worldly circumstances, would regard; for, in so far as this life is concerned, they could afford him no visible compensation.

15. Actuated by such views, he was so far from dreading the reproach of being allied by birth to the oppressed Israelites, that he became their vindicator. Their degraded condition was, indeed, unlike the greatness of the promises which they fondly cherished; nor was it surprising that their oppressors should have made them the objects of derision. It was this reproach that Moses preferred to all the wealth and glory of Egypt; and in doing so, whatever opinion may be formed of his wisdom, his conduct was completely the reverse of that of an impostor. He had as yet, most evidently, formed no scheme of imposture; and the principles of piety and of generosity by which he was actuated, rendered it very improbable that he should digest or execute such a plan at any future period. "By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible."

16. He retired into the recesses of the wilderness, and formed a matrimonial alliance far from favourable to ambitious designs. Here, in the bosom of his family, and tending his flock, he passed forty years,-a considerable period of his life, and a period which would certainly not have been passed in inglorious repose had he been actuated by the views and feelings of an impostor. What hope of success could he entertain, on the supposition that such had been his views and feelings, at the time which he selected for the experiment? It was impossible he could attain his object by violence. Nor could it be accomplished by intrigue. In what other way could the most sagacious politician think of compassing it?

17. But in neither of these ways did Moses liberate the enslaved Hebrews. After he had opened his commission to the elders of the people, he proceeded, accompanied by Aaron, his brother, into the presence of the king, and in unceremonious and peremptory language, made a demand,

the very making of which, he might be well assured, was attended with hazard. "Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness." It is not surprising that a petition which indicated in those by whom it was presented, judging on any mere human principles of action, the height of imprudence, should have been scornfully rejected by a despotic monarch. But notwithstanding the scorn and indignation with which he treated the petition and the petitioners, we know that the matter finally terminated in favour of both; and that the king, much against his inclination, was forced to give his consent to the departure of Israel.

18. How can this fact, the occurrence of which is universally acknowledged, be accounted for, on the supposition of Moses being an impostor? If a divine interposition be admitted, a sufficient explanation is given of the event; if not, on what human principles can a solution be given? The fact, that Israel did leave Egypt is unquestionable; for it is attested by many heathen authors, and there is no opposing testimony. "According to Manetho, Lysimachus, Diodorus, Justin, and some of the authors consulted by Tacitus, the Israelites were violently expelled; but according to other authors adduced by Tacitus, they were not expelled, but merely emigrated ; and the reason assigned for their voluntary emigration is simply that the vast population of Egypt exceeded its resources." They all agree as to the fact, though they differ from the Pentateuch as to the cause of its occurrence. "When opposed, as in respect to this they are, to the narrative of Moses, which they all more or less incidentally corroborate, what reliance can be placed on writers who thus perpetually contradict themselves, who had a motive to falsify the truth, and of whom the very earliest (Manetho) flourished more than twelve centuries after the event?" The cause assigned by Moses, the miraculous interposition of God, is that only which accounts for the

fact. But this cause being admitted, it must also be conceded that Moses acted as the delegate of Heaven, and that he was a true prophet.

19. After Israel were liberated from Egypt, they were conducted by Moses through the Red sea, while all the Egyptian hosts perished by the return of the waters. They were afterwards led by him into the wilderness, where they must have inevitably perished, had their leader been an impostor. That they followed him as a leader from heaven, is attested by Tacitus and other heathen historians. But would they have continued to regard him as sustaining a miraculous character, unless in their difficulties he had afforded them miraculous assistance? Could they have believed that they were sustained by manna from heaven, that they drunk water which flowed to them from a rock, and that they had seen the earth opening and destroying their enemies, if these things had not happened? Their belief in their occurrence furnishes complete proof of their reality; but the admission of their reality is the establishment of the divine legation of Moses.

20. His integrity, and the divinity of his mission, may be also most fully proved by the political constitution of that economy of which he was the founder. But as I intend to give to this subject a full and distinct consideration, I shall not enter upon it at present.

21. But it would be improper to conclude this subject without adverting to the moral and religious character of Moses, as furnishing an argument in support of the validity of his claims.

22. We have ample evidence of his sincerity in the manner in which, as an historian, he has written his nar rative. This is characterized by the marks of the most perfect candour, impartiality, and veracity. I shall at present make no further allusion to the character of his narrative than to say, that after an extended comparison of the history written by Moses, and that of Josephus.

regarding the same events, we clearly perceive the difference between the genuine narration of the one, and the cautious compilation of the other. "We find Josephus," to use the words of an excellent writer* on the last four books of the Pentateuch, "doing what is natural every compiler of a history should do, when describing the character of a legislator whom he looked up to with reverence, and when 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 and 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 partialities of the human mind, we should discover them in his describing the character of the man who is represented as the legislator and head of the nation who were the chosen people of God. I could show, by a minute induction, that nothing of this kind occurs in the Pentateuch, and that multiplied instances of it are found in Josephus, who is yet admitted to be an historian of 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." 23. We observe in Moses zeal for the honour of God, and an habitual and generous concern for the comfort and welfare of the people under his charge. His disinterestedness is remarkable. Though invested with supreme authority, and though, from the prophetical character which he sustained, his influence was great, he in no instance shows a desire to perpetuate the wealth and power of his family. He did not assume to himself the title of king, nor did he attempt to confine the sovereign authority to the line of his sons, or even of his tribe. His de

• Graves's Lect. vol. i. p. 63.

scendants are excluded both from the priesthood and from the civil direction of the nation: instead of being ranked with the chiefs or heads of families, they are placed on a level with the ordinary members of the tribe. Near the close of his life he nominated, for his successor in the supreme military and civil command, Joshua, the son of Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim. This disinterested conduct is unaccountable, unless we admit that Moses was influenced by principles very different from those which must always actuate impostors; and that he was truly what he claimed to be, the inspired and divinely-commissioned servant of the God of Israel.

CHAPTER III.

THE DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE MOSAIC DISPENSATION FURTHER PROVED: THE CREDIBILITY OF THE TESTIMONY TO THE MIRACLES.

1. (I.) IN the last chapter I considered the character and opportunities of the witnesses by whose testimony the miracles of the Mosaic economy are attested. I began with Moses himself, and adduced evidence to prove that he was neither an enthusiast, a dupe, nor an impostor. I now go on,

2. (II.) To the proof arising from the marks of sincerity and truth with which the miracles are recorded. They are related not only by a person of good character and eminent moral worth, but the record exhibits all the evidence of perfect sincerity and veracity; that sincerity, the expression of which every man feels, and which carries conviction to the mind more forcibly than the most elaborate argument. In the writings of Moses we discover