tions. When duly embraced it Alumes the mind? with divine knowledge; gives confolation to the breast of guilt; reconciles us to God; renovates the heart; fanctifies our affections, and renders our wills obedient to the divine will viola

Chriftianity offers the most alluring incentives to virtue, and the most ferious diffuafives from vice; moderates our enjoyments; preferves us from arrogance in profperity; defpondence in adverfity and is a fource of confolation against all the ills of life.lod" w za ; rolost boy bars to wwow sideqolish won how e vb was to work. <$ Christianity is admirably calculated to promote the good of fociety; to maintain public peace, faith and justice; gives peace and contentment to the mind; is productive of rational and fatisfactory' happinefs aflures us of the immortality of our fouls; the refurrection of our bodies; the diffo 3.99919 bas

franged from God, how contaminated by iniquity?

But Mr. Paine, in Hir fystem of religion, aḍ2 mits of no fabbath for public instruction of ho1 religious worlhip! In his great wifdom and piety, he difcards thefe ancient, ufeful and divide in Kitutions !

Prayer, indeed, he confiders to be impious! And declares, that his MIND onlysis CHURCH" A church, it is feared, of horror and darknefs Of pollution and vice Of milery and wretchedness! 19: sd bo v parshish wor šno da que boo, or stunçɔɔtina wod

P. 9. *

lution of the world; the formation of a new heaven and a new earth, wherein shall dwell righte ouinefs; of a day of future retribution, of undea-: fing punishments to the guilty and impénitent; of eternal and ineffable rewards to the righteous and obedient.

"Indeed, it is the benevolent defign of chriftianity to counteract all the effects of fin, and to restore man to even more than his pratine ftate of honor, purity and bleffednefs.qu who are

The celebrated Machiavel, to exculpate himfelf from the charge of infidelity, delivered the following excellent proteftation, (which may be? regarded as exhibiting a fummary view of revealed religion) refpecting his belief of chriftianity head find sila nejkike A 739 ebastab yotun tab 402519

"As I undoubtedly hope, fays he, by the me rits of Chrift, and by faith in him; to attain eternal falvation; fo I firmly believe the chriftian profeflion to be the only true religion now in the Worldwollenberg br. sung

binow a ct..

Next, I am fully perfuaded, that all divine virtues, which God defigned to teach the world, are contained in the books of the holy fcriptures, as they are now extant and received among us.

From them understand, that God created man in purity and innocence, and that the first of our fpecies, by their frailty, loft at once their integrity and paradife, and entailed fin and mifery upon their pofterity? That Almighty God, to

ble of it, purloined from the holy feriptures. vol and ubat

4

But

For the truth, that pagans as wellas deifts, are indebted to divine revelation for whatever excellence is contamed in thelt religion, (which fact hath before been noticed) fee Stackhoufeisbody of divinity, vol. I. p. 519, 520. Shukford's connection, vol. I. p. 157 Billiop: Gibson's hepaftoral letter, p. 66, &ccedi a gelding a ger I» nofuste on bonded 250 LeA

The notions, fays Mr. Rolling (belles lettres, vole da pi 337,1g38) which the cheathens had of a providence: that governs: and pretides over all i things, even the malleft events, and confequently condefcends to take.cognizance of every particular circumftance, was the effect of a tradition as old as the world, and derived from revelation. to Incroitored ells le suißch oda

The good thepherd Eumeus aforibes the happy fuccefs of his cares to the sprovections of God, of who bleffed his labor and everything committed to his truft.”*.

Ulyffes owns, that it was God who hadt fent him plenty of game2+uniors en l'amorada. vollebesa to portudimet ɔddug, to

That fate, or providence was thought totend its care to animals, may be deduced from a principle that prevailed'in Homers time Speak-ngaf addve, he fays, that are would not fit. fer it to be taken tebe

We must not therefore be furprized, that Ho

when divested of its impieties, how contracted is

mer should make all the events which happen to mankind to depend upon providence, even to the exprefs moment when they thall take place, as in the inftance of the continuance of Ulyffes in the castle of Ogygia; "from whence he was not to depart, until the time fixed by the Gods for his return to Ithaca,”*

There is nothing wherein chance feems fo much to prevail as in cafting of lots. Yet the decifion was afcribed to jupiter, fince prayers were offered up to him for the fuccefs of it; as when the lots were caft, who fhould fight with Hec. tor.f

Homer, in an admirable manner, defcribes this watchful care of providence over mankind, by the ingenious fiction of two urns, to fhew that providence alone directs and difpenfes good and evil.

"Man is born to bear;

Such is, alas! the Gods fevere decree,

They, only they are bleft, and only free.
Two urns by Jove's high throne have ever

flood,

The fource of evil one, and one of good;
From thence the cup of mortal men he fills,
Bleffings to thefe, to those distributes ills ;

* Od. i. 17.

+Ib. vii. 179.

his fcheme of religion? How much inferior to

Toft he mingles both the wretch decreed Totaite the bad unmixed, is curft indeed;

i'd by wrongs, by meagre famine driven, I wanders outcaft both of earth and heaven." POPE.

Theer by a fecond fiction, not lefs noble fir fhews that this difpenfation of good di, in conducted with the most perfect equity, by putting, fales in the hands of jupiter, e weighs the fate of mortals; which ayattan but it is providence that prefides over athibates corrections and rewards;

*

the time and measure, and also, that. us fenness are always founded on juftice

and

feaftern nations, fays a learned author, mous for their excellent moral maxins, My tation, from the most ancient times. Arvable of the ancient wife men among Dobylonians, Bactrians, Indians and The celebrated Chinefe philofopher Confucious, did not pretend to be oral precepts lie delivered, but thee from anen of greater antiom Pung, who lived near More-him: and who alfo prooctrine of the ancients, and Hun, who were eminent Chiavarett's hift. China, p.

the author to have. quity's

a thoufand

felfed to fol.

efpecially of nefe legillator

123.

* Ib. viii. 69, ZAR 109