"If Moses was not divinely commissioned, at what time, and on what pretence could the whole nation be persuaded to receive the laws, and abide by the regulations said to have been delivered by him?” (Levi's Answer to Paine.)

"How came it to pass, that, in all the divisions and factions into which the nation fell, there was never any Jew who endeavored, with any success, to undeceive the rest of his own people, so as to make them shake off the troublesome yoke of Moses' laws? They were received by the whole nation, a whole tribe was set apart to explain and execute them; they were publicly read every Sabbath, and in a more solemn manner every seventh year, and public festivals were kept, in view of them, every year, until the time of Christ."—(Allix's Reflections.)

"No power or art of man could have obliged so great and turbulent a nation to submit to such troublesome precepts as the Jews always have submitted to, had they not been fully convinced, from the very first, that the command was from God, and that it must be obeyed, at the peril of their souls." (Bishop Wilson.)

The book of NUMBERS is so called, because it contains an account of the "numbering" of the people in their journeyings through the wilderness to the promised land. It includes a period of about 38 years, and may be considered as the first journal, or book of travels ever written. In this book is contained the singular narrative of that most inexplicable character called Balaam, and of his interview with Balak, king of Moab. Of Balaam, a very acute observer

of human nature has remarked :-"He was a man of very extraordinary character, and of very singular gifts and abilities. He seems to have united qualities the most dissimilar and opposite. He exhibits in his language and conduct, a very uncommon combination and contrast of virtues and vices. What can exceed, on the one hand, the generosity and disinterestedness which he expressed when repeatedly solicited to employ his prophetical sagacity against Israel? What can equal, on the other, the vile prostitution, for hire, of his great talents in the service of an idolatrous prince, against the people whom he knew to be favored, and protected of heaven? We see him one day seeking the most intimate communion with God, and the next recurring to the practice of infamous arts, to accomplish a most diabolical purpose; proclaiming, at one time, in the language of prophecy, the security, glory, and happiness of God's people; and at another, in the language of a wicked policy, insidiously giving counsels which directly tended to tarnish that glory and destroy that happiness and security. We behold him, at one time, fully impressed with the importance of a holy life, and even praying that he might die the death of the righteous, and at another, cleaving to the mammon of unrighteousness, and at last, prematurely cut off among the enemies of the Lord." (Dr. Hunter.)

Scarcely any piece of history, (says Dr. Clarke,) is better calculated to impress the mind of a serious reader with a sense of the goodness and severity of God, than the book of Numbers. In every transaction, the holiness and justice of God appear, in the

closest connection with his benevolence and mercy. From such a Being as this book describes, what have not the wicked to fear! From such a Father and friend, what have the righteous not to hope! It is of the things recorded in this book, that St. Paul says, "They happened unto them for ensamples, and are written for our admonition." From Christ's remarks to Nicodemus, concerning the brazen "serpent" which Moses "lifted up," we may gather that this book was esteemed as canonical among the Jews in his time, and therefore we have no just grounds, at this day, to doubt its authenticity.

The last of the five books of Moses is called DEUTERONOMY, which signifies" the second law," or "law repeated." This book contains a compendious recapitulation of the laws given by Moses, enlarged, with many explanations, and enforced by the strongest and most pathetic exhortations to obedience. This was intended for the benefit of those who were born in the wilderness, who were not present at the giving of the law at Sinai. The inspired legislator who, in the preceding books, had spoken of himself in the third person, here changes his style, and, dropping the character of an historian, in the most earnest and impressive manner, addresses himself to his people. The variations in expression, which are observable in the repetition of the law, have been considered as an intimation that the spirit of the law, rather than the letter, is that which is to be regarded.

As the Israelites were now about to enter the promised land, and many of them had not witnessed the various transactions in the wilderness, Moses reca

pitulates the principal occurrences of the forty years, now almost elapsed, and show the necessity of fearing, loving, and obeying God; repeats the moral, ceremonial, and judicial law, and confirms the whole in the most solemn manner; appoints Joshua as his successor; delivers a copy of the law to the priests; prophecies of things which should come to pass in the latter days; blesses each of the tribes prophetically; and then, having taken a view of the promised land from the top of Mount Nebo, yields up the ghost, and is buried by the Lord. This instructive book of practical directions, many of which are applicable to us, as well as to ancient Israel, is worthy of our most diligent perusal.

We will now enter more particularly upon the question of the divine authority and inspiration of these books.

That Moses was the author of the Pentateuch, is proved by the concurrent testimony of antiquity, and the uniform report of uninterrupted traditions.

Whoever is in the least acquainted with the names of heathen deities, heroes, heroines, and other fabulous persons, will perceive that there is some foundation for the truth of the things related in these books. "At least, it must be granted, that these matters have given occasion to most of their fables, as to that of Chaos; to that of the marriage of Peleus and Thetis; to that of Prometheus and Pandora's box; to that of Jupiter's laughter for the first seven days of his life; to that of the golden age, and of the deluge; to the name of Deucalion; to that of firing the world by Phaton; and to a great many other fictions, which seem to be nothing less than

caricatures of the persons and things mentioned in the first books of the Bible."

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Again, whoever is acquainted with ancient histowill admit that the heathens themselves have acknowledged Moses for the most ancient lawgiver; for this we have the testimony of Plato, a Greek philosopher, who died at Athens 348 B. C.; Polemus, or Polemon, another Greek philosopher, who died 270 B. C.; Pythagorus, another Grecian, who died 497 B. C.; and Diodorus Siculus, an eminent ancient historian, of Sicily, who places Moses in the front of the most ancient lawgivers.

The objections that have been urged against this, (the fact that Moses is the author of these books) are so trivial as scarcely to deserve notice. Many persons cannot comprehend how Moses could be the author of that part which relates to his own death; and, forgetting that Joshua or Ezra might have supplied those few verses, make their objections against the authenticity of the whole.

It is worthy of notice, that in many parts of the Pentateuch, Moses speaks of himself as its author. It is mentioned also as the work of Moses, under the title of "the Law," by almost all the sacred writers, and is cited indisputably as his work, and was received by every sect of the Jewish church, as also by the Samaritans, after the revolt of the ten tribes. That the Pentateuch was written before the Babylonish captivity, is evident, both from the book of Daniel, and from the Chaldee paraphrases so often mentioned by biblical-critics.

As a further proof that these books were written by Moses, it may be observed that they are address