shall take upon him to be our guide, without carefully obferving whither, and what it is he would lead us to. If any thing is put upon us, which is above and out of the reach of our difcerning faculties, fuch propofitions are all blank with refpect to us, and are the fame as if they were not; and therefore, can be of no ufe or concern to us. If any thing is offered that is repugnant tỏ our natural powers, by being abfurd or contradictory in itself, or by being contrary to our natural notions of things, or to moral rectitude, that, of neceffity, cannot be true; and therefore cannot be of God. And as we are liable to be called upon, by men in all shapes, and under all appearances, each one pretending, with great affurance, that he has the mind of God; therefore, furely, we ought to be very cautious and watchful, and to be conftantly upon our guard. The Roman Catholick hangs out the flag, in order to engage the traveller that paffeth by, with this infcription on it, "Lo, here is the catholick cordial most divine! here is the infallible ftiptick, here is the never-failing balfam that cures all ills! there is no fafety but with us." "Not fo, fays the zealous Proteftant, for all your medicines are greatly adulterated,

adulterated, and thereby are become poisonous, they kill rather than cure; whereas, we have the moft heavenly golden cordial uncorrupted, we have the precious balm of Gilead unadulterated, we have the universal fpecifick, most pure and primitive, therefore more fafety is with us." "Stop, says the rigid Diffenter from them both, you are meer quacks in the administration of ghostly phyfick, your foundation is laid in carnal wisdom, and your fuperftructure is hay and Stubble, your coftly ornaments are the attire of harlots, you are emptiness and vanity; and tho' you have a name to live, yet you are fpiritually dead; whereas we are God's Elect, moft dear and precious in his fight, we were conceived in the womb of everlasting love, born and brought forth by the quickening influence of free grace,we are nourished by the milk of God's holy word, and guarded by divine decrees; yea, our very names are written in heaven; therefore, furely, more fafety is with us." "We are the midnight cry, says the modern prophet, behold! the bridegroom cometh, go ye forth to meet him; here is the ciftern that overfloweth with the oil of divine grace; come hither, all ye virgins that would be wife for yourfelves,

felves, trim your lamps, fill your pitchers, and be prepared, that you may not be furprized; the divine spirit is present with us, we have the visible tokens of it, it bloweth where it lifteth, it appeareth in agitations as heretofore, and as John the Baptist, like a reed fhaken with the wind, Mat. xi. 7. therefore much more fafety is with us." "Nay, fays the Methodist, be not too confident, all your pretences must needs be groundless; seeing the divine spirit holds his office here, the feals are with us, by which our pardons are fecure; come hither, therefore, all ye that labour and are heavy laden with the burthen of your fins, and ye shall find reft unto your fouls; for we are under the gracious influence, and have an experimental feeling of divine impreffions; by which, whilft here below, we join with angels, cherubims, and all the blessed above, in acts of faith and love, and fongs of everlasting praife; therefore all fafety is with us." Now, tho' these pretenders cannot all be right, yet it is very poffible they may all be wrong, in fome or other of their claims. Muft we dance after all their pipes? furely, not; what then must be done? why truly, I think, nothing fafer or better can be done,

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in the present cafe, than to follow the wife counsel of our common master, Matt. xxiv. 4. Take heed that no man deceive you take heed, is an intimation of danger; that no man deceive you, befpeaks that danger to be general. Take heed that no man deceive you, is the fame as to fay, truft no man farther than the nature, and the importance, and the circumstances that attend the cafe will justify; for, as every man has it in his power, fo, poffibly, he may have it in his inclination to deceive; therefore truft no man, rely abfolutely upon no man; but try all their pretences, whatever they be. Many, faid Chrift, Matthew xxiv. 5. shall come in my name, or under the pretext of my authority, saying, I am Chrift, or I have the mind of Chrift, as being under the gracious influence of divine impreffions; but then the charge is, believe them not. Or if the popular cry should be, lo, here! or lo, there! our order is, go not forth, go not af-· ter them. So that, in the judgment and opinion, and according to the advice given by Jefus Chrift, no man is blindly to be fubmitted to; but every thing must be tried, and approved, before it be admitted.

And if this be the cafe, then, of neceffity, there

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must be some common principle that is obvious to all, which all pretenders and all pretences are, or, at least, ought to be tried and judged of by; elfe Chrift's advice must have been vain and useless. And, indeed, were there no fuch common principle for men to have recourse to; then it seems to follow, that we muft either admit every thing in the grofs that is offered to us under a divine character, or else reject every thing in the gross which is thus offered; because there could be no medium: For if fome things are to be admitted, and others rejected, then there must be fome ground or reafon for fuch admiffion or rejection; and this supposes some common obvious principle, by which all pretences are to be tried and judged of, and from which fuch grounds or reafons for admitting and rejecting are to be collected. But, fays the ploughman, the thresher, the illiterate tradefman, what fhall we do? we have neither learning, nor reading, nor any thing to qualify us for making fuch trial; nor have we any fandard to try men's pretences by; fo that we lie greatly expofed, and are in danger of being carried away by every wind of doctrine, and of being captivated by every pretender. But, furely, the cafe VOL. II.

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