for recommunicating a knowledge of true religion; of duty in this life, and of what we are to expect in that which is to come. We can never be thankful enough for a revelation, that has a tendency to promote the happiness of mankind both here and hereafter. The oppofition, in my opinion, is without excufe; as the external evidence of history, miracles, and prophecy for the gofpel, is incontestably strong, when fairly examined; muft appear with force to a modeft, candid, impartial inquirer; and as the internal evidence for the facred letters, their usefulness and excellence, must be obvious to every attentive capacity, that delights in the pursuit of religion and virtue. Truth and candour, then, thofe infidels are ftrangers to. They are not fair reafoners. They are haughty, over-bearing declaimers.

notion of

fible, and

Nor can I think much better (Azora faid) Azora's of those great and reverend men, who preach the incomand write to prove the weakness of human prehenreason, and that the prime law of our cre- the law of ation, the law of nature, is imperfect, insuf- reafon. ficient, and obfcure; and therefore fupernatural communication was abfolutely neceffary; who add to this, things inconceivable and contradictory, and infift upon our believing articles too hard for rational beings. This is mifreprefenting rationals, if we believe the fcriptures, and is fo far from being of fervice to

the

Objections.

the cause of Chriftianity, (as in charity we must suppose those great men by fuch writing and preaching do intend) that it does, on the contrary, very greatly hurt revealed religion. It is to fuch wrong defences of revelation that antichriftian Deifm owes its chief strength. Our holy religion wants not any real evidence that can be defired by the modeft, candid, and impartial; but if great and learned men will deny the perfection of the primary law of God, and fubftitute in the place of recommunicated nature, an invented gospel, that fwells with ufeless myfteries, and bard doctrines, great damage must fall upon the true gospel. An unintelligible religion is no religion. It can be of no concern, with regard to rational creatures; and strong minds will laugh at its pieties,

But exclufive of invented myfteries, (I faid) which are, to be sure, sad stuff in the works of those great men, and deplorably corrupt the fimplicity of the gofpel, to me it is not fo plain, that mankind could by reafon acquire juft and adequate ideas of the existence and nature of the Supreme Being, or know that they had immortal fouls, and would expose themselves to eternal unavoidable mifery in a future ftate, in proportion to the demerit of their thoughts and actions in this world; but might fecure everlafting felicity by worfhipping one fupreme, univerfal, omnipotent, eternal,

eternal, omniprefent, and intelligent Spirit, and doing all the good we have an opportu→ nity and power to do in this life. I queftion if reafon can make us clear and certain on these articles. The reafon of the bulk of mankind cannot do it, I think. Therefore the gospel was absolutely necessary for the falvation of men.

tion of

tions.

Azora to this replied, that faith in Chrift, Continua and all his own inflitutions, were of high va- as relue indeed; and beautiful his religion appears, ligious nowhen it is fairly reprefented, as an inftitution that has no other end than morality, the most noble end, and the moft worthy of God; and that declares the practice of all the moral offices to be fuperior to any inward accomplishment, or outward Chriftian inflitution: but he could not allow, that Christianity was abfolutely neceffary; for the common reafon of men, without launching out into the unfathomable ocean of metaphyfical fubtilties, appears upon trial to be able to discover the fundamental points of religion; and from the things that are made, from our moral capacities and powers, and from our relations to one another, to know the fupreme Being, his attributes and perfections, and that we are accountable to our great Creator.

If men will think, they muft perceive (without the reafon of a Newton or Clarke) the existence of a spiritual influence in all the

parts

parts of inanimated matter, and the existence of their own spirits or fouls. To which ever part of matter we look, we fee a spirit employed. An influencing Being, endued with the faculties of perception, activity, and volition, is plain. The accidental qualities of matter, called attraction, repulfion, and communication of motion, evince that material and vegetable nature, and all the parts of inanimated matter, are actuated by one fupreme and universal spirit: I say One Spirit, because it is evident from a fameness of volition, that is, from one and the fame faculty of volition, manifeft throughout all nature, that there are not feveral diftinct, independent fpirits. In attraction, repulfion, and communication of motion, there appears no different faculty of volition, but a different exercise of the fame faculty of volition; which, for wise reafons, makes fome parts of matter cohere ftrongly, as ftone and metal,-fome weakly, as earth, &c. fome repel, while others attract; fome elaftic, and others non-elastic. In all thefe cafes, one fpirit only is the actor : that Being who holds all perfection in himfelf, and by an abfolute command over all parts of matter, forms and manages it as his wifdom fees beft;just as his adorable providence governs us, and difpofes of us, by fuch laws as reafon, (confulting the good of the whole fociety) declares it to be best

for

for us to obey: best, most surely, as it is the glory of the Almighty to be conftantly and without any deviation, governed by the eternal and immutable laws of good and right, just and equal. All is the operation of one and the fame univerfal fpirit. Identity is vifible. The various kinds of attraction, repulfion, etc. only fhew the unlimited power of the Deity, in actuating matter as his eftablished rules require. Were feveral arbitrary, fupreme fpirits to act over matter, the confequence would be a breach of regularity, uniformity, and conftancy, in the laws of nature, and that confufion would appear instead of beauty and order.

tion of

tions.

Thus common reafon confeffes that there Continua is one infinite, univerfal, fupreme Spirit, who Azora's reactuates and governs the univerfe; and from ligious nothe heavens, the earth, and ourselves, we are as certain that there is a Creator and Lord of all the worlds, who directs every atom of it, and animates every material form, as we are of any thing demonftrated to us. And as he is not only the Creator but the Manager and Preferver of every being, there can be no power equal to him. He must be omnipotent. He must likewife be eternal and omniprefent; for there was no fuperior power to receive existence from, nor is there a fuperior power to confine it. As to

his