chapter xviii.,) and make his own comments. The writer could as soon

believe that the moon is a large cheese, suspended in the firmament, as give credit to this contemptible story. If it should be asked, how Moses obtained his information as to what Abram had for dinner, the answer is, by inspiration.

We will here notice two remarkable appearances of the Lord: one of them to Balaam, the other to Moses, A few remarks on each will suffice. Balaam was a conjuror, and a person of no small consequence in his day. He was applied to by the princes of Moab to prophesy evil against the Israelites, That whole nation, under the guidance of Moses, being in the act of marching through the land of Moab on their route to the land of promise, and having the character of making too free with other people's property, the princes of Moab hired Balaam to curse them. We are told that the heathen prophet judged it best to procure the permission of Jehovah, the God of the Jews, before he cursed his people. He, therefore, erected an altar on the top of a hill, and on it sacrificed seven bullocks and seven sheep. During the sacrifice, the Lord of heaven and earth came down, and called the prophet aside from the presence of the princes of Moab, and forbade him to curse his people. The sacrifice was repeated thrice. On each occasion the Lord appeared to Balaam, giving him leave to go with the princes, but forbidding him on any account to curse the Israelites. The remainder of the tale is to be found in the history of Balaam.

Now, can it be possible, that this account contains a particle of truth? Can we suppose, that the unknown power, whom man calls God, presented himself at the altar of a heathen necromancer, and, whispering in his ear, forbade him to perform his monkey tricks to the detriment of his chosen people? And that three times he should descend from heaven to overawe the old trickster, as if he thought him capable of doing harm to the Israelites? This account is rendered more contemptible by being referred to by New Testament writers, although the scripture declares in many places that "no man can see God and live." Christians little think how largely their credulity is taxed when they are taught to believe that such accounts were given by divine inspiration.

It is written in the book of Exodus, (chapter xxiv.,) that After the giving of the moral law on Mount Sinai, the Lord called Moses to the top of that remarkable place to give him instructions respecting the tabernacle and its paraphernalia. Moses remained there forty days, attending to the commands of Jehovah. The Lord, on a sudden, informed Moses that the Israelites had forsaken him, had set up a golden calf, and were in the act of worshipping before it and dancing for joy. Moses was ordered to go down. Before he left the mount, however, the Lord's anger waxed hot, and he told Moses not to plead for the wicked people. Jehovah, being about to destroy them, Moses besought him not to cut them off, and reminded him that, by so doing, the Egyptians would triumph and say that their God led them into the wilderness to destroy them.

Moses also reminded Jehovah of the promises made to Abram, Isaac, and Jacob, respecting their posterity; and by the arguments he made use of in favor of showing mercy to the Jewish people, at length prevailed on the Lord to suppress his anger. Having descended from the mount, Moses found the people half-naked, and dancing in a state of joyful excitement before the Golden Calf. The man who had but just before plead the cause of his brethren, and thereby prevented Jehovah's destroying the whole of the seed of Abram, found it less difficult to quiet the fury of an angry God, than to keep his own temper; for, when he saw their idolatrous dancing and revelry, he lost all patience, and, throwing down the tables of stone on which the laws were written, made the inquiry, "_Who is on the Lord's side?_" The Levites instantly came forward and declared for the Lord. Moses ordered every man to take his sword and slay his neighbor and friends who had rebelled against Jehovah,--a shocking slaughter ensued, for three thousand were slain on that day!

If this account could be credited, it would be truly harrowing to the reflecting mind. To believers in Christianity, we would say, can you expect persons who depend on the exercise of their reason for the discovery of truth and the detection of error, to believe the account of the transactions of Jehovah and Moses on the mountain? Surely, you cannot. We give the following reasons why it is out of our power to believe it:--The narrative represents the Almighty Ruler of the Universe as possessing the same frailties as his creature, man. The Creator is forty days contriving (assisted by Moses) ornaments and decorations for his own worship. Before these were completed, the people, who were to be the worshippers, deserted their God, and either commenced a new religion or revived an old one. For a considerable time, Jehovah allows Moses to remain in ignorance of what is going on at the foot of the mountain; then, all of a sudden, informs him of it; in a burst of passion tells him to stand out of his way, so as to be no hindrance to him in pouring out his wrath; and seems determined to exterminate the whole race. Moses, less passionate than the Deity, argued strenuously in favor of his brethren, and pointed out to Jehovah two reasons why he ought to spare them:--first, that their extermination would break the promise made to Abram; and secondly, that the Egyptians would exult in the destruction of their former slaves, Jehovah losing all the honor of having brought them out of bondage with _a mighty hand and an outstretched arm_.

Having thus cooled down Divine vengeance, Moses himself became the Jack Ketch, or executioner of his brethren.

If this account had been found in any book but the Bible, not one person in a thousand would have believed it. It destroys the attributes of the God of all worlds, gives the lie to his foreknowledge and immutability, and then invests him with all the weakness, folly, and mutability of poor, frail, erring man.

With respect to the dreams and visions, of which we find so many accounts in the Old and New Testaments, they are spoken of by the prophets as being the medium of divine inspiration. One of them thus expresses himself:--"_It shall come to pass in the last days, saith the Lord, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old mm shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions._" (Joel, chapter ii.) Now we know that dreams are not the result of divine inspiration. When we read that an angel appeared to a man of God, no more can be made of it than this:--the priest, or pretended prophet, dreamed that an angel appeared to him, and conversed with him.

I have many times dreamed of seeing my first wife, who died upwards of forty years ago. If I were to insist that the dream was a reality, it would be considered by my friends that my mind was disordered; in short, that I was insane. From dreams, we can obtain no correct ideas of realities. If persons, who are much subject to dreams, were to imagine that their dreams pointed to realities, they would be all their lifetime in pursuit of shadows. Dreams and visions would be very uncertain channels for the conveyance of divine revelations, for the supposed angel might be the servant of the Devil instead of a messenger from heaven.

The writings in the Old Testament which are called prophecies, generally relate to the Jewish nation. How are we to know that they are prophecies? In order that there may be no uncertainty with respect to a prophet's pretensions, he should foretell something to come to pass in the lifetime of the persons to whom he declares the prophecy, stating the precise time and place, so that when fulfilled, it should be a million to one against its being the result of guess-work. It would then carry with it a convincing proof of being the result of divine inspiration.

To show the dependence that can be placed on prophecies, we may refer to the Millerite delusion. The pretensions and extravagances of that sect were based on the prophecies of Daniel. I have heard many preachers, of acknowledged learning and talent, attempt to explain Daniel's prophecies with regard to the time of the second advent; but they generally differed in their views. About the year 1803, a preacher in London, (England,) of first rate abilities, told his congregation, a very large one, to keep, in mind the year 1833, for that he had, after the most laborious calculations, arrived at the conclusion that about that period, signs and wonders would indicate the near approach of him who is to come again in _power and great glory_.

There is no doubt but hundreds of learned men have, since the time that Jesus is said to have left this world, consumed the "midnight oil" in their researches to discover the time of the second advent, but to no purpose. To no purpose, did I say? I mistook. In the case of Miller, it was to a most unfortunate purpose. Thousands of his followers have been in a state of partial insanity; many have been absolutely deranged; some have committed suicide; others sold their lands, abandoned their occupations, neglected their wives and children, and will never regain their former happy homes. Can we suppose that the all-wise Ruler of the Universe would promulgate prophecies so uncertain with respect to their fulfilment, and so disastrous in the effects arising from their uncertainty? I repeat, that prophecy, to answer any good purpose, should be fulfilled in the lifetime of the persons to whom it is addressed; otherwise, the uncertainty attending it renders it worse than useless.

If Daniel had been divinely inspired to foretell any thing relating to Christ, common sense suggests that it would have reference to his first appearance on earth. Instead of this being the burden of his prophecy, he makes no allusion to his first coming, but, according to Christian expositors, his dreams and visions refer to the _second_ coming of Christ, and the final judgment. Father Miller's bubble having burst, his sincere but deluded followers are in a state of extreme wretchedness; all of them injured either in mind or circumstances, and most of them in both. Many of them will doubtless reject religion altogether. So much, then, for depending on divine inspiration.

The power to perform miracles is included in the idea of divine inspiration, and implies the possession of a power superior to all human power. The exhibition of a power by an individual, superior to what the united exertions of a whole nation could perform, ought to be credited to the exhibiter as a power _received from on high_,--a conclusion drawn by Christian commentators, and also by Jesus himself, with respect to his recorded miracles; for, he says--"_If I had not done among them the works which no other man did, they would not have had sin; but now_ [they having seen his miracles, and yet rejected him] _their sin remaineth._"

Miracles are uncertain evidences of divine inspiration. What an ignorant man might deem to be a miracle, a man of intelligence and education might know to be the result of combined natural causes. What in one age has been currently believed to have been the effect of supernatural agency, a succeeding and more enlightened age has known as the result of certain operations of nature. Nothing can justly be regarded as a miracle unless it be, past all dispute, beyond human power to perform. To suppose that the Deity makes use of means to promote the improvement of his creatures, which are calculated to mislead them, is to impeach his wisdom and goodness.

Miracles could not have been evidences of divine interposition to the Jewish people, at the time of Christ's appearance among them, owing to the prevailing belief that supernatural beings, called devils, could perform wonderful things, far above man's power or comprehension; and that some of them, more powerful than the rest, could invest mortals with the power of performing-miracles of the same nature as those ascribed to Jesus Christ.

Most of the religious sects at the present day affect to be influenced by something almost amounting to divine inspiration--their religion consisting of feelings, not of action. In the Scriptures we read, "_If any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his._" I have often noticed the variety of modes in which the spirit operates on different sects. The Methodists, while seeking the Lord, as they term it, will sigh, moan, and howl, and immediately after be in ecstasies bordering on insanity, and bawl so loud that a passer-by might reasonably conclude that some dreadful accident had befallen them. Passing to the other extreme, the Friends, or Quakers, are as dumb as mutes, and will not allow their speakers to open their lips until impelled to do so by the spirit. But the Jumpers, in Wales, (Great Britain,) go ahead of all, for they often perform the journey from their homes to their churches, by the same kind of evolution as frogs make when on their peregrinations in search of water. All these monkey tricks are of much easier performance than feeding the hungry, or clothing the destitute. Can, or, presuming that they can, will the preachers please inform us, which of these three modes of spiritual manifestation will be practised in heaven?

In concluding this chapter, I shall make some remarks on the Mormons, that being one of the last sects, of any importance, which have arisen, professing the Christian faith. They also profess, or their leaders, at least, to be specially moved by the Holy Spirit; in other words, that they are the recipients of divine inspiration. Whatever other denominations of Christians may think of their claims to supernatural gifts, they are founded on quite as reasonable grounds as were the pretensions of the prophets of old, not even excepting Moses, the Jewish legislator; as a brief history of their rise and progress will prove. The following account, the writer had from some of the principal preachers of the Mormon faith:--"About the year 1827, or '28, Joseph Smith, a young man of obscure parentage, presented to the world a production which he called the Book of Mormon, or the Golden Bible; and of which, according to his own account, he became possessed in the following manner:--When about fifteen years of age, being under religious impressions, he used to retire to the fields and thickets in the neighborhood of his home, to exercise himself in prayer. One day, while thus engaged, an angel appeared to him, and informed him that the Lord had a great and important work for him to perform, but that the time had not yet arrived for its consummation. Then, after telling him that he would be again visited, and urging him to pursue a godly life, disappeared. A few years after this, the angel re-visited Joseph, repeating his declaration respecting the contemplated work, and disappeared as before. At length, on a third appearance, the angel directed Joseph to go to a certain spot and dig in the earth, telling him that he would there find something of vast importance. Joseph did as the angel commanded, and found a number of golden plates, on which were impressed characters in a language to him altogether unknown. Having copied a portion of the characters, he sent the copy, by a friend, to a teacher of the dead languages, in New York, in order to ascertain the meaning; but his friend returned without having obtained the desired information. The Holy Spirit then enabled Joseph to translate the inscriptions, and the translation is, denominated the 'Book of Mormon,' being named after the person who, fourteen hundred years before, had, by Divine command, deposited it in the earth." This book can be obtained of the Mormon preachers.

The progress of the Mormons, or Latter-Day Saints, as they designate themselves, has been astonishingly rapid, their number being computed at no less than two hundred thousand, of whom about ten thousand are congregated in the city of Nauvoo, (or Joseph,) in the State of Illinois. This portion of the Mormons had previously located themselves in the State of Missouri, but after suffering great persecution, were driven out of that State by the inhabitants. They then settled in the western part of Illinois, and built the city of Nauvoo, and have nearly completed a splendid temple of unique architecture. They, like the Jews, believe that they are God's chosen people, and that, as _the earth is the Lord's_, they shall have the honor of calling together the Jews, the former chosen people of God, and that all who have not then embraced the Mormon faith will be speedily cut off. As the Mormons make the Bible the ground-work of their religious belief, and are sparing in their allusions to the Book of Mormon, they are likely to become permanently established, as a portion of the Christian world, and will probably become not only a very numerous, but also a powerful sect.

But the demon of religious persecution--let me pause for a moment. I would not knowingly libel any thing, not even religion. Am I not mistaken? Not in the personage, most certainly, but I may be in error with respect to his official character. Perhaps I owe an apology to the religious world. It may be the demon of fraud. At all events, a demon of some description is hovering over this remarkable people, and threatening them with vengeance. Their smoking and desolate homesteads will furnish matter for the future historian, who, with indignation, will record, that in the nineteenth century, in the favored land of Illinois, the ennobling principles of liberty could boast of no better recognition than an empty name. Give ear, ye advocates of liberty in the down-trodden nations of Europe! A voice would address you from the land of promise. Ten thousand men, women, and children in the State of Illinois, can receive no protection from the Genius of Liberty, but in the coming spring are to be driven from their peaceful happy homes, to wend their way through a dreary wilderness, and seek a resting place on the shores of the Pacific Ocean. "Oh! shame! where is thy blush!" Cannot even tottering age, and helpless infancy, arrest the fell purpose?

The present position of the Mormons, with respect to the rest of the world, so nearly resembles that of the Jews when they were leaving Egypt, that it is not unlikely for them to assimilate their movements in a measure to those of the Israelites, and, believing, as they do, that they are influenced by the Holy Ghost, their historians some centuries hence will probably record miracles as having been performed by the Mormons, similar to what are said to have taken place among the Jews, when travelling under the guidance of Moses, to the promised land. Feebleness of body reminds me that Death is shaking his arrow over me, but surely my mind remains unclouded. Am I really living in the enlightened nineteenth century? And if so, am I on the free soil of America, or in barbarous Russia, and a subject of the Emperor Nicholas?

The Mormons are to be driven out of the United States. Why? "Because they believe themselves to be God's chosen people, and that all other nations must become subject to them." Indeed! and do not the Jews entertain the same belief with respect to their nation? Are they to be driven out along with the Mormons? The Mormons are to be driven out. Why? "Because they speak in an unknown tongue." But a few years ago, the disciples of Irving, a celebrated preacher in London, spoke in an unknown tongue; but so far from their being driven out of the country in consequence, the ministrations of Irving were attended by the principal nobility and statesmen of Great Britain. The Mormons are to be driven out. Why? "Not on account of their religious faith, but because they are a community of thieves." In the English navy the seamen have a very contemptuous idea of the marines, and when a very improbable story is told by any one, they say, "Tell that to the marines," intimating that _they_ are weak enough to believe any thing.

We are told that a religious community which numbers ten thousand persons is composed of incorrigible rogues. And yet it is well known that they are very industrious, have well cultivated farms, have built a city, and nearly completed a splendid temple. What says the experience of the world with respect to thieves--that they have been usually found among the industrious, or the idle? What are we called upon to believe? That a highly industrious religious sect, numbering ten thousand souls, manifests such a total disregard of all moral principle that its existence cannot be allowed in civilized society? Tell it not in Gath! Oh! no; better tell it to the marines.

I do believe that I am in America, and not in Russia, after all. The film is departing from my mental vision. An idea strikes me. It is this. In this country, under certain circumstances, _well_ understood by the public, bills of _exceptions_ are frequently filed. Aye, now I have it This is a Republic; and a Republic is a government intended for the benefit of _all_, with the _exception_ of the Mormons to-day, and of some other religious sect to-morrow; and so on, as avarice, or bigotry, or the tyranny of a moneyed aristocracy may dictate, to the end of the chapter.

The republicans of the State of Illinois have determined that the Mormons shall not remain among them. "Oh! consistency, thou art indeed a jewel" For the benefit of persons visiting Illinois, I shall close with a quotation from the Old Testament, not remarkable, perhaps, for elegance of diction, but having a claim to attention for its truthfulness. It is this:---"It is useless to search for a _jewel_ in a swine's snout."

END OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.

THE NEW TESTAMENT

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER on THE FACTS AND PERSONAGES OF THE NEW TESTAMENT

TO these persons who can take, without fear, a correct view of Jehovah's dealings with his chosen people, as recorded in the Old Testament, it must appear, that the Jews, as a nation, did not, in any way, do honor to his choice; for, as it regards religion, they neither were at any length of time faithful to Jehovah, nor did they obey his laws. The dreadful punishments inflicted on them, together with the teaching of the Prophets, did not cure them, so as to prevent them from worshipping other gods.

To men of common sense, it is clear that the Jewish God undertook to make of the seed of Abram that which never took place. The attempts to keep them as true worshippers of Jehovah, continually failed; and he, in the language of regret and complaint, says:--"I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me." And here we may inquire, how were they brought up? The answer is at hand. They were taught to consider themselves, as a nation, more valuable than any people on earth; and this pride caused them to act with hostility in their intercourse with, the Gentiles, and to rob and murder all nations less powerful than themselves; for doing which, they had from the Lord a direct order. To _show mercy_ was forbidden, and they were punished for so doing. The command was--"_Thou shall do no murder._" This command had to do with Jews only. To others it was said, "_Spare not a soul alive_." Again, "_Thou shall not steal,_"--that is, from Jews: from all heathens, steal all you can. "_Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife,_" &c. Remember!--the wife of a Jew; but when the Lord commands, you must murder other men's wives, and take their daughters for the most wicked purposes. This is the manner the seed of Abram were brought up; and, in these particulars, they seldom disobeyed the Lord.

In this manner the Jews were educated by the Lord of Hosts. Can we then wonder that they, in a moral point of view, should have been the most cruel and wicked of any nation on earth? It follows, that they were a disgrace to that God who selected them as his own; and the Jewish dispensation ended in a complete failure: so that it is recorded, that the Lord "_hateth his own inheritance._" Jehovah failed to rear up and protect a nation who should serve as a pattern to the rest of the human family. They axe acknowledged, by both God and man, to have been the worst people on earth.

We are now about to consider another attempt, on the part of the God of Israel, to recover and convert his disobedient people to the new covenant, or dispensation, by sending the long-expected Saviour of the seed of Abram, according to the flesh. Here we ought to expect that a double degree of caution will be manifest on the part of the Jewish God, so that no mistake may happen to the Jewish nation in their reception of, and obedience to, his Son, as an ambassador of peace and reconciliation; because, if the mission of Jesus was not clearly understood by the Jews, another scene of trouble, more dreadful than their former disobedience, would follow as a consequence. We ought to expect that Christ would be instructed so to present himself to his brethren, that his person and his plans for their recovery would be self-evident. No guess-work can be allowed, as it respects the vast importance of his mission, or the identity of his person. It needs no argument to show, that, when an end or object is to be fully obtained, the means must be adapted to answer the end intended, or a failure is the consequence.

Here we may ask, for what purpose did Christ come to the Jews? Was it to fulfil the promises made to them by Jehovah, _that he would make a new covenant with them, and write his laws on their hearts; not according to the covenant he made with their fathers, when he brought them out of Egypt, but that he would write his laws on their hearts, and their sins and iniquities remember no more, and that they should be to him a people, and that he would be to them a God?_ In fact, we cannot admit of the possibility of any mistake or failure to happen in Jehovah's plan of salvation, when we consider that the seed of Abram longed for and expected the Great Deliverer of Israel. No trickery or deception ought to be resorted to in a case involving such dreadful consequences. It is highly dishonorable to the God of the Universe, to admit of any double-dealing on his part, when his people were prepared to receive the Messiah.

The situation of the Jews, as a nation, at the time it is said that Christ made his appearance among them, ought to be kept in view, in reading this introduction. They expected a king, or a deliverer, to arrive, agreeably to what they had learned from the Old Testament. Hence, their inquiry was, "_Art thou he that should come, or do we, or are we, to look for another?_" As much as to say, we long for his appearance, but we have had false Christs; and the repeated impositions practised on our nation makes us cautious as to giving credence to any pretender, without full proof of his being the true, the very anointed of God. No inquiry could be more reasonable; for it is clear that the Jewish nation were open to conviction, and ready to receive with joy the sent of Jehovah; but repeated deception and disappointment had made them slow to believe in the pretensions of any that came to them in the name of the Lord.

We need not be surprised that the seed of Abram should have been so scrupulous in believing, until they had incontrovertible proof that the hope of Israel had arrived. They considered that event as the end of all their troubles; and relying on the promises made, to God's chosen people by the prophets,--that the "_sun of, righteousness should arise with healing in his wings_" that his identity would be as clearly known, and all obscurity entirely removed as to his being the true Christ, the hope and expectation of Israel. The Jews, as a nation, were not prepared for any thing short of a full manifestation of Jehovah's promises in the person of the Messiah, that he would be their "_Prophet, Priest, and King_" It is not possible to conceive that a single Jew could be found who would stretch forth his hand against the Lord's anointed. This, then, was the feeling and expectation of the Jews, at the time it is recorded that Christ came as the deliverer of Israel. It follows, then, that the only thing the Jews required, in order to receive and obey Christ, was, unerring proof that Jesus was the promised Messiah; for they were earnestly waiting for that glorious event.

We will now inquire, whether or not his introduction to the Jewish nation was the most probable way to convince them that the long-desired, the long-expected Redeemer of Israel was come? It must ever be kept in mind, that the coming of Christ was to the Israelites of vast importance, when we consider their former troubles, how they had been forsaken by their God, sold, as it were, into severe bondage, and scattered over the face of the earth, in consequence of their departure from the God of their fathers. To all which, it may be added, that they had been deceived by false Christs: so that, as a nation, they ought to, and doubtless did, fully expect that the true Messiah, on his arrival, would convince every real Jew that he was the sent of God, and that the evidence would be different, in all respects, from what had before attended impostors and cheats. Of all the embassies ever sent by one nation to another, none ever equalled in importance the one where the Son, the only Son of God, was the ambassador.

In the intercourse between nations, and when a minister is sent out from one nation to another, one thing is always provided for, and on no account is it ever omitted, namely:--proper credentials are always prepared and sent by one nation to another, so that the identity of the ambassador is indisputable. This indispensable qualification appears to have been omitted in sending Christ to the Jewish nation, and it proved most unfortunate to those ill-fated people; for it is evident, from Scripture, that they mistook Jesus for an impostor, since one of the apostles admits, that if they (the Jews) had known him, "_they would not have killed the Lord of life and glory_."

Here, then, was the fatal mistake, the unfortunate error; and now we may ask, for what was Jesus sent? Jehovah knew that they would not receive him, and that a failure would be the consequence. But if Jehovah did not know of his rejection, what then are we to say of the attributes of the God of Israel? Taking either side, involves the greatest absurdity, and is shocking to every idea we can have of infinite wisdom, power, and goodness.

If Jesus, on his arrival to the Jews as a nation, intended to prove his divine mission by the performance of miracles, he appears to have taken the wrong course to carry conviction to the minds of his fellow countrymen. Instead of performing signs and wonders before the most learned of his nation, he associated with the most ignorant classes of society. These were chiefly fishermen, who could be easily imposed on by any sleight of hand, performed by a dexterous juggler. It was to the most learned and competent men of that day to whom his appeals ought to have been made; but on the contrary, he employed such vulgar abuse as--"_O, generation of vipers! how can ye escape the damnation of hell?_" It may safely be inferred, that such abusive language as this would be considered by the priests and rulers sufficient to stamp its author as a man of low character and violent temper.

Again, instead of opening his mission with the declaration of Jehovah's former promises to the Jewish nation, _that the God of their fathers had sent him to recover the lost sheep of the home of Israel_, he tells them that the holy temple was then _a den of thieves_; and at another time, commences with a cord, or rattan, (like a drunken man,) to drive men from the temple. Is it possible to conceive that such could be the conduct of him who was proclaimed to be "_Peace on earth and good will towards men_"?

Again, miracles, as proofs of Christ's divine mission, ought to have been performed before the most learned and talented men among the Jews. On the contrary, it was the ignorant and unlettered part of society who were the witnesses of his mighty deeds; for it is impossible for men who are unacquainted with the laws and phenomena of nature, to form any thing like a correct judgment of those laws, so as to know what were their natural operations, to the exclusion of divine power. So that a performance of any thing, however wonderful to ignorant and untaught men, would, to others, who were better acquainted with the laws of the universe, be no miracle at all.

In conclusion, then, so far as miracles are concerned, a miracle must be something performed by another, that is impossible to take place without superhuman aid; and before persons who are so fully acquainted with the laws of the universe, that imposition would be impossible. Now the Jews, at the time of the coming of Christ, if he did come at all, had no such knowledge. In that age, many strange things were believed, that never had any real existence. For instance, it was fully believed by the Jews, and nearly throughout the world, that evil spirits or demons took possession of the bodies of men, and ceased, not to torment them in a thousand ways; and the casting out of these was considered a miracle. Jesus is said to have performed many miracles of this kind. Mary Magdalene had seven of them ejected by the Saviour. So it is recorded.

But now, no man of science gives the least credit to such tales; so that the fact is, no devils ever were cast out, because none ever entered the human body. If Jesus, then, pretended to cast out devils, when he knew there were none possessed of them, how can we exempt him from the charge of being a deceiver? If, on the other hand, he believed that Mary Magdalene had seven, and that they left her by his orders, in that case, what shall we say as to his knowledge?

At the present day, should a person apply for medical aid to cast out a devil, such person would be considered a lunatic. This is proof positive that Jesus partook of the superstition of the age in which he lived; and that his pretensions to cast out devils by the power of God, were incompatible with his mission as the Son of God, the Redeemer of Israel.

The history of Jesus, as recorded in the four Gospels, fully represents him as acting like most reformers in all ages and nations, namely, by abusing men of wealth and power. But, unlike most others, Jesus represented himself as the only Son of God, by whose authority he (Jesus) called the priests and the rulers of Israel by names the most offensive, thereby exciting their opposition to his mode of teaching and acting. At the same time, the lower grades of society did then, as they do at the present day. They considered him as a reformer, the friend of the people, in proportion as he was lavish in his abuse of the most violent nature.

In concluding this chapter, we may safely infer, that if Jesus was sent into the world to be put to death as a sacrifice for sin, his manner of preaching to his countrymen, and his violent abuse and denunciations against the then rulers of Israel, were calculated to bring about his tragical end. But, on the contrary, if Jesus came from God, To _restore the lost sheep of the home of Israel_, as the Jews, one and all, expected the Messiah would do, it then follows, that the Jews, as a nation, were deceived, and in putting him to death, they thought him a blasphemer, having no claim to be considered as the true deliverer of his nation. If Jesus came from God to the Jews, as their long-expected Saviour and Deliverer, and every blessing, as it respected them, depended on their giving him an obedience agreeable to his mission as an ambassador of peace, to mistake him for an impostor, was a misfortune more deplorable than all the misfortunes, as a nation, the Jews had ever experienced from the call of Abram until the time that Christ is said to have arrived in the land of Judea. If, in reality and truth, he came from the Jehovah of that people, as they had for ages expected, then, instead of his collecting together a few fishermen, common sense would instruct us to suppose, that the Lord's anointed would go direct to the priests and Jewish, rulers, and accost them in the following way:--"The long-expected, the long-desired, is now in the midst of you. I am the true, the very Christ, the anointed of Jehovah, of the seed of Abram. My beloved mother will lift her hand, and swear on the altar of her God and my God, the Father of us all, that I am the offspring of God, and that in the absence of all earthly intercourse, she brought me forth, and that angels announced her miraculous conception, before I saw the light; and that I am endowed with power from on high, to do before your longing eyes miracles and wonders, such as all former pretenders could not perform. But, as you have before been deceived by impostors who have forged my name, and assumed my character, believe me not for my word, but for my works' sake. Mark well my deportment Give credit to my mighty deeds only when they are openly addressed to your senses, that no doubts may remain as to the identity of my person, and the high commission of which I am the bearer; and being fully convinced of my Messiahship, obey me as the earthly representative of your heavenly Father, while I unfold the blessings that await you, in the fulfilment of the promises made to Abram and his seed forever." Instead, however, of thus openly and frankly making known the object of his message to his nation, Jesus begins by making use of expressions the most insulting, charging the priests and rulers with crimes of the basest description, in the worst language possible; the direct tendency of which was, to arouse their worst feelings, leaving them in doubt what to think of one who arrogated to himself authority over the Mosaic law, and whose teaching was so obscure as not to be understood even by his own disciples. In speaking of himself and the kingdom he was about to set up, he said that his death formed a part of the divine arrangement included in his mission; as much as to say, I must be put to death before my plane can be developed. At times, in the course of his preaching, Jesus referred to his future exaltation, as the "Judge of quick and dead." At other times he represented himself as the only true light that enlightens every man that cometh into the world; and yet, he courted obscurity in most of his preaching, so much so, that one of his most intimate friends (Judas) was bribed to inform the rulers who this extraordinary man was, and where he could be found.

What would be thought of an ambassador, sent from America to England on business of the first importance, if, instead of proceeding to the Court of St. James, at London, he should be found lecturing to fishermen and people in the lower walks of society, and at the same time, in language of the most violent kind, abusing the British Government? In fine, such was the preaching and acting of Jesus during his stay in the land of Israel, that to me it appears impossible to discover the object or the utility of his coming. No wonder, therefore, that the Jews rejected him altogether.