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Lord and Mafter, encourages us patiently to bear the revilings and reproaches of men. But furely there is fomething more than this to be dreaded! Who can be ignorant that the frequent and irreverent use of God's facred name, gradually leffens our awe and esteem of it? That by difregarding his name we infenfibly lofe all fear of his majefly, his power and juftice? That from not hallowing his fabbaths, we pass on to profane them? And that from the neglect of religious duties, we proceed totaly to difufe and defpife them? And when we are involved in this complicated fin, how natural is it for us to expel the thoughts of future rewards and punishments? And when this barrier is once broken down, what a torrent of wickedness rushes

in

in upon the foul; and whither can it fly for refuge, but into the arms of infidelity?

How miferable the comfort it af fords! for how fafhionable foever it may be; and notwithflanding the contempt and ridicule that I may fubject myself to by fuch an attempt, yet I shall next endeavour to expofe the dangerous nature and heinouf ness of

INFIDELITY, whether fpeculative only, or practical also.

Speculative infidels are either fuch as having never so much as heard of the christian religion, must of courle remain in their heathenifun (which do not fall under our confideration): or

fuch

fuch as having chriftianity offered them, have rejected it.

'Tis poffible, that fome few may continue infidels upon principle, after having used the faireft methods, and taken the greatest pains to convince themselves. And fuch, if any fuch there be, are so far from being condemned in the opinion of any man; that they demand our pity for their want of conviction, and our love and efteem for their honesty and induftry qualities capable of making them not only good citizens; but alfo morally righteous, and religious worshippers of God; though at the fame time, they cannot be expected to come up to the purity and fpirituality of the gospel.

These,

These, indeed, are not the men that I am aiming at; but fuch as, being born in a chriftian country, and of christian parents, and having been inftructed in gospel principles, havė turned renagades to their native religion, with as little reafon, as they might refuse the use of the language of their country; who having not examined, or not being capable of examining the evidences for chriftianity, have unfairly condemned it, and have preferred to the clear and unerring light of divine revelation, the faint and uncertain glimmerings of human reason who against the faith of history, established upon inconteftible facts, and the veracity of the most credible witnesses, have pronounced the bleffed Jefus an impoftor; C

his

his religion, a visionary scheme of superftition; ftill fupported by state policy and prieftcraft; though, at the fame time, they cannot deny that He hath advanced the moral law to an higher degree of perfection, than any reformer that ever lived before him.

And whilft they are thus endeavouring to demolish christianity, what is it that they would give us in exchange for it? No regular system whatfoever; but a crude, undigefted mass of heathenish, philofophic morality, picked out of the writings of Socrates and Plato, who themselves could only guefs at futurity.

Their great Diana is reafon, under whose name they would impose upon us a most unintelligible jargon of words,

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