New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1848-04-01
VOL. VII. NO. 500.

sion was the manifestation Of the Deity 60 solemn
30 awful. go calculated TO make indelible impress
sions upon the imsginatons and souls Of the
mortals to whom He revealed Himself as when He
appeared in the character Of their Lawgiver The
law thus dispensed was, however, imperfect twas
destined to be partly suspended and improved into
absolute perfection many ages siterwsrd by the
appearance Of Jesus Christ upon earth. But to
Judge Of its excellence as system of laws, 1t
must be compared with human codes which existed
or were promulgated at nearly the same age OF the
world in other nations. Remember, that the Law
was given AGO years before Christ was born, at
the time the Assyrian and Egyptian monarchles
existed bat Of their government and laws we
know scarcely anything save what is collected from
the Bible. OF the Phrygian Lydiap, and Trojan
States at the same period, little more is known
The President Gorget, in a very elaborate and In
genious work on the origin Of letters, arts and
sciences among the ancient nations, says that
the maxims the civil and political laws OF these
people are absolutely unknown; that not even an
idea of them can be formed with the single excep'
ton Of the Lydians, of whom Herodotus asserts
that tn cir laws were the same as the Greeks -
The same author contrasts the total darkness and
oblivion into which all the institutions Of there
mighty empires have fallen, with the fallness and
clearness and admirable composition OF the he
brew code, which has not only descended TO Us en-
tire but still continues the national code ii the
Jews, iscattered IS they are over the whole lace
of the EARTH and enters so largely into the leSs-
lation of almost every civilized nation upon the
globe. He observes "that these laws have been
"a an ha
laws Of other contemporary natioAs cannot Dear any
comparison with them" But my motive In form
ing the comparison is to present to your rehectons
as proof-snd TO my mind very strong prooi-oi
the reality Of their divine origin for how is 1t that
the whole system of government and adminsua
ton, the municipal political, ecclesiastical mii
tary and moral laws and institutions which oouno
in society the numberless myrlads oil human De-
ings who formed for many successive ages the STU
pendous monarchies Of Africa and Asia, should
have perished entirely and been obliterated from
the memory of mankind, while the laws OF paltry
tribe of shepherds characterzed'by Tacitus, and
the sneering infdelity of Gibbon, as " the most
despised portion of their slaves" should not only
have survived the wreck of those empires but re
main to this day rules Of faith and practice to
ishable only with it7 The reason is obvious 1t IS
their intrinsic excellence which has preserved
them from the destruction which beiaDs all the
works of mortal man. The precepts OF the decalogue
alone Says Gorget,l disclose more sublime truths
more maxims essentially suited to the happiness Oh
man. than ali the writings Of proiane antiquity put
together can furnish. The more you mediate on
the laws cf Moses. the more striking and brighter
does their wisdom appear II would be laoo'ious
bat not al Improbable investigation, to reduce
into regular classification, like that Of the lnsti'
tutcs OF Justinian or the Commentaries OF Black
stone the whole Code OF Moses which embraces
NOT ,nly All the ordinary subjects of Legislation
tose4,er Nth the principles Of religion and mo-
y.i,,g. bu, laws OF eccesiastical directions con
ccTs4g tho minutes, actions and dress oil individu-
as This. however, would lead me too lar from
my present purpose, which is merely to consider
the Bible as a system Of morality shall there
fore notice those parts Of the law which may be
referred particularly to that class, and at present
must cnofne myself to a few remarks upon the de-
dialogue Itself which having been spoken by the
voice and twice written upon the stone tables by
the finger Of God, may be considered as the ioun
dation of the whole system-of the ten command
ments emphatically called for the extraordinary
and miraculous distinction by which they were pro-
mugsted The first four are religious laws, the fifth
and tenth are properly and peculiarly moral and do
nestle rules the other four of the criminal de-
partment of municipal laws: the unity OF the
Godhead the prohibition of making craven Inn
ages to worship; that of taking lightly Tor In
vain as the English translation expresses it,
the name of the Deity, and the injunction to
observe the Sabbath as day sanctifed and
set apart for His worship, were all intended to
ipculcate the reverence for the one only and true
God--that profound and penetrating sentiment Of
piety which, in iolmer letter, urged as the great
and only immov able foundation OF all human virtue
Next 10 the duties toward the Creator, that OF hon
oring the earthly parent is enoined It is TO them
that every individual owes the greatest obliga
,;ons and to tsem that he is consequently bound by
the first and strongest Of all earthly ties The FOL
lowing commands, applying to the relations be-
,,,.an man and his fellow mortss are all negative
a, their application was universal to every human
being it was not required that any positive acts oil
bene6cence toward them should be performed
hut only to abstain from wronging Them either
latin their persons 2d-in their property; I'd
in their coniugal rights 4th-in their COCA name
after which all the essential enoymena OF lie be-
ing thus guarded from voluntary injury, the tenth
and closing commm andment goes to the very
source of all human actions-the hosrs-snd posi-
lively forbids all those desires which first prompt
and lead to every transgression upon the property
and right of our fellow creatures Vain indeed
would be the search among the writings OF pro-
fame antiquity mot merely of that remote antiqai,
,y but even in the most refined and philosophical
ages of Greece and Rome,l to find so broad so COM
pete and 80 solid basis for morality. as this deca'
locue laws down. Yet Ihave said it was imperfect
il. sanctions, its rewards its punishmepts had re-
ference only to present life, and it had ne inuuc
t;ons of positive benehcence toward our neighsors
OF these the law WAS not entirely destitute IA It's
other parts but both in this respect and In the
other. i, was to be perfected by Him who brought
life and Immortality to light in the Gospel Upon
which subject you shall hear more,
From your snsc;iOnate Father
or CsrgE ToROSTO.-The Oihcni