Sara shall bear unto thee, at this set time in the next year*." Of Isaac came Moses, and all the people to whom he said "The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from amidst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me. Unto him shall ye hearken. I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I have commanded him." Such an one was Jesus; who was gladly foreseen by Abraham, who was of the race of Isaac, and approved by signs from heaven, as him of whom God had given the promise.-As the third covenant was made concerning him, was he not foreshown in the fourth also?

The fourth, replied Havilah, was given by Moses. By him came the Law, through which the eternal truth was made known in the world till Christ came to reveal it more fully.

Eber answered, Though Abraham was wise, and believed that God is One, some of his posterity were darkened in mind like the Egyptians among whom they dwelt; and though they believed that Jehovah was the only God of the Hebrews, they supposed that other nations had also gods.

Therefore was the revelation given unto Moses, and the Law delivered from the Mount, that they might be separated from the follies of other nations, and might keep the eternal truth that the One God must be obeyed. While they were obedient, they were at peace: if they disobeyed, they were afflicted; and thus they learned to believe and preserve the truth, till the day when the holy Jesus came to shed a fuller light into the souls of men. Yet it was the same faith which had been given in narrower measure to Adam, to Noah, and to Abraham.

The signs of the covenant with Moses were many, said Havilah. It was he who said unto Pharaoh after the miracles which had been done in Egypt, "Thou well knowest that none hath sent down these evident signs except the Lord of heaven and earth, and I truly esteem thee, O Pharaoh, a lost man+!" Truly the Lord was with Moses.

* Genesis xvii. 18-21.

Koran, chap. 17.

Eber replied, When the people had been led forth with miracles from Egypt, and when Moses had seen the glory of God, and when there had been thunders and fire and clouds, and the sound of a trumpet on the Mount, Jehovah said again, "Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among whom thou art shall see the work of the Lord: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee."'—" Behold I drive out before thee the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest*." Thus was it done, so that the land of promise was given to Abraham's seed.

The fifth dispensation, said Havilah, was greater than all that had gone before. When it was about to be given, the angels stood afar off to gaze, even as when man was first created; and the Despairing One shrank back to hide himself, believing that his hour of punishment was come.

Man was indeed newly created on that day, said Eber; for eternal life was then offered to him. Then indeed began the warfare against the Powers of Evil, by which they shall surely be overthrown.

Here again, said Havilah, was the eternal truth revealed, and by signs from God was it again confirmed.

That truth was not shown in part, to one nation, as before, replied Eber. It is shown forth in the Gospel as clearly as the sun at noon-day; and it can never again be obscured. No more shall there be light among the Hebrews, while darkness, as in the dwellings of Egypt, covers all besides. No more shall there be hopeless wailings for the dead in some dwellings, while there is peace among others. All men shall come to Jesus to partake of life, and to be assured of immortality. The blessings of his Gospel are so many and so deep, that men shall not know them fully till they speak of them one to another on the judgement-day; and the wisdom which-it teaches is so given, that it opens out as men watch for it; it comes forth as they need it. It has never been fathomed; it * Exodus xxxiv. 10, &c.

can never be exhausted: and if the earth should endure for many thousand years, the wisest man of the last and wisest age may yet learn of the Gospel of Jesus as thy child learneth of thee. God giveth no more dispensations, for this brings man to the very gates of heaven. Besides this, he gives no further revelation; for by this is his truth perpetually brightening forth, as the radiance increases from the early dawn till noon. By this Gospel may we know him as fully as we can know him till we see him face to face in heaven; therefore we know that his plan is completed. Neither can there be any higher sign than that which sanctified this last covenant.Jesus was raised from the dead: and as this sign shall at length be acknowledged over all the earth, none other shall be given but those which the spirit of the Gospel worketh in the heart of every man.

Nay but, said Havilah, one other dispensation there has already been, and new signs attested it. The revelations of God have been six; and the sixth is that of Mohammed.

As I have said, replied Eber, Mohammed was wise, and many things which he said were true: but I believe that those truths had been told before, and that his wisdom was not from above. Read again, and meditate as thou hast meditated this day, and it shall be plain unto thee that there is nothing true, or pure, or lofty, which may not be found in the teachings of Jesus; nothing just, or mild, or holy, which was not in his character; nothing awful, which was not in his mission; nothing that righteous men can desire, which that mission has not secured to them. Tell me of any mighty sign which Mohammed has done, and which Christ did not surpass: tell me of any innocent desire which Mohammed was more ready than Jesus to fulfill; of any hope or fear given by Jesus, which Mohammed hath exalted: tell me of any new truth displayed by your Prophet, of which Jesus was not aware; show me that his dispensation is more certain to last, and more fit to be spread abroad in the earth than that of Christ,-and then will I own that there may be a better faith than that of Christians,

and a greater prophet than Jesus. Let us read and think, and by their own deeds and words let each prophet be judged.

Be it so, replied Havilah; and then shall we be of one mind. Do the Christians believe, as the Faithful, that the multitude of the prophets and Apostles have been kept pure from great sins that they might purify the world? If they do thus believe, how is it that Judas is of the number of the Apostles?

The Christians know not, replied Eber, as the followers of Mohammed declare, that the number of the prophets has been many thousands; nor of the Apostles, properly so called, do they number more than thirteen ;-viz. the twelve whom Jesus chose at the beginning of his mission, and Paul, who was called by miracle to be the Apostle of the Gentiles. Since a light from heaven was shed into the hearts of the prophets, and wisdom was laid upon their lips; since they knew God, and understood his judgements better than the people to whom they spoke, their faith was firmer, and their lives were more holy than those of men who were less favoured. Thus was Samuel devoted to the Lord, so that his name shall be venerated for ever. Thus Elijah strongly reproved the worshipers of Baal, saying, "Do ye not fear God? Do ye invoke Baal, and forsake the most excellent Creator? God is your Lord, and the Lord of your forefathers*." And therefore was Elijah beloved of God as one of his most faithful servants. Thus hath Elisha been ever esteemed holy; and the name of Isaiah is great; and the fidelity of Daniel is yet more esteemed than his wisdom. Yet the Prophets were men, and, however wise, were sometimes subject to folly; and, however strong in the spirit, they sometimes fell when pressed by temptation. Did not Moses murmur at some of the commands of God? And where was the faith of Jonah, when he would have fled from before the face of the Lord? Yet no man supposes that the

*Koran, chap. 37.

word of God is injured by the frailty of those who speak it. Rather is his wisdom shown forth the more clearly by their folly, and his strength by their weakness; since the thoughts. which they spoke were higher than their own thoughts, and the ways which they pointed out were truer than those which they had found.

But the Apostles, said Havilah, must have been pure; since their office was not only to speak as God gave them authority, but to reclaim men from infidelity and superstition. Theirs was the highest office next to that of the six revealers of God's dispensations; and though some were more excellent than others, yet all must have been free from great sins; and of their whole number, which our traditions relate to have been three hundred and thirteen, there can have been none so guilty as your Scriptures declare Judas to have been.

Eber replied, God rules in the hearts of all men; and in as far as he has given to any who are wise to make known his will and to convert their brethren, they may be said to be sent by him, and may bear the name of his Apostles: the number of such faithful servants cannot be reckoned by us, or by any men. But of those who were chosen or sent forth by Christ, and who in distinction from other men are called Apostles, it is clear that others besides Judas were not altogether sinless. Not only did Peter deny his Lord, but the other witnesses of Christ forsook him and fled.

How unfit were such to be Apostles! exclaimed Havilah. Rather were they the more fit, replied Eber; and herein is another proof that the ways of God are wiser than our ways. These men were chosen to bear witness of Jesus, especially of his resurrection: and when men saw that they who had been dispersed in terror on the death of their Lord reassembled fearlessly after they had seen him alive again, and from that time preached in his name, through persecution and tor

* Prelim. Dissert. page 75.