x. 41. There are other inftances of persons who were the promulgers of divine revelation, fuch as Jonah, of whom we have no account that they wrought any miracles at all. And if this be the case, viz. that the power of working miracles and the truft of promulging divine revelations are not neceffarily connected in nature, nor have they been always joined in fa&t; then, the want or absence of miraculous power will not take off the obligation to feek after and attend to fuch revelations as affume a divine character, fuppofing an obligation to arise from fuch affumption; and confequently, the absence of miracles will not be a juftifiable reafon for refufing to feek after and attend to any revelation, claiming as aforefaid. The perfons who have affumed the characters of being promulgers of divine revelation are very numerous, there being fcarce an age, at least, in these latter times and in this part of the world, but has furnished out many pretenders of this kind, however it may have been in places and times more remote; and therefore, it must be an impoffible task to examine and try all the revelations that have been promulged by them; especially as many of them have

not

a very

not been entered upon record; and, perhaps, it may be difficult task to prove many of them to be either delufion or impofition, whatever fuccefs they may have met with; for tho' thofe revelations may not prove themselves to be divine, yet that failure may not prove the contrary. The revelations to which a divine character has been annexed, of most note, at least that I have heard of, are the Jewish, the Mahometan, and the Chriftian revelations.

As to the JEWISH revelation, which is, the most ancient, and which was promulged chiefly by Mofes, and, in fome leffer branches, by other Jewish patriarchs and men who affumed a prophetick character, if this, in the grofs, be admitted as divine, it must be with difficulty and ftruggling; becaufe, by fuch admiffion, the most beautiful and amiable picture of the Deity, viz. God's moral character, will be fullied, if not defaced thereby; as that revelation, in feveral of it's branches, will by no means comport with fuch a character; which character, furely, cannot be given up without fome ruffling, fome perturbation of mind, at least, when fuch due attention is given as the importance of the fubject requires. In

deed

deed, as to men who take all things upon trust, and swallow every thing that is put into their mouths, or who, perhaps, are to reap a plentiful harvest of this world's good things by their complaisance, they may find no difficulty in admitting any thing, how grofs and unnatural foever it may be; which credulity now paffes for heroick faith, and the contrary, viz. a man's requiring of himself a reafon of the faith and hope that is in him, with meekness and fear of being mislead, this is, by way

of contempt, What I have

represented to be * Deism. observed, I think, must be the cafe; for if by ftamping a divine character upon the Jewish revelation at large God's moral character is fullied, which feems to be too apparent; then, furely, this cannot be done, but by wrestling with and conquering our most natural notices of a Deity, with regard to his moral excellency, fuppofing our serious attention to be called in, and which, furely, is putting the cafe upon a desperate

*Deifm is the belief of, and the having a just and worthy fense of a Deity impreffed upon the mind; which fenfe is the governing principle of a man's affections and actions; this is Deifm properly fo called, which character, furely, is most worthy and defirable; and yet, now, like free-thinking, it is treated with great contempt. VOL. II.

C

iffue.

iffue, I have already obferved. (Section III.) that two of the Apoftles of Chrift, viz. St. Peter and St. Paul, have treated the Mofaick law with great contempt, as if it was altogether below and unworthy of the fupreme Deity. St. Paul calls the Mofaick inftitutions weak and beggarly; by which, furely, nothing lefs could be intended, than that they were, in their inftitution and use, directed and made fubfervient to low and mean purposes, which must render them greatly unworthy of the fupreme God. And both St. Peter and St. Paul have reprefented the Jewish ceremonies to be a grievous joke, or burthen that was unbearable; and, as 'fuch, it could not have been fit to have been put upon any people; and confequently, could not have been the offspring of God. And, fuppofing the opinions and cenfures of thefe two great men had been wanting; yet the thing plainly befpeaks itself, and which no doubt was the ground these cenfurers went upon, as having had fufficient experience in the cafe. The greatly multiplying ceremonies and external obfervances, of which the Mofaick law was fuperabundant, does, in the very nature of the thing, eat out, as a canker, the life and spirit of

true

true religion, and introduce fuperftition and falfe religion in it's ftead. For, as a conftant and over-frequent attendance upon external obfervances will, without great watchfulnefs, introduce a fuperftitious zeal for, and a groundless reliance upon these, as the ground of God's favour; fo that, of courfe, will not only weaken, but alfo wear out the fenfe of the worthiness and excellency of virtue and moral rectitude, and of it's being the real ground of divine acceptance, which ought ever to be strongly impreffed upon the mind. And that this was the cafe in fact, with refpect to the forementioned inftitutions, or carnal ordinances as St. Paul called them, is most evident, both from the hiftory of the Jews and alfo from the beavy complaints made by their prophets or wife men," in that refpect. Now, that God fhould raise fuch a battery against virtue and true religion as the load of Jewish ceremonies plainly appear to be, cannot, furely, be admitted without fome difficulty and struggle, and offering fome kind of violence to the human mind.

BUT farther, in the Jewish revelation, God is fet forth as having fingled out the Jewish nation from the reft of the world to