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tendant Providence of God, or his abundant goodness to the children of men?

In the religion of the Gospel, the Spirit of God has been promised by Jesus Christ, to lead his people into all truth; but it is the diligent, the active, the persevering and sincere inquirer, who is encouraged to depend upon this heavenly gift; and therefore the -apostle exhorts his fellow Christians "to work out

their own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God," saith he, "who worketh in you, both to will and to do, of his good pleasure."

Nothing short of consummate vanity, or the grossest ignorance, therefore, could lead to the unfounded conclusion, "that the way to God," in our author's sense," is open to every man alike."

The author of the Age of Reason, having thus introduced himself to the attention of his readers, and, as he supposed, paved the way to a sceptical temper of mind, proceeds to his objections to the leading facts of revealed religion.

THE VIRGIN MARY.

"When I am told," says our author, "that a woman, called the Virgin Mary, said, or gave out, that she was with-child, without any cohabitation with a man; and that her betrothed husband, Joseph, said that an Angel told him so, I have a right to believe them or not; such a circumstance required a much stronger evidence, than their bare word for it; but we have not even this; for neither Joseph nor Mary wrote any such matter themselves. It is only reported by others, that they said so. It is hearsay upon hearsay.”

THIS gross misrepresentation, however plausi bly cloathed in artful language, is unworthy of a man, who pretends to integrity of character, and to write for the edification of mankind. He surely has never taken the pains to read, with attention, the narration which he thus attempts to contradict; and thereby he is deceiving the young and unlearned reader, in matters of serious importance to his best interests.

The sacred writings of the Jews, many hundred years before Joseph or Mary were born, predicted, in positive terms, the extraordinary event, that a virgin, of the tribe of Judah, should conceive and bear a son, and that in the town of Bethlehem, in Judea. It was

not only thus early promulgated, but became a principle firmly believed and relied upon by the whole people of the Jews, for many generations; and was the great object to which most of their inspired prophets directed their public labours. "The ancient Jewish doctors expected their Messiah to be born of a virgin; therefore it was, that Simon Magus, who set himself up for the Messiah, pretended that his mother Rachel, bore him without the loss of her virginity."*

Previous to this mysterious phenomenon, the time foretold by the prophets for its completion, expired; and many other circumstances that were to attend it, actually came to pass. The expectation of the Jews, as a people, and the learned men of the neighbouring nations, who were acquainted with their Scriptures, was raised to the highest pitch, by the fulfilment of the previous events foretold, as the signs of the approaching glory.

Daniel had very early, and while he was a resident in Babylon, by his prophetic declaration, foretold the coming of the Messiah among the Jews, at the end of seventy weeks, or four hundred and ninety years, which must have been well known to all the nations of the east-add to this, that the Jews were then scattered over all Asia, Africa, and Europe. Tacitus, the Roman historian, who lived in the first century, says,

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Many of the Jews were persuaded, from the contents of their sacred writings, that the eastern country would prevail, and that from Judea would come those, who were to have the sovereignty of the whole world." Suetonius, another famous historian of the

• Huet. Questions Almat, lib. ii. ch. xv. † Lib. v. cap. xiii. fol. 562.

same century, says, "An ancient and uniform opinion had prevailed all over the east, that it was destined for the people of Judea, about this time, to rule over the world."* Josephus, the Jewish historian, mentions the same thing; and further says, "That what principally excited the Jewish people, the wise men as well as others, to the war with the Romans, was the expectation of a great deliverer to arise among them, who should obtain the empire of the world." He also says, "That when Alexander the Great was at Jerusalem, the prophecies of Daniel were pointed out to him, by Jaddus, the high priest." Dr. Sykes says, "It is evident that this opinion was fixed and settled; was generally received among the Jews, that some one of their nation was to get universal dominion. It is testified on all hands, by heathens and by Jews, as well as Christians, and consequently cannot be denied."

The miraculous event is made known to the subject of this divine grace by an angel from Heaven. She is not found among the nobles of her country, or the princes of her tribe.-She is an obscure virgin of the tribe of Judah, dwelling in the despised city of Nazareth. Her betrothed husband receives equal proof of the awful truth.-They make it known to their friends. It is confirmed to them by her cousin Elizabeth, who had previous notice from the same heavenly messenger, of the mercy of God to her nation. They are necessarily, tho' undesignedly, brought to the village of Bethlehem by the public authority of the government, that no part of the ancient prediction should be unfulfilled.

* De Vita, Vesp: ch. iv.

↑ Josephus, vol.