LECTURE IX.

ST. JOHN V. 46, 47.

"Had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me, But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye be

lieve my words ?"

In my last Lecture, some of the prophecies of Moses were brought forward, and carefully compared with the history of their fulfilment. Many of my hearers were doubtless satisfied of the divine inspiration of that prophet, from the evidence then adduced. But since it is obvious that much depends upon the prophetic inspiration of Moses, and that the credibility of those who followed him in the prophetic office, will derive additional strength from the overwhelming evidence of his inspiration, it is not inconsistent with the design of our present labors, to lay other prophecies which have been recorded by him, before you, and the historical evidence by which their fulfilment is placed beyond a reasonable doubt: The prophecies which have been recorded by Moses, and which now present themselves for consideration, are, in some respects, peculiarly strange and astonishing. That they stand without a precedent, and challenge a parallel in the annals of all ages, has long since been asserted and proved, both by Jewish and Christian writers.

The text which we have chosen as a motto to direct our thoughts, asserts that Moses wrote of Christ. Although many passages of his writings have a direct reference to the Saviour of the world, and might be urged with great propriety in confirmation of this truth; still we shall forbear to notice any which do not appear to be of the first importance to the great object of our present labours; or, which are not supported by such historical evidence as will

commend itself to the reason and understanding of my hearers.

It has before been shown, not only by the evidence of history, but by the acknowledgments of those who affect to disbelieve the whole testimony, that the Jews sincerely believed in the divine legation, and prophetic inspiration of Moses. This fact, therefore, renders it expedient for me to advert to one of the prophecies recorded by him, which, perhaps, more than any other, has baffled the arts and confounded the arguments of the most learned among the descendants of the house of Jacob.

The passage to which I allude is recorded in the book of Genesis, xlix. 10. "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come: and to him shall the gathering together of the people be."

The name Shiloh, signifies a Saviour, a Peace-Maker. The plain import of the language here employed, is, that the sceptre should not depart from Judah, or Judah should not be destitute of one to sit upon the throne of authority, or one to give laws to the house of Judah, until the Saviour and PeaceMaker should make his appearance in the world; and it therefore directly implies, that after this illustrious character should appear, the sceptre, which is the token or emblem of authority, should depart from the house of Judah, and that there should be no one to give laws to that nation, from among the ancient tribes: At least, that no legitimate authority, or independence, should be possessed and exercised by them.

That this prediction was literally fulfilled, every attentive reader of history will bear me witness: For there never was a time, from the days of Moses, until after the captivity of the Jews by the Romans, in which they were not governed by Rulers of their own appointment. Even during the Babylonish captivity, the Jews it is said were permitted to be governed by their own laws; and ap

point their own rulers; in such manner as not to interfere with the established laws of the Babylonish Empire. It is further evident from the story of Susanna, that the Jews had Judges and Elders in Babylon, who governed them, and decided matters in dispute juridically according to their laws: For it appears that this woman was condemned to be stoned to death by the judges, upon the false testimony of two of the Elders, who were, however, themselves condemned to suffer that punishment in her stead, as the just demerit of their perjury. It is also contended by Don Calmet, that the refuse of the Israelites were left in Judea, during this famous captivity, and were governed by Josiah and other kings of Judah.

Should it however be doubted, that during the Babylonish and other captivities, the Jews were governed by their own Rulers; we reply, that some of the most eminent Jewish writers have entirely obviated the objection to the application of this prophecy to the Messiah, on that account: For the Targum of Onkelos renders the passage thus-" There shall not fail from Judah one exercising dominion forever; until king Messiah come." The obvious import of this rendering is, that the power of government should not be entirely removed from the Jewish nation, at, or during any period, until the Messiah should make his appearance. This is substantially the sense and meaning of the Christian interpretation. And it is just to remark in this stage of our inquiries, that Onkelos is supposed to have lived sometime before the birth of Christ, and has always been esteemed by the Jews, as one of the most able, faithful and literal translators and expositors of the Hebrew text.

My brethren, I might with a great degree of confidence, forbear to quote any farther evidence of the application of this prophecy; but I deem it prudent, at least, to furnish other testimony. The Targum of Jonathan, and that which is termed the Je

rusalem Targum, render this passage thus-"The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until the time when the king Messiah shall come." Thus it appears undeniable, that the most respectable authorities among the Jewish writers have clearly applied the prophecy under consideration to Christ, the annointed Saviour of the world. The Targum, or exposition of Jonathan, is supposed by some to have been written about thirty years before the birth of Christ-that of Onkelos a little later, and that of Jerusalem unknown; though some critics have considered it still more ancient. These have always been held in the greatest esteem by the Jews, and are therefore quoted as the best authorities for the genuine sense of the prophecy. To these I may add the name of the learned Grotius, of the sixteenth century, who, in speaking of those interpretations among the modern Jews, which differ from the Christian translation, condemns them in toto, and says, "away then, with the modern fictions of the Jews."

Having therefore shown from the highest autho-. rity that the correct application of this prophecy refers us to Christ; we may now open our eyes to the evidence of its fulfilment. That the Jews are scattered throughout the whole world, without any distinct government which they can call their own, and without being able even to mark the distinction of their tribes, is a fact too well authenticated, and too generally known, to require any arguments for its defence. It is now utterly impossible for the Jews themselves to determine from which of the tribes they have descended, since they have, during their long dispersion, and the violent persecutions which they have suffered, intermarried with each other, until the identity of their tribes is entirely lost. And from the period of their overthrow by the Romans, for the term of more than 1700 years, they have been subjected to foreign masters, and live as aliens, even in their own native Palestine,

Surely then, the sceptre has departed from Judah, and the lawgiver from between his feet. The promised and predicted Shiloh has come; whose birth, life, character, death, resurrection and ascension, was sung by many of the ancient prophets, and has been emblazoned from the faithful pages of modern history.

I shall now call your attention to some of the prophetical denunciations of Moses, which are of a most singular and astonishing character; and whose fulfilment must defy the power of reason to indulge a single rational doubt of the inspiration of him who announced them to the descendants of Israel.

In Deuteronomy xxviii. 62, 63, the prophet declares to the Jews-" Ye shall be few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude, and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it."

This is truly a most astonishing prophecy, and its singularity renders it worthy of particular observation. When it was pronounced, the Israelites had not entered into the promised land, nor had they any inheritance among the nations. It embraces the certainty of their entering upon the possession of Canaan, and foretells that they would be reduced from a vast and innumerable multitude, to few in number, and be removed from that land by their invading enemies.

Moses, as a powerful and successful legislator, stakes his reputation upon the truth of these prophecies: The question therefore is, have they received a literal fulfilment?-If they have, his prophetic inspiration is established. That they have been literally plucked from off the land which they went to possess, is clearly proved by the history of their captivities, as well as their present dispersion throughout the globe. I must here advert to what has already been laid before you: namely,that the ten tribes have never returned from the