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and goodness; such absurdities as these we must assent to, or subscribe to the doctrine of a self-existent and providential being.

SECTION III.

The manner of discovering the Moral Perfections and natural Attributes of God.

Having in a concise manner offered a variety of indisputable reasons to evince the certainty of the being and providence of God, and of his goodness to man through the intervention of the series of nature's operations, which are commonly described by the name of natural causes. We come now more particularly to the consideration of his moral perfections, and though all finite beings fall as much short of an adequate knowledge thereof, as they do of perfection itself; nevertheless through the intelligence of our own souls we may have something of a prospective idea of the divine perfections. For though the human mind bears no proportion to the divine, yet there is undoubtedly a resemblance between them: for instance, God knows all things, and we know some things, and in the things which we do understand, our knowledge agrees with that of the divine, and cannot fail necessarily corresponding with it. To more than know a thing, speaking of that thing only, is impossible even to omniscience itself: for knowledge is but the same in both the infinite and finite minds: To know a thing is the same as to have right ideas of it, or ideas according to truth, and truth is uniform in all rational minds, the divine mind not excepted. It will not be disputed but that mankind in plain and common matters understand justice from injustice, truth from falsehood, right from wrong, virtue from vice, and praise worthiness from blame-worthiness, for otherwise they could not be accountable creatures. This being admitted, we are capable of forming a complex idea of a moral character, which when done in the most deliberate, the wisest and most rational manner in our power, we are certain bears a resemblance to the divine perfections. For as we learn from the works of nature an idea of the power and wisdom of God, so from our own rational nature we learn an idea of his moral perfections.

From what has been observed on the moral perfections of God, we infer that all rational beings, who have an idea of justice, goodness and truth, have at the same time either a greater or less idea of the moral perfections of God. It is by reason that we are able to compound an idea of a moral character, whether applied to God or man: it is that which gives us the supremacy over the irrational part of the creation.

The cause of IDOLATRY and the Remedy of it. Inasmuch as God is not corporeal, and consequently does not and cannot come within the notice of our bodily sensations, we are therefore obliged to deduce inferences from his providence, and particularly from our own rational nature, in order to form our conceptions of the divine character, which through inattention, want of learning, or through the natural imbecility of mankind, or through the artifice of designing men, or all together, they have been greatly divided and subdivided in their notions of a God. Many have so groped in the dark, as wholly to mistake the proper object of divine worship, and not distinguishing the creator from his creation, have paid adoration to four footed beasts and creeping things." And some have ascribed divine honors to the sun, moon, or stars; while others have been infatuated to worship dumb, senseless and unintelligent idols, which derived their existence as Gods, partly from mechanics, who gave them their figure, propotion and beauty, and partly from their priests, who gave them their attributes; whose believers, it appears, were so wrought upon, that they cried out in the extacy of their deluded zeal "Great is Diana." Whatever delusions have taken place in the world relative to the object of divine worship, or respecting the indecencies or immoralities of the respective superstitions themselves, or by what means soever introduced or perpetuated, whether by designing men whose interest it has always been to impose on the weakness of the great mass of the vulgar; or as it is probable that part of those delusions took place in consequence of the weakness of uncultivated reason, in deducing a visible instead of an invisible God from the works of nature. Be that as it will, mankind are generally possessed of an idea, that there is a God; however they may have been mistaken or misled as to the object. This notion of a God, as has been before observed, must have originated from a universal sense of dependance, which mankind have on something that is more wise, powerful and beneficent than themselves, or they could have had no apprehensions or any superintending principle in the universe, and consequently would never have sought after a God, or have had any conception of his existence, nor could designing men have imposed on their credulity by obtruding false Gods upon them but taking advantage of the common belief that there is a God, they artfully deceive their adherents with regard to the object to be adored. There are other sorts of idols which have no existence but in the mere imagination of the human mind; and these are vastly the most numerous, and universally (either in the greater or less degree) dispersed over the world; the wisest of mankind are not and cannot be wholly exempt from them, inasmuch as every wrong conception of God is (as far as the error takes place in the

mind) idolatrous. To give a sample, an idea of a jealous God is of this sort. Jealousy is the offspring of finite minds, proceeding from the want of knowledge, which in dubious matters makes us suspicious and distrustful; but in matters which we clearly understand there can be no jealousy, for knowledge excludes it, so that to ascribe it to God is a manifest infringement of his omniscience.*

The idea of a revengful God is likewise one of that sort, but this idea of divinity being borrowed from a savage nature, needs no further confutation. The representation of a God, who (as we are told by certain divines) from all eternity, elected an inconsiderable part of mankind to eternal life,and reprobated the rest to eternal damnation, merely from his own sovereignty, adds another to the number; this representation of the Deity undoubtedly took its rise from that which we discovered in great, powerful and wicked tyrants among men, however, tradition may since have contributed to its support, though I am apprehensive, that a belief in those who adhere to that doctrine, that they themselves constitute that blessed elect number, has been a greater inducement to them to close with it, than all other motives added together. It is a selfish and inferior notion of a God void of justice, goodness and truth, and has a natural tendency to impede the cause of true religion and morality in the world, and diametrically repugnant to the truth of the divine character, and which, if admitted to be true, overturns all religion, wholly precluding the agency of mankind in either their salvation or damnation, resolving the whole into the sovereign disposal of a tyrannical and unjust being, which is offensive to reason and common sense, and subversive of moral rectitude in general. But as it was not my design so much to confute the multiplicity of false representations of a God, as to represent just and consistent ideas of the true God, I shall therefore omit any further observation on them in this place, with this remark, that all unjust representations, or ideas of God, are so many detractions from his character among mankind. To remedy these idolatrous notions of a God, it is requisite to form right and consistent ideas in their stead.

The discovery of truth necessarily excludes error from the mind,which nothing else can possibly do; for some sort of God or other will crowd itself into the conceptions of dependant creatures, and if they are not so happy as to form just ones, they will substitute erroneous and delusive ones in their stead: so that it serves no valuable purpose to mankind, to confute their idolatrous opinions concerning God, without communicating to them just notions concerning the true one, for if this is not effected, nothing is done to purpose. For, as has been before observed, mankind will form to themselves, or receive from oth

"The Lord thy God is a JEALOUS GOD."

ers, an idea of Divinity either right or wrong: this is the universal voice of intelligent nature, from whence a weighty and conclusive argument may be drawn of the reality of a God, however inconsistent most of their conceptions of him may be.The fact is, mankind readily perceives that there is a God, by feeling their dependance on him, and as they explore his works, and observe his providence, which is too sublime for finite capacities to understand but in part, they have been more or less confounded in their discoveries of a just idea of a God and of his moral government. Therefore we should exercise great applications and care, whenever we assay to speculate upon the Divine character, accompanied with a sincere desire after truth, and not ascribe any thing to his perfections or government, which is inconsistent with reason or the best information which we are able to apprehend of moral rectitude, and be at least wise enough not to charge God with injustice and contradictions, which we should scorn to be charged with ourselves. No king, governor or parent would like to be accused of partiality in their respective governments, "Is it fit to say unto Princes, ye are ungodly, how much less to him that regardeth not the persons of princes, or the rich more than the poor, for they are all the work of his hands."

CHAPTER II.
SECTION I.

Of the Eternity of Creation.

As creation was the result of eternal and infinite wisdom, justice, goodness and truth, and effected by infinite power, it is like its great author, mysterious to us. How it could be accomplished, or in what manner performed, can never be comprehended by any capacity.

Eternal, whether applied to duration, existence, action or creation, is incomprehensible to us, but implies no contradiction in either of them; for that which is above our comprehension we cannot perceive to be contradictory, nor on the other hand can we perceive its rationality or consistency. We are certain that God is a rational, wise, understanding Being, because he has in degree made us so, and his wisdom, power and goodness is visible to us in his creation, and government of the world; from these facts we are rationally induced to acknowledge him, and not because we can comprehend his being, perfections, creation or providence; could we comprehend God, he would cease to be what he is. The ignorant among men cannot comprehend the understanding of the wise among their own species, much less the perfection of a God. Nevertheless, in our raciocination upon the works and harmony of nature, we are obliged

to concede to a self-existent and eternal cause of all things, as has been sufficiently argued, though at the same time it is mysterious to us, that there should be such a being as a self-existent and eternally independent one; thus we believe in God, although we cannot comprehend any thing of the how, why or wherefore it was possible for him to be; and as creation was the exertion of such an incomprehensible and perfect being, it must of necessary consequence be, in a great measure, mysterious to us; we can nevertheless be certain, that it has been of an equal eternity and infinitude of extension with God.

Immensity being replete with creation, the omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, eternal and infinite exertion of God in creation, is incomprehensible to the understanding or the weakness of man, and will eternally remain the prerogative of infinite penetration, sagacity and uncreated intelligence to understand.

SECTION II.

Observations on Moses's account of creation.

The foregoing theory of creation and providence will probably be rejected by most people in this country,inasmuch as they are prepossessed with the theology of Moses, which represents creation to have a beginning. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." In the preceding part of this chapter, it has been evinced that creation and providence could not have had a beginning, and that they are not circumscribed, but unlimited; yet it seems, that Moses limited creation by a prospective view of the heavens, or firmament from this globe, and if creation was thus limited, it would consequently have circumscribed the dominion and display of the divine providence or perfection; but if Moses's idea of the creation of "the heavens and the earth," was immense, ever so many days of progressive work could never have finished such a boundless creation; for a progressive creation is the same as a limited one; as each progressive day's work would be bounded by a successive admeasurement, and the whole six days work added together, could be but local and bear no manner of proportion to infinitude, but would limit the dominion, and consequently, the display of the divine perfections or providence, which is incompatible with a just idea of eternity and infinity of God, as has been argued in the foregoing pages.

There are a variety of other blunders in Moses's description of creation, one of which I shall mention, which is to be found in his history of the first and fourth day's work of God: "And God said let there be light and there was light, And God called the light day and the darkness night, and the evening and morning was the first day." Then he proceeds to the second and

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