is no more than the necessary consequence of the nature of God, and that of man: and this is a principle which we may safely admit without fear of contradiction; for even the infidel will be ready to allow, that if religion is true, it must be of this character. This then being granted, I ask the gainsayer who denies revelation, to shew me any book in the whole world except the Bible, which has spoken worthily of God and properly of man; or which indeed has spoken even reasonably on these subjects; unless the arguments in any such book were altogether derived from the Holy Scriptures themselves.

Neither do we find, that the ancient or modern disbeliever has ever been able to produce a system, which would bear a shadow of comparison with that which is contained in the Sacred Volume. All, who have attempted it, have failed in dignifying their subject. None but the inspired penmen have succeeded in describing the greatness of God and the true nature of man; and on the subject of religion, we seek in vain throughout the writings of the most learned men, either for solid reason or sound sense, unless they have written in accordance with revelation.

How is it then to be accounted for, if not by its Divine Origin, that the Bible alone teaches us truly of God, his attributes, his greatness, and his power; his goodness, his infinite knowledge,

and all-guiding Providence? Surely we cannot with any reason deny the Divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, when in them alone are contained all those truths of revealed religion which none but God could know.

I wish, that those who will still lean to infidelity, would shew me wherefore they do so, that I might convince them, even yet more fully, that the Bible speaks in a manner which in every line proves its truth, and not only its truth but its Divine origin. When they object to Holy Writ, it is proper at the same time to say, what are their ideas of a religion which should be true, and would appear to be such as might arise from, and be in conformity with, a source so sacred. But where are those among men, who would do other than betray their ignorance in the attempt? The sacred historians are the only persons, who ever have or who ever will succeed in it. They alone completely understood the excellency of God and the truths of religion. From whence, then, did they derive a knowledge so rare and so singular? Where, but from the fountain of all knowledge, God himself?

Moses, who was the first of these men, lived in an age, when nearly the whole world was wandering in the blindness of spiritual darkness. The Egyptians, though learned in many sciences, were in total ignorance of the nature of true religion. Yet we find in the writings of this Moses,

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who was brought up entirely among them, and educated solely by their learned men, the most elevated ideas of God, and of that duty which we owe him. It would much exceed our limits to extract from all the Books of Moses those sublime and numerous passages, in which he describes the majesty and authority of the Supreme Being; the Pentateuch itself will supply them innumerably to the careful searcher after heavenly wisdom; we must content ourselves with selecting two examples from Deuteronomy. "Thou shalt have none other Gods but me *." "The Lord our God is one Lord : and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy might +." In these few words are contained infinitely more than we can find in any other volume in the world, though pages upon pages in countless numbers might be devoted to the important subject: but these ideas are too generally understood, and too well known to detain us any longer.

Moses then we must allow to have been most eminent and distinguished, if only in comparison with other writers: but we do not find in his books one word of that philosophy which he had learnt among the Egyptians, and from them we have already shewn that he could not acquire any just ideas of religion. Must not then that knowledge,

which is displayed in his writings, have been more than human? Was it not a Divine knowledge? Must it not have proceeded from Perfect Intelligence itself? Was it not indeed a miracle, that a man, without having been taught himself, should be able to teach his fellow-men truly to know their God and to serve him in a manner suitable to his purity, power, and goodness? Must it not have been by the aid of Divine inspiration alone, that Moses was enabled to open to the minds of men so clear and so holy a worship; and that, in so plain a manner, that reason, however uninstructed and uncultivated, cannot refuse its assent to and admiration of it?

If those, who reject Divine revelation, would find in the first ages, or indeed in any after ages of the world, another human being, who has framed a system of worship or a code of laws in any degree equal to those of Moses, it would in some degree weaken those arguments, which are established on the singular excellence of this individual. But I fearlessly assert, that the legislator, the teacher, the leader, the historian worthy to be compared with Moses, has never yet been found among men. It has been said by some, that Moses was truly a man of ability, that he had a wonderful genius, but that he was an impostor. I ask those, who are bold enough to avow such impious and pernicious sentiments, to declare upon

what grounds they form their judgment; and I will engage to shew them clearly, let their reasons for the accusation be what they may, that it is impossible, with the slightest appearance of truth, to tax Moses with deceit. Of those enemies of Moses, who are compelled to allow, that he was a man of great genius, though at the same time they tax him with imposture, I ask, when did it happen, that an impostor, even supposing him to have been possessed of the most elevated talents,-when did it happen, I say, that such a man controuled and directed by his will a nation consisting of many hundred thousands, and founded them into a distinguished republic, yet not in any degree by force of arms; not by forming a party of the strongest, the wisest, and the wealthiest of the people, but simply by the holiness of that religion, and the wisdom of those laws which he promulgated among them? I deny that imposture ever carried with it such a singular prerogative.

What did those sages of ancient Greece, whose names have been handed down to us through a succession of ages, accomplish; what did they carry into effect with their abundance of knowledge? They formed numberless sects: they were opposed to each other even in the same cities: they disputed with unceasing variety; doubting on every subject, and ending at length where they began, in the wide waste of uncertainty; after all their