the world were in danger of being loft in ignorance, irreligion, and idolatry, GOD fhould interpofe by extraordinary inftruction, by alarming inftances of judgment and mercy, and by prophetical declarations of things to come, in order to teach men his power, his juftice, and his goodnefs, by fenfible proofs and manifestations. We must not fay here, that GOD could not fuffer this; but enquire from hiftory, whether he has or no. Now I fuppofe it will eafily be acknowledged, that this was the cafe with the gentile world in ancient times, and that the Judaical and Christian institutions have greatly checked irreligion and idolatry, and advanced true natural religion; which is a remarkable coincidence in favour of thefe inftitutions, though all other evidences for them were fet afide. Neither muft we fay here, that fince GOD permits grofs ignorance in fome nations, the Hottentots for inftance, even to this day, he might have permitted it in all mankind. Allow that we know fo little of his unfearchable judgments, as not to be able to make any certain conclufion: yet furely it is much more agreeable to the forenamed attributes, and to the analogies of other things, that the bulk of mankind fhould have fuch a knowledge of GOD, as fuits their intellectual faculties, and other circumftances, and carries them forwards in moral improvement, than that all should ftand ftill, or go backwards, or make lefs improvement in religion than tallies with their improvements in other things; alfo that there fhould be a fubordination in religious advantages, rather than a perfect equality.

Natural religion alfo teaches us to confider GoD as our governor, judge, and father. Now all these fuperiors have two ways of adminiftration, inftruction and providence for the well-being of their inferiors, ordinary and extraordinary. It is therefore natural to expect upon great occafions an extraordinary inter

pofition by revelation, miracle, and prophecy; and that especially in that infancy of the world after the deluge, which both facred and profane history affure us of; inasmuch as both states and individuals require much more of the extraordinary interpofition of governors and parents in their infancy, than afterwards: all which has a remarkable correfpondence with the history of revelation, as it is in fact. And the analogical prefumptions for miracles, in this and the last paragraph, feem at least equal to any prefumption we have, or can have, in this our ftate of ignorance of the whole of things, against them.

But there is another argument in favour of miraculous interpofitions, which may be drawn from the foregoing theory of human nature. I take it for granted that mankind have not been upon this earth from all eternity. Eternity neither fuits an imperfect, finite race of beings, nor our habitation the earth. It cannot have revolved round the fun, as it does now, from all eternity; it must have had fuch changes made in it from its own fabric and principles, from the fhocks of comets, &c. in infinite time, as would be inconfiftent with our furvival. There was therefore a time when man was first placed upon the earth. In what state was he then placed? An infant, with his mind a blank, void of ideas, as children now are born? He would perifh inftantly, without a series of miracles to preserve, educate, and inftru&t him. Or if he be fuppofed an adult with a blank mind, i. e. without ideas, affociations, and the voluntary powers of walking, handling, fpeaking, &c. the conclufion is the fame; he muft perish also, unless conducted by a miraculous interpofition and guardianship. He must therefore have fo much of knowledge, and of voluntary and fecondarily automatic powers, amongst which speech must be reckoned as a principal one, impreffed upon him in the way of inftinct, as

would be neceffary for his own preservation, and that of his offspring, and this instinct is, to all intents and purposes, divine revelation, fince he did not acquire it by natural means. It is alfo of the nature of prophecy; for it feems impoffible for mankind to fubfift upon the earth, as it now is, without fome foreknowledge, and the confequent methods of providing for futurity, fuch, for inllance, as brutes have, or even greater, fince man, unprovided with manual arts, is peculiarly expofed to dangers, neceflities, and hardships.

Let us next confider, how the first men are to be provided with the knowledge of GOD, and a moral fenfe: for it feems ncceffary, that they fhould be poffeffed of fome degree of thefe; elfe the fenfual and felfifh defires would be fo exorbitant, as to be inconfiftent both with each man's own fafety, and with that of his neighbour; as may be gathered from the accounts of favage nations, who yet are not entirely deftitute of the knowledge of God, and the moral fenfe. Now, to deduce the exiftence and attributes of Gop, even in a very imperfect manner, from natural phænomena, requires, as it feems to me, far more knowledge and ratiocination, than men could have for many generations, from their natural powers; and that especially, if we fuppofe language not to be infpired, but attained in a natural way. And it appears, both from the foregoing account of the moral fenfe, and from common obfervation, that this requires much time, care, and cultivation, befides the previous knowledge of GoD, before it can be a match for the impetuofity of natural defires. We may conclude therefore, that the firft men could not attain to that degree of the knowledge of GOD, and a moral fenfe, which was neceflary for them, without divine infpiration.

There are feveral particulars in the Mofaic account of the creation, fall, and circumstances of the ancient

world, which tally remarkably with the method of reasoning used here. Thus, man is at first placed in a paradise, where there was nothing noxious, and confequently where he would need lefs miraculous interpofition in order to preferve him. He lives upon the fruits of the earth, which want no previous arts of preparing them, and which would ftrike him by their smells, and after an instance or two, incite him to pluck and tafte: whereas animal diet, befides its inconfiftency with a ftate of pure innocence and happiness, requires art and preparation neceffarily. There is only one man, and one woman, created, that fo the occafions for exerting the focial affections may not offer themselves in any great degree, before thefe affections are generated; but on the contrary, the affections may grow naturally, as it were, out of the occafions. The nakednefs, and want of fhame, in our first parents, are concurring evidences of the absence of art, acquired affections, evil, &c. i. e. of a paradifiacal state. In this ftate they learnt to give names to the animal world, perhaps from the automatic and femivoluntary exertions of the organs of fpeech, which the fight of the creatures, or the found of their feveral cries, would excite, having probably a fufficient stock of language for communication with GOD, and for converfing with each other about their daily food, and other neceffary things, given them by immediate inftinct or inspiration. And thus

they would be initiated, by naming the animals, into the practice of inventing, learning, and applying words. For the fame reasons, we may fuppofe that they learnt many other things, and particularly the habit of learning, during their abode in paradise. Nay, it may perhaps be, that this growth of acquired knowledge, with the pleasantness of it, might put them upon learning evil as well as good, and excite the forbidden curiofity. After the fall, we find GOD

providing them with clothes, Cain banished from the prefence of GOD, an argument that others were permitted to have recourse to this presence to ask counsel, &c. his pofterity inventing arts for themselves, Enoch and Noah walking with GoD before the flood, and Abraham afterwards; all the antediluvian patriarchs long-lived, the poft diluvian long-lived alfo for fome generations; amongst other reafons, that they might inftruct pofterity in religious and other important truths; and the divine interpofitions continuing through the whole antediluvian world, and gradually withdrawn in the poftdiluvian. And it seems to me, to fay the leaft, a very difficult thing for any man, even at this day, to invent a more probable account of the first peopling of this earth, than that which Mofes has given us.

PROP. XXVIII.

The objection made against the Miracles recorded in the Scriptures from their being contrary to the Course of Nature, is of little or no Force.

IT is alleged here by the objectors, that the courfe of nature is fixed and immutable; and that this is evinced by the concurrent teftimony of all mankind in all ages; and confequently that the teftimony of a few perfons, who affirm the contrary, cannot be admitted; but is, ipfo facto, invalidated by its oppofing general, or even univerfal experience. Now to this I answer,

First, That we do not, by admitting the teftimony of mankind concerning the defcent of heavy bodies upon the furface of our earth, the common effects of heat and cold, &c. fuppofe that this invalidates the