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to the accounts received from prophane antiquity, much less to the infpired writings. For notwithstanding that several particulars relating to the eldest condition of the world and its great catastrophes, examined and compared with so much philofophy as was till lately known, were plainly unaccountable, and, naturally speaking, impoffible; yet we see now nature is more fully, more certainly, and more substantially understood, that the fame things approve themselves to be plain, eafy, and rational. It is therefore folly in the highest degree to reject the truth or divine authority of the holy Scriptures, because we cannot give our minds particular fatisfaction as to the manner, nay, or even poffibility of fome things therein afferted. Since we have feen fo many of those things which feemed the most incredible in the whole Bible, and gave the greatest scruple and scandal to philofophic minds, fo fully and particularly attefted, and next to demonstrated from certain principles of aftronomy and natural knowledge, it is but reasonable to expect in due time a like solution of the other difficulties. It is but just fure to depend upon the veracity of those holy writers in other affertions, whose fidelity is fo entirely established in these hitherto equally unaccountable ones. The obvious, plain, or literal fenfe of the facred Scriptures ought not without great reason to be eluded, or laid afide :, several of thofe very places which feemed very much to require the fame hitherto, appearing now to the minutest circumstances true and rational, according to the strictest and most literal interpretation of them. We may be under an obligation to believe fuch things on the authority of the holy Scriptures as are properly myfteries; that is, though not really contradictory, yet plainly unaccountable to our (present degree of) knowledge and reason. Thus the facred hiftories of the original constitution, and great cataftrophes of the world, have been in the paft ages the objects of the faith of Jews and Chriftians, though the divine Providence had not afforded so much light as that they could otherwise satisfy themfelves in the credibility of them, till the new improvements in philosophy, And this is but just and reasonable: for fure the ignorance or incapacity of the creature does by no means afford fufficient ground for incredulity, or juftify men in their rejecting divine revelation, and impeaching the veracity or providence of the creator." With which weighty, and to the prefent purpose very pertinent words of this worthy author I seal up my own, and leave them both to the confideration of the reader.

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MY DRAR BRETHREN,

OU live in an age, and in a country, in which many think

YOU

they have a right to do, and say, what they please. Thus far, indeed, we are ftill under the protection of the law, that one man cannot fhoot another through the head, without being hanged for it; unless he does it upon a principle of honour. But he may afperfe characters, accufe the innocent, put darkness for light, and light for darkness, blafpheme God, difhonour the king, and expofe the nakedness of his country, without being called to any account. He may erect a literary ftar-chamber, wherein all works, in defence of true religion, and the polity of the church of England, are misrepresented, and mangled, without justice or mercy, for five-and-thirty years together; their ears cropped, their noses flit, and thus disfigured they are turned out into the streets, to be fcorned by the public; who are hence to collect, that our faith is defencelefs, and our writers ridiculous.

Before the flood of Noah, the earth was filled with violence, God was despised, all goodness was trampled under foot, and men were too far gone to take any warning. The Gospel tells us it fhall be fo again: and all good people, who are not impofed upon by empty founds, can plainly fee that licentioufnefs, fo loudly glorified under the name of liberty in these latter days, will be the grand inftrument in bringing the new world up to that degree of corruption, which destroyed the old.

That the influence of Chriftianity, which is now fo much decayed, may be lefs and lefs every day, books and pamphlets are industriously handed about, among the common people, to turn away their hearts from Chriftian truth to the fables of in fidelity. I do not mean that these publications abound with oaths, curfes, and obfcenity; (though the prefs is daily delivered of them alfo) but that they give God the lie in all the doctrines, by which our holy religion is diftinguifhed; and if they should be attended to, and received, must provoke him to transplant the Christian faith to fome other quarter of the earth, which has not fo much neglected his goodness.

Some may promise themselves, that when this fhall happen, a ftate of perfect freedom. will take place; but, let them know, that how freely foever men may offend against one another, God is not to be intimidated by the claims of licentioufnefs. The God of Chriftians is, and will be, the ruler of the world, whether libertines confent to his dominion or not: and they may affure themfelves, that the departure of the Chriftian religion will be no peaceable event. When the Founder of our faith expired, the heavens were darkened, the earth fhook, and the minds of men were troubled, and confounded. When God departed from the Jewish nation, difcord, peftilence, and famine, all the horrors of war, and all the miferies of fedition and flavery fucceeded. The deftruction of the world by the flood, the burning of Sodom, the captivity of Jerufalem, and other like vifitations, are to be underftood as fo many warnings of that fate, which all apoftates will meet with in another world, and as examples of what will most probably befall them in this world.

My brethren, I am one of those who, with God's help, would willingly make a stand against that torrent of herefy, and impiety, which threatens to break in upon us: but there is no chance of doing this, to any purpose, unless we can remove one fatal mistake, which moft ignorant people now labour under, and of which the enemies of our faith never fail to take advantage. The mistake is this; that Chriftians may reckon themselves fecure of the favour of God, if they are not guilty of cheating, whoring, drinking, robbing, and murdering. This is the error of the ignorant : and the artful flatter them in it; telling them, that if they do but lead what they call good lives, articles of faith are but matters of opinion, and therefore they need not be nice about their creed. To make this plaufible notion the more agreeable, one of our

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