scriptures, with which they had become acquainted through various channels.

If we direct our attention to the heathen nations of the present age, such as Tartary, the Philippine islands, many parts of Africa, China, and Hindostan, we learn, from the unanimous testimony of navigators and travellers, that they are enveloped in the grossest ignorance and idolatry, and that their religious worship, doctrines, and practices are equally corrupt with those of the Pagan nations of antiquity; yet they also possess the same light of reason which the ancient heathens enjoyed. With regard to Hindostan in particular, the polytheism is of the grossest and most debasing kind. There are not fewer than three hundred and thirty millions of deities claiming the adoration of their votaries! The rites are the most impure, the penances the most toilsome, the modes of self-torture almost innumerable, and as extraordinary and as exquisite in degree as human nature can sustain. The burning or burying of widows, infanticide, the immersion of the sick or dying in the Ganges, and self-devotement to destruction by the idol Juggernaut, are among the horrid practices which flow from the system of idolatry established among them, and which are exceeded in folly and ferocity by none to which paganism has given birth. The manifest effects of this system are an immersion into the grossest moral darkness, and an universal corruption of manners.— Asiatic Researches, vol. viii. And yet the inhabitants of Hindostan are highly celebrated for their progress in the useful arts, and for intellectual acuteness.

tors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without under- | In short, the heathen philosophy was every way defecstanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, tive and erroneous, and if there was any thing excelimplacable, unmerciful.'—Leland's Necess. and Advant. lent or commendable in it, there is great reason to beof Revelation.-Clarke's Evid. of Nat. and Rev. Relig.lieve that it was not the genuine result of the mental -Gregory's Letters on Christ. Relig.-Horne's Introd. efforts of the philosophers, but derived from a higher vol. i.-Hartly on Man, vol. ii. source, even from very ancient traditions, to which they There were, indeed, among the heathens some few themselves usually assigned a divine original, or from philosophers who cherished better principles and in-scattered portions of the revelations contained in the culcated comparatively purer tenets than those already alluded to; and no doubt these men were raised up and designed by God, who never left himself wholly without witness, as instruments to reprove, in some measure, and put some kind of check to the extreme superstition and wickedness of the nations in which they lived, or at least to bear witness against, and condemn these nations. But still the instructions of these individuals were very defective and inefficient. They never were able to reform the world, or to keep together any considerable number of men in the knowledge and practice of virtue. Their precepts were delivered to their own immediate pupils and not to the lower orders of people, who constitute the great mass of society. Besides, the ethical systems of the philosophers were too refined for the common people, most of their discourses upon morals being rather speculative and learned, nice and subtle disputes, than practical and universally useful instructions; and even those things of which they were not only certain themselves, but which they were also able to prove and explain to others with sufficient plainness and clearness, such as are the most obvious and necessary duties of life, they had not sufficient authority to enforce and inculcate upon men's minds so as to influence and govern the general practice of the world. The truths which they proved by speculative reasoning wanted still more sensible authority to back them, and make them of more force and efficacy in practice; and the precepts which they laid down, however reasonable and fit to be obeyed, were still destitute of weight, and were but the precepts of men. They could present no motives sufficiently powerful to animate men's minds and stimulate them to the practice of true virtue, and support them under the trials and calamities of life. In fact, the philosophers never did nor could effect any remarkable change in the minds and lives of men such as was undeniably produced by the preaching of Christ and his apostles. In the original uncorrupted state of human nature, before the mind of man was depraved with false and erroneous opinions, corrupt affections, and vicious inclinations, customs and habits, right reason may be supposed to have been a sufficient guide and a principle powerful enough to preserve men in the constant practice of their duty. But in the present circumstances and condition of mankind, unassisted reason is altogether insufficient to accomplish this end.*

But notwithstanding all this mass of evidences in favour of the necessity of a divine revelation, it has been asserted by modern deists, that the book of nature is the only book to be studied, and that philosophy and right reason are sufficient to instruct and to preserve men in their duty. They cannot deny that great ignorance and corruption prevailed in the whole heathen world, but they contend that the ignorance and corruption of former ages have always been owing, not to any absolute insufficiency of the light of nature itself, but to the fault of the several particular persons in not sufficiently improving that light; and that deists now, in places where learning and right reason are cultivated, are well able to discover and explain all the obligations and motives of morality, without the aid of a revelation.

But granting it to be true that all the obligations and notions of morality could possibly be discovered and

*The four great propositions which the moderns almost uni-explained clearly by the mere light of nature alone, yet versally concede to natural religion, as integral parts of it, are, 1st, That there is but one God. 2d, That God is nothing of those things which we see. 3d, That God takes care of all things below, and governs all the world. 4th, That he alone is the great Creator of all things out of himself. Now they are uncontro vertible facts, which cannot be too deeply engraven upon the mind that none of the greatest and wisest men among the Greeks and Romans held all these propositions, and that very few held any of them firmly; that before the Christian era no people in the world believed these propositions but the Jews; and that they

even this would not at all prove that there is no need of revelation. For whatever the bare natural possibility was, it is certain that the wisest philosophers of old never were able to discover and explain those obligations and duties to any effectual purpose, but always did not discover them, but received them by divine revelation in the basis of the first four precepts of the decalogue.-Dr Gregory's Letters on the Christian Religion.-ED.

The only other way by which we can suppose the divine | God, and which Christians have received as such, fur

will to be revealed to man, is that which the Scriptures affirm to have been actually employed; namely, the qualitying of certain individuals to declare that will to others, by infallible signs and evidences that they are authorised and commissioned by God.

But it was not only necessary that a divine revelation should be communicated to mankind, in a way best calculated to accomplish the end proposed, but also that effectual means should be employed, in order to preserve such revelation for the benefit of mankind, and to deliver it down genuine and uncorrupted to posterity. Now we know of no method better calculated for preserving and transmitting a divine revelation, than that of writing; for oral tradition is in its own nature so uncertain and insecure, that a revelation could not really be preserved by such means, without a miracle, without the occasional interposition of Almighty God to renew the memory of it at particular intervals, or his continual assistance and inspiration to keep it always alive and vigorous.

nishes sufficient evidence in support of its claims.-Horne's Introd. vol. i.—Bishop Newton's Works, vol. iv.

Now any candid and reflecting person, when he first directs his attention to this wonderful volume, and notices the awful and authoritative language which it often assumes, the sublimity and importance of the subjects of which it treats, the wonderful events and transactions which it records, and the promises and threatenings which it holds forth, will be naturally impelled to inquire, Is this book what it professes to be, the word of God? Were its various authors instructed and commissioned by God to relate the histories, announce the doctrines, enforce the precepts, predict the events, which are the subjects of their respective books? Were these holy men of God who spake as they were moved by his Spirit, or were they impostors? Or to reduce these inquiries into a methodical form, it will be asked generally, Are the books of the Old and New Testaments (excluding those which are avowedly apocryphal) genuine; that is, actually written by the persons to whom they are ascribed? Are they authentic; that is, do they relate matters of fact as they really happened? Are they inspired; that is, were they written under divine influence and guidance, so as to contain the words of God and not of man?

Writing is a much more secure method of conveyance than tradition, inasmuch as it is neither so liable to involuntary mistakes, through weakness of memory or understanding, nor so subject to voluntary falsifications, suppressions or additions, either out of malice In discussing these momentous topics, writers on the or design. It is likewise a mode of conveyance evidences of religion generally prove, first, the genuinemore complete and uniform, more general and diffusive. ness, authenticity and inspiration of the New Testament; Farther, experience shows that writing is a method of and having established its divine authority, they thence conveyance more lasting than tradition. Every event infer that of the Old Testament, for if the claims of the or matter of any consequence, we desire to commit to New Testament to be received as a divinely inspired writing. By this, laws are promulgated; by this, arts book, be once admitted, no reasonable doubt can be enterand sciences are propagated; by this, titles and estates tained of the divine inspiration of the Old Testament, are secured. And what do we know of ancient history, because the writers of the New Testament incessantly but those memorials which have been transmitted to us appeal to it as the word of God, and make ample by books and writings? The early accounts of nations quotations from it. This is perhaps the simplest and which tradition has handed down, are so full of fables shortest method, and will be adopted in the introduction and prodigies, that it is impossible to separate truth to the New Testament part of the present work. (See ch. from mere fiction. Tradition passes away like the morn-iii. p. 831). But as it has been the practice of modern ing cloud, but books may live as long as the sun and moon endure.

Besides, it is certainly more fair and open, more free from suspicion of any fraud or contrivance, to have a religion preserved in writing, there to be read and examined by all, than to have it committed only to a few, to be by them communicated in discourses to others, and so on, from age to age, as we find that no two persons express the same thing exactly in the same manner, nor even the same person at different times.

Hence we conclude that a divine revelation must necessarily be committed to writing, otherwise it cannot be preserved in its purity, or serve mankind as a certain rule of faith, and of life: and we may add, that the importance of the matter, the variety of the subjects, and the design of the institutions, contained in those books which Jews and Christians account to be sacred, are additional reasons why they should be committed to writing.

The necessity of a divine revelation having been shown, as well as the probability, that such a revelation would be given to mankind, and the most effectual mode of communicating and transmitting it, the next point of inquiry which naturally arises is, whether that collection of writings which professes to be a revelation coming from

sceptics, to endeavour to shake the foundations of Christianity, by undermining the authority of the Old Testament; and as their attacks have been particularly directed against the genuineness and credit of the books of Moses, upon which the other ancient Scriptures greatly depend, it is of importance to prove, that the Pentateuch, or five books of Moses, were really written by him, and are of divine authority. And if we can establish the genuineness, authenticity, and inspiration of these books, the genuineness, &c. of the remaining books of the Old Testament will follow as a matter of course, on account of their mutual and immediate dependance; and in this way also, we might prove the truth of the New Testament, because, if the Jewish Scriptures be true, the dispensation which they contain being introductory to that contained in the New Testament, the latter, as it is founded on, and the perfection of the former, must of necessity be true also.

Let it not be supposed that the question, Whether the books of the Old Testament are genuine or spurious, is one of small importance; for if these books were not written by the authors to whom they are ascribed, or nearly in ages to which they are supposed to belong, but on the contrary, were written by authors who lived at a much later period, that is, if they were supposititious or spurious, the history which is related in them would

by no means be worthy of the great credit that is given | sion was first adopted in the Septuagint version, as the to it; the design which pervades these books would have titles prefixed are of Greek derivation; the Pentateuch been an imposition upon a later age, and the accomplish-was, however, distinguished as five books in the private ment of that design in the New Testament would be alto- copies used by the Jews in the time of Josephus. gether an extraordinary and singular occurrence; the miracles therein recorded to have been anciently performed, would have been the invention of a later age, or natural events would have been metamorphosed into miracles; the prophecies asserted to be contained in those books would have been invented after the historical facts which are narrated in them; and lastly, Jesus Christ and his apostles would have approved and recommended the works of impostors. Hence it is evident of what great importance the question is, Whether these books are genuine. It is also of equal importance, to determine whether they are authentic, or relate matters of fact as they really happened, and in consequence possess authority. For a book may be genuine that is not authentic; a book may be authentic that is not genuine, and many books are both genuine and authentic, which are not inspired. These three characteristics of genuineness, authenticity, and inspiration, can meet no where but in a divine revelation.

The book of Genesis, which may be considered as an introduction to the rest of the Pentateuch, contains the history of 2369 years, according to the common chronology. It commences from the beginning of the world itself, and concludes with the death of the patriarch Joseph. It has received the name of Genesis, because it describes the creation of the world, the generation of man, and of all other creatures. The book of Exodus relates the tyranny of Pharoah, the bondage of the Israelites under him in Egypt, and their miraculous deliverance from this bondage, under Moses, from which circumstance it derives its name. It describes also the entrance of the Israelites into the wilderness of Sinai, the promulgation of the law, and the building of the tabernacle. It comprehends a period of about 145 years. The book of Leviticus has its name from its giving an account of the Jewish service and worship, the offices of the Levites, and the whole Levitical order. It embraces only about the space of a month. The book of Numbers relates several remarkable incidents in the passage of the Israelites through the wilderness. It has its denomination from the numbering of the tribes by Moses, according to the command of God. It records the events of about thirty-eight years. The book of Deuteronomy, which signifies a second law, contains a summary repetition of the moral, ceremonial, and judicial laws, which had before been delivered by Moses, accompanied by certain additions and explanations. It contains also many exhortations, admonitions, and warnings, addressed to the Israelites, with the view of inciting them to obedience. The period of time comprised in this book is, according to some, five lunar weeks, and according to others, about two months. The first argument to be adduced in favour of the genuineness of the Pentateuch, is the universal concurrence of all antiquity. The rival kingdoms of Judah and Israel, the hostile sects of Jews and Samaritans, and every denomination of early Christians, received the Pentateuch, as unquestionably written by Moses; and we find it mentioned and referred to by many heathen authors, in a manner which plainly shows it to have been the general and undisputed opinion in the pagan world that this book was the work of the Jewish legislator. Nicholaus of Damascus mentions the deluge, and the resting of the ark upon a high mountain of Armenia, and the preservation of Noah by means of the ark, and adds, this might be the man about whom Moses the legislator of the Jews wrote, (Joseph. Antiq.

The books of the Old Testament are written in Hebrew, and they are the only writings now extant in that language. The Old Testament, according to our Bibles, consists of thirty-nine books, but among the Jews they formed only twenty-two, which was also the number of letters in their alphabet. They divided these twentytwo books into three classes: the first class consisted of five books, namely, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, which they called the Law; the second class consisted of thirteen books, namely, Joshua, Judges and Ruth, in one book; the two books of Samuel, of Kings, and of Chronicles, respectively, in single books; Ezra and Nehemiah in one book; Esther, Job, Isaiah, the two books of Jeremiah, in one; Ezekiel, Daniel, and the twelve minor prophets, in one book; these thirteen books they called 'The Prophets;' the third class consisted of the four remaining books, namely, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon, which four books the Jews called Chetubim, and the Greeks Hagiographa, or holy writings; this class was also called the Psalms, from the name of the first book in it. This threefold division was naturally suggested by the books themselves; it was used merely for convenience, and did not proceed from any opinion of difference in the authority of the books of the several classes. In like manner, the minor prophets were so called from the brevity of their works, and not from any supposed inferiority to the other prophets. The books are not in all instances arranged in our Bibles, accord-b. i. c. 3.). We are told that Alexander Polyhistor ing to the order of time in which they were written; but the book of Genesis was the earliest composition contained in the sacred volume, except, as some think, the book of Job, and the book of Malachi was certainly the latest. The five books of Moses, namely, Genesis, Ex-places of his remaining works, and plainly ascribes to odus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, usually distinguished by the name of 'The Pentateuch,' from two Greek words pente, five, and teuchos, volume, were originally written in one continued work, and still remain in that form in the public copies read in the Jewish synagogues. It is uncertain when this portion of Scripture was divided into books, but probably the divi

mentioned a history of the Jews written by Cleodamus, which was agreeable to the history of Moses the legislator (Ibid. b. i. c. 15). Diodorus Siculus mentions Moses as the legislator of the Jews in three different

him the laws delivered in the Pentateuch, stating also that they were prescribed by divine authority. Strabo speaks of the description which Moses gave of the deity, and says that he condemned the religious worship of the Egyptians. This statement, though not very accurate, is sufficient to show that he considered the Pentateuch as written by Moses. Both Justin and Tacitus