eight days old; but when his wife was barren he could not perform this command. Thirdly, If the son was a first born, the father was obliged to bring the child before the priest when he was thirty days old, and to redeem his first born by paying five shekels; but, if his wife brought forth the first child a girl, this command could not be observed. Fourthly, If his wife brought forth no sons but daughters, then he could not observe either the one or the other.-Fifthly, If a Jew had a brother, and he died and left no child, then the command is, that the living brother must marry her now, if a Jew has no brother, how can he observe this command? or, if his brother left children, then he could not marry her. There are numbers more of the same kind, that could not be observed, except in particular instances, and the few here mentioned are sufficient for the present purpose.

We must now hear the instruction of Moses. Moses says, If thou hast a son he must be circumcised. One of the Jews cried out, Lord Moses, I never can observe this command. Moses said to him, Why? He said, Because I never had a son. Another Jew came to Moses, crying, and said, Lord Moses, I and my family are for ever undone. Moses said to him, Why so? He said, I wish to go into the tabernacle, and if I go there, thou wilt order to kill me, because it is written, And the stranger that cometh into the tabernacle shall be put to death. Numbers iii. 10. Now if I do not perform this command, I remain under the curse, because this is one of the commandments of the law. Another Jew came before Moses, and

said, Thou hast given us a law which will make us miserable for ever. Moses said, My son, why so? He answered and said, Because I never was a judge in Israel, and I cannot do this command which is one of the law. Another came and cried out, I am undone. Moses said, Why so, my son? He said, If I had a brother, and he had died without children, I should have married his wife, which is one command of our law; but alas, I never had a brother, and now I shall remain under the curse of the law, because I cannot perform all the commandments. A woman came before Moses; she cried and said, I am not able to support myself for grief. My daughter, said the good Moses, what is your trouble? She answered and said, We are commanded to keep the commandments of the law, and there is one particular command in the law of jealousies: When a wife goeth aside to another instead of her husband, and is defiled. Num. v. 29. Master Moses what shall I do, if I go and defile myself, I then must come before the priest, and must drink the bitter water by which I for certain shall die; and if I keep honest, I am not the better, because I remain under the curse of the law, because I cannot perform this command; what shall I do now? A virgin, the daughter of a priest, came before Moses; she said to him, Lord Moses, be so good as to give me your advice. Moses said, What hast thou to say, my daughter? She said, I have read one command in the law, which is, And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father, she shall be burnt in fire. Lev. xxi. 9. What shall I do now? I am standing between

two fires. This is one commandment of the law. If I go and play the whore, thou wilt order me to be burnt in fire; but, if I keep honest, I am not better, because I shall remain under the curse of the law; and I consider the one is fire, but the other worse than fire, for here I shall live all the days of my life under a curse, and die under the

curse.

A QUESTION FOR THE CHRISTIANS TO ANSWER. If I ask them, if God is just, they all will say, Yes; but what will they say to the above statement? has God given a law to his chosen people that they should be under a curse? God said, This command a priest shall do, and if an Israelite should do it he must die; and because he obeyed not the command of God, he must remain under a curse. God said, Thy son shall be circumcised; but God never gave him a son, and therefore he must remain under the curse. The virgin did not play the whore, but kept honest; and her reward is to abide under a curse. If this should be true, could God be called a true God? I long to hear the answers to these things. But what can they answer? Nothing; they must confess that God is just in all his ways; and if so, their whole argument is false.

* PROOF. First, it ought to be known that Paul did not quote this passage to the Jews, but to the Galatians; and here he took the advantage of the ignorant gentiles to inform them of things that are not true. * For any person that knows the original Hebrew will see at once that what I have said is true. I shall quote here again the whole verse as it is in the Hebrew: "Cursed be he that

confirmeth not the words of this law to do them ;" which is to say, that he must do and observe all those commandments that he can, and which may be done. But Paul, to deceive the gentiles, inserted the word all. This word was of great use to him, for by it he preached a whole sermon, and the whole of his text depended upon this word. But what is most surprising is, to see at this very day the Christians bringing forward this passage as a great proof against the Jews, that they are under the curse, because they cannot observe all the commandments of the law: at the very same time the Christians confess that a Jew is bound to observe only those commandments which he may observe lawfully; and here is the proof. In the English version, the word all is put in Italic letters, to shew that the word all is not in the text. The question will now be, if the word all is not in the text, how came they to take the liberty with the law of God thus far? Have they inserted the word all to please Paul, and to give offence to God? I maintain that the English version has done wrong in inserting the word all; but wonderful it is, and a marvellous thing in our eyes, to see, that even to-day they insist that it shall be so, right or wrong. But what will they say in the day of judgment, when they shall be called upon to answer for this offence? * Let them only take notice what God said to Joshua, "this book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein; for then shalt thou make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."

Joshua i. 8. "But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. Then he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of waters, &c. Psalm i. 2, 3. "Great

peace have they which love thy law; and nothing shall offend them." Psalm cxix. 165. "And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them : thou shalt not curse the people; for they are blessed." Numbers xxii: 12.

* CONCLUSION. The blessed God blessed his people Israel for ever, that is, in giving them his blessed law, by which they will inherit everlasting life; and to every one of the gentiles that comes to hide himself under the wings of that law.

THE FINISHING OF THE LAW." Happy art thou, O Israel who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high places." Deut. xxxiii. 29.

* QUESTION REspecting the DISPERSION OF ISRAEL.—If Israel offended their God, and if they were found guilty, why was their sentence of punishment, to be scattered? Why did not their God keep them at home in their own land, and punish them as he had done in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes? Israel might have been in their own land, and still have been subjected to one or another of the gentile nations. And they might have been slaves in their own country, and have pined away in their iniquity, and in the iniquity of their fathers; and so it might have been done until this day. But we see that a home punish