LECTURE VIII.

ST. JOHN V. 46, 47.

"Had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye be

lieve my words?"

The circumstances which called forth the pointed address, of which our text is a part, are briefly narrated in the preceding context of this chapter; where we are informed of the miracle by which the great Redeemer healed a man of an infirmity which he had borne for the space of thirty-eight years. Against the benevolence of this act, the Jews could offer no complaint; but the day on which the miracle was performed, was the subject of their grievance, and gave birth to their murmurings against the Son of God. They insisted that he must be an irreligious man, since they construed this display of his power and benevolence, on a day held by them in such veneration, into an irreverence and disregard for the institution of the Sabbath.

Their superstitious zeal had so far blinded their reason, that they were betrayed into the absurd and ridiculous hypothesis, that it was "unlawful even to do good on the Sabbath day!" thereby arraying the law of God against the pure display of mercy and benevolence!

This blind fanatical zeal, with which they were infected, led them to persecute the Saviour, and to seek opportunities to accomplish his destruction: But to place the evidence of his divine authority and doctrine in a plain and striking manner before them, Christ reminds them of the testimony of John the Baptist, who was a bright and burning light, and in whom, for a time, they all rejoiced for he had borne witness to the mission of Christ, and to the divine approbation which he had received from God. He also appealed to the works or miracles which he had per

formed in the name of his Father; and finally, to the testimony of Moses, in whom they professed to believe; alleging that this celebrated lawgiver had written of him. Hence he takes occasion to question the sincerity of their professions of confidence in what Moses had taught, and infers the evidence of their infidelity to their own prophet, from the fact of their rejecting him of whom that prophet had written: But he admonishes them, saying, "Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?" From this language it is evident that Christ sanctioned the divine authority of the Mosaic records.

As there were, in the days of Christ, those who discredited the writings of Moses, even so, there are multitudes at the present day, who reject his testimony and treat it with reproach. But at this enlightened age, it is, and ought to be, confidently expected, that in case his prophetic inspiration can be clearly and fully supported by an appeal to the authentic pages of history, his writings must and ought to be received and accredited as of divine authority. To accomplish this object, will be the design of the labors for this evening.

I shall not trouble you, my hearers, with a long and useless prelude, nor trespass upon your sympathies by complaining of the arduous labor assigned me for the task upon which I enter, though it must present to you the historical evidence of numerous scenes of suffering, the most severe and protracted of any which the annals of nations have recorded, yet it is a labor upon which I enter with cheerfulness, from a conviction of its importance to man's best hopes, which must stand or fall with the truth of prophetic inspiration. I therefore solicit you to give the subject a candid and impartial hearing, and to weigh every argument and evidence which may be adduced, in the even balance of reason.

In the discharge of this duty, I must call your attention to some of the most extraordinary prophecies of Moses, and briefly lay before you the history of their fulfilment.

The limits of a single discourse forbid that the selections from the writings of this prophet should be numerous; and hence the necessity of embracing those, and those only, which are the most striking and important.

The first prophetic passage of his writings which you are invited to consider, is recorded in Leviticus, xxvi. 33. "And I will scatter you among the heathen, and draw out a sword after you and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste."

It is proper here to remind you that Moses had before instructed the children of Israel that they should enter in and possess the land of Canaan, and had also foretold the astonishing success and prosperity which should attend them: He had now, in the chapter which contains this singular prophecy, been describing to them the various blessings and advantages which should attend them and their posterity, in case they persevered in obedience to the divine commands: but upon their rebellion and wilful disobedience, numerous and severe punishments were to be visited upon them as a people, among which, that which is mentioned in the prophecy under consideration, holds a conspicuous place.

In this passage, Moses tells his brethren that their land should be desolate, and their cities waste: But at the period of this annunciation, they possessed neither land nor cities. The language is therefore doubly prophetic : had they then failed to take possession of the promised land, the whole prophecy would not only have been regarded as a base imposture, but the authority of his successor would probably have been challenged, and his person treated and despised as that of an unprincipled and ambitious usurper.-Moses was doubtless aware of this, and yet he betrays no symptoms of doubt or uncertainty as to the event; but the most entire confidence that all which he had spoken would be fulfilled. The reason, my hearers, for this confidence, is plain and forcible; he knew that what he uttered was by divine authority, and therefore, could not fail of accomplishment.

The first part of this prophecy, which related to their possession of the land and cities of Palestine, no m who possesses any knowledge of Jewish, or universal

tory, can entertain the least doubt, concerning its fulfilment: For the fact is rendered too obvious for denial, without an indiscriminate rejection of all historical evidence. The remaining part of this prophecy, which announces that they should be scattered among the heathen, and that a sword, the emblem of oppression and destruction, should be drawn out against them, remains yet to be considered.

And can any attentive reader of history be ignorant of the fulfilment of this prediction? Can any traveller upon the continents of Asia, Europe, and Africa, or even of America, for a moment, resist the evidence of his senses, in confirmation of this interesting fact, so long foretold?

From the days of Moses, during the period of 400 years, in which that nation was governed by Judges, no less than six captivities befel them, and each attended with immense and cruel slaughter. 1. They were captured by the Mesopotamians, and held in bondage eight years;-2. By the Moabites ;-3. By the Philistines ;4. By Jabin, king of Hazor;-5. By the Midianites ;6. By the Amonites and Philistines. All these captivities took place more than 1100 years before the birth of Christ. After these, two captivities are mentioned of the house of Israel, which are worthy of particular notice; since these captivities effectually scattered the ten tribes.

Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, called by profane historians, Ninus Junior, took several cities, and carried away a multitude of captives, principally from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manassah: Concerning these, we have no account of their return. This captivity occurred about 750 years before the birth of Christ.

About nineteen years after this, Salmanasar, another king of Assyria, invaded Samaria, and after a siege of three years, made himself master of the whole country, and carried the remaining part of the ten tribes, which had been left by Tiglath-Pileser, into captivity, and planted them beyond the river Euphrates, from which place, the great body of them never have returned: Thus ended the kingdom of Israel. It is undoubtedly true, however, that a portion of each of the tribes escaped this captivity, and remained in Samaria. Some of the Israelitish cap

tives also had permission to return to their own land, so that a sufficient number remained in Palestine in our Sa

viour's day to represent all the ten tribes. Besides these, it appears from the Samaritan Chronicle, as quoted by Don Calmet, "that in the 35th year of the pontificate of Abdelus, 3000 Israelites, by the permission of king Sauredius, returned from captivity, under the conduct of Adus, son of Simeon."

From the recent investigations of some of the most learned in India, the Affghan and Pyran nations are the descendants of the ten tribes. Dr. Buchanan informs us that when he visited the Black Jews in the South of India, he inquired of them where their brethren of the ten tribes were to be found, or the great body of them; and he tells us that they readily answered, "in the north, in the regions adjacent to Chaldea, the very country whither they were first carried into captivity."

Sir William Jones has given it as his opinion, that the Affghans are Jews, and quotes various authorities in confirmation of that opinion. "We learn," says this writer, "from Esdras, that the ten tribes, after a wandering journey, came to a country called Arsareth, where we may suppose they settled. Now the best Persian historians affirm that the Affghans are descended from the Jews ; and they have among themselves traditions of the same import. It is even asserted, that their families are distinguished by the names of Jewish tribes."

Should it be asked why they have not retained the records of their country? The answer is perfectly easy. The Mahomedans came upon them with a powerful invading army; first inspiring them with the expectation of being exterminated, and then proposing to incorporate with them, and of uniting all their forces against the infidels. To render this proposal sure of acceptance, these invaders alleged that they were Jews; that they practiced circumcision and kept the Sabbath. Through fear, the Affghans consented to the proposal, when their ancient institutions soon became corrupted; their sacred books diminished in number, till they finally disappeared; since which time, they have passed for Mahometans.

Dr. Buchanan informs us there were Affghans in C