IX.

CHAP. "Teftament, will find them to come short of "the Morality deliver'd by our Saviour, and "taught by his Apoftles; a College made up "for the most part of ignorant, but inspired

"Fishermen *."

BUT under this deliberate fetting up natural Religion, in Oppofition to reveal'd, there feems to be this Mystery of Iniquity industriously conceal'd and cherifh'd. That whereas Christianity is ftrict in requiring all Regularity of Manners fincerely confiftent with the Frailty of our Nature, and severe in threatning future Punishment; whilst the other is free from any pofitive Sanction of Punishment in the Life after this; and at the fame time not fo exprefs and particular in exacting Duty, or reftraining the irregular Defires of corrupt Nature: It is not to be wonder'd at, if the fenfual Lovers of Pleasure more than Lovers of God, or Truth, fhould be prejudiced in Favour of the latter: If they find out any Glofs of Reason, how fallacious foever, to recommend it, they naturally efpouse what fits fo light and eafy upon their Minds; and take refuge under a Religion which feems to give fome Liberty to pick and chufe their Obedience, and not call them to account for fome Irregularities, neither here, nor hereafter.

THAT Our Author in particular has fecret Objections againft Revelation, drawn from another Source than Reafon, is demonftrable: Becaufe, when the Light of Reafon is to find out his Law of Nature from the more obfcure Nature of Things, then it is bright and perfpicu

*Reefonableness of Chriftian. page 267, 268.

ous,

ous, abfolutely perfect and all-fufficient; but CHAP. when it comes to read the more intelligible Word IX. of God, all of a fudden it has loft its Difcernment, and can understand little or nothing of Obligation; it is all over figurative, allegorical, and as obfcure, unintelligible, and ufelefs as the Papists would make it, and for the fame End, viz. the better to carry on an Imposture that must not be brought in Sight, because it would immediately disappear like Darkness before the Light of the Holy Scripture; and, perhaps, is at the Bottom one and the fame.

As he has made great Ufe of a Citation out of Dr. Prideaux's Letter to the Deifts, I would prefent his Admirers with one from the fame Letter, pag. 107. "The Papists, who next to "Mahomet, have the greatest Claim to Impo"fture, as to thofe Errors which they teach,

very well understand how fuch a Caufe is to be "ferved by both these Particulars, [mentioned "before, with respect to the People he made "choice of to propagate his Imposture: 1. Be"caufe of the Indifferency they were grown to "as to any Religion at all: 2. Because of the great Ignorance they were in] and therefore make it

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their Bufinefs, as much as they can, to keep "their own People in Ignorance, and pervert "all those they call Hereticks, to Atheism, and Infidelity, that fo having no Religion at all, "they may be the better prepared again to re"ceive theirs."

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HAD he treated the Laws of God and his Covenant with Man, with the common civil Interpretation, which his own Profeffion fug

gefted

CHAP. gefted to be due to it, he would have made IX. good Senfe of both. Or had he allow'd Chri

ftian People to make use of their common Reafon without that Help, they can't fail to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digeft what is neceffary to make wife unto Salvation; and every thing elfe that is requir'd of their feveral Capacities to make them wife and good in their Station of Life. Let them attend to that wife Direction of the Homily of the Church, "That there is nothing fpoken in dark Mysteries in one Place, but the fame is more familiarly and plainly "taught to the Capacity both of the Learned, "and Unlearned, in other Places; and those

Things in the Scripture which are plain to "understand, and neceffary to Salvation, every "Man's Duty is to learn them."

THIS fingle Rule duly obferv'd, is of the most important Service for diftinguishing all useful Truth, from what is either doubtful, or falfe in Religion. For Inftance, plain Scripture, as well as plain Reafon affures us, that God is a Spirit: How prefently then does our Author's impertinent Harangue vanish, about the Scriptures afcribing Human Parts and Paffions to him? It is one of the best Prefervatives for preventing People being toffed to and fro with divers Winds of Doctrine, and keeping them fafe from the Snares of those who lie in wait to deceive. Nay, a good Proficiency in the Scriptures, in distinguishing the plain Places from the figurative, and laying the proper Strefs accordingly upon them,

Puffind. Law of Nature and Nations, Lib. V. Ch. xii. of Interpretation. And Grot. de jure B. Lib. II. Ch. xvi. would

IX.

would prevent them from being either unftable CHAP. with respect to the End, or the Means, or unlearned in the plain Parts of Scripture; and confequently fecure them from the Danger of wrefting any Scripture to their own Destruction. For who were the unlearned in St. Peter's Time, and Meaning, but they who were unlearned and to feek in that Use of them, by not studying their true Ufe, comparing Place with Place? As to human Learning, St. Peter himself was unskill'd, and therefore could endanger no body by the fame Incapacity of himself. By this Rule, the fome Things hard to be understood, would leffen more and more, and either be fuperfeded or master'd by the many that are plain, or left as a Matter of Leisure and Curiofity, more than any real Ufe. But, if recent Scripture was then liaable to be fo fatally wrefted by fuch Perfons, whilft St. Peter and St. Paul, moft undoubted infallible Interpreters of their own Meaning, were living to be confulted; can it be imagin'd, at this time, That fuch Perfons would be prevented from wrefting, or would have recourfe for an Interpretation to the Office of Infallibility at Rome, granting all the Infallibility it can arrogate to the Farce that is acting there?

AND as the Diftinction of the Religion of the END, and the Religion of the MEANS is folidly grounded in the Nature of Things; and makes every thing we can turn our Thoughts upon in the Chriftian Religion, fall into Subordination and Subferviency one to another, and gives the Eftimate and Precedence of one Thing before another; as alfo the Need of one Thing to another; it is of fingular Service and Benefit in regulating our Reafon and Judgment in the

Search

CHAP. Search of Scripture, because it has refpect unto all IX. God's Commandments, and fhews us the Wif dom, and the real Use of every one of them.

IT has been fhewn before, how much the Chriftian Religion has confirm'd and strengthen❜d, improved and perfected the Religion of the End, or the Religion of Nature as its Scope and Purpose, in the three Branches of Duty, to God, our Neighbour, and Ourfelves. And the Improvements it has made, with respect to each of thefe, will receive an eafy Interpretation from the common PRUDENCE it previously fuppofes to accompany every Man's Conduct, who would keep a good Confcience towards God, and alfo towards Men, as a Member of Society; as he is also a Candidate for Heaven, and would have a good Hope there.

As Virtue is required by the Apostle to be added with all Diligence to Faith, or the general Knowledge of Chriftianity, as its End; fo this Prudence, or particular Knowledge, as he calls it, is commanded to be added to Virtue, as the true Difcerner what is real Virtue in the various changing Circumstances and Relations it may be placed under, in this shifting Scene*; this prudential Knowledge in diftinguishing Things and Circumftances, is fuppofed to be improving from the Exercife of the Sentiments of the Mind, in difcerning Good and Evil †, what is lefs, what is more, and what is moft ufeful and plain in Doctrine and Inftruction; and confequently will prefer to learn our Lord's own Words and Example, from the four Gospels; the Succefs, chief Heads, and Miracles attending the Gospel in the Acts; 津 2 Pet. i. 5. + Heb. v. 14. the