But if we inquire of history whether the rejection of Islam by the Christians was visited with still greater, or only with similar judgements, the answer is, that though, in countries conquered by Muhammadan armies, and where many worldly-minded Christians gave up their religion for that of the conquerors, those who remained faithful to the gospel had to suffer the loss of many earthly goods; yet those Christian lands which entirely rejected the religion of the Qur'an and some of which even defeated the invading Muslim armies, were not only unvisited for this with national judgements, but continued to prosper even more than before. The Jews, since their rejection of Christ, have never been able to form a commonwealth of their own; but the Christian nations who rejected the creed of Muhammad could not only maintain their independence, in spite of vast Muslim armies sent forth for their subjugation; but their population and power has so signally increased, by the blessing of God, that they now possess the greater part of the habitable world, and exercise a more or less powerful influence over every region of the earth. It can now be said, without exaggeration, that the Christians stand highest in the scale of nations, and that the providence of God has already invested them with power over the whole earth. It is a fact worth pondering, that Christianity began with humble individuals, who had no power, apart from the energy of their

convictions; that for three hundred years its doctrines were propagated amidst cruel persecutions, by the faith, the prayer, the teaching, the sufferings, and the death of an army of martyrs; and that, nevertheless, it now sits upon the most powerful thrones of the world; whilst Muhammadanism, from the beginning aimed at secular conquests, was spread for a time by vast armies of warriors, and has now lost the greater part of the power it once possessed.

A comparison of the internal state and condition of the Muhammadan and Christian lands is no less suggestive of grave truths. It cannot be doubted that the true religion, by the diffusion of purity, honesty, equity, and the higher happiness of communion with God by a living faith and spiritual worship, must greatly help to elevate a people, and to promote its general prosperity. We have now to apply this standard to the two religions in question; for if Christianity has ceased to be the true faith since the rise of Islam, as most Muslims assert, we must naturally expect to find Muhammadan countries distinguished by the highest degree of prosperity, and the Christian world almost entirely without it. But what are the actual facts in this respect? Arabia is the birth-place of Islam, where it has had undisturbed sway since the days of its founder. The rich spoil of many countries was brought to that land by the victorious armies of the