the nature of the thing, renders the creature worthy of it; because, as he cannot be benefited thereby himself, fo neither can any good end be poffibly anfwered to his creatures therefrom. To suppose, therefore, that God will lay any unneceffary commands upon his creatures, out of affectation, or merely for the fake of fhewing his authority, and because he will be obeyed, and that he will be pleafed merely on account of his being obeyed, is to conceive the Deity to be as weak and vain as his creatures themselves; which, furely, must be a most unworthy representation of him. To fay, that God may act as above, by way of temptation or trial to his creatures, he may give them commands that are not good, in order to try their obedience thereby, which obedience. cannot be so effectually tryed in any other way. To this it may be answered, that the many and great temptations, with which every man is unavoidably furrounded, are more, yea much more, than fufficient to shew, to ourselves and all around us, what weak frail creatures we are, and how eafily we are betrayed into folly, as every day's experience does fufficiently fhew; and this, furely, must be more than fufficient to in form form and convince the Deity (could he posfibly stand in need of any fuch information and conviction) of what we are, and how we are difpofed, with regard to obedience, without his giving us commands, that have no intrinfick goodness in them, in order to try us in that refpect; and, therefore, to fuppofe, that God will multiply temptations upon us, in order to render our obedience more hazardous, and thereby betray us into difobedience, muft needs be a moft grievous calumny upon him. THE term religion, when taken in a more restrained fenfe, fignifies the duty, or refpect, we particularly owe to God, and which, in general, is expreffed by the term piety. And here it is to be obferved, that true piety, or refpect, is purely mental, and confists in a just and worthy fenfe of God being impreffed upon and cherished in the mind, and the mind's being fuitably affected therewith. As to what is external in religion, that, I think, is not, properly speaking, respect or piety itself, but is only relative to it, as it ferves to express it, and to excite and increase it; feeing what is external may take place, when, and where real piety, or refpect, is wanting. This is very juftly R 2 justly and truly expreffed by Jefus Chrift, John iv. 23, 24. The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the father in fpirit and in truth, [or in fincerity] for the father feeketh fuch to worShip him. God is a spirit; and they that worship him [that is, that worship him acceptably] must worship him in spirit and in truth. This, I think, is a very just representation of that piety, or respect, which is due to God, from his intelligent creatures; and this, I apprehend, is grounded upon, and results from, a just and proper sense of the goodness and benignity of the Deity. For, tho' the power and greatness of God, his immenfity, eternity, and his other natural properties, may raise our wonder and astonishment, and greatly excite our fears; yet it is not thefe, but the divine kindness and bene olence, which excite a venerable and grateful refpect to the Deity. When we take a view of God's works, fo far as they come within our notice, and obferve how the divine power, and the divine intelligence, have been wonderfully employed, to answer the gracious purposes of goodness and beneficence, how each fpecies of animals are prepared to Share in the divine kindness, that there is a plen plentiful provision made to uphold them in life, and to give them pleasure, fuitable to the time of their stay here, and the part they are to act, and how the whole is wifely conducted to answer the purpose of a publick or general good; this naturally tends to excite in us, towards the Deity, that worship, that respect, which confifts in, and is compounded of, the most humble gratitude and love. And, when a juft fenfe of the divine benignity is thus duly impreffed upon, and cherished in the mind, it then naturally leads us, not only to admire, but also to imitate, the Deity, according to our measure and degree, and as far as the frailty of our natures will admit. Do the divine goodnefs, the divine benevolence, render the Deity truly lovely and amiable to all beholders? Then, the like difpofition and the like conduct will most certainly render us fo. And this will naturally lead us to look round, (fo far as our sphere of obfervation and ability extends) and fee who there are, that can receive any alleviation of their grief, or any increase of their happiness, by our means; who there are, whose burthens we can lighten, or remove, or whofe diftreffes and difficulties we can relieve them from; who R 3 there there are, that are helpless and friendless, in any respect, that we can be friends to, and then readily and chearfully come in to their aid. This is that worship, that respect, which is due to God, as the kind creator, and tender parent of his creatures; and, where this takes place, God is worshipped in Spirit and in truth, and such worshippers are really and truly pious or religious men. I HAVE already obferved, that the externals of religion are not real piety or refpect itself, but only are either figns and tokens of it, or elfe are means to excite and encrease it. I here further obferve, that these outward figns, fuch as uncovering the head, lifting up the hands and eyes, bowing the body, laying the hand upon the heart, fmiting upon the breast, and the like actions, are not natural marks of piety or respect, but are arbitrarily made to be fo, by custom, or otherwise; nor does real piety always attend them, but they may be performed (when they appear to be directed to God, or to men) either out of cuftom and form, or out of hypocrify, with an intent thereby to deceive the fpectators. And, as real piety is internal and mental, and the tokens or marks of it are external and visible; so, whether the |