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equal to his crimes; or fuppofe any other images to be ftrongly impreffed upon a man's mind, in which his duty and behaviour is concerned; in this case, if he has no rule, by which he can distinguish, with certainty, divine impreffions from all other impressions, that may be made upon his mind, then, the ideas that had been impreffed upon his mind, as aforefaid, whether of a divine original, or otherwife, could not poffibly inftruct and guide him, with regard to his duty and behaviour, but, on the contrary, (if he acted with that care and caution as the importance. of the cafe requires that he fhould, and which, furely, it is every man's duty to do) they would greatly perplex and diftress him ; because he would be altogether uncertain, whether those impreffions are divine, or not, and, confequently, whether it was his duty to attend to them, and be guided by them, or not. I am fenfible, that the doctrine of divine impreffions has been adhered to, and maintained, by most, if not all, religious parties in the world; but then, they all feem inclined to confine the favour to their own party, or, at least, to think it is chiefly, and more certainly with them; and, therefore, they are apt to draw back, and are unwilling

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to fubmit to what is dictated to them as a divine oracle, when it comes from any other quarter; and thus, a chriftian would scarce think himself concerned, much lefs obliged, to attend to what may be delivered to him as the produce of divine impression,by a Mahometan; and the like of a Mahometan, by a chriftian. Nevertheless, if it should be thought, that I have not done justice to the fubject, then, I hope, fome friend to truth, and to mankind, will kindly interpose and set this matter in a clearer and a truer light; and this may well be expected from thofe, who not only maintain the doctrine of divine impresfions, but who also confider themselves to have experienced the power of fuch impreffions on their minds; because fuch experienced men may well be supposed to be capable of fhewing plainly, what it is, which distinguishes divine impreffions from all other impreffions, that may be made upon the mind, fuppofing it can be done; which if it cannot be done, then, of neceffity, the cafe must be most perplexed and hazardous, as I have before fhewn. To fay, that God does immediately impress ideas upon the minds of men, tho' we cannot certainly know, at the time, that we are under the influence of

fuch

fuch impreffions, nor can we diftinguish fuch divine impreffions from any other impreffions, that may be made. upon the mind; this, I think, in any other cafe, would be deemed mere prefumption, and would be far from being fatisfactory.

And,

As I have been lately led to confider, or rather to re-confider, the doctrine of grace,or Special grace, as it is fometimes called; fo I prefume, my readers will take it in good part, if I lay before them the produce of those reflections. By grace is here meant that power, which God is fuppofed fecretly, imperceptibly, and fupernaturally to communicate to men; which power is called special grace, in distinction from, and in oppofition to, that power, and thofe favours vouchfafed to men, by the Deity, in and through the common and ordinary course of nature, thereby to enable men to perform their respective duties, and render themselves acceptable to their Maker, which otherwise, or without fuch special aid, they are not able, by their natural powers or inherent ability, to do and perform. This doctrine of grace feems to be founded on the following fuppofition, viz. that it may be, and is a man's duty to perform that which he has not power fufficient I 4

for

for the performance of; but then, this fupposition seems to be moft abfurd, groundlefs, and falfe. All due, or duty, is connected with, relative to, and dependent upon that power which any agent has for it's performance; fo that the line of a man's duty cannot poffibly be extended a point farther than the line of his ability for the performance of it; because, where, and fo far as power for performance fails, or falls fort; there, and fo far, duty fails, or falls fhort in proportion. It, furely, cannot be a man's duty to fee, who has no eyes; nor to relieve the needy, who has nothing within the compafs of his power or procurement to relieve them with. The cafe must be the fame in all other inftances and cafes, where duty may be fupposed to be concerned; whatever a man has not fufficient power for the performance of, the performance of that thing cannot poffibly be his duty; and therefore, as a man's duty may be increased, by the increase of his ability; fo his duty will be decreased, by the decrease of his ability alfo; and were a man changed into a brute, which is faid to have been the cafe of Nebuchadnezzar, then, all the duty that lay upon him, as a man, would cease or be annihilated, ifI may fo speak. Whe

ther

1

ther a man's ability be decreased, or destroyed by accident, or defign; whether by himself, or by any other agent, it alters not the cafe; becaufe the decreafing, or destroying a man's power for performance, naturally and neceffarily decreases, or destroys all the duty that was connected with it, and dependent upon it. Suppose a man fhould defignedly have put out his own eyes, then, thơ' he may, by fo doing, have been greatly criminal and blame-worthy; yet, when his vifive power was deftroyed, and his capacity of feeing ceased, then, all the duty that was connected with, and dependent * upon that capacity, of courfe ceafed with it; and it would be altogether as abfurd to fuppofe it a man's duty, who has put out his eyes, to do that, when he is blind, the performance of which depends wholly upon fight; as it would be to fuppofe it a man's duty, who

has

* Here a question or two does very naturally arise, viz. Suppose a man fhould contract a just debt, and afterwards fhould fall into fuch circumftances as to be unable to make fatisfaction, does his inability cancel his obligation? or does he not continue as much obliged as before? and is it not his duty to make fatisfaction, notwithstanding his inability? Anfwer; tho' a man's inability does not satisfy any debt he has contracted, but he still continues to be a debtor, and is ftill obliged to make fatisfaction when he is able; yet his inability fo far fufpends that obligation, as to make it of no force, until he is invested with power fufficient to make fatisfaction.

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