felf to, and for the future please his Creators. Those who by observing visible things, which they call Nature and comparing one of them with another, or their Actions or Effects with each other, can make no Deductions to guide them in thefe points. There can be no Evidence that there is any fuch Knowledge innate, or annexed to the Soul of Man. 'Tis impoffible for the Deity to part with any Part of his Effential Perfections; to confer intuitive Knowledge upon a Creature, to give it any Power beyond that of Mechanifm, or to acquire the Knowledge of any thing, otherwise than by taking in and weighing of Ideas. Nor can there be any Reason offered why the Rubbim fhould not give Laws and Rules to their Creatures. Indeed Men can imagine, but one of those Imaginers cannot by any Power in his Mind, without Evidence, fatisfy himself in any one Point, whether he is right or wrong; much less fatisfy any other even of them, by talking. Afk any of them any Question about an Ef fence without Beginning, or about the Beginning of things; about the Will, Actions, or Laws of that Being who had no Beginning: he can make no Affirmation, nor produce any Appearance of

Evidence,

Evidence, without the Revelation of that Effence. He only tells you, he cannot conceive how it could be otherwife than fo or fo; and every one differently, as Popes or Quakers do, and fo all alike infallibly. So if there have been any Laws and Terms revealed, and Men have flighted them, and neglected to understand them, Men muft ftand by the Observation, and fall by the neglect of them. There is no Plea for wilful Ignorance: that is a judged Cafe by one of the most impudent of the Free-thinkers, against another little inferior.

'Tis falfe, that Man, by Reason, or by Nature, could have difcovered Jehovah Aleim, or whether the Names, or the three Perfons in Jehovah were the Aleim; becaufe Mofes has revealed that it was revealed to Adam. And no other, but those who preferved that Knowledge by Hieroglyphicks, by Tradition, had it proved by Miracles, or written Revelation, ever discovered the true Aleim; but worshipped the Names, or they knew not what, or were Atheists; much less that they had Souls, knew that they were immortal, that the Body was to rife again, that there was to be a future State, or, &c. And the Scriptures prove that C 3 what

what our Imaginers have pretended to prove from their Reafon, or their Light of Nature, is false in the chief Point, because they have afferted that there was but one Perfon in the Effence, and the Scriptures prove there are three; and indeed fo in all the reft.

Thefe Declarations are but the Out-fide, the Caufe lies within; Love of ourselves, and Pride, and Ignorance, or Distrust of the Wisdom and Goodness of the Aleim, makes Men miftake the way to their own Good: Inftead of the Methods appointed, and of acting jointly with our Supporter, taking it into our own hands, managing or neglecting it, as that or what we call our own Wisdom direct us, of appearing to ourselves, or others, wife, &c. and then finding out Reasons or Excuses, each to justify our own contradictory Conducts one to another, and often to our own. Pride feparated the Devils from the Angels; and a proud Man will rather go to Hell, than be obliged to any Being for Heaven.

Where this once gets Poffeffion, from him who has the beft natural Parts, and the most of human Learning, to him that has the weakeft Parts, and the leaft Share of, or no human Learning, fo

to

to the most ignorant, as each truly is equally qualified for this Tafk; he not only thinks fo, but they each act with the fame Affurance, and are almoft equally incurable.

As the Worshippers in a falfe Religion have, as they think, the fame Complacency of Mind, the fame Approbation of their Confciences, in their falfe Worfhip, or, &c. as those who are in the true Way And as thofe falfe Rules are the Product of their own Inventions, and are framed to magnify their fuppofed Wifdom, or gratify their Pride, or Luft, or even their Suppofition that they are honoured with the Spirit; they at the fame time feel the Pleasure of gratifying their Wisdom, Pride, Luft, &c. which gives the Quakers, Enthufiafts, Free-thinkers, &c. that falfe Pleasure, makes them act with fuch Affiduity, Union, &c.

The Defign and End of Christianity is, 2 Cor. x. 4.---pulling down of Strong-holds, cafting down Reafonings, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the Knowledge of God, and bringing into Captivity every thought to the Obedience of Chrift. This breaks in upon falfe Notions of Wisdom in ourselves, of the Freedom or Power of determining our

Actions,

Actions, of a right of gratifying ourselves in the Pleasures of Senfe, and of a Sufficiency in ourselves under this Conduct, to fave ourselves, or to oblige the Deity, upon thefe Terms to admit us to the eternal Fruition of their Prefence.

And it breaks in upon a State of ftudied Careleffnefs, of cultivated Idleness, requires Labour to know and to perform one's Duty, difturbs one's Eafe here, and makes one anxious about Futurity, and what is to be our Fate there to all Eternity.

Though the Scheme of Redemption, if it were alone, would be acceptable to the most wicked, provided they were to be judged by a bare Man; but as there is another Article tacked to it, that he who redeems can see into the Hearts of Men, has infinite Power, and is to be final Judge; to whoever has been wicked in the highest Points, and never thought of mending, nay, perhaps has been guilty of Crimes for which there can be no Pardon, as C-, or, &c. he will allow Redemption, but he could not admit that the Perfon who redeemed has Omniscience, can fee into Hearts; for if that Perfon have that Power, he knew very certainly that he was in a bad way.

So