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fect in the prefent conftitution of things; because, as thus it is, fo thus it will be, and thus it must be, with regard to the Deity, feeing otherwife fuch a Conftitution could not have taken place at all. That man is an agent, is of God; that any individual is a good or a bad agent, by his making a good or a bad use of his agency, this is wholly of bimfelf; that man is thus at liberty to make a good or a bad use of his agency, and was intended fo to be, is as much of God, as that he is what he is, viz. an agent. So that buman agency, with what it is productive of, is no blemish, no defect in the present constitution of things; for tho' God did not intend that man should do evil, yet he did intend that man should be at liberty so to do; which liberty, furely, is not, will not be reftrained by any thing that is fupernatural. And as we can have no previous ground to prefume or expect that there is, or will be a divine revelation, until it has appeared and proved itself to be fuch; fo, confequently, we can be under no previous obligation to feek after it. what is not, furely, can

Non-entity, or

lay us under not

obligation; but divine revelation is not, with regard to us, until it has appeared and

proved itself to be fo; and therefore, antecedent to fuch proof, we can be under no obligation with regard to it. Indeed, when a revelation that affumes a divine character comes home to our door, and offers itself to our confideration, then curiofity, and that natural thirst after knowledge which takes place in man, these may excite our attention; and as the revelation may poffibly be what it is pretended to be, and as fuch we may poffibly be interested in it; fo these may excite our concern to try and prove it; but otherwife, I think, we can be under no obligation with regard to it. And, indeed, were the cafe otherwife, mankind would be involved in the utmost perplexity; because if one man, by affuming the character of being a promulger of divine revelation, does, by fuch affumption, lay me under an obligation to feek after him, in order to hear and attend to what he has to offer to me, in that behalf; then every other perfon who affumes fuch a character, if the report of him comes to my hearing, lays me under the like obligation, wherever the promulger is, and wherever the place of my abode may be; which muft of neceflity involve me in great perplexity. Suppofe my refi

dence

dence to be in London, where it is reported that one man is promulging a divine revelation in York, that another is performing the like work in Cornwall, and that a third is acting the fame part in Ireland; with refpect to each of which reports, I could not be certain of the contrary; and fuppofing I am obliged to feek after, and attend to fuch revelations to which a divine character is annexed by the promulgers, then I must be obliged to feek after, and attend to them all; because one has as much and as just a demand upon me as either of the other two; and all of them must have as just a title to my attention as any other pretenfion of this kind; and this, furely, muft involve me in a most unreasonable perplexity. For as thofe pretenfions to a divine character may not be well grounded in one, or another, or all of thefe, of which I cannot be a judge 'till each of them is examined, together with the evidences offered to support that character; fo, with refpect to these revelations, one may be more extenfive and contain more divine truths than another, of which I cannot be a judge till I have compared them, and this would lay me under an obligation (fuppofing an obligation

in the cafe, which, furely, there is none) to attend upon, and try them all; and this would be a tedious, burthenfome and expenfive thing to me, fuppofing it to come within the compafs of my power, which cannot be the cafe of the bulk of the people; and, perhaps, at laft, after I had run this wild-goofe-chace, it might yield me neither benefit nor fatisfaction, but leave me to take the like dance after the next pretender of this kind, who would lay me under the like obligation.

7

Ir it should be faid, that our attendance on and attention to revelations that affume a divine character are not required to every pretence of this kind, but only to fuch as have miraculous power annexed to them, to back and fupport them; and when that is the cafe, then our attendance on the miracleworker, and our attention to what he has to reveal to us, are both demanded and expected. To this it may be answered, that if the power of working miracles, and the power or trust of promulging divine revelations, are fo neceffarily connected in nature, that one cannot be without the other; or if these are always united in fact, so that one does never take place without the other;

then,

then, there might be fome colour for what is here urged; but if neither of these is the cafe, then what is urged comes to nought. That miraculous power and the privilege or truft of promulging divine revelation are neceffarily connected in nature, I think, is not pretended, the contrary being moft obvious; and therefore, the only question is, whether these are always united in fact? the contrary to which likewise appears, if the facts of this kind, that are upon record, do determine the point; and which, furely, will not be difputed, at least by our found Chriftian believers. Thus 2 Kings v. 14. Naaman the Syrian was cured of a leprofy, which cure, I apprehend, has always been confidered to be miraculous, both by Jews and Chriftians, and yet the promulgation of divine revelation was not joined with it; of which the cafe is the fame in many other inftances: And, on the other fide, St. John the Baptist, tho' a publisher of fuch divine revelation as was of publick or general concern, who is represented not to have come a whit behind any prophet or publisher of divine truth, Luke vii. 28. and yet wrought no miracle, John

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