Thus remarks Pascal: "Even the apparently weak points in the chain of evidence have their peculiar force to a wellconstituted mind." Again: That the Jews should (as we observe from these genealogies) have traced their Messiah through Tamar and Bathsheba, adulteresses; Rahab, a Canaanite; and Ruth, a Moabitess (see Neh. xiii. 1), is another striking evidence of that extraordinary regard to truth which so distinguishes the Bible. The value of any illustration of the truth of the Bible will be appreciated by all who reflect, that on the truth of the Bible rests our welfare for eternity.

§ xiii. Value of Profane History.

1. Though the Bible is the great foundation upon which all history rests, ANCIENT PROFANE HISTORY affords assistance in the study of it. Thus :

Gen. xlvi. 34: "Every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians." Why? From profane history (i. e. from a fragment of Manetho, preserved by Josephus), we learn that the Egyptians, about 2159 years before the birth of Christ, had been invaded and subdued by a tribe of Cushite shepherds from Arabia, whose yoke they had not long shaken off. Hence their prejudice against the family of Jacob coming from the neighbourhood (Palestine) to which these shepherds had been expelled; which perhaps also explains Gen. xlii. 9, "Ye are spies," &c., xliii. 32.

Thus the Providence of God overruled oppression and prejudice to become a shield to his Church: for by their following a profession thus despised by the Egyptians, that evil communication was checked which might have immediately corrupted their good manners, and plunged them. into idolatry; and profane history assists us to see this.

So, again, the best commentary on Deut. xxviii., and our Lord's prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem, is Josephus's Jewish Wars. Does our Lord, for instance, say, Luke xix. 43, "Thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee," &c.? Josephus gives a literal fulfilment of it, telling us, that Titus did thus surround Jerusalem with a wall.

Matt. xxiv. 14. We should have a very inadequate conception of the extent to which this was fulfilled without the aid of profane history, the Acts of the Apostles not

noticing scarcely any other than the travels of St. Paul, and evidently not all of his. But from profane history chiefly we learn that the Gospel was preached in Idumea, Syria, and Mesopotamia by Jude; in Egypt, Marmorica, Mauritania, and other parts of Africa, by Mark, Simon, and Jude; in Ethiopia, by Candaces' Eunuch and Matthias; in Pontus, Galatia,and the neighbouring parts of Asia, by Peter; in the territories of the Seven Asiatic Churches, by John; in Parthia, by Matthew; in Scythia, by Philip and Andrew; in the northern and western parts of Asia, by Bartholomew; in Persia, by Simon and Jude; in Media, Carmania, and several eastern parts, by Thomas; through the vast tract from Jerusalem, round about unto Illyricum, by Paul: as also in Italy, and probably in Spain, Gaul, and Britain; in most of which places churches were planted within thirty years after the death of Christ, a period ten years earlier than the destruction of Jerusalem. See Doddridge.

Acts ix. 31: "Then had the disciples rest." This rest cannot be attributed to the conversion of Saul, as the persecution continued three years after. But profane history enables us to account for it. The rest here mentioned corresponds exactly in time (A.D. 40) with the attempt, which profane history informs us, the Emperor Caligula made to set up his statue in the Holy of Holies. The consternation into which this threatened profanation of their temple threw the Jews, diverted their attention for a season even from that on which they were so intently set-namely, the persecution of the Christian church; and hence the disciples had rest. See Paley.

Acts xvii. 16, &c.: "Full of idols." In confirmation of this, profane history tells us that Athens had more images than all the rest of Greece; but, further than this, profane history speaks of Athens as in a peculiar manner the eye of Greece, the learned city, the school of the world; and hence, in connection with this passage, instructs us in a most important truth-namely, "How little avail genius and learning to preserve men from the grossest folly, if they have not the guidance of God's word!" (Rom. i. 22.)

Acts. xxiv. 25. From the very surface of this narrative we see how much more anxious Paul was for the salvation of Felix's soul, than for his own deliverance from prison and from death. But Josephus tells us that Felix was noto

rious for oppression, and was living in adultery with Drusilla, who was the wife of a foreign king. This leads us yet more to admire the Apostle, illustrating the peculiar propriety of his reasoning of righteousness, &c.; the delicacy as well as fidelity of his preaching, in his seeking to produce conviction of sin, not so much by upbraiding Felix for his iniquity, by charging him with unrighteousness, intemperance, &c., as by reasoning with him on the loveliness of those graces of which he was destitute.

2. Under the head of profane history may be mentioned MODERN TRAVELS in eastern countries, which often throw light on Scripture. Thus, in confirmation of ancient profane history, and in attestation of the truth of Scripture, in reference to the idolatry of Athens:-About sixty years ago, Dr. Chandler and Mr. Stuart found traces of the grossest idolatry among the ruins of that celebrated city; for instance, on the front of a Doric portico was an inscription, which showed that the Athenians worshipped not only the Roman emperors, but their descendants; there was a statue to Julia, the daughter of Augustus (infamous for her profligacy), on the pediment of which she was styled the Goddess Julia Augusta Providence-i. e. no less a Deity than Providence itself. See Horne's Introduction, vol. i.

Keith has also shown, in many particulars, the value of modern travels in illustrating the fulfilment of prophecy; as, for instance, the present barrenness of Judea contrasted with its former great fertility, as described by Scripture. Voltaire ridiculed the idea of the possibility of its having been so fertile and populous as represented in Holy Writ; but Volney, another infidel, has in his travels accumulated facts, which in the most remarkable manner confirm the declarations of Scripture. Thus by the assistance of modern travels, we see that those who intended to undermine, become the supporters of our faith, through the overruling providence of Him who taketh the wise in their own craftiness and maketh the wrath of man to praise Him.

Dr. E. S. Clarke and others, who have travelled in Judea, are able to identify the very spots where events recorded in the Bible took place. Thus, the very brook where David (B.c. 1063, i. e. 2900 years ago) chose five smooth stones with which to encounter Goliath is yet to be noticed. It has, he says, refreshed many a thirsty pilgrim travelling

F

from Jaffa (the ancient Joppa) to Jerusalem, all of whom must pass it in their way, nothing having occurred to alter the face of the valley of Elah and the surrounding country through which it runs.

§ xiv. Manners and Customs of Eastern Nations.

The manners and customs of Eastern nations open a wide field; in reference to which, works written professedly on the subject must be consulted-such as Burder, Harmer, &c. The importance of consulting such works may however be here illustrated.

Houses, Roofs, &c.

Deut. xxii. 8: "When thou buildest a new house," &c., "battlements," &c.

Are we surprised this should be the subject of a Divine command? A knowledge of the manners and customs of Eastern countries will explain it. The roofs of their houses were, as they are to this day, flat, and very much walked upon. Here they enjoyed the cool refreshing breezes of the evening, conversed with one another, as, 1 Sam. ix. 25, Samuel with Saul. Here they offered up their devotions (Acts x. 9, "Peter," &c.), and retired to rest.

From Nehemiah viii. 16, we learn that the Feast of Tabernacles was kept by the people making themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house. How needful, therefore, that the roof should have battlements? while this command affords another illustration of the value which the Bible sets on human life; a disregard of which is so striking a feature of all false religions. (Ps. lxxiv. 20.)

Mark xiii. 15. In our Lord's prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem, to express the urgency of the danger and the necessity of immediate flight, He says, “Let him that is on the house-top not go down into the house, neither enter therein,' "&c. How, then, could he escape? The roofs being so much used had staircases outside, leading from the top of the house to the street. Houses in the East are built in the form of a square, with an open courtyard in the midst, on each side of which are the apartments. Dress.

"Let

Luke xii. 35: your loins be girded about," &c. ; a figure to express preparation for the discharge of duty.

To those, however, familiar only with our modes of dress, this and other expressions require some explanation.

The upper garment in Eastern countries was an oblong piece of cloth, square at the corners, something like the plaid of a Scotch Highlander, about five yards long by five feet wide. This, on ordinary occasions, they threw loosely over them; but when setting out on a journey, or preparing for any work requiring great exertion, they tucked it up with a girdle. Thus Elijah (1 Kings xviii. 46) girded up his loins and ran before Ahab; and thus Elisha (2 Kings iv. 29), urging Gehazi to make haste, bid him gird up his loins and go.

Girdles were usually much ornamented (so as to be an important article of traffic, Prov. xxxi. 24). This explains why Elijah and John the Baptist, whose peculiar office called them in an especial manner to shew abstraction from the world, are described as wearing leathern girdles, i. e. girdles of the commonest kind, altogether unornamented.

When about to exert their strength by the use of their arm, removing the heavy folds of this loose dress they thus laid the arm bare, or revealed it.

This will explain such passages as Isa. lii. 10, “Make bare," &c., i. e. hath discovered and put forth his great power, which for a long time seemed to be hid and unemployed. See also chap. liii. 1, "To whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?" i. e. who observes that he is about to exert his power? When this outer garment was thrown off, the persons were said to be "naked," though they had on an inner garment, or close-bodied frock: thus, (2 Sam. vi. 20), David; (John xxi. 7), Peter; (John xiii.), our Blessed Lord. It was the outer garment He laid aside when, the evening before his crucifixion, he gave that remarkable instance of his love, which was to be to them both an example of humility, and an emblem of his atonement (ver. 8).

In that most touching farewell which Paul took of the Ephesian elders (Acts xx.), when at parting, we are told (ver. 37), "they all wept sore; one of the solemn appeals which the Apostle makes, as proving his sincerity, is, that he had coveted no man's apparel; i. e., no man's clothes. The force of this is lost, if we do not know that in the East