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both ftart from the fame point, degrading the holy Scriptures; and I fear very much, they will meet and unite again in a few generations. For where Deistical principles prevail in a family, the rifing generation muft grow up in great ignorance of revelation, and the true worship of God, and fo will be expofed to the artifice of the feducer, who lies in wait to deceive. For however men may refine in their speculations, and put a force upon the most common and obvious principles in their minds, yet certainly fuch is the general fenfe of mankind, when left free and unbiaffed, with regard to religion, that they eafily admit the belief of fome fuperior invifible powers, and their intercourfe with this world. And being ignorant of the truth, are with little difficulty drawn into

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This makes me apprehend that the present spread of Deism will, in a few ages, produce a large increase of Popery among us. Not to fay, that Porifh feminaries, where they cannot directly promote the cause of the church of ROME, are allowed and inftructed to do it in this indirect way. For confufion and ignorance of any kind, is a proper ground for them to work upon. But this by the bye. My defign is to guard you against those who would raise fcruples and prejudices in your minds against revelation. And without defcending to particulars, you may be yery fure of this one thing, that whoever cavil against the Scriptures are ftrangers to them. They object and take upon themselves to judge in a matter in which they are no ways qualified to be judges; in a matter which they neither understand, nor, in their prefent way of thinking, ever intend to understand. For, whatever airs fuch may give themfelves, or what femblance or fhew foever they make of knowledge and wisdom, these men have never ftudied the Scriptures; nor, gencrally fpeaking, have they learning or capacity to enter into their deep and abstruse parts. Had they ever foberly and ferioufly ftudied the Scriptures, they must of neceffity have found fo many, and fuch evident marks of a Divine Spirit, fuch glorious displays of the wisdom, power, and truth of God, as would have taught them to think more modeftly of what is doubtful and obfcure.

When did you ever hear of any name, illuftrious for learning and wifdom, that ever difputed the Divine original and authority of Scripture? Did ever a BOYLE, a NEWTON, or a LoCKE, queftion the Divine original and truth of Scripture? * No. These men, of the most eminent attainments

The famous SELDEN, one of the most eminent philofophers, and most learned men of his time; who had taken a diligent furvey of antiquity, and what knowledge was confiderable amongst Jers, Heathens, and Chriftians, and read as much, perhaps, as any man ever read; towards the end of his days, declared to Arch-Bishop USHER.

"That notwithstanding he had been fo laborious in his enquiries; and curious in his collections; and had poffeft himself of a treasure of books "and manufcripts, upon all ancient fubjects; yet he could reft his foul on none "Save the Scriptures. And above all, that paffage gave him the most fatisfac"tion. Titus ii. 11-14. as comprizing the nature, end, and reward of true religion.

· THE grace of God, that bringeth salvation, bath appeared to all men. "TEACHING

attainments in wisdom and knowledge, held the Scriptures in the highest veneration and esteem, as a revelation from God; and by their excellent comments have acknowledged the Divine authority even of the most abstruse and difficult parts. No. The cavillers against Scripture are men of an inferior clafs, who want, and are no ways folicitous to gain, the qualifications needful to render them in any degree fit or competent judges. It is enough for fuch to pick up a small collection of fcruples, to ease themselves of the trouble of thought and study, and at the fame time to give a plaufible appearance of both. But with men of judgment, fuch muft ftand in a very ridiculous light. To a judicious phyfician, how filly and contemptible must a perfon be, who, though no ways fkilled in the fcience, fhould take upon him perpetually to cenfure, vilify, and condemn a BOERHAAVE, or a SYDENHAM, the greatest mafters in the art of medicine.

Perhaps you may fay-Are there not real difficulties in the Scriptures? And will not difficulties naturally and unavoidably produce objections? I anfwer-There are difficulties in the Scriptures, and difficulties are

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“ TEACHING us, that denying ungodliness, and worldly lufts, we should live "foberly, righteously, and godly, in this prefent world.

"LOOKING for that bleffed bope, and the glorious appearance of the great God, "and our Saviour Jefus Chrift.

"WHO gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and pu"rify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."

SIR CHRISTOPHER HATTON, a great ftatefman, a little before his death, advised his relations to be ferious in fearching after the will of God in his holy word; for, faid he

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"It is defervedly accounted a piece of excellent knowledge to understand "the laws of the land, and the customs of a man's country; how much more "to know the ftatutes of heaven, and the laws of eternity, thofe immutable "and eternal laws of justice and righteoufnefs! To know the will and plea"fure of the great Monarch, and univerfal King! I have feen an end of all perfection, but thy commandment is exceeding broad. Whatever other knowledge a man may be endowed withal, could he by a vaft and imperious "mind, and a heart as large as the fand upon the fea-fhore, command all "the knowledge of art and nature, of words and things; and yet not know "the Author of his being, and the Preferver of his life, his Sovereign and and his Judge, his fureft Refuge in trouble, his beft Friend or worst Enemy, the Support of his life and the Hope of his death, his future Happi"nefs and his Portion for ever; he doth but go down to hell with a great deal "of wisdom."

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MR. LOCKE, alfo juftly esteemed one of the greatest masters of reason, and a philofopher of the greatest freedom of thought, at the clofe of his life, thus advised an intimate friend.

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Study the holy Scriptures, especially the New Teftament; therein are "contained the words of eternal life. It hath God for its Author, falvation "for its end, and truth without any mixture of error for its matter." Pofthumous Works, p. 344.

And to the fame effect, a wifer ftill in the fame fituation, SOLOMON. To fear God, and keep his commandments, (in order to which it is neceffary, that we read and ftudy them,) is the whole of man. For Ged fhall bring every work into judgment, with every fecret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. Ecclef. xii. 13, 14.

he natural ground of objections, but not of destroying any truth, otherwife well established. For all fcience whatever is attended with difficulties, and objections may be raised against the clearest and most demonstrable truths. The being of God, and his perfections, the creation of the world, the conftitution of nature, the ways of Providence, and any the best and most useful knowledge we can gain, is attended with difficulties, and confequently liable to objections. Let it be well obferved, thofe difficulties arife not from the things themselves, but from the imperfection of our minds. In the things themselves there are no difficulties, nor any ground for objection; the difficulties are in the narrowness of our understandings, which find a great difficulty in comprehending many things relating even to the most certain and undoubted truths. And, with regard to the Scriptures, I myself have had large experience of this. Many things which at first, and for fome time, appeared to me very obfcure, unaccountable, and inconfiftent, by patient application, and a closer attention, have fhone out unclouded into the plaineft and cleareft truths. By this I am convinced, that all remaining difficulties are not fo in themselves, but only fo with refpect to the imperfection of my mind. And upon the whole, you may be very fure, when you hear any objection advanced against the Scriptures, that the objection, in truth and reality, lies against the objector himself, as he either cannot, or will not, fee the truth as it ftands in the word of God.

But you may fay-Why should God put into his word things to us difficult and obfcure? I anfwer-To exercise our diligence, and to try our integrity. I have faid fo much to convince you of the vanity and folly of Deifm, and to guard you against any bad impreffions from that quarter, which may prove of very fatal confequence. A little of this leaven may do a great deal of harm, as it creates an indifference to Divine knowledge, to the inftructions and counfels of our heavenly Father; as it takes us off from the ftudy of the Scriptures, robs us of the best guide of our actions, the moft powerful motives to all virtue, the strongest confolations in every day of affliction; and at last exposes to the righteous judgment of God, for the neglect and contempt of the beft of bleffings he ever bestowed upon the world.

We have the strongest reason to be fully fatisfied of the sufficiency of Scripture, as perfectly able to make us wife unto falvation. The Papist will own the Scriptures to be the word of God, and a true rule of faith, but not a fufficient rule. The only fufficient rule of faith, he will tell you, is the church of ROME, which infallibly underftands, and propounds what the Chriftian world is to believe and do in order to eternal salvation; and therefore you ought implicitly to fubmit to fubmit your understanding and confcience to her direction and decifions; and doing fo, you have no need to confult the Scriptures, being already provided with a living infallible guide. But if the Scriptures are a true rule of faith, then are they a fufficient, rule to all forts and degrees of perfons, for they exprefly affirm their own fufficiency in this extenfive fense.

That nothing but Scripture is a fufficient ground to build our faith and practice upon, as Chriftians, will clearly appear to any confiderate perfon. All befides is uncertainty and confufion. You have Popes against Popes, councils against councils, fathers against fathers, the church of VOL. I.

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one age against the church of another age, and tradition paffing through hands fo uncertain and inconfiftent, muft of neceffity lofe all force of evidence. Only upon the rock of Scripture can we find any reft for the fole of our feet; and there we have a firm foundation, and a sure infallible guide, which we may with the greatest certainty and stedfastness oppofe to the authority of the church of ROME.

Whatever may be pretended to gain that church the credit of a guide, all that, and much more may be faid for the Scriptures. Has the church of ROME been ancient? The Scriptures are more ancient. Is that church a means to keep Chriftians in unity? So is the Scriptures to preserve unity of belief in things neceffary and plainly revealed, and in unity of charity in other matters. Following the Scriptures, we fhall follow that which must be true, if the church of ROME be true, for fhe owns the truth of Scripture. Whereas if we follow that church, we follow that which, if the Scriptures be true, may be false; nay, which if the Scriptures be true, must be falfe, because the Scriptures teftify against it. We have God's exprefs command to follow the Scriptures, and no intimation or colour of any prohibition; but to believe in the church of ROME we have no command at all, much less an exprefs command. Nay, on the contrary, we have a general prohibition in thefe words, Call no man mafter upon earth.

Following the Scriptures we fhall embrace a religion, which being contrary to flesh and blood, without any affiftance from worldly power, wisdom, or policy, nay, against all the power and policy of the world, prevailed and spread itself in a fhort time, over a very great part of the world. Whereas it is apparent the church of ROME has got, and still maintains her authority over mens confciences by counterfeiting falfe miracles, forging false hiftories, corrupting the monuments of former times, by wars, by perfecutions, by maflacres, by treafons, by rebellions; in fhort, by all manner of carnal unjustifiable means, whether violent or fraudulent.

Following the Scriptures, we shall believe a religion the first preachers and profeffors whereof could certainly have no worldly ends; could neither project, nor promise to themselves by it any of the profits, honours, or pleafures of this world, but rather the contrary, even all the hardships the world could lay upon them. On the other hand, the head of the church of ROME, the pretended vicar of Chrift, fucceffor of the Apoftles, and guide of faith, it is palpably evident, makes the Popish religion the inftrument of his ambition, to gratify the luft of dominion, by fubjecting the confciences of all mankind to his authority, and all nations to his jurifdiction. Befides, it is evident to any man, who has but half an eye, that most of thofe doctrines, which the Romish church addeth to the Scriptures, are, one way or other, calculated to promote the honour or temporal profit of the teachers of them.

Following the Scriptures only, we fhall embrace a religion of perfect fimplicity and purity; confifting, in a manner, wholly in the worfhip of God in fpirit and truth, and in fincere obedience to his will. Whereas the Roman church, and doctrine, is loaded with an infinity of weak, childish, ridiculous fuperftitions and ceremonies, and the moft gross and manifeft idolatry. If we follow the Scriptures, we muft not promife our

felves falvation without forfaking effectually, and mortifying all vices, and practising fincerely all Chriftian virtues, which our reafon tells us is the only way in which we can fecure the favour of God, and our own happiness. But the church of ROME opens an easier and broader way to heaven, and though a man continues all his life long in a course of fin, gives him affurance he may be let into heaven by a back gate, even by an act of attrition, at the hour of death, if it be joined with confeffion to a priest, or by an act of contrition without it.

Juft and perfect are the precepts of piety and humility, of innocence and patience, of goodness, temperance, fobriety, juftice, meeknefs, fortitude, and conftancy, contempt of the world, the love of God, and of mankind; in a word, of all virtues, and against all vices, which the Scriptures oblige us to obferve and obey, as ever we hope to fee God in his heavenly kingdom; which if they were generally obeyed, could not but make the world generally happy; and the goodness of them alone is fufficient to make any wife and good man believe, that the religion, which obliges to them, comes from God the fountain of all goodness. The church of ROME enervates, and in a manner diffolves and abrogates many of the holy precepts of the Gospel, by teaching men, that they are not laws for all Chriftians, but counfels of perfection, and matters of fupererogation, which a man fhould do well, if he obferves, but shall not fin, if he doth not observe them; that they are for those who aim at high places in heaven, but if a man will be content with an inferior fituation there, especially if he will be content to tafte of purgatory in the way, he need not incumber his thoughts at present with many of the rules of the Gospel. Not to fay, that the Romish church manifeftly foments a spirit of uncharitablenefs and cruelty to all mankind, not of her profeffion. Therefore the religion of this church is far from being fo holy or fo good as the doctrine of Chrift delivered in the Scriptures, and confequently cannot come from the fame fountain of holiness and goodnefs.

Following the church of ROME for our guide, we fhall only follow a combination of deluded men, who have faft clofed their eyes, and are not at liberty to open them, or to examine and confider whether they are in the right or no. For that Papifts have no liberty of judgment is manifeft, because they reckon it a mortal fin to doubt of any part of their doctrine. Whence it follows, that feeing every man muft refolve that he will never commit mortal fin, that he must never examine the grounds of Popery at all, for fear he should be moved to doubt; or if he do examine, he inuft before refolve that no evidence, not even of Scripture, no motives, be they ever so strong, fhall move him to doubt, left he should fall into mortal fin.

Seeing this is the condition of all who are esteemed good Catholicks, who can deny that they are a fett of men unwilling and afraid to underftand; that have eyes to fee and will not, that have not the love of the truth, but are given over to strong delufion? And therefore in following such a church, and fuch guides, we fhall only follow the blind, and with them fall into the ditch. If we follow the Scriptures, we fhall follow only the truth; we shall follow a guide which exhorts us to keep... our eyes always open to the truth, to try all things, and to hold faft only

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