tans originally adopted the worship of Jehovah, (ib. p. 30.) while in every case the condemnation of this principle by the Jewish religion, and its allowing only the wor- ship of Jehovah, prevented its being received by the heathens. -^Vide Warburton, Book v. sect. ii. Vol. iv. p. 203. See also Ezekiel, xvi. 34. •j" The 2d of Kings, xvii. 24, &c. " And the king of Assyria brought men from " Babylon, and fiom Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, " and placed them in the cities of Samaria, instead of the children of Israel; and " they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof. And so it was at the be- " ginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not the Lord; therefore the " Lord sent lions amongst them, which slew some of them. Wherefore they spake •' to the king of Assyria, saying. The nations which thou hast removed, and " placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the manner of the God of the land ; " therefore he hath sent lions among them, and behold, they slay them, because they " know not the manner of the God of the land. Then the king of Assyria com- " manded, saying, Cany thither one ot the priests whom ye brought from thence: * %i\(\ Itt them go and dwell theit', and kt him teach them the manner of the God 346 EFFKCTS OF JUDAISM [Pait III. And I observe, that this history affords an instance of hea- thens, placed probably in the most advantageous situation it was possible for heathens to be placed, in order to reclaim them from idolatry. Introduced to supply the place of one part of God's chosen people, who had been expelled for their idolatries: thus brought into immediate contact with the remaining part, from whom they could not but learn much of the wonders of Jeho- vah's power ; convinced by their own experience of the necessity of conciliating him as the supreme guardian God of the country in which they were newly settled, and compelled by their fears to solicit instruction in his Law ; — they received that instruction ; the books of Moses were placed in their hands, and were from that period uniformly acknowledged by them as of divine autho- rity. Yet so deeply were their idolatrous propensities rooted in their souls, that though thus circumstanced, with examples of divine punishment immediately under their observance, in- structed in the tenor, and acknowledging the authority of the divine Law, they could not be taught to discern the folly and " of the land. Then one of the priests, whom they had carried away from Samaria, " came and dwelt in Bethel and taught them how they should fear the Lord. How- " beit, every nation mad( gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the " high places which the Samaritans had made. And the men of Babylon made " Succoth-Benoth, and the men of Hamath made Ashima, and the men of Cuth " made Nergal, and the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites " burnt their children in fire to Adrammalech and Anammalech, the gods of Sephar- " vaim. So they feared the Lord, and made unto themselves of the lowest of them " priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places. " They feared the Lord, End served their own gods, after the manner of the nations •' whom they carried away from thence. Unto this day they do after their former •' manners: they feared not the Lord, neither do they after their statutes, or after *' their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the Lord commanded " the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel; with whom the Lord had made •' a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow your- " selves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice te them : but the Lord, who brought " you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched-out arm, him " shall ye fear, and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice. And thi ♦' statutes, and the ordinances, and the law and the commandment which he wrote " for you, ye shall observe to do for evermore: and ye shall not fear other gods. "And the covenant that I have made with you, ye shall not forget: neither shall ye " fear other gods. But the Lord your God ye shall fear; and he shall deliver you " out of the hand of all your enemies. Howbeit, they did not hearken, but they did " after theii- former manner. So these nations feared the Lord, and served their " graven images, both their children and their children's children: as did their fathers, '' i(i du they unto this day." Left, v.] ON THE GENTILES. 547 impiety, or forsake the practice, of associating the worship of the basest idols with that of the great Jehovah. They indeed " feared the Lord, (but yet) they served tlieir graven images, " both their children and their children's children ; as did their " fathers, so do they unto this day." But though it does not appear that the Samaritans could at that period be completely reclaimed from idolatry, yet the mea- sures employed to enlighten them with the knowledge of the true God seem gradually to have produced a considerable effect. On the return of the Jews from the seventy years captivity, an event which so clearly proved the inspiration of the Jewish Pro- phets, and the over-ruling providence of the God of Israel, the Samaritans were extremely desirous to join in rebuilding hia temple, and celebrating his worship : for " they said unto the " chief of the fathers, let us build with you ; for we seek your " God, as ye do ; and we do sacrifice to him, since the days of *' Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, who brought us up thither."* This proposal the Jews steadily rejected ; and whatever their motives may have been, we can discern important reasons, in consequence of which this rejection appears to have been subser- vient to the purposes of the divine economy. The intermixture of the Samaritans with the Jews might have rendered the ac- complishment of the prophecies concerning the family and birth of the Messiah, less clear — might have re-introduced idolatry among the restored Jews, now completely abhorrent from it, and in various ways defeated the grand objects of Providence in selecting and preserving a peculiar people. In consequence of this rejection, and the alienation it produced, the Jews probably became more vigilant in preserving the strictness, and the Sa- maritans more zealous in emulating the purity, of the Mosaic ritual. They became hostile, and therefore unsuspected guar- dians and vouchers of the integrity of the sacred text, particu- larly of the Pentateuch. And while the Jews in general, blinded by their national prejudices, could see in the promised Messiah only a national and temporal deliverer, the Samaritans appear to have judged of his pretensions with more justice and success.-f* * Ezra, iv. 2. f Vide John iv. particularly 41 and 42. " And many more (of the Samaritans) ■' believed, because of his own word ; and said unto the woman, Now we believe, not * because of thy saying; for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is in- *' deed the Christ, the Saviour of the world," A confession of faith higher by 3'J<8 EFFECTS OF JUDAISM [Part III. And though our Lord visited them only as it were incidentally,* yet he was able to declare to them his character and avow his dignity, without that mysterious reserve and jealous caution which the proneness of the Jewish multitude " to take him by force and make him a king,"-}* constantly required. And it seems evident that the Samaritans were predisposed and prepared to receive and diffuse the light of the Gospel, more than any other description of men, the pious and reflecting part of the Jewish nation only excepted. And thus this circumstance, in the pro- gress of the Jewish dispensation, which at first view might seem to prove it was peculiarly partial and confined, appears in its final result to have materially facilitated the diffusion of true religion in the world, and thus to have been subservient to the general advantage of mankind. But it was during the captivity of the Jews, and their conse- quent dispersion amongst the inhabitants of the most illustrious empire in the civilized world, that God principally employed them as the means of exciting the attention of the heathen to his majesty and his providence. The prophetic denunciations of Jeremiah as to this subjugation and captivity, were so public and decided as to attract the notice of the Assyrian army and their mighty monarch ; so that when Jerusalem was taken, Ne- buchadnezzar gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan, captain of his guard, saying, " Take him and look well to him, " and do him no harm.'"' The reason of this peculiar regard is thus stated : " For Nebuzaradan said unto Jeremiah, The Lord thy "God hath pronounced all this evil against this place; now the " Lord hath brought it to pass, and done according as he hath some degrees (as Dr Lightfoot remarks) than the Jews' common creed concerning the Messiah : for they held him only for a Saviour of the Jewish nation. And so we may see how deeply and how cordially these Samaritans had drank in the waters of life, so as to acknowledge Christ in his proper character. Vide also the testimonies of St Chrysostom and Ejjiphanius to the same effect, as quoted by Kennicot, Disserta- tion, Vol. II. p. 41 to 47. The expression of the woman, *' When the Messlas comeUi ♦' he will tell us all things," shows that she expected him in his proper character of a religious instructor. * Vide John, ch. iv. particularly ver. 26 and 42, on our Lord's reasons for reserve and caution, in avowing liis divine character and full dignity, and for his sometimes concealing his miracles. Consult Locke's Reasonableness of Christianity. Watson's Tracts, Vol. iv. p. 22 to IW; and why he is thus distinct in his avowal of his being the Messiah to the Samaritans, ib. p. 30. •j- John, vi. 15. Lect. v.] ON THR GENTILES. 349 *' said ; because ye have sinned against the Lord, and have not " obeyed his voice, therefore this thing is come upon you."* Thus the captivity of Judah glorified God amongst the heathen, even at its commencement. But during its continuance God employed various means to convince the Gentiles of his universal providence and his resistless power. He raised up Daniel,-f" whose prophetic spirit exalted him to the highest distinction, for Nebuchadnezzar " made him ruler over the whole province of " Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of " Babylon." Darius the Mede retained him in the same dignity from the same cause. Thus also God rescued the three illus- trious friends of Daniel from the burning fiery furnace, into which they had been plunged as martyrs for the worship of Jehovah, in opposition to the profanations of idolatry. He preserved Daniel himself from the den of lions, to which he was condemned for the same glorious cause ; and punished the proud impiety of Nebuchadnezzar, by a seven years' insanity and de- gradation from his throne, to which he was restored, only when with his reason his piety returned, and he submitted to pay solemn and public homage to the God of Israel. Thus also at the moment when Belshazzar was insulting Jehovah, by bringing forth the consecrated vessels of his temple to be polluted by his profanation, the miraculous handwriting on the wall dashed with horror his impious revelling, and announced his own impending destruction, and the downfal of his empire. These were not obscure or doubtful transactions, related only by deluded fanatics or artful impostors, but attested by the authentic decrees of the most distinguished monarchs, solemnly proclaimed through their wide-extended dominions. What writer would have dared, if unsupported by truth, to have as- serted, when the facts were recent, the promulgation of such decrees as these? " I king Nebuchadnezzar make a decree, '• That every people, nation, and language, which speak any " thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshech, and " Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall bo " made a dunghill ; because there is no other god that can " deliver after this sort."! And again, on his restoration from insanity he issues this proclamation : " Nebuchadnezzar the " king, unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell * Jer. xxxix. 12, and xl. 2. f Dan. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. % Dan. iii. 29. 350 EFFECTS OF JUDAISM [Part III. " on all the earth : Peace be multiplied unto you. I thought it " good to show the signs and the wonders which the high God " hath wrought towards me. How great are his signs ! and " how mighty are his wonders ! his kingdom is an everlasting " kingdom, and his dominion from generation to generation." * Then follows the narrative of his vision, its interpretation by Daniel, and its accomplishment ; all which appropriate the king's acknowledgments of the Divinity to Jehovah the God of Daniel, of whom the monarch thus concludes ; " Now I Nebu-- " chadnezzar praise and extol, and honour the King of heaven; " all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment ; and those " that walk in pride he is able to abasc^t Thus again the miraculous deliverance of Daniel from the lion's den, extorted from Darius this solemn and public homage to the God of Israel ; " Then king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and ' languages, that dwell in all the earth, Peace be multiplied " unto you. I make a decree. That in every dominion of my " kingdom, men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel ; for " he is the living God and stedfast for ever. He delivereth and " rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and earth " who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.""! And to crown this series of miraculous interpositions on one hand, and public homage to the majesty of Jehovah on the other, from the most distinguished monarchs of the Eastern world ; the great Cyrus, founder of the Persian empire, was so fully persuaded of that divine Providence whose spirit dictated the prophecies so clearly pointing out the progress, nay the particular mode of his successes, that he became the active as- sistant in the restoration of the chosen people to their country. For in the first year of his reign he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, saying, " All the kingdoms of the " earth hath the Lord God of heaven given me ; and he hath " charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in " Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? the Lord " God be witli him, and let him go up-''^ These public and solemn testimonies to the majesty of the God of Israel nmst have contributed materially to check error and ido- latry, in a country where the form of the government rendered the examples and the opinions of the monarchs so powerful and *Dan. iv. I. t Dan. i v. 37. f Ibid. vi. 25— 27. ^ Ezr& i. 2 &. 3. Leet. v.] ON THE GENTILES. 351 operative. They must have gained the Jews, even in their captive and degraded state, much consideration and attention ; and as such a state led them to take pride in their religious superiority, the only superiority now left them, and to exalt the divine original and wisdom of their religion ; so these events must have given their representations weight and credibility. It is scarcely possible for us at this remote period, and in this distant region, till lately very ignorant of, and still but imper- fectly acquainted with, the history and literature of the East, to estimate the full effect of the divine interpositions, by the Jewish system, from the calling of Abraham to the close of the Baby- lonish captivity, in checking the progress of error and idolatry, and diffusing the knowledge of the divine existence and the divine dispensations, in this primeval seat and source of civilization and philosophy. One remarkable instance however of the diffusion of the prin- ciples of true religion, by the instrumentality of the patriarchal and the Jewish revelations, occurs in the history of the Magian religion, or that of the ancient Persians, which is venerable both for its antiquity and purity, as well as important from the number of its professors : and which, if we may credit the most learned and industrious writers,* appears to have been originally derived from the instructions of Abraham, and to have received its great reformation by Zoroaster from the communication of that religious knowledge which the Jews in their captivity dis- seminated through the East. We have strong testimony to prove that the Persians had corrupted that purity of faith which they had received from their pious ancestor Elam the son of Shem, by the errors and superstitions of the Zabian idolatry ;-f- but that, probably, instructed by the Patriarch Abraham,^ they had thoroughly * Consult Hyde's lleligio Veteium Persarum ; the Religion of the Persees, by Henry Lord; Prideaux's Connection, Vol. i. from p. 299 to 331 ; Universal History, Vol. ii. Book i. eh. xi. sert. iii. p. 69; Pucockii Specimen Historiae Arabicae, ex Abulfaragio, p. 54; Maurice's History of Hindostan, Vol. ii. Book iv. ch. iii. from 275 to 322; Hottinger's Historia Persarum, p. 172, f Hyde, ch. 1. J Hyde Relig. Persarum. ch. ii. and iii. passim, particularly p. 36. "To return, says ilyde, " to th ; ancient Persians, by their declaration in the liook called Phar- " hang Sururi, the religion of the Persians is termed the religion of Abraham and " Zerdusht, or Ahrahamo Zerdushtensis ; for they maintain, that Abraham was of " the same religion with Zerdusht, who succeeded him long after, and that the re- 3.'')2 EFFECTS OF JUDAISM [Pai't III, reformed their religion and restored its purity. In process of time that purity was again corrupted, if not by gross idolatry, in worshipping the heavenly bodies and the elements of nature, particularly fire,* yet certainly by paying them an excessive and superstitious reverence ; and above all, by admitting the doctrine of two independent principles of evil and of good, so hostile to the glory and the worship of the one great Jehovah, the uni- versal Lord and King. From these corruptions this religion was again purified by the celebrated Zoroaster, who is represented, by those writers who seem best informed in Oriental liter- ature, to have been contemporary with Daniel,-}* and if not a ♦'ligionof Zerdusht was deiivid from Abraham; and by the religion of Abraham *' the Persians understood that which (rejecting the first interpolation (of the Sabians) " teaches the worship of the one only and true God, excluding all false religions," &c. * Hyde, cap. iv. •{• Prideaux, Vol. i. p. 301 ; Hyde, cap. xxii. p. 298, and cap. xxiv. de Vita Zoro- astris; and Maurice's History of Indostan, Vol. ii. p. 280. Warburton, with his usual humility of opinion and urbanity of manner, calls all those who believed the fact of such a reformation in the Magian religion, as I have here ventured to suppose, " bewildered men, "J and considers the Zoroaster of Hyde and Prideaux as a mere imaginary personage, the production of modern Arabian fictions. However, notwithstanding the probability of my being numbered amongst those bewildered unfortunates, I cannot help assenting to the testimonies collected by Hyde, who could read and understand the original sacred writings of the Persians, and study the original Arabian histories, which Warburton certainly could not; and who appears to have spent a great part of his life in the investigation of tliis subject, with great patience, learning and sagacity. He expresses himself in the following manner :§ " The ancient prophet of the Persians, Zerdusht, or Zeradusht (by the Grecians *» erroneously termed Zoroaster) wrote several books on diflerent subjects, as we " have proved in the proper place ; all written in a language ancient, and in most " places now obsolete. These remain as sealed-up treasures, which the eyes of the *' learned have never examined. These words in manuscript (Jsti codices) are still "extant, preserved by the followers of that religion with the greatest care; a cir- " cumstance which may scarcely be credited by such as are strangers to these things, " and who do not even dream that the old Persians have always had a well-regu- " lated church,ll which preserved its ancient memorials, and that it flourished in " splendour to Yesdegherd, (the last of that name) who reigned about 1000 years " ago; and that it has continued from that time to this, though with less splendour. " These books of Zoroaster are almost strangers in Europe (unless perhaps they ''lie somewhere unknown;) by some of them, relating to tbeolopy (that I may X Warburton, Vol. iv. p. 180. § Vide his pr.'fa.p. p. 4 and 5. II Villa Hyde. cap. i ; in which he adduces arpiimi'nts to priive, that the ancii-iit religion of the Persiiins had retained tli« worsliip of God from the earliest ages to tht- present diiy, thougli iiiter- iiiingled with some superstitioiiH observO' ce, vvhiih the Greeks and Maliometiiiis, inisiiiider» and inisinterpretintf, had falsely charged with direct idolatry— On the coiistilution of the Lect. V. ON THE OENTILE?;. S'5'J5 Jew, yet perfectly acquainted with the Jewish Scriptures, to which the distinguishing features of the reformation by him in- troduced were in a great measure conformable. Hence his con- " not appear to have made these assertions without evidence) are in my possession, " written in an ancient language and character. I procured them from the East by " great labour and expense, and they are indeed precious as gold. The autographs " by Zoroaster were all written in the ancient pure and unmixed Persic, as being " that which at that period was in use (without mixture of Arabic) in those parts " of Chorasan or Bactria, where was the tribe of Gushtasp, and which still is " used there. And in the same manner most copies are written in the same lan- "guage, excepting some for the common use of moderns, which have sometimes " Median and Aiabic words intermixed, all which signify the book, by which name *' the Persian Mahometans or Medo- Persians sometimes emphatically designate the " Koran. " It were to be wished, that all the works of Zoroaster were drawn out of " the darkness of the Magians, and brought to light amongst us ; from which " undoubtedly many things which are now unknown to the European world, would "be discovered, to the advantage of the learned and inquisitive. It is therefore " incumbent on the patrons of letters to provide in time for the expense attending "this object; such a work would be worthy of some prince or illustrious person. " Nothing can be effected without the necessary expense being defrayed, which would ** not, however, require a great sum. " Zoroaster, (as we have pointed out in chap, xxiv.) from his conversation with " the captive Jews in Persia, was well acquainted with the Old- Testament, and " many rites were from thence introduced by him amongst the Persians ; as appears " as well from his history of the creation, * and other things agrt- eing with Juda- ** ism, as from having inserted (as Gjannabius attests) many passages of David's *' writings into his books, his having uttered prophecies concerning the Messiah, " foretold and revealed, though with some obscurity, in the Old Testament. Bu " it was besides necessary that himself should have been favoured with a clearer " and more peculiar revelation, and have left that written in his books for the " Magi, who were to be led by a star to Christ, when born in Judea; since other- ** wise they could not have known that, nor would they have come to Judea from " a distant land. For these strangers understood this matter better than the ,'nha- " bitants of Bethlehem, or the king, or all the Jews, who were at once instructed *' and alarmed by this evangelical information of the Magi. All which circum- " stances persuade us, that Zoroaster had a really divine revelation in this par " ticular ; especially as we know that God sometimes (as to his wisdom it seemed '* good) has deigned to reveal truth to false prophets." I think it unnecessary to transcribe any further. On this last argument of Hyde I would observe, that if Zoroaster was acquainted with the prophetic wri- tings, and communicated to his countrymen the certain expectations of a Messiah, which he had from thence derived, "in whom all the nations of the earth were to be blessed," it is altogether unnecessary to suppose that he was favoured with any additional revelation; though we must admit that the Magi who visited our Sa- viour must have had an immediate revelation, to enable them' to understand the meauing and follow the guidance of that supernatural appearance which conducted * Hvde, cap ix. on the Creation, cap. x. on the Deluge, and on tbe subject of the Magri.cj jt. \xn. Z 354 EFFECTS OF JUDAISM [Part Il[. demnation of two independent principles, * and his assertion, that the Supreme God was the universal Creator of both good and evil, according to the doctrine of the sublime Isaiah, which the prophet introduces in such a manner as to prove it was par- ticularly designed to rouse the attention of the Eastern nations, and especially the Persians, to this important truth ; since he connects it with the solemn prophetic designation of the great Cyrus, as pre-ordained to be God's anointed. For " thus saith the " Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have " holden to subdue nations before him ; and I will loose the loins " of kings ; to open before him the two-leaved gates, and the " gates shall not be shut : I will go before thee, and make the " crooked places straight : I will break in pieces the gates of brass, •' and cut in sunder the bars of iron : and I will give thee the trea- " sures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that " thou mayest know that I the Lord, which call thee by thy " name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob, my servant's sake, " and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name ; " I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me. Thou " art my shepherd, and shalt perform all my pleasure ; even " saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built ; and to the Temple, " Thy foundation shall be laid. I am the Lord, and there is " none else, there is no God beside me : I girded thee, though " thou hast not known me : that they may know from the rising " of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside rae ; them to his presence. But the fact of the visit of the Magi, which otherwise seems uncomiected with the other parts of the Scripture history, and difficult to account for, is so naturally explained by the supposition, that Providence had ex- tended to the Persians the knowledge of the prophetic writings, and in connexion with that dispensation which had selected their nation, out of which to raise for his chosen people a temporal deliverer from the Babylonish Captivity, and a restorer of that temple where the Messiah was to appear, had {as it were in return) orovided means for preparing them to receive the first tidings of that great spiri- tual Deliverer, who was to admit them and all nations into the church of God. This supposition appears to me to explain so clearly the visit of the Magi, and to combine this otherwise isolated fact with the entire series of the divine dispensations so harmoniously, that I confess it gives (in my judgment) additional credibility to the fact, that this knowledge of the prophecies respecting the Messiah had been communicated to the Persians, either through Zoroaster or some other medium ; and induces me more readily to acquiesce in the testimony establishing this fact, which at the pame time appears in its own nature, and independent of any such coincidence, sufliciently clcHr and unexceptionable. * Focockii Specimen Histcria Arab. p. 147; Hyde Relig. Persar. cap. ix. p. 162, ami cap. xxii. p. 29Q. Lect. v.] ON THE GENTILES. 355 " I am the Lord, and there is none else. I form the light, and " create darkness : I make peace, and create evil : I the Lord " do all these things."* This radical principle of true religion Zoroaster inculcates clearly and strongly, accompanied with such additional circum- stances, as prove, that while he wished to indulge the prejudices of the nation whom he taught, he yet was anxious to do so no further than might be consistent with the principles of the Jew- ish religion, from which his own were plainly borrowed. In this spirit he maintained that under the Supreme Being was the angel of light, the director of good, and an angel of dark- ness, the author of evil :-f- that between these is a perpetual struggle, which will continue until the end of the world, when there shall be a general resurrection and retribution to all ac- cording to their deeds ; when the angel of evil and his followers shall, in perpetual darkness, suffer the punishment they deserve, while the angel of light and his followers shall be received into everlasting bliss ; after which there shall be no more any mix- ture of evil and good, of light and darkness ; but they shall re main separated to all eternity. He also taught that the Supreme Grod originally created the good angel alone, and that the evil followed by the defect of good. In this entire system we perceive a constant ejffort to admit the distinct principles of evil and of good acknowledged by the Magian superstition, but only in such a manner as was consist ent with the Jewish doctrines, of the supremacy of Jehovah, the introduction of sin and death by the fall, and the expectation of a resurrection and final judgment ; which last doctrine was (as we have shown) distinctly and energetically taught by the Jewish Prophets. In other subordinate partitalars of Zoroaster's scheme we find a conformity to that of Moses, so close as cannot be accounted for, except on the supposition of a deliberate imitation.;!: Thus, as Moses heard God speaking from the midst of the fire,§ Zo- roaster pretended to the same ; as the Jews had their glory 0/ * Isaiah, xlv. 1, &c. and xliv, 28. f Shahristani Relig. Persarum, ch. xxii.; Hyde, ch. ix. p. 163, and ch. xxii. p. 299; Pocockii Hist. Arab. p. 148; and Lord, of the Religion of the Persees, cap. ii. % This is clearly established by Hyde, cap. x. and xxii. § Vide Lord's Relig. of the Persees, cap. viii. p. 42. 356 EFFECTS OF JUDAISM [Part III. special presence of God resting on the mercj-seat, towards which they offered up all their prayers, so Zoroaster taught the Magians to hold the sacred fires in their temples as emblems of the divine presence ; as the Jews had frequently received fire from heaven to consume their sacrifices, Zoroaster pretended to the same ; as the Jewish priests were of one tribe, so were those of Zo- roaster ; as the former were chiefly supported by tithes and offer- ings, so were the latter. Even many of the Levitical distinc- tions between things clean and unclean are preserved in the re- ligious code of Zoroaster, We also trace in the same work the history of Adam and Eve, of the Creation and the Deluge. We find insertions from the Psalms of David, and praises of the wisdom of Solomon. And above all he celebrates Abraham ; his doctrines and religion he delivers as the doctrines and reli- gion of Abraham ; so that his innovations had for their object to bring back the Magian religion to the purity which it had originally derived from the instructions of that illustrious Patri- arch. On the extent of this religion it is sufficient to say, that in the time of Lucian,* that is, soon after the promulgation of the Gospel, it was received by the great majority of the Persians, the Parthians, the Bactrians, the Chowaresmians, the Arians, the Sacans, the Medes, and many other eastern nations. And to this day, no inconsiderable body of these Magians still remain in Persia and India, who observe the same religion which Zoroaster taught ; who perform their public religious worship in his lan- guage,^- and according to his rites ; and preserve his book with the highest reverence, as the sole rule both of faith and manners. It is a remark connected with the subject of the last ob- servation, that whatever principles of true religion were adopted and preserved by Mahomet^ he most certainly borrowed them from the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament ; — the worship of one God ; the abhorrence of idolatry ; the expectation of a future retribution, and the rules of moral conduct, so far as that expectation is undebased by the sensual pleasures promised by the Arabian impostor, and so far as these rules are uncorrupted Dy the sensual indulgencics he permitted. In a word, every thing praiseworthy in his system, is plainly derived from the Law and the Gospel. " Remember," says Mahomet, " when * Vide Lucian de Longaevis. Sect. iv. Vol. iii. p. 210. Eclitio Ilemsterhusii. t Prideaux, Vol. i. p. 300. LeCt. v.] ON THE GENTILES. 35» " the Lord tried Abraham by certain words, God said, Verily " I will constitute thee a model of religion unto mankind."* Then follows a divine selection of Mecca for an holy house ; a prayer of Abraham, that God would send an Apostle to teach his posterity the Koran : and the chapter proceeds thus : " Who " will be averse to the religion of Abraham, but he whose mind " is infatuated ? Surely we have chosen him in this world, and " in that which is to come he shall be one of the righteous. " When his Lord said unto him, Eesign thyself unto me, "■ he answered, I have resigned myself unto the Lord of all " creatures. And Abraham bequeathed this religion to his chil- " dren, and Jacob did the same, saying, My children, verily God " hath chosen this religion for you, therefore die not unless ye " also be resigned. Were ye present when Jacob was at the " point of death, when he said to his sons. Whom will ye worship " after me ? They answered. We will worship thy God, and the ' God of thy fathers, Abraham, and Ismael, and Isaac, one God, " and to him will we be resigned. That people are now passed " away ; they have what they have gained, and ye shall have " what ye gain ; and ye shall not be questioned concerning that " which they have done. They say. Become Jews or Christians, " that ye may be directed ; say Nay ; we follow the religion of " Abraham, the orthodox, who was no idolater; say, We believe " in God, and that which hath been sent doivn unto us [viz. the " Koran^ and that which hath been sent down unto Abraham, " and Ismael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes, and that which " was delivered unto Moses and Jesus, and that which was de- " livered unto the Prophets from their Lord : we make no dis- " tinction between any of them, and to God are we resigned," -f-fec. Thus directly does Mahomet acknowledge that he drew the leading articles of his system from the sacred Scriptures ; and undoubtedly he has adopted some of the highest importance : I quote one with pleasure. " It is not righteousness that ye turn " your faces in prayer towards the east and the west ; but " righteousness is of him who believetli in God, and the angels, " and the Scriptures, and the Prophets ; who giveth money for '* God's sake unto his kindred, and unto orphans, and the needy, " and the stranger, and those who ask, and for redemption of " captives ; who is constant at prayer, and giveth alms, and oi * Koran, ch. ii. f Sale's Koran, ch. ii. p 25. 3!^° EFFECTS OF JUDAISM [Part III. " tnose who perform their covenant when they have covenanted, " ai>d wno behave themselves patiently in adversity and hard- " snips, and in time of violence ; these are they who are true, " ai>d iPBse are they who fear God." How plainly do we per- ceive in this passage the principles inculcated by the prophet Tsaiah, with such superior beauty and energy : " Is not this the " fast tnat I have chosen ? to loose the bands of wickedness, to " undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that '-' ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, '■' and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house ? ■' when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him ; and that ^ ' thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh I Then shall thy ^ ' light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring ' ' forth speedily : and thy righteousness shall go before thee ; the '' glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward. Then shalt thou call, " and the Lord shall answer ; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, " Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the '- yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; and " if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the '• afflicted soul ; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy " darkness be as the noon-day." * &c. It is scarcely necessary to remark, that the absurdity and ex- travagance, the mixture of sensuality, licentiousness and deceit, which generally pervade the Koran,f justify the assertion, that its author was indebted for whatever degree of religious truth or virtuous principle is found in it, not to his own sagacity or his own rectitude of sentiment, but to those sacred sources of the Jewish and Christian Scriptures, the divine authenticity of which he acknowledged, and the doctrines of which he was in- duced to adopt, in order to attract to himself as many as possible * Isaiah, Iviii. 6, &c. t In proof of this charge, it is unnecessary to multiply passages from the Koran, of absurdity and extravagance, as in chap. xv. the fall of the angels for refusing to worship Adam; in chap, xxvii. and xxxiv. the lapwing bringing in news to Solomon; the genii building for him; the ants and birds attending him, &c. and chap. xvii. on the cele- orated nigiitjonrney to heaven; with Prideaux's account, p. 43, and Abulfeda Vita Muham. chap, xix.; of licentiousness and fraud, chap, xxxiii. ; the revelation per- mitting the Prophet to multiply wives, " a peculiar privilege above the rest of the true ' believers,'" vide p. 281, and to take his adopted son's wife; and a revelation to justify an amour with his slave, in ch. Ixvi. ; of a sensual paradise, in various places, particu- larly chap. XXV. Consult on this subject White's Bampton's Lecture Sermons, par ticularly Sermon 6, H, and 9 ; and Prideaux's Life of Mahomet, passim. Lect. v.] ON THE GENTILES. 359 of the votaries of both these religious, in a country where their numbers were considerable, their ignorance the easy prey of do* lusion, and their attachment to the religions they professed weakened by the errors which at that disastrous period had cor- rupted, and the dissensions which had disgraced them.* And now, on reviewing the facts and observations adduced in this section, it will be found, that the objection against the Jewish scheme, as being partial and confined to one obscure and insignificant nation, and therefore unworthy of the Deity, is false in fact, and inconclusive in reasoning ; even without con- sidering the Law as introductory of the Gospel ; and that there- fore, however confined in its immediate efficacy, its importance is clear, as being a necessary preparation for a pure and univer- sal religion. This last is certainly the most decisive answer to the objection. Yet independent of this, it has been proved that the Jewish scheme was intended to produce, and did produce, a most important and beneficial efli"ect, in checking error and idolatry through a great portion of mankind, while it continued in operation. It has been proved, that this efiect was intended and foreseen, and that it formed a direct object of the divine care, and, as it were, a leading motive in regulating the measures of the divine economy. The establishment of the Jewish Law displayed to the nations of Egypt and Canaan, the most striking proofs of the power and justice of Jehovah, and his superiority over their base idols ; inflicting the most signal punishment on their deluded worshippers, to prove his abhorrence of idolatry. The subsequent fortunes of the Jewish nation proclaimed the same great truths ; — in their apostasies and chastisements, as well as their repentance and deliverances, attesting the resistless power and over-ruling providence of their God, exercised not only over the Jews themselves, but all the nations placed in their neighbourhood, or affected by their fortunes. Particu- larly after the establishment of the regal government, we see the conquests of David, the wisdom and wealth of Solomon, the magnificence of the Temple, and the splendor of the Jewish religion, attracting general attention. We see the situation of Judea, calculated to increase this effect : at the head of * Vide Sale's Koran, the Preliminary Dissertation, sect, ii.; Priileaux's Life of Mahomet, the Preface; and Hottinger's Historia Orienlalis, Lib. II. cap. ii. p. 212; De Statu Judanrum et Christianorum ante Muhammed; and cap. v. De Causis Con- servanlibus Muhammedismi. SCO EFi-Ecxs OF JUDAISM [Part 111. the MecUteiTauean Sea, in the neighbourhood of Phoenicia, Egypt, Assyria, and Greece. The divine Providence connects the chosen people with these various powers ; and from this con- nexion various opportunities arise of displaying to the heathen nations the most striking proofs of the power, and extorting from their most powerful monarchs the most public and solemn homage to the majesty of Jehovah. But especially during the Babylonish captivity, the tendency, of Judaism to enlighten the heathen world becomes most con- spicuous. It then exhibits its prophets and its martyrs, diffuses its instructions, lifts its head in the courts of monarchs, controls their fortunes and chastises their pride ; till at length it is restored to its seat, now purified from idolatry ; and by inculcating the belief of a future retribution, and by the energetic exhortations of its prophets, confirmed by decided experience, it is enabled to preserve the worship of the true God, and a lively expectar tion of the promised Messiah, in whom all the nations of the earth were to be blessed ; an expectation not confined to the Jews alone, but certainly prevailing, though perhaps indistinctly understood, through many nations of the East. The effects of such a dispensation in enlightening mankind could not have been inconsiderable, even though we at this time and in this land, were unable distinctly to trace them. But they are still visible even to us, in the universal fame of Abraham and Solomon through the East, and the multitudes who trace to them their religious rites and opinions ; in the his- tory of the Samaritan settlement, and the religions of Zoroaster and Mahomet,* at this day professed by such numerous nations. Should it still be affirmed that the Jewish scheme could not have been divine, because it did not universally enlighten and reform mankind ; we answer, to expect such an effect is alto- gether wild and extravagant, for there is no reason to suppose it could have been produced at that period of the world, or in- deed at any period which has ever yet occurred, by any methods of the divine government, consistent with the established course of nature and the moral agency of man. So deeply was man- *"The ancient Persians and modern Mahometans are possibly (says Bishop Bntlet " instances of people, who have had essential or natural religion enforced upon their coi> ■ " sciences by the means of the Scripture; though they never had the genuine Scrijitiift, " revelation, with its i-eal evidence, proposed to their consideration." Vide Anal-g^ Part II. ch. vi. p. 319. Lect. v.] ON THE GENTILES. 861 kind sunk in error and ignorance, in idolatry and all the vices connected with it, that any reformation of an entire nation, and much more of all nations, seem to have been totally impracti- cable. If the Egyptians and Canaanites could not be reformed by the wonders they beheld, and the chastisements they suffered; if the Philistines, the Samaritans, and the Assyrians, so long witnesses of the divine Providence over the Jews, continued still idolaters ; it seems certain no nation could have been perma- nently and exclusively attached to the worship of Jehovah, except by placing it under a system of miraculous instruction and miraculous control, nearly or exactly similar to that under which the chosen people were disciplined and restrained. Now, that many different nations should be thus miraculously disciplined and controlled, as far as we can judge, could not take place with- out totally altering the entire scheme of God''s moral government, and utterly subverting the established course of nature. And so long as any nations continued unenlightened and unreformed, the objection that the divine dispensations were partial and confined, would still remain. Is it not then evident, that such an objec- tion rests on presumption, leads to absurdity, and would terminate in atheism \ But it is asked. Are not all partial dispensations unjust, and therefore unworthy of Grod \ To this I answer, in the words of the celebrated Butler, that "there is nothing in all this ignorance, " doubtfulness and uncertainty, in all these varieties, and sup- " posed disadvantages of some in comparison of others, respecting " religion, but may be paralleled by manifest analogies in the " natural dispensations of Providence at present, and considering " ourselves merely in our temporal capacity. " Nor is there any thing shocking in all this, or which would " seem to bear hard upon the moral administration in nature, if " we would really keep in mind, that every one shall be dealt " equitably with : instead of forgetting this, or explaining it away, " after it is acknowledged in words. All shadow of injustice, " and indeed all harsh appearances, in this various economy of •■' Providence, would be lost, if we would keep in mind, that " every merciful alloimnce shall be made, and no more be re- " quired of any one, than what might have been equitably ex- " pected of him, from the circumstances in which he was placed ; " and not what might have been expected, had he been placed 362 EFFECTS OF JUDAISM [Part III. " in other circumstances; **. e. in Scripture language, 'that every " ' man shall be accepted according to what he had, not according " ' to what he had not.""* This however doth not by any means *' imply, that all persons' condition here, is equally advantageous " with respect to futurity. And Providence's designing to place " some in greater darkness with respect to religious knowledge, '• is no more a reason why they should not endeavour to get out " of that darkness, and others to bring them out of it ; than why " ignorant and slow people, in matters of other knowledge, should " not endeavour to learn, or should not be instructed. " It is not unreasonable to suppose, that the same wise and " good principle, whatever it was, which disposed the Author " of nature to make different kinds and orders of creatures, " disposed him also to place creatures of like kinds, in different " situations : and that the same principle which disposed him " to make creatures of different moral capacities, disposed him " also to place creatures of like moral capacities, in different " religious situations ; and even the same creatures in different " periods of their being." Again, " A system or constitution (as that of nature) implies " variety ; and so complicated an one as this world, very great " variety. So that were Revelation universal, yet from men's " different capacities of understanding, from the different lengths " of their lives, their different educations and other external " circumstances, and from their difference of temper and bodily " constitution ; their religious situations would be widely differ- " ent and the disadvantage of some in comparison of others, " perhaps, altogether as much as at present.'"-|' Considerations these, which prove that all objections to Revelation derived from its want of universality, are contrary to the analogy of nature, and founded on mere arrogance and presumption.j * 2 Cor. viii. 12. t Butler's Anal. Part II. ch. vi. p. 320. X If any one who may happen to peruse this Work, finds himself disposed to believe, that the difficulties or objections which he thinks may be alleged against Revelation, *rom its not being universal or its jaroo/" appearing deficient, justify him in neglecting its evidence or violating its precepts; I earnestly entreat him to read and to leflect on the considerations Butler suggests, in the remaining part of this chapter of the Analogy; to prove that such diniculties and objections may be intended to tiy his sincerity and moral rectitude, and that iiegligeiu'c and iiiHttentinii under such a probation may prove most criminal and destructive. Vide Butler, Part 11. cii, vi. p. 'i'i'i. liSCt. V. J ON THE GENTILES. 3f)3 ^MIT. II. — Philosophy not introduced into Europe until near the period of the Bahijlon. tih Captivity. Thales — Anaximander — Anaxagoras — Probability that some of theii ifinions were ultimately derived from the Jews. General circumstances in the history df Grecian philosophy and religion, render the same thing probable of them — Their sages travelling for learning into Egypt and the East — Connexion of the Jews with Egypt at this period. Early philosophers of Greece delivered their tenets dogmatically — Inference from thence. The higher we trace the philosophy and religion of -Greece, the purer it is found — Inference. Providence gradually prepared the world for the Gospel — Grecian language and literature — Connexion of Greece with Asia increased— Conquests of Alexander — Singular distribution of the Jews at this period — Jews ir^ Egypt use the Greek tongue — Septuagint translation, its importance — The formation of the Alexandrian library — Sects of Grecian philosophy — Their effect. Extension of the Roman empire — Facilitated the spread of Christianity, Hitherto we have traced the effects of the Jewish dispensa- tion, chiefly in enlightening the Oriental nations ; but let it be remembered, that previously to the Babylonish captivity, the greatest part of Europe had been sunk in barbarism, and Greece itself began to emerge from the depths of ignorance only at that period. It was not until after * the first capture of Jeru- salem by Nebuchadnezzar, that Thales travelled into Egypt, and from thence introduced into his native land, geometry, as- tronomy and philosophy : he appears to have been amongst the first who gave his countrymen any rational idea of the origin of the world : and his opinion, that water teas the first principle of things, and that God ivas that Spirit who formed all things out of water., seems evidently borrowed from the Mosaic account indis- tinctly understood ; that " In the beginning, the earth was " without form, and void: and darkness was upon the face of the " deep : and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the " waters,"-f- * Vide Chronological Tables of Marshall; and the Universal Histoiy, also Brucker's Historia Philosophise, Lib. ii. ch. 1. t Genesis, i. 1. Thales enim Milesius qui primo de talibus rebus quaesivit, aquam dixit esse initium rerum, Deum autem earn mentem quae ex aqua ruiicta fingeret. Cicero de Natura Deorum, lib. i cap. x. and Bruckeri Historia Philosophise, lib. ii. cap. i. Tol. 1, p. 4(J5. 364 EFFECTS OF JUDAISM [Part III, Anaximander, * the friend and disciple of Thales, seems to have expressed his opinion, though in different terms, yet such as indicate that it also sprang from the same source. He taught that infinity was the first principle of all things, from which they are produced, and in which they terminate. The most rational explanation of this idea seems to be, that it means that indefinite chaos combined with that infinite Mind, from which all things proceeded. The great Anaxagoras -f- also, who first distinctly taught the separate existence of a supreme all-directing Mind, spoke of the material world as originating from a confused mass, con- sisting of different kinds of particles, each of which afterwards combined in homogeneous masses ; an opinion so similar to that of the Mosaic records, that we can scarcely doubt but that it was from them derived. But, not to enter into a disquisition unnecessary to the object of this work, and in which certainty is scarcely attainable, it may be sufficient to remark some general circumstances in the history of the Grecian philosophy and religion, which appear to confirm the opinion of their having been derived ultimately from the source of the Jewish revelations ; though corrupted and debased with the impure mixtures of Egyptian mystery and superstition, and rendered still more extravagant and inco- herent, by that poetic imagery, which the vivid imagination of the Grreeks so promptly invented, and so fondly retained. One of these circumstances is, that Egypt was certainly the school to which the sages of Greece resorted for instruction,;]: at and after the Babylonish captivity ; and that some are related to have extended their journeys and researches into Chaldsea and Assyria. Now at all times Egypt had maintained such * Bruckeri Historia, lib. ii. cap. i. sect. x. p. 483, who explains the opinion of Anaximander as I have done, t lb. sect. XX. p. 503. % Brucker affirms this of Thales, from whom the Ionic sect derived their opinions; and conceived that Thales derived his opinion from the traditions of the Phoeni- cians, " which he had learned in Crete and in Egypt; who in their cosmogonies, '* laying aside an operating cause, philosophised on the origin of natural objects " from a chaos." Vide Vol. i. p. 466. If this is true, it is a melancholy instance now perversely human I'easoa misused and misinterpreted the information which evelation had supplied. The tenet of the soul's immortality is confessed to have (cn brought from Egypt to Greece by Thales. Brucker, vol. i. p. 475. Vide also Uruckur's Account of the Opinions of Orpheus, particularly as to a chaos, vol. i. p. 390. I.ect. v.] ON THE GENTILES. 305 frequent intercourse with Judaea, that it could not be difficult there to learn the Jewish tenets, and have access to the Jewish Scriptures ; while at the same time Assyria was full of the dis- persed and captive Jews. We have indeed the most decisive proof of the constant in- tercourse and close connexion of the Jews with Egypt, from the multitudes who at the beginning of the Babylonish captivity fled thither, and settled there in direct opposition to the com- mands of their God, and the warnings of his Prophet;* an event speedily followed by the reduction of Egypt under the Assyrian empire, and the signal punishment of the idolatrous Jews in that country, according to the prediction of Jeremiah ; occurrences which would naturally excite a considerable degree of attention to the Law and the Prophets amongst the remain- ing Jews both in Egypt and Assyria ; and possibly even amonost such of the natives of those countries, as well as foreigners, who were more learned and inquisitive. From this period the intercourse between Europe, Asia, and Egypt, continued to increase ; and consequently, access to the sacred treasures of revelation became more practicable. It is another remarkable circumstance, connected with our present subject, that the tenets of the earliest Grecian philoso- phers were delivered, not in the form of regular systems, dis- covered by sagacious investigation, and supported by regular proof; but rather as unconnected dogmas learned from tradi- tion, and resting on authority :-f- which would have been the natural consequence of their being formed from fragments of the Jewish revelations and records, separated from the scheme, and unsupported by the proofs and facts, with which they had been originally combined. It is equally remarkable, that the higher we trace the theo- logical opinions of the Grecian philosophers, and the popular systems of religion in the ancient world, the more pure and uncorrupted are they found.;]: The nearer we approach to the * Vide Jeremiah, xlii. xliii. xliv. and xlvi. f The sages known by the name of the seven wise men of Greece, it is acknow- ledged, delivered their doctrines in this form; and Brucker observes of Thales, "As "the real reason which induced Thales to admit liis grand principle is unknown; "it is not improbable that he arrived at it by tradition rather than by reasoning." Vol. I p. 4G7. X Vide Leland on the Advantage and Necessity of the Christian Revelation, Part I. ch. ii. and xx. ; and the learned Shuckford, in his Coiniection of Sacred -366 EFFECTS OF JUDAISM [Part III. feources of Eastern tradition, the more conspicuous appears tiie. radiance of that heavenly light of original Revelation, vhose beams, though clouded and dispersed, still contributed to enlighten and direct mankind : the more clear traces do we »iS'*over of that primeval and patriarchal religion, which ac- •i'i to ois «iflerh-!g , t Ver. 16 and 18. LeCt. VI.] TO CHRISTIANITY. 37o ** nes3 and the poor with judgment," And the extent and effects of his dominion are described in terms applicable only to the Messiah"'s reign. " In his days shall the righteous flou- " rish : and abundance of peace, so long as the moon endureth. " He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the " river unto the ends of the earth. They that dwell in the wil- " derness shall bow before him ; and his enemies shall lick the " dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring " presents : the kings of Arabia and Seba shall offer gifts. Yea, " all kings shall fall down before him : all nations shall serve " him." The nature of this homage, and its motives, are de- clared to be spiritual and religious. " For he shall deliver the " needy when he crieth ; the poor also, and him that hath no " helper. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save " the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their soul from de- " ceit and violence : and precious shall their blood be in his " sight. His name shall endure for ever : his name shall be " continued as long as the sun : and men shall be blessed in " him : all nations shall call him blessed." Enraptured at the glorious prospect of the universal dominion of Him, in whom, according to the promise made to Abraham, " all nations were " to be blessed," the Psalmist exclaims, " Blessed be the Lord " God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. " And blessed be his glorious name for ever : and let the whole " earth be filled with his glory. Amen and amen." Isaiah, the great evangelic prophet, is still more explicit in predicting the extension of the Messiah's kingdom over the Gentile world ; and that the character of the religion to be by him established, would be in the highest degree spiritual and comprehensive, free from any local or national restriction, and unincumbered with any burthensome ritual or ceremonial ob- servances : and yet that Israel should be instrumental in forming this kingdom, and should (ultimately at least) partake the blessings it confers. " It shall come to pass," says he, " in the *' last (or latter) days, that the mountain of the Lord's house " shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be " exalted above the hills ; and all nations shall flow unto it. ♦' And manv people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go "up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God '' «i Jacob : and he will teach us of his ways, and we will 376 JUDAISM PREPARATORY [Part III. " walk in his paths : for out of Zion shall go forth the Law, " and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall " judge among the nations, and shall rebuke* many people : " and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their " spears into pruning-hooks ; nation shall not lift up sword " against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.""-f- This prediction of the extent and effects of the Messiah's reign, though exactly descriptive of the genuine character of the Christian religion, and its perpetual tendency to produce the full effect here described, yet undoubtedly peculiarly relates to a period in the history of the church of Christ not yet arriv- ed ; to the final result of a system yet in progress ; which, whenever it shall be accomplished, will display in full lustre the wisdom and the mercy of the divine dispensations. But it is such a result as the continuance of the Jewish ritual, and the restrictions of the Jewish law, could never produce. It there- fore implies an improvement of that law, and a breaking down of that wall of partition between Jews and Gentiles founded on the Mosaic ritual, which the Messiah, appearing as a new lawgiver, could alone have authority to remove. In various subsequent chapters, the Prophet with still greater clearness predicts the extension of the Messiah's kingdom over the heathen world. I select only one passage, as remarkable from its connecting this prediction with the declaration of the Messiah's humiliation : and therefore proving the kingdom de- scribed by the Prophet, was spiritual, not temporal. " And " now, saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his " servant, to bring Jacob again to him. Though Israel be not " gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and " my God shall be my strength. And he said, It is a light " thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes " of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel : I will also " give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my '* salvation to the ends of the earth. Thus saith the Lord, the " Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man *' despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of *' rulers ; Kings shall see and arise ; princes also shall worship * Instead of " he shall rebuke many people," Lowth translates, " he shall workcon- *' victioii in many peoples," which gives a much more clear and consistent sense. + Isaiah, ii 2, &c. Led. VI. J TO CHETSTIANITV. 377 " the name of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of *' Israel, and he shall choose thee."* Thus expressly do the Prophets foretel the universal extent and the spiritual nature of the Messiah's reign. Now, had no distinct and direct intimation been given, that a change must take place in the cliaracter of the religion established by divine interposition, in order to fit it for this greater extension, and more spiritual efficacy ; yet the nature of the case would compel us to infer the necessity of such a change. A religion which was to be received in every nation and region of the globe, could not, like the Jewish Law, require that all the adult males of every nation professing it, should visit the temple at Jerusalem three times each year, to celebrate the three great festivals : — this would be physically impossible. It could not enjoin the observance of those various rites, ceremonies, and in- stitutions, which were either commemorative of events in which the Jewish nation alone were interested, or which were calculated to separate them from all other nations, by a marked opposition of laws and manners : — this would be totally unnatural and ir- rational, when it was predicted, that the Jewish dispensation should terminate in a religious system, calculated to attract, not to repel, the rest of mankind, and destined to embrace all the nations of the earth. It is indeed unreasonable to expect that the Jewish Lawgiver, at the very moment he was delivering his law, should be di- rected by God to weaken the reverence of the nation for it, by declaring that its duration would be short, and its obligation transitory : or that while he was labouring to impress the ne- cessity of avoiding all similarity of manners, principles, and religion, with the surrounding nations, he should at the same moment distinctly announce, that it was for the sake of these very nations, ultimately, that the peculiar scheme of the Jewish institutions was formed, and that this scheme would terminate in the abolition of all the distinctions now established. We know the Jews were at that time at once dull and car* nally minded, very averse to the restraints their law imposed, and above all, to its prohibitions against imitating the manners of their neighbours, sharing in their festivities and idolatries, * Isaiah, xlix. 5 — 7. S7^ JUDAISM PREPARATORY [Part lit and uniting with them by intermarriages.* And we can hardly conceive it possible for Moses to have expressed to them such sentiments as these, without utterly alienating them from the system he proposed, and subverting the influence of his laws by the very manner of promulgating them ; and this without the least conceivable necessity for acting so hazardous a part, or the prospect of any advantage to be derived from it. The divine wisdom is indeed most conspicuous in the conduct of this as of every other part of the Jewish scheme. In the infancy of the Jewish people, while they were immature in in- tellect, and wedded to external objects, a law adapted to that state, and calculated at the same time to prepare for a more universal and perfect religion, was employed to control them by its restraints, while it attracted and engaged them by its cere- monies and its festivals. During this stage of their progress, it was unnecessary, and would probably have been injurious, to have announced distinctly the future abrogationof the ceremonial law. and the admission of the Gentiles into the Church of God. But as soon as the adherence of the people to that law was suf- ficitrntly secured by its long establishment, and by the erection of the temple, the prophets were empowered to predict this con- stantly intended change in the divine dispensations, with perpetu- ally increasing clearness as that change approached. It ought however to be observed, that the Jewish Lawgiver, to prevent all suspicion of inconsistency in the divine conduct, not only recorded the promise to Abraham,-f- and the prophecy of Jacob,^ but was liimself empowered to intimate the purpose of God, to send at some future period another lawgiver, authorized to promulgate a new law. This seems pla'mly the purport of his celebrated prophecy, delivered towards the close of his own ministry. " The Lord " thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of ♦ thy brethren, like unto me: nnto him ye shall hearken. Ac- " cording to all that thou desiredst of the Lord tliy God in the " day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice *' of the Lord my God ; neither let me see this groat fire any " more, that I die not. And the Lord said unto me, They " have well spoken that they have spoken. I will raise them • Vide supra. •*■ Ibid. J Ibid. f/ect. VI.] TO CHRISTIANITY. S79 " up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and '• 1 will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto •• them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to " pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which *' he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him."* It has been justly observed that this Prophet, to be like unto Moses must be a lawgiver ; for this appears the essential distinction between him and all inferior prophets, -f" We can- not suppose the divine Messenger thus pre-eminently marked out, was to do nothing more than cause the ancient statutes of his predecessor to remain as originally established ; since that essential character of similarity would thus be wanting, and no sufficient reason would appear for his mission being peculiarly predicted. And since the promulgation of a new law implies a change of the pre-existing system, the certainty of such a change being intended may be fairly inferred from this prophecy. We cannot but observe how accurately the meek and humUe tenor of our Saviour''s life, and the merciful nature of all his stupendous miracles, accords with the motive assigned by the Jews, for imploring that they might not again receive the will of God in the same manner as they had done at Mount Sinai ; even the overwhelming terror with which they were then filled, " Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God ; neither " let me see this great fire any more, that I die not." God, in- dulgent to this weakness of human nature, approves of and grants this entreaty : and as the mode of impressing the Jewish law was suited to its nature as a system of coercion : so the Gospel scheme, which proclaimed not only " Glory to God in " the highest," but " on earth peace, and good will to man," was ushered in with the most attractive manifestations of mildness • Deut. xviii. 15, &c. f Vide Newton's sixth Dissertation, where it seems to me clearly proved that this prophecy cannot be applied either to Joshua or any other successor of Moses, as judge or king : nor yet to any single prophet or succession of prophets; partic\ilar]y from the three concluding verses of Deuteronomy, probably added by Ezra, and the history in Numbers, xii. from 1 to 8. — Vide also Mr Faber's Horse Mosaica-, Vol. ii. Book ii. sect. 3. ch. 3. This learned writer has very fully treated of l(« subject of this entire Lecture, in his second Book, to which I would refer my reader; as I conceive it unnecessary for me to dwell more fully than I havo done, on a subject which has been so lately and amply discussed by this learned Divine, SrSO JUDAISM PREPAKA.TORY [Part III. and mercy, benignity, and love. As Moses deserved the epithet of the " meekest of men," so the Son of God displayed meek- ness and forbearance as much greater, as the dignity from which he stooped was unspeakably exalted, his voluntary hu- miliation profound, and his sufferings unparalleled. How won- derful the coincidence of the prophetic description and the real history ! " Behold" (the evangelical Prophet thus anticipates the facts) " my servant whom I uphold ; mine elect, in whom " my soul delighteth : I have put my spirit upon him, he shall " bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor *' lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A " bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he " not quench : he shall bring forth judgment unto truth, * He " shall not fail, nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment " in the earth : and the isles shall wait for his law.^-f- A nd again, " He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he opened not his *' mouth : he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a " sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his " mouth."! Yet, notwithstanding this humiliation, he dis- played a dignity as a divine lawgiver, which no other prophet presumed to claim. " He spake as one having authority," as exercising a right not only to explain and enforce the Mosaic laws, but to repeal, to alter, and to improve them ; as in the instance of the liberty with respect to divorce, which our Lord states Moses to have yielded to the Jews " for the hardness of " their hearts ;" but which he disallows, as inconsistent with the original strictness of the marriage tie, and the perfect purity of the Gospel scheme. § And to complete the accurate accomplishment of the Mosaic prediction, how awfully is that clause fulfilled, which declares in the name of Jehovah, " Whosoever will not hearken unto my *' words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of " him."|| The Jewish nation did not hearken to the promised Prophet : and of the whole nation how awfully has it been re- quired ! Eighteen hundred years'" dispersion and degradation has * Lowth, for the words " he shall bring forth judgment unto truth," reads, he shall " publish judgment so as to establish it perfectly," which gives a much more d6»r sense. •f" Isaiah, xiii. 1 — 4. J Isaiah, liii. 7. § Matt. xix. ;i— 9. II Diut. xviii. 19. liect. VI.] TO CHRISTIANITY. 381 not yet closed the effect of that dreadful imprecation, " His blood " be on us, and on our children."* Thus is Jesus of Nazareth, though in his divine nature infinitely superior, yet as a Prophet accurately liJce unto Moses — in his office as legislator ; in his full participation of the divine councils and the divine influence, for, " God gave not the Spirit " by measure unto him ;" in the magnitude and variety of his miracles ; in the importance and permanence of that religious system which he introduced ; in the meekness of his character ;-|- and in the signal punishments with which God has vindicated the authority and punished the neglect of his Laws. Subsequent intimations of the intended substitution of a more spiritual religion, and a more refined and perfect Law in place of the Mosaic, are frequent and clear. The fact recorded by the Jewish Lawgiver, of the great patriarch Abraham having paid religious reverence to Melchizedek, " the priest of the " most high God," receiving his blessing, and paying him tithes, is alluded to by the inspired Psalmist, at the very period when the Levitical priesthood and the ceremonial Law were most fully established ; when he describes that promised ruler, whom he terms " his Lord," declaring, " the Lord said unto " my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thine ene- " mies thy footstool ;" to whom he ascribes as a distinguishing feature of his character, his possessing a priesthood similar to that of Melchizedek, " The Lord hath sworn, and will not " repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchize- " dek."| This declaration the Apostle to the Hebrews argues on at large,§ and irrefutably proves, that it implies the abroga- * Matt, xxvii. 25. f For a variety of more minute points of resemblance, consult Bishop Newton's sixth Dissertation; Eusebius, Demonstratio Evangelica, lib. i. cap. iii. and lib. ix. cap. xi.; and Collatio Philippi a Limborch cum erudito Judaeo, p. 4, 31, 289, et seq. ; and Faber's Horae Mosaicae, Vol. ii. pp. 145 and 266. J Vide Gen. xiv. 18 — 20 ; and compare Psalm ex. 4, and Heb. vi. 20, with the entire ch. vii. ^ The general scope of the Apostle's argument is, that Abraham acknowledged the superiority of Melchizedek; that his order of priesthood was therefore prior and superior to the Aaronical order; and that Christ being of that order, as the Psalmist prophesies, his priesthood is superior to, and supersedes the Aaronical, which must therefore be changed, and with it the Levitical Law. In the 2d verse the Apostle declares, Melchizedek was by interpretation king of righteousness, and after that also king of Salem, that is *' king of peace." In these great and peculiar characters the 3S2 JUDAISM PREPARATOKY [Part 111. tion of the Levitical Law, and the substitution of a more perfect religion. " If," says he, " perfection were by the Levitical " priesthood, (for under it the people received the Law) what *' further need was there that another priest should rise after " the order of Melchizedek, and not be called after the order of " Aaron. For the priesthood being changed, there is made of " necessity a change also of the Law."* For the full illustra- tion of this argument, I refer to the learned commentators who have explained the passages in which it is contained ; the con- clusion thus stated by the Apostle is evidently contained in the Scriptures, and is that which I wish to impress, as it proves the consistency and illustrates the connexion of the Mosaic and the Christian codes. With equal clearness the same great Apostle argues -f- from the very nature of the Levitical Law, that it was intended as the type and introduction of the Christian scheme : and here again adduces the prophetic declaration of the inspired Psalmist. " The Law having a shadow of good things to come, and not " the very image of the things,| can never with those sacrifices priesthood of Christ was pre-eminently distinguished. The Apostle then in the 3d verse describes the priesthood of Melchizedek by additional characters, which belong not to him as a human individual, but to the priesthood he possessed. In this sense he was " without [i. e. independent of j father, without mother, without descent, " [i. e. independent of his descent] having neither beginning of days, nor end of life " [as to his priesthood]; but being made like unto the Son of God, abideth a priest " continually." Vide Macknight's very clear illustration of this passage, in his View and Illustration prefixed to this chapter. " Like Melchizedek, Christ is a king as well "as a priest, being the Son of God and Lord of all. He is also king of righteousness, " to promote which is the object of his moral government. He is also king of peace, "reconciling sinners to God, and to one another. Like Melchizedek, Christ is not " descended from parents who were priests, but derives his priesthood from the special •' designation of God, independent of all limitations of descent ; and his priesthood " is of a nature so excellent as to have no companion nor successor in it, but he livtth " for ever to execute it himself. Like Melchizedek, Christ's priesthood did not, as " that of the Levites, begin at thirty and end at fifty years ; but he exercised it from "the first, and retains it through his whole existence. And finally, like Melchizedek, " he nets as priest, not for one particular nation, but for all the true worshippers of *' God." * Heb. vii. 11, 12. f Heb. x. 1—10. J " The Law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of " the things." On these words it is remarked, " The word i/^o'va rendered " image," seems from the tenor of the Apostle's argument, to be u-^ed for the essential or sub- stantial form of a thing, i. e. for the yery thing itself, as opposed to its (r/B/* "sha- ** dow or delineation ;" so it is paralUkd to cZfio. "the body of substance," which the LjCt. VI.] TO CHRISTIANITY. 3S*i " which they offered year by year continually, make the comers " thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be " offered ; because that the worshippers once purged, should " have had no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices •' there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For " it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should " take away sins. Wherefore, when he [the promised Bedeemer ^'•predicted hy the Psalmist in the fortieth Psalm] cometh into the " world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but *' a body hast thou prepared me. In burnt-offerings, and sacri- " fices for sin, thou hast had no pleasure : Then said I, Lo, " I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me) to do " thy will, O God. Above, when he said, Sacrifice, and offering, " and burnt-offerings, and offering for sin, thou wouldest not, " neither hadst thou pleasure therein (which are offered by the *' Law) Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He " taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By " the which will we are sanctified, through the offering of the *' body of Jesus Christ once for all." Here again I refer my readers to the writings of the great Apostle of the Gentiles, for a full exposition of the accurate harmony and inseparable connexion between the two dispensa- tions. It is not consistent with the plan of this Work (already extended beyond my original intention) to discuss the subject at large. I only wish very briefly to prove, that the Prophets who lived under the Mosaic Law, foresaw its abrogation, and ac- knowledged it was intended to introduce the Gospel scheme, to Apostle elsewhere opposes in like manner to its «•«'« or " shadow," Col. ii. 17. Accordingly the Syriac version explains s/j;^* by the " substance,'^ and Chiysostom by the " truth or reality" as opposed to " types or emblems." Cicero has used almost the same expression in the same sense: "Nos veri juris germana " justitiae solidam et expressam effigiem nullam tenemus, umbra et imaginibus uti- " mur." De OfRciis, lib. iii. c. xvii. The Apostle means to illustrate the imper- fection of the Law, that it could not bring men to perfection, that the good things it promised were but a shadow of thu great realities secured by Christ, the veriest sketch or outline, in comparison of the perfect and exact picture. Vide Dodd, Mackuight, Heylin, and Wolfius on Heb. x. 1. and Siiicer's Thesaurus, and Park- hurst on the word E(X4'». — It is necessary to remark, that in the words *' a body hast •' thou prepared me," the Apostle follows the Septuagint, and not the Hebrew text as it now stands. But for the probability of a corruption in the Hebrew text, consult Dr Thomas Randolph's comparison of the citations in the New Testament, with the Hebrew and the Septuagint, No. 159. pp. 22 and 44. and the authors by him referred to. fifii JUDAISM PREPARATOKY 'Part III. which, as more perfect and universal, it was destined to give place ; while on the other hand, the inspired preachers of the Gospel refer to the Mosaic institutions, as intended to prefigure and prepare for the Gospel of Christ, who came " not to destroy, " hut to fulfil the Law and the Prophets." I shall close the series of proofs on this head, bj the clear and explicit declaration of the Prophet Jeremiah,* which is also ap- pealed to by the great Apostle of the Gentiles. This Prophet foretels the propagation of a pure and spiritual religion, the abolition of legal ordinances, the call of the Gen- tiles, and the final restoration of Israel. Calling upon " back- " sliding Israel" to return from her transgressions and idolatries, the Prophet encourages their repentance by declaring, " I will " give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you " with knowledge and understanding. And it shall come to " pass when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those " days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more, The ark of the " covenant of the Lord : neither shall it come to mind ; neither " shall they remember it ; neither shall they visit it ; neither " shall that be done any more. At that time they shall call " Jerusalem the Throne of the Lord ; and all the nations shall " be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem, " neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of " their evil heart. In those days the house of Judah shall walk " with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out " of the land of the north, to the land that I have given for an *' inheritance to their fathers."-!- -^^^ ^^^^^ more expressly in a subsequent chapter, " Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, " that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and " with the house of Judah : Not according to the covenant that " I made with their fathers, in the day that I took them by the " hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt (which my " covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, " saith the Lord :) But this shall be the covenant that I will " make with the house of Israel ; After those days, saith the " Lord, I will put my Law in their inward parts, and write it in " their hearts ; and will be their God, and they shall be my • Compare Jerem. iii. 15 to 18. and xxxi. particularly ver. 31 to 34. with Weh. X. \5. t Jerem. iii. 15 — 18. LeCt. VI.] TO CHRISTIANITY. 385 " people. And they shall teach no more every man his neigh- " hour, and every man his brother, saying, Know ye the Lord ; " for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the " greatest of them, saith the Lord : for I will forgive their ini- " quity, and will remember their sin no more."* According to this prediction, the ancient Levitical covenant was to be dis- solved, and the ordinances of Moses to be succeeded by a Law not in any degree typical, but entirely promotive of real virtue ; not requiring ceremonies to preserve it, but in its very essence practical and influential, regulating the temper, and written in the heart. * Jerem. xxxi. 31 — 34. Sect. II. — The Law and the Prophets not only professedly designed to introduce the Gospel, hut did in fact prepare the way for it. Necessity of the Law as a preparation for the Gospel, shown by considering the probable state of the world, if Judaism had never existed — Extreme difficulty of introducing true religion in such a state of man- kind— Such universal degeneracy prevented by the Jewish dispensation— -Proved by a brief view of the facts adduced in this Work. Adherence of the Jews to their Law, proves the reality of a providential interposition— The prophecies delivered by Moses on this subject prove the same — The Law was typical and figurative of the GospeU— In- stances— The moral character of the Law prepared for the Gospel^The connexion of the two schemes shown by various instances— The Jews employed as the immediate in- struments for introducing the Gospel. Rejection of the Gospel by the mass of the Jewish nation does not disprove the connexion of the Law and the Gospel— Confirms the proof from prophecy — and from miracles. GALATIANS, Hi. 24. " The Law was our schoolmaster, to bring us unto Christ." In the last Section, I endeavoured to prove the consistency and the connexion of the Jewish and the Christian schemes, by adducing passages from the Law and the Prophets, showing that Judaism was from the first intended to introduce that Mes- siah " in whom all the nations of the earth were to be blessed ;" that the Jewish Lawgiver himself intimated that God would 2b 386 JUDAISM PREPARATORY [Part III. raise up another Prophet like unto himself, and consequent!}^ a Lawgiver, with authority to promulgate a netv Laic ; and that the Prophets expressly foretold that the Mosaic ritual was to give place to a new religion of a perfectly spiritual kind, and calculated to embrace all the nations of the earth ; declaring all this with increasing clearness, as the era of this great change approached. While, on the other hand, our Lord and his Apos- tles expressly refer to those predictions, as plainly pointing out the approach, describing the character, and establishing the divine original, of the Gospel. I now proceed to evince, that as the Law and the Prophets were thus avowedly designed to predict and introduce the Gospel of Christ ; so they did in fact accomplish this design, their pre-existence being indispensably necessary to prepare for the reception of that Gospel, and in a variety of ways illustrating its importance and facilitating its promulgation. To place this conclusion in a clear light, let us reflect what would probably have been the situation of mankind, as to reli- gion and morality, if no such nation or system as the Jewish had existed, before the appearance of our Lord. It seems certain that the whole world would have been sunk in the most gross idolatry, and an almost total ignorance of the principles of natural religion.* The very idea of the Supreme Creator and Ruler of the universe would have been obliterated from the minds of men ; or at most, thought of only by a few specula- tive philosophers, who had never ventured to inculcate the necessity of confining adoration to the one true God, or openly to condemn the absurdities and profanations of idolatry, which would have prevailed over the world uncensured, we may almost say unsuspected of error or depravity ; since no purer system would have existed, to which an appeal might have been made, as clearly true, or supported by any acknowledged au- thority. In such a state of religious blindness all expectations of a future retribution would have appeared ridiculous or incredible from the falsehoods and extravagancies with which that opinion had been universally encumbered and disgraced. The evidence • Vide Part II. the entire Lect. 1. and Lect. II.; Part III. Lect. I. sect. i. and Lect. II. sect. i. Lect. VI.] TO CHRISTIANITY. 387 from prophecy could not have existed ; and any appeal to mira- cles would have been disregarded or discredited, from the mul- titude of lying wonders which had usurped that name, without a single instance of any plainly supernatural interposition. Had the world been permitted to sink thus universally into ignorance, idolatry, and depravity ; almost deprived of all ideas of true religion, and totally estranged from every feeling of pure morality ; without any fixed principles to recur to on these subjects, nay almost without a language in which to speak of them ; it seems nearly impossible to conceive any means by which mankind could have been instructed or reformed, without utterly subverting the whole course of nature, and forcibly con- trolling the moral character of man. Darkness would have over- spread the earth, and thick darkness the nations ; and amidst this universal moral chaos, no spot could have been found, on which the foundation of the Church of God could have been laid ; no nation or tribe or family, who, if the standard of true religion were reared, could be expected to rally round it and support the sacred cause. A degeneracy so fatal and irremediable was effectually pre- vented by the operation of the Jewish scheme. It has appeared in the progress of this Work, that when the world was rapidly sinking into idolatry with all its profanations and crimes, the pure principles of that patriarchal religion which had originally enlightened mankind, were preserved in the family of Abraham by the transmission of parental instruction until that family became a nation. That then this nation, which would otherwise have been hurried away by the resistless torrent of universal corruption, was placed under the immediate government of Jehovah, as their national Lord and King ; rescued from Egypt and settled in Canaan, by a series of miraculous interpositions, which exhibited an irrefragable proof of the power, the pro- vidence, and the majesty of the true God, as well as the impo- tence and nullity of those base idols who usurped his honour in a deluded world. To preserve this nation as a lasting monument of the divine supremacy, and a permanent asylum, where the truths of reli- gion and the principles of morals might take refuge, and be preserved for a more favourable period, when their salutary influence might be again extended to all mankind with effect, S88 JUDAISM PREPARATORY [Part III. by the promised Messiah, " in whom all nations were to be " blessed," the Mosaic Law was given ; which, in this infancy of human reason and human virtue, was to act as the " school- " master to bring men to Christ ;"" a task which it effected by a variety of means which can here be only briefly hinted at. First, it maintained the radical principles of true theology;* while it clothed them in such a form, and promulgated them in such circumstances, as, without detracting in the slightest par- ticular from their purity and truth, rendered them interesting and attractive to a nation, which could scarcely have been induced to attend to any mere abstract doctrines concerning the being and attributes of the Deity, if he had not authorized them to look up to Him as their peculiar, national, and guardian God. The same Law inculcated the principles of pure morality, with a similar attention to the feelings and the character of the Jewish nation ; -f" enforcing the entire system by temporal sanc- tions, :J: which alone were capable of influencing a people, short-sighted, incredulous, attached to present objects, and habituated from the example of the rest of mankind, to consider temporal prosperity and success as the criterion oi the power and fidelity of that God, who allowed them to consider him as their national and peculiar Lord and King. Such a system could be carried into effect only by a particular Providence § proportioning the visible prosperity both of the state and of individuals, to their obedience to the divine Law. The continued display of this wonderful providential interference supplied a perpetually increasing proof of the power, the jus- tice, and the mercy, of Jehovah ; and exhibited the most awful and instructive examples to mankind, of the general conduct of God's moral government.]] The Mosaic Law not only promulgated a system of true reli- gion and pure morality, and supported that system by the most powerful sanctions ; but it guarded it from the contagion of that idolatry and vice which universally prevailed, by a correspond- ing system of peculiar laws and manners, rites and ceremonies, • Vide Part II. Lect. I. f lb. Lect. II. III. and IV. J Vide supra, Part III. Lect. III. sect. i. ii. § lb ^art III. Lect. II. the entire. II Vide the last Lecture; also, Part III. Lect. III. sect, i Lect. VL] TO CHRISTIANITY. 389 calculated to form a barrier between the chosen people and the idolatrous world:* while by the multitude of its rites, the magnificence, first of the sanctuary, and afterwards of the tem- ple, the solemnity and attraction of its festivals, and finally by the influence of the Priests and Levites, who were set apart as the public instructors of the nation in morals and religion, it supplied the means of counteracting the attractions of idolatry. Further, the Mosaic institution combined the civil govern- ment, the national religion, the tenure of private property, and the regulations of domestic life in one connected scheme ;■}- all whose parts tended to one object, the permanence of the entire system. It thus effectually secured that object, notwithstanding the crimes and errors of the chosen people, their idolatries and apostasies both private and public, (which no system of moral government could totally prevent :) amidst the powerful tempta- tions from without, and the wrong propensities from within, necessarily arising from the general state of the world, and the peculiar character of the Jewish people, during the entire period from Moses to Christ. If it be objected, that nothing but a pure and spiritual wor- ship is worthy of God, and that the combination of moral precepts with ritual observances was inconsistent and incredible ; I would answer, with a late ingenious writer, that the natural progress of human improvement had not yet brought any nation of the earth, perhaps, certainly not the Israelites, to the capa- city of a worship purely spiritual. To this fact their early history gives ample evidence. But if they could have been formed to it, such a worship, consisting in pious sentiments, and the natural, spontaneous, and unprescribed expressions of them, would not have formed a more proper test for the pur- pose of exhibiting a proof (ly vxiy of specimen) of the moral government of God, than pure moral merit would have been. It would have been equally difficult to ascertain the reality and purity of either. The one would have been as latent and unob- servable as the other. Either of them would have required a penetration, attention, and comprehension of mind, which men do not acquire either early or easily, but only with care and * Vide Part I. Lect. VI. and Part II. Lect. II. III. IV. + Part I. Lect. IV. and Part II. Lect. II. III. IV. '390 JUDAISM PREPARATORY [Part III. exertion, and after numerous successive generations. And both of them would have been greatly debased in the measure of their worth, by such a connexion, by being placed in such a relation to a national, temporal, external prosperity. For these and various other reasons, the test by which the distribution of national good or evil should be regulated, ought not to have been in a purely spiritual worship alone. It was wiser to place it in an external ritual. But we are still to view this scheme in another light, clearly illustrative of its divine original, as introductory to the Gospel. And here we must observe, that the chief rites and festivals of the Mosaic ritual were not only calculated to commemorate the leading interpositions of God, in the deliverance and settlement of the nation, and to exclude the infection of idolatry ; but that they had a prospective signification, and were clearly typL cal and figurative of the Messiah's character and kingdom.* This typical character of the ritual Law has been illustrated by so many eminent writers, and, above all, has been so clearly established by the great Apostle of the Gentiles, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, that I need only touch on it, and observe ; that the whole system of bloody sacrifices, which had plainly preceded the Mosaic institutions, and leads us, (when tracing its origin,) to the very earliest revelations of God to man,-f- as it served to awaken in the minds of the offerers a strong sense of the danger of sin, and the punishment it merited, even unto death ; so it most evidently prefigured that great sacrifice, by which Christians " are sanctified, through the offering of " the body of Jesus Christ once for all."^ * This typical significance of Judaism has been fully and learnedly expounded I>y the Rev. Samuul Mather, a clergyman of Dublin, in a quarto volume, published in 1HS3, entitled, The Figures and Types of the Old Testament, A:c. Consult particularly the Gospel of the prrpelual Types, pp. 208 to 218; also, the Gospel of the Sacrifices and Oflerings, pp. 232 to 2.54 ; and the Gospel of the Jewish Festivals, from 520 to 545. See also the learned Mr Faber's Horre Mosaicre, book ii. sect. ii. " On the con- nexion between Judaism and Christianity by means of Types," vol. ii. pp. 40 to 173; also the learned Outram de Sacrificiis, particularly lib. i. cap. xviii. and lib ii. cap. vii.; also Hartley ou the Truth of Christianity, Propos. 30, 31, 32 and 33. t Vide Dr Magee's work on Atonomcnt ami Sacrifice, Sermon II. with the notes. X Ileb. X. 10. Lect. VI.] TO CHRISTIANITY. 391 This prefiguration of the Messiah is peculiarly remarkable in the ceremonies observed in the great day of atonement ; * when " the High Priest entered once a year into the Holy of Holies, " not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the " errors of the people, being (says the Apostle to the Hebrews) " the figure of him, who by his own blood entered in once + " into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for " us :"" a redemption which, as the Apostle explains, essentially implies " a purification of the conscience from dead works to " serve the living God." Of the three great festivals of the Jewish Law, two, the Passover, and the feast of Pentecost, as they were commemora- tive of the deliverance from Egypt, and the promulgation of the Law on Sinai ; so were they as clearly fgurative of the sacrifice of Christ, and the effusion of the Spirit by which the Gospel was disseminated over the world. \ * Vide Lev. xvi. with Heb. ix. and x. the twenty-two first verses; Dr Magee from pp. C7 to 69 ; and Outram ut supra. f Compare Heb. ix. 12 and 25. X The analogy between the Paschal Sacrifice and our Lord's suffering, between the delivery of the Law and the effusion of the Holy Spirit, has been remarlved from the earliest period of the Go?pfI. But it has not, as far as I can recollect, been noticed by any, that our not having as yet discovered any event in the history of Christi- anity, corresponding to that commemoratpd in the Feast of Tabernaeles, or any Christian festival similar to that feast, instead of supplying an instance of dissimili- tude between the two systems, strongly confirms their perfect analogy, when we con- sider the further progress of the Gospel, which the word of prophecy leads us to expect. This observation has been suggested to me by my learned friend the Rev. Dr El- rington, late Fellow (now Provost) of Trinity College, Dublin ; and who, in the course of sermons he preached and published as Donnellau's Lecturer, in the year 1796, has so ably illustrated the truth of the Gospel miracles, and exposed the sophistry of Hume. As his ideas on the present topic appear to me both original and just, 1 annex his own statement of them. ' " That the Jews annually observed three great festivals at Jerusalem, and that " two of them, the Passover and the Feast of Pentecost, had a reference to events " which were to happen under the Christian dispensation, is well known. Hence we •* are led to consider, whether the third solemnity was of a similar nature, and has " received a similar completion. This was the Feast of Tabernacles, beginning on " the fifteenth day of the seventh month; when for seven days all that were " Israelites born were to dwell in booths, in remembrance of their dwelling in booths " when they were brought out of the land of Egypt, and on the eighth day to return " to their houses, celebrating it with great rejoicings." Levit. xxiii. 34, 35, 36, 42, 43 " Now it is evident, that no circumstance attending the establishment of Chris- 392 JUDAISM PREPAKATORY [Part III. The J ewish Law not only prepared for the introduction of the Gospel, by its types and prophecies, and by preserving the prin- ciples of sound theology and pure morals, which, without it, would probably have been almost irrecoverably banished from the earth ; but by the strictness of its moral prohibitions, and its denunciations of God's displeasure against sin, it probed and exposed the moral maladies of man. It proved to him, by deci- sive experience, his proneness to violate the commands of hia God, even when most distinctly promulgated, and his culpable neglect of duties of the most obvious necessity ; so that he could not but acknowledge how infinitely improbable it was, that he could by his own unassisted strength escape sin ; and that con- sequently, far from being able to claim eternal happiness, as a reward which human merit might challenge from divine justice, he was liable to condemnation and punishment. Thus the Law prepared men to hail with fervent gratitude the " tianity had any resemblance to the journey through the wilderness, and the " dwelling there under tents ; nor has any attempt, I believe, been made to prove a '* similarity of the sort. We must therefore either admit that this Feast of Taber- *' nacles differs from the others, in having no prospective reference; or we must seek " in some future event its completion or antitype. And it will probably incline us " to this latter opinion, when we consider, that the Jews will undoubtedly be *' brought back to Judea when the fulness of the Gentiles shall be come in; and '• if we suppose the season of the Feast of Tabernacles to coincide with that of " their future return, as it appears to have done with their return from the Babylonish " Captivity, we shall have a fulfilment of the three Jewish festivals completed " finally in the conversion of the Jews to Christianity; which, with their return *♦ to their own land, will furnish a perpetual cause for thanksgiving and religious •* observance. " Of the reference of this festival to the final restoration of the Jews, some of '* their traditions and practices may perhaps afford a further confirmation. It was " their custom on the last day of the feast, to bring water from the fountain of " Siloah, which the priests poured on the altar, singing the words of Isaiah, ch. " xii. ver. 3. JFith joy shall ye draw ivater from the fountain of salvation; which •♦ words the Targum interprets, fVith joy shall ye receive a new doctrine from the " elect of the just; and they appear, from the preceding chapter, to relate to the '* final restoration of the Jews. The feast itself was also called hosanna, save we *' beseech thee; and was the time when our Lord spoke the remarkable words men- " tioned in St John, chap. vii. ver. 37, 38. marking the relation which the cere- " mony of pouring out the water bore to his ministry. And amongst the traditions " of the Jews we find, that the defeat of Gog and Magog shall fall out upon the " Feast of Tabernacles, or that the consequent seven months' cleansing of the land " (Ezuk. chap, xxxix. ver. 12.) shall terminate at that period; and there seems " little reason to doubt the reference of that prophecy to the final restoration of the •' Jews." Lect. VI.] TO CHRISTIANITY. 393 glad tidings of the gospel of peace, which offers the aid of tho divine Spirit to assist the weakness of those who will humbly implore and diligently improve it ; and proclaims free pardon to all, who, repenting of their sins, and acknowledging their own inability to escape from their power, or expiate their guilt, embrace with faith and joy those gracious terms of pardon and acceptance, offered by the mediation of that Jesus, " who was " delivered for their offences, and raised again for their justifica- " tion ; " * who " still liveth to make intercession for us : " -•- thus " destroying the power of death," I and " bringing life and " immortality to light."" § Not that in the Gospel the doctrine of a resurrection and a future retribution was Jirst promulgated ; (for they were intimated by Moses, and clearly taught by the Prophets) but because the means of securing life and immortality were then first clearly and satisfactorily ascertained, |] and placed within the reach of all who would embrace the gracious offers of pardon and mercy held out by the Redeemer of man. * Rom, iv. 25. t Heb. vii. 25. % Heb. ii. 14. % 2 Tim. i. 10. II I am aware that commentators in general interpret this verse (2 Tim. 1. 10. solely of the Gospel's bringing to light the doctrine of life and immortality; and War- burton advances as an irrefutable argument, that as it was reserved to be so brought to light by the Gospel, it must have been unknown under the Old Testament. Now as I think I have proved it was not unknown under the Old Testament (vide supra. Part III. Lect. IV.) it follows it was not reserved to be brought to light by the Gospel alone. Undoubtedly, where the Jewish religion was unkno\vn, the doctrine ■was first clearly promulgated by the Gospel ; and even amongst the Jews it was supported by such additional miracles and examples, as thrcif round it a brightness of conviction, compared with which, the assent previously yielded to it was doubtful and dim. So that this expression may bear the sense usually given it, without supporting the inference which VVarburton would deduce from it. But I cannot but think the Apostle meant to express much more than a bare promulgation of the doctrine of life and immortality. He encourages his beloved son in the Gospel to perseverance in the faith, for which he himself cheerfully sustained persecution and bonds; and for this purpose he describes in the strongest terms the blessedness of a true Christian's temper, views and hopes. " God (says he) hath not given us the spirit of fear, but "of power, and of love, and of a sound mind," i. e. strength to resist evil, derived from the assistance of the Holy Spirit ; accompanied with a sincere and active love of God, and a just discrimination of things, which clearly recognizes the superiority of future and heavenly objects above present and sensual : thus comprehensively describing a perfect Christian, whose will is rectified, whose aflections are purified, and whose understanding is spiritually enlightened. To attain or preserve such a character is the most glorious object of human ambition; "Be not thou therefore "(says the Apostle) ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner; *' but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the Gospel, according to the power of S94 JUDAISM PREPARATORY [Part III. Such i,s the strict unity of design and the accurate harmony of parts, between the Jewish and the Christian schemes, so clearly establishing their common and heavenly original.* As the period approached when the promised Messiah was to appear, we have seen this unity and harmony display itself in more il- lustrious characters. The visible and immediate interference of Providence in rewarding virtue and punishing vice, seems to have been gradually withdrawn from amongst the Jews after the Babylonish Captivity ; f and the expectations of a future retri- bution, now plainly | and authoritatively established by their sacred writers, left to operate in its room. So that at the time of our Lord's appearance, these expectations were a leading ar- ticle of the popular creed ; and when promulgated anew with additional miracles to impress them on mankind in general, found amongst the Jews minds prepared to receive them, wher- "God; who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our " works, but according to his own purpose, and grace, which was given us in " Christ Jesus, before the world began, but is now made manifest by the appearing " of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and "immortality to light through the Gospel: whereunto I am appointed a Preacher, " and an Apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles." Now is it not evident that the Apostle here means to unfold the whole scheme of the Gospel, the eternal purpose of God to admit in the fulness of time the Gentiles into his church, notwithstand- ing their antecedent idolatries and crimes ; the abolition of death, by depriving it of its terrors and its sting, and redeeming men from the power of death eternal ; and aid to secure eternal life, arising from that spirit of power and love and reli- gious wisdom, with which divine grace supplies the true Christian ? It is not then the simple promulgation of the doctrine of a future life, which the Apostle here understands, but a promulgation of it, accompanied with such clear instruction how to seek, and such merciful assistance to obtain life and immortality, as were no first brought to light by the Gospel. "Thus," to adopt the «ords of the pious Doddridge, " hath Jesus Christ in efl'ect abolished death, hath deposed it from " its tyrannical empire, and thrown a light on the important doctrine of life and "immortality by the Gospel, which gives us a more express assurance and a more " lively view of it, than any former dispensation had ever done or could possibly "do." — Vide also Parkhurst's exposition of this passage, as quoted by Dodd in loc. ; Bishop Sherlock's opinion in opposition to Warburton, illustrated and vindicated by Dr Parry, in his defence of the Bishop of London ; and the judicious Benson, in his paraphrase and notes on this passage, who admits " the Jews had expectations of a resurrection even before the coming of our Saviour;" and j-efers to Matt. xxii. 32, and Da . xii. 2, " but the more full and clear discovery is owing to the Christian Rcvela- " tion " * Vide Hartley on the truth of Christianity, Propos, 26, 33, 36, 37, 38. ■j- Vide Waiburton, Book iv. sect. iv. ; 1 Maccabees, ii. 38, and vi. from 49 to 60 % Vide supra, Part III. Lect. IV. particularly sect. ii. Lect. VI.] 'i^ riTRlSTIANlTY. 395 €ver worldly views or vicious propensities did not resist and de- feat the influence of truth. Thus also the gracious intention of Providence, to admit the heathen world into the church, and for this purpose to abrogate that ritual which formed the wall of separation excluding them, was gradually more plainly notified ;* until by the last Prophets it was distinctly announced, and as we perceive, clearly under- stood by all whom national pride and prejudice did not induce to close their eyes against the light. Of this we find signal in- stances in John the Baptist and the devout Cornelius. And cer- tainly there were multitudes of others amongst the Jews and Gentiles, who like them looked for salvation by the appearance of that Messiah, " who was to be a light to lighten the Gentiles, " and the glory of his people Israel," and we know that the whole nation of the Samaritans achiowledged the same truth. As this glorious era drew near, we see various events crowd- ing on our observance preparatory to its arrival. The translation of the Jewish Scriptures into Greek ; the general expectation of a great king to arise in Judea, diflused over the East ; the in- creasing light of philosophy ; the extension of the Eoman em- pire— all combine to prepare for, and facilitate the promulgation of the Gospel. But still the Jews are the more immediate in- struments whom God meant to employ in efiecting his gracious purposes. And accordingly we find that after the Babylonish Captivity, they are rapidly prepared to act their part in the great and important change which now approached. It is certain that in the interval between the Babylonish Cap- tivity and the advent of the Messiah, the Jews were gradually settled and multiplied, not only in Egypt, but in all Asia, Greece, Italy, and the western regions of Europe. The Jewish Historian cites numerous decrees of the magistrates, the senate, and the emperors of Rome, encouraging and protecting them.+ Julius Ceesar ordered that tables of brass, containing his decrees to this eft'ect, should be fixed up in the Capitol, and communi- cated to the quaestors and praetors where the Jews resided. We find similar decrees formed by, or directed to, the governors * Vide the first Section of this Lecture. f Vide Josephiis' Antiquities, Book iv. ch. x. where extracts from the original de- crees are given; also Boolt xvi. ch. ii. and xix. ch. v.; also, Laidiier's Credibility, Part I. Book ii. ch. ii. and iii. 396 JUDAISM PREPARATORY [Part III. and people of Ephesus, Sardis and Miletus, Athens and Pergar mus, as well as the islands of the JEgea,n Sea. And we have the most decided classical authorities* to prove the multitude of the Jews at Rome, the number of their proselytes, and the popularity of their opinions. As the Jews were thus dispersed and situated, so that they might most generally spread their opinions, there is also reason to believe that their general character and conduct, especially in heathen countries, were such as to recommend them. They seem in general to have been humble and rational, peaceable and in- dustrious. " Natural justice (says their historian) is most to the " advantage of all men equally, Greeks and Barbarians, to which " our Laws have the greatest regard ; and thereby render us, if we " abide in them after a pure manner, benevolent and friendly to " all men ; on which account we have reason to expect the like " return from others, and to inform them that they ought not to " esteem difference of positive institutions, a sufficient cause of " alienation, but join with us in the pursuit of virtue and probity."'"'-f* By this providential distribution and settlement of the Jews in almost every part of the civilized world, they were every where to be found carrying with them their Law and their Pro- phets, establishing their synagogues, celebrating their sabbaths, bearing constant testimony to the unity, the supremacy, and * Vide Herat. Sat. lib. i. sat. ix. line 69, 70, 71; and still more expressly, sat. iv. line 140. Multa poetarum veniet manus, auxilio quse Sit mihi (nam multb plures sumus) ac veluti Judsei, cogemus in haiic concedere turbam. And sat. v. line 100, where the " credat Judaus Apella" is used as a proverbial ex- pression, opposed to the incredulity of the Epicureans. The sarcasm of Persius, sat.T. 184, Recutitaque sabbata palles, equally shows the prevalence of the Jewish opinions. Vide also Martial's Epigram, lib. iv. 4: " Jejunia sabbatariorum," <*v.c.; and various passages of Juvenal, sat. iii. line 13, sat. vi. 168, and from line 541 to 546, and particularly sat. xiv. from 95 to 105. — Vide also Lardner's Credibility, Part I. Book I. eh. ii. on the State of the Jews in Judaea, which gives also much information on the general state of the nation in Egypt and elsewhere; but especially his second chapter, on the State of the Jews out of Judaea. — Vide also Tacitus Annal. lib. ii. cap. Ixxxv. ; Suetonius Vita Tiberii, cap. xxxvi. "f Vide similar sentiments in the conclusion of the second book against Apion: and Antiquities, Book iv. ch. viii. I^Ct. VI,] TO CHRISTIANITY. 397 the providence of God, in opposition to Pagan superstition and idolatry ; and numbers of them declaring their firm belief in a future state of retribution ; while all maintained a constant con- nexion with Jerusalem, attended there at the three great festi- vals, whenever it was practicable, sent thither their pious and charitable contributions, and universally gloried in the expecta- tion of that Messiah, " who was to be a light to lighten the Gen- " tiles," as well as " the glory of his people Israel." The influence of such a preparation for the reception and dif- fusion of the Gospel must have been great and salutary. Every where its preachers found synagogues, where the Law and the Prophets were expounded each sabbath. Every where they found not only Jews, but proselytes of righteousness ; who, without binding themselves under the heavy yoke of the Mosaic ritual, acknowledged the great truths of natural religion, and complied with the sacred precepts of the moral Law. Every where some, like the officer of Candace, queen of Ethiopia,* studied the Scriptures. Others there were, like the devout Cornelius,*}* " who " feared God, with all his house, and gave much alms to the " people, and prayed to God alway." Hence the preachers of Christianity almost every where instantly found hearers, who could understand and feel their addresses. Thus at Antioch in Pisidia, Paul and Barnabas were not only invited to preach by the rulers of the synagogue ; but after the Jews went out of it, " the Gentiles and religious proselytes besought that these words " might be preached to them the next sabbath ; and on that day " came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.""! Thus also at Iconium, when these Apostles went to the syna- gogue, they found an audience not only of Jews but of Gentiles (who were undoubtedly such proselytes) ; and " when they had " preached, a multitude both of Jews and Greeks believed.'"§ Thus again at Thessalonica, " of the Jews some believed, and " of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief " women not a few."|| And finally, we see that " at Jerusalem " were dwelling Jews, devout men, out of every nation under " heaven,'" who were attracted by the very first sound of the Gospel of Christ. For when the Apostles " were filled with the » Acts, viii. 27, «&c. f Ibid. x. % Ibid. xiii. 15, 42 and 44. § Ibid. xiv. 1. Ij Ibid. xvii. 1 — 4. S98 JUDAISM PKEPARATouY [Part III. " Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the " Spirit gave them utterance, the multitude came together, and " were confounded, because that every man heard them speak " in his own language — Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, " and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judjjea, and Cappa- " docia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in " Egypt, and in the parts of Lybia about Gyrene, and strangers " of Rome, Jews and Pi'oselytes, Cretes and Arabians, ex- " claimed. We do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful " works of God."* Of this assembly, which may be considered as a collective representation of all the nations of tJie earthy three thousand souls converted on this memorable day, and at least five thou- sand-f- on a second illustrious miracle within a few days after, formed a body of missionaries, to bear to their respective coun- tries the tidings of the appearance of that promised Messiah, " in whom all the kindreds of the earth were to be blessed ;" a promise which in these signal instances began to be so conspicu- ously verified. The rejection of Christianity by the great bulk of the Jewish nation, assuredly forms no valid objection to the connexion and consistency of the Law and the Gospel.;!: This rejection was not obscurely intimated by the Prophets,§ was expressly pre- dicted by our Lord,|] and was the natural consequence of that national ambition, that carnal and worldly temper, which in- duced the great bulk of the Jewish people to misunderstand and misinterpret the prophecies, by directing their attention exclu- sively to those predictions which speak of the supremacy and extent of the Messiah's kingdom, and which they understood of a temporal instead of a spiritual reign, by which the Jewish na- tion, as they vainly imagined, was to be rescued from the Eo- * Acts, ii. 4—11. + Ibid. iv. 4 % I refer for a full refutation of the olijection against the truth of the Gospel history, derived from the rejeetion of Christianity by the Jews, to two sermons lately preached in the Chapel of Trinity College, by Dr Eirington, and to be immediately published, at the desire of the Provost and Senior Fellows. 1 have only taken such a brief view of it as my subject indispensably required. — Vide also Lardner's Collection of Jewish Testimonies, ch. ii. and vii. § Vide Doddridge's Lectures, Lect. cxxx. Prop. 112; Isaiah, xlix. 16, 21. lii. the entire, liii. 1 to 9; and the passages quoted in the first section of this Lecture. II Malt. xvi. 21. xxvi. 2. and the parallel passages. Lect. VI.] TO CHRISTIANITY. S99 man yoke, and exalted to the dominion of the world ; while they wilfully overlooked the equally clear* predictions of the same Messiah's humiliation and sufterings, and the express declara- tions, that the new t dispensation should not be confined to one chosen people, like the old, but should embrace without distinc- tion all nations, who, according to the original promise of God to the great Patriarch Abraham, were to " be blessed in his seed,"" But the true interpretation and application of the prophecies is not obscured, or the proof of divine foreknowledge and co-ope- ration in the establishment of the Gospel arising from them, subverted, by the errors or the obstinacy of the Jews. The pro- phecies are open to our inspection as well as theirs ; and when by combining the temporal humiliation with the spiritual domi- nion of the Messiah, both which the Gospel attests, we perceive all the predictions respecting him accomplished, however appa rently opposite ; the proof thence resulting is the more decisive, as it was more difficult for mere human sagacity to anticipate, or mere human agency to produce, so extraordinary a coinci- dence. The rejection of the Gospel by the Jews is indeed so far from weakening, that it greatly confirms the proof from prophecy, by establishing the authenticity and uncorruptedness of these great records of divine truth, of which the Jews are unsuspected, be- cause hostile voucheis. Had their nation universally or gene- rally embraced the Gospel at its first publication, the sceptic might with some plausibility, allege, that the pi^ophecies might have heen fdbricated or altered, to Jit them to the events ; the con- trary IS NOW CERTAIN. And so great is the importance of this circumstance (as appears to me) to establish the truth of Chris- tianity, that I firmly believe it to be one of the great causes, why the national conversion of the Jews is delayed " until the " fulness of the Gentiles shall come in."| They are to continue the guardians of the prophetic records till these shall have had their contents examined, and their application ascertained, by every other nation in the world. A little reflection will also evince, that the rejection of Chris- tianity by the Jewish nation, does not subvert, but on the con * Vide particularly Psalm xxii. and Isaiah liii. ■j" Vide tlie preceding Section of this Lecture. X Ro'ii. XI, 25. , 400 JUDAISM PREPARATORY [Part 111. trary confirms tno certainty of the miracles recorded in the Gos- pel history. It not only appears from that history,* but from the admission of the Jews theraselves,-f- that the cotemporariea of these miracles did not deny their performance, but on the contrary admitted it : though they would not upon their evidence embrace the Grospel (because they conceived this contrary to the Mosaic Law,) whose obligation their carnal and ambitious views led them to believe was eternal, and which they conceived no miracles could prove to be abrogated. | They therefore contented themselves with asserting, that the Miracles of Christ and his Apostles must be ascribed to Magical influence, diabolical agency, or the mysterious potency of the ineflable name of God, which they conceived our Lord had learned to pronounce. But these opinions of the Jews afiect not the reality or greatness of the Gospel miracles. We can judge as clearly as they could possibly do, whether the Scriptures describe the Mosaic Law as of strictly eternal obligation, or on the contrary represent it as designed to introduce a more perfect and universal religion. And our im- proved reason and philosophic knowledge, reject without hesita- tion the wild and absurd causes to which they imputed works, which the fair and candid reasoners amongst themselves confessed, " no man could do, except God was with him." In truth the hostility of the Jewish nation to Christianity from the first, confirms the truth of the Gospel miracles. Had the Jews been universally or even generally converted by them, the sceptic might argue, with some appearance of probability, that the facts had been invented or exaggerated to gratify the national propensity, credited without examination or proof, and all inquiry into them checked, at the only period when inquiry could have detected imposition. On the contrary we are now certain that the Gospel miracles were wrought in the presence of enemies, § and thus subjected to the severest scrutiny, and * Matt. ix. 34. xii. 24. Mark, iii. 22. Luke, xi. 15. and the corresponding pas- sages. ^ Vide Wagenseil's Tela Ignea Satanae ; and Lardner's Jewish Testimonies, ch. v. and vii. J Vide Limborchi CoUatio cunfi Orobio, 3 Script. JudaBi, Num. iii. p. 131. § The author begs leave to refer to a work publisfted by him in the year 1798, " to '* prove the Apostles and Evangelists were not Enthusiasts," for a detail of particular circumstances attending the Gospe. miracles, chap. i. particularly sect. iv. and chap. v. sect. 1. Lect. VI.] TO CHRISTIANITY. 401 that they carried with them conviction to multitudes, notwith- standing the fiercest opposition which national prejudice, bigotry and vice could excite, and the strictest research which could be formed by the most vigilant hostility. Undoubtedly the most powerful cause of the rejection of the G-ospel by the Jews, was the deplorably vicious and depraved character of the nation at large, so strongly attested by their own historian, and incontrovertibly established by the facts which he relates.* And this depravity, it may be said, disproves every thing I have adduced, to show that Judaism was designed or adapted to prepare for the reception of the Gospel. But let it be remembered, that notwithstanding this allowed depravity of the Jews in general, it has been proved -f* that amongst them were preserved the principles of true theology and pure morals, which the Gospel adopts, and which were banished from all mankind beside. Let it be remembered, that amongst them and the various descriptions of persons connected with and enlight- ened by their religion, the Gospel found its first teachers and hearers, its first converts and missionaries ; and that the noblest and purest principles of piety adorned these great instruments, employed by God for dispensing his mercies to mankind — instru- ments which, through every other region of the world, would have been sought in vain. Finally, let us recollect the great probability that the gospel attracted, and as it were detached from the Jewish nation, every thing pure and pious, candid and virtuous ; and left behind the dregs and dross alone, — the hypo- critical Pharisees, the Epicurean Sadducees, the worldly-minded Herodians, the fierce zealots, the depraved and seditious rabble : thus, according to the intimation of its divine Founder, sifting the chafi" from the wheat, separating the tares from the good seed, " gathering the one into his barn, and consuming the other " with fire unquenchable.*"! In truth, after the Jewish nation had obstinately rejected the Messiah, rebelled against his authority, and in opposition to his religion maintained, that the perpetual observance of the Mosaic * Vide Josephus's History of the Jewish War, particularly Books iv. v. and vi.; or Lardner's judicious view of his testimonies to the fulfilment of our Lord's predictions, in his Jewish Testimonies, ch. iii. t Vide supra, Part II. % Matt. iii. 12. xiii. 30. 2c 402 juDAiSxM puEi'ARATOKY, &c. [Part III. ritual was an indispensable condition of divine acceptance, and their own nation exclusively the chosen people of God, it was indispensably necessary to put an end to their national establish- ment, and destroy that temple with which the observance of their ritual was essentially connected, in order to maintain the universal sovereignty of the Messiah, in opposition to their re- bellion, as well as to prevent all possibility of corrupting Chris- tianity by the adoption of their errors, and of their now bur- thensome because useless ceremonies. Whoever observes the struggles of the Judaizing Christians thus to encumber the religion of Christ, and the extreme difficulty with which their eflbrts were resisted, even by direct revelation and Apostolic authority, in the very first and purest era of the church, will easily perceive the necessity of this precaution, to preserve the purity and extend the dominion of the Gospel ; and that in this view, " through the fall of the J ews, salvation is come unto the ** (Tentiles."* * RomaiiSjiXj. 11. Lect, Vir.] PA3T AND PRP.SF.NT STATK Of THK JKWS. 40t LECTURE VJT. THE PAST AND PRESENT STATE OF THE JEWS EXHIBITS THK ACCOMPLISHMENT OF PROPHECY. Evidence from Prophecy applicable to Judaism . Prophecy of Moset-^As to the pros- perity of the Jews — As to the punishments they were to suffer — Considered in their variety — Their sources — Their duration — The face of their country. These predic- tions antecedent to the events — Clearly applicable to them — Not such as human wisdom or political sagacity would have dictated — Instanced in the three Jewish Feasts The Sabbatic Fear— The remoteness of their destroyers — The circumstances attending the destruction of Jerusalem — In their subsequent dispersion — In their present state and sufferings. The delivery and fulfilment of prophecy is so important an evidence of a divine authority, and so clear in the Mosaic reve- lation, that it has been justly considered a defect in this work, that, in exhibiting the internal evidence for the divine origin of the Jewish religion, it did not advert, except very briefly and incidentally, to this species of proof. To supply this de- fect, it is intended in this and the next Lecture to exhibit a summary view of the leading prophecies which predict the for- tunes of the chosen people of God ; to point out their past accomplishment; consider what expectations, as to the future destiny of this singular people, these prophecies excite ; and how far the present circumstances of their situation appear to coincide with these expectations, and to indicate a providential arrangement of human aflairs, even now visibly advancing to that great consummation, when, to use the language of the sublime and evangelic Isaiah, " it shall come to pass in the last " days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be estab- " lished in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above " the hills ; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many peo " pie shall go and say. Come ye, and let us go up to the moun 404 THE PAST AND PRESENT [Part III. " tain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob ; and he *' will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths : " for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the " Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the na- " tions, and shall rebuke many people : and they shall beat " their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning- " hooks ; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither " shall they learn war any more."* The great prophecy describing most compendiously, but at the same time most clearly, the fortune of the house of Israel, is that pronounced by their inspired Lawgiver on his last ad- dress to the assembled tribes, at the close of their forty years journeying in the Wilderness, and before they had entered upon the land of their inheritance. On this solemn occasion, the Legislator assures the assembled nation ; " It shall come to pass " if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord " thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which " I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set " thee on high above all nations of the earth : and all these " blessings shall come upon thee, and overtake thee, if thou " shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God."""!- The Lawgiver then enumerates every species of prosperity which could bless a people, in their persons, their goods, the fruit of their cattle, and the fruit of their ground, and in security from all enemies ; " and all the people of the earth shall see that " thou art called by the name of the Lord ; and they shall be " afraid of thee :" and in security even from the apparently in- evitable contingencies of unfavourable seasons, parching heats, or excessive rains, so common in such a climate : " The Lord shall " open unto thee his good treasure," says the Prophet, " the " heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to " bless all the work of thine hand." It is obvious to remark, how entirely unconnected are such blessings as security from warlike enemies, and the enjoyment of rain from heaven, with the observance of a religious code ; and how idle and unmeaning such promises would have appear- ed, to any people not deeply impressed, by immediate and clear experience, with the conviction, that a supernatural power * Isaiah, ii. 2 — 4. t Deut. xxviii. tlie entire cliapttr. Lect. VIL] STATE OF THE JEWS. 405 dictated, and would certainly execute, the promises thus held out. The sacred history records the enjoyment of such prosperity as is thus predicted, during that period of the Jewish state when the divine Law was most zealously observed, the latter part ot the reign of David, and the entire reign of Solomon, But un- happily, the intervals of pious obedience and its attendant blessings have been far exceeded, as the Prophetic Lawgiver foresaw, by the calamitous periods of disobedience and its atten- dant punishments. Let us then direct our attention to tho nature and extent of these prophetic menaces, and observe their wonderful accomplishment. The first circumstance which strikes the mind on reviewing these menaces, is their great extent and variety. There is no circumstance of distress, no aggravation of sorrow, applicable to the nation collectively, or to the individuals who compose it, which is not included in the prophetic denunciation. " It shall " come to pass," says their Lawgiver to the Jewish nation, " if " thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to " observe and do all his commandments, and his statutes, which " I command thee this day, that all these curses shall come " upon thee, and overtake thee.""* He then enumerates a fearful catalogue of evils which should overwhelm them, in the city and in the field ; on their persons by disease ; in their property, whether the produce of their flocks, or of the earth. "The Lord " (says he) shall send upon thee vexation and rebuke, in all that " thou settest thine hand unto to do it, until thou be destroyed, " and until thou perish quickly ; because of the wickedness of " thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.^-f* Nor were their calamities to stop here ; they were to be in- flicted also by the operation of the elements, which, obedient to the will of the Great Jehovah, were to combine in punishing this rebellious race. " The pestilence, and the consumption, the " fever, and blasting, and mildew," were to pursue them until they should perish. " Thy heaven (says the Prophet) that is " over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee " shall be iron ; and the Lord shall make the rain of thy land " powder and dust : from heaven shall it come down upon thee, " until thou be destroyed." Even this was not yet the worst ; * Deut. xxviii. 15 to the end. -j- lb. xxviii. 20 — 24. 406 THE PAST AND PHESENT [Part 111. their punishment was to be completed by the instrumentality of man; their enemies were to be resistless and destructive. "The " Lord (says their legislator) shall cause thee to be smitten " before thine enemies : thou shalt go out one way against them, " and flee seven ways before them : and shalt be removed into " all the kingdoms of the earth." These enemies were not to be found only amongst their immediate neighbours, whose hos- tility might naturally be expected. " The Lord (says the " Prophet) shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the " end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth ; a nation whose " tongue thou shalt not understand ; a nation of fierce coun- " tenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor " show favour to the young."* A description exactly corres- pondent, first to the armies of Nebuchadnezzar, and still more to the legions of Rome. " And he shall besiege thee in all " thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein " thou trustedst, throughout all thy land." The miseries thus to be inflicted, it was foretold, should exceed in severity the ordinary measure of human calamities. Almost unparalleled sufferings from war and famine are predicted with an exactness, which the narrative of history, while it exactly accords with, cannot exceed. " Thou shalt eat (says the Prophet) the fruit of thine " own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which " the Lord thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the " straitness wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee." A prediction so dreadfully verified at the siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, and still more dreadfully at its final destruction by the Eomans. Another most signal feature in the prophetic picture, is the universal and protracted dispersion of the nation ; the scorn and cruelty they were to experience in the various lands whither they were to go into captivity, and the keenness of their sensa- tions under this maltreatment. " Ye shall be plucked from tlie " land whither thou goest to possess it. And the Lord shall " scatter thee among all people from the one end of the earth " even unto the other ; and among these nations thou shalt find " no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest : but the '' Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of * Dent, xxviii. 49 to the end. Lect. VIl.] STATE OF THE JEWS. 407 " ejes, and sorrow of mind : And thy life shall hang in doubt " before thee ; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt " have none assurance of thy life. In the morning thou shalt " say, Would to God it were even ! and at even thou shalt say, " Would to God it were morning ! for the fear of thine heart " wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which " thou shalt see."* Another circumstance in the manifestation of the divine dis- pleasure against his offending people, more extraordinary still, if any thing can be more extraordinary, is to be found in the signal and permanent alteration which God would produce in the face of the very country they were then preparing to inhabit, and the very nature of the soil they were about to cultivate, at the moment their Legislator invited them to go up and possess it, as being the land the Lord had promised their fathers, " a " land flowing with milk and honey, the glory of all lands." He predicted, that if they despised the statutes, and departed from the worship of their God, that land should become barren and desolate to such a degree, says the Lawgiver, " that the gene- " rations to come of their children, and the stranger that shall " come from a far land, when they shall see the plagues of that " land, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth " therein, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, even " all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto " this land ? what meaneth the heat of this great anger ? Then " men shall say. Because they have forsaken the covenant of " the Lord God of their fathers, made with them when he " brought them forth out of the land of Egypt : For they went " and served other gods : and the Lord rooted them out of their " land in anger, and cast them into another land, as it is this " day."t But however severe and signal the chastisements of this way- ward people, they were not to terminate in a final and irreme- diable destruction : " Yet for all that (says their God) when " they be in the land of their enemies I will not cast them away, " neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to " break my covenant with them : for I am the Lord their * Deut. xxviii. 03 to tho end. f lb. xxix. 22— 28. 408 THE PAST AND PRESENT [Part III. " God."* Thus the divine truth is pledged for the perpetual preservation of some remnant at least of the Jewish race as a distinct people, however apparently dispersed and abandoned ; and this promise has been hitherto accomplished during 3,000 years from its delivery, a duration of distinct existence unparal- leled in the history of any other nation. There are some circumstances necessary to establish the full force of the evidence by prophecy — even that the prediction pre- ceded the event, and that it is accurately applicable to it — of which no possible doubt can in the present instance exist. The predictions of the Jewish Lawgiver were certainly delivered above 8,000 years ago ; and they are as directly descriptive of the present desolation of Judea, the present wide-spread dispersion and miserable sufierings of the Jews, and at the same time their preservation as a distinct nation, notwithstanding that dispersion and those sufferings, as any historical narrative is descriptive of the scenes which it relates. It now remains to inquire, whether the particulars predicted can be supposed to have been predicted at hazard, and to have occurred in the common course of events, so as to preclude the necessity of a divine foreknowledge in the Prophet, and a pro- vidential arrangement in the event. This, it may be said, is not an improbable case. It is not difficult to conceive that these predictions may have been dictated by mere human sagacity, collecting from past experience the general causes which influ- ence national prosperity or decay, and applying these principles to the particular situation and circumstances of the nation, whose fortunes the Lawgiver, who assumed the character of a prophet, wished to influence, by appearing to predict. And it may be urged, that instances of this kind are not wanting in history. Even the lawgiver of Sparta employed a similar expedient, when he procured an oracle to sanction his laws, by declaring, that while the Spartans continued to obey them, they would be happy. It might further be asserted, that if any man foretells the destruction of any city, or the ruin of any nation, as an event certainly to take place in the indefinite lapse of ages, it is highly probable the prediction would at some period be verified. And * Lcvit, xxvi. 44. LeCt. VII.] STATE OF THE JEWS. 409 as all human institutions, whether civil or religious, are liable to degeneracy and abuse, and every people at some era of its history sinks into corruption ; any man assuming the character of a prophet may foretel the ultimate destruction of any city or people with a moral certainty that his prediction will be ultimately fulfilled ; and he may assert this destruction will be the consequence of degeneracy and corruption, with little likeli- hood of his conjecture being falsified by the event. And what more, it will be asked, has been done by the Jewish Lawgiver ? To meet this objection, I shall now endeavour to prove that the tenor of the Mosaic prediction is so entirely diflei-ent from the conclusions of political experience ; and that the circumstances attending the Jewish nation, thus clearly foretold so many ages since, were in their own nature so singular as not to be within the common range of human conjecture, to this hour exhibiting phenomena unparalleled in the history of the world ; — so as to indicate most clearly the interference of a special Providence controlling all events, and rendering them subservient to the purposes of its moral government, and the advancement of its religious dispensations. Let us then impartially consider ; — is not the distinction be- tween the prophetic declarations of the Jewish Lawgiver, and the conjectures of mere political sagacity, clear and decided ? The mere human statesman may, by long experience and acute penetration, perceive the connexion in the state he contemplates, between the form of its government, the character of its laws, and the manners of its inhabitants ; he may calculate the pro- bable influence of all these causes on its military power; the stability of its constitution ; its domestic tranquillity ; its com- mercial exertion ; its failure or success in agriculture ; and various other circumstances on which the public prosperity of the state, and the private happiness of individuals, must mate- rially depend. But the Jewish Lawgiver refers not to political causes. He does not tell his countrymen, that if they violate his agrarian law, they would overturn the balance of their government ; that if they do not preserve their military enrol- ments, they cannot resist the attacks of their enemies. He does not warn them, that if they neglect agriculture and commerce, they would sink into poverty, or be exposed to famine. He does 410 THE PAST AND PRESENT [Pait IIT. aot exhort them to observe the progress of their neighbours in the art of war, and adopt their improvements. He does not caution them to study the subtleties of poHcy, and to cultivate the friendship of some of the adjoining states as a protection against the ambition of others. He displays no anxiety to rouse in them a spirit of military glory in order to secure them from invasion, or to refine them by literary pursuits in order to exalt their character. His cautions, his warnings, his counsels, are all directed to this single 2)omt — their obedience to the Great Jeho- vah. " All these things (says he) shall come upon you, if thou " wilt not observe to do all the words of this law written in " this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful " name, The Lord thy God." * Now it is remarkable, in this view of the subject, that many particulars of this law were, according to the usual maxims of human wisdom, directly hos- tile to the temporal greatness of the people. All the particula- rities of their ritual, of their peculiar food, of their singular customs, tended to exclude or to offend strangers, and thus impede commer(^e. They were forbidden to multiply horses ;-f- and thus deprived of cavalry and chariots, a species of force so important. The assembly of all their adult males three times in the year at a place where the Lord chose to place his Name, necessarily left their frontiers as often exposed to every invader. And against this obvious and imminent danger their Lawgiver held out no security, but this assurance of their God, " I will " cast out the nations from before thee, and enlarge thy borders : " neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go '' up to appear before the Lord thy God thrice in the year."| Thus also the observance of the sabbatical year, which required them to leave their lands untilled every seventh year, seemed to expose them as often to the attacks of famine ; against which their Lawgiver held out no security but the assurance of the same God, " I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth " year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years." § No man will assert that any mere human sagacity could foresee that the neglect of either of these last precepts had naturally any tendency to hasten the ruin of the Jewish state, or prolong # Deut. xxviii. 58. f lb. xvii. IfJ X Exod. xxxiv. 24. § Levit. xxv. 21. Lect. Vll.] STATE OF THE JKWS. 411 the captivity of the Jewish people. Yet the Lawgiver in his prophetic denunciation lays particular stress on tlie last precept, relating to the sabbatical year, and afRrins that its violation would materially conduce to hasten the era and prolong the period of their captivity and their country "'s desolation. " I will " bring the land into desolation : and your enemies which dwell " therein shall be astonished at it. And I will scatter you " among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you : and " your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste. Then shall " the land enjoy her sabbath, as long as it lieth desolate, and " ye be in your enemies"" land ; even then shall the land rest, *'■ and enjoy her sabbaths. As long as it lieth desolate it shall " rest ; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt " upon it."* Thus this signal prophecy connects events with causes which would seem, on the testimony of general experience, calculated to produce effects decidedly diff'erent from, or even directly contrary to those, which the prediction declares would take place. So that their accomplishment may be adduced as a proof, not only of a supernatural foresight displayed in predicting contingent, though ordinary, occurrences, but as an instance of special providential interference, regulating the fortunes of this extraordinary people so as to exhibit a decisive testimony of supernatural power directing and controlling all events to eff'ect its eternal purposes. Let us next examine whether, in the various calamities which befell the Jews, but especially in the final destruction of Jerusa- lem and dispersion of the nation, there were not a variety of circumstances of an extraordinary nature, whose concurrence forms a combination which no conjectures grounded on common experience could anticipate. Their Legislator knew they were to be surrounded by warlike and hostile nations, whom he fore- tells in other places would be employed as instruments for their correction ; yet their final destruction he declares should be ef- fected by a nation whom Grod would bring from far, even from the ends of the earth. Now this was strictly applicable to the Romans, who, with respect to the Jews, came almost from the remotest part of civilized Europe. And it has even been ob- served, that Vespasian and Adrian, the two great conquerors * Leviu xxvi. ?y2 — '^:t 412 THE PAST AND PRESENT [Part Til. and destroyers of Judea, both came from commanding the Ro- man legions in Britain, which, to the Jews, was nearly the very remotest known island of the western world. " A nation (their " Lawgiver adds) whose language they should not understand;" — a character improbable from the intermixture of dialects in the various Asiatic nations, but strictly true of the Romans, whose language, in its sound, its construction, and its written cha- racter, is to this day most different from the language of the Hebrews. A nation, he further describes, " of fierce countenance, " which shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favor to " the young." This too was most strictly fulfilled by the Ro- mans, who, though in general disposed to spare the nations they conquered, yet to the Jews, at the time of their final destruc- tion, showed themselves cruel and implacable. In truth, the destruction of Jerusalem exhibited every scene of horror which imagination can conceive. The besieged divided into three* parties, and butchering one another, first destroying each the provisions of the rest, and then all perishing by the agonies of famine — yet still all ferocious and unyielding in their opposition to their common enemy. Rejecting every overture for peace, fulfilling the prediction of the prophet, " that they should trust " in their strong holds, yet trust in vain," they provoked the fury of the Roman legions to such a degree, that no authority could restrain it.-[- In Jerusalem, during the whole siege, according to Josephus, eleven hundred thousand perished ; and during the war, ninety- seven thousand were made slaves. And here another remark- able prediction of their Lawgiver was fulfilled : " the Lord (says " he) shall send thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way " whereof I spake unto thee. Thou shalt see it no more again : " and there ye shall be oftcred for sale unto your enemies for " bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.":|: This prediction was fulfilled at the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, says Josephus :§ Of the captives above seventeen years of age, he sent many bound to the works in Egypt ; those under that age were sold ; but so little care was taken of those miserable * .Tosephus of the Jiwish War, Book v. iliap. i. t Joseplius, Book vi. chap. ix. sort. 3 and 4. t t)«ut- ^^^iii. t,H. § Josephus, Book vi. chap. ix. sect. 2. Lect. VII,] STATE or the jews. 413 captives, that eleven thousand of them perished for want. And the historian adds, that " they were sold with their wives and " children at the lowest price, there being many to be sold, and " but few purchasers.'"' And after their last overthrow by Adrian, we have the unquestioned testimony of history, that many thousands were sold ; and those who could not be sold were transported into Egypt, and perished by shipwreck or fa- mine, or were massacred by the inhabitants.* Now such an event as this cannot surely be said to come within the common course of human conjecture, and its accomplishment at two re- mote periods within the regular and natural progress of human events : Surely we may here conclude there exists the prescience of Inspiration, and the distinct agency of Providence. The universal dispersion of this singular people forms a still more extraordinary feature in their fortune. '• The Lord shall " scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth " even unto the other," says their Legislator.-f* And how won- derfully is this prediction, at this hour, verified ! From the burning sands of Africa, to the frozen mountains of Poland — from the confines of China to the British isles ; every country has been traversed by the wanderings, and has witnessed the sufferings of this unhappy race ; every where we see the traces of their commercial activity ; every where they exhibit proofs of their unshaken adherence to their Law. At one period, be- fore the refinement of modern civilization had opened such ge- neral intercourse amongst the nations of the earth, that the established merchant can command universal credit, the Jews monopolized the management of almost all remote pecuniary transactions ; because, from their universal dispersion, their com- mon language and national connexion, the orders of the Jewish money-brokers could find in every country, and almost everv city within the range of commerce, other Jews by whom they would be received and respected. And still do they continue to exist in almost every nation of the habitable globe. On this point «ve have recent satisfactory testimonies from the East. " During my residence in the East," says the very respectable * Vide Basnage, Book vi. chap. ix. sect. 26 and 28. t Deut. xxviii. 64. — Vide the particulars of this dispersion, Basnage, Books vi and vii. 414 TIIK PAST AND PRESENT [Part III. Dr Buchanan,* " my mind was much occupied with the pre- " sent state and circumstances of the Jews. I visited them in " the different provinces of the British dominions." — " By the " events of the late war in India, a colony of Jews have become " subject to Great Britain, the colony of the white and black " Jews of Cochin : I visited this colony ; its number is calcu- " lated to be 16,000. The number of the Jews in the United " Kingdom is not reputed to be greater than 14,000 ; so that " our Jewish subjects in the East are yet more numerous than " in the West. The white Jews live on the sea coast — the black " Jews live chiefly in the interior ; they call themselves Beni- " Israel, for their ancestors did not belong to Judah, but to the " kingdom of Israel ; they consider themselves to be descended " from those tribes who were carried away at the first captivity. " In some parts of the East (for they are dispersed through it) " they never heard of the second Temple ; they never heard of " the coming of the Messiah : some of them possess only the " Pentateuch and Psalms, and the Book of Job.""' — " The Jews " of Cochin (he adds) may be addressed with advantage on the " subject of the Christian religion, for they have the evidence of " the Syrian Christians before them ; these ancient Christians " live in their vicinity, and are our witnesses. At one place in " the interior of the country which I visited, there is a Jewish " synagogue and a Christian church in the same Hindoo village ; " they stand opposite to each other, as it were the Law and the " Gospel, bearing testimony to the truth in the presence of the " heathen world." Surely we cannot but see, in this statement, a clear and irre- fragable proof of the accomplishment of those predictions, which foretel the dispersion of the Jewish race from one end of the earth even to the other ; and yet the facility with which Provi- dence may prepare arrangements for again re-uniting them, when we see two bodies of Jews so numerous, and from each other so remote, as those of our United Kingdom and those of Cochin in Asia, brought as it were into contact, by being placed under the dominion, and capable of being influenced by the measures, * Vide Dr Buchanan's Speech as to the State of the .lews in the East, delivered at a Public Meeting of the London Society for Promoting Christianity among the Jews, in December, 1S09, puhlisheil in London in 1810. Led. VII.] STATE OF THE JEWS. 41 5 of the same Christian power. Can it be conceived that such predictions should have been the mere effusions of random con- jecture, and such accomplishment the effect of blind chance 1 Next to the universal dispersion of the Jewish race, the pro- phet foretells the miseries and sufferings which should every- where attend them, so emphatically expressed by the declara- tion, " I will draw out a sword after you ;" and in the prophetic Legislator's final address to the people,* " The Lord shall scat- " ter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even " unto the other ; and among these nations shalt thou find no " ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest : but the " Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of " eyes, and sorrow of mind." On almost the slightest glance into the records of history, we find melancholy proofs of the accuracy with which this prediction has been fulfilled. The learned Historian, who has exhibited so accurate a view of the fortunes of the Jews from the destruction of Jerusalem to the beginning of the 18th century, observes, that in former capti- vities -f- " God was careful to preserve the nation in a body, by *' conveying them to the same place ; it was all united together " in the plains of Goshen, preparatory to its departure from " Egypt. In the Babylonish captivity, one part inhabited the " same cities, and another peopled both the banks of the same " river ; so that when Cyrus determined to restore them, he re- " united them with ease. But at the destruction of Jerusalem, " and afterwards in the war of Adrian, the nation, weakened by " unheard of massacres, was dispersed into all the provinces of " the empire : this dispersion continues to this hour, and has " even extended to the ten tribes, of whom it is difficult now to " discover the remains in the East, where they were once " numerous and considerable." In the earlier period of their dispersion, they frequently rebelled, and struggled against the oppressions they sustained, which only terminated in rendering them more severe. Thus they were prohibited, by the most rigorous edicts, from appearing at Jerusalem, to which they always turned with unceasing and unabated desire.]: Wherever we find them recovering any degree of populousness, tranquillity, * Deut. xxviii. 64, 65. + Basuage, Book vi. ch. i. sect. 2. t Ibid. Buulv vi. ch. ix. sect. 27 and 28. 416 THE PAST AND PRESENT [Part III. and respect, we see the transitory gleam is soon obscured by the darkest shades of sorrow. If in the tenth century they enjoyed in the East a temporary tranquillity, with an establishment of academies and schools, it was speedily destro^^ed : " When the " house of the Abassides (says their historian) which always fa- " vored them, sunk from its authority, the sultan who succeeded " to their power, resolved to exterminate the Jews : he shut up " their academies, which have never since been opened — ban- " ished their profession, killed the prince of the captivity with " his family, and raised so severe a persecution as to reduce the " Jews to a handful of men, disperse them into the deserts of " Arabia, and drive them into the western world."* Nor could they in the western world find rest. When a military fanaticism collected the Europeans in thousands to recover the Holy Land, the same spirit led them to persecute with indiscriminate fury the nation which in that land had crucified the Lord of Chris- tians, and still regarded his followers with contempt or aversion. " This persecution (says their historian) was universal — it was " felt alike in Germany and in England, in France and Spain, " and Italy ; the public cry was, Come, let us massacre them " in such a manner that the name of Israel shall be no more " remembered. They put to death great numbers, but still " greater numbers, driven to despair by such violence, destroyed " themselves.""-!- In other instances, avarice and injustice were as destructive to them as in this instance fanaticism. Univer- sally engaged in commerce, they accumulated wealth, and wealth drew down upon them pillage and extortion. Well may we here adopt the language of their elaborate historian : " We here be- " hold the greatest prodigy, in the preservation of the Jewish " nation, in despite of all the calamities it has sustained for 1 700 " years ; we here see a church, which has been hated and per- " secuted for 1700 years, still subsisting and numerous : kings " have often employed the severity of edicts, and the hands of " the executioner, to destroy it ; the seditious multitude has " perpetrated massacres and persecutions infinitely more tragical " than the princes ; both kings and people, heathens. Christians, "• and Mahometans, however opposite in other points, have • Basiiage, Book vii. ch. iv. sect. 13. + Ibid. Book vii. ch. vii. sect. 32. Lect. VII.] STATE OF THE JEWS. 111? " united in the design of ruining this nation, and have not effected " it. The bush of Moses, surrounded by flames, has always burnt " without consuming. Dispersed through all parts of the civilized " world ; driven from or persecuted wherever they have appeared, " they have from age to age endured misery and persecution, " and waded through torrents of their own blood ; yet they still " exist in spite of the disgrace, and hatred, and suffering, which " attend them ; while there remains nothing of the greatest " monarchies antecedent to the era of their destruction, but the " name."* It is peculiarly interesting, and must greatly confirm the con- clusions for which we have adduced these facts, to observe the exact conformity of the impressions which these events have made on the minds of the Jews themselves, with these conclu- sions ; a conformity most conspicuously shown in a tract, cited in the Transactions of the Sanhedrim of Jews assembled at Paris a few years since, by order of Buonaparte, and entitled, " An Ap- " peal to the Justice of Kings and Nations," written by a Jew. The author, after describing, in all the pathos of eloquence, the sufferings of his nation, by persecution, extortion, calumny, the pious rage of the crusaders, the general fury of prejudice and in- tolerance ; after declaring, that it seems as if they were allowed to survive the destruction of their country, only to see the most odious imputations laid to their charge ; to stand as the constant object of the grossest and most shocking injustice, as a mark for the insulting finger of scorn, as a sport to the most inveterate hatred : he asks, " What is our guilt ? is it that generous con- " stancy which we have manifested in defending the laws of our " fathers ? But this constancy ought to have entitled us to the " admiration of all nations ; and it has only sharpened agaifiist us " the daggers of persecution. Braving all kinds of torments, the " pangs of death, and the still more terrible pangs of life, we " alone have withstood the impetuous torrents of time, sweeping " indiscriminately in its course nations, religions, and countries. " What is become of those celebrated empires, whose very name " still excites our admiration, by the ideas of splendid greatness " attached to them, and whose power controlled the whole sur- " face of the known globe ? they are only remembered as monu- * Basnage, Book vi. cli. i. sect. I, 2d 418 THE PAST AND PRESENT, &C. [Part IIL " ments of the vanity of human greatness. Home and Greece " are no more ! their descendants, mixed with other nations, " have lost even the traces of their origin ; while a population of " a few millions of men, so often subjugated, stands the test of " 3,000 revolving years, and the fiery ordeal of fifteen centuries " of persecution. We still preserve laws, which were given us '' in the first days of the world, in the infancy of nature ! The " last followers of that heathen religion which had embraced the " universe, have disappeared these fifteen centuries, and our " temples are still standing ! We alone have been spared by the " indiscriminating hand of time, like a column left standing " amidst the wreck of worlds and the ruins of nature. The " history of our nation connects the present times with the first " ages of the world, by the testimony which it gives of the ex- *' istence of these early periods : it begins at the cradle of man- *' kind, and its remnants are likely to be preserved to the day of " universal destruction."* ♦ P. 68 of " Transactious of the Parisian Sanhedrim," translated by F. D. Kirwan, ipjnd. 1807. FUTUFE CONVERSION, &C. OF THE JEWS. 't I 9 CONCLCJDING LECTURE. ON THE FUTURE CONVERSION AND RESTORATION OF THE JEWS. Expeclations of the Jews on this subject— justified by Prophecy. Prophecy of Moses of Isaiah — Predicts a second restoration, and different in its circumstances from the Return from Babylon — After a larger period — more permanent. This restoration is to be connected with the extension of the Gospel, Present circumstances of the world consistent with this expectation — As to Palestine — Commercial character of the Jewish nation — The' origin and circumstances of the Parisian Sanhedrim — Its tendency to remove Jewish prejudices — Society in England to promote Christianity among the Jews — Other circumstances in the present state of the world, which seem to prepare the way for the accomplishment of the prophecies as to the final triumph of the Gos- pel. Conclusion. When we contemplate the singular fortunes of the Jewish people, from its first origin to the present hour ; when we com- pare their unparalleled dispersion and sufferings, with their equally unparalleled preservation as a distinct nation ; we can- not but feel a strong curiosity to discover what will probably be their future destiny. We find the expectations they themselves entertain, as extraordinary as their present situation. " No " where,'* says a respectable and discerning observer, who had seen them in the most distant regions, " no where do they de- " spair of returning to their country, and beholding their pro- " mised Messiah." And again : " I have had many interesting " conferences with the Jews, on the subject of their present " state ; and have been much struck with two circumstances, " their constant reference to the desolation of Jerusalem, and " their confident hope that it will be one day rebuilt. The de- " solation of the Holy Cit}^ is ever present to the minds of the ** Jews, when the subject is concerning themselves as a nation ; " for, though without a king, and without a country, they con- " stantly speak of the unity of their nation. Distance of time 420 FUTURE CONVERSION, &C. " and place seems to have no effect in obliterating the remera- " brance of the desolation. I often thought of the verse in the " Psalms, ' If 1 forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand " ' forget her cunning.' They speak of Palestine as being close " at hand, and easily accessible. It is become an ordinance *' of the Rabbins in some places, that when a man builds a new " house, he shall leave a small part of it unfinished, as an em- " blem of ruin, and write on it these words, Zecher Lachorcha% " i. e. IN MEMORY OP THE DESOLATION.*"* And undoubtedly the language of prophecy justifies their look- ing forward to some most signal and favourable change, some illustrious restoration of their nation to divine favour and tem- poral prosperity. This change, I have no doubt, will consist pri- marily in the conversion of the great bulk of the entire nation (the descendants of the Ten Tribes, as well as of the Two) to Christianity, and their consequent restoration to the privileges and the blessings of the chosen people of God. And I am per- suaded, that this will also be attended by the return of the great body of the Jews to Palestine, and their settlement there, with the enjoyment of national independence and great temporal pro- sperity .-f* But the belief of this last I would not contend for as a fact, or impose it as a tenet of faith : it does not appear so in- disputable or so important as the former conclusion. As to the times and circumstances of either event, the Christian will, I con- ceive, also pronounce his opinion with great caution and reserve. In order to prove the reality of a superintending Providence, it may be sufficient, that prophecy, antecedent to the events, should produce a general conviction and expectation that some grand era in the Divine dispensations is rapidly approaching ; and should exhibit such prophetic characters as will clearly prove the Divine foreknowledge and arrangement of all the circum- stances attending it, after the evmt has taken place ; though not such as to enable any individual to foretel, with precision, the year in which it is to begin, or the exact process by which it is to be introduced. To establish the truth of the prophecy, rather than to render uninspired individuals, at any particular period, * Vide Buchanan's Christian Researches, 2d edit. p. 212. •f- This is the sentiment of the judicious and excellent Dr Buchanan ; vide hb Christian Researches concerning the Jews, p. 220, 2d edit. OF THE JEWS. 421 prophets, seems to be the design of the sacred Scriptures.* Directed by these principles, let us proceed to examine the pro- phetic writings on these interesting topics. The return of the Jews to Palestine, their consequent re- establishment as a nation, and their restoration from a state of punishment for their national offences, to a state of reconcilia- tion and favor with God, are generally combined in the pro- phetic writings. The earliest intimation of both is found in the last prophetic address of their inspired Lawgiver. He assures them " whenever thou shalt return unto the Lord thy God, *' thou and thy children, and shalt obey his voice with all thine " heart, and with all thy soul ; then the Lord thy God will turn " thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return " and gather thee from all the nations whither he hath scattered " thee. If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts " of heaven, from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee : " And he will bring thee into the land which thy fathers pos- " sessed, and thou shalt possess it ; and he will do thee good, " and multiply thee above thy fathers. And the Lord thy God " will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to " love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy " soul, that thou mayest live.""-!- In this prediction we perceive the clearest declaration that the house of Israel is never to be excluded from the peculiar protection of Providence, never irrevocably to forfeit the privileges secured to them in the ori- ginal covenant with their great ancestor, but is to be for ever preserved a distinct people ; and that, however dispersed, when- ever they returned to their God, they would certainly be restored to his fa^or, and as a nation re-established in their country. And it is not obscurely intimated that a period would come, when such a restoration from a wide-spread dispersion would take place, attended with a general conversion to sincere and vita religion, and a consequent enjoyment of national prosperity far exceeding, both in degree and duration, any they had ever before experienced. This was such a disclosure of the divine purposes as was best adapted to the object which the revelation, at that time communicated to the inspired Lawgiver, was in- * Such was the feeling of Sir Isaac Newton. Vide Newtnii on the Apocalypse, Part U. chap. i. p. 249. Printed in Dublin, 1733. + Deut. XXX. 1—6. 4S2 FUTURE CONVERSION, fec. tended to promote. While it enlarged on the immediate rewards and punishments annexed to immediate obedience or transgres- sion, with that fulness and force necessary to make a due im- pression on the minds of a short-sighted and carnal people, it at the same time opened the more remote dispensations of Provi- dence, sufficiently to prove to the most distant ages the clearness of the divine foreknowledge,* and the harmony of the divine economy. The subsequent Prophets predict the final and permanent restoration of the Jews, in characters which render it impossi- ble to confound it with that which took place at the close of the captivity in Babylon. Isaiah, who lived before that captivity, most clearly distinguishes them : " It shall come to pass (says " he) in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again a second " TIME to recover the remnant of his people.""-f- It was to be a * Dr Buchanan remarks, " The prophecy that the Jews should become an ' aston- " ' ishment, and a proverb, and a by-word among all the nations, whither the Lord " ' shall lead thee,' must aflbrd a contemplation to Infidelity, to the end of time. This " punishment they were to sutler, because they shed the blood of the Saviour of the " world. Now it is not surprising that Christians should reproach them for such a "crime. But how should we expect that they would be ' trodden down of the heathen "'world,' who never heard of such a Saviour? Behold the Hindoo, at this day, "punishing the Jew, without knowing the crime of which he has been guilty!"' Christian Researches, p. 193, 2d edit. + Isaiah, xi. 10 to 16. — David Levi, in his Dissertation on the Prophecies, sums up the expectations he collects from the prophecies of Isaiah in fourteen particulars, vol. ii. p. 92 : — " 1. Vengeance ou the enemies of the Jews by God — 2. Espe- " cially on Edom and Bolsrath, that is Rome — 3. A general restoration of Israel — " 4. Particularly of the Ten Tribes — 5. Conformable to that of Egypt — (i. The ap- " pointed time of Redemption will not be prevented even by the great number of " sinners amongst the Jews, who will be cut ofl: — 7. This Redemption is not to take " place until after a groat length of time — 8. The Shechinah, and the spirit of pro- " [iliecy, will be restored — 9. The apostatized, and those who liave quitted the nation, " will be restored to it — 10. A king of the lineage of David, and called by his name, " will reign over the whole nation — 11. They will never go into captivity any more " — 12, The majority of the nations will acknowledge the unity of God, and earnestly "desire to be instructed in his Law— 13. Peace will then reign in all the earth — " 14. About the time of the Redemption, the resurrection of the dead will take place; "a general one; but only of those who are most distinguished either for piety or '< wickedness." — Vide vol. i. pp. 180 to 200 — Of these expectations, some are evi- dently extravagant and ill founded. But the very existence of any expectations of such a restoration is a phenomenon unparalleled in the history of any other people ; and unaccountable, except by the influence of Revelation. And the extraordinaiy revival and difiusion of such expectations at this period, even by this very work, is (er- tainly rcmaikable. OF THE JEWS. 423 restoration from a captivity extending to the remote regions of the globe, where the dominion of Babylon was never felt, even " from the islands of the sea and the four corners of the earth." It was to embrace, not merely the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, which were restored after the Seventy years Captivity, but the posterity of the Ten Tribes, which had been carried captive so long before, and which have not yet been restored, or the plact of their dispersion accurately ascertained. This prophecy de- clares, that God " will set up an ensign for the nations, and " will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the " dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth." This event was to put an end to the disunion of the rival kingdoms of Judah and Israel ; " The envy also of Ephraim (says the pro- *' phet) shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut " off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex *' Ephraim." In another passage of the same Prophet, a circumstance is predicted to attend the restoration of the people of God, which it is utterly impossible to apply to the return from Babylon : " Who are these (asks the prophet, concerning the captives,) " who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their " windows ? Surely (he answers) the isles shall wait for me, and " the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their " silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the Lord " thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath " glorified thee. And the sons of strangers shall build up thy " walls ; -and their kings shall minister unto thee : for in my " wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on " thee." * Whatever may be the accomplishment of these predictions, it is clear it has never yet taken place ; the circum- stances here described have never yet been realized : they form a clear distinction between the restoration which has already occurred, and that to which we are here taught to look forward. Another particular also appears to be intimated by the evan- gelical prophet, perfectly applicable to the present circumstances of the Hebrew nation, but not to those which had existed before the restoration from Babylon. It is intimated, that the divine interposition in their favour, which the prophet here particu- * Isaiah, Ix. 8—10, 424 FUTURE CONVERSION, &;C. larizes, would take place after an apparently long cessation from any such interposition, after they had abode " many days with- " out a king, and without a priest, and without a sacrifice, and " without an altar, and without an ephod, and without teraphim • " Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the " Lord their God, and David their king ; and shall fear the "Lord and his goodness in the latter days."* After "the " Lord had taken rest, and reposed in his dwelling place, like a " cloud of dew in the heat of harvest :" "f* after he had waited " that he might be gracious unto them ;"" j after he had " a *' long time holden his peace, and been still, and refrained him- " self ;"" he is represented as, " going forth as a mighty man ; " and crying aloud, and prevailing over his enemies : And I *' will bring (says he) the blind by a way that they knew not ; " and I will lead them in paths that they have not known ; I " will make darkness light before them, and crooked things " straight : These things will I do unto them, and not forsake " them." § With still greater clearness, Isaiah in another passage, de- clares it to be the peculiar office of Christ " to proclaim the ac- " ceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our " God ; and to give those that mourn in Zion beauty for ashes, '* the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness," It is added, ^' And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the " former desolations, they shall repair the waste cities, the deso- " lations of many generations. And strangers shall stand and " feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your " ploughmen and your vine-dressers. But ye shall be named '* the Priests of the Lord : men shall call you the Ministers of *' our God : ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their " glory shall you boast yourselves." || Now the interval of seventy years captivity in Babylon could not be termed a deso- lation of " many generations ,-" and it was marked by distin- guished manifestations of God''s wisdom and power in behalf of his chosen people, and his revealed law. The deliverance of the ihree illustrious martyrs, who, rather than join in the impioua * Hasea, iii. 4, 5. and I'oli Synopsin in locum. + Isaiah, xviii. 4. % ^^- *''''• 18- '5 Isaiah, xliii. 13 — 1*. II Isaiah, Ixi. 1—8. OF THE JEWS. 425 idolatry of Nebuchadnezzar, exposed themselves to his utmost rage, and defied his utmost power ; the punishment and humi liation of that proud monarch ; the signal deliverance of the Jews, by Esther, from the hatred of Haman ; and, above all, the prophetic wisdom, miraculous deliverance, and signal exal- tation of Daniel — these, and many other facts of the same nature, illumined the gloom of that captivity with an effulgence of divine glory, which manifested the presence of Jehovah as the guardian king of Israel. But now for near eighteen hundred years this chosen people appear as if deserted by their God ; no prophet has arisen among them, to instruct, to warn, or to console ; no hero has appeared to rescue them. Banished from their temple and their country, persecution and distress every where have embittered their exile. So often have they been deluded to their destruction by false prophets and false Messiahs, they have sometimes almost despaired of beholding the object of their fondest hope, the long-promised and long expected Deli- verer. True it is, the careful and religious observer, amidst such an apparent abandonment of this unhappy race, can discern the secret but constant, guardian hand of Providence, which preserves, nay multiplies, this extraordinary people, notwith- standing all their sufferings. But yet their situation exactly corresponds to this intimation, that they would seem, for a long period, to be forsaken of their God, and that their final deliver- ance would thus appear more signal and illustrious. The future restoration and establishment of the Jewish nation is not to be more distinguished from the past, by the circum- stances which it is declared will prepare for and attend it, than by its unprecedented permanence and extent. The language of prophecy labours to express this permanence : " For a small " moment (saith God, by the prophet, to his people) for a small " moment have I forsaken thee ; but with great mercies will I " gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a " moment ; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on " thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer."* And again in lan- guage if possible more emphatic and impressive : " The ransomed " of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs, and *' everlasting joy upon their heads ; they shall obtain joy and " gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."*}* « Isaiah, liv. 7—11. + Ibid. xxxv. 10. 426 FlITUBE CONVERSION, &5C. But the most important, and to us the most interesting character of this restoration of the Jewish people, is its insepa- rable connexion with the extension of the Messiah's kingdom to the utmost bounds of the earth ; the general reception of his religion both by Jews and Gentiles ; and the consequent diffu- sion of virtue and piety, peace and happiness, over all the nations of the world. This is the uniform language, the grand object, the final result of the entire series of prophecy, from the primary promise that " the seed of the woman should bruise the head of the " serpent ;" * and the covenant with Abraham, " that in his " seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed ;"-|- through every prophet, down to the declaration of the great apostle of the Gentiles, that " blindness in part is happened to Israel, until " the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel " shall be saved : as it is written, There shall come out of Zion " the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob."! In the evangelic prophet Isaiah, the connexion of these two great events is repeatedly declared : it forms the opening and the close, the Alpha and the Omega, of his predictions. With what majesty does he call to Israel to hail the glory of that appear- ance of Christ ; " Arise, shine ; for thy light is come, and the " glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For behold, the dark- " ness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people : " but the Lord shall rise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen " upon thee. And the Grntiles shall come to thy light, and " kings to the brightness of thy rising. Whereas thou hast '^' been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, " I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many gene- " rations."§ And again, " As the earth bringeth forth her bud, " and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to " spring forth ; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and " praise to spring forth before all the nations." And with equal clearness in the prophet Jeremiah : " Behold, the days come, " saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous " Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute " judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall bo " saved, and Israel shall dwell safely : and this is his name, * r.rnesis, iii. 16. t Ibi.l. xxii. 18. J Rom. xi. 2ft, 26. § Ipaiah, Ix. the entire chapter. OF THE JEWS, 427 *' whereby he shall be called, The Lord oub Righteousness. " Therefore behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they " shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the *' children of Israel out of the land of Egypt ; But, The Lord " liveth, which brought up, and which led the seed of the house " of Israel, out of the north country, and from all countries " whither I had driven them ; and they shall dwell in their own ♦' land."* Our assurance, that the predicted restoration of this chosen people to the divine favour, and their re-establishment in their country, will be ultimately completed, ought not to be shaken, even were we unable to discern any apparent preparation for it in the present circumstances of the world. Yet in times so eventful as those in which we live, when so many awful visita- tions of Providence prove that the judgments of God are abroad in the earth, and so many unparalleled revolutions appear to prepare for some general and signal change in the aspect of the world, the attention of the religious observer cannot but be excited ; he can scarcely avoid examining, with anxious curiosity, whether any circumstances exist, which indicate the approach of this great triumph of Christianity and tnis unprece- dented improvement in the happiness of man. In this view of the subject, we would naturally turn our attention to that country which had been the appointed residence of the chosen people of God, and which is marked out by prophecy, as the scene where Providence will hereafter display its glory by restoring their power; and we shall observe it, answering indeed the description of prophecy by its present desolation and sterility, but at the same time open, and as it were unoccupied, and thus prepared more easily to receive whatever new inhabi- tants it may be destined for. We shall perceive that the Turkish power, which for so many ages has held possession of it with an iron grasp, is gradually relaxing the firmness of its hold, as- sailed from without by unceasing hostility, and internally sinking into weakness and decay. The character and present situation of the Jewish people itself will, to the Christian observer, exhibit circumstances tend- ing to show, in a still more striking manner, the gradual prep;i- * Jerem. xxiii. 5 — 8 428 FUTLRE CONVERSION, &C. ration by which Providence appears to open the way for the ac- complishment of those great designs which prophecy announces. Of these, the first, and perhaps the most remarkable, is the universal and decided attachment of the entire nation to com- mercial pursuits.* In every country where they are dispersed, commerce, in some of its various branches, forms almost the sole occupation of every class. Every description of trader, from the vender of the poorest wares from house to house, to the extended money-dealer, who traffics in millions, fills its ranks from amongst the Jews ; and every object of commercial exertion is pursued with such avidity, that agriculture finds scarcely any followers amongst that people, at least amongst those who are recognised as the descendants of the Two Tribes, which have formed the bulk of the nation since the captivity of the Ten Tribes, and destruction of the kingdom of Israel. This decided predilection for commerce, originally the effect of neces- sity, has now grown into an unalterable habit : and its tendency to facilitate their return to Palestine whenever Providence shall in other respects have prepared the way for them, is great and obvious. They have not attached themselves to any other soil ; they have not taken root in any other country ; their property is of that species which is most easily transferable from one ter- ritory to another. Their separation from every nation amongst whom they are dispersed, would, from this circumstance, be attended with the least possible sacrifices ; their union with each other would be most prompt and easy. The connexions which this turn of character, and this species of occupation, may form between the chosen people, and such nations as shall be most distinguished for commercial exertion and naval power, may materially facilitate the accomplishment of that remarkable pro- phecy of Isaiah, before quoted, which declares, when speaking of the grand restoration of the people of God, " Surely the * A remarkable testimony to the extent in which the Jews pursue commerce, occurs in a Letter of Lady Wortley Montague, dated Adrianople, May 17, 1717: — "I ob- " served," she says, " most of the rich tradesmen were Jews. They have drawn the " whole trade of the empire into their own hands, partly by the firm union among them- " selves, and partly by the idle temper and want of industry among the Turks," &c., &c. — Indeed in every part of the world we see their history is connected with their commerce. They were alternately encouraged from their commercial activity, and per- Kccmted ill order to plunder them of the wealth their commerce accumulated, Vid« Basnage, book vii. passim, particularly chap. xxix. OF THE JEWS. 429 *' isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to " bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them " unto the name of the Lord thy God, and to the Holy One of " Israel, because he hath glorified thee." Another circumstance, not less deserving notice in the pre- sent situation of this singular people, is found in the extraordi- nary attention they have excited, and the unprecedented degree of consideration they have received within these few years, from the two most distinguished nations of the European world. The late Ruler of France, amidst his various extensive plans of strengthening his power and extending his dominion, turned his regard to this nation, so long despised, forsaken, and oppressed. He called together the most distinguished Jews in France and Italy ; and Paris beheld the extraordinary spectacle of a repre- sentative assembly of a part of the Hebrew nation, convened by the command of a powerful European state.* It is true that, as might be naturally expected from the character of that des- potic government which convened this assembly, it enjoyed little freedom or dignity. Its debates were controlled, and its resolutions dictated by the power which convoked it ;-}- and the grand object of its formation ultimately appeared to be, to faci- litate the levying of conscripts ;J to subject their religious estab- lishment to the control of the state ; and to place their popula- * Vide Transactions of the Parisian Sanhedrim, convoked May 30, 1806; from the original, by M. Diogene Tama, translated by F. D. Kirwan, Esq. Lond. 1807. •}• A remarkable instance of this occurs in the proceedings respecting the series of regulations for the organization of the Mosaic worship, which was agreed upon between the committee appointed by the Sanhedrim, and the commissioners of his Imperial Majesty, before it was proposed to the Assembly ; and this was done with a preamble, importing its being unanimously adopted, though it was strongly opposed, and caused a protracted debate. Vide the work above referred to, pp. 279 to 284. X Amongst the regulations mentioned in the last note, is one, " That the con- " sistory of each district shall give annually to the government the number of the " Israelitish conscripts within the district." Another, " No praying assembly is "to be formed, without being expressly authorized ; and the consistory is to en- " courage, by all possible means, the Israelites of each district to follow useful " professions, ». e. husbandry and arms, and to return to government the names of " those who cannot render a satisfactory account of their means of subsistence." — " The duty of the Israelites to shed their blood in the cause of France, with the " same zeal as in defence of the holy city,**" is earnestly enforced. Vide pp. 284, 287, 430 FUTURE CONVERSION, &C. tion and their property more immediately within the cognizance of the government. Perhaps, also, in the questions proposed to them, and in the allurements held out to engage them in agri- culture and arms,* and lead them to adopt France for their country, something of the spirit of opposition to the supposed tenor of the prophetic writings may have lurked. But however that may be, mucli has appeared in the transactions of that As- sembly to excite the hope, that the way is gradually preparing for removing those prejudices which have so long formed an in- superable barrier between Jews and Christians. We find a strong and manly appeal in behalf of that persecuted people on one side, to the justice and toleration of Christians,*!- and a full avowal, on the other, of the truth and force of that appeal. We discern also a constant recurrence to the original and pure prin- ciples of the Mosaic code,| in preference to the innovations and corruptions, the follies and the superstitions of the Talmudic laws. We perceive efforts to improve the education of their children, and particularly to diffuse more generally among them a thorough knowledge of the language of their original Scrip- tures, which must be a necessary preparation for their discover- ing the true sense of prophecy, and the accomplishment of the various predictions pointing out that Mes3iah, whom they expect, and we adore. § It is no small additional proof of the controlling power by which Providence directs this chosen people to fulfil its destinies, that, notwithstanding all the apparent advantages which allure * Vide the same Work, pp. 315 and 319. " Among the followers of our religion, " (says the president) we have too many merchants and bankers, and too few land- " owners and artificers; above all, too few husbandmen and soldiers." p. 319. •{• Vide the above Work, passim, particularly from pp. 327 to 333, and from 63 to 82. X Vide p. 177; also pp. 202 and 204 : where the very passages adduced in the preceding Lectures, to prove the benevolence of the Mosaic Law, even toward strangers, &c. &c., are brought forward, and the precept of " Love thy fellow- " creature as thyself," insisted upon. — It is stated, "that in 1800, a Society of Dutch " Jews had published their resolution, to acknowledge only the pure and genuine " Law of Moses, and to reject all those institutions which till then had been oalIes " and practices of a baneful fanaticism should be laid aside," &c. &c. Vide p. 6?; *?«♦ p. 210. § Vide the al)ove Work, pp. 19, ICO, 313; and various other passages. OF THE JEWS. 431 them to shake oft' sucli restraints of their Law as are inconsist- ent with their temporal interests ; notwithstanding their appa- rent implicit submission, and their fulsome, and almost im- pious, flattery of the great Napoleon — still the grand principle which preserves, and must, while adhered to, preserve them a distinct people, that of avoiding all intermarriages with the pro- fessors of any other religion, is maintained;* a restraint which, if wholly neglected, might confound them with the mass of na- tions, and therefore seems inconsistent with all the declarations of prophecy, and all the plans of Providence ; while at the same time the authority of this Assembly has condemned the liberty of polygamy and divorce, -f- an indulgence which, while permitted, presented so strong an obstacle to the reception of the strict ana pure precepts of the Gospel. Another most cheering circumstance in the transactions of this memorable Assembly, is its evident tendency to remove that bitterness of spirit, and soothe that irritation, which seven- teen centuries of sufferings must have excited in the Jewish race. Their attention has on this occasion been forcibly led to recollect the favours and the kindness of Christians, that they might advance them as a precedent to justify their claim to a continuance of favours and of kindness now ; and the last act of their Assembly was an open, and, I doubt not, a sincere, re- cognition of their gratitude for the manifold favours conferred on the Israelites in former centuries, by the Christian clergy in various parts of Europe, even in times when barbarism, igno- rance, and prejudice, leagued, as they express it, together, chased the Jews from the bosom of society. And finally, I re- mark, that this (as they term it) Political Redemption in France, * The third question proposed to the Assembly was, " Can a Jewess marry a Chris- " tian, or a Jew a Christian woman ?" On which a long debate took place; and an answer was finally given, that the Law did expressly forbid " marriages only with " the seven nations of Canaan, and besides Anion, Moab, and the Egyptians, " under certain limitations, and, in general, nations in idolatry : And that, ac- " cordlngly, there have been intermarriages between Jews and Christians in France, «' Spain, and Germany. But (it is added) we cannot dissemble that the opinion of the " Rabbles is against these marriages; and persons married without the benediction of " the Rabbles, would be considered as married civilly but not religiously." Vide p. 154. -{■ Vide the answer to the first and second queries proposed to the Assembly, from pp. 151 to 154, 432 FUTURE CONVERSION, &LC. has awakened their attention to the Scriptural promises of a di- vine deliverer. And however they may for a moment be mis- applied by temporary delusion or interested flattery, such error must be transitory as the cause which leads to it ; while the spirit of investigation having been once roused, and the blind- ness of prejudice against the Christian name in some degree re- moved, we are led to hope that truth will certainly, and perhaps not very remotely, prevail. If from the metropolis of the French, we turn to that of the British Empire, we there behold the attention of the other powerful Nation, which sways the sceptre of Europe, also di- rected to the situation and the improvement of this so long per- secuted people. This attention indeed originates from far different motives, and appears to be conducted with far different views. Here the leading motives are, sincere benevolence, and the zeal of true religion ; not the selfishness of ambition, or the subtlety of policy. The object has been, not to connect them with any mere human establishment, not to bind them to any single state, or bend their conscience to the dictates of any human authority ; but to enlighten them with the knowledge of the ever glorious Gospel ; to unite them under the dominion of their own Messiah, the Son of David, the King of Israel, whose word is the word of truth, and his law the dictate of Heaven, and thus restore this once favoured race to the dignity and the freedom of the chil- dren of God. The efforts made for these truly great and truly Christian purposes are too recent,* and their operations and effects as yet too limited, to enable us to pronounce on their final effect. But, surely, much is to be hoped from such a spirit ; much to be anticipated from exertions for a purpose which the God of mercy, the common Father of the Jew and the Christian, cannot but approve. The seed of Gospel truth is now sown ; and however minute and inconsiderable it may appear to human observance, we are warranted to hope that it will sink its root deep, and rear its branches high, and spread its shade wide, and bring forth abundant fruit. Of a similar tendency, and inspiring similar hopes, is the in- • The Author begs leave to refer to a Sermon preached by him in St Andrew's Church, Dublin, the 2lst April, 1811, in aid of the London Society for promot- ing Christianity among the Jews, for a more kill exposition of his views on this subject. OF THE JEWS. 433 creasing zeal of all sincere enlightened Christians, for extendino- missions into the remotest regions of the heathen world ; and above all for translating the Bible into the language of every region of the globe, and presenting the holy Scriptures of the New Testament to the Jews in the Hebrew tongue, * in which alone they could attract attention and respect. It is remarkable that the progress made in such translations, within these last twenty years,-f- has exceeded that of a century before ; and that the activity in forming Bible Societies, and extending Missions, in the capital and dominions of Great Britain, within that period, has been almost incredible, when we reflect on the present tumultuous and distressed period of the world ; which, as a mere political or worldly calculator would judge, tends so powerfully to divert the attention and exertions of mankind, from objects apparently speculative and remote, and confine them to the care of their immediate preservation, and immediate interest ; but which, on the contrary, has roused the attention of all, who possessed any serious reflection, to the mutability of all worldly good, the supreme importance of eternal concerns, and the para^- raount duty of diSusing the glad tidings of the Gospel, and thus extending the dominion of purity, piety, and benevolence. Our hopes, of the impediments which have hitherto prevented the conversion of the Jews being gradually removed, must be confirmed by the rapid spread of a spirit of toleration amongst Christians, not only towards the Jews, but towards each other. The disputes and animosities, the cruelties and persecutions, which have attended religious differences amongst Christians, have been a great stumbling-block to the Jews, I who could * This translation began to be put to press last year ; and Dr Buchanan remarks that Mr Lee, a scholar of enlarged views, who published a tract called " Israel •' Redux," in the year 1677, has calculated, from the prophecies of Daniel and the " Apocalypse, that in the year 1811 the times of happiness to Israel should begin." Vide Buchanan's Christian Researches, p. 226. •f" Mr Vansittart, in his letters in defence of the British and Foreign Bible So ciety, which they effect with (as it seems to me) an irresistible strength of argument, and certainly with the most admirable Christian temper, states, " that this Establish- " ment has done more for the diffusion of Christianity, than has been effected in the '* same time in any age since the Apostles; as it has in seven years been the means of " preaching the Gospel in fifty-fodr languages." He afterwards proves that it has extended to fifty-eight, into twenty-three of which the Scriptures are not known to have been before translated. Vide pages 11 and 37. X Vide remarkable instance in David Levi's Dissertation on the Prophecies, vol. i. p. 72; and from 97 to 122. 2 E 434 FUTURE CONVERSION, &C. never recognise in a religion, thus savagely perverted, the system of mercy and peace which their promised Messiah was to esta- blish. But as Christians shall approach to an agreement in every thing essential, and shall learn to preserve brotherly love, notwithstanding lesser differences, the genuine beauties of the Gospel of Peace will be distinctly seen, and the characters of its heavenly origin appear conspicuous, both to the Gentile and the Jew. We may also be encouraged to hope, that the reception of genuine Christianity will be facilitated by the downfall of the Mahomedan superstition, which, as it originated in deception, was spread by violence, and is totally destitute of proof, appears gradually declining as knowledge and inquiry are diffused, and the despotism which upheld it, is narrowed in its extent, and weakened in its authority. And it is notorious how long and heavily the Mahomedan yoke has pressed upon the Asiatic Jews, amongst whom are included many descendants of the Two Tribes of Judah, and probably the entire body of the Ten Tribes of Israel. Another great impediment to the conversion of the Jews, appears likely to be removed by the rapid decline of Popery, which, by exhibiting Christianity as an idolatrous adoration of an inferior Being, shocked the reason and wounded the feelings of the Jews, and thus closed their ears against the preachers of the Gospel, by an almost invincible prejudice; while, by the rigours of its persecution, it terrified them from extending their inquiries and discovering the truth. The spirit of prophecy, both in the Old and New Testament, connects the conversion of the Jews with the most extended and glorious triumph of the Gospel ; and the present state of the world exhibits a variety of circumstances which evidently prepare for this consummation. The Jews, dispersed through every region, habituated to every climate, familiar with the lan- guage and the manners of every country, holding a constant correspondence with each other, would form a company of preachers, who without a miracle would proclaim to every nation under heaven, in their own tongue, the wonderful works of God.* " Their sound would go out into all lands, their " voice to the ends of the world." If converted, like St Paul, OP THE JEWS. 435 from inveterate enemies to zealous preachers, their testimony would carry conviction to every heart ; and while they adored that Jesus whom they had crucified, as the Son of God, and proclaim that Gospel they had for eighteen hundred years rejected as the word of life, all mankind would exclaim, " This " is the finger of God."* Thus, as during their alienation they have been unobjectionable, because hostile witnesses, of the divine origin of those prophecies to which Christianity appeals, they would, when converted from hostility, be resistless preachers of those truths which they had rejected ; thus verifying the declaration of the Apostle, that " if the casting them away was " the reconcihng of the world, the receiving of them will be life " from the dead."-f- The time of these events I would not presume precisely to ascertain. It will certainly be coincident with the close of the twelve hundred and sixty years, which are equivalent to the *' time, times, and a half," of Daniel, when od shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people ; J the same pei-iod during which, according to S John in the Apoca- lypse, the church of Christ was to remain desolate in the wilder- ness ; § the forty-two months during which the court without the Temple is to be given unto the Gentiles, and the holy city they shall tread under foot.jj At whatever era this period be considered as commencing, IF it is evidently now drawing to a close. The decline of Papacy and of Mahomedanism ; the multiplication of missions, and translations of the Scriptures ; the communication lately opened between the ancient and apos- tolic church of the Syrian Christians in Hindoostan ** and the * Exod. viii. 19. f Rom. xi. 15. J Dan. xii. 7. § Rev. xii. 14. || Rev. xi. 2. U Faber places its commencement at the year of our Lord 606 ; Dr Hales, 620 • Mr Bicheno, 629; Fleming, 652; Bishop Newton, 727. Its close must be equally uncertain. Vide Dr Hales'? Chronology, page 1358, where seven different termina tions of this period are recited. ** Vide Buchanan's Christian Researches, article concerning the Syrian Christians — When the Portuguese compelled 150 of the Syrian clergy on the coast to attend a synod, headed by a Romish archbishop in place of their own, who had been sent prisoner to Lisbon, they were accused, says Dr Buchanan, of the following practices and opinions: "That they had married wives; that they owned but two sacraments, "Baptism and the Lord's Supper; that they neither invoked saints, nor worshipped "images, nor believed in purgatory; and that they had no other orders or names " of dignity in the church, than Bishop, Priest, and Deacon." These tenets they 436 FUTURE CONVERSION, &C. Church of England, tending so strongly to protect the former, and prove the purity of the latter ; the spread of Christianity in Asia, Africa, America, in the Frozen and the Torrid Zone, under the Northern and the Southern Pole, as well as under the Equator; the changes in the situation of the Jews, and the new feehngs of mankind towards this singular people ; — all these cir- cumstances indicate the approach of that distinguished era, when the conversion of the Jews shall prepare for the fulness of the Gentiles, and all shall become one fold under one Shepherd, even Jesus Christ the Lord. To conclude : When we observe the nature and the unity of the grand design which pervades and connects the Jewish and Christian Scriptures, and the manner in which they describe the progress and conduct of this design, it seems scarcely possible to doubt their divine original. The design is that of bringing all mankind to an exalted, pure, and spiritual happiness, by teach- ing, enforcing, and exciting in them, love and obedience to the one true. God. As this grand object is perfectly singular and unparalleled, no other system of religion so much as professing to attempt it (except such as have plainly borrowed it from the Scriptures, and at the same time debased it with the intermix- ture of human error and depravity) so the manner in which the Scriptures describe this scheme to have been conducted, is also such as no human invention can be supposed to have formed, no human contrivance could have effected. Indeed when we con- template the Jewish and Christian dispensations united in one system, which extended its views backward to the Creation, and forward to the final catastrophe of the human race — When we perceive that it connects these grand events by ascribing both, with all the intermediate gradations which combine them, to the same great Author, even the Son of God,* "by whom all " thino-s were made ;" who is the " only Mediator between God " and man ;" and who in the " fulness of time, forsaking that were called on to abjure, or to suffer suspension from all church benefices. Tt was also decreed, that all the Syrian books on ecclesiastical subjects that could be found, should be burned ; "in order," said the Inquisitors, "that no pretended apos- '« tolical monuments should remain." Vide Buchanan's Christian Researches, 2d edit. p. H!). * Vide John i. ver. 1 to 14 : 1 Cor. xv. IG to 28: Phil. ii. 5 to 1 1 : Coi. i. 13 to £:?• 1 Tim. ii. 5: Dan. vii. 13 and 14: Rev. i. 5 to 8: xi. 15 to 19: xv. 3 to 5 and xix.and xx. Vide also Butler's Analogy, Part II. ch. iv. and v. OF THE JEWS. 437 " glory which he had with the Father before the world was," took our nature upon him, that he might live to instruct, and die to redeem, mankind, and has ascended into heaven, there to make intercession for us ; whence he will return again in power and great glory to judge the world, and to " render to every man ao- " cording to his deeds : to them who, by patient continuance in " well-doing, seek for glory and honour, and immortality; eternal " life : but unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the *' truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribu- " lation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of " the Jew first, and also of the Gentile : but glory, honour, and " peace, to every man who worketh good, to the Jew first, and " also to the Gentile : for there is no respect of persons with " God."* — When we see that the Scriptures represent this Divine Being as the centre in whom all revelations meet, the great Agent on whom all human expectations depend — When we view the scheme carried on under this Supreme Lord and King, according to the Scriptures, with an uninterrupted progress from the creation to this hour, and still evidently progressive ; exhibiting the Church of Christ, and the Jewish Nation which rejects that Christ, as rendered equally subservient to this grand design of Providence ; by which " the kingdoms of this world " will finally become the kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ :"-f- and the triumph of grace here will prepare for the kingdom of glory hereafter. — When we contemplate all this, can we avoid exclaiming with the Apostle, " 0 the depth of the riches both of " the wisdom and knowledge of God ! how unsearchable are his " judgments, and his ways past finding out ! For who hath " known the mind of the Lord ? or who hath been his counsel- " lor ? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recom- " pensed unto him again ? For of him, and through him, and to " him, are all things : to whom be glory for ever. Amen.";}: * Rom. ii. 6 — 11 f Rev, xi. 15. t Rom. xi, 33—86. 438 SINCE the time when this last Lecture was composed, Proridence, by a series of unexpected and illustrious events, has overturned that portentous Power which threat- ened universal slavery and ruin, and has restored freedom and peace to the European world. Surely this happy consummation, as it must revive the intercourse and increase the union of the European States, and encourage a spirit of moderation and justice in public measures, by the illustrious example which the allied Powers exhibited in their hour of triumph — so it tends to inspire the religious observer with the cheering hope, that it will accelerate the removal of national and religious prejudices, the free com- munication of opinion, the diffusion of knowledge, and the final triumph of Truth. At the same time I confess that the restoration of the Inquisition in Spain, and the efforts of the Roman Pontifi' to restore the Order of the Jesuits, and give new vigour to the monastic institutions of Popery, and also the difficulties which appear to impede the total abolition of the Slave Tiade, throw a cloud over this otherwise bright prospect — they appear to indicate a slower advance in religious and moral improvement, and in- spire a fear, that much labour, and perhaps much suffering may intervene, before genuine Christianity can overcome the impediments which retard its spread and the corruptions which resist its influence. Of this only we may be sure, that the grand scheme for the advancement of human happiness, by the extension of the Gospel, is in progress, and that in the fulness of time " the earth shall be full of the knowledge of *' the Lord, as the waters cover the sea," and that thus " the kingdoms of this world " shall become the kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ." APPENDIX. SECTION I. The texts which were collected by Le Clerc, as affording reason to doubt whether the Pentateuch was composed by Moses, considered ;* with the answer to the objection founded on each text annexed to it — Dr Geddes's opinion on the authenticity of the Pentateuch considered — Specimens of his reasonings on this subject — An Article in the Appendix to the eighth volume of the Critical Rerietc for September, 1806, in which Mr De Wette's work on the Old Testament is briefly considered — An humble remonstrance to the Reviewers. No. I. Text: Gen. ii. 11, 12. — "The name of the first river is " Pison : that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, " where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good : there " is bdellium and the onyx-stone.'" Objection. — These observations appear the production of some one residing in Chaldea, for Pison is that branch of the Euphrates which falls into the Persian Gulf, and passes by those countries which were formerly called Chaldea, and where now Ormus is ; and it is not credible that Moses, who bad but just left Egypt, should be so well acquaintec with the geography and productions of distant countries, or have beej inspired on such a subject. Answer, by Le Clerc himself. — Admitting these observations to relate to Chaldea, that country might be extremely well known iu Egypt at the time of Moses, by merchants trading thither. For if in the time of Jacob, companies of merchants traded from Gilead (vide Genes, xxxvii. 25.) to Egypt, with spices, &c. ; why might not mer- chants from Chaldea trade thither, near four hundred' years after, m the * Vide Clerici Prolegomena in Vet Testam. Dissertatio 3ia de Scriptore Pentateuchi, et Witsii Miscellanea Sacra, Tom. I. Lib. I. cap. xiv. An Moses Auctor Pentateuchi. 440 TEXi;s COLLECTED BY LE CLERC, [-^PP* time of Moses? And thus might not all these circumstances be easily known, to one educated in the court of Pharaoh, and " learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians." No. II. Text : Gen. x. 8 — 12. — " And Oush begat Nimrod ; he began " to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before " the Lord : wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty " hunter before the Lord. And the beginning of his kingdom was " Babel and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh in the land of Shinar. " Out of that land he went forth into Assyria, and buildeth Nin- " eveh, and the city Eehoboth, and Calah, and Resen, between " Nineveh, and Calah : the same is a great city."" Objecticn. — First, this exactness in describing the cities of Meso- potamia and Assyria, appears to indicate an author conversant in those countries and would be more natural after the Babylonish captivity, than at a period long before the Jews had any intercourse with the Babylonians. Secondly, Ninive took its name from Ninus, the son of Belus, who lived in the time of Deborah, two hundred years after Moses. Answer, — The celebrity of Babylon and the other cities, affords a natural reason why Moses should particularise them, as he has in several other cases alluded to ancient facts and ancient names ; and there is no accuracy of knowledge in the enumeration, which may not naturally be ascribed to him . To the second objection it is answered, there is no proof which can be depended on, that Nimrod did not build Ninive as well as the other cities, or that it took its name from Ninus ; and if it did, it would only prove that this single name was added to the words of Moses, by some later writer, to complete the enumeration of these ancient and distinguished cities. I would add, that our common translation, which reads, " Out of that land went " Asshur (i. e. the Assyrian) and builded Nineveh," &c., removes the whole difficulty. This clause may have been naturally added by some writer in the flourishing state of the Assyrian empire, before or during the Babylonish captivity. And this translation is not only agreeable to the original Hebrew, but to the Septuagint, the Samaritan, the Syriac, the Arabic, and the Vulgate versions. In truth, there being no other objection than this very feeble and futile one, made to the enumerations contained in this tenth chapter of Genesis, as inconsistent with the state of the world at the time Moses lived, forms as strong a presumptive proof as can be desired, that it was really written by him ; and that he possessed the most astonishing accuracy of information as to the origin of nations, and the primeval history and spread of mankind. It is indeed most remark- able, that this chapter, short as it is, supplies the only clue which Sect. I.] CONSIDERED AND ANSWERED. 441 directs our steps, in tracing the progress of nations in the very remotes*: period of antiquity ; and that the authors who have followed it with the closest attention, have been most successful in avoiding the laby- rinths and penetrating the recesses of the very earhest history and explaining in a rational and consistent manner the apparently wild and chimerical fictions of heathen mythology. Memorable examples of this are found in the Phaleg of Bochart, in which from this account in Genesis he traces with such wonderful accuracy and success the origin of nations: and thus decidedly confirms the Mosaic history, which declares that " of the three sons of Noah was the whole earth " overspread."* Equally remarkable is the success with which the learned Bryant, following the same mode, has analysed the various systems and fables of ancient mythology, and shown how naturally they can be explained and connected by considering them as ultimately derived from the facts and characters of the Mosaic records. I might easily multiply in- stances, but I forbear, and proceed with my subject. No. III. Text: Gen. xi. 28 and 31. — " Haran died in Ur of the Chal- ■ dees : they went from Ur of the Ohaldees, to the land of ■ Canaan."" Objection. — This city or country could not be so called in the time of Abraham, for the Chasdem or Chaldceans descended from Chesed, who was the nephew of Abraham by his brother Nahor, Gen. xxii. 22. In the time of Moses that region was called Padan Aram; it was the more modern writers aliout the time of the captivity, who called it the land of the Chaldees. Answer, by Witsius. — Le Clerc, who advanced the objection, con- fesses it is altogether uncertain whether the Chaldseans derived their name from Chesed, and where this city was, since it was the name of two cities near the Euphrates ; the extent of the land of Chaldae is also uncertain. It is remarkable that Le Clerc, who on reflection abandon- ed and even refuted his own objections to the authenticity of the Pen- tateuch, has omitted to take any notice of this in his review of them ; in all probability deeming it too trifling. It is indeed not wonderful that Witsius should grow a little angry ; after stating the answer he adds, " Hsec si vera sunt ne species quidera "difficultatis superest, quid ergo movit criticum nisi prava carpendi "libido, ex qua orta est quam subjungit accusatio, scriptores sacron "parum eocactos esse nominibus." If Le Clerc advanced this accusa- tion, it was certainly a rash act ; but he should be forgiven, since he as certainly repented of it. 442 TEXTS COLLECTED UY LE CLtCRC, [A-Pp. No. IV. Text : Gen. xii. 6. — " The Canaaiiites was then in the land :" and xiii. 7. " The Oanaanite and the Perizzite then dwelled in " the land." Objection. — They therefore were not there when this history was written, but they continued there until after the death of Moses ; therefore he was not the author of this book. Answer, by Witsius. — It does not follow from this clause, that the Canaanites had been expelled when it was written ; it may mean no more than that the Canaanites, were even at that time in the land which God had promised to give to the seed of Abraham. And this observa- tion may have been intended to illustrate the faith of Abraham, who did not hesitate to obey the command of God, by sojourning in this strange land, though even then inhabited by a powerful nation totally unconnected with, if not averse to, him ; a circumstance intimated by Abraham's remonstrance to Lot, to avoid any enmity between them, " because they were brethren ;" as if he had said. It would be most extreme imprudence for us, who were brethren, who have no connexion or friendship but with each other, to allow any dissension to arise be- tween us, surrounded as we are by strangers, indifferent to, or even averse to us, who might rejoice at our quarrel, and take advantage of it to our common mischief; "for the Canaanite and Perizzite was " even then in the land." What is there in this, asks "Witsius, which Moses might not have said ? I may venture to add that another reason may be given, for noticing the circumstance of the Canaanite and Pe- rizzite having been then in the land, which Moses immediately after declares God had promised to the seed of Abraham. The Israelites might thus be most clearly satisfied that no change had taken place in the purpose of God to give them this land, when they were reminded that at the very time this purpose had been declared, the very same nation possessed the country, who stiU occupied it. It may be neces- sary to remark, that Dr Geddes insists that it must be granted, that " this comma supplies a proof, that this history was written after the " expulsion of the Canaanites, or that it must be considered as an ad- " dition by some posterior scribe ;'' which last he is not disposed to admit. He adduces Dathe and Rosenmuller as explaining the passage as Witsius had done ; " the Canaanite was even then in the land." They are as respectable authorities in Hebrew literature as even Dr Geddes himself; and I think the Doctor's opinion that this comma was necessarily written after the expiUsion of the Canaanites, already sufficiently refuted. No. V. Text : Gen. xiii. 18. — " Abram dwelt in the plain of Mamre ''which is in Hehron." Sect I,] CONSIDERED AND ANSWERED. 443 Objection. — It appears from Joshua, xiv. 15. and xv. 13. that the original name of this place was Kirjath Arba, and that it probably took the name of Hebron from the grandson of Caleb. Answer. — The words " which is in Hebron," seem to have been added by a later hand, to mark out the place as evidently was done in Genesis, xxiii. 2. " And Sarah died in Kirjath-arba : the same is " Hebron in the land of Canaan." Such explanatory additions becom- ing necessary by time, appear to me rather to confirm than impeach the antiquity of the original. Witsius thinks Hebron added as an ex- planatory word, wherever it occurs. No. VI. Text : Gen. xiv. 14. — " Abram pursued them unto Dan." Objection. — Dan acquired that name from the Danites, long after Moses, the ancient name of the city been Laish. Answer. — Le Clerc from Josephus, Antiq. Lib. I. cap. x. observes, that this place was so called from its being near one of the fountains of the river Jordan : Jor was the name of the other. Witsius seems to think this word was inserted by a later hand (Samuel or Ezra) as ex- planatory of the situation, in the room of an old name, the application of which was unknown. I would add, that the Samaritan Pentateuch and the Arabic version read, instead of Dan, Banjas. There was therefore probably some uncertainty as to the name which had origi- nally stood here ; which would render the insertion of a modem name to mark the place plainly, more necessary. No. VIT. Text : G«n. xx. 7.—" He is a prophet." ^^>a3. Objection. — This word was of a more modem date than Moses, as appears from 1 Samuel, ix. 9. Answer: — The word is certainly used in this sense constantly in the Pentateuch. Thus, Exod. vii. 1. God tells Moses, "thy brother "shall be thy prophet," thy l^>li. Numb. xi. -29. "Would God "the Lord's people were all prophets," the same word is used; and Numb. xi. 27. " Eldad and Medad do prophesy," the same root is used ; and Deut. xiii. 1. 3. 5. prophet is expressed by the same word; and in the promise of God to Moses, Deut. xviii. 18. " God will raise " them up a. prophet like unto thee." Nor does the passage in Samuel prove the word was never used before, but rather that it was not used to denote strictly a foreseer of future events, which in Samuel's time it was appropriated to. " Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to " enquire of God," (to reveal secrets of future events) " thus he spake " Come and let us go to the seer ni^in — for he that is now called a pro- " phet >^'»i3, was beforetime called a seer." Now to me this change of signification appears perfectly natural, and easily to be accounted for. The early patriarchs to wliom this word was applied, and Aaron himself. 444 TEXTS COLLECTED BY LE CLERC, [A pp. were much more distinguished as intercessors with God, expounders of his will, and teachers of true religion, than as foreseers of future events. At that period, or afterwards, two distinct words may have been used to denote these two ideas ; in process of time, as the teachers sent from God became more distinguished for prophecy, the word originally applied to them generally, became more confined to the pre- dictors of future events, and superseded the use of the second word, which had been more recently introduced, and was always of inferior dignity. But be this as it may, the word is most frequently used to denote a prophet, in the other books of Scripture, and even in Samuel. I.e Clerc on mature consideration, (and it should seem very rationally,) thought that instead of caUing into question the authenticity of the en- tire Pentateuch, in consequence of this parenthesis, we should rather question the authority of the parenthesis in 1 Sam. ix. 9. which is entirely unconnected with the context, perplexes the sense, and seems evidently to have been a marginal note which crept into the text, and at a wrong place too. Vide Clerici Notas in 1 Sam. ix 9. No. VIII. Text : Gen. xxii. 14. — " And Abraham called the name of " that place Jehovah-jireh : as it is said to this day, In the " mount of the Lord it shall be seen." Objection. — Some persons affirm this to be the mountain Moriah on which the temple was built ; and that it did not get this name nmC which, say they, is the same as that taken from this event, ni'JT', until the temple had been built. Besides, the phrase, " as it is " said to this day, in the mount of the Lord it shall be seen," does not seem adapted to the period when Moses lived. Answer. — There is nothing but mere conjecture for the mount Mo- riah deriving its name from this event, and still less for its not being so called until after the temple was built. The name Ji7-eh, though similar in sense to Morijeh or Moriah, is not the same, and may have been in use from the time of Abraham ; and the interval between Abraham and Moses was long enough (above four hundred years) to justify the expression, as it is said to this day. Le Clerc brings many instances to confirm such a use of the words to this day, I think unne- cessarily. In truth I do not clearly understand either the objection, or the answer. If the reader is curious, he may find them in Clerici Dis- sertatio. No. vii. p. 32. Witsius takes no notice of this objection, nor do I think it was necessary to notice it ; but I am unwilling to suppress any appearance of objection. Dr Geddes is of opinion that there is no necessity to say with Eben Ezra that there is here any interpolation ; it may be a part of the origi- nal narrative, whether written by Moses or any other person ; an ex- pression may become proverbial, during the lifetime even of him who Sect. I.] CONSIDERED AND ANSWERED. 445 first uttered it. All that we can lawfully infer from the text is, that these words, " in the mountain the Lord will provide," and become a proverbial saying when the author wrote. No. IX. Text: Gen. xxxv. 21. — "And Israel journeyed, and spread " his tent beyond the tower of Edar." Objection. — The writer of this could not be Moses, for Edar was the name of a tower over one of the gates of Jerusalem ; beyond the present site of which, says the writer, Israel spread his tent. Answer. — The tower of Edar means the tower of the Flocks, and there might have been different towers so called in the time of Jacob ; and if the gate of Jerusalem stood in the spot meant by Moses, it may have gained its name from this old name, now revived and applied to a new object. The learned Mr Marsh observes, that this objection implies a mani- fest absurdity : "for if the writer of this passage had meant the tower " of Edar in Jerusalem, he would have made Jacob spread his tent be- " yond a tower, that probably did not exist till many hundred years " after his death."* But Dr Geddes buUds much upon this text; vide infra. No. X. Text: Gen. xxxvi. 31. — "And these are the kings that " reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king " over the children of Israel." Objection. — There are then reckoned up eight kings in succession, that is, as many as there were generations from Jacob to Obed, grand- father of David, and cotemporary with Saul the first king of Israel ; whereas, from Jacob to Moses were only four generations, as Moses himself counts them. PFiYsms ANSWERS — There was here nothing Moses might not have said, for in Gen. xxxv. 11. it was promised to Jacob that "kings " should come out of his loins ;" and Moses might mark it as a shigu- lar fact, that so many kings had reigned over Esau before his own time, and consequently before this promise to Jacob had been fulfilled : and it appears from Deut. xvii, 14, Moses foretold the Jews would elect kings. As to the number of kings, 236 yearS elapsed from the death of Isaac, when Esau took possession of Edom, to the time when Moses became leader of the Jews, and this might well allow eight successions of kings. Le Clerc, however, from an idea that this pas- sage, if retained, would imply a prophetic declaration of Moses, on a subject which did not require it, supposes, that from verse 31 to 40, is an interpolation of a later hand ; and I confess I think it carries * Vide Mars on the Authenticity of the Five Books of Moses, Cambridge, 1792, p. 11. 446 TEXTS COLLECJTED BY LE CLERC, [App. internal evidence of its being so ; it is written in a different manner from the parts before and after it, being much more particular than the rest of the chapter, mentioning not only the kings names, but the names of the cities they built, and of the wives of some, and of memo- rable actions they performed ; whereas, in verse 40, we find the enu- meration of dukes or chiefs descended from Esau, resumed and carried on with the simplicity of the preceding part of the chapter ; and end- ing with this expression, " these be the dukes of Edom, according to " their habitations in the land of their possession ; he is Esau, the father " of the Edomites." Now tliis looks as if only dukes had been men- tioned before, otherwise it would probably have been said, " these are '* the dukes and kings of Edom," &c. Such an insertion might natu- rally enough have been made by Samuel, to complete the historical sketch of Edom in this chapter. But either way the general authen- ticity of the Pentateuch cannot be effected by it. After having formed the above opinion, I was much gratified at finding that it coincides with that of the learned Kennicott, who insists that these verses were evidently taken from 1 Chr. i. 43. 54. from whence having been inserted in the margin of some very ancient MS. here in Genesis, they were afterwards taken into the text. Vide Kennicott's Remarks on select Passages of the Old Testament, p. 35. No. XL Text : Gen. xl. 15. — Joseph says, " For indeed I was taken " away out of the land of the Hebrews." Objection. — It could not be called the land of the Hebrews, until they had invaded and taken possession of it. Answer. — Joseph might well call that particular part of the land of Canaan, near Hebron, where Isaac and Jacob had resided for so many years, the land of the Hebrews. They, it is true, were not originally natives of the country, but they possessed such wealth, such numerous families, herds, and flocks, that they were looked up to as mighty princes, (Vide the language of the children of Heth to Abra- ham, Gen. xxiii. 6.) We find them joining the neighbouring kings in making war, (vide Gen. xiv.) making compacts and leagues even with kings, (vide Gen. xxi. 23. and xxvi. 14.) and even conquering entire cities (as Gen. xxxiv.) living according to their own customs, and ex- ercising their own religion. It is therefore perfectly credible, the place of their residence may have been termed the land of the Hebrews, as they had been there for such a length of time, independent and in alli- ance with the natives, (vide Gen. xiv. 13.) These are the observations of the learned Altingius, adopted bv Witsius, and confirmed by Le Clerc. No. XIT. Text: Exod. vi. 26, 27. — At the end of the genealogy of the tribe of Levi is added. " These are that Aaron and Moses, to Sect. I.] CONSroERED AND ANSWERED. 447 " whom the Lord said, Bring the children of Israel from the " land of Egypt according to their armies. These are they " which spake to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to bring out the children " of Israel : these are that Moses and Aaron," Objection. — This could not have been written by Moses; he would not thus ostentatiously and unnecessarily particularize himself and his brother : it is the language of a person writing long after his death. Answer. — It was neither ostentatious nor unnecessary to point out to future generations, that the Aaron from whom the High Priests descended, was the same employed by God to act such a distinguished part in the deliverance of his chosen people ; and thus mentioning of Aaron, who acted but a secondary part, it would have been unnatural to omit Moses, who was the chief. And that this was the real reason of this particular notice, appears from the sons of Aaron, from whom the High Priests were to be taken, being distinct!]/ enumerated, whUe no notice is taken of the sons of Moses, who were to remain in a pri- vate station undistinguished among the Levites. Had the learned critics noticed this last circumstance, they would probably have seen that this passage, instead of affording any reason to suspect that Moses did not write it, supplies a strong presumptive proof that he did ; for any other writer would have been disposed to treat the great legislator of the Jews with more distinction than his brother. May I then be permitted to say, that this circumstance supplies another instance of the coincidence of the narrative with the peculiar character and situation of the supposed author, to be added to those enumerated Part I. Lect. HI. and confirming the internal proofs there adduced, to establish the genuineness and truth of the Pentateuch. It is scarcely necessary to notice here the futile and ignorant objec- tion of Paine, that Moses speaks of himself in the third person ; an objection which would disprove the genuineness of the works of Thucy- dides, Xenophon, and Caesar, as well as of Moses. In truth, this writer, whose ignorance can be only equalled by his temerity, his pre- sumption, and his virulence, has been already so fully exposed and confuted, especially by the venerable Bishop Watson, that I think it unnecessary to go out of my way particularly to notice his cavils. I may, however, I beheve, venture to say, that such of them as relate to that part of Scripture which it is the object of this work to vindicate, have been considered and confuted in it. No. XIII. Text : Exod. xvi. 35. — " And the children of Israel did eat " manna forty years, until they came into a land inhabited : " they did eat manna, until they came into the borders of the " land of Canaan." — " Now an omer is the tenth part of an " ephah." 448 TEXTS COLLECTED BY LE CLERC, | A pp. Objection. — This could not have been written by Moses, as the Jews did not reach the borders of Canaan, or cease to eat manna till after his death ; nor would Moses speak thus of an omer, the measure by which all the people gathered the manna, " an omer for every man." It is the language of one speaking when this measure was out of use, and an ephah more generally known. Answer. — This is plainly a passage inserted by a later hand; it forms a complete parenthesis, entirely unconnected with the narrative, which having given a full account of the miraculous provision of man- na, closes it with the order to Aaron, " to lay up an omer full of manna " in the ark. as a memorial to be kept for their generations." This was evidently the last circumstance relating to this matter, which it was necessary for Moses to mention ; and he accordingly then resumes the regular account of the journeyings of the people. Some later writer was very naturally led to insert the additional circumstance, of the time during which this miraculous provision was continued, and probably * added an explanatory note, to ascertain the capacity of an omer, which was the quantity of food provided for each individual by God ; to ascertain it therefore must have been a matter of curiosity. Possibly the manna laid up in the ark might have been lost when it was taken by the Philistines, and this note added by Samuel. Here again I contend, that the insertion of such notes rather con- firms than impeaches the antiquity and genuineness of the original nar- rative. If this were a compilation long subsequent to the events it records, such additions would not have been plainly distinguisliable, as they now are, from the main substance of the original ; since the en- tire history would have been composed with the same ideas and views as these additions were ; and such explanatory insertions would not have been made, if length of time had not rendered them necessary. No. XIV Text : Deut. i. 1. — " These be the words whicn Moses spake " unto all Israel heyond Jordan in the Wilderness, in the plain " over against the Red Sea, between Paran and Tophcl, and " Laban, and Hazeroth and Dizahab." Objection. — No objection at all to our translation (on this side Jordan,) with which the Syriac agrees, and the Targum of Onkelos retaining the same word as in the original Hebrew, leaves it undeter- * I say only probably, because the words, " an omer is the tenth part of an ephah," might very naturally be used by Mosoa, n-ho might mark the relation between an omer and an ephali, to transmit it to posterity. Thus, Numbers, iii. 46. in the account of the redemption-money of the first-born, "over and above them that were redeemed by the Levites, " Moses says, " Thou shalt " take five shekels apiece by the poll, after the shekel of the sanctuary shalt thou take tliera. " The shekel is twenty Vl;ptlicr he thouglit Moses iTusfJired ? —End o( the Critical Remarks. 454 PR GEDDES^S OPINIONS ON THE [ApP. " period when the copies must have been much less imperfect than " they afterwards became; and we have various versions of very early " date, by the help of which, compared with the original and with " one another, and of the various readings of the text itself, collected " in the present century from a great number of manuscripts, a nearly " genuine copy of the Pentateuch may, by the rules of a judicious " criticism, be at length obtained." In this entire account there is certainly some obscurity and confusioi What is meant by the Pentateuch in its present form ? Does it mea.i this work with every word or verse which now is found in it, e. g. with the last chapter of Deuteronomy ; or the text, as to the kings of Edom, marked above, No. X.? In this sense it might be admitted, that the Pentateuch in its present form, i. e. so far as relates to these few pas- sages, plainly inserted by some later writer long after Moses, to explain or complete the history, was not entirely written by Moses, nor com- pleted perhaps until the time of Ezra. But if, as the Doctor admits, there can be no doubt that the Jews had written records from the time of Moses ; if the Pentateuch was compiled from the very journals oj Moses himself ; then it becomes the province of sound criticism to de- cide, how much of it is thus formed of the journals of Moses. I think I have proved from clear internal evidence, it was entirely composed of these identical journals, that is, entirely written by Moses himself, ex- cept only the few passages above referred to. The learned Doctor has no where clearly detailed his opinions on this point in their fall extent, by distinguishing the passages he con- sidered as the genuine production of Moses, from those which he at- tributes to the supposed modern compiler. He has, however, given us some specimens of his mode of reasoning on this subject, which I proceed to consider. Gen. X. 19. — Dr Geddes in this verse adopts the Samaritan read- ing, which describes the bounds of Canaan as more extensive than the Hebrew text, viz. "from the river of Egypt to the river Euphrates " and to the hinder sea," (an expression elegant perhaps, but to me not very clear.) And he observes, " I prefer the Samaritan reading to the " Hebrew, for the following reasons : in the promise made to Abraham, " chap. XV. ver. 18, 19, 20, 21, the very same boundaries are assigned " to the land of Canaan in all the copies, which are here marked in " the Samaritan, and the same number of peoples or tribes included in " them. Again, in Exod. xxiii. 31, the same boundaries are assigned ''in a more particular manner from the Red Sea to the Sea of the " Philistines (that is, the Mediterranean) and from the Wilderness of " Shur to the great river Euphrates. It is true this was not accom- " plished until the reigns of David and Solomon, which latter is ex- •' pressly said in the first Book of Kings, iv. 21. to have had dominion " over all the kingdoms from the river Euphrates unto the land of the " Philistines, and unto the borders of Egypt. But whence (asks the " Doctor) sprung the present reduction of those boundaries in the ' present text of Genesis ? That I know not ; but I suspect it arose " from this ; that when the compiler or translator of the present copy " of the Hebrew text lived, the boundaries of Judea had been greatly " circumscribed, ajid he had accommodated his tejct to that circum.. Sect. I.] AUTHENTICITY OF THe" PENTATEUCH. 455 *' scription. But why then left he the other two passages unaltered ? " This indeed, / cannot account for, nor am I obliged to account for " it : hut this I affirm, the present Hebrew text is inconsistent with it- "^e/^ the Samaritan is consistent; let the reader ehoose whether of " the two he will abide by." Now I should have no hesitation in choosing the consistent text ; but I really think it not very candid in the learned Doctor, to impute to his imaginary compiler of the present Hebrew Pentateuch exactly knavery enough to alter, so as to accommo- date to the existing bounds of the land of Judea, a text where no allusion to these bounds occurs, and dulness enough to leave unaltered passages which prophetically and directly pointed out these bounds, in a manner contrary to what Dr Geddes supposes to have been their extent in the compiler's time. Let us, however, consider on what grounds this charge of inconsistency against the Hebrew text, as it now stands, is founded. Gen. XV. 18 to 21, relates, " In that same day the Lord made a co- " venant with Abram, saying. Unto thy seed have I given this land, " from the river of Egypt, unto the great river, the river Euphrates : '* the Kenites, and the Kennezzites, and the Cadmonites, and the Hit- " tites, and the Perrizzites, and the Rephaims, and the Amorites, and " the Canaanites, and the Gergashites, and the Jebusites." Here God promises to the Jews a great extent of country, from the Nile to the Euphrates, inhabited by ten distinct nations or rather tribes, of whom one was distinguished by the name of Canaanites, who therefore in- habited only a part* of this extended country. Now Genesis, x. IS — 19, states that " Canaan begat Sidon his first-born, and Heth, and " the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Gergashite, and the Hivite, " and the Arkite, and the Senite, and the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, " and the Hamathite ; and afterward were the famihes of the Ca- " naanites spread abroad. And the border of the Canaanites was from " Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar unto Gaza ; as thou goest unto So- " dom and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lashah." This country is certainly only a pai't of that included in the subse- quent promise to Abraham. But is it not obvious that there are two natural and credible hypotheses, on which this apparent difference can be reconciled ; one that of the numerous descendants of Canaan, some one tribe were particularly distinguished by the name of Canaanites: and that when the text says, " and afterwards were the families of the Canaanites enlarged," it means to mark out the peculiar extension of this tribe, and describes in the 1 9th verse the borders of their ter- ritory. This is not an imaginary hypothesis, because it appears from Gen. XV. 21. and Exod. xxiii. 28, that in the time of Abram and also of Moses, one peculiar tribe or nation descended from Canaan were called Canaanites, while others also descended from hira had other * The learned Bocliart, Phaleg, Lib. IV. cap. xxxvi. remarks that " the Canaanites were those '' who inhabited partly on the sea and partly on the banks of Jordan ; deriving their name eithe" " from their being merchants, which the word in Hebrew imports, or because they held the chief " place for some time amongst the descendants of Canaan." Vide p. 343. Bochart remarks that " of the eleven families of the Canaanites enumerated. Gen. x. 15, six were not invOiVed in the " anathema or condemnation which the Jews were authorized to execute, the Sidonii, Arknei, " Sin.nei, Avadii, Samarai, Hamathaei ; a new proof, if any Avere wauling, that it was their own *♦ national guilt, not merely their descent from a guilty ancestor, which drew down on the cor\.i '• domned nations the judgments of find." 456 DR GEDDES*S OPINIONS ON THK L^^PP- names. Admitting this, is there any inconsistency between the passage which states, Gen. x. 19, that this single tribe occupied a «ma// coun- try, and Gen. xv. 18 to 21, which states, that this tribe united with nine others, occupied a much larger space ? But if this solution be not admitted, and it be maintained that Gen. x. 19, describes the en- tire country occupied by all the descendants of Canaan ; is there yet any inconsistency in supposing that this is only the country occupied by them soon after their first division into distinct tribes, or as the text expresses, " after the famihes spread abroad;" but that in three hundred years after, when the promise was made to Abraham, the same nations occupied a much greater extent of country, and four hundred years after Abraham, in the time of Moses, a stUl greater ? which is then (as Dr Geddes observes) more particularly marked out, for this plain reason, that then it became more necessary to point out its precise bounds, that the Jews might know how much they were authorized to take possession of. Such then is the foundation on which this critic charges the sacred text with inconsistency, and its compiler with fraud. I feel no inclination to give any man injurious language; but the friends of this learned Doctor must excuse me, if I do not in this instance give him credit for that caution, judgment and candour, which such a discussion requires ; and if, taught by this single example, I feel indisposed to adopt his conclusions, where he has not stated the reasons by which they are maintained. But Doctor Geddes insists strongly on the text. Gen. xxxv. 21. " Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar." (Vide the texts considered before No. IX.) He founds his objection not so much on the identity of this tower with that over the gate of Jerusalem, as on the use of the word beyond. He observes, " whether " this tower were not far from Bethlehem, or near to the sheep-gate " of Jerusalem, if Moses had written this, he would not, he could " not have expressed himself in this manner ; in describing a journey '* from Bethel to Jerusalem, he could not with propriety say of any " intermediate place, that Jacob had come beyond it, when such an " event happened ; whether he be supposed to have written his history " in Egypt or in his way to Canaan." As this objection did not occur to any preceding writer, let us consider it. The expression translated beyond is ns'^HD, compounded of the word ni^7n, which by itself signifies trans, ultra, beyond, further on, or as Leigh (vide his Critica Sacra) expresses it, " loci et temporis distantiam et remotionem signi- •'/ca^ andtheprsefix D, which signifies a, ab, from. The compound IS translated by Montanus, ab ultra, from beyond, i. e. he stretched his tent from beyond the tower of Edar, or from a distance beyond the tower of Edar to that tower, marking an approximation to the place of the writer, as a person journeying from Bethel to Jerusalem or Beth- lehem, must have approximated to a writer coming from Egypt to- wards the land of Canaan. Compare Gen. xix. 9, where the words TmbWW^f are employed to signify removal to a greater distance; accede ultra, says Montanus ; stand back, says our translation ; the pr?efix D, marks a removal in the contrary direction. Now if this remark be iust, what becomes of Dr Gedde's's criticism } I do not question his Sect. I.j AUTHENTICITY OF THE PE.NTATEUCH. 4.>7 skill in the Hebrew ; but I do discover a most unwarrantable negli- gence and temerity, combined with a most eager zeal to overturn the genuineness of the Pentateuch. "But indeed (he concludes) every " thing convinces me that the Pentateuch was composed at Jerusalem, " or at least in Palestine." Yes, truly, every thing convinces him of it, even what ought to have convinced him of the contrary. But as I am compelled to expose what appear to me Dr Geddes's errors on this important subject, so I feel much more gratified at ac- knowledging his fairness where he has reasoned fairly. On Gen. xxxvi. 31 . considered above (vide No. X.) Dr Geddes remarks, " this and the " twelve following verses were by Spinoza urged, as one clear proof " that the Pentateuch could not be written by Moses ; if he had only " said that this part of the Pentateuch could not have been written " by Moses, he would have said no more than what any discerning " reader must in my conception acknowledge. Nothing to me can " be plainer than that all this was written after there were kings, or " at least a king in Israel." True. And are we then to understand Dr Geddes's strong assertions, that "the Pentateuch in \ts present for>n " was not written by Moses," &c. &c. to mean only this, that though the substance of it consists of the Journals of Moses, yet there were parts of it added in Palestine, even after the reign of Solomon ? This assuredly is all he can prove ; how is it to be lamented that he was not cautious or candid enough to say no more. Then his criticism might have exerted itself freely, to distinguish the genuine text from the in- terpolations ; and the more accurately he distinguished them, the greater thanks would he have received fi-om the friends of religion and of truth, who are now compelled to regard him as an enemy, and view all hia proceedings with suspicion and distrust. 458 DE WETTE ON THE OLD TESTAMENT. [-^PP. An Article in the Appendix to the Eighth Vohime of the Critical Review fbr Sejytember, 1S06, in which Mr De Wette's Work on the Old Testament is brief y considered. An humble remonstrance to the Reviewers. In the Appendix to the eighth vohime of the Critical Review, Sep- tember, 1806, I find a work noticed on the Old Testament, by a Mr De Wette, teacher of philosophy at Jena ; which, as it appears, to maintain opinions very inconsistent with what seems to me the truth, and very injurious to the authority of the Pentateuch, I was anxious particularly to examine. I have not, however, been able to procure as yet either this work, or Vater's Commentary on the Pentateuch, which is represented as maintaining nearly the same opinions. And I think it is unfair and uncandid to combat an author, whose system is known only through the medium of a Revisw, in which it must necessarily be stated indistinctly and imperfectly, and possibly may be misunderstood and misinterpreted. I shall therefore advert to the article in which this work is noticed, only so far as relates to some positions immediately connected with my subject, and which are distinctly stated as supported by Mr De Wette. The first is, that the book of Deuteronomy ap- pears to have been the work of a very different writer from him or them, who wrote the second, third and fourth books ascribed to Moses. It is said, "this constitutes a whole, and breathes a spirit which in a " very remarkable manner distinguishes it from other books. - And " we are afterwards told, of a bold dissertation of De Wette, in which " the book of Deuteronomy is proved to be difi'erent from the preceding " books of the Pentateuch, and the work of a later writer, by the " deviations in the phraseology of Deuteronomy from that of the pre- " ceding books." On this point Mr De Wette and I are fairly at issue. That the book of Deuteronomy constitutes a whole, and that it is composed in a different manner, and with a different view from the three preceding books, I have stated. The three preceding books are narratives and journals formed at the time the events took place, or laws and regulations, recorded as they were gradually and occasion- ally promulgated, either by the public and miraculous voice from the glory of God, or through the medium of the inspired legislator ; while the book of Deuteronomy is a recapitulation of those events delivered near forty years after the principal facts had taken place, in a public address to the Jewish nation, designed to impress the Divine authority of the Mosaic law on their minds, and to inculcate the necessity of perpetual obedience to the divine commands. But while this difference of object must have produced a difference of style and manner, I have endeavoured to prove that the book of Deuteronomy, and the tlirec X>receding, must have been equally the production of Moses him elf. Sect. I.] BRIEFLY CONSIDERED. 469 not from phraseology* alone, (for as to the variations in the phraseology of a language spoken above 3,300 years ago, by a nation of whose compositions so few have reached us, I conceive they cannot be clearly ascertained so as to form any very clearly conclusive ground of argu- ment,) but from the internal structure of the works ; from the nature of the facts they dwell on, the circumstances they select, the feelings they display ; in a word, from the difference as well as the coinci- dences observable between them, which appear to me to be exactly such as nature and truth must have ])roduced, had all these works really been written by the Jewish lawgiver himself ; and which exhibit a harmony so exact, so natural, and evidently undesigned, that it can- not be accounted for on any other hypothesis. It affords me some gra- tification to find that this topic of argument appears to repel by anti- cipation the objections of Mons. De Wette on this part of the subject, and in this mstance vindicate the authority of Scripture : I refer my readers to the preceding work. Part I. Lect. III. and IV. Another assertion imputed to this author, relates to the tribe of Levi : — " Moses (says he) may have introduced a priesthood ; but " who can define what portion of the laws relating to it was his pro- " duction ? If the tribe of Levi had been distinguished in the times " of Moses in the sense and in the manner in which it is represented " in the Pentateuch, and had been sanctioned as a cast of priests, " a hierarchy would have directed every thing ; which history does not " shew." To this I answer, that the constitution of the tribe of Levi must to a certainty have been fixed before, or at the original settlement of the Jews in Canaan, because we cannot otherwise account for one entire tribe being excluded from the possession of landed property, living, not in one body, as each of the remaining tribes did, but in cities dispersed through the entire land of Canaan, even on both sides of the river Jordan, and possessing amongst these cities all those which were ap- propriated as cities of refuge to fugitives in consequence of homicide. We cannot, I affirm, account for this, but on the supposition that the tribe of Levi had been set apart before the settlement of the Jews in Canaan, to be supported by tithes and offerings instead of land, and that they had consented to the arrangement. Here then is a full proof that the entire system concerning the tribe of Levi, their distribution, the tithes and offerings by which they were to be maintained, must have been promulgated and admitted before the settlement of the Jews in Canaan ; it follows therefore that every part of the Law of Moses respecting these points, was coeval with Moses himself. Can we, then, doubt whether it was written and published by Moses ? What inferior authority would have been competent to establish so singular an ar- rangement, unfavourable to the temporal interests of the Levites, whom * I would not be understood to say that the phraseolog-y of the Pentateuch affords no presump- tive proof of its authenticity ; much loss do I in any deforce admit that it supplies any presumption against its genuineness— but purely that this ground of argument is not so clear or convincing as that derived from the general structure of the history, and the prevailing sentiments and feelings pervading it, and the harmony and connexion of the various parts of the nairative. In proof that the phraseology of the Pentateuch supplies a strong presumption in favour of its genuineness, I beg leave to refer to the learned Mr Marsh's tract on the Autlientirity of the Five Books of Moses, pp. 6, 6, 7, and 13. 1 have briefly adduced his chief argumeutb in Part I I.ect I. 460 IJE WETTE ON THE OLD TESTAMENT. f/Ap]>« it excluded from landed property, and to those of the remaining tribes whom it loaded with the payment of tithes and offerings ? Observe now the inferences which clearly follow from this fact. If the arrangements concerning the distinction, the distribution, and support of tlie tribe of Levi, were necessarily coeval with Moses himself, can we believe that the purposes for which they were so distinguished, distri- buted, and supported, v/ere not thought of until long after ? Can we believe that the Levites were set apart from the rest of the nation by Moses, and that no business was provided for them to attend to, until some ages after ? — that, in short, the Levites existed from the begin- ning, but that the Leviticallaw was, as Mons. de Wette is represented to have stated it, " the invention and badge of later priests." This is incredible ; we cannot but see that both are inseparable parts of one system, the entire of which must have been formed and established by the same authority, and at the same period ; and as the arrangements as to the distinction, the distribution, and support of the Levites, must have been coeval with Moses, so must that Levitical law of ceremo- nials, sacrifices, and religious duties, for attending to which the Levites were set apart. But Mr De Wette asserts, the Levites could not have existed as a separate cast of priests, " otherwise a hierarchy would have been esta- " blished, which would have directed every thing ; which the history " does not shew." — Assuredly this is a mistake : wonderful indeed would it have been, if the Levites, possessing no landed property, and no political rank, dispersed through the country, and dependent for their very existence on the degree of reverence and obedience paid to the Mosaic law, by a people prone to neglect and disobey it, though they never totally rejected it ; wonderful it would have been, if such a hierarchy had " directed every thing." But the author was doubtless thinking of Rome, where at one period the Emperors were Pontiffs, and at another the Popes controlled Emperors. Indeed to some, the very sound of the word hierarchy carries with it the idea of boundless weahh, and resistless influence; but the Jewish Levite, often poor, de- pendent, and wandering, did not and could not possess any such wealth or influence. Mr De Wette is further represented as asserting, that "it is asto- " nishing and incredible in itself, that Moses should have published " ceremonial rites so accurately defined and so artificially contrived. " The feasts appear to have been the work of time and of successive " contrivances, rather than of a deliberate legal institution : amid the " deserts of Arabia, surrounded by dangers, inquietude and want, " Moses had no time to think of feasts." — What! in forty years, during which the people were miraculously sustained with manna, and during above thirty years of which the Jews never saw the face of an enemy, and were confined within a space they might have traversed in three months — was it impossible to contrive and write down regulations for observing three annual feasts, and conducting the daily worship and offerings of the sanctuary ? But, says this author (according to these reviewers) " Moses must have instituted the passover and the feast of " tabernacles in the midst of the events which occasioned them, and ' even before the events, as would appear from Exod. xii. 3. but with Sect, I.] BRIEFLY CONSIDERED^ 461 " which verse 39 is at variance, for in verse 39 they appear to be taken " by surprise, while according to verse 3 they must have been prepared. " The whole relation proves its^M untrue by its ambiguity and equivo- " cation.'' This is strong language, whether used by the German phi- losopher or the English critic. Strange, that the inventor of this story could not avoid so clumsy an equivocation within twenty lines. But let us reconsider it : in Exodus, xii. 3, the people get notice to prepare the passover, " a lamb for each family," to be eaten with unleavened bread at a single meal, and " to be eaten that night in haste ; it is the " Lord's passover." We are then told that at midnight all the first- born of the Egyptians were slain, " and there was a great cry through- " out all the land of Egypt ; and Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron " by night, and said. Rise up, and get you forth from among my peo- " pie : and the Egyptians were urgent that they might send them out " of the land in haste, for they said. We be all dead men. And the " people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading- " troughs being bound in their clothes upon their shoulders." And now comes verse 39, which states, " and the people baked unleavened " cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt ; and " could not tarry ; neither had they prepared for themselves any victuals." Here says our critic, is a direct contradiction ; for they had notice to prepare the passover the veiy night before. True, but they had also been commanded to eat it as soon as it was prepared, and leave nothing of it until the morning ; this therefore did not supply victuals for their journey. " But they had notice of their departure, and ought to " have been prepared with victuals." The narrative does not say they had been told they should depart that night ; Providence seems to have concealed this, that the sudden effect of the divine interposition should be more powerful and impressive. But if they had received twelve or twenty-four hours, or even four days, (the utmost possible length of notice the history will allow,) notice of their departure, this was rather too short a time for 600,000 men, with a suitable proportion of women and children, and a mixed multitude besides, to collect into one body, and prepare for quitting for ever the place of their residence for 400 years with flocks and herds, and much cattle. They might have been satisfied with carrying their bread away, without waiting to prepare it with all the nicety of confectioners. They had been commanded, in the beginning of the chapter, to eat the passover with unleavened bread; and in the end of it we are told, that they had no dough, except unleavened. And is this a contradiction ? Or thus ; a whole nation had received notice to quit their country for ever within twenty- four hours or even four days ; and yet they are represented as going away in a hurry and unprepared — here is another contradiction ; and thus the truth of a fact is overturned, which for 3,300 years has been believed and annually commemorated by a whole nation, from the very period it took place, and the very beginning of their year changed to preserve a perpetual record of it. Really all this would be very ridi- culous, if the subject did not so deeply concern the best interests of mankind, and exhibit the inventors of such arguments and their re- tailers, somewhat in the character of the madman, who, as Solomop 462 HUMBLE REMONSTIlAxVCE [-^PP* represents, " casteth firebrands, arrows, and death ; so is the man who " deceiveth his neighbour, and saith. Am not I in sport ?"* I will at present conclude my remarks on this article, by advising the admirers of such theological critics as Mr De Wette, to read over Leslie's Short Method with the Deists, in the original work. The reasoning of this old Englishman is certainly not like that of the modern German school of Eichorn, Vaters, and De Wette. But I think these reasoners might read it with some improvement. May I now be permitted, with all that humility which befits an author addressing the judges who are to decide his fate, to say a word or two to the Critical Reviewers ; and that is, to entreat them not to appear quite so sure that every objection advanced against the truth of Scripture history, even of the Old Testament, is unanswerable, until the public, as well as themselves, have had an opportunity of considering it. They tell us indeed, that " in the remarks they have " given, they have not been declaring their oicn opinions, but those of " the author of the work, or of a German critic by whom it has been "highly commended;" — "they merely propose the subject for calm " investigation ;" — " they only want to know of Revelation whetheu " IT BE TRUE," (having I presume, formed no clear decision as yet on that subject ;) " and if it be true, it is of infinite moment, and every " thing good and fair and lovely must follow the firm, the rational and " unprejudiced conviction of the truth." They do, however, commu- nicate to us some of their own, which I humbly hope they may recon- sider ; " Here are parts of the old Jewish fabric which appear to us," say they, " as they evidently did to Paul, to have nothing whatever to " do with the pure and polished structure of the Christian church ; " they are a sort of clumsy and superfluous out-buildings, which as soon " as they are demolished will let more of the solidity and beauty of " the Christian edifice appear." Now I would seriously, and in per- fect good faith, beg of these gentlemen to consider again, whether it is quite so certain that St Paul thought thus of the connexion of Ju- daism with Christianity. He undoubtedly did teach that the ceremo- nial part of the Jewish Law was superseded by the Gospel ; but assu- redly he every where represents Judaism as the original foundation, the heaven-appointed introduction, the essential preparative for the Gospel * Proverbs, xxvi. 18, 19.— Auother species of argument which appears to be imputed to Mr De Wette is, that if a practice prevailed among the Jews, sucli for inst.ince as that of " offering '• on heights," and not going to the "sanctuary where God choose to place his name," the law aj^ainst this practice whicli now stands in the Mosaic code could nut then have existed there, and therefore so far that code is of modern origin. Now this is pretty much such an .argument as if a Cl)inese one thousand years hence, reading of the frequent duels which are allowed in Chris- tian countries, should infer that the command, " Thou slialt do no murder," did not then exist in the Decalogue, but that it was introduced in consequence of that practice. But I am not suro this mode of reasoning was used. 1 only note it by way of precaution : it may easily bo paral- leled in the ingenious reasonings of minute pliilosophera. Sect. I.] TO THE CRITICAL REVIEWERS. 463 of Christ. " To the Jews," he declares, " were committed the oracles " of God."* " The law" he pronounces " holy ; and the command- " ment holy, and just, and good."t "To the Israelites," he declares, " pertain the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giv- " ing of the law, and the service of God, and the promises ; whose are " the fathers, and of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came, who " is over all, God hlessed for ever."t But these critics dismiss the ceremonial part of the scheme, " as a mere fugitive contrivance, which, "if it were not the work of human artifice, it was at all events little " more than what human artifice might be expected to produce." St Paul, on the contrary, thought that " Moses was admonished of God, " when he was about to make the tabernacle ; for see, saith he, that " thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the " Mount. "§ These critics conceive the moral part of the law was intrusted to the care of the prophets ; and they exemplify the estima- tion in which they hold what is generally deemed prophecy, by telling us " the prophets prepared for the coming of Christ, not, as is vulgarly " supposed, by the delivery of ambiguous oracles or equivocal predic- " tions, but by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of " the just ; by proclaiming mercy to be better than sacrifice ; and by " showing the utter nullity of all ceremonial observances, without the " practice of humanity, of justice, and of truth." Now I humbly pre- sume that it has been shown || these principles were taught in the Mo- saic law, though they were certainly inculcated with additional force by the prophets. But when these critics thus undervalue the Jewish Lawgiver and his institutions, I fear they forget the declarations of One, whose authority they still acknowledge — even the Son of God — who refers the Jews to Moses as bearing witness to himself; "Had " ye believed Moses, ye would have beheved me, for he wrote of Notwithstanding, however, the flippancy with which these critics have decided and declaimed against the Jewish Law, they seem to have felt that they had plunged a little beyond their depth, and talked contemptuously of a system which they did not understand ; and I give them much credit for the candour with which they state their own surprise at this discovery of the inconsistency of many undeniable facts, with their crude and hasty decisions : " What strikes us with wonder," say they, " in the history of the Jews, and what may weU impress " general astonishment, is, that even in the rudest ages, when the man- " ners of the people were barbarous and uncivilized, and when all the " surrounding countries were immersed in the lowest depths of idolatrous " superstitions, we do behold among the Jews, and for a succession, " not of years, but of centuries, a portion of intellect, irradiated no " doubt by the Supreme Intelligence, continually at work to prove " the being, and to preserve the awful consciousness of one only first " CAUSK : this seems to prove, that the Jews were to be instrumental in " promoting some beneficent plans of the moral Governor of the world, •' in a way which no other people were." This is certainly a candid * Rom. iii. 2. t Ibid. vii. 12. t Rom. ix. 4, 5. §Heb. viii. 5. 1 1 Vide supra, Part II. Lect. II. 5 John v. 64. 464 HUMBLE REMONSTllANCE TO REVIEWEKS. [App. admission of very important truth ; and I again most seriously request these critics to consider, how utterly inconsistent this fact is with the hypothesis of Mr De Wette, which they also appear to adopt, that tne books ascribed to Moses, which contain that system of laws and institu- tions by which the Jews were rendered instrumental in preserving the knowledge of the one true God, " are tracts between which there is " neither harmony nor connexion ; that the narration of facts in these *' books proves itself (in many most important points) untrue, by its " ambiguity and equivocation. That there are parts of the old Jewish " fabric, which have nothing to do with Christianity, but are clumsy " and superfluous out-buildings , that the ceremonial part of the law is " a fugitive contrivance, the work of human artifice, or little more — *' the prophecies ambiguous oracles or equivocal predictions," &c. &c. It were indeed most wonderful and astonishing if these were the means which Providence employed to preserve the knowledge of the one trub God, in the midst of an idolatrous world. Our critics will, I trust, re- consider these points, and hereafter adapt their opinions with somewhat more care to the truth of history, the analogy of nature, and the har- mony of the divine dispensations. At all events the reasoning and serious part of their readers will learn what degree of credit they ought to attach to such opinions, and such criticism, on the most important subject that can occupy the human mind — the examination of the divine word, the discovery of the divine will, and the development of the divine dispensations ; and I submit the admonition of the learned, candid, and pious Doddridge to the consideration of the Critical Reviewers ; it occurs in his 143d Lecture, Sect. 18. "We may certainly infer, that " for any to pretend to exalt the character of Christ and of Paul as " divine teachers, while at the same time they pour contempt upon the " Jewish institutions as a foolish and impious forgery, is a notorious " contradiction and absurdity ; and common sense will teach us, that " soch authors, whatever iney may proiess, do equally intend tlie wi6- •' rerrion of the Old Testament and the New," SECTION II. TtemarJcs on some circumstances which have occasioned doubts as to the reality of some of the Mosaic miracles — General remarks on the improhahility of objections wfiich affect only some one miracle, not the entire series — Miracles in which the magicians ap- peared to imitate Moses ; Mr Farmer's opinion on this subject, and the arguments by which he supports it — The passage of the Red Sea attempted to be accounted for with- out a miracle, from a passage of Josephus — true import of this passage — supplies no evidence against the miracle — // is represented by Moses, and was believed by the Jewt to be clearly miraculous — inference from thence — improbability of the Jews being able to escape by an extraordinary ebb of the fea — Dr Geddes's observations on this subject —The pillar of cloud and fire which accompanied the Israelites — attempted to be ac- counted for without a miracle — account entirely inconsistent tviih the circumstances of the history, and with probability — Objection, from Moses's application to Hobab — in- conclusive — Miraculous preservation of the raiment of the Jews in the wilderness — objected to — why necessary — Review of the mode in which Dr Geddes accounts for the whole series of Mosaic miracles, without admitting any supernatural interposition — his account unphilosophic and incredible. In the preceding Work, Part I. Lect. VI. I have adduced such argu- ments as appear to me to prove satisfactorily, that the whole series of the Mosaic miracles is established by the clearest evidence ; and if these arguments are conclusive, it may seem unnecessary to enter into any refutation of such objections as are raised, not against the reality of the entire series of miraculous interpositions, or the general truth of the history of the Mosaic miracles, but against some minute circum- stances of them, some individual instances of supernatural interference ; for, admitting any miraculous power to have clearly manifested itself on the occasion, and for the purposes recorded by Moses, the exercise of that power on the particular instances alluded to, becomes perfectly credible. In this case, the remark which Bishop Butler makes as to our Savour, is strictly applicable to Moses. " Supposing it," says he, " acknowledged, that our Saviour, (or that the Jewish Lawgiver) spent " some years in a course of working miracles : there is no more pre- " sumption, worth mentioning, against his having exerted this miracu- " lous power, in a certain degree greater, than in a certain degree less ; " in one or two more instances, than in one or two fewer ; in this, than " in another manner."* Nay, I may add, that the supposition of some particular facts, recorded as miraculous, being frauds and delu- sions, becomes improbable, in proportion as it is improbable either that fraud should be practised to effect some parts of a system, by a messenger empowered to establish the remaining parts of it by miracles ; or that delusion and error should be permitted to blend with and de- ♦ Anal'^-y, Part !I. Cli. II. p. 242. 2g 46(i HEMARKS OS DOUP.TS AS TO HIE L-^}V> base (even at its first introduction) a scheme evidently supported by a divine interference. These considerations might, I conceive, justify me in omitting to notice the objections and doubts raised as to some particulars of the Mosaic miracles ; but as this might seem to cut the knot, rather than to untie it, I will proceed to consider such as appear to be of any se- rious importance. They regard, as far as I can find, the miracles of Moses which the Egyptian magicians appeared to imitate — the passage of the Red Sea — the pillar of the cloud and fire that accompanied and directed the Israelites in their journey ings — and, the preservation of the raiment of the Jews during their abode in the wilderness, re- corded Deut. viii. 4. On each of them I shall beg leave to oiTer a few remarks. The circumstance of the magicians of Egypt having appeared to imitate some of the miracles performed by Moses — has by some writers been considered such as to discredit the entire history of the Mosaic miracles ; Dr Geddes, amongst others, observes, " We are now come " to the famous plagues of Egypt, the prelude to which, in my opinion, " warns us to beware of implicit credulity, and greatly weakens the " literal credibihty of all that follows."* Let us consider how justly. On this subject, after the best consideration I can give it, I cannot avoid adopting the opinion of the able and learned Mr Hugh Farmer, in his Treatise on Miracles. f I do not believe that any real miracle, or such an exertion of power or foresight, more than human, and pro- ducing effects difterent from or contrary to the established course of nature, was ever performed, but by the direct iiiterposition of God, or of such beings as act bv his immediate power and commission. And lam also with him persuaded, that the magicians did not perform works really supernatural, nor were assisted by any superior invincible being; but were merely impostors attempting to imitate the real miracles of Moses by secret sleights or jugglings ; which to a certain degree, and in a small extent, they succeeded in doing, so as to deceive the spec- tators, until at length, unable any longer to imitate the efiects of di- vine power, and feeling in their own persons its chastisement, they were compelled to confess, "this is the finger of God ;" and thus to give glory to God before Pharaoh and his servants, and to evince the futulity of their own boasted magical arts, and the impotence of those base idols, and those invisible spirits or demons, on whose aid they relied, more clearly and convincingly than if they had never entered into the competition, or had not been permitted to succeed to such a degree, as proved that they had exercised freely and fully whatever arts or power they possessed, and had carried them to their greatest extent ; but yet were baffled and overcome by the resistless power of Jehovah, their im- posture detected, and their impious arrogance chastised. So that we can thus assign a probable account for the Deity's having selected such a kind of miracle, in the first instance, as might encourage the magicians *o attempt its imitation, and for his permitting them to succeed in that, ptnI even In a second or third attempt, because thus the Divine Power ♦ 'ritiral Hon Hrks on Ex<.d. v:i. r>. p. 131. + Viilp Fiirnicr s Diast'rtHtion on Mirndes. cli. iv. sei-t. I, p. 409. Sect. II.] KEALITY OF THE MOSAIC MIRACLES. 467 was ultimately more clearly manifested, and the imposture of magic, as well as the absurdity of idolatry more decidedly exposed. Such appears to me to be the true account of this transaction ; the distinct parts of which the able writer to whom I have referred has, as I conceive, fully estabhshed. I wiU exhibit his most important observa- tions in as brief a form as is consistent with being intelligible, referring my more curious readers to the work itself, the perusal of which will, I think, amply recompense them, by the learning and judgment it displays, and the truths which it developes. I think it unnecessary to detail the various hypotheses employed by different commentators and divines to explain this part of Scripture history, as they have been fairly weighed, and, as I think, confuted by this able writer, whose opinion I adopt.* "To this account," says Farmer,! "it niay be objected, that Moses " describes the works of the magicians in the very same language as he " does his own, and therefore that there is reason to conclude that they " were equally miraculous. To which I answer that if this were so, " yet nothing is more common than to speak of professed jugglers,:!; as " doing what they pretend and appear to do, and that this language " never misleads, when we reflect what sort of men are spoken of, " namely, mere imposers on the sight ; why might not Moses then use " the common popular language when speaking of the magicians, with- " out any danger of misconstruction, inasmuch as the subject he was " treating, all the circumstances of the narrative, and the opinion which " the historian was known to entertain of the inefficacy and imposture " of magic, did all concur to prevent mistakes .'' " But, secondly, Moses did not affirm that there was a. perfect con- " formity between his works and those of the magicians ; he does not " close the respective relations of his own particular miracles, with " saying the magicians did that thing, \\ or, according to what he did so " did they,^ a form of speech used on this occasion no less than three *' times in one chapter, to describe the exact correspondence between " the orders of God, and the behaviour of his servants ; but makes " choice of a word of great latitude, such as does not necessarily ex- " press anything more than a general similitude, such as is consistent " with a difference in many important respects, they did so or in like " manner as he had. — That a perfect imitation could not be designed " by this word, is evident from its being applied to cases in which such " an imitation was absolutely impracticable ; for, when Aaron had con- " verted all the waters of Egypt into blood, we are told the magicians " did so,% that is, something in like sort. Nor can it be supposed " that they covered the land of Egypt with frogs, this had been done " already ; they could only appear to bring them over some small * Farmer, from page 409 to 449. f Ibid, page 449. t "When Mo?»3 describes what the magicians pretended, and seemed to perform, by saying " they cast down eveiy man his rod, and they became serpents, and they brouglit up froprs upon the " landof Egypt ; he only uses the same lang^uag-e as Apuleius (Metam. I. I.) where describing a " person who merely played juggling tricks— Circu'atorum aspexi eqiiestrera spatham prseaeutam " Mucrone infe^tn devl>^as^e ac mox eundem venatoriam lanceam— in iiiia viscera condidisse." II " Vide in Exod. ix. 5. fi." } '• lb. vii. 6, 10, SO." % " Vide in Exod. vii. 20 and i2." 468 REMARKS ON DOUBTS AS TO THE [^IP* " space cleared for the purpose. But what is more decisive, the word " imports nothing more than their attempting some imitation of Moses, " for it is used when they failed in their attempt : They did so to " Jring forth lice, but they could not.* ' Thirdly. But further, so far is Moses from ascribing the tricks of " the magicians to the invocation and power of demons, or to any su- " perior beings whatever, that he does most expressly refer all they did " or attempted in imitation of himself, to mere human artifice and im- '■' posture. The original words, which are translatedf enchantments are " entirely different from that rendered enchantments in other passages " of Scripture, and do not carry in them any sort of reference to sorcery " or magic, or the interposition of any spiritual agents ; they import " deception and concealment, and ought to have been rendered secret " sleights or jugg lings, and are thus translated even by those who adopt " the common hypothesis with regard to the magicians. § These secret " sleights and jugglings are expressly referred to the magicians, not " to the devil, who is not so much as mentioned in the history. — Should " we therefore be asked, || How it came to pass, in case the works of "the magicians were performed by sleight of hand, that Moses has " given no hint thereof? we answer, He has not contented himself with " a hint of this kind, but, at the same time that he ascribes his own " miracles to Jehovah, he has in the most direct terms resolved every " thing done in imitation of them entirely to the fraudulent contriv- " ances of his opposers, to legerdemain or sleight of hand, in contradic- " tion from magical incantations. Moses, therefore could not design to '■ represent their works as real miracles, at the very time he was " branding them as impostures. " Fourthly. It remains only to show, that the works performed by ' the magicians did not exceed the cause to which they are ascribed ; ' or in other words, the magicians proceeded no farther in imitation " of Moses, than human artifice might enable them to go (while the ' miracles of Moses were not liable to the same impeachment, and ' bore upon themselves the plainest signatures of that divine power * " Exod. viii. 18. Le Clerc observes, Nee raro Hebraei ad conatum notandum verbisutuntur quae ' rem effpctain significant, Gen. xxxvii. 21. Consult him likewise on Exod. vii. 18. i-h. 12, 48. p. " C6. 2." t " The original word used Exod. vii. II, is DT)fi\2,1^ belahatehem ; and that wliicli occurs ch. ' vii. 22. and ch. viii, 7, 18, is □n'luSa behitehem ; the former is probably derived from IflflS lahat, ' which signifies to burn, and the substantive a flame or shining sword- blade, and is applied to the " flarainjT sword which guarded the tree of life. Gen. iii. 24. Those who formerly used legerde- " main, dazzled and deceived the sight of spectators by the art of brandishing their swords, and "sometimes seemed to eat them and to thrust them into their bodies; and the e.\pr«ssioii seems ' to intimate, that the magicians appearing to turn their rods into serpents, was owing to their " eluding the eyes of the spectators by a dexterous management of their swords. In tlie preceding " instances they made use of some different contrivance, for the latter word, belatehem. coincs " from IAnS or IfllS to cover or hide (which some think the former word also does) and therefore " fitly expresses any secret artifices or methods of decepticm whereby false appearand ari» W- " posed upon the spectator." t^ " Bishop Kidder on Exod. vii. 11." II •• As we :iic by Dr MacknJKhl, in his Truth of the fio.'^pol History, p. 372." Sect. II.] REALITY OF THE MOSAIC MIRACLES. 469 " to which they are referred.) If this can be proved, the interposition " of the devil on this occasion will appear to be an hypothesis invented " without any kind of necessity, as it certainly is without any autho- " rity from the sacred text. " First, With regard to the first attempt of the magicians, the " turning rods into serjmits : It cannot be accounted extraordinary " that they should seem to succeed in it, when we consider that these " men were famous for the art of dazzhng and deceiving the sight; " and that serpents being first rendered tractable and harmless, as they " easily may, have had a thousand different tricks played with them to " the astonishment of the spectators.* Huetius tells us,t that amongst •' the Chinese there are jugglers who undertake to turn rods into ser- " pents ; though no doubt they only dexterously substitute the latter " in the room of the former. Now this is the very trick the magicians *' played : and as it appears by facts, that the thing in general is very " practicable, it is immaterial to account particularly how the thing " was done : since it is not always easy to explain in what manner a " common juggler imposes upon our sight. Should it be suggested, " that Moses might impose upon the sight of the spectators, as well as " the magicians ; I answer, that as he ascribes their performances to " legerdemain, and his own to God, so there might and must have " been a wide difference in their manner of acting ; the covered arts of " the magicians not being used by Moses, the same suspicion could " not rest on him that did on them. — What an ingenious writer asserts " is not true, that, according to the book of Exodus, the outward ap- " pearance on both sides was precisely the same. The book of Exodus " specifies a most important difference between the miracle of Aaron, " and the impostures of the magicians ; for it says, that Aaron cast " down his rod, before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it be- " came a serpent ; but with regard to the magicians, it uses very dif- " ferent language, for at the same time it says. They cast down every man " his rod, and they became serpents. It expressly declares that they " DID THIS BY THEIR ENCHANTMENTS OR COVERED ARTS ; and " what in the most effectual manner prevented any apprehension, that " the serpent of Aaron was (hke those of the magicians) the effect " only of a dexterous management, not a miraculous production, God " caused his rod to swallow up theirs, in which there was no room for " artifice, and which for this reason the magicians did not attempt to " imitate. This new miracle was not designed to establish the su- " periority of the God of Israel to the idols of Egypt ; nor was it ca- " pable of answering that end : but in the view here given of it, had * "Those who desire to see instances of this from m'Mloin authors, may consult Dr Sykps on " Miracles, pp. 166, 168. Many pretended to render serpents i.ai mless by charms, (pp. 58, 5, Bochart, " Hieroz, part post, 1,3, c. 6; Shaw's Travels, pref, p. 5. also, p. 429. and Supplement, p. 62.) though ■* more probably they destroy the teeth, through which they ejected their poison. Herod;)tus " mentions certain serpents whioli were quite harmless; Euterpe, c. 74. Antiquity attributes to " the Psylli, a people o' Al'riia, tiu* extraordinary vntue (it rendering themselves invulnerable by • serpents, as well as of curing those who were bit by them. See Dr Hasselquist's Voyages and ■' Travels cited in the Monthly Review for February, 1766, page 133." t ■' Ahietan Qmest. 1. ii. p. 155." 470 REMARKS ON DOUBTS AS TO THE [ App. " much wisdom, by vindicating the credit of the former miracle* " (which might possibly be more open to suspicion, than any of the " rest) as well as by affording new evidence of a divine interposition *' in favour of Moses. God considered this evidence as fullv decisive " of the point in question, between his messengers and the magicians : " for from this time he proceeded to the punishment of Pharaoh and " the Egyptians: which affords a new demonstration, drawn from the " justice of the Divine Being, of the falsehood of the common hypo- " thesis, according to the representation given of it by those who " maintain that the magicians were not plainly vanquished till they " were restrained from turning the dust into lice. Had this been the " case it would have been right in Pharaoh to suspend his judgment " till that time; nor would God have punished him by the two inter- " vening plagues, that of turning the waters of the Nile (to which " Egypt owed its fecundity) into blood, and covering the land with " frogs : punishments so severe as to imply the most criminal obstinacy " on the part of Pharaoh. " Second, With regard to the next attempt of the magicians to imi- " tate Muses, who had already turned all the running and standing " waters of Egypt into blood, there is no difficulty in accounting for " their success in the degree in which they succeeded. For it was " during the continuance of this judgment, when no water could be " procured, but by digging round about the river, that the magicians " attempted by some proper preparations to change the colour of the " small quantity that was brought them (probablv endeavouring to " persuade Pharaoh, that they could as easily have turned a larger " quantity into blood.) In a case of this nature imposture might, and, " as we learn from history, often did take place. It is related by Va- " lerius Maximus,t that the wine poured into the cup of Xerxes was " three times changed into blood. But such trifling feats as these could " not at all disparage the miracle of Moses; the vast extent of which " raised it above the suspicion of fraud, and stamped upon every heart, " that was not steeled against all conviction, the strongest impression " of its divinity. For he turned their streams, rivers, ponds, and the " water in all their receptacles, into blood. And the fish that was in " the river (Nile) died ; and the river stank. | " Third, Pharaoh not yielding to this evidence, God proceeded to " farther punishments, and covered the whole land of Egypt with " frogs. ^ Before these frogs were removed, the magicians undertook "to bring into some place cleared for the purpose a fresh supply; " which they might easily do, when there was such plenty every where " at hand. Here also the narrow compass of the work exposed it to " the .suspicion of being effected by human art ; to which the miracle ♦ " We Ifarn from liirice lunv little occasion tlipre was for Moses to detect the artifices of the " inaiicians, who did not so mucli as pretend to any peculiar divine assistance, and who sunk into " contempt of tlemselves. 2 Tim. iij. 9. The nature of the works of Moses, and the open unsus- •• lyicious manner of thi'ir performance, served sufficiently to disgr.ice the attempts of his rivals." t "I.ih. i. c. 6." J " Exod. vii 19—21." t " Exod. viii. fi— H. Nor indeed can it he imagined that after this or the former pla^iip lad " Icen removed, tt.il I'liiwaoli would order his magicians to renew either." Sect. II. ] REALITY OF THE MOSAIC MIRACLES. 471 " of Moses was not liable ; the infinite number of frogs which filled " the whole kingdom of Egypt (so that their ovens, beds, and tables " swarmed with them) being a proof of their immediate miraculous " production. Besides, the magicians were unable to procure their " removal which was accomplished by Moses, at the submissive appli- " cation of Pharaoh and at the very time that Pharaoh himself chose, " the more clearly to convince him that God was the author of these " miraculous judgments, and that their infliction or * removal did not " depend upon the influence of the elements or stars, at set times or •' in critical junctures. " Fourth, The history of the last attempt of the magicians confirms " the account here given of all their former ones. Moses turned all " the dust of the land into lice; and this plague, like the two pre- " ceding ones, being inflicted at the word of Moses, and extended " over the whole kingdom of Egypt, must necessarily have been owing " not to human art, but to a divine power. Nevertheless the motives " upon which the magicians at first engaged in the contest with Moses, " the shame of desisting, and some slight appearances of success in " their former attempts, prompted them still to carry on the imposture, " and to try with their enchantments (or secret art) to bring forth lice ; " but they could not. With all their skill in magic, and with all their " dexterity In deceiving the spectators, they could not even succeed so " far as they had done in former instances, by producing a specious " counterfeit of this work of Moses. Had they hitherto performed " real miracles by the assistance of the devil, how came they to desist " now ? It cannot be a greater miracle to produce lice, than to turn " rods into serpents, water into blood, and to create frogs. It has in- " deed been very often said, that the devil was now laid under a re- " straint : but hitherto no proof of this assertion has been produced. " The Scripture is silent, both as to the devil being now restrained " from interposing any farther in favour of magicians, and as to his " having afforded them his assistance on the former occasions. But if " we agree with Moses, in ascribing to the magicians nothing more " than the artifice and dexterity which belonged to their profession ; " we shall find that their want of success in their last attempt, was " owing to the different nature and circumstances of their enterprise. " In all the former instances the magicians knew beforehand what they " loere to undertake, and had time for preparation. They were not " sent for by Pharaoh, till after Moses had turned his rod into a ser- " pent : and previous notice had been publicly given of the two first " plagues. But the orders in relation to the third, ivere no sooner " issued than executed, without being previously imparted to Pharaoh. " So that in this last case they had no time for contriving any expe- " dient for imitating or impeaching the act oi Moses. And had they " been allowed time, how was it possible for them to make it appear •' that they produced those animals, by which they themselves and all " the country were already covered and surrounded? or what artifice " could escape detection, in relation to insects, whose minuteness '■ hinders them from being perceived till they are brought so near as to * ■' Cli. viii. 8. TTaH thpy been able to infliet this p)ague miiaculoutly tl.ev tniiibt have rernovi'd " it in tlie satne maiiiipr." 472 KK.MARKS ON IWIUTS AS TO THE [ApD. " be subject to tbe closest inspection ?* Now therefore the magicians " cho?e to say, this (last work of Moses) is the finger of God. " It has been generally thought that the magicians here acknowledge " that the God of Israel was stronger than the gods of Egypt, who " had hitherto assisted them, but were now restrained from doing it by " his superior power. But the text makes no mention of their allowing " the God of Israel to be superior to. the gods of Egypt, much less of " their admitting the former to be Jehovah and the only true God. Nor " do they refer to any supernatural restraint upon the Egyptian deities, " but to the last miracle of Moses, when they sav. This is the finger " of God; or, of a God; for tbe original word admits this sense, and " very probably was used in no other by the magicians, who beheved " in plurality of Gods. But, unable to turn the dust of the earth " into lice, (and even to seem to do it,) they allow that this surpassed " the science they professed, and argued the special miraculous inter- " position of some deity. There is no sort of evidence that this lan- " guage of the magicians proceeded from a desire uf doing justice to " the character and claims of the God of Israel, or that it was not " merely designed as the best apology they were able to make for their " own failure of success, and to prevent Pharaoh from reproaching " them with the want of skill in their profession. Certain it is, that " this declaration of the magicians had no good effect upon Pharaoh, " but seems rather to be mentioned as an occasion of his continued " hardness. Nay, the history plainly intimates, that the magicians " themselves afterwards confronted Moses, till, in |uinishment of their " obstinacy, they were smitten with ulcers. f I add that the sense " here assigned to their language, is perfectly agreeable to the account " before given of the state of the controversy between them and Moses : " for it implies, that the magicians had not so much as pretended to " any miraculous interposition of the gods in their favour, but relied " entirely upon the established rules of their art; and consequently " that Pharaoh's view in sending for them, was to enable himself to " determine, whether the works of Moses lay within the compass of it. " I cannot conclude this subject without observing, that the stre- " nuous but unsuccessful opposition to Moses added strength to his " cause; as it seemed to manifest the divinity of his miracles, by " clearing him from all suspicion of magic. This art was thought " equal to the most wonderful phenomena. In Egypt it was held in " the highest esteem, and carried to its utmost perfection. Pharaoh, " without doubt, on the present most important and interesting occa- " sion, engaged the assistance of the most able professors of it, who " from a regard to their own reputation and interest, would try every " possible method to invalidate the miracles of Moses. Nevertheless " their utmost efforts were baffled; and tbe vanity and futility of the " claims of magic were detected and exposed, agreeably to the censure " passed upon them by St Paul ; for, speaking of certain persons * " Thpio being lico upon man and upon beast, seems to be assigned as n reason of the raajjiciana ■ being' unable to counterfeit this miracle." t " The tmtgicinns rniM not stand before Muses because of the boil; for the boil was upon the nui- " isicians. Kxod. Ix. 11. Does not thia imply, that till this time the magicians had in some method " or other oiiiinscd or riis'pirai'cd Moses?" Sect. II.] REALITY OF THE MOSAIC MIRACLES. 478 " whose opposition to genuine Christianity was the sole effect of their " corrupt minds, without the least colour of reason, he compares them " to Jannes and Jambres,* who withstood Moses ; and did it, he must " mean, with as little pretence, or there could be no justice in the " comparison. He adds, their folly was manifest unto all men ;\ " and thus he taxes the conduct of the magicians with the most glaring " absurdity. He cannot therefore be supposed to admit, that they " imitated and equalled for a time the miracles of Moses, and then " desisted as soon as they found themselves unable to continue the con- " test to advantage (which would have been a sort of prudence ;) but " to assert, that they wickedly and absurdly attempted to place the " feats of art on a level with the undeniable operations of a divine " power; and so shamefully miscarrying in their undertaking, they ex- " posed themselves to the contempt of those who had once held them • in high veneration." The miraculous nature of the passage over the Red Sea has been questioned by sceptical writers, chiefly on two accounts, as far as I can discover ; one, because Josephus compares it with the passage of Alex- ander over the bay of Pamphylia, in his Persian expedition, and as this is allowed not to have been miraculous, it is contended the passage over the Red Sea was as httle so ; and another, that it is conceived Moses may have taken advantage of a strong ebb tide, aided by a correspon- dent wind, which may have left a large strand dry, long enough for the Israelites to pass, but which on the Egyptians attempting to pursue them, returned and destroyed them. And they labour to collect in- stances of such ebbs and refluxes of the sea in difli"erent parts of the world. I conceive both these objections rest on so slight a support, that a very little reflection will be suflficient to overturn them. As to the representation of Josephus, it is clear he believed that the deliverance of the Jews at the Red Sea was aided by Divine power. " The Egyptians (says he) were not aware that they went into a road " made for the Hebrews, and not for others; that this road was made " for the deliverance of those in danger, but not for those that were " earnest to make use of it for the others' destruction. As soon, there- ' fore, as the whole Egyptian army was within it, the sea flowed to " its own place, and came with a torrent raised by storms of wind, and " encompassed the Egyptians : showers of rain also came down from " the sky, and dreadful thunders, and hghtning with flashes of flre ; " X thunderbolts were also darted upon them; nor was there any thing * " Jannes and Jambres, mentioned by St Paul, 2 Tira. iii. 8. from the Chaldce Paraphrase on " Kxod. vii. 11. are supposed to have been the two chiefs of Pharaoh's magicians. — Nuraenus, the *' Pythagorean philosopher, (apud Euseb. Prep. Ev. I. ix. c.8.) says they were inferior to none in " magic skill, and for that reason chosen by common consent to oppose Musaeus, for so the Hebrews " called Moses. See Le Clerc on Exod. vii. 12, and Pliny's Hist. lib. xxx. c. 1." t "2 Tim. iii. 9." t That there was nothing miraculous in Alexander's passage, is evidentfrom the account which the accurate geographer Strabo gives of it. Geog. xiv. p.6G6. " Nowabout Pliaselis is that narrow " passage by the sea side through which Alexander led his army: there is a mountain called •' Climax, which adjoins to the sea of Pamphylia, leaving a narrow passage on the shore, which in " calm weather is bare so as to be passable by travellers, but when the sea overflows it is covered " to a great degree by the n aves. Now then the ascent by the mountains being round about a " steep, in still weather they make use of the road along the coast ; but Alexander fell into the 474 KEMARKS ON DOUJJTS AS TO THE [ Apn. '* whica was to be sent by God upon man, as indications of his wrath, " which did not happen at this time, for a dark and dismal night op- " pressed them ; and thus did all these men perish, so that there was " not one man left to be a messenger of this calamity to the rest of the " Egyptians." Assuredly then Jose])hus believed this event miraculous : writing however for the Heathens, he adduces the instance of Alexander's passage at the edge of the sea on the bav of Pamphylia, which by some was represented as supernatural (doubtless on as good grounds as those on which the hero was worshipped as a god.) " As for myself, " (says he) I have delivered every part of the history as I found it in " the sacred books ; nor let any one wonder at the strangeness of the " narration, if a way were discovered to those men of old time who " were free from the wickedness of modern ages, whether it happened " by the will of God, or whether it happened of its own accord, while " for the sake of those that accompanied Alexander king of Macedonia, " who yet lived comparatively but a little ^vhile ago, the Famphylian " sea retired and afforded them a passage through itself when they had " no other way to go, I mean when it was the will of God to destroy " the empire of the Persians ; and this is confessed to be true by all " those who have written the history of Alexander. But as to these " events, let every one determine as he pleases." It is quite clear from comparing this passage with that immediately preceding, that the former period speaks the real oj)inion of Josephus ; the latter is merely a mode of expression calculated to keep up the at- tention and conciliate the belief of his heathen readers, as if he had said, Do not immediately reject my history as fabulous and incredible, because it relates the miraculous passage of the Jews through the Red Sea; while you adnat without hesitation an event stated by your own historians as of a siiailar nature, in the history of Alexander ; in judg- ing of these matters you can exercise your liberty. I have derived my history from our sacred books, to them I refer you to decide on its credibility. Any supposition, of Josephus being a sceptic as to the truth of the Old Testament historv, is clearly contradictory to the entire drift and tenor of all his works. The learned and judicious Reland, as quoted by Whiston in his first preliminary dissertation, justly observes, that " Josephus uses the same manner of speaking (Book iii. ch. 10; after " he had said that it was falsely believed that Moses and the Israelites '' winter season, and committing- himself chiefly to fortune, he marched on before the waves re- " tired ; and so it happened that they were a whole day in journeying over it, and were under " water up to the navel."— Arrian also describes it in such a way as to prove it was not miraculous : " When Alexander (says he) removed from Phaselis, he sent some part of his army over the " mountains to Perffa, which road the 'J hracians showed him ; a didicult way it was, but short. " However, he himself conducted those that were with him by the sea shore; this road is impas- " sable at any other time, than when the north wind blows : but if the south wind prevail there is " ni) passini^ by the shore. Nr)w at this time after strong south winds a north wind blew, and " that nr)t without a divine Providence, as both he and they who were with him supposed, and " afforiied him a quick and easy passage." Tliis supposed interposition of Providence, therefore, forms the entire of the miracle.— Calisthenes, indeed, who accompanied Alexander, represente.! the Pamphylian Sea, not only as opening for him a passage, but that, by raising and elevating its waters, it did pay him homage as its king; .and surely it ought to have done no less, as he was not iiii'.v a k iu', ''111 •' ili'iiiin^iid. This Calisthenes was a true cnurticr. Sect. II.] REALITY OF THE MOSAIC MIRACLES. 475 " were expelled Egypt for leprosy, he adds, let every one consider this as " he pleases ; did he therefore intend to say that this was also uncertain, " it being no other than that impudent calumny which he himself " vehemently confutes and exposes at large in his first Book against " Apion, page 25 to 31." And Reland adds many other instances of his using this expression, where it is quite certain that he most firmly believed the fact to which he applies it. Thus utterly ill founded is the objection to the miracle, from the supposition of its having been confessed incredible by Josephus. But after all, this objection is in its very nature futile and inconclusive ; for, how can the truth of the Mosaic history, or the miraculous nature of any event which it records, be either materially confirmed or weakened by a writer who lived near two thousand years after the event, and who confessedly derived all his knowledge concerning it, from the very same sacred volume which still remains for our examination ? Most certainlv the reality and the miraculous nature of the fact must be de- cided by the credibility of the original narrative, and of the concurring testimonies which either oppose or confirm it, if any such can be found. To these, therefore, let us direct our attention. On this subject, it is in the first place an obvious remark, that the Sacred History itself represents this transaction as a clear and stupen- dous miracle, and declares that it was recognized as such in the hymn of thanksgiving composed at the very time by Moses, and from that period constantly preserved by the whole Jewish nation, and that every allusion to it in the subsequent parts of the Jewish history, the psalms or the prophets, presupposes and affirms its miraculous nature. " Fear ye not," (says Moses to the multitude, panic-struck at the sight of the Egyptian army) " stand still and see the salvation of the " Lord, which he will show you to-day ; for the Egyptians whom ye have " seen to-day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord " shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." "What language can declare more expressly the certain expectation of a miraculous in- terposition ? This interposition was manifested in three things : the first, in pro- tecting them from the attack of the Egyptians before their passage through the sea ; the second, in opening that passage ; and the third, in destroying the Egyptians. As to the first, the sacred historian gives this account : " And the angel of God which went before the camp of " Israel, removed and went behind them ; and the pillar of the cloud •' went from before their face, and stood behind them. And it came " between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of the Israelites ; " and it was a cloud of darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these ; so that the one came not near the other all the night."* Now it is scarcely credible any historian should invent such a circumstance as this, so unlikely to occur even to the most fertile imagination. It is still more incredible he should hope to persuade a whole nation of the truth of such a fiction, and utterly impossible that such a fact, if real, should not be miraculous. The historian proceeds : " And Moses stretched out his hand over * Exod. xiv. J!), 20. 476 REMARKS ON DOUBTS AS TO THE [-^PP' " the sea ; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east " wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were " divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea ' upon the dry ground : and the waters icere a loall unto them on their right hand, and on their left."* Now this description is utterly in- applicable to any thing like an ebb of the sea. This would carry away the whole body of the waters, and leave a dry space, but it could never divide them ; it could never make them stand like a tvall upon their right hand and on their left. Or, even admitting Dr Geddes's re- mark, " that we need not suppose them to stand upright like real walls, " but only that they were deep enough on each side of the shoal to " prevent the Israelites from being flanked or attacked from any quarter " but from behind ;" it is not conceivable how an ebb of the sea alone could produce this effect. The history plainly ascribes it to a divine interposition ; and we must either pronounce that totally false, or the event it relates decidedly miraculous. The third part of this transaction is the destruction of the Egyptians ; this is also described in terms which imply a decided miracle. " The " Egyptians," says the history, " pursued, and went in after them, to the " midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen." He adds, "And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the Lord " looked unto the host of the Egyptians, through the pillar of fire, and " of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, and took off " their chariot wheels," (or as Dr Geddes translates it, so entangled them) " that they drave them heavily : so that the Egvptians said. Let us flee " from the face of Israel ; for the Lord fighleth for them, against the " Egyptian s."t Here is another circumstance perfectly consistent with, and as it were regularly connected with, the former part of the narrative, con- cerning the miraculous cloud which divided the two armies ; but yet so unlike any thing mere human imagination would have conceived, that it is scarcely credible any thing but reality could have suggested it. The narrative proceeds : " And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out " thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the " Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. And " Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea ; and the sea returned to " his strength when the morning appeared, and the Egyptians fled " against it : and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the " sea. There remained not so much as one of them. Thus the Lord " saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians : and Israel " saw the Egvjjtians dead upon the sea-shore. And Israel saw that " great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians : and the people " feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant Moses."l Nothing can be more clear than that Moses ascribes the sudden re- turn of the waters, at such a critical moment as to destroy the whole host of the Egvptians to a supernatural power ; and states it to have been recorded and believed as such by the whole nation of the Jews, from the moment the event took place ; and preserved in their perpe- tual recollection by that sublime hymn of triumphal thanksgiving, which * /<;xod xiv •J^,-^•. i ll.iil siv. M— 2,V t ibid, voi-e 26, *.»•. Sect. II.J UKALITY OF THE MOSAIC MIRACLES. 177 he himself composed, and has transmitted to posterity in the next chapter. And it has been well remarked, that it is totally inconceiv- able that such a history could have gained credit with the Jewish na- tion, as we certainly know it did, had the facts on which it is founded been the consequences of natui-al causes, or of mere human contriv- ance ; " Who can imagine," say the authors of the Universal History, " that in such a case any credit could have been given to his relation, " when he declares that God, who alone knew what passed in Egypt, " did unexpectedly make them take this new route ; when he describes " his own surprise and the people's consternation at the sight of the " Egyptian army ; above all, when he describes the sea miraculously " dividing to let them pass, and suddenly returning to overthrow their " enemies } What opinion must they have had of his sincerity, if these " events, thus ascribed to God, were entirely owing to his own cun- " ning and policy ? On the other hand, what must they think of his " conduct, that could be guilty of such an oversight as to lead them " into such a danger, though under the pretence of miraculous direc- " tion ? And finally, Moses must have been the most impudent and " the most vain man alive, to attempt making such a vast and not " over-credulous multitude beheve that their passage was altogether as " miraculous as he affirms it to have been, when they could not but '• have been well assured of the contrary, much less appoint a solemn " festival of seven days, and enjoin it to be observed by them and their " posterity to all future ages in memory of their pretended miraculous " passing through the sea, when the experience of a inuch shorter " time than they continued along that coast, could easily have con- " vinced them that there was nothing in it but what was natural, and " what happened every day."* Thus unaccountable are the existence and the reception of the Mo- saic history of this event, if this deliverance be ascribed to mere natu- ral causes, directed by human contrivance, and misrepresented by art- ful exaggeration. t * Universal History of the Jews, Book 1. chap. vii. note P. t As I wish to take the objectors to this miracle on their own statement, I have not judged it necessary to enter into a critical discussion of tlie spot where this passage took place ; particularly as absolute certainty on such a point may not be easily attainable, at the distance of three thou- sand three hundred years. I refer on this subject to the learned Mr Bryant on the Plagues of Egypt, (p. 358) who, in a dissertation on the place of the departure of the Jews from Egypt, and their subsequent journey and passage over the Red Sea, brings many strong arguments and authorities to show that the passage took place at h'edea, about six German miles, or about twenty-four English, from Suez, " where and where only there is a defile, which consisted of a long extended coast, and was " bounded by the Sinus Heroopolitanus to the East, by the extremity of the Arabian Mountain to " the West; at the end was the inundation or inlet of the sea called Clymax, and now by the " Arabians Colsum : here were they situated, exactly as the text describes they were, l>i/ the sea, " and entangled by the land ; the wilderness had shut them in." 'But," says Dr Geddes, " the " sea is here near four leagues broad by fifty feet deep ; to have dried up a passage througli such a " mass of waters would have been a prodigy indeed ; for my part, who believe there was nothing " miraculous in the event, 1 am positively for the pass at Suez, where at this day there are shal- " lows fordable at low water, and which might in forir er times have been frequently dry : we all " know what changes happen in the bed of seas, as well as in the bed of rivers, especially where " that bed is sand, which the Gulf of Suez certainly is." There certainly have been such changes, but, unfortunately for the Doctor's system, in this instance the changes have been such as to prove that the spot where the Doctor supposes the Jews to have passed, instead of being fur- 478 REMARKS ON DOUBTS AS TO THE [-'^PP' But let US for a moment set aside all the particular circumstances of the history, retaining only the two great facts, even that the Israelites escaped from the Egyptians by passing in some mode or other through or along an arm of the sea, in which their pursuers were destroyed, and try the probability of the explanation given of those facts by those who set aside all miraculous interference. Moses, say they, took advantage of an ebb of the sea, which, aided by a favourable wind (not as the original states, an East wind, for this, though it corresponds to the history, as it blows across the Gulf of Suez, and therefore if supernaturally increased might divide it across, yet could not answer this hypothesis) left a dry strand to a great ex- tent, and dry long enough for the Jews to pass, (perhaps by ebb suc- ceeding to ebb) while the Egyptians, attempting to follow them, a sud- den and violent reflux of the sea destroyed them. " But," says Dr Geddes,* " as for the ebb upon ebb, it is now ne- " ver observed to happen at Suez, where the tides are very regular, " and the difference between high and low water only about three feet " and a half." Those who have examined the tides here most accu- rately, assure us, " that the greatest distance that it falls from the place " of high water is about three hundred yards, and these can continue •' entirely uncovered but during the space of half an hour at most, for " during the first six hours the sea doth only retire by degrees, and in " less than half an hour it begins again to flow towards the shoi'e ; the " most therefore that can be allowed, both of time and space, of pass- able ground, in a moderate computation, is about two hundred paces " during six hours, or one hundred and fifty paces during eight hours. " Now it is plain that a multitude, consisting at least of upwards of " two millions and a half of men, women, children, and slaves, en- " cumbered besides with great quantity of cattle and household stufi", " could never perform such a march within so short, we may say within " even double that space, though we should allow them also double " the breadth of ground to do it on. This argument will hold good " against those who suppose that they only coasted along some part of " the sea, and those who maintain that they crossed that small arm or " part of it which is towards the further end near the port of Suez, as " six or eight hours could not have been sufficient for the passage of so merly more dry than at present, was entirely overflowed by the Red Sea, which at that time flowed into the country, probably thirty miles higlier than it does at present, and overflowed a considerable basin or lake whiih has been since separated from the Rpd S.ii by a bank of sand gradually accumulating near Suez, and has been dried up, partly by sand and partly by exhala- tion. While this lake existed, and the communication between it and the Red Sea was open, it would have been more impracticable than now to effect a passage where Dr Geddes and the other authors, who are only fur a hilf miracle, or for no miracle, placed it. In proof of this former extent of the Red Sea, consult Memoires sur L'Egypte, publies pendant Les Campagnes Du General Bonaparte, par L'Institut. d'Egypte, Tom. iv. p. 218. The gentlemen ol this Institute (as might be expected) will have the passatfe not to be miraculous, for, like Dr Geddes, they think that the Red Sea at Suez has a strand that is passable at low water, while at the same time it is deep enough, ■particularly when agitated by tempests, to destroy a considerable army. Quale— U the Rrd Sea communicated with the Lake, as these writers have proved it did, mat this strand so lar^re? But these gentlemen have not pretended to RC<^ount for the wonderful dif- ference between the fortune of the Jews and of the Egyptiajis. It was a mere accident from tempests, &c. &c. &c. * Note upon Exod. xiv. 21. Sect. II.] REALITY OF THE MOSAIC MIRACLES. 479 '' immense a multitude, allow them what breadth of room you will; " much less for Pharaoh to have entered it with his whole host."* In addition to this, how extremely improbable is it, that none of the Egyptians should know any thing of the ebbing and flowing of the sea, so as to foresee the danger they were exposed to ; and how incredible, thai they should all obstinately persist in pursuing the Israelites through it, when they saw it gradually returning upon them until they were all swallowed up by it. But Dr Geddes has examples enough to render all this credible. " At the Washes between Norfolk and Lincolnshire, or the great estu^ " aiy between Lancaster and Hooksborough, but for guides hired by " government, passengers would often be swallowed up by the return- " ing tide."t How unfortunate that the Egyptian government never thought of hiring guides ! True it is, these tides are in the Bristol Channel, which, according to Newton, t are of an extraordinary height, from the nature of the channel, rising sometimes to forty-five feet, whereas in the Gulf of Suez they rise only three and a half. But then the Egyptians were " on a shoal between two masses of " water, a deep stagnation on the left hand, and the sea on the right, " both agitated with a vehement wind, which blew almost directly in " their faces." This deep stagnation of water on the left hand is a new circumstance ; the Egyptians, we must suppose, had never sus- pected the existence of this, or they would have known their danger better. But they may have laboured under other very unfortunate accidents, according to Dr Geddes, " for if, while they were on such " a shoal, thunder and lightning attended the tempest, it would be ter- " rible indeed. Besides, extraordinary tides have been always attended " with danger and death. An instance occurred at Maranopolis, when " the Emperor Valens was there ; and lately at the river Plata in South " America ; and those great commotions are not unfrequently attended " with earthquakes ;" (and what is most of all to the point, because it " happened in Egypt and Palestine) " in the year 1034, on a dreadful " earthquake, which obliged the inhabitants to live in the open air " eight days, the sea receded three parasangs, and on its return de- " stroyed the people who had gone out to pick up cockles and shells." Here is then precisely a parallel case. Thus we see how the entire matter happened without any the least miracle ; only an unprecedented succession of fortunate accidents, which occurred here to the Jews, and by which, with tide and wind in their favour, a calm sky and firm footing, they escaped along this shore, while the unhappy Egyptians instantly after were intercepted by a stagnation of water on one side, and a tide on the other, both unexpected ; a storm with thunder and lightning in their faces, and an earthquake perhaps to close all, and produce a resistless reflux of the sea, which overwhelmed them ; all * Universal History of the Jews, chap. vii. note P. t Critical Remarks on Exod. xiv. 28. I Vide Nevvtoni Principia, lib. iii. prop. 37, where he notices the great tides at Bristol, the " magnitudinem aestus" in that port, and accounts for its being- impossible that there can be full tides in the Red Sea, " etenim ut plenus sit aestus latitude maris ab oriente in occidentem non "minor esse debet quara graduum i onapinta." Now the Red Sea is extremely narrow from East to West ; but Newton may not speni to Dr Gi-ddesgood philosophic authority ; he certainly was so credulous as to believe in mirm-lfs and prophecies, witness his Commentary upon Daniel. 486 KEWAKKS ON DOUBTS Ay TO THE [''^IM'' these very unfortunate mischances meeting together at this critical mo- ment, but at the same time perfectly natural. So much for the pas- sage of the Red Sea without a miracle; but the reader will, I beiieve, allow, not without something extraordinm^y . Another miracle much questioned, is that recorded Exod. xiii. 21. 22. " And the Lord went before them, by day in a pillar op a " CLOUD, to lead them in the way ; and by night in a pillar of fire, " to give them light ; to go by day and night. He took not away the " pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before " the people." Toland, and Dr Geddes after him, are confident this was only such a beacon as is commonly used by caravans, or armies, to direct their march over trackless and sandy deserts : " « ivet bundle of straw per- " haps smoking by day, and blazing by night, or a sacred fire carried " about in a portable altar ; but the Hebrew historian makes a miracu- " lous cloud of it."* Most certainly he represents it as miraculous, for he states that this pillar of smoke and fire stood between the Egyp- tians and the Israelites,! and prevented the former, though eager in their pursuit from coming near the latter for a whole night ; and that the terror of the Egyptians was augmented by the terrific appearance which this pillar of fire assumed. Again, when the tabernacle was finished and erected, the historian relates that " a cloud covered the " tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord fell vipon the " tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of the congre- " gation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord " filled the tabernacle. "J This insufferable and extended glory could not well arise from a bundle of ivet or of blazing straw, or even a sacred fire on a jBor/flZ^/e altar ; and let it be remembered, it was not occasional hwt permanent : " The cloud of the Lord was on it by day, " and the fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, " in all their journeyings."§ Surely it would have required a super- natural power of blindfolding and deceiving all the house of Israel, for forty years, to make them believe that a common fire was thus super- natural. It is adduced by Moses as one manifest proof of the Divine presence, which the surrounding nations must hear of — and appealed to in his address to the people, 1| as an undeniable instance of the con- stant guardian care of God. Reproaching them with their refusal to obey the divine command, and invade the land of Canaan on their first approach to it, he says, " In this ye did not beheve the Lord your God, " who went in the way before you to search you out a place to pitch " your tents, in fire by night, to show you by what way ye should go, " and in a cloud by day." From this glory issued the Divine voice which condemned the sedition of Miriam and Aaron,^| and which de- nounced the plague inflicted to punish those who supported the rebellion of Dathan and Abiram.* * ♦ Dr Geddes's Critical Remarka on Exodus, xiii. '21. t Exod. xiv. 20. 1 Jixod. xl. 34, 35. § Ibid, mtsr 38. || Numb. xiv. 14. 1 Numb. xii. ft and 10, which notice the ciicumstance of tliis clniul of fire visibly descendinp from on high, and resting on the Taboniiicle, ami afterwards rea^'CMil'iii,' (roin it, ** Numb. xvi. 4 J. Sect. II. j REALITY OF THE MOSAIC MIRACLES. 481 But It is said, that Moses has betrayed the secret of this not being a signal of the Divine guidance, by his anxiety that his brother-in-law Hobab should accompany them in their journeys through the wilderness, " If," says Dr Geddes, " the cloud continually directed and guided " their marches, what need was there for Hobab to be instead of eyes *• to them ? To me it appears from this very passage that Moses was " conscious Hobab knew the wilderness, and the places in it proper for *' encampments, better than himself, or his cloud either."* Rosen- muller he quotes as observing on this passage, " that though the " Israelites might be directed by the guidance of the miraculous cloudf " where to encamp, and how long to remain there, yet many things " respecting the accommodation of the people might he left to human " prudence, in which Hobab might be very useful. Thus prudent and " cautious is RosenmuUer," says the Doctor, deriding such an unphi- losophic sentiment. I presume that the Doctor believed that every well in the vicinity of the camp, and every spot of pasture in the neighbouring hills, and every plant useful for food or medicine, must have been pointed out by miracle, if there was any supernatural interference ; those who believe otherwise, may think RosenmuUer's observations not quite ridiculous, " and that Hobab might be of use to him instead of eyes," in discover- ing objects thus minute but not unimportant ; and yet the miraculous guidance of the cloud still be admitted. I would in addition beg leave to observe, that it is not easy to ac- count for the Jews remaining forty years marching and countermarch- ing in this wilderness, without either attempting to invade Canaan, or to return to Egypt, but by the continued control of that miraculous power, the constant presence of whfch this supernatural appearance visibly attested. In a word, the effects of this divine guidance are so interwoven with the whole history of the journeyings of the Jews from Egypt to Canaan, that we must either reject the entire, as a mere un- founded fable in all its parts, or admit the reality of this miracle. Another miracle excepted against is that recorded Deut. viii. 4. and xxix. 5. containing the supernatural preservation of the raiment of the Israelites during their forty years wandering in the wilderness. From the mode in which this miracle is mentioned, I deduced an argument to confirm the genuineness and truth of the narrative, i which (if just) proves at the same time the reahty of the miracle. Till this reasoning is refuted, I might perhaps be justified in passing unnoticed the objec- tions to this miracle, which certainly affect not at all that argument ; but it may be more satisfactory to consider them. * Vide Critical Remarks on Numbers, x. 29. t It will not Derhaps be thought too minute an observation, that Moses tells Hobab he would be useful to them, not in directing- them where to encamp, or how long to remain in any station (for this the guidance of the miraculous cloud pointed out) but hoiv to encamp in the wilderness, i. e. as appears to me, how to arrange their encampment in each appointed place, so as to embrace the circumstances of water, pasture, shelter, supply of fuel, medicinal or nutritive plants or sub- stances, &c. &c. in or near that station, to the greatest advantage. See in Genesis, xxvi. how the Philistines stopped up the wells which had been dug by Abraham, and how Isaac searched for and dug them again, and it will convince us how useful such local knowledge in Hobab may have been to the Jews. Mr Harmer assigns these as probable advantages the Jews might derive from Molbah.— Observations on Scripture, Vol. I. p. 482. J Vide supra. 2h 482 REMARKS ON DOUBTS AS TO THE [^PP* And, first, what is the statement of the history, Deut. viii. 4. — Our translation renders, " Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, nei» " ther did thy foot swell these forty years." Dr Geddes, with his peculiar elegance,* translates it, "Ye have not these forty years worn " tattered clothes, nor have your feet been blistered by wearing torn " shoes." — Deut. xxix. 5 and 6, in our translation, " I have led you " forty years in the wilderness ; your clothes are not waxen old upon " you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot. You have not " eaten bread, neither have you drunk wine or strong drink, that you " might know that I am the Lord your God." Dr Geddes, "Forty " years I have conducted you in a wilderness, yet on your backs you " have never worn tattered clothes, nor torn shoesf on your feet ; " bread ye have not eaten, wine or strong drink ye have not drunken , " that ye might know that I am the Lord your God." On the former passage, Dr Geddes remarks, that "all the versions, down to the Gr. " Ver. exclusively, translate it as our version • by which one would be " led to imagine what credulous Jetvs and credulous Christians believe, " that during these forty years the clothes of the Israelites wore not " out. This comes of too literal translations. This obvious meaning " is, that they were never under the necessity of wearing tattered rai- " ment." And he adds a note from Rosenmuller, stating, that " the " flocks and herds of the Jews must have supplied them with wool, " goats' hair, and leather, and that there were persons skilled in weav- " ing and spinning, as appears from Exod. xxxv. 25, 26."% I admit the truth of this observation, as far as it extends : but let it be remem- bered, that in these hot countries, the most necessary and the least lasting part of the dress of every class was linen ; || now it will not surely be asserted that the Jew? could in the wilderness till and raise fiax, any more than corn. As therefore God supplied them with man- na, a substitute for bread, so he appears to have preserved their linen raiment from wearing by a supernatural operation, that they might not feel the want of flax. And Moses might recall the attention of the Jews to this miracle at the moment it was going to cease, in the man- ner I have stated above, saying, " Thy raiment is not waxed old upon " thee," not marking distinctly what kind of raiment, which the people ■f Take another specimen of this elegance in Exod. xii. 11 and 13. It is said of the lamb ap- pointed to be eaten at that most solemn rite there instituted, " Ye shall eat it in h&ste ; it is the " Lord's passover;" and again, " when I see the blood, I will pass over you:' For this Dr Geddes chooses to read, " It is the Lord's, skip-offering, and I will skip over you:' In his Critical Remarks, he says, " It has been observed that the word skip-offering has a ludicrous air ; and so " now it appears to myself ; but what could I do ? 1 wished to express the purport of the ori- " ginal, to leap suddenly," &c. &c. and he concludes a long note—" But to skip from the subject " all at once, and to put a short end to the controversy, let Fhasar be restored in my version " throughout my first volume, as it has been done throughout my second, and let the reader affix " to it what meaning he pleases." Our learned translator was determined to be either ludiaoia or unintelligible, to make the sacred text appear either burlesque or nonsense. Fo-. shame Dr Geddes! + On the importance of this circumstance, vide Harmer, Vol. II. p. 379; and Vol. IV. p. 351 to 354, on the » uggedness of the way and the dangers of the journey in the wilderness. t Critical Remarks on Deut. viii. 4. II Vide Harmei-'s Observations, Vol. II. p. 417, and Vol. HI. p. 324 to 326. Fleury's Manner! of the IsracDtes, ch. vi. Sect. II.] REALITY OF THE MOSAIC MIRACLES, 483 must immediately recognise, the moment their attention was directed to it. On the second passage, Dr Geddes, on tJtie words, " Bread ye have " not eaten," &c. remarks, " These must not be too strictly or literally " understood ; they were not altogether destitute of bread, or of wine, " both which were used in their sacrifices, but that bread and wine " must have been purchased of strangers, as they had no corn-fields or " vineyards of their own during their nomadick life in the wilderness." If the Doctor, in this remark, had inserted one additional word, fields of flax, which the Jews certainly had not in the wilderness, he would have seen, that though they might, from the materials brought out of Egypt, or by purchase from strangers, procure linen enough to supply what was necessary for the tabernacle, and though they might be able to provide clothes of other kinds for themselves, yet this necessary species of raiment must, to the great bulk of the nation, have been supplied by miracle, or not supplied at all. I therefore do not see as much mischief as the Doctor in literal translations, and do not think myself credulous in believing this miracle real, rather than believing that the whole Jewish nation were so imposed on as to believe it con- trary to the direct personal experience of every individual amongst them for forty years. To conclude this long argument, that my readers may be able to decide on whom the charge of credulity hes ; and whether the Doctor and his followers observe all the rules of probability, and apply the in with philosophic sagacity, in connecting causes and effects, when they reject and ridicule the Mosaic miracles. I shall briefly review the causes the Doctor assigns for such of the events vulgarly deemed miraculous, as he admits to have taken place, while he denies any miraculous interference. And as to the plagues of Egypt, excluding all miraculous interfer- ence, my readers may perhaps be at a loss to conjecture what adequate cause can be assigned for any thing approaching to a series of events so calamitous, so extraordinary, and succeeding each other in such rapid succession. But the Doctor has found an adequate cause — it was nothing more or less than too great an overflow op turbid OR MUDDY waters ; THIS WAS THE CAUSE OF THE PLAGUES OP Egypt. Hear the Doctor's own words :* " Such were the famous plagues of " Egypt, as they are related by the Hebrew historian, which narration, " with all the concomitant circumstances, if any unfettered mind can " really and truly believe, I will only say that it is far, very far removed " from scepticism. " Is the story, then, without foundation ? Perhaps not. While " Moses and Aaron were soliciting the Egyptian King for leave to go " with the Israelites into the wilderness to sacrifice to their God, but in " reality to escape altogether from their tyrannical masters, it might " very well happen that an extraordinary inu7idation of the Nile should " take place, and be followed with an uncommon brood of frogs, gnats, " and other most troublesome animals, a tremendous hail, a prodigious * Vide Critical Remarks on Exodus, xii. 22. 484 REMARKS ON DOUBTS AS TO THE -A-PP. " flight of locusts, an unusual darkness, and finally a ravaging pesti- " lence. And all these calamities might in the course of nine months " or so, have succeeded one another, and been in a great measure the " consequence of the first calamity, too great an overflow of " TURBID WATER. But that thcse happened exactly according to the " Scripture relation, it requires great faith, or rather creduhty, to be- " lieve." How conformable is this conclusion to reason and experience ! It is surely particularly natural, and happens every day, that too great an overflow of turbid waters should be attended with these consequences, particularly with " a tremendous hail, a prodigious flight of locusts, " and an unusual darkness !" So much for the Doctor's system as to the plagues of Egypt. Next let us review his system as to the supposed miraculous division of the Red Sea, the escape of the Israelites, and the destruction of the Egyptians. On this occasion, the cunning Israelites, or at least their leader, who doubtless foresaw every thing, though no prophet, decoyed their ene- mies into this snare, and, after having taken advantage of an uncom- mon tide* of ebb, (where no such ebb is now ever observed) pro- tracted by a favourable wind, "passed safe; the Egyptians pursued " immediately, but they went along a shoal. A deep stagnation of " water on one side, a violent return of the sea on the other, both " totally unexpected, a tempest may have blown in their faces, with " thunder and Hghtning, which made it terrible — a tide as high per- " haps as in the Bristol Channel, or in the river Plata, though in a " place where at other times the water does not rise above three feet *' and an half. But this tide may have been the eff"ect of an earth- " quake." AH these accidents combining instantly after the Israehtes had passed safe, may have destroyed the Egyptians ; but there was certainly no miracle, all quite natural and accidental, though as to the Egyptians very unlucky ; the artful leader of the Jews, who had, it should appear, ybres^'cw and taken advantage of all these accidents, persuaded his credulous nation that all was miraculous. The CLOUD by day, and pillar of fire by night, which acccom- panied and guided the Israelites for forty years, and which they have always believed supernatural, and of which such supernatural efl'ects are so minutely recorded, was nothing more than "bundles of straw, " or some equally common combustible, carried on high poles or a " portable altar, smoking by day and blazing by night." The manna, which is represented as forming the regular staple food of two millions of people, in a wilderness in many parts wholly barren, and this for forty years, is only " a collection of grains shaken from a " particular shrub, in the morning before the sun rises''^ which the deluded Israelites were persuaded to believe came from the skies, and to which they ascribed a property, "which has not been remarked to " belong to the common manna, namely, that it bred worms and stank, " if kept until the next morning," % a mistake they did not seem to * Vide Critical Remarks on Exod. xiv. compared wiili a note to the translation of Exod. xiv. 2L t Critical Remarki on Exodus, xvi. 14 I Ibid. xvi. 19, 20. Beet. IT.] REALITY OF THE MOSAIC MIRACLES. 485 correct during the forty years. And again, they thought " that which *• was gathered on the sixth day would keep unto the eighth." An- other mistake : credulous interpreters consider both these as parts of the miracle. The SOLEMN GIVING OF THE LAW FROM SINAI, which the He- brew historian represents in such terrific colours, "with thunders and *' lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the " trumpet exceeding loud, so that all the people in the camp trembled; " and Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord de- " scended upon it in fire ; and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke " of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly," and of which the lawgiver tells the people, " The Lord spake unto you out of the " midst of the fire. Ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no " similitude, only ye heard the voice." All this was mere artful ma- nagement on the part of the sapient lawgiver of the Jews.* " No- " thing," says Dr Geddes, " could be better contrived or more dex- " terously executed, than the plan which he adopts to give a sanction " to the precepts he was about to promulge. The highest top of Sinai, " where he was supposed to have received his first mission, is pitched " upon as the secret sanctuary where he is to meet the Deity, and " receive from him a new code of laws, to be ever after observed by " the Hebrew nation, as coming from their own pecuhar God : the " people, first purified by ablutions and abstinence from connubial •' pleasures, are forbidden on pain of death to approach the mountain ; " and the priests themselves, who might approach it to ofi'er sacrifice, " are inhibited from ascending to the summit ; order is added to order, " and caution to precaution, to prevent the smallest infringement of " this injunction." Now comes another instance, of the uncommon foresight or uncommon good luck of Moses ' ' while the people wait thus " in awe and anxious expectation, a storm of thunder and lightning *' ENSUES ; this they are told is the voice of God, who meanwhile is " supposed to give to Moses, in words articulate, the Decalogue, or ten " commandments. Such I conceive to be the whole mystery, "f says the philosophic Doctor. I would humbly suggest to the publisher of the next edition, to subjoin to the words " a storm of thunder and light- " ning ensued," and probably a volcanic eruption, with an earth- quake ; this will be no miracle, will answer the phenomena better ; and why should not this, as well as the storm of thunder and lightning, happen exactly when Moses wants it to terrify the Jews ? As to the last instance, concerning the raiment of the Israelites being supernaturally preserved for forty years. Here there was neither mira- cle nor mystery ; the raiment of the Jews was worn, and replaced by their own care and industry, out of the same materials as at all other times. We are only to suppose that the historian positively asserted they had been preserved miraculously, and that the people believed him, because he asserted it. Such is Dr Geddes's philosophical i.nd probable explanation of the Mosaic miracles, of which I will only say — " Non credat ludaeus apella— Non ego' ♦ Critical Remarks on Exodus, .xix. i IbiJ particu.arty verses 16, \i 486 nEMAEKS ON DOUBTS, &C. [Aup, To CONCLUDE the preceding view of the system of infidels, who. compelled to admit the common facts of the Jewish history, would yet set a:-ide all miraculous interposition in the estabhshment of the Jewisn religion : we see it exhibits and requires a series of efiects without causes ; unparalleled prodigies, produced without the aid of any super- natural power ; unprecedented events, foreseen without the aid of any Divine foresight, and concurring to assist the plans of the Legislator, as if he could at will command all the powers of nature, and control all the faculties of man, while at the same time he is supposed to be nothing more than a rash and bold impostor. It exhibits a whole nation deluded for a series of forty years, as to- facts obvious to sense, and subject to the test of daily experience. It represents this nation as subsisting in a wilderness without any extraor- dinary means of support, and remaining there under unspeakable hard- ships, without any assignable motive ; acknowledging the authority of their lawgiver, on assertions of facts which they must have known to be false, and submitting to a code of laws most strict and irksome,* and to regulations as to property most strange and unprecedented, on sanctions which there was plainly no power to realize. Yet all this system of imposture and delusion became the means of preserving the worship of the true God in this nation, when it was ba- nished from all the world besides ; it prepared the way for the intro- duction of the Gospel, and thus communicating the most extensive olessings to mankind ; and the nation acknowledging this law, still sub- sists at the close of 3,300 years, in a state nearly as strange and un- precedented as when in the wilderness of Arabia ; attesting the truth of prophecy, and prepared in a most peculiar manner to assist in its further accomplishment, and complete that grand scheme of Providence, which is constantly, though gradually, advancing the improvement of the human race. A scheme which, however, we are by infidels called on to believe was introduced originally by human fraud and delusion, and is still carried on by mere woildly policy, hypocrisy, and priest- craft, on the one side ; ignorance, error, and delusion, on the other. Such is the philosophy of infidelity, and such the credulity of those who cpurn at the faith of a Christian as unfounded and irrational. f e. f . As to the Sabbatic year the yeai of jubilee, ride snf**. INDEX. Aaron's rod, a memorial of Korah's rebellion, p. 94,— the golden calf made by him, p. 226. A bd, death of, a proof of the immortality of the soul, p. 296. Abraham, purpose of God, in selecting him, p. 115,— promise made to him, p. 371, — its meaning fixed by circumstances attending it, ibid. A dam, and his fall. Scripture account of, confirmed by Indian records, introd. p. xiii. Agrarian law in Rome, p.-162,— in Sparta, ibid.— defects of latter, ibid.— • in the land of Israel, p. 163,— effects of it, p. 166, et seq. Alexandria, Septuagint translation made for the Jews residing there, p. 3, — library established there, p. 368. Altar built by the two tribes and half, controversy respecting it, p. 238. Amalekites, reasons of their destruction, p. 216. Analogy of the Lord's dealings justifies his conduct in expelling the Canaan- ites from their land, p. 199. Anaxagoras, the principle of his philosophy, p. 364. Anaximander, the principle of his philosophy, p. 864. Ark of the Lord given in charge to Aaron, p. 48. Assembly of Jews convened at Paris by order of Buonaparte, p. 429, — their transactions, p. 430. Authenticity of Pentateuch. See Pentateuch. Author's reasons for separating the Evidences of Judaism from those of Christianity, introd. p. viii. — reasons for separating the internal from the external evidence of Judaism, introd. p. ix, — for not including the book of Genesis in his plan, p. xii. B Babel, design of building the tower of, p. 110. Blasphemy condemned by law of Moses, and why, p. 148. Borrowing, meaning of, as applied to the Jews borrowing from the Egyp- tians, p. 78. Brahma, his birth how said to have taken place, introd. p. xiv. Bryanfs view of the Plagues of Egypt, p. 234, note. Brydont^s objection to the Mosaic account of the origin of the world, introd. p. xvii. Buchanan, his account of the Jews of Cochin, p. 414 — of the Syrian Chris- tians, p. 435, note. Butler, CBishop) his proof that the expulsion of the Canaanites by the Jews was not inconsistent with the divine attributes, p. 204, note. 488 Oalf^ golden, made by Aaron, p. 227, — by Jeroboam, ibid. Canaanites, their expulsion from the land not inconsistent with the divine attributes, p. 193, — whether any terms were to be offered to them before war was declared against them, p. 193, note, — their crimes, p. 195 — 197, — what principles the Jews acted on in expelling them, p. 208, — why God chose to expel them by means of the Jews, p. 210, et seq. — how the evil consequences that might have arisen from this were guarded against, p. 221, — why driven out by degrees, p. 236. Canonico Becupero's history of mount Etna, introd. p. xvii. Captivity, Babylonish, Pentateuch not first compiled after it, p. 3, — gene- alogies preserved in it, p. 4, — Hebrew language corrupted in it, p. 6, — but not lost, ibid. — how knowledge of the true God was spread by means of it, p. 348—351. Christianity, Judaism preparatory to it, p. 338, — proved by promise made to Abraham, p, 371, — by prophecy of Jacob, p. 372, — how Judaism effected this, p. 386, — rejection of by Jews no objection to its truth, p. 398. Circumcision not borrowed from the Egyptians, p. 183, — Egyptians borrowed it from the Israelites, ibid. Cities of Israel first alluded to in the book of Deuteronomy, p. 45, — Rules about besieging them, ibid. Cities of Refuge, design of them, p. 153. Commandments, the ten, how to be understood, p. 130, — prove the divine origin of the Mosaic code, ibid, — manner of their promulgation, p. 136. Commerce, the Jews devoted to it, p. 413, — effect of this upon their restora- tion to their own land, p. 428. Coincidences, undesigned between Deuteronomy and direct history, p. 41, — statement of the argument, p. 42, — how different from Archdeacon Paley's argument, p. 41, — examples of, circumstances mentioned in Deuteronomy, not noticed before, p. 45, — leprosy in a house, p. 46, — service of the Levites as to the charge of the Tabernacle, p. 47, — coin- cidences arising out of the way in which the order of march is described, p. 48, 49, — differences in the account of the appointment of assistant judges, p. 60, — of the spies, p. 61, — of the rebellions of the people, p. 64, — argument from, applied to the miraculous accounts, p. 66, see p. 447. Creation of man, history of, proves his immortality, p. 292. Creeshna, similitude between his life and that of the Messiah, intrcd. p. xiii. Corruption of the text of the Old Testament rendered impossible by Septu- agint translation, p. 3. Cumberland, his argument to show that the expulsion of the Canaanites, by the Jews was not inconsistent with the divine attributes, p. 206, note. Cyrus, his proclamation for the rebuilding of the temple, p. 360. Daniel, the favor shown him during the captivity, p. 349. Darius, his testimony to the supremacy of Jehovah, p. 360. Dathan and Abiram, rebellion of, p. 68, — their punishment miraculous, p. 92. Debt accumulation of, prevented by tlie laws of the Jews, p. 164. De Wette's objections to the Mosaic history considered, p. 468. Decalogue. See Commandments. Defects in some works on the evidences of religion, introd. pp. vi. vii. Deluge, tradition of it amongst the Indians, introd. p. xiv, — universality o£ it, introd. p. xvi. INDEX. 489 Death, punishment of, for what crimes inflicted, pp. 147, 148,— not to be in- flicted on the children of idolaters, p. 283. Deuteronomy, design of the book of, p. 40, — undesigned coincidences be- tween it and direct history, p. 41, — circumstances mentioned in it not noticed before, p. 44, — difference between it and direct history, as to the appointment of judges, p. 49,— as to spies, p. 51,— written by the same author as the former books of the Pentateuch, p. 468. Deliverance of the Jews from Egypt, cannot be accounted for by natural causes, p. 73, — memorials of it preserved, pp. 96 — 98. Disobedience to parents condemned, p. 152, — to the decision of the chief magistrate, p. 154. Dispersion of mankind, cause of, p. 110,— of Jevvs foretold, p. 413,— and their return from it, p. 420. Distinction of meats, law respecting, p. 29. Division of the land amongst the people, p. 166,— of the people, for civil and military purposes, p. 167. Divorce, law of Moses respecting it, p. 431, — lawfulness of it renounced by assembly of Jews at Paris, ibid. E Egypt, why God permitted Jews to be exposed to the temptations of, p. 230, et seq. — circumstances which rendered it peculiarly fit for their resi- dence, p. 233, — some inhabitants of it impressed by the miracles of Moses, p. 342, — the place where the Grecian sages learned philosophy, p. 364. Etna, mount, Brydone's objection to Mosaic history, taken from theCanonico Recupero's account of its lava, introd. p. xvii. Eusebius, account of his work, Preparatio Evangelica, introd. p. x. External evidence of the Mosaic history not entered into, and why, introd. p. X. Example, what, we are to follow, p. 262, — not the servants of God raised up for particular purposes in all things, p. 261. Ezra did not compose a new law after the return from the captivity, p. 6, — nor make a selection to suit the tastes of the people, p. 6, — proved from the exclusion of the Moabite and Ammonite from the congrega- tion, p. 6, — and from the putting away of strange wives, p. 7. Farmer's explanation of the plagues of Egypt, p. 467. Feasts, the three great, to be held at the holy place first mentioned in the book of Deuteronomy, p. 45, — of Passover, a memorial of deliverance from Egypt, p. 97, — of Pentecost, a memorial of the giving of the law, ibid. — of Tabernacles, of some future event. See Tabernacle. — appoint- ment of, proof of divine origin of law, p. 410. First-born amongst the Israelites redeemed, how, p, 96, and note. Form, of government appointed by the Pentateuch, a Theocracy, p. 15, — this a proof of antiquity of Pentateuch, p. 15. Future life, sanctions of Mosiac law not derived from it, p. 271, — doctrine of, known under that dispensation, p. 289, — inferred from history of man's creation, p. 292, — his fall, p. 295, — of Cain and Abel, p. 296, — ■ of Enoch, p. 299, — of the sacrifice of Isaac, p. 301, — from St Paul's de- claration respecting the Patriarchs, p. 301, — from the history of Jacob, p. 303, — of Moses, p. 804, — from our Lord's answer to the Sadducees, p. 306, — from the prayer of Balaam, p. 306, — from the practice of ne- cromancy, p. 307, — more fully revealed from the time of David, p. 309, 490 INDEX. — examples in his writings, p. 311, et seq. — in the writings of Solo- mon, p. 320, — of the prophets, p. 325, et seq. — of Job, p. 833. G Geddes, Dr, objections against Mosaic history, p. 466. Genesis, book of, not included in the author's plan, introd. p. xi. Genealogies of the Jews preserved in the captivity, p. 3, — reason of this, p. 4, — of the Pentateuch a proof of its authenticity, p. 30. Gentiles, effects of Judaism on them, p. 836, et seq. — the leading principles of their philosophy derived from the Mosaic revelation, p. 363. Geology, deductions of, not inconsistent with Scripture, introd. p. xvi. Geographical statements in the Pentateuch aproof of its authenticity, p. 30. Gibeonites, why they made a league with the Jews, p. 195, note, and p. 343, — must have renounced idolatry, ibid. Gibbon, his statement respecting the effect of the miraculous interpositions on the minds of the Jews, proved untrue, p. 289. Government of the Jewish nation what, p. 150, — establishment of the regal form of, foretold and provided for, p. 15, — when effected and how, p. 246, — why not introduced at an earlier period, p. 249. H Heathen testimonies to the truth of the Old Testament history, introd. p. x. — immoralities sanctioned by their laws, p. 133. Hezekiah's testimony to the authority of the Pentateuch, p. 11. Horses, Jews not allowed to multiply them, p. 410. Iloshea's concurrence with Hezekiah a proof of the acknowledged authority of the Pentateuch, p. 12. Hutchinson, his view of the plagues of Egypt, p. 234, note. Idolatry, how it was introduced, pp. 106,107, — peculiar form of it in Egypt, p. 109, — spread of it, p. Ill, — condemned by Mosaic law, p. 146, — one species of it especially denounced, p. 147, — how the destruction of the Canaanites by the Jews tended to preserve the latter from it, p. 212, — the relapses of the Jews into it no proof that their law was not divine p. 226, — the different kinds of it practised by the Jews, p. 227, — Aaron, Jeroboam, Micah,in the high places, p. 228, — other forms of it, p. 229, — punishment of it to descend to the third and fourth generation, p. 282, and note. Jewish nation could not have been deceived respecting the truth of the facts recorded in the Mosaic history, proved from the publicity of them, pp. 25, 26, — establishment of, in Canaan, could not have been effected by natural means, p. 73, — preservation of, in the wilderness, a proof of divine interference, p. 82. Jewish economy progressive, p. 262, — its leading object, p. 263, — not in- tended to l)e confined to the Jewish state, p. 337, — preparatory to the introduction of the gospel, p. 871. Jewish law, promulgation of it, could not have been effected by natural means, p. 73, — divine origin of, evident from its theology, pp. 104 — 129, — from its morality, p. 130, — from its penal code, p. 146, — not borrowed from heathen nations, p. 176, — when neglected by Jews and when ob- served, p. 280, — not intended to be of eternal obligation, p. 338, — effects of it on tlie Gentiles, p. 338, — introductory to tlie gospel, p. 371, INDEX. 491 — why its temporary nature not mentioned by Moses, p. 877, — its temporary character foreshown. See Psalms. — divine origin of, proved from prophecy, p. 404. Jew*, their superstitious veneration for the Scriptures, p. 2, — Old Testament translated into Greek for the Alexandrian, p. 2j — their language cor- rupted in the captivity, p. 6, — justified in destroying the Canaanites, p. 204, et seq. — did not act froin rapacity or cruelty, p. 208, — good effects produced upon their minds, p. 212, — their relapses into idolatry before the death of Joshua no objection to the divine original of their law, p. 226, — after his death, p. 239, — their situation under the judges, p. 240, — the residence of so many of them in foreign countries prepared for the reception of the gospel, p. 896, — prophecies respecting them, p. 403, — tlie calamities that befel them, p. 405, et seq. — of Cochin, p. 414, — their persecutions, p. 415. Jericho, inference drawn from the history of its destruction, p. 207. Jones, Sir W. extracts from his Asiatic Researches, introd. p. xiv. Josephus quotes heathen testimonies to the truth of the Old Testament history, introd. p. x, — his account of Moses different from that of the author of the Pentateuch, p. 84, — his an-angement of the materials of his history also different, pp. 38, 89, — evidence given by him of the opposi- tion of the Jewish ritual to heathenism, p. 186, — his account of the manner of teaching adopted under the law, p. 189. Internal marks of truth in the Pentateuch, p. 24, — publicity of facts, p. 25, — simplicity of style, p. 27, — minuteness of detail, p. 28, — hnpartiality of author, p. 82, — undesigned coincidences between the book of Deu- teronomy and the direct history, p. 41, Internal purity required of the law, p. 139. Impurity, all kinds of, forbidden by Mosaic law, p. 151. Jeroboam, nature of the idolatry introduced by him, p. 227, — introduction of it consistent with respect for the authority of the Mosaic law, p. 250, — his punishment, p. 253. Image of God in which man was made, what, p. 294, and note. Immortality, of the soul. See Future life. — how brought to light by the gos- pel, p. 893. Intercommunity of gods prevailed among the heathen, p. 845, — how far the belief of it was affected bythepunishmentof the Philistines, p. 344, note. Jeremiah, why kindly treated by the Babylonians, p. 348, — his predictions as to the temporary nature of Jewish economy, p. 384. Impartiality, a characteristic of the author of the Pentateuch, p. 82. See Pentateuch. — admitted by infidel writers, ibid. Inconsistency respecting the order of the Isi-aelites' march reconciled, p. 49, — respecting the appointment of the judges, p. 60, — as to the account of the spies, p. 51, Joisah, in his time, authority of Pentateuch acknowledged, p. 18, — what was the book of the law found by him, ibid. Joshua acknoivledges the authority of the Pentateuch, p, IS, — passage of the Jordan under, miraculous, p. 93, — memorial of it preserved, p. 94. Israel, people of that kingdom acknowledged authority of Pentateuch, pp. 10, 12, — circumstances attending their separation prove it, p. 250, — why permitted, p, 251, — effect of their separation upon the tribe of Judah, p. 254, et seq. — descendants of theirs in Cochhi,p. 414, — their restoration foretold, p. 422. Jubilee year of, p. 163. Judges, what they were, p. 240, — what degree of tranquillity was enjoyed under them, p. 241, note, — how their government promoted the divine purposes, p. 243. 492 INDEX. Judges to assist Moses, how appointed, p. 50. Judah, kingdom of, how aflPected by the separation of the ten tribes, p. 254. — meaning of prophecy that the sceptre should not depart from it, p! J372, note. K Kings, government of, provided for in the Mosaic law, p. 15, — when estab- lished, p. 246, — circumstances attending its introduction, prove the respect the Jews had for their law, p. 249. Korah's rebellion, cause of, p. 69, — manner of its being recorded, proof of authenticity of history, p. 70, — his punishment miraculous, p. 92, — memorial of it preserved, p. 94. Land, fertility of the promised, enlarged on by Moses in the book of Deu- teronomy, p. 46, — division of, amongst the people, p. 166, — extent of it, ibid, note, — present barrenness of it a fulfilment of prophecy, p. 273, note, p. 407, — return of the Jews to it foretold, p. 421. Leslie's rules, p. 86. Love to God enforced in Jewish law, p. 136, — and to man, p. 187, — and to enemies, ibid. — why this was not more clearly enforced, p. 138. Lycurgus, his law respecting property, p. 162. See Sparta. Life, future, sanctions of, not employed in Mosaic law, p. 272. See /Sanc- tions. Language of the Jews corrupted in the captivity, p. 6, — of the Pentateuch, an evidence of its having been written before the captivity, ibid. Lav) observed by the Jews before the captivity, not lost during it, p. 8, — proved from instances of those who survived the captivity, ibid. — from preservation of other documents, p. 4, — not a new law observed after captivity, proved from account of Ezra's teaching the people, p. 6, — nor an arbitrary selection from the old, proved from the exclusion of the Moabites, and the putting away of strange wives, pp. 6, 7, — from the testimony of the Samaritans, p. 8. See Pentateuch. — re- specting property, p. 23, — requiring them to count the fruit of the trees uncircumcised, ibid. — design of this, p. 24, note, — respecting purification, leprosy, pollution, p. 29, — manner of their being record- ed, a proof of genuineness of history, ibid. — divine original of, proved by evidences of miraculous interposition, pp. 72 — 84, — manner of delivery miraculous, p. 91, — the morality of it, p. 130, — required in- ternal purity, p. 139, — its superiority to other systems instanced, pp. 155, 156, — respecting release in the year of Jubilee, p. 164. See Release. — respecting exemption from war, p. 106, note, — respecting tribe of Levi, p. 169, — respecting the poor, p. 171, — rites of, not bor- rowed from heathen nations, p. 176, — of war, p. 223, — did not employ- future sanctions, p. 271, — divine origin of it, proved from prophecy, p. 404. Lawman's account of the Jewish form of government, p. 15. Lej)rosy, law respecting, p. 29, — of a house, how described in the book of Deuteronomy, p. 47. Levifes, additions to the laws resj)ecting, in Deuteronomy, pp. 45, 47. — Separation of, a memorial of the destruction of the first-born in Egypt, p. 96, — their duties, p. 169, — circumstances attending their separation evidences of a divine appointment, p, 460. INDEX. A&3 M JUagic, how connected with idolatry, p. 110. Magicians of Egj^pt, what their miracles were, p. 467. Magiun religion, whence derived, p. 351. See Zoroaster. Mahomet, whence he derived the moral principles of the Koran, p. 367, — ■ downfall of his religion, p. 434, — how contributing to the restoration of the Jews, ibid. Manna, gift of it miraculous, p. 91, — pot of, a memorial of the supply of food, p. 94. Manaya Sastra confirms the Mosaic account of the creation. Introd. p. xiv. Memorials of miracles preserved, p, 94, — of the giving of the law, ibid. — of the manna, ibid.— of the rebellion of Korah and his company, ibid. — of the punishment of the people by serpents, ibid. — of the passage of Jordan, ibid. — of the destruction of the first-born in Egypt, pp. 96, 97, — of giving of the law, p. 97. Messiah, promise of, in the Psalms, p. 374, — to Abraham and the Patri- archs, p. 872, — in the writings of Isaiah, p. 375, — religion to be estab- lished by, different from the Jewish, ibid. — nature of his kingdom, p. 376, — promise of, to Moses, 378, — prediction of him as a priest after the order of Melchisedek, p. 381, — argument of St Paul on this, p. 382, — tradition of the promise of, amongst the heathen, introd. p. xiii. Minuteness of detail in Mosaic history, a proof of its genuineness, p. 28. See Pentateuch. Miraculous events, manner in which they are recorded, a proof of their truth, p. 57, — instanced in mode of referring to the delivery of the law at Horeb, p. 59, — allusion to the punishment inflicted for the worship of Baal Peor, p. 60, — to the delivery of the decalogue by God, and the other parts of the law by Moses, p. 61, — some referred to briefly, p. 62, — omission of one in the du'ect narrative, mentioned in Deuteronomy, and reason of this, p. 64, — punishment of Miriam on account of her opposing Moses, p. 65, — of Nadab and Abihu, p. 67, — of Koran, Dathan, and Abiram, p. 67, — history of, cannot be separated from that of the common events, p. 72, — public, p. 87, — monuments of them preserved, p. 94, — effects produced on the minds of idolaters by them, p. 342, — objections to them considered, p. 465. Miraculous interposition in behalf of Israel, how limited, p. 63, — how the expulsion of the Canaan ites by the Jews, prepared the way for ter- minating the system of, p. 213. Montesquieu's observation on the law respecting cities of refuge, p. 163. Morality of the Jewish law, as contained in the decalogue, p. 130, — in other parts of the law, p. 136, Moses, simplicity of his style, p. 27, — capable of sublime composition, ibid. — impartial accounts in the history, as to his family, p. 33, — how his own accounts of himself differ from those of Josephus, p. 34, — why he omits the mention of God's promise to himself, in his account of the spies in the book of Deuteronomy, p. 53, — why he mentions it in another place, p. 54, — manner in which the shining of his face is mentioned, p. 63, — argument from his character to show necessity of supernatural interposition, p. 75, — could not have succeeded in deliv- ering the Jewish nation by the influence of superstition or magical delusion, pp. 76 — 78, — not possessed of the qualities necessary to con- duct the Jewish nation into Canaan, without miraculous interference, p. 79, — conduct of, at the passage of the Red Sea unaccountable, ex- cept on supposition of divine support, p. 80, — at the return of the 494 INDEX. spies, p. 82, — does not mention the temporary character of his law, p. 377, — promise of Messiah made to him, p. 378, — his predictions con- cerning the Jewish state, 404, — Le Clerc's objections against his being author of Pentateuch, considered, 429. Murder condemned by Mosaic law, p. 153. N Name, reason of that, by which God made himself known to the Jews, p. 119. Nebuchadnezzar, his testimony to the supremacy of Jehovah, p. 349, — prediction of his invasion, p. 406. Noah, in what the religion of his time consisted, p. 106. O Objections against the authenticity of Pentateuch arising from the treatment of the Canaanites, p. 192. See Canaanites. — from tlie frequent idola- tries of the Jews, p. 226. See Jews and Idolati-y. — from the circum- stances attending the introduction of the regal government, p. 246. See Kings and Government. — the separation of the ten tribes, p. 260, — from the inconsistencies of those whom God employed as instruments in effecting his purposes, p. 267, note, — from its employing only tem- poral sanctions, p. 264, — from its declaring that the sins of the fathers should be visited upon the children, p. 280, — from its being confined to the Jewish nation, p. 337, — from the predictions contained therein, being the result of mere human foresight, p. 407, — by Le Clerc, to show that Moses was not the author of the Pentateuch, p. 439, — by De Wette, p. 458,— by Dr Geddes, p. 466. Occasion of the work, introd. p. vi. Origin of the world, Scripture account of, confirmed, introd. p. xiii. Originality of the Jewish ritual, p. 176. Paley's, archdeacon, argument, in the Horse Paulinae, p. 41, — how different from the author's, ibid. Passover, feast of, a memorial of deliverance from Egypt, p. 97, — consistency of the account of its institution, p. 461. Pentateuch, authenticity of, acknowledged by the Jews since the period of their return from the Babylonish captivity, -p. 2, — placed at the head of the Jewish sacred volume, ibid. — divided into portions, and read in the synagogues, ibid. — received as inspired by the Sadducees, ibid. — superstitious veneration of the Jews for it, ibid. — not first compiled after the captivity, p. 8. See Law. — nor subsequent to the time of the separation of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, p 9, — proved from examples of Hczekiah and Josiah, p. 11 — nor to the establishment of the regal government, p. 14, — wtfe acknowledged previous to this, p. 17, — its authority implied in other historical books of Old Testament, p. 18, — instanced in Joshua, ibid. — internal marks of truth, p. 25, — public nature of facts recorded in it, ibid. — simplicity and artlessnesa of its style and structure, p. 27, — minuteness of its details, p. 28, — in- stanced in genealogical and geographical statements, p. 30, — impartia- lity of the author of, p. 32, — instanced in his account of the Hebrew Patriarchs, ibid — of the Jewish nation in general, p. 33, — of his own immediate connexions, ibid.— of himself, p. 34, — how this account INDEX. 495 differs from that of Joscphus, ibid. — four last books of, must have been composed by an eye-witness, p. 43, — sentiments and kxnguage of, accord with the situation of the Jewish nation at the thno, p. 44, — various circumstances not noticed in other books of, mentioned in Deutero- nomy, p. 45, — evidence of its inspiration from prophecy, p. 404, — Le Clerc's objections against Moses being the author of it, considered, p. 409,— Dr Geddes's objections to it, considered, p. 452. Pentecost, feast of, a memorial of the giving of the law, p. 97- Penal code of the Jews, p. 146, — what crimes were punished with death by it, p. 147, et seq. — mildness of it, p. 154, — evinced in its regulations, as to property, p. 155. Persians, their religion, what, p. 851, — and whence derived, ibid. See Magian- Philosophy, Greek, principally derived from Mosaic records, p. 363, et seq. — manner of teaching it, shows it was I'eceived by tradition, p. 3G5, — how it prepared the way for the gospel, p. 369. Philistines, how they felt on receiving the ark of God, p. 348. Pillar of fire, what it was, p. 480. Place where the Lord should choose to put his name, first mentioned in Deuteronomy, p. 44. Plagues of locusts, p. 89, — hail, ibid. — flies, ibid. — manner of tlieir inflic- tion miraculous, ibid. — murrain of cattle, p. 90, — darkness, ibid. — de- struction of first-born, ibid. — reason of them, p. 234, and note, — Dr Geddes's objections against the Mosaic account of them, p. 466, — Far- mer's explanation of them, p. 4G7. Pollution, law respecting the contraction of, p. 29. Prophets, false, condemned by the Mosaic law, and why, p. 148. Prophetical writings, contain allusions to a future state, p. 325. Prophecies respecting the past and present state of the Jews, p. 403, — re- specting their future state, p. 420. Providence of God, why so much dwelt on in the Mosaic laAV, p. 122, — re- liance on, necessary to induce the Jews to observe various laws, p. 127, — instances of particular, under the judges, pp. 244, 246, — connexion of this as exercised under the Mosaic system, with the omission of future sanctions, p. 269, Property, Mosaic law respecting it, must have existed before the settlement of the Jews in Canaan, p. 23, — distribution of it, an evidence of truth of miraculous accounts, p. 98, — how injuries aff'ecting it were punished, p. 155, — importance of good regulations respecting it, to the welfare of a state, p. 162. Poor, care of the Mosiac law for them, p. 171. Princes of the tribes, what their station was, p. 166, 167. Punishments of the Mosaic law, p. 148, — on what principle they were regu- lated, p, 150, — how they evince truth of Mosaic history, ibid. Purification, law respecting, p. 29. Psalms, doctrine of a future life taught in them, p. 811, — and i\\e promise of the Messiah, p. 373. Raiment, of IsraeUtes, not waxing old, miraculous, p. 481. Ranks, diversities of, amongst the Hebrews, p. 166. Red Sea, Moses' conduct at the passage of, p. 80, — the passage of it miracu- lous, p. 473, — Josephus' account of it, p. 474. Reformation from Judaism to Christianity, argument of Spencer derived 496 INDEX. from, p. 178, — and from Popery to Protestantism, ibid. — and from Gentilism to Christianity, ibid. Regulations not noticed in other books of the Pentateuch, mentioned in Deuteronomy, p. 45. Release, Mosaic law of, could not have been introduced after the establish- ment of the government, p. 23, — difference in the law of, affecting pro- perty in cities and in the country, p. 164, — why the year of, was chosen for the Levites to read the law, p. 169, note. Repetitions in the Mosaic history, a proof of its genuineness, p. 28. Restoration of the Jews from their dispersion foretold, p. 420, — preparations for the accomplishment of it, p. 429, — in France, p. 430, — in England, p. 432. Revelation, objection against, because of its being partial, answered, p. 361. Rites of the Mosaic law, intention of them, p. 141, — not efficacious unless observed with right feelings, p. 143, — instanced in sacrifices, ibid — and circumcision, p. 144, — not borrowed from heathen nations, p. 17C. — opposed to idolatry, p. 184, — not burthensome, p. 190. Romans, their invasion of Judea foretold, p. 406, — particulars respecting it, which show the divine origin of the prediction, p. 411. s Sabbath-breaker, condemned by Mosaic law, and why, p. 148. Sabbatical year, evidence of divine authority of Mosaic law, pp. 99, 407- Sacrifices, law respecting, p. 29, — instituted by God after the fall, p. 182. Samaritans' testimony to the authenticity of the Pentateuch, p. 8, — circum- stances attending their establishment in Israel, p. 345, — how reclaimed from idolatry, p. 347, — why Jews refused their aid in rebuilding the temple, ibid. — their notions of the office of the Messiah, more correct than those of the Jews, ibid. Samuel not the compiler of the Pentateuch, p. 16. Sanscreet writings, confirm Mosaic history, introd. p. xiii. Saturn, fable of his life founded on history of Noah, introd. p. xiii. Sanctions, temporal, employed under Mosaic system, p. 267, — connexion of these with the exercise of an extraordinary providence, p. 269, — affect- ing the nation, p. 273, — and individuals, ibid. — reasons for their adop- tion, p. 275, — that of visiting the sins of the fathers upon the children, not unjust, p. 280, — necessary as part of a national system, p. 281, — how far God reserved to himself the execution of it, and why, p. 283, ■ — not to be perpetual, p. 286. Self-existence of God, a leading truth of the Mosaic system, p. 119. Septuagint translation, when made, p. 3, — rendered corruption of the text impossible, ibid. — contributed to prepare the way for the Gospel, p. 367. Simplicity of style of Pentateuch, a mark of its truth, p. 27. Serpent, brazen, a memorial of punishment of people in the wilderness, p. 94. Scriptures of tlie Old Testament, Pagan literature to be traced to them, introd. p. xii, — their account of Eastern customs confirmed, ibid. — ac- count of the origin of the world confirmed, ibid. p. xiii, — no objection to this, from the account of the lava of mount Etna, p. xvii, — translat- ed into Greek for the use of the Alexandrian Jews, p. 2. Solomon, his prayer at the dedication of the Temple, p. 340, — who the strangers employed by him in building the temple, p. 341. Shepherds, an abomination to the Egyptians, why, p. 233, note. Spies, accountof their appointment, different in IS. umbers and Deuteronomy, p. 51. Sparta, Agrarian law of, p. 162, — defects of it, ibid. 44)7 106. ■oiitiuiyjiKci.^ auuuuijii ux una vruin., v^ijgilies Bu,.^iu^, Syrian Christians, their principles, p. 485, note. Sun, how it came to be worshipped, p. Stillingfleet, account of his work, Origines Sacrse, introd. p. xii. Tabernacle^ directions respecting it, p. 47, — and the removal of its several parts, p. 48. Tabernacles, feast of, what is typified by it, p. 391, note. Tables of stone, memorials of the giving of the law, p. 94. Tacitus, his account of the Jewish ritual, p. 186. Theocracy, the form of the Jewish government, pp. 15,160, — ^preserved un- der the government of the kings, p. 247, — nature of it accounts for the omission of future sanctions in the Mosaic law, p. 274. Theology of the Jewish law, an argument for the diomf origin of it, pp. 104 —129. Thales, the principle of his philosophy, p. 363, — wrnencf »-ived, ibid. Tradition, of the deluge amongst the Indians, inSifMl p. vj^ , — of the promise of the Mediator, p. xiii. Tribes, the ten. See Israel and Jeroboam. U V Unity of God, the fundamental truth of the Mosaic law, p. 119, — why more dwelt on than other attributes of the Deity, p. 121, — admission of the Critical Reviewer respecting this, p. 463. Vessels of the temple were restored after tha captivity, p. 4. w War, how Jewish constitution provided for it, p. 167, — Jews must have re- garded it with aversion, p. 168, — cases in which Jews were exempted from attending upon it, p. 166, note, — laws of, peculiarly mild, p. 223. Wnrliurton, the argument of his Divine Legation, p. 265, — how far the author iigrees with it, and how far he dissents from it, p. 270, — his inconsis- tencies as to the doctrine of a future state, p. 291. Windom of God especially exercised in government of free agents, p. 260, note. Witchcraft, why condemned by Jewish law, p. 148. !> itsivs proves that Judaism was not borrowed from heathenism, p. 187- Zoroaster, whence he derived his religious light, p. 351, — points of resem- blance between his religious system and that of the Jews, p. 363, et stq. 2i INDEX OF TEXTS REFERRED TO. GENESIS. i. 1, 2fi, 27, SO, ii. 7—17, I' 12, ii- 4—19, {;n— 22, 21, - 15, iv. 3, 4, . 3, 12, 6,7, - V.24, X. 8-12, 19, 16, - xi. 28, 31, xii. 1—3, I: . xiii. 7, 18, - 14, xiv. 13. . 14, 18-20 13, 18—21, xvii. xviii. 25, xix. 9, XX. 7, xxi. 23, xxii. 11> 16, 14, 18, 22, xxiii. 2, 6, XX vi. 4, - 14, xxTiii. 14, 293 292 182 182 - 297 298 - 299 440 454, 456 455 - 441 115 - 371 442 - ibid, ibid. - 115 446 - 443 381 - 198 302 - 115 455 - 115 371 - 456 443 426 441 443 446 372 446 372 xxviii. 12 — 15, 13, 14, 15, - 20—22, XXXV. 11, 21, xxxvi. 31, - xxxvii. 21, 25, - 35, xl. 15, xlii. 36— S8, xliii. 13, 14, - 32, xlvi. 34, xlvii. 8, . xlix. 10, PAGk 123 123 - 445 445, 456 457, 445 EXODUS. 14, ii. 11, 11—23, iii. 13—15, - 14, 15, 21, 22, - iv. 10, - 30, V. 2—9, 14—21, 21—23, 22,23, Vi. 26, 27, - vii. 1, 6, 10, 20, 22, 11, - 19—21, - viii. 6-8, 18, 19, - 10-23, - 22, - ix. 5, 6, 446 303 - 372 76, 128, 233 34 - 304 75 - 119 104 - 25 79 S6 74 36 25 - 77 ibid. 37 72, 78 - 446 443 467 46S - 470 470 - 468 . 342, 435 467 500 INDEX OF TEXTS REFERRED TO. ix. 5-lS, 16, - X. 4, 6, 14, 22, 23, xi.3, xii. 12, 16, 19, 29, S5— 39, 1, - 14,15, - 21, xiv. 2, 3, 5, 9, 11, 13, 14, 19, 20, 20, - 21—26, - 21, - 35, 37,38, XV. 20, 26, - 27, xvi. S, 14, - 17, 19, 20, 33, 35, - xvii. 3, 7» - 81-12, - xviii. 21, xix. 4, - 5,6, 10, - 16— IS, - XX 2, 3, J8, xxi. 7—12, 14, 16, 23, 20, 26, - xxii. 6, 22, 24, xxiii. 4, 5, 9, II, 12, 27, 28, 31, xxiv. 9, - XXV, 8, 9, 40, - xxviii. 15, PAGE PAGB 88 XXX. 33, - 373 - 471 xxxi. 14, . , 149 336, 338 xxxii. 4, - 227 - 342 xxxiv. 6, 7, . . 122, 285 89 23, - - 98 88 24: . _ 127, 410 342 29, - - C3 - 89 11—24, . . 44 90 xxxix. 8—22, - 184 - 342 30, _ _ 141 97 42, 43, 29 - 234 xl. 33, - _ ^ 87 149 34—38, - - 4.S0 - 90 25 79 LEVITICUS . 842 . 95 iv. 21, - . 44 96 V. - _ - 142 97 vi. . 142 217 vii. 21—25, - . - 273 - 480 viii. 8, - . 184 26 17, . - 44 . 80 ix. 24, - _ 66 79 x. • - 66 , 80, 121 6, _ 44 80 xi. 44, 45, _ . 190 - 475 xvi. . 391 480 xviii. . 149, 151 - 476 24-30, . 198 478, 484 xix. 2, _ 121, 139 - 25 14, 17, 18, . 173 26 18, . - 137 65,66 19, - . 149, 184 61 23-25, . _ - 23 - 30 23, - _ 184 83 27; , 149 , 184, 228 - 277 31, - 307 484 32, . - 173 91 33,34, _ 137, 171 484 XX. _ - 149 - 94 1—5, _ ibid. 447 6, 27, _ - 307 - 277 7. - _ 139 30 9, , - 162 215, 216 10—27, _ 151 34,66 20, . . 149 - 167 xxii. 3, - _ 149 125 xxiii. 29, 30, . 149,273 i:.9, 150 34, _ 391 91 40, - . . 97 - 186 xxiv. 18, _ 1&4 121 XXV. _ - 23 - 87 4,6, . 99 166 21, , 410, 127 146,153 23, 42, 55, _ 99 154 23, 29, 30, 35, -;6, - 164 . 156 xxvi. 32, 35, _ 411 224 34,35, - _ - 100 137, 224 44, _ 408 224 - 214 453 NUMBERS - 454 C6 i. - _ 4,165 . 29 iii. _ _ 66, ys 184 4, - 33 INDEX OF TEXTS REFERRED TO ^m Hi. ]!,4P, 31, 40, - T. - 7, vi. 5, rii. 89, - riii. IX. 7, 8, 13, X. 29, xi. 15, le, 17, 27, 29, xii. 1, 2, - 5,10, xiii. xiv. S, - 14, 15, 20, 45, XV. 30, - 38, 39, xvi. 12, 42, xvii. 3—10, xix. 9, 13, 20, 13—16, . XX. 5, - 10—12, . xxi. xxiii. 10, xxiv. XXV. XXVi. 9—11, 61—53, xxvii. 15, 21, xxxi. 14, 16, 19, 54, xxxii. xxxiii. 54, xxxiv. XXXV. . 25, . YXXVl. DEUTERONOMY 1.1—3, 3, 96 i. 15, - 67 19, - 95 20, 21, - 149 28, 142 29-33, - - 76 45, 46, 184 ii. 6, - , 95 10, . 148 14, - 273 19, . 481 iii. 11, - 304 14, - 99, 165 iv. 1,2, - 443 2, 3, 16, 19, i3, 62, 81 3.4, 34 6-8, 65 8, - 480 35,39, 207 V. 1, 207,277 2S. - 7e. Vi.4, . 480 S, - 338 6,7, - SC 7, - 83 20, - 219 vii. 149, 273 h 2 2-4, 68,87 12, 15, - 69 22, - 92 23—25, - - 148 viii. 2—4, 94 14-20, - , 33 X. 6, 94 12, 44 xi. 1—8, 149 6, . 16S xii. 5, 76 12, 13, - - 37 29 - 94 30, 31, - . S30 31, - 60 32, - 218 xiii. 33, 198 1—5, - 29 6, - 68 xiv. - 163 1, - 165 9, 99, 156 XV. 148, 184 7—11, - - 167 13—15, 198 xvii. 6, - 168 9, - 163 8-12, - - 26 12, - 4, 26, 30 14, - 29, 30 15, - 30, 170 16, - 153 xviii. 18, 165 11, 15, 19, 20, xix. 40, 448 3, - 26 16, 19, 21, PAGE 99 207 80 235 68 83 216, 221 58 83 221 - 449 450 .93, 150 182 60 339 - 130 121 - 136 61,52 117, 121 136 - 139 191 85 198 - 196 204 61 62, 236 - 208 64,87 62 33 137, 143 62 61 45 - 173 104, 148 - 197 112, 2S2 - 150 217 443 147 185 228 62 23 172 156 &.158 .70 99 Jits, 154 246, 445 99 - 410 443 - 307 379 . 380 148 - 153 26 - 154 002 INDEJ OF TEXTS REFERRED TO. XX. 6, - 10^18, 13, - xxi. 18—21, xxii. IS, 22, xxiv. 10—15, 16, 19—21, XXV. 3, 4, 17, xxvi, 5, 5—10, . fi . 16, xxvii xxviii. 15, 20, 24, 49, 63, 9—15,37, - 25, - 68, 64, - 64, 65, xxix. 5, 6, 10, 18—21, 22—28, XXX. 1, 1—6, 15, xxxi. 9—11, . 10—13, ..21» ■ XXXll. 3, 7, 13, . 26, 27, 37, - xxxiii. - 8—10, 10, xxxiv. 7, PAOB 166 192, 193, 196 223 . 162 2 - 151 172 - 283 173 - 158 224 - 216 32 98 170 - 171 160 - 151 404 - ibid. 340 - 214 410. - 413 412 - 415 64 - 165 272 - 273 - 340, 407 - 140 421 127, 264 S3 - 1,32 170 - 26 26, 27 - 121 126 - 117 191 - 305 JOSHUA. 1. 7, ii. 9^11, iii. 16, 17, 10, V. 12, vi. 17—19, vii. 18, - 24, vJii.SO, - ix. g, 9—11,24, 14, X.3, 4, - Xi. 15, 18, 20, 18 - 343 87,93 - 196 209 280 18 195 343 148 199 19 194 xiv. 15, - XV. 13, xviii. xxii. 2—6, xxiv. 24—26, 31, 1—33, JUDGES. «0B 4 443 . 44S 28 - 238 19,20 20 148, 184 244 1-8, . _ 237, 244 20^23, _ _ ibid. iii. _ _ _ 240 1,2, _ 236 13, 14, _ . _ 219 vi.3, - _ _ ibid. ix. 56, 57, _ _ _ 245 x.7,8 - _ _ 242 xvii. 3, 13, _ ., _ 227 6, . _ 243 XX. - - 184 I. SAMUEL. iv. 8, _ . 343 V. - _ _ 344 vi. _ _ ibid. viii. . _ 246 5-8, _ _ ibid. 10, _ 16, 247 19, 20, _ _ 247 ix. 21, _ _ ibid. 9, - , . 443 X. - . _ 246 23, - _ _ 247 ,248 xi. 15, . 249 xii. . _ 246 4, 19, , _ 249 12—15, _ _ 218 16, _ _ 247 22. 23, . _ 219 XV. 1, _ _ 218 2, - _ _ 216 xxiii. 9—12, _ 184 xxviii. - _ _ 307 XXX. 7, - - 184 II. SAiMUEL. V. 23, - . . 148 ,184 xii. 13, 14, - - - 305 I KINGS. iv. 29-34, _ . 344 21, . _ _ 464 Viii. 41—43. . _ 340 69, CO, - - - nil INDEX OF TEXTS REFERRED TO. 503 IX.S6, . X. 1—13, xi. 33, 40, - xii. 1—15, 24, 25, 2G, - xiii. xiv. 13, 10, - XT. 13, 14, 29, - xvi. 11, 31, - Xvii. XX. 23, - xxi.20— 22, . xxii. 43, - II. KINGS. 11, 12, vii. ix. X. - xiii. xiv. 5, 6, xvi. 6, - xvii. 18—23, 24, xviii. xxiii. 24, - 344 198,250 - 251 227 - 250 251 - 252 29 250,253 ibid. - 281 253 - 253 198 253, 324 124 ibid. 325 253 , ibid. ibid. ibid. 223 253 ibid. ibid. ibid. I. CHRONICLES. i. 43, 54, V. 7, 17, ix. 1, 22, xxii. 2, - xxvii. 1, II. CHRONICLES. ii. 17, - X. - xi. 13—17, xii. 6—7, xiii. 4, xiv. XT. 9—15, XTlii. 1, xxJ,6. - 254 345 11, 94 14 446 4 ibid. 341 167 341 250 ibid. 255 ibid, ibid, ibid, ibid, ibid. 256 ibid. xxix 36, XXX. 1-5, . 1,6, 11, xxx5. xxxiii. 17, xxxiv. 3—14, 19, 30, XXXV. 18, EZRA. i. 2, 3, ii. 2, 59, C 62, iii. 12, iv. 2, vi. 5, 18, vil. 64, viii. ix. . xiii. 1— s". xix. 23—27, xxxi. 26, NEHEMIAII. JOB. PSALMS. 11 ibid. 856 12 13 228 13 14 Ibid. SOS 6 4 S Ibid. 347 4 0 5 Ibid, ibid. ii. - _ 373 iv. 130 X.4, 381 16, - 130 XT. ibid. xvi. 311 xvii. ibid. xix. 12, 13, ISO xxi. 312 xxii. 16—18, 374 xxxvi. 814 xlix. . 312 Ixxiii. 314 Ixxxii. 2—4, 130 ci. ibid. ciii. _ 316 cxv. 318 cxix. _ 130 cxxxix. - 319 PROVERBS iv. 18, 19. . . 320 viii. . . - ibid. 504 IXDEX OF TEXTS REFERRED TO. Xii. 2S, xiv. 34, xxiv. 1 1, xxvi. 18, 19, - ECCLESIASTES. viii. 1] ix. 11, 3. ISAIAH. i. 10-20, ii. 2, 2—24, Tii!. ix. 4, 8, xi. 10—16, - xii. 3, - xiv. 9, 27, - xvii. xviii. 4, XXV. 6—% xxvi. J, 19—21, 19, XXX. 18, xxxiii. - 14,22, XXXV. 10, xlii. 1—4, xliii 13—16. xliv. 28, 20, xiv. 1, xlix. 5 — 7, 16—21, . liii. 1—9, 7, liv.7— 11, Ivi. Ivii. 19, - Iviii. 0, , Ix. - 8—10, Ixi. 1-8, Ixv. C, 7, JEREMIAH. iii. 15—18, vii. 1—16, 29-34. xiv. 17, - xvii. 5—11, xxii. 10, xxiii. 6 — 8, xxxi. 29—33, 321 279 321 402 323 ibid. 279 322 253 - 130 376 - 404 253 - 279 2i3 - 422 392 - 325 279 - 253 424 - 325 326 - 327 311, 326 - 424 327 - 328 425 - 380 424 - 355 107 . 355 377 - 398 ibid. . 380 425 - 130 328 - ibid. 358 - 426 423 - 424 228 ISO 148 111 S29 c05 427 286 xxxi. 31-34, _ ^1.385 xxxii. 6-14, _ 4 xxxix. 12. _ . 349 xi. 2, : _ ibid. xli. 5. EZEKIEL. 228 xi. 19-21, . 286 xvi. 34, _ _ 345 xviii. . 286 xxxvii. 12, . . 330 xxxix. 12, DANIEL. 392 ii. - . 349 20, - . 279 iii. 29, . _ 349 iv. 1, . 350 17, . 279 37, - _ 350 vi. 25-27, . _ ibid. vii. 9—U, . 332 13, 14, _ _ 436 xii. 1-3. . 333 2, . 308 7, - . 435 iii. 4, 5, viii. ix, x, xiji. 15, ii. 30, - xiii 2, HOSEA. JOEL. AMOS. NAHUM. APOCRYPHA. U'ISDOM. I. MACCAliEES. 424 253 ibid. 331 vi. 49— GO, .06 394 ibid. INPEX OF TEXTS REFERRED TO. 505 PAGB P\08 MATTHEW iii. 2, . _ . 463 iv. 25, - _ 393 iii. 12, . . 401 vii, 12, . . - 46.S V. 17, . 179, 370 ix. 4, 5, . ibid. 27, - _ _ 151 xi. 11, . - - 402 vii. 11, _ - 326 15, . - 435 ix. 34. - _ _ 400 25, 26. _ _ 2C'-Z, Aio xii. 24, . - ibid. 33—36, - AM xiii.30, - . - 401 xvi. 21, xix 3—10, - - 398 380, 151 I. CORINTfJIANS. xxii. 29, _ - 306 xxiii.5, - _ _ 2 ii. 14, . . 19 xxiv. 29, , - 331 X. 13, - - IJ xxvi. 2, _ _ 39S XV. 16—23, - - . mi XX vii 25, _ - 381 4{i, - - 374 II CO I IINTHTANS MAUK. iii. 22, xii. 30, - - - 400 20 GALATIANS. ^t- 27, _ 306 iii. 24, - - 3S5 LUKE. PHILIPPI.VXS. xi. 15, - . 400 xiv. 16, _ _ 326 ii. 5-11, . 436 xxii. 29, JOHN. ibid. COLOSSIANS. i. 13-23, _ ^ iM i. 1—14, . _ 436 ii. 17, - - 3Sb iv. 41,42, _ 347 V. 64, V). 15, - - . - . - 463 348 I. TIMOTHY. vii. 17, . _ 20 viii. 5S, . 119 ii. 5, - - 436 xiii 34, " - 138 11. TIMOTHY. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES i. 10, - _ 393 ii. 4—11, . 39-^ ,434 iii. 8, _ _ 473 29, 311 9, - 47U ,473 iv. 4, . - 398 vii. 22, 23-30, - 73 75 HEBREWS. 23—25, 74 26-28, . 75 ii. 14, . _ 393 viii. 27, _ 397 vi 20, - _ 381 X. _ 179 vii. - . ibid. xi. - . ibid. 11, 12, _ 382 25, . . 899 25, _ _ S93 xiii. 15—44,, . 397 26-2S . 262 xiv. 1, - . ibid. viii. 5, - _ 463 XV. _ _ 179 ix. . 391 xvii. 1—4, _ 397 4, _ _ 94 xxvi. 18, _ _ 116 x. 12, 25, _ 391 1-10, _ . 382 1—22, _ 391 ROMANS. 10. 15, . - _ - - 39J 384 ii.6~il, - 437 13, - _ ?8a 506 INDEX OF TEXTS REFERRED TO PAGE xi. 4, . _ 297 1.5-8, 5, „ _ - 298 iv.8, 6, .. _ 275 '■■ft, ■ 8—10, . . - S02 13—16, . ibid. 15-19, 24—26 . _ 74,305 xii. 14, xii. 22, 23, - 317 >v. 3 G, xix. XX. REVELATION. 10, 119 436 437 430 435 436 ibid. 887 LIST OF AUTHOES. Augustine de Civitate Dei. Aristotle Politic. B Bamier's Mythology. Basnage's History of the Jews. Benson's Paraphrase. Bibliotheca Biblica. Bochart's Phaleg. Bryant's Analysis of Ancient Mythology. Bry clone's Tour. Burder's Oriental Customs. Buchanan's Christian Researches. , Episcopal Establishment in India. Brucker's Hist. Philosophife. Butler's Analogy of Religion. Cappe's Critical Remarks. Carlyle's Poems. Chandler's Life of David. Cicero de finibus. i de Natura Deorum. Clarke on the Attributes of God. Clarke's Evidences of Natural and Re- vealed Religion. Critical Review. Cudworth's Intellectual System. Cumberland on the Law of Nature. Cunseus de Republica Hebrceoum. Diodorus Siculus. De Wette on the Old Testament. Desvoeux on Ecclesiastes. Dionysius Halicar, on the Ancient Reli- gion of the Romans. Dodd's Commentary. Doddridge's Lectures. I Family Expositor. Elrington's Donellan Sermons. Euripides. Eusebius PrEcpar. Evangelica. Faber's Horre Mosaicse. Farmer's Dissertation on Miracles. Findlay's Answer to Voltaire. Fleury on the Manners of the lBraelitc<«a Gale's Court of the Gentiles. Gastrell's, Boyle, Lectures. Geddes' Critical Remarks. Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Graydon's Memoir in Transactions of tJiS Royal Irish Academy. Grotius de Jure Belli et Pacis. de Veritate Christ. K el. Graves' Sermon on Promoting Christian- ity among the Jews. H Hales' Analysis of Chronology. Hamilton on the Being and Attributes of God. Hamilton, Sir VV. Remarks in Philuso- phical Transactions. Hasselquist's Voyages and Travels. Harmer's Observations. Hartley on the Truth of Christianity. Herodotus. Hesiod. Hinck's Answer to Paine. Huttinger's Hist. Persarum. Homer. Houbigant. Hook's Roman History. Home's Par. on the Psalmg. Horatii. Satyr. ^08 LIST OF AUTHOHS. Humphrey's Essay. Hyde's Rel. Veter. Persarum. Hutchinson's Works. Hume's Natural History of Keligion. Hue;:. us Demonst. Evangel. Je"is!i Letters to Voltaire. Jones, iSir W. Asiatic Researches. Joseplius cont. Apion. Antiquities. K Kennlcott's Dissertations. Kirwan's Essay in Transactions of Royal Irish Academy. ■ Translation of the Transactions of the Parisian Sanhedrim. King on the Origin of Evil. Lardner's Credibility. Law's Theory of Religion. Leland's Advantage of a Revelation. Le Clerc. Leslie, Short Method with the Deists. Levi's Defence of the Old Testament. Levi, David, Dissertation on the Pro- phecies. Leydeker de Rep. Heb. Limborch coll. cum Judceo. Lord Relig. de Pers. Lowman on the Civil Government of the Hebrews. 1 on the Hebrew Ritual. Locke on the Reasonableness of Chris- tianity. Lucian de Longsevis. M Macrobii Saturnalia. Magee on the Atonement. MaTmonides de Idolatria. • More Nevochim. Marsh on the Authen. of Five Books of Moses. Marshall's Chronological Tables. Mather's Figures and Types of the Old Testament. Mede's Apostasy of the Latter Times. Middleton's Comparison of Popery and Paganism. Minutius Felix Octavius. Montague on the Rise ard Fall of the Ancient Republics, tffoiitesquieu's Spirit of Laws. N ^ie^vton on tlie Prophecies. Newton, Sir L on the AporaJypsc. ' ■ Principia. Ovid. Outram de Sacrifefia;. Paine's Age of Reason. Paley's Evidences. Horao Paulinte. Parkhurst. Parry's Defence of Sherlock. Parker's Lectures on the Old Testament. Patrick's Commentary. Philo's Works. Picart's Cerem. Relig. Plato in Cratylus. de Kepublica. Plutarch's Lives. Polybius. Pocock's Specimen Hist. Arab, ex Abul- faragio. Pole's Synopsis. Prideaux's Connection. Life of Mahomet. R Randolph's Comparison of Citations Jn the New Testament with ffebrew and LXX. Raynal, Abbe, Hist. Philos. Roberts' Harmony of the Epistles. Ryan on the Effects of Religion. Sale's Koran. Selden de Diis Syris. jure Natur. jux. Hebrseos. Shaw's Travels. Shahristani Relig. Pers. Sherlock's Discourses on Prophecy. Shuckford's Connection. Spencer de Legibus Hebrseoum. dissert, de Theocrat. Jud. Sophocles. Stanleii Hist. Phil. Orient, cum ao^fJ* Clerici. Stillingfleet's Origines Sacra. Suetonius Vita Tiberii. Stokes' Answer to Paine. Suicer Thesaurus. T Tacitus' Annals. Targum of Onkelos. Taylor's Scheme of Scripture Divinity. Terence. TertuUian's Apology. LIST OF AUTHORS. r>{)9 Ijiiilijui's Elements of Christian Theo- logy Vansit tart's Letters in Defence of the B'lUh'. Society. Virgil's ^neid. Universal History. Vossius de Idololatria. W <^«il''-'s liiblia Polyglot. WarI)urton's Divine Legation. Wagenseil's Tela Jgnea SatanEC. Watson's Tracts. Apology. White's Bampton Lectures. Winder's History oi" Knowledge. Witsii ^gyptiaca. — de (Econom. Feeder. Wolfii Comment. Woolaston's Religion of Nature. Xenophon's Vindira'.ion. /'