power to give these laws from any individual in authority among the Jews, nor from any number of the nation collectively; for at the time, in which he promulgated them, there was neither a republic nor any other form of government among them. It was Moses who brought regularity and order into a confused and unorganised multitude, into a people who had fled from Egypt in terror and haste, dreading momentarily lest they should fall again under the tyrannical and oppressive yoke of the Egyptian king. But, though Moses led them forth, let us remember that it was not in the character of a victorious commander, or in that of a valiant leader prepared for conquest, but as a man whom God had chosen and had employed by his especial command, and to whom he had given a power to perform miracles, which overwhelmed at length the hardened Egyptian king with terror and dismay, and obliged him to give an unwilling consent to the departure of the Israelites.

If Moses had received, either from the leaders or the people, the authority to frame these laws, the power of the people would' always have been superior to them, and they could equally have authorised other persons to amend or alter them. But, on the contrary, we find, that at all times the Law of Moses was held sacred and inviolable, and received as the Law of God by the whole Jewish nation. Magistrates and people, kings

and leaders, all acknowledged its Divine authority and were submissive to it; and no one ever attempted, or even expressed a wish, to make any alteration in, or to abrogate, any part of it.

Can any one seriously believe, that the whole Jewish people, stubborn and rebellious as they ever were, would thus readily have consented to such a fraud, merely for the purpose of establishing the glory of their nation, by affecting to claim to themselves the honour of having God for their Lawgiver? A little attention to the subject will shew us that this was not probable, nor indeed even possible.

To imagine such a collusion as this between Moses and the Israelites, we must also imagine that the Jewish people would have bound their lawgiver to make no ordinances which would be a weight and burden to them, especially such as did not appear useful in themselves, according to human judgment. Now, we shall shew, in a future chapter, from the nature of many of the Mosaic laws, that this was not,and could not, have been the case; consequently there could not have been any secret intelligence between Moses and the people of Israel.

Secondly, Every one allows, that a legislator ought to be a man of an understanding very superior to that of the generality of mankind. This is a qualification which no one attempts to deny,

that Moses possessed in a very eminent degree; but we must admit that there must have been something more to influence the conduct of Moses than merely great natural powers of mind. If we will judge fairly, and remember the state of barbarism of the human race in general at the time he promulgated his laws, we shall allow that he accomplished what unassisted human nature could not have succeeded in.

It is well known that reason expands herself in the human breast, in proportion to the degrees in which she is cultivated and exercised; and it is equally certain, that whatever subject occupies the mind, there must be time for its formation and arrangement before it can be brought to maturity.

Is it not remarkable then, is it not extraordinary, nay, is it not miraculous, that in the earliest ages of the world, a mere man, such as Moses, should have been able to make at once the wisest of laws; laws which have stood the test of ages, and which remain to this day unaltered; that he should have made, I say, or rather have produced them to a numerous race of fugitives, and have regulated these people into a well ordered state by the authority of these laws alone?

Certainly, if Moses had not been the inspired minister of God, he would not have been able, whatever natural strength of genius he possessed, to have produced by his own unassisted reason

those excellent laws, which contained all their perfections from the first moment of their formation; which provided for every circumstance; which found a punishment for every crime, not only within the reach of probability, but of possibility also; in which there was no necessity for change, alteration, or diminution. Never was there any other human legislator able to accomplish so stupendous a work. Nor did Moses perform it by his natural understanding, unaided by Divine assistance, we are assured.

Thirdly, We have before remarked, that the laws of mankind in general are calculated for the convenience, and adapted to the wants, of the nation for which they are intended; and consequently, they are frequently and necessarily changing or requiring amendment and addition. But the laws of Moses were given to the people as the commands of God; and the people with one voice received them as such, and submitted to them without alteration or dispute; thereby at once acknowledging their Divine authority. In the midst of calamity, even when their observance of them was sure to be followed by additional persecution, we find the Jews professing an inviolable attachment to them; which alone can be reasonably explained by their firm belief, that Moses wrote what God had taught him; and that, in obeying

him, they were submitting themselves to the word of Jehovah.

Since then Moses, the first of all legislators, was indisputably the wisest ; since he did not act by the authority of the people, nor was he guided by any of those motives inseparable from the commission and character of lawgivers in general; since the laws which he wrote are infinitely superior to all other laws; since the Jews in all ages have allowed his laws to be Divine, have we not both reason and evidence to convince us, that, although Moses was a most extraordinary man, he was especially assisted by the Spirit of God in the composition of his writings?

We have only to read the laws which were published by Moses, to be filled with admiration of them. Let us consider the Ten Commandments, which are addressed equally to the whole human race, without distinction of age, sex, or condition. What truth, what equity, what holiness, what elevation, is expressed with unexampled force and brevity throughout the whole! Where is the moral code which can equal them; the four first fully teaching us our duty to God; the six last setting forth, as amply, what we owe to our fellow-creatures?

Laws of human invention have no other design than to regulate what might otherwise disturb the peace of society: they can only prevent the out