b-
5
THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY,
\ Princeton, N. J.
\ From the Rev. W. B. SPRAGUE, D.D. Sept. 1839. |
'w
Casi'.^CXL-. Division,
:T.c..;C=aaotf=a>j r:f==^^r.
a-' /
C
T H F
CURE of DEISM:
OR, THE
Mediatorial Scheme JESUS^ CHRIST
The Only True Religion.
In Answer to the O b j e c t i o n s Oarted, and to the very imperfedl Account of The Religion ^Nature, and of Christianity, given by the Tv/o Oracles of Deism, the Author of Chrijlianity as old as the Creation y and the Author of the Chara6lerijiicks. WITH
An APPLICATION to Papijls, fakers, Socinians^ and Scepticks,
AND
An APPENDIX, in Answer to a Book en- titled, The Moral Phllofopher^ or a Dialogue between a Chriftian Deijl and a Chriftian Jew.
In TWO VOLUMES.
The Second Edition^ corrected and improved with large Additions,
In a New Method. By a Country Clergyman.
VOL. II '*^ ^^ o'vitv^
^ — . . \ _J 't
/ came not to dejiroy the Law, but to ftdfil it. Ye believe in G o D, believe alfo in M E.
LONDON:
Printed for the A u t H o r ; and Sold by W. I n N Y 3 and R. M A N B Y, at the Weft-End of St. Pau^s,
M.PCCXXXVU
THE
CON.TJ.NTS
Of V O L UME II.
C HA P. XV.
Of the inward Aids of the Chriftlan' Religion,
T\H E Deifls'ftient with the refp?04olhe in!ter- nal Aids, external Motives, and the Helps
and Inftru merits appertaining to Religion Pagei Internal Aids a new Ad'vocate to the Regent Po^jjer
of Maits ASliom^ ib. to the End of the Chap. fhe Heathen Philofophers fenfible of the JVant of
this inward Affifiance which the Deijis defpife ^^ The Neceffityofit _;■ '•.. . ; - 5
Ai a Counterbalance to the Evil Spirii: j
A new 'Principle to the Flejh ' .7.""' 10
As Helper of our Infirmities in Prayer, with Groans ' unutter*d ' ' 12
Gifts extraordinary, and ordinary . 15
Jiow a Seal ib.
How an Earnefl ib.
In what P/iip and Methods ^ a Mcjdtorf Advocate^ '\ and Affijlant ' ^ ' ^:;^ ,":— J , 17, &C.
Born of the Spirit, the Occaffon~of' it ' 24
How God the Giver of a New Heart, <^c. 25 All the OperaticTns of the Spirit conjlftetit with our-
Liberty " ib.-
A I'ru^
rhi CONTENT?.
CHAP. ML Of Helps sid Instruments.
Tfir^ : : i
f^<f iLv * : - ^. j- :--::. .-_ . :?.'t ,Li:^ jff^m :n
^r^'r rv/ '. ' J :' - -•- ' ' : ^ : '■} 134
rr/ 'f r Rft:^ ts the Dr.^: CctAemfi tf The Clargj
1:?, &c yiffj-tj zf p^iUi. Prr^h^s pvtxdfrcm ChiriC-
rsnSidcs Srbfmf ^deJbvpMg them 1 4 1
CHAP. xvm.
of the perrnazcni Emcacr z:id Obligitlo;; cf Fj/:^ in the Mbuiatcil,
62 l^re 156
S'Jtf />^ OsTiSyiT. cjif%£€rl, 'vcJi- refte^ it My-
fieri ; iZ:^ c^Jsja U'i e{ the Book ^ Revds-
Us%i ' 157
^Jle Z^-r.ziar: JLicmai cf MiSfrj fst im a /rar
* **p — Cc? GiTTuztr': cf j*
' aUEftfrn, ar MiiUr: cf Dksy 1 1' 7
92r S§thi^ ef the Da^i aeteaed 2 = c
IFbBorc the gregt Etimiei tf Fake ^rS Reefer..
ft^ CONTENTS.
Di-.'m^ p'tk^i tsib uber istcs Nuare ^ ^}itff
'-' -^ -'^- -^^ '-' 212
2. Sc'iifidians ' " .' ^20
:; . Drifts ; :hr.^ TJlrkfJ-' ; srlFil'-i ^r=rs s: hrje
rje : TThrc is rrirr.'i -^i'^r tcfm ' ' kii
it, fffp.^:.'. y^rr: jJ r-ziy::] JL ^ : : 2
Tbeprifen: Bimop f ' SsLlifboryV sf.^^.-r :hf G^ fd the Replbliration of :he Liw 01 N^rore* /nr^ nr « fszl^ Sfera^ 5f2 > :r j *: ' .- . r' ■ ^ -»■ of Chriftianicy as old ^ffati is :« : :^
Bq^s had SaijeSi m the fr^ai Gezff'&tiz: :--
Tbe Da^s ^4"^ OI^^SiMr U the Ckrijisx F^o
yyr*i t3 ihdr e^SM Cem^ience^ cmS psir-fJ tz be
the SzH>srfitm tf mat:^£ RfS^m 1^9
'^Tixtnu C^'c^Devm C'r^I^vd^Bit «ci i_j . 5rr.
Tc^ Corrupccrs cf t'c^ F«.'/», isSrijud /s ::- .'-> the Immany
TietnteDe^Z. - _ -- '.-^- :
Sodfiuns - ^3^
-f 5 ASJsrfis to :hi Sc^pdck*. 'i- Dnsifn ^ the Tdihy t9 axf^T the ImctrsSl^ azJ FySj thry cr: piOy cf^ ' " ~ ' \ ' _ ' 264 Jftfir Oy-iJjifKS ^re^r^j; iy F*0^ ^^ '^ £w- «£r&v r* car /jd^ is had* »:er moral Certmmti : AkJ trs: iru; CfTzszMty dses meiz^ i^f £m- tdic h% ftogreis <f Uru 170, 2yt
:>r X^kfbETS tf the FJA bUr^sIfi t* iBt^SJbr l!fct» Jmrn^tBtj 283
ii'
rjje CONTENTS. .
CHAP. VII.
Of Helps and Instruments.
PUblick Worjh'ip founded in natural Religion, as we are fociable Creatures 130
Tbe Danger of forfaking the AJfemhling ourfelves to- gether^ 131 'The Rcafon why general Rules only laid down in Scripure for publick PForJhip 134 The heft Reply to the Deifts Contempt of the Clergy
138, &c.
Neeejfity of puhlick Preachers proved fr^gm Charac-
X.tx'\^\z\i% Scheme of deftroying them 141
CHAP. XVIII.
Of the permanent Efficacy and Obligation of Faith in the Mediator,
> A RecapituiaiioH to' believing in' the Mediator, Jt^^ as well as in God 150
.This Belief the leading Article, and moft concerning </ Truth in the Gofpel 152
The two J£xtrvmes in this Affair I54
T'he Relisio-n, I^ecejftty, andMorc^lity of this Faith, at large ' . > , '5^
The fir(i Ob jetton anfzver d, with refpeci to My- fiery ; the conflant Ufe of the Book of Revela- tions 157 ,fl^e Scripture Account of Myftery .fet in a true ;:. Light , 158 The Corrupters of it 182 The Coincidence of Faith and Knowledge, Faith and'Reafcn, in Matters of Duty 189 The Sophiftry of the Deifts deteBed 206 Who are the great Enemies of Faith and Reafon, I. ^be Fapifts. The Extremes Popery^ (tnd
ff/^rcONTErsTtl Deifm, produce each other ^ in, the Nature of Things
• ■ • ^ ' — ■ -' 212
cC^(? latent Danger to the^ ProteJi^iitf,Religioniand prefent happy. EJlahlijbvient.dete^ed^ .. ^ ' ■ 21^
2. Solifidians ." ./ _22o
3 . Deifts ; their tVickednefs and FollyJh'eHvn at large under, the Obligations of Faith, as a moral Vir- tue : Which is proved againji them ' ^21
Their Ohje5iions anfwer^d ibic^.
Faith in God as a Rewarder, thefirfi Principle and
- Bafts of natural Religion. The Deijls in rejeSIing
itf effectually fubvert all natural Religion 232 See alfo the greatefi Part of the laft Chapter The prefent Bifhop of SalifburyV affirming the Goj-
pel the RepiJblication of the Law of Nature,
true in a quite different Senfe than the Author of
Chriftianity as old afferts it in 233
Deifts bad Subje^s to the prefent Government 237 The Deifts grand Obje^ion to the Chrijlian Faith . folv'd to their own Confcience, and proved to be
the Subverfion of natural Religion . 239
^The.true Caufes ofDeifm difplay'd, ibid, and 24.0, &c.
The Corrupters of the Faith, intredted to confider
the Immorality they are guilty of . 256
The true Defign^of that Corruption fhewn ibid.
The life and Neceffity of Fmth proved againji the
Socinians 259
' An Addrefs to the Scepticks, or Doubters of the
; , paith^ ■ to confider the ImimralUy and Folly they
are guilty af ' ' ' \ . . .. 264
ftheir Objeoiions anfwer*dy h'y proving that the Evi-
, dence of our F^iib is built upon moral Certainty :
And that That CertaiMy do/s not in the leajt dimi-
nifh by Pfogrels cf Time 270, 2.78
Wh'en the Son of Man comtth, /hall he find on Earth,
explained 281
The Negle<5lers of the Faith intreated to confider
tbein Immorality 283
rhe CONTENTS.
CHAP. XIX.
h proper Anfwer to the Deift objefting the Want of Univerfalify to the Chriftian Religion.
THEIR OhjeB'wn Jlated at full Lengthy and
in all its Strength 290
The I. General Anfwer 294
2.. General Anfwer 295
3 . General Anfwer 312
4. General Anfwer ' 3^2 The firft particular and proper Anfcver to them
327 •^The fecond 328
^he third • 331
.216(? fourth ■ 336
T'-^^ fifth 337
"Their S-jJlem of MoraUt'j;^ or natural Religiany fun- damentally wrongs at large . ibid. The Defideratum or Medium for demonftrating Morality and true Religion^ which feenCd want- ing to Mr. l^ocke, hinted at, and fupplied' 341 That Catholick Principle of natural Jleligion, that God is a Rewarder, the Primordium of Chri- Jiianity, is the Confutation of the four feveral Sorts of Deijls . "ibid. And Supplies the only Thing wanting to that excel- lent Bock ; The Religion of Nature delineated, to make it tx\i\y delineated 343 // lays the Foundation for a clear Comlufion, to in" fer the Chrifiian Doctrine of the 'Refurrediori of „ the Body . _ . '-345 An Apology for imputing Atheifm' /^ thhn 349
CON-
CONTENTS
O F T ri E
APPEND IX.
SOME fur prizing Particulars in the Moral Philofopher Page 4
Contrary to all other Deijls he admits the Refur- reftion of the Body ib.
y^nd. What is commendaUe in him, contends for the governing Influence of future Rewards and Punifhments, and the Ufe of Prayer againjl Atheifm and Fatalifm, a great feeming Ene- my ^o loth of. th^m' -^ .. T:--'. ,' 5
^^jv Deifni Delineated wfg^/^i^^w hem a letter Title to my jBook ■ 7
^Second Peculiarity is the Name Qhvi^i^ti Deift^ and CWi^idiVi Jew 9
Hefets up for a fifth S;pecies 0/ Deifts 1 1
yf2l6ir^ Peculiarity is his New Specimen of Wri- ting in the Moral and Philofophical Kind 1 3
The Spread of Deijm ' 16
The Arrogance and Obftinacy of this Author^s Stylt
^7
He rsquires Revelation to be Perfonal to every Man 19
His Mafterly Skill in Socinian Subtleties ib.
His Jgree?ne72t with the Two Oracles I have anfwerd ib.
His
^)6^ C O N T E N T S.
Allegory, and Abfurd ; he allows ?io having Virtue in Cbri/l*s Death^ hid Example 22, 23
^f\ \J3.,M
'His Reajbm'a^di'er^d ' ^jitne ^^his\fhc)i)ifijfe^cies ' p j * 4 His Second grand Impeachment againji ChriJHanity, is leveled at the Pofitives] ; 46* &c.
His Third Impeachment at the Clergy 67,^ &c. A ■pr-cper-rExoeiuktioj^ wif^ th'^s^ fir^age IKriter
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C H A P.
rl
CHAP. XV.
Of the INWARD AIDS
Chrijiian 'Religion,
of the
''^M H E Author of Chrijiianity i^J c H A P. ^-'^^ old, &c. has given fo imper- XV. fed: an Account both of Na- ^^^^V^^ tural Religion, and of Chri- ftianity, as in a manner to be totally filent as to the internal Aids^ external Motives, and the Helps and Inflniments that appertain to Religion ; neceflfarily arifing out of the Nature of Things, as Man is a religious, fociable Creature, and of a weak impotent Na- ture, ftrong Paflions and unruly Affeftions, great Hindrances of Religion. The firft is a new Advocate to the Regent Power of Man*s Adions j the fecond is a Balance to the PafTions ; and the third mightily promotes Religion as he is a fociable Creature. I (hall endeavour to fup- ply his Defeds, and treat of each of them.
First, of INTERNAL AIDS : It does not comport with our Author's vain-glorious Princi- ple, the All-fufficienc^ of human Reafon to attain the Favour of God in all Circumftances of Op- portunity, as well in Heathen as Chriftian Re- gions, to admit of this. For, as they fcorn ex- VoL. II. B ternal
2 DEISM Delineated.
CHAP, ternal AfTifl-ance of a Revelation from God ; or, ^^L^, which is the fame thing, every part of it, buc
^^'^^j'^ vvhat is a Republication of the Law of Nature, which they call their internal Revelation •, they are above being beholden to this, the Promife and AfTurance whereof is only derivable from that Revelation they reje6t. Befides, this Au- thor * denies it to be confident with the Good- nefs of God, to permit fuch a fubtle evil Spirit as the Devil to tempt Mankind ; which not only fruftrates the Ufe of fuch a Counter Aid of the good Spirit againft him, but feems to deny the Being of the Devil, or God's Governance over him, and us.
Yet the Heathen Philofophers were perfeft- Jy fenfible of their want of this Afllftance, which they thought neceffary as well for knowing the Truth, as for enabling them to do good, as might be made appear from variety of Infrances -f ; and in their Senfe of the want of it, they likewife panted after a Revelation of the Will of Heaven ; infomuch that in reference to fuch fenfible Wants the Language of Scripture imputes that to be a Defire in them, which they explicidy knew no- thing of. Thus the • Mefjiah is called ^he Defire of ail Nations J, and the Expediation of the Gen- tiles il ; and the Creature, general Mankind, to b^ in earnefi Expeoiation to be delivered from the
Bondage of Corruption, the Redemption of the
Body from the Grave 4- : Both which Defire and Kxpedlation, fo good and advantageous to the Human Creature, the modern Deifts unnaturally
* Page 351, 352. f Which are well collefted In
Hijloire de la PhilofopjAe Payenne, Tome Premier 8vo, 1724, p 374 to 389. Vid. Alnetan Slua-Jt . Lib. XI, CIO. % ^i^g. ii. 7. 11 Gen. xlix. lO. 4- ^<"'*' ^i"- *9'
21, 23.
difclaim.
DEISM Delineated. 3
difclaim. So loft, and fo much worfe is the CHAP. Condition of thofe who contemn, than of thofe ^^^^iiJ who never had the ufe of Revelation. ^^
If they would reconcile themfelves to the Sen- timents 4f the wifeft and moft fenfible ancient Philofophers in this matter, they might, by an eafy Tranfition, be brought to the Acknowledg- ment of Revelatiojt by the fame Spirit -, the writ- ten Word of which, in the Opinion of fome Chriftians, affords fuch efFed:ual Afliftance, as to fuperfede the occafion of inward Aid. The firft may be called the fiill [mall external Voice wherein God is prefent, and more certainly fo than in Earthquakes, and Whirlwinds ; yet it is moft certain, he is moreover inwardly prefent by his Holy Spirit. But as long as they rejed: both, they evidently make it appear, that they have a Perverfenefs in Principle, and Degeneracy of Reafon beyond common Mortals.
I SHALL here take an occafion to quote fome Paflages from Dr. Samuel Clark. " In Experi- " ence and Pradice it hath appeared to be alto- " gether impoftible, for Philofophy and bare ^ " Reafon to reform Mankind efFedually without *' the Affiftance of fome higher Principle. — So *' that without fome greater Help and .^HTiftance " Mankind is plainly left in a very bad State. *' Indeed in the original uncorrupted State of " human Nature, before the Mind of Man was " depraved with prejudiced Opinions, corrupt " Affeftions, and vicious Inclinations, Cuftoms " and Habits, right Reafon may juftly be fup- ** pofed to have been a fufEcient Guide, and a " Principle powerful enough to preferve Men in " the conftant Pradice of their Duty : But in *' the prefent Circumftances and Condition of .** Mankind, the wifeft and moft fenfible of the B 2 *« Philofophers
4 DEISM Delineated.
CHAP." Philofophers themfelves have not been back- XV. a ward to complain, that they found the Under-
^"^^"'f*''''^ <■'■ jlandlng of Men fo dark and cloudy, their PFills
*' fo biased and inclined to Evil, their Pajfwns fo
»* outrageous and rehdling againjl Reafon, that they
*' look'd upon the Rules and Laws of right
" Reafon, as very hardly pradticable, and which
" they had very little Hope of ever being able
" to perfuade the World to fubmit to : In a
" Word, they confefled that human Nature was
*' ftrangely corrupted, and acknowledged this
*' Corruption to be a Difeafe, whereof they knew
*' not the true Caufe, and could not find out a
** fufficient Remedy : So that the great Duties
" of Religion were laid down by them as Mat-
" ters of Speculation and Difpute, rather than as
" the Rules of Adion ; and not fo much urged
" upon the Hearts and Lives of Men, as propofed
" to the Admiration of thofe, who thought them
" fcarce poffible to be effedtually pradifed by
" the generality of Men. To remedy all thefe
" Diforders, and conquer all thefe Corruptions,
" there was plainly wanting fome extraordinary
" and fupernatural AJfiflance, which was above
" bare Reafon and Philofophy to procure, and
*' yet MMchout which the Philofophers themfelves
" were fenfible there could never be any truly
" great and good Men : 'Nemo unquam vir mag^
" nus fine Divino Afflatu fuit *." Cicero.
He had before t given a beautiful Defcription of the Corruption of Nature from Tully as the Ground of this Afliftance. If we had come into the World in fuch CArcumJlances, as that we could have clearly and diJiinoJly difcerned Nature herfelf-^
* Ei'id. of Nat. Rel. Sec, p. 238, 239, 240. ■\ Pag. 196, 197.
iUia
DEISM Delineated. 5
and have heen able in the Coiirfe of our Lives CHAP. to follow her true and uncorrupted Dire£iions -^ ^Ylj this alone might have been fufficient, afid there^^""**"^ would have been little need of Teaching and Injlru- £iion. But ?jow Nature has given us only fome f?nall Sparks if right Reafon^ which we fo quickly extinguijh with corrupt Opinions^ and evil Pra- £iices, that the true Light of Nature no where ap' fears : As foon as we are brought into the Worlds immediately we dwell in the midfl of all IVickednefs^ and are furrounded with a ?iu?nher of moft perverfe and foolifh Opinions ; fo that we feem to fuck in Error even with our Nurfes Milk : Afterwards when we return to our Parents and are committed to Tutors ; then we are further Jlocked with fuch variety of Errors, that Truth becomes perfectly overwhelm^ d with Vanity \ and the mofl natural Sentiments of our Minds are entirely fifed with confirmed Follies : But when after all this we enter into the World, and make the Multitude, con- fpiring every where in Wickednefs, our great Guide and Example \ then our very Nature itfelf is wholly transformed, as it were, into corrupt Opinions.
Now * this Divine Aff fiance is vouchfafed to *' Men under the Chriftian Difpenfation in fuch " a manner, as appears to be undeniably agree- " able to the natural Expeftations of right Rea- " fon, and fuitable to the befb and worthieft *' Notions, that Men have ever by the Light of '* Nature been able to frame to themfelves con- " cerning the Attributes and Perfeflions of God. *' If ye, fays our Saviour, being evil, know how to " ^'^^ iy^'^d Gifts unto your Children, how much *' more fhall your heavenly Father give the Holy " 'Spirit to them that ajk him ? Luke xi. 13. The
* Pag. 280, 281,
B 3 " Effefts
6 DEISM Delineated.
C H A p. t' Effeds of this Divine Affiftance evidenced ^^Lj*''' itfelf in a very vifible and remarkable manner
-""^v^^ti jj^ the primitive Times, by the fudden, won- " derful and total Reformation of far greater " Numbers of wicked Men, than ever were *' brought to Repentance by the Teaching and *' Exhortation of all the Philofophers in the " World*"
I PRODUCE one Authority more, Mr. Locke. " / am far, fays he, from denying, that God " can or doth fometimes enlighten Mens Minds " in the apprehending of certain Truths; or " excite them to good Aftions, by the i?nmediate *' Influence and Jffifiance of the Holy Spirit.'* And on Rom. viii. 8. " 'Tis the Spirit of God " alone that enlivens Men, fo as to enable them " to cafl; off the Dominion of their Lufts.'* And on v. ii. " Here he [the Apoftle] fhews, ** that Chriftians are deliver*d from their carnal " finful Lufts, by the Spirit of God, that is ^' given to them, and dwells in them as a new " quickening Principle and Power, by which " they are put into a State of Spiritual Life, " Wherein their Members are made capable of '* being made Inftruments of Righteoufnefs."
*' To thefe I muft add one Advantage more *' we have by Jefus Chrift, and that is the Pro- " mife of Afliftance. If we do what we can, " he will give us his Spirit to help us to do *^' what, and how we Ihould. *Twill be idle for '* us, who know not how our own Spirits move " and ad us, to afl» in what manner the Spirit
* As appears by that of Orig. advcr. Celf. Lib. I. nei£^! ft£V 7o7f "Eaamo'/c « 77$, &c. And that of Z,«iff/7H/. Lib. IIL Da mthl 'virum, qui Jit iracundus, maledicus, effranatus ; pau- cijjimis Dei 'verbis tarn pU:idum, quam ovem reddam. Da Ubidinofumt &C.
" of
DEISM Delineated. 7
of God fhall work upon us. The Wifdom CHAP, that accompanies that Spirit knows better than ^^• we how we are made, and how to work upon ^"^^/^^ us. If a wife Man knows how to prevail on his Child, to bring him to what he defires ; can we fufpeft that the Spirit and Wifdom of God fhould fail in it, though we perceive or comprehend not the Ways of his Operations ? Chrift has promifed who is faithful and jufl:, and we cannot ^oubt of the Performance*" That Spirits ad upon Spirits there can be as little doubt, as that Bodies aft upon Bodies : And that there are certain ways of filent Communication, Infmuation, or Suggeflion of Thoughts or Ideas, the Spriqg of Alteration, and proper Spheres of giving or receiving Im- preffion, according tq the Rank and Capacity of the Spirit giving, or receiving it ; as there are Laws of Motion with refped to Bodies, and their Sphere : And that the fupreme Governor fuperintends them both. And, as in his Go- vernment of the natural World every thing depends upon his immediate Influence, and the conftant Renewal of that Influence, for the Pre- fervation and Direction of their Motion, ac- cording to their Nature ; fo, in hi§ Government of the moral World, it is confonant to natural Faith to believe, that moral Agents depend upon the Influence of his regular Concurrence, and ordinary Afliftance in a way fuitable to their Nature and Faculties, and the Liberty they are invefted with. Confequently, that the HOLY SPIRIT may imprefs our Spirits with fuch Thoughts and Cogitations as are the Seeds of good Adions ; as certainly, as the evil Spirit
* Reafonahl. of Chrijl, p. aSg.
B 4 infinuates
8 DEISM Delineated.
CH A P-infinuates and injeds fuch Motions and Ideas, as i^^Jl^are the certain Beginning of Sin and Wickednefs, ^^^ if not timely refilled and fupprefs'd ; and fo be- come an Aider, Advocate, and Comforter to us againft ttie Vigilance of evil Spirits, the Impor- tunity of Temptations, and the Unreadinefs of our ovrn moral Powers. It is reafonable to be- lieve, whereas they who chufe evil Courfes, and fide themfelves in Oppofition, don't want a fu- perior Power, fpiriliial Wickedftefs in high Places^ to animate and carry them on to all Vice and Depravity •, that they who follow God, and prefer his ways of Virtue, Truth, and Liberty, mod certainly have an Encourager and Promoter of their Caufe, fuperior to the other, for carry- ing them on in Virtue unto Glory. As the evil Spirit is vigilant and in^tent upon deceiving the Underftanding, corrupting the Will, and tempting the Affedions ; fo the Holy Spirit is more careful and prefent than the D^Einon of Socrates, to check and dijfuade all thofe who de- fire his Aids and cultivate his Afliftance, from what is wrong and unhappy in the Event. And if Chrijlians would be faithful to that heavenly Monitor againft Evil and Advocate for Good, it wou'd be equivalent to the original Strength and Genius of Man's Underftanding, Will, and Affedions, which have feverally faulter'd, and been weaken'd with Sin.
Moreover, the Mediator helps and honours Worm Man, whom he ftoop'd to vifit and re- deem, with the Miniftration of eled Angels^ Fellow Servants of a fuperior Order, upon occa- fional Guards and Services. We are fure, tho* we need none to help us to offend God, from Matter of Fa6l of ^d Experience, that there are fuddenly and imperceptibly, ftrangely, and
ftrongly
DEISM Delineated: ^
ftrongly darted into the Thoughts of Chriflians, C H a P, whilft they are exercilcd in Prayer and other XV. holy Things, fuch foreign improper Things, as '<-'^v^>J are the too frequent Occafion of Wanderings and Coldnefs, as if defigned to intercept prevailing Fervency, and fufpend any Imprefiion upon us for Good : Which can be refolv'd into no Caufe, but the Eitorts and Agency of the evil Spirit. And Experience attefts further, that Thoughts which favour of Impurity, or Blafphemy, or other Iniquity, are irrefiftible as to their firft Entrance and Beginning in the Mind, therefore not im- putable to us as Sin, before they have gain'd a Continuance there by our Confent and Appro- bation,
And we are as certain from Revelation, that the Devil is indefatigably vigilant * in laying Snares for our Ruin, and ftrangely fubtle in his Devices -f and Temptations, which we are charged to be aware of ; and to pray, as well as watch thai we enter not into them^ for this Reafon, becaufe the Spirit is willing, hut the Flejh weak 11 ; we fhould in trayer apply to and at- tend upon conftant Aid from above, that the willing Spirit may be made ftronger to reftrain the yielding Flefh. Though we delight in the Law of God after the inward Man, % which fhews the Law to be spiritual in that Senfe, ver. 14. and alfo that every Man has that Teftimony within himfelf of the original Uprightnefs of his State and Nature, yet the haw of the Members; which wars againfl the Law of the Mind, would always bring it into Captivity to the Law of Sin, if fupervening Afliftance did not turn the Scale.
* 1 Vet. V. 8. 2 Tim. iii. 7. f 2 Cor, ii. n.
\Mat, xxvi. 41. XRom. viii. 2*2, 23, ^c.
It
lOb DEISM Delineated:
CHAP. It would be an unequal Combat for the con- XV. fefs'd Weaknefs and Degeneracy of human Na-
^-^"V^ture, to engage both againft the Devil and the Flefli -, if tjiere was not Aid ready at hand fuperior to both of them. Therefore the Apoftle, in the Perfon of an unconverted Jew^ and Gentile, both of whom he had concluded under Sin, and in the mod inoffenfive Metafche- matifjn of himfelfy had convicted each of them, in their Turns, of Wretchednefs, cries out, O wretched Man that I am, who Jhall deliver me from the Body of this Death ? In the following Verfe, he thanks God thro* Jefus Chrijl (which not being a direfl Anfwer, it may be queftion'd, as Mr. Locke has obferved, whether i\ %«p/5 rs ©fa, which is the Remedy, is not the true Reading, being a more dired Anfwer) and in the following Chap. ■\ propofes the 07ily Remedy for being freed from the Law of Sin and Death, and that is, the Law of the Spirit of Life in Chriji Jefus,
For the Spirit of Chrift attending his Gofpel (and he that has not his Spirit is no real Chri- llian^ as it is the Spirit of Adoption, is a new Principle to the carnal Mind, both for freeing it in its Anxiety from the Condemnation of Sin, arifing from the tranfgrefs'd Law of Mofes, and the unperform'd Law of the Mind, /. e. the Law of Nature ; and from the ill Confequences of Death, which has no harm In it after its Sting is taken away, viz. the Guilt and condemning Power of Sin : And likewife a new Principle leading to eternal life, by diredting, foliciting, and helping our Infirmities of the Flefh to a prefent Newnefs of Life, not to live after the Flelh but after the Spirit, or the Law of the Spi- rit, i. f. the Gofpel. ,
■f Rom. viii. 2, 9, ^c.
For-
DEISM Delineated. ir
Forasmuch as they who govern themfelvesC H A P. by the old Principle or Rule of Adion, the Law ^^' of the Members or Flefn, controuling the Mind'^"'^ and bringing it into Captivity ro the Law of Sin, cannot, of themfelves, tree themfelves from Sin ; and as long as the Mind fubmits itfelf to that Law, it is carnally minded, is in a State of Enmity againfi God^ cannot pleafe him ; becaufe, being habitually fubjeft to a contrary Mailer, and a contrary Law, it is not (at the fame time) fubje^i to the Law of God, neither indeed can he ; the Law of Contraries makes it impoflible that it (hould. But when the Mind fubmits to the Law of the Spirit of Life (as all who put on Chrift, or take the Profeflion of Chrijlian upon them, are obliged to do ) then it is fpiritually minded, minding the Things of the Spirit, and being fo guided and governed is pleafing to God j and the blefled Effe6l of that, is Life and Peace, Remiffion of Sins, and eternal Life : For the Spirit, that raifed Chrift from the Dead, dwells and refides in them likewife, to raife them from the Dead to eternal Life ; as in ver. ii. Then being led by the Spirit of God as we were devoted in Baptifm, and having that Teftimony of our Confcience that we are govern'd by his Word, and a(5l as becomes our Baptifm and Calling in Chrift, it heareth Witnefs with our Spi' rit, that we are the Children of God, ver. i6.
The Apoftle*s Inference is very juft, 'Therefore Brethren, we, as many as profefs ourfclves Chri- ftians, are Debtors 7iot to the Flefh, to live after the Flefh, but to the Spirit, to mortify the Deeds of the Flejh, in order to enjoy the Redemption of the Body from the Grave, and the Glory that fhall he revealed in ^ the eternal Life enfuing, which the Faithful groan after in their mortal •V perfecuced
t
12 DEISM Delineated:
CHAP, perfecuted Bodies ; as all Mankind, unwilling to XV. die and part with their Bodies for good and all,
^■^■V^*^ groan for a Refurredlion in the conftitutional Defires of their Nature. So far is it from the true State and Conftitution of Things, that the Body is the Prifon of the Soul, that it is its dear and ever defirable Partner, an eflential Part of the Nature and Being of Man, to revive again and live for ever.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God are (adopted) Sons of God : And therefore Heirs hereafter with Chrift, of that Redemption, and Glory, which he is now in PoiTeflion of In the Hope of which incomparable Glory we are fa'ved in the Sufferings of this prefent Life, counting them, tho' fo much the Lot of Chri- flians at that time, as. nothing in the Compa- rifon. Befides that Hope, Chriftians, who are led by the Spirit, and by being adopted to that future State, have this further Advantage, that the fame Spirit is ready, invifibly, as the Things hoped for are invifible, to help our In- firmities ', when in our DiftrefTes we" pray to God, and yet know not, in particular, what to pray for as we ought, whether for Increafe of Pa- tience under, or Deliverance from them ; hut the Spirit itfelf (which worketh thofe Defircs of Glory and eternal Life in the Adopted) intercedeth for lis with Groanings that carUt he utter'* d, i. e. filent, fervent, moving, and efieflual, fuch as becomes adopted Sons, and according to the JVdl of God towards them ; what is beft for them at fuch prefTmg Junftures, which the Spirit knoweth, tho' they don't ; and therefore fupplies their mental Prayers with that filent Sorrow and Sigh- ing which is the moft moving: Silence proceed- ing from inward Grief at 3in is moft loud, and
moving
DEISM Delineated. 13
moving to the Ears of Heaven ! By Parity ofC H A P.' Reafon it may be concluded, that when the li^^i^ Matter of our other Prayers and Addrefles are ^^ according to the known Will of God, the Holy Spirit excites fuch filial Freedom and Chearful- nefs, fervent Defires, devout Affedtions, and Poftures of Mind, as are fuitable to the refpeftive Matter and Subjedl of them : For that, in refpedb both of Matter and Manner, is praying in the Holy Ghofi, Jud. 20.
As God formerly in peculiarity of Favour dwelt among the Jews by 'Tabernacle, and by Temple, with a Partition Wall exclufive of the Gentiles ; fo, upon the Ruins of the Temple, when the Duration, or for ever of that Difpen- fation was at an end, the Habitation of God thro* the Spirit * was erefled indifcriminately in the Hearts of all who embraced the Faith of Chrift ; and the powerful miraculous Operations of the Spirit, fo commonly difplay'd among the Gen- tiles, demonftrated to the then Jews, that God dwelt as vifibly among the Gentiles as ever they could pretend he had done among them ; and confequently that their Peculium and Adoption to Favour \^as at an end.
And as the Ufe of a Seal was to render a thing peculiar and appropriate, fo by the unde- niable Gifts of the Holy Ghoft, the Gentiles, to the ample Convidion of the other, were fealed and appropriated a chofen Generation, a, royal Priefihood, a peculiar People, an holy Nation, -f as well as they had been, being /^;?^y?^<:/ in Baptifm by Water, and the Renezval of the Holy Ghofl to all moral Holinefs, as thofe had been by Cir- cumcifibn to legal ceremonial Holinefs. The
* Eph. ii. 22. t I Pei. ii. 9.
Foundation,
14 DEISM Delineated:
CHAP. Foundation, or Covenant, of God ftandeth fure, •t^J^ having this Seal, The Lord knoweth who are his, '^^^"^^^r. And as their Kings, Priefts, and Prophets, had their particular Anointing and Defignation from Heaven -, fo Chriftians having receiv'd a general Anointing, or the thing couch'd under that Symbol, i. e. SanftijBcation and Confecra- tion from the Holy Ghoft, in allufion to the other, are ftiled Kings and Priejls^ but no where Pro- phets ; for that laborious Office, as to the feach* i}]g. Exhorting^ and Reproving Part, was appro- priated to a particular Order of Men. Tho' Chrift prefenting thofe, who fuffer for him, to the Fa- ther as Kings and Priejis to reign with him^ feems to mean a particular Glorification of Honour for the Difgrace and Contempt they met with on Earth for the Sake of his Religion : Yet, even upon Earth, to ferve God and Virtue, is to Rule and be a King, in the moft valuable Dominion over a Man's felf -, and moreover to offer to God , Sacrifices enough^ being the higheft rational Ho- nour in the greateft moral Liberty. Hence that of the Stoicks, The wife Man onl'j has true Liberty^ loe fi)lely Reigns, he only enjoys Empire. With re- fped to the other, there is a Paflage i« Hierocl. Garni. Pyth. p. 24. to thiseffed, '* The wife Man « is only caM the PRIEST of God; he is *' only acceptable to Imn ; he only under/lands how " to pray to him, and only knows how to honour *' him, without confounding the Dignity due to him, *"* For in the firft Place, he offers hi?nfelf a Sacri- *'^ Jice, making his Mind the Image, and preparing ** himfelf to be his Temple ^^
It may be added, that as Man was made the Prieft of feature, to offer up to the Creator the Praifes of all inanimate and irrational Crea- tures, fo Chrift has obliged every Chriftian to be
a Prieft
DEISM Delineated. 15
a Prieft of Grace, for offering up to God conti-C H A P. nually his private Praife, Thanks, and Joy in the viXl^ Lord, for his Redemption by his Lord and Sa- ^"'"^ viour Jefus Chrift. No Layman then ftiould ma- lign the diftindtion of puhlick Prieft, ordained to offer up the puhlkk Sacrifice of Praife and Thankf- giving for that and all God's Mercies.
Those prefent extraordinary Gifts \] of Chrift's Spirit, after his bodily Departure, were a plain Earnefi, and Jirji Fruits to the then Chri- ft ians, that Chrift had adually taken PoflTeflion of that heavenly Inheritance he had promifed his Followers ; and likewife of his indifputable Power of giving Life, and quickening whom he would, by a Refurreftion from the Dead, to Life eternal.
And after the extraordinary Gifts of the Spirit ceafed, when their End ceafed, /. e. when the external Evidence from the Teftimony of Mira- cles, was finally feal'd and Ihut up : Such as the * Word of extraordinary Wifdom, Knowledge, Faith, Gifts of Healing, working Miracles, Pro- phecy, difcerning of Spirits, divers kinds of Tongues, and the Interpretation thereof; the Ufe and Defign of them being, as it is affirmed, for Signs ^ not to them that believe, but to them that believe not ; the miraculous Operations of the Spirit are principally called his Gifts, and every Receiver, was to minifter according to the Ana- logy or Proportion of that particular Gift, Faith^ or Talent in the Recipient in the firft Days of Chriftianity ; whilft his ordinary permanent Ope- rations are called Fruits, growing in that Soil of
II Thefe are always diftinguifh'd by the Name ^Meifft^Trt^ or 7t^ irviVfjutViis^, very different from and' not fo laftingly valuable as the ordinary Fruits of the Spirit, ;. e. moral Vir- tues, * I Cor. xii. 8, ^c. f xiv. zz.
2 moral
i6 DEISM Delineated:
CHAP, moral Virtues and Difpofitions which are the Co- ^i^Y;, operation on Man's part. There remain'd, and '^^'^ remains, his ordinary Gifts and Aids, for the perpetual Edification of the Church in the Spirit o^Wifdom^ Under/landing, Counfel, Knowledge, of a found Mind, of praflical Faith, and Fear of the Lord, of Adoption, and Love, in exclufion to the Spirit of fervile Fear and Bondage ; Joy in the Holy Ghojl ; his Fellowfhip or Communion, his Comforti in Trouble ; his bringing things to Re- membrance ; our San^ification, and Regeneration by Water and Renewal of the Holy Ghoft, and every good and perfe^ Gift defcending from above.
All thefe reft upon the Members of the Church as a Right jind Privilege, conferrable and improveable at the Requeft of their own Prayers in Chrift's Name for the Spirit ; and their Im- provement and Growth in thefe Graces depends upon the fru6lifying Ufe of 'their own Endea- vours. And this feems to be the Reafon, why we are never faluted with Grace and Peace in any of the Epiftles, in the Name of the Holy Spi- rit, except perhaps that from the feven Spirits, Rev. i. 4. as we are in that of the Father, and the Son ; becaufe the Spirit confers thofe Gifts and Graces as an aftual Right, in virtue of a Promife perform'd, given, and derived from the Father, and the Son -■, but we are divinely blefled in the Communion of the Holy Ghoft at the End of 2 Cor. And that Communication or Participa- tion with the Spirit we are obliged to cultivate, and refpedl with fuch a Deference and Decency of Behaviour becoming the Gofpel, as not to grieve -f or vex, but obey and be led by him,
. f Eph. iv. 30,
who
DEISM Delineated. 17
who is the beft Comforter and Advocate we have C H A P.
upon Earth. \^^r>^
For though we have the written Word (ori- ^^ ginally infpired by the Spirit) which is able to make wife unto Salvation •, and the Fads and Arguments of the endearing Mercy, Goodnefs, and Love of God, and of our Lord Jefus Chrift, are enough, as one would think, to warm our natural cold Hearts, and quicken our dead Pow- ers, and be unto us externally a fupernatural Af- fiftance that comes from God, for leading ouf Feet into the Way of Peace. Though Faith in the true Mediator, that new Medium, which the Reafon of Man could never, of itfelf, have dif- cover'd for alTuring him of Acceptance with God, as being fupplied from Heaven, and convey'd ia Scriptures wrote by Infpiration, may be called the /landing Infpiration of the Chriftian*s Reafon for that AfTurance, Confidence, Hope, and Truft. And though by natural Liberty of our Will we are free to Good as well as Evil : Yet we are fo carried away with the Stream, and alFedled with the Griefs and Joys of prefent Things ; and willingly follow the Fafhions and falfe Maxims of the World ; and the Biafs of our own ill Ha- bits, contrafted from too much Indulgence to bodily Affedions, and the hurry of worldly Af- fairs, the bewitching of ISaughtinefs does obfcure things that are honejl, and the wandring of ConcU'- i pifcence underinine theSifnple of Mind. Wifd. iv.i2. that we generally remain irrefolute and uncon- flant, forgetful and indolent to fpiritual Things, and heavenly Attainments.
Nor (hould we ordinarily attain them, if the
Holy- Spirit did not aid our Backwardnefs,
quicken our Liftnefs, and co-operate with our
Endeavours after them. How many things do
Vol. ir, C we
i8 DEISM Delineated.
C H A p. we know in Holy Scripture that accompany Sal- ^^^Y^vation, and yet don*t know them, becaufe we don't duly confider, and tranfcribe them into A6lion as we ought, nor draw the proper, /. e. pradical Confequences from them ? After we have look'd into the perfedl Law of Liberty, how often are we, forgetful Creatures, like the Man beholding his natural Face in a Glafs, who, after he is gone from it, ftraitway forgets what manner of Man he was ?
Therefore is the Holy Spirit fo ready and friendly to the Mind prefled down by the Body to bring things to Remembrance, * to make its heedleflhefs more attentive, and its difpofition to mufe upon many things more ferious and con- fiderate of the one thing needful ; holding the glafs of Refledion up in the Memory, for the Underftanding to look into again and again, till it has perufed the whole Man ; and fo making the Rule of Duty inwardly prefent to the Mind, inay liceralfy be'faid to put thofe Laws of the new Covenant inwardly in our Minds, and write them on cur Hearts^ 'Heb; viii. lo.
Not that the. Spirit infpires new Truths, or Mcytives -, but fets the Light of the 'Truth of Scri- pture for DoSfrine^ for Reproofs for Corre^ion^ for InJiru5fion in Righteoufnefs more clearly and con- vincingly before the Underjlanding •, and the Motives to Duty more cogently and engagingly before the JVill^ to praftical Purpofes, as an Advocate of Virtue and Salvation ; and fo helps and afTifts the Client, the Servant of God and Chrift, to make good his Caufe of God and Chrifl:,
* TIenus fum rlmarum, is a claflical and natural Defcri- ption of the Mind of Man ; and that of a Fool is, his imvard Part! an likt a brohn VtJJll, Eccluf. xxi. 1 4.
and
DEISM Delineated. i^
and his own Happinefs, againft the Sophiftry C H A P* and Temptations of the World, the Flelh, and ^^^, the Devil. ^ ^-n^^
And as he is indeed our Fellow-Labourer in that Defign of the Gofpel, and no more than an Afiiflant in that Work of Regeneration, San^ti- ficacion, and Rlghteoufnefs, that fhews that he does not do the whole Work ; but that our En- deavpurs are equally neceffary to aflift him to efFe6l all that he undertakes for us. Therefore are we commanded to work out our Salvation with fear and trembling, from that very confii- deration that Afliftance from him is prefent, be* caufe it is he that worketh in us both to will and do of his good Pleafure. He argues and debates with us from our own Conceflions, from the Faith we have embraced ; what manner of Per- fons it obliges us to be ; and fo by means of our Faith in Chrift (whom God appointed Mediator of his PVtll and Pleafure) worketh in us to will and do according to the Gofpel, which is the Law of the Spirit of Life : Thus he purifies the Heart through Faith, and through Obedience to the Truth, He recals Vows and Refolutions for bet- ter living, the IViW^ own Ac5ls and Deeds ; and pleads them afrefli before that Regent {advo- cating with us below, whilll Chrift advocates for us above) to fix its natural Inftability and Incon- ftancy.
There is the Infpiration of Truth, and the Infpiration of Lies ; one from the Father of Truth, the other from the Father of Lies : the firft through the Medium of right Reafon, the right Mediator -, the latter thro' the Medium of Inconfideration, Senfuality, and worldly Love. Thus the Underftanding of Chriftians in general may, by afking it of God, be faid to be enhght- C 3 €n^d;
20 DEISM Delineated.
CHAP, en^d^ and to have Eyes open to perceive the Senfc /^L^ of Scripture, the wonderous things of God's law, ''^ and the practical ufe of the Fear of the Lord, the faving benefit of Faith, and of the great Myfter'j of Godlinefs, God manifeft in the Flejh. And thus the Governors of our Church (as it is happily at this Day) are aflilled with the Spirit of Coimfel for giving Advice ; of Knowledge for diftinguilhing the Ends from the Means of. Rcr ligion ; of Wifdom for applying the Means to the End (the principal Senfe of Wifdom in Scri- pture ; ) and of a found Mind for the Regulation of their whole Conduft, in their high Sphere of bringing Minds to Chrift, the great Bilhop of Souls.
Thus the unconftant defultory Will is more fix*d and fteady to that which is good \ by the frequent Importunities, urgent Advices, and re- peated Suggeftions of this divine Friend, watch- ing the moilia tempora fandi, and then putting into the Heart good Defires. Thus good Defires and Affections are kindled in Prayer ; and Comfort fprings up in Trouble •, and Chearfulnefs light- ens the burthen of Duty •, by his fuggefting and infinuating proper Thoughts and Ideas into the Mind, at thofe times. And fo the whole Man, by degrees, becomes a favourite Subjecfl of the Kingdom of God •, which confifts of Righteouf- tjefs^ Peace^ and Jo.y in the Hol'j Ghojl ; Jhedding abroad the love of God upon the Heart, to its great Joy •, and in the prefent Satisfadion of being adopted to his Favour, making the Spirit <?/ future Glory reft upon it in all Joy and Peace in believingy that it may abound in Hope through the power of _ the Holy Ghoft. *
* I Pet. iv. 14. Rom, xv. 33.
And
DEISM Delineated. 2r
And is not this an happy Benefit .of Chri- C H A P« ftianity, to have our natural Powers aided and ^^• afllfted imperceptibly, and not the leaft compel' '**'^/"^^ Jing alteration offered to them ? Thoughts and Ideas being kindly whifper'd and familiarly im- prefs'd, as if they were our own Thoughts and Ideas, our natural Powers muft be ftronger and better furnilh'd by having that fuper-addition, than they are without it. Therefore we are faid to be Jireiigtbcn'' d with AJighi through the Spirit in the inward Man to do his Will^ Eph. iii. 15. and to be able to do all things of Duty through Chriji that jtrengthens us, Phil. iv. 13. And when the Spirit, which lufteth againft the Flefh, gets the dominion over it, the obfequious Members change their Mafter, and their Work, from Un- cleannefs and Iniquity, to Righteoufnefs and Ho- Jinefs.
But what endears it the more to us is, we have that additional fupervening Aid as much in our Power, and as conftantly at our Service, as we have our own natural Powers at our own Ser- vice, for our good ; and that is by our Prayers for it, and by ufing that friendly which ufes us fo. For tho' it is the common Chrillian Benefit and Effefl of God's Government over us in Chrift, yet are we as much obliged to depend upon it in Prayer, and be thankful for it, as in the natural courfe of his Providence we are bound to pray for our daily Bread, and be thankful for that. And as there may be extraordinary Pro- vidences out of the common courfe in one Cafe, fo there may, fometimes, be in the other an over-ruling Determination ; never to be prayed for, or expeded by any Man.
Whatever therefore we can do by our own
natural Faculties, we can much better do, and
C 3 witli,
£3 DEISM Delineated.
CHAP, with more eafe, by the help of another Power ^^^;^ added to them *, and what we could not naturally mafter and lubdue, we may, this way, be ena- bled to accomplifh ; and confequently no Diffi- culty from without, nor Weaknefs, nor Difincli- nation from within, ought to be alledg'd againft Duty *, feeing we are confederate with a Power that is fuperior to all Oppofition, and can, when it pleafes, fliew its Strength in our Weaknefs. For if God he for us, who can he againjl us ? And when he is duly addrefs'd unto, for the con- tinuance of his Favour, we can have no doubt that he who has begun a good Work in us, will per- form it until the Day of Jefus Chrift. * We are bid to covet earneflly the hefi Gifts •, the Holy Spi- rit in ordinary, is now that bed Gift ; and the way of coveting it earneftly, and improving that Chrijiian Talent feduloufly, is to be earneft in Prayer in the Name of Chri/l for it.
For he ftrives with us and for us -, and never abandons us as long as there is any hope of our Recovery ; nor is any left to a reprobate Mind, pad feeling, till by repeated Refufals of his kindly Affiftance, and obftinate Perfeverance in Wickednefs, they let him know there is no hopes of them ; and as foon as they are loft to all Perfuafion, they are loft alfo to Heaven, without a Miracle : which will not be beftow'd upon them ; for as they came into the World a free Creature,- fo they fhall go out of it again to the Place of their own chufing. God refpefts every thing as he has made it, guides and go- verns it according to its Nature. Nor ftiall any Grace of his be a Force upon any Man ; nor will he move in us contrary to, but in concert
♦ PM. i. 6.
with
D E I S M Delineated. 23
with the Movements of our own Powers, norCH AP. operate inwardly but in Conjunftion with our ,^^^ ' own inward Operations : Notwithftanding he ib ^•^v^^ frequently lays the Thoughts, Opportunities, and Impulfes to Good before us, by his Provi- dential ordering our outward Circumftances of Life.
For as a Graff put into a natural Stock ac- commodates itfelf to the natural Powers of the Stock, dwells in, and incorporates with it, not to deftroy the Stock, or any of its Powers ; but gradually mends and improves them to the Prd- dudion of better Fruit ; and by due Culture, and in time, all is converted into the Nature of the Graff, according to the Iritention of graffing : So the Spirit of Chrifi graffed (fuppofe by Bap- tifm) into the carnal Mind, the natural Stock of every Man, and afterwards duly cultivated, by degrees, as it grows to Maturity, draws the na- tural Powers of the carnal Mind to itfelf ; and fo you fee the Fruits of the Spirit, * Love, Joy, Peace, Long-Suffering, Gentlenefs, Faith [that be- lievethall things, the beft of every Body] Meek- nejs, 'tefnperance (changing the Name of moral Virtues into Chriftian Graces, and Humanity into Charity) flourifhing, where nothing otherwife would have grown but the contrary Fruits of the Flefh. And by this appointed Means and Chri- ftian Culture, of mortifying the Deeds of the Flelh by the Spirit, wild Fruit is changed into good, fo good as to be pleafing to God. And as one is a Regeneration of natural Fruit in a phyfical Way, fo the other is a Regeneration of moral Fruit, in a moral Way •, the moral Pow-
* Gal. V. 22, 23.
C 4 ers
24 DEISM Delineated;
CHAP, crs being ftill the fame by Nature (free to Good, ^^^^- as they were to Evil) whilft they are freely led v^-y^w^^^ directed to better Produd:ions, by the Ad- vantage of being incorporated with Chrijl their Head,
And a great Change to moral Effe6ts and good Fruits may be wrought by this invifible Origin of being born of the Sjirit^ as in Nature great Changes are made by the invifible blowing of the Wind where it lifteth. However it is fo necefTiry in the Inftitution of God, that there is no entring his Kingdom, without being born of that, and H ater. As we are by natural Birth united to Chrift in one Part of our Nature, Flelh and Blood, fo by fpiritual Birth the Uol'j Spirit feems necefTary to unite our Spirit^ the other Part of our Nature, to God and Chrift by Adoption : He who is thus joined to the Lord^ is one Spirit, as before he was one Flefh. And he that is born of Water and the Spirit, if he is not quite taken out of the old Stock of the firft Adam^ yet the fecond Adam Chrift is graffed in him, or he graffed into that new Stock, to pro- duce all thofe Alterations for good, which the old one was deficient in.
The Branches that depend upon the Vine for Life and Growth, and bearing Fruit and im- bibing Juices in order to it, can do nothing as to either, without a vital Abiding in and Commu- nication with it : And Chrift is the true Vine in the fame Senfe of imbibing from him, as he is the true Bread, in the digefting Senfe of his Dodlrine -, and his Flelh was as much Bread or Meat indeed, as his Blood was Wine and Drink indeed, for maintaining indeed that vital fpiri- tual Communion, in imbibing and digefting his
Dodrine
DEISM Delineated.' 25
Do6lrine (anci holv.ing Communication with theCHAP. Head, by duly cornaitmorating hn Deaths the ^V. capilai Doctrine of his Religion, in the Lord's ^^^^'^'^ Supper, that After-Explanation in Fad of eating his Flefh and drinking his Blood) according to his own immediate verbal Explication, The Words I f; "ak unto you are Spirit and Life^ * i. e. when the Words Vine^ Flejh, Blood, Bread or Winr are Emblems and fgur alive Expreflions that cannot, nor were ever intended to fignify Hie- rali\, the m'>ral, emblematical, not the literal, is the true Senfe or Spirit of thofe Expreflions : Jnft as Spirit is oppofed to Flejh, and Letter, in the Types and Ceremonies of the Jews -, one kille.th, the other giveth Life, and Meaning.
A s God is the Giver of our Faculties, and Exciter and Encourager to Good, whatever of that Nature is the free and wife Product of them, is, at the fame time, the Gift of God -, and the Praife and Glory is due to him : Mean time we fliall not mifs of our Reward for following his Counfel •, and confenting to be led by it to our own Happinefs ; becaufe that Good would not have been done, if God had not bellow'd the Faculty, the Opportunity, the Motive and Di- redtion for it. Thus he is faid to give a new Heart, and a new Spirit, yet he requires us to call away our Tranfgrefllons in order to make our/elves a new Heart and a new Spirit, i" There are ma- ny Expreflions of the" like Import, refolvable into the like Interpretation.
And as he governs free Agents according to their Nature, and hinders not the badEffeds that refult from the Determination of their own Choice, he is faid in a figurative and foreign
f Job. vi. 63. f Ezek- xvUi. 31.
Senfe
26 DEISM Delineated:
CHAP.^enfe to harden the Heart; whilft he has no ^JlX;^ Hand in it, any farther, than permitting Sin to ^^/^ produce its own Effeds, and operate upon the Heart, according to the hardening Deceivable- nefs of its Nature. He never gives any Man up to a fatal Blindnefs and Hardnefs of Heart, till he is irrecoverable by Perfuafion and rational Motives •, Dens fion deferit nift deferentem. Or, in other Words, Since you have forfaken me, I will forfake you alfo — Tou have not forfaken me, hut your own fives, faith the Lord, i Efdr. i. 25.
The comfortable Truth therefore lies in the Middle between the two Extremes, which have both had their Run, and prevailed in their Turns -, the irrefiftable Grace of God, on the one hand ; and the no Occafion of the internal Aids of his Spirit, on the other. We ought certainly to covet earneftly the heft Gifts, and ftrive to re- gain, as much as we are able, that Degree of Perfedion of human Liberty, wherein Man was firft created. Every perfe5f, as well as good Gift comes from God. He only enjoys Liberty in its abfolute Perfedtion ; by being immutably free from allDefeds, and from all Inclination to Evil, which is a Defedl. That Immutability is pecu- liar and eflential to the fupreme Good ; nor is there any good in that Senfe, but one, and that is God : He is only infallible in Underftanding, and therefore impeccable in Will ; and neither one nor the other are communicable to any Creature. Therefore the Degrees of Good, or Perfedion of Liberty relative to their feveral Stations, com- municated to the rational Creatures he has made, is temper'd with a natural Mutability, or Poffi- bihty of inclining to Evil, and degenerating from what they are. Such are all the Angels, fie (bar get b even his Angels with Folly. The Angels
being
DEISM Delineated. 27
being placed in their Paradife or State of Proba-C H A P. tion, not as Man was by a primitive Pair and ^^^^ Succeffion, excraduce, but altogether at once in ^-^'v^^ their own produced Perfons, Tome kept not their firft Eftate ; and they that (land being capable of falling, are chargeable with Folly, by being capable of the Folly of thinking themfelves in- dependent of God, or infallible like him. And therefore Fallibility and Frailty from Angel down to Man is continually propt up by various gradations of Dependency, Recourfes, and Re- ligion unto God.
Tho' Man, God*s youngeft Son, was endow'd with Liberty and Reafon a little lower than the Angels, as much lower as difcourfive Reafon is to intuitive Difpatch, and choice of Will with a Tempter, is to one without one, by being fta- tion'd, for a time, in the midfl: of fenfual Ap- petites and Objeds, whence more and more Occafion and Inclination to Evil ; ilill the Li- berty, fuited to his Station, was perfedl in its k'md^ having his primitive Inclinations caft and moulded upright and entire towards Good in de- pendence upon his Maker, the Author of all his Happinefs ; that dependent, imitative Image of himfelf, wherein God had fafliion'd his natural Liberty and moral Agency with a prevailing Biafs and Inclination within towards Good, liable to be altered by nothing but yielding to Sin thro' outward Temptation; but after yielding to It, the Biafs turn'd to the other Side, and made the great Alteration and Disfigurement in the Image of God -, what was unknown be- fore, a Temptation from within ever after fprang up, to folicit the natural Liberty and moral Agency ; that Temptation from within join*d to Temptation from without ftood therefore in
the
25 DEISM Delineated.
CHAP, the greater Need of the fupervening, balancing XV. AfTiftance, and Advocation of the Holy Spirit.
'^^'''V**^ Man had continued in his firft Aptitude and Biafs, it may be, for many Generations, had not the I'empter (the firft L-jar and Hypocrite in the World, and the Father of all Lies and Hypo- crify fince) fo foon deceiv'd and prevaiPd with the falfe Pretence of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, before Lying or Hypocrify, or the moral Evil of Difobedience were known in the fublunary World : And by deceiving, 7nurder*d the Perfedion of his priftine Liberty, and in- verted the prevailing Biafs of his Conftitution from Good to Evil. The corruptible Body with its corrupt Affe(5tions has prefs'd upon, and too often infulted, ever fince, our Longing and De- fire after confcious primitive Liberty, and Refti- tude •, and a native Love of Truth, and a Jtatu- ral Abhorrence of Falfhood and Hypocrify as ^ our greateft Enemy, (till lives in us, as if every Man had been prefent with, and Partaker of that Tranfadlion.
S o far is Freedom to moral Evil from being the true Liberty of Man, that it is adually his Weaknefs, Degeneracy, and too frequently his Servitude and Captivity. He has deviated very much ever fince from real Good ; which is the true Objedl of true Liberty ; and flufluated greatly in Error both about Good, and about Liberty ; and, becaufe of thofe Errors, there is a Neceflity for Laws to curb and reftrain the ill Effeds of them : till the Religion of the Me- diator Chrijl Jefiis came to Ihew him his true Good, and recover him to his true Liberty, and ftrengthen and perfedt him in it, as he grows up to that greater Perfe<5lion of it, at the Refur- redion, to a new and better ?ody, called the
glorious
DEISM Delineated. 29
glorious Liberty of the Sons of God ; by its glorious C H A P.' divine Means, Aids, Motives, and Helps •, to ^^1^ which all are entitled, who embrace it fincerely ; ^-^V^^ and all who rejed, are excluded the Benefit of any of them.
And what are the Reftraints of the Gofpel upon the temerity of Man's Choice of Evil, but perfedl Peace and Freedom to our rational Spirit, and the compleateft Liberty of Mind that can be defired in this Life ? And what better verifies the ancient Obfcrvation of Job -, * Behold the Fear of the Lordy that is Freedom, and to depart from Evil is true Liberty ? The Truth of the Gofpel, that ■perfeSi Law of Liberty^ is that only which makes Men free indeed.
If therefore the Deifis were indeed true in their pretended Refpedl:, or confident to the Obedi- ence of the Law of Nature, they fo much aflume to glory in, they would gladly come into the Chrifiian Meafures in earneft ; which glory in nothing fo much, as in improving Man's Liber- ty, and increafing his Inclination to perform that Law.
I PRESENT them with a Paflage from Bifliop Taylor, " The Cafe of moral Adions and fpi- " ritual is all one ; for that A6tion is moral *' which is done in Obedience to a Law •, and a " fpiritual Adion is no more ; fave only it re- ** lates to another Law, to the Evangelical, or *' fpiritual Law of Liberty : But in the Nature " of the Thing, it is the fame ; and one may *' as well be chofen as the other, when they are " equally taught and commanded, and pro- *' pounded under the fame proportionable Ama- " bility ; and till they be fo propounded, they
* Chap, xxviiit 28.
" are
v^'-V-^.c
30 DEISM Delineated;
CHAP." are not equally Laws. Befides this, the de- Jjy^ " nying Liberty in all moral Things of Man- "^ ners, in all Things of Obedience to the Laws
" of God and Man, and the allowing it in all *' Things under no Law, is a Dt^ftruftion of the *' very Nature and Purpofe of Liberty. For the " only End of Liberty is to make us capable ** of Laws, of Virtue and Reward, and to di- *' ftinguifli us from Beafts, by a diftindt Manner " of Approach to God, and a "Way of Con- *' formity to him proper to us -, and except in *' the Matter of Virtue and Vice, except in or- '.' der to Reward and PuniHiment, Liberty and *' Choice were good for nothing : For to keep *' ourfelves from Harm, from Foifon, and Ene- ** mies, a natural Inftind, and lower Appetites, " would ferve our Needs, as well as the Needs *' of Birds and Beafts. And therefore to allow " it where it is good for nothing, and to deny " it, where only it can be ufeful and reafonable, *' and fit to be done, and is given by the wife ** Father of all his Creatures, muft needs be " amifs." *
I SHUT Up this Head with the Words of the Apoftle, Heb, xiii. 20, 23, which include the three Offices of our Mediator, King^ Prophet, Prieji^ and the inward Aids I have been treating of. Now the God of Peace that brought again from the Dead our Lord Jefus, that great Shep- herd of the Sheep, thro* the Blood of the everlafling Covenant, make you perfecf in ever'j good IVork to do his IVill, working in you that which is well- f leafing in his Sight.
* Dua. Dub. Book IV. p. 752, 753;
CHAP,
DEISM Delineated^
it
CHAP. XVI. 0/ EXTERNAL MOTIVES.
N D E R this Head might be com-c HAP prehended Example -, which has an XVi. immediate lively Influence upon ^*^'V>^ fuch imitating Creatures as we are, kindling in us any laudable A(5lion that is done before us, fhaming and diflblving all Objection of Slothfulnefs, or Impradlicable- nefs. Nor can any Syftem of Religion pretend to a perfed Example of moral Behaviour but the Chriftian.
I MIGHT mention the Wifdom, Decency, Honour, and Reputation of Virtue ; and the Folly, Bafenefs, Shame, and Odioufnefs of Sin, as having the Devil for its Author. And the Author of Chrijlianity as old, &c. fays, " Nothing •* operates more ftrongly, than the Defire Men *' have of being in Efteem, Credit, and Repu- '* tation with their Fellow-Creatures ; nor is it *' to be obtain'd without afting upon the Prin- " ciples of natural Juftice, Equity, Benevo- *' lence*.'* If this is the llrong Principle of Re- ligion with our Author, Chriftianity inculcates thofe Virtues far beyond his natural Religion.
I PASS by the Love and Goodnefs of God in fending his Son into the World ; and the re- ciprocal Love refulting from the common Gra-
* P. 16.
titude
ji DEISM Delineated.
C H A p. titude of human Nature •, that has been often XVJ-mention'd before.
^^'^/^"^"'^ I MIGHT inftance the Motive of public Spirit from the Precepts, of not looking every 07ie on his own 'Things^ but on the 'Things aljo of others ; and the Duty of la'jing down our Lives for the Brethren.
I MIGHT hint at, what is very little men- tioned, the Beauty and Lovelinefs of Virtute. Seeing the Scripture becomes all things to all Men, that it may fave fome ; accommodates itfelf to all Tempers and Difpofitions ; the Sloth- ful and Diligent, Sanguine and Cold, Generous and Difingenuous, Polite and Uneducated ; all have Motives and refpedive Arguments adapted to them, to excite them feverally to good living.
But I felea the EXTERNAL MOTIVES exciting Hope and Fear, as what chiefly moves and-affefls human Nature, as we are made ac- coujitahle Creatures to the Author of our Being. The Chriftian Hope is eftabiifli'd upon the fure Bafis of glorious Re-ivards in a future Life ; which Faith in God's Promife in the Mediator, in whom all the Promifes are yea, and in him Amen, from the Fall of Man, is realized into a Subftance like their own Home, a Pledge of the befl: Rea- lity and State of Man, a certain Expe6lation of, and Dependance upon the 'Things hoped for, and into an Evidence of Things not feen, as operative and convincing, as if they had been feen ; over- coming the prefent World, and the word Thing in it, Death in its word Appearance ; defpifing alfo Crowns, the fined Thing in it ; and living above all its delufive Enjoyments, as Strangers, Sojourners, Pilgrims, ftcadily bending their Courfe to their proper, and that a better Coun- try,
DEISM Delineated; 33
try, which had their Hearts, and influenced CHAP, their Adlions ; as may be feen in the Catalogue ^^^• of thofe glorious Martyrs and ConfefTors of that ^*^V*^ Recompence of Reward, Heb. xi. And if there were fuch fledfaft lively Efforts of this Hope before the Advent of Chrifl:, what abundance more muft there have been, fince bis bringing Life and Immortality to light by bis Gofpel ? It be- ing matter of perpetual Thankfgiving unto f5od ever fince, for having, according to his abundant ^ercy, begot us to a lively Hope, by the RefurreSlion of Jefus Chrifi from the Dead *.
Happiness being the uninterrupted Inclina- tion of our Nature, and Mifery its contrary Averfion -, the wife Author of our Being has wrought the Paflions of Hope and Fear in us as Springs of Ad:ion, and a Spur to Induftry. The Body might be alive, but immoveable like a Tree ; the Underftanding would grow languid, and the Will unadtive, if the other did not bring in the Obje6is or Things that concern them to be occupied about. Reafon could have no concern in Futurity was there neither Hope, * nor Fear: And what is hope and fear of .Re- wards and Punilhmcnts but a State of Difcipline of native Self-love and Prefervation, and of its Tendency to Happinefs, ar,.' Avoidance of Mi- fery ? They are the Wings and Sails of the Soul in her feve'ral Motions. All the Pafiions are therefore given as domeftick Inftruments in every body's Hand for perfeding and accomplifiiing, or degrading and injuring his Nature, juft as they are applied, or mifapplied ; to the carrying on the Good and Intereft of the inferior Animal, or the fuperior Rational Part of his Conftitution ;
* I Pet. i. 3.
Vol. II. D or
34 DEISM Delineated'
C H A p. or both jointly together, in Subordination one ^V^- to the other. Hope and Fear regarding Futurity,^
^"^''^''''^^''^ with all the other Paflions, fpring out of Love^ as will appear a few Pages afterwards -, Happi- nefs or Mifery, here and hereafter, depend upon the regular Condudl, or irregular Mifapplication of our Love. If its fupreme Refpeft is placed upon God and the Happinefs propounded and profnifed with him in the Life to come, that fupreme Good is infinitely abundant to fill up every Man's Happinefs, being commenfurate to all his Defires •, and, at one and the fame Time, to fatisfy the Happinefs of all Men, all together, without any Envy or the leaft Diflatisfaftion at their Share ; then all the other Paflions placidly fall under due Government. But if the fame Refpedt is fnifplaced, and for fo long as it is fo, upon worldly Things, which put all together arc unable to make any one Man happy, and being limited in their Enjoyment, impoflible to be pofiTefTed by all together without the Lufts of Covetoufnefs, Ambition, &c, whence Wars and Fighting, and all Diforders in Society -, Rebellion of Paflions againft Reafon and Religion ; and, without Amendment, everlafliing Mifery. The Ofiice of Reafon then is not to fufpend their In- fluence, but diredb and regulate them to right Objeds ;. and eftimate thofe Objeds by the Mea- fures of Comparifon, how much our innate De- fire of Happinefs and Averfion to Mifery will be affected, and how laftingly involved therein.
And becaufe he knows our Degeneracy, that as long as we continue in this World we are more affefted with natural Good and Evil, or Pleafure and Pain in prefent Senfation, and Be- lief of that which is future, than we are with moral Good and Evil, i, e, right or ivrc/ig^ fit
or
DEISM Delineated.'' 35
or unfit ; therefore has he gracioufly made our C H A P. Duty as to the latter, to be our Intereft as to ^^^i/ Pleafure and Pain, in the trueft and moft lafling ^^■'^V^^ Senfe, wifely and conftitutionly conneding them together : And in order to move and ex- cite us to the former, comftionly approaches and interefts himfelf in us, by Motives drawn from the latter i a very good Argument that the Author of Revelation was alfo the Author of our Nature. But to derogate from thefe un- queftionable right Motives of Revelation, fo furely founded in our Nature, is to impeach God, as if he did not know the Principles whereof he hath made us; or was not privy to the Degeneracy, approaching near to a moral Impotency, into which we are fallen. Tho' Mo- tives, or Aids, don't alter the nature of Virtue, yet they fo ftimulate and afUft the weak Nature of Man, and the ineffedual looking-on Power of Reafon^ as to render that prafticable and prompt in Performance, which would otherwife hardly be feafible.
T o be wholly influenced by prefent Pleafure or Pain, is to ad not like a moral, but a natural Agent, or Brute ; but if we duly ufed our Rea- fon to weigh and adjufl the fleeting, infincere, and foon after repented Pleafure that tempts to Sin, with its everlafting Pain hereafter •, or the Ihort painful Endurance providentially attending upon Virtue and a good Confcience in this Life, with the ever- over-flowing Rivers of Pleafure in that which is to come -, which is moft reafonable, and moft for the Intereft of our Being to be pre- fer'd, we Ihould never miftake, nor fail of plea- fing God •, tho' in our uneducated Underftand- ings we happen*d not to make out d priori the Obligations to Virtue from the eternal Reafo.ns D 2 of
36 DEISM Delin^eatbd(
CHAP- of Right or Wrong ; or not perceive enough ^^''^ the charming. Beauty of its Pradtice from the
^'^"^^"^""^ Relations and Fitnefs of Things, or Perfons. Becaufe God has been fo exadly careful in con- fulting the- Salvation of all, in the Revelation of his Will, as t* affix that, which all under- lland, ("the Ignorant as well as the more know- ing) eiernal Happinefs and Mifery, to the Things that are pleafing, and difpleafing to him. And he has not only encourag'd, but commanded our Hope and Truft in the one, aftd Fear in the other-, as the final EfFe6l and Adjudication of his Favour and Friendfhip, his Anger and Dif- pleafure. And it is in this way he commands us to fhew our Wifdom •, which begins in his Fear, and is perfeded in his Love.
Earthly Paflions in i:}.^ often overbear Reafon with R^fpedt to wife Condudl for this World, much more to the Prejudice of the Wifdom that is from above ; Hieroicks repre- fents the Mind carried by its Paflions inclining to Sin, like fo many Weights of Lead hanging upon it, wo-Trip tkti yMvt^tffiv VTOfipereii "T^pog k«- iuccv. A IVeight which the Apoftle advifes to lay ajjde. And therefore there ought to be the greater Weight of more precious Things to poife, apd recover it out of that finking Condition, viz. the exceeding WEIGHT of Glory. I'he Duration and. Greatnefs of REWARDS and P'UNISHMENTS hereafter are revealed ac- cordingly from Heaven to be an Over-balance for the irregular Paffions of this Life ; that no Hope, nor Fear, Joy, nor Suffering, Love, nor Hatred, may ftand even in the Scales with what is- to come ; but be weighed down always ex- ceedingly, with the exceeding arJ eternal PFcigbi of Glory, Sind ihh Counter-balance of what is to '^' come
DTSI-SM Delineated. 37
come when this fhort Life is ended, from anta- C H A P. gonift Objects certain to our Belief, is that which. ^^J[v* is ordained of Heaven, beyond all the Rules of ^'"^"'^'^ human Philofophy, for fecuring the Trant[ui]lity of Life. And thefe being adjufted to oirr-pre- fent Nature, af; a prefent neceiTary ' Difcfpline, are not only true genuine Motives, but fo abfo- lutely neceflary, that there wduld be very little Consideration of our Ways; lefs VirtaeV and no Endurance of Difficulties for its fake, without thofe Sandions to the Laws of it.' .\
That fome Virtuous fhou'd fall fhort and be difappointed of the external Favour and Blef- fing of God in this World, is intended to pre- ferve our Faith in another^ in due Health and Vigour, by keeping up its Pulfe in a breathing Exercife after a better State of Things : For, if every righteous Perfon was to be infallibly pro- fperous, and exempt from the common Hard- fhips and Oppreffions of Life, Virtue would be- come a worldly percenary Thing. Where would Patience, or Trial of Perfeverance, or Vidory over the World appear, or the particular Crown for fuffering wrongfully be look'd for ? If no j||k
righteous Perfon was to be profper'd, but wholly tBf
and univerfally neglected, where would be the •
Appearance of Providence left for fuccouring fuch in Diftrefs.'* But if fome Care, and very often fignally too, is taken of them here, that is ample Confolation, there will be more taken of them in an after-State. Therefore are they required to caft the fure and fcedfaft Anchor cf • their Hope^ within the Vail*, to enable them to ride out the Storms, and ftem the Tide of world- ly Affeiflions and Defircs impetuoufly rolling
* Heb. vi. 19,
P3 this
38 DEISM Delineated.
^ YVT ^' ^^'^^ ^^y ^"^ ^^^^ ^^y ' ^"^ ^^ make that their ijryr^ Scedfaftnefs, /^^/ their Stand to Perfeverance, holding the PoJfeJJlon of it immoveable *, becaufe, the Things themfelves are fo, having God, not Man, for their Builder and Maker-, whereas Hope in the uncertain future Things of this World is but a Name, and the Pofleflion* of them little better. St. Paul exercifed himfelf in this very Hope to keep a Confcience void of Of- fence -j- ; and the Ground of living foherly^ righteoufl'j^ and godl'j in thn prefent World is laid in the fame %.
Besides, if God in his great Condefcention to our future Happinefs, and to our prefent Im- perfedion and Ignorance, wherein it really con- lifts, has made his Laws and Commandments fo many DireAions and Qualifications for it, in the future Fruition of the Society of himfelf, and of good Spirits : And if that is the real Defign of prefent Obedience to the fociable Laws of Vir- tue •, why fhould we forget the Defign, whillt we are pradlifing the Qualification ? If the Com- mandments are Direciiom to our Happinefs, it muft neceflarily follow, That in keeping of them there is great Rezvard.
Wise Men {hew their Wifdom generally by beginning at the End of the Adion. The efcaping the Pollutions that are in the Worlds and heiyig made Partakers of the Divine Nature \ the clean- fmg ourfelves from all filthinefs of Flefh and Spirit^ ■ and the purifyng ourfelves as God is pure^ are committed to the Efficacy of this hope ||, in Promifes, exceeding great and exceeding pre- cious i for which caufe we are laid to be faved
• Heh. X. 23, t uicfi xxiv. 15. X Tit. ii. 13.
y z Pet. j. 4. z Cor. vji. 1. i Jokjiiii. 3.
h
DEISM Delineated. 39
h^ it *. Why then fliould any be induced to fuf- CHAP, pend their Hope in another Life, whilfl they are ^^^^• doing the Will of God in this? It is to all in- ^'"^'V^*^ tents and purpofes invidioufly taking away that Spring of motion, which the Confticution of our Nature and the Wifdom of God have put into us towards virtuous Living, and then bantering and bidding us move in the ways of Virtue, heartlefs, and unconcern'd ; which is the fame thing as to (land ftill. That Man was at firft made prone to Good, appears from the firll Law or Covenant, whereof Punijhment is only ex- prefs*d as the Sanflion. But flnce the great Change in his natural Tendency to Evil, REWARDS become neceflary to be exprefs'd as a Sandion of the fecond Covenant, to animate and recover him to his Good ; and likewjfe PUNISHMENT, to awaken his Confideration, that he might not imagine that the zvhole of his Evil confifted in miffing that Reward.
Whereas it is the important Concern we have in the final liTue, and everlafting Refult, that interefts us fo much in the Ways of Virtue -, and the Hope of the Prize fet before us, that quick- ens us in the Race, and gives Caution to our Feet. The Author of Chrijiianity as old\ &c. acknowledges -f "the Spring of all the Adions " of the Creatures is their own Good : We love " God, fays he, from i John iv. 19. becaufe he *■'' firft loved us ', and confequently our Love to " him will be in proportion to our Senfe of his ** Goodnefs to us.'* Yet, according to his ufual Fairnefs, fhamefully mangles the Argument of the Apoftle, and fupprejfes the Senfe of the di- vine Goodnefs, the very IVIeaning of the Words,
^ 'Rom. viii, 24. f Pag. 13.
D 4 which .
40 DEISM Delineated.
CHAP, which he would have every body elfe infenfible ^Jlfl^of, as well as himfelf: If you aik the Inftance' "''^"^of God's firft loving us, the Apofile had de- dared it juft before, ver. 9, 10. In this was manifefted the Love of God towards us, hecaufe that God fent his only begotten Son into the IVorld, that we might live through him. Herein is Love, not that zve loved God, but that he loved us, and fent bis Son to he the Propitiation for our' Sins. That Goodnefs of God in (hewing us our own Good, the only way to his Favour, and our own Hap- pinefs, js indeed intended of him, to be the true Spring of our Duty and Obedience to him.
But this Source of Virtue in loving God, and keeping his Commandments, is utcrly re- je<5ted and defpifed by all thofe of our Author's Sentiments. They maintain the Sufficiency of Reafon to find out every Virtue, and all the Ways to God's Favour, independent of any ex- ternal Revelation from him; and likewife the Sufficiency of Virtue for its own Reward -, " that *' rational Aiiions carry with them their own Re~ " ' wards, and irrational their Punifhment : ** That the attradive Beauty and intrinfick Excellence of Virtue is fufficient Inducement to pradice it; without any Eye to Self- Ad vantage, or' .the ex- ternal Motives from Revelation.. But how con- trary to thefe are the Sentiments of Mr. Locky who was a Bigot to nothing but Reafon ? " How, " fays he, haih this one Truth [the Refurredion *' and Afcenfion of our Saviour] chang'd the *' Nature of things in the World? and given ■*' the Advantage to Piety overall that could **' tempt or deter Men from it. The^Philofo- ** phers indeed fhew'd the Beauty of Virtue : *■' They fet her off fo as drew Mens Eyes and " Approbation to her : But leaving her unen-
" dowedj
DEISM DELiNEATifii 4f ^
<* dowed, very few were willing toefpoufe her.C'H aTv " The generality could not refufe her their Efteem ^^^ *' and Commendation; but ftill turn'd their ^''^^'^ " Backs on her and forfook her, as a Match noE '* for their turn. But now there being put into *«. the Scales, on her fide, an exceeding and im- ** mortal fVeight of Glory -, Intereft is come about " to her, and Virtue now is vifibly the mod en- " riching Purchafe, and by much the beft Bar- " gain. That fhe is the Perfedlion and Excel- " lency of our Nature ; That fhe is herfelf a " Reward, and will recommend our Names to " future Ages, is not all that can now be faid of " her. 'Tis not ftrange that the learned Hea- " thens fatisfied not many with fuch airy Com- " mendations. It has another Relifh and Effi- " cacy, to perfuade Men that if they live well ** here, they fhall be happy hereafter. Open *' their Eyes upon the endlefs unfpeakable Joys *' of another Life ; and their Hearts will find " fomething folid and powerful to move them. " — Upon this Foundation, and upon this only, " Morality Hands firm. — This makes it more *' than a Name*.'* " Tho' human Law-givers, ** fay the Author of Chrijlianity as old, &c. are " forc*d to have recourfe to Punifliments, which *' are not conneded with the things they forbid •, " yet a Being of infinite Power is not thus ftrait- '* en'd, but may make one the neceflary Confe- " quence of the other : And indeed how can it " be otherwife, fince Good and Evil have their ** Foundation in the efiential Diiference of ** Things, and their Nature is fix'd and immu- " table : And confequently our Happinefs de- *' pends on the intrinfick Nature of the one, and " pur Mifery on the intrinfick Nature of the * Reafinabl. of Chriji. p. 287, ^c.
" other."
^z, DEISM Delineated:
^ XVI ^ " °^^^^ **" ^^^^ fliews his true Sentiments^ it^,^^ notwithftanding his occafional mention of future Rewards and Punilhments, that hereafter no po- fitive Rewards or Punifhments are allotted to Mens Adions, but that the natural Confequence of thole Adions in the inward Senfe Men have of them, is the fole and only Reward and Punilh- ment ; which will be confidered afterwards.
These muft be acknowledged highly refined Principles of Virtue ; fublime foaring Notions, calculated rather for the Admiration, than the real Praftice and Service of it ; to attract and engage the Minds of Philofophers o«/y, and over- look and difmifs every body elfe from being Followers of it. He that can receive ity let him receive ii. If the Promife of this Life added to that which is to come effedually induces but few fincere Votaries ; the Number muft be greatly diminilhed, if the future World muft be thrown out of Confideration, and denied its proper In- fluence ; which is fo peculiarly appropriated to fecure and promote its Pradice in all its Branches.
I T muft be confefled likewire, That thefe Sentiments, fuch as they are, are perfedly con- fonant to the Syftem of modern Deifm. For, if the future World, and our happy or unhappy Condition there, can only be known by Reve- lation, it muft be inconfiftent with their recom- mendation of Virtue, to admit of Motives drawn from thence, as long as they rcjeft Revelation. The wiccy Earl of Rochcfter fpoke their Senti- ments at once, " That they were equally difre- " gardful of Rewards, as Punijhjnenii ; one as "• too high to attain by our flight Services ; the *' oiher. too extreme to be inflided for Sinf."
* Pag. 21, c 2. t '^"'"^ Pi^Jf^i^s of kh Life, p. 54.
The
DEISM Dfuneated. 4%
The Vulgar of the Heathen World feem to have CHAP; had much the Advantage over moft of their ^^J^ij Philofophers in this matter. They for the moft '^•Or^*' part tenacioufly believed a future State, where the Wicked in general were to be puniflied, and the Good rewarded ; tho* the Particulars of it were as ridiculous, as Poety could invent it: Still the Thing, in its confufed Notion, had an In- fluence upon their A<5tions. Whilft their Philo- fophers made a fhift to difpute themfelves very cunningly out of the Belief of it: Conjedlure and Problem was all the Certainty they had to rely upon, which had no more Influence than a Dream. S omnia funt non docentiiy fed optantis i|. They could fhew their Eloquence faft enough in ^raifing Virtue, whilfl: they left the Pradice to the Vulgar, and made good the Saying, V'lrlui laudatuVy i^ alget.
Thus Sadoc the Founder of the Sadducees, giv*. ing Ear to his Mafter Jniigonus, " who often *' inculcates to his Scholars, that they ought not *' to ferve God in a fervile Manner with refpeft *' to the Rewards, but out of the filial Love *' and Fear only, which they ow'd unto him, •* inferred from thence, that there were no Re- ** wards at all after this Life, no Refurredion, ** no future State, but all the Rewards which " God gave to thofe who ferved him were in « this Life only. * "
The primitive Epicureans^ tho' they denied Providence having any concern with the prefenc World, yet declared their Adherence to Virtue for the fake of the Delight and Pleafure of it. The Sloicks admitted Providence in part, and Fate in. part ; but when Pain and Suffering hap-
II Cicero. * Pridfaux't Cgnneftion, Vol. II. P. i. p. 68.
pcn'd
^4 DEISM Delineated.
CHAP. pen'd to Hand between Virtue and its own folc •XVI. Reward in this Life, and offered to reflify their
^^'^''^^ Notion, and place their unfupported Heroifm fomewhere' elfe, they were forced to fly in the Face of Nature, and deny with Tears in their Eyes, and aking Hearts, That Pain or Suffering in this World was any Evil. The Cafe of Poffi- donius is well known.
And as nothing can be a Support under Evil but the Hope of after-Good, their Dirtrefs was very pitiful in the want of Revelation to- afTure them of that after-Good. For the Hopes of that after-Good is a Balance to the Evils, Misfor- tunes, and Inequalities of Life prefent ; and the proper Recourle to and Anticipation of that, brings the Happinefs of xhM Life upon a Level and Equality. - " Thofe jufl: Meafures (fays " Mr, Lock) of Right and Wrong, which Ne^ *' ceflity had any where introduced, the Civil *' Laws prcfcribedi or Philofophy recommend- *' ed, flood not on their true Foundation?. *' They were look'd on as Bonds of Society and *' Conveniencies of common Life,- and laudable ** Pradices.' But where was it that thtxr Obli- *^ gation was thoroughly known and allowed^ >* and they ■ received as Precepts of a Law ; of ** the higheft Law, the Law of Nature ? That *' could not be without a clear Knowledge and " Acknov»^lcdgment of the Law-maker, and the *' greaf Rewards and PuniJbmenlSj for thofe that " would or would not obey them, i" "
But when St. Paul addreffed his Audience, at Aihi'ns, which cc/hfifted of thefe two fort of Philoibphcrs !|, he infinuates not one Word into their darling Notions of the Beauty of Virtue-,
-.f Rcokiidbl.'-of ^jriji. p. 275. fi Aas T(\'\i. i8, i^c
or
DEISM Delineated; 4J
or its Self-competency for a Reward ; nor yet^ ^ ^l^lJ exhorted them to Repentance from the Bafenefs v^-J^^ and Turpitude of "Vice ; but from the folid ^'^ Topicks of ReHgion, the Confideration of God as Makg-, Benefador, and Judge of the World in Righteoufnefs ; acquainting them with the particular Perfon, Jefm^ ordain'd to be the final Punirtier, and Rewarder of Mens Adlions ; and therefore were commanded, in his Name, to Repent ; upon the Affurance given of that Ap- pointment, from God's raifing him from the Dead. This was adding the Knowledge of the Saviour of the World to the true Creed of Natu- ral Religion, viz. That God is, and that be is a Rewarder of thofe that diligently feek him. .''
A Creed undoubtedly derived down upon the World, from the Original Promife of the Mediator, And they, before the Flood, who diligently came to God, and worihipp'd him in Virtue of the; Second Article of it, worihipp'd, in elFed, in Virtue of the Mediator, through whom God made himfelf, according to the Intent of Promife, a Rewarder of thofe who walk'd in his ways ; and confequently a Punifher of thofe who did not : and to convince the Ante-diluvian World, that he, the Lover of Virtue, and not Virtue itfelf, was the Rewarder of its Servants, tranflated Enoch to himfelf ; a Demonftration that another World, not this, was, from the Beginning, intended to be the Reward of that Faith in God, and that Righteoufnefs which flowed from it. And Job after the Flood, with- out any exprefs Prophecy to revive and fupport the Fairh of that Promife (which was the Intent of Prophecy * in virtue of the Tradition of it,
* As the prefent Bifhop. of Salisbury has excellently made appear.
was
%^ DEt8M Delimeated:
CHAP, was accepted of God, and had that Confidence ^^^^^I. in his Redeemer as to expe6t f the Refurreftion
^•^v^^ Qf i^ig Body from him. So that as Prophecy went out from the Beginning, to one Lineage, wherein it was to have its Accomplifhment in the aflual Appearance of the Mediator ; fo the Tra- dition of it went out alfo from the Beginning to all the reft of the World ; and God is no Re- fpefler of Perfons, but in every Nation he that feareth him, and worketh Righteoufnefs in con- fequence of that Faith, is accepted of him.
In the firft Covenant God is exprefly men- tioned as a Punifiier, which implies a Rewarder i in the fecond exprefly mention*d as a Rewarder : ^he IVages of Sin is Death, but the Gift of God eternal Life through Jefus Chrifl. Man being for the Tranfgreflions of the firft Covenant under a State of temporal Punifliment, the mention and Belief of God as a Rewarder was moft wanting, and agreeable to human Nature, to recover the Balance of the Paflions to their primitive Sub- miffion to Reafon. That Speciality of Belief, as neceflary to Religion, as the general Perfua- fion that God is, direcflly leads to, and implies Rewards in a future Life. For, if God does not in Fadl, always reward his Servants in this, it demonftrably follows that he will as afluredly do it in another World, as that he exifts. Many of the better Philofophers, as Socrates, EpiElC' tusy who joined Profit and Self-advantage to Vir- tue, and made them infeparable in the Iftue, and in the Care of the Gods, feem to have been Retainers to this very Faith, ylrian upon the latter argues, *' That if Piety and Profit did
•f- Sec this dfarly made out in the fame Book, by the fame Author.
" not
DEISM Delineated* 4^
** not go together, Piety would be prefervM in C H A P,' " none ; the Reafon is, becaufe nothing is fo na- ^^ii. ** tural to us, as to affed and purfue our own ^■''VV' •' Advantage ; fo that if you place what is holy •' and juft in that which profits, you preferve •' them •, but if you feparate what is honed from " what is advantageous, you deftroy what is juft ** and honeft, as being weighed down by Pro- *' fit *." Socrates is reprefented by Cicero de Leg. I. as openly detefting thofe who firft di- vided the Profitable from the Hfoneft, and thought that Gain was not confined to the Bounds of Vir- tue, becaufe he held that Dodlrine to be the Source of all Crimes.
How very falfe therefore, as being fo very unnatural, is the Religion of modern Deifts ? Who are fo romantick in their Commendations, and pretended Purfuics of the Beauty and Charms of Virtue, as to efteem the Motives of Profit, Self- Advantage, or future Rewards, mean, for- did, and fervile. And as this faulty Notion is fyftematically efpous'd by a much more confi- derable Pen, than the Author of Chriftianity as eld, &c. I proceed to confider, and refute his pernicious Sentiments, from the Nature of Things. This very Author acknowledges, " The Sum of *' Philofophy is, to learn what is jufi in Society, " and beautiful in Nature, and the Order of the " World t."
They are chiefly contained in the famous In- quiry concerning Virtue. ** Nor do we i^y, that " he is a good Man, when having his Hands tied ** up, he is hinder'd from doing the Mifchief he " defigns, or (which is in a Manner the fame)
*Lib. I. cap. 27. Lib. II. cap. 22. Lib. III. cap. 3. f Charail. Vol. III. pag, i6i.
when
4^^ DEISM Delineated;
CHAP." when he abftains from executing his ill Pur- ^^L, " pofe, thro' a Fear of fome impending Punifh- ^^*^^ " ment, or thro* the Allurements of fome exte- " rior Reward. || " This noble Author makes the Goodnefs or Illnefs of Man to depend upon his Affeolion ; who then only, as it afterwards follows, " is fuppofed Good^ when the Good or " 111 of the Syftem to which he has relation, is *' the immediate Objefl of fome Paflion or Affec- •^ tion moving in him.'* " Whatfoever there- *' fore is done which happens to be advantageous •' to the Species [or Publick] thro* an Affedion *' merely towards Self-good, does not imply any " more Goodnefs in the Creature than as the " Affeftion itfelf is good. Let him, in any Par- " ticular, a6t ever fo well, if at the Bottom ic *' be that felfilh Affedion alone which moves, " he is in himfelf ftill Vicious. Nor can any *' Creature be confider'd otherwife, when the " Paflion towards Self good, tho* ever fo mode^ *' rate^ is his real Motive in the doing that, to " which a natural AfFe<5tion for his Kind ought *' by right to have inclined him * '*
So that Self-Affedlion or Confideration of private Good or Intereft, tho' ever fo moderate, tho' confident with, tho* fubordinate to the Good of others, and the Intereft and Advantage of the Publick, muft not be admitted at any rate, as a Motive to ferve the Publick •, but rejeded as vicious, ill, unnatural, depraved. And the good, natural, juncorrupt Motive for ferving others and the Publick, muft be drawn from Afieftion to others and the Publick only, under the Witnefs and Infpe6lion of the governing Mind, or Deity ; that this gives Denomination of Viriuey Worthy
II CharaSl. Vol. II. pag; 21. *Pag. 25.
Honejl'^j
DEISM Delineated; ^^
Honeji'j^ Integrity , Rights Moral Beauty, Order ^ CHAP. Harmony^ Sec. And cohfequently that pradtifing ^VI. upon the Motive of Self- Advantage, or private ''*^^^*''"'**^ Good, muft be the reverfe.
*' Now, as to the Belief of a Deity, and how " Men are influenced by it ; we may confider, " in the firfl Place, on what Account Men yield *' Obedience, and a6l in Conformity to fuch a " fupreme Being. It muft be either in the Way *' of his Power, as prefuppoling fome Difadvan- *' tage or Benefit to accrue from him : Or in " the fVay of his Excellency and JVorth, as think- *.' ing it the Perfedlion of Nature to imitate and " refemble hitn. If (as in the firft Cafe) there *' be a Belief or Conception of a Deity who is *' confider'd only as powerful over his Creatures. *' and enforcing Obedience to his ahfolute JViU '* by particular Rewards and Punifhments ; and " if on this Account thro' Hope merely of 7?*?- " ward, or Fear of PuniJJjment, the Creature be " incited to do the Good he hates, or relirain'd " from doing the 111 to which he is not other- *' wife in the leaft Degree averfe ; there is in " this Cafe no Virtue, or Goodnefs wbatfo- «' ever f."
Again : *' Nor can this Fear, Hope [of fu- *' ture Punifliment, or Reward] ccnfiji in reality '' with Virtue, or Goodnefs •, if it either ftands *' as ejfentidl to any moral Performance, or as a '* confiderable Motive to any Aft, of which fome *' better Affedion ought aloyie to have been a '' fufficient Caufe. It may be confidtr'd withal, " that in this religious fort of Difcipline, the
t C^^r«<^. Vol. 11. pag. 54, 55, •Vol. II. E *^ Principle
ro DEISM Delineated.
CHAP. " Principle of Self-Love, which is naturally fo XVI. 44 prevailing in us, being no way moderated or
^""^^^ " reftrain'd, but rather improvM and made " ftronger every Day by the Exercife of the " Paffions in a Subject of more extended Self- " Intereft •, there may be Reafon to apprehend " left the Temper of this kind fhould extend " itfelf in general thro' all the Parts of Life. " For if the Habit be fuch as to occafion, in " every Particular, a ftrider Attention to Self- " good and private Intereft, it muft mfenfii;ly di- " minijh the Aftedions towards publick Good, " or the Intereft of Society ; and introduce a *' certain Narrownefs of Spirit, which (as fome " pretend) is peculiarly obfervable in the de- " vout Perfons and Zealots of almoft every re- *' ligious Perfuafion l|."
Here are, feveral Things fuppofed ; That the Deity influences Mens Aflions but two Ways, by the Way of Power, or by the Way of Ex- ample. Yet afterwards, in order to give the Pre- ference to 'Tbeifm above ^theif?n, he admits of another, the Infpe^lioji of the fupreme Being for producing the Sha7ne of 111- doing, and the Ho- nour of Well-doing, in this -prefent Life *.
The Deiftical Scheme will admit of no higher End of the Deity's being Speflator of human Adion : Becaufe the Shame and Honour to be divulged hereafter in Retrofpe(5t to paft Beha- viour here, fuppofes a folemn Judgment to come, which neceflarily moreover fuppofes pofuive le- gal Rewards and Punifhments (for what Occa- fion for a Judge to diftribute Rewards and Pu- ll QharaH. Vol. I!, pig. 57, 5 S. * Jhid. pag. 57.
nifhment?,
DEISM Delineated. 51
nifhments, which, according to them, are andCHAP. can be no other than the natural Confequences of li^-^ Virtue and Vice ? ) And as pof.tive legal Rewards ^^"^ and Pu nifhments cannot influence, becaufe they can't be known without Revelation ; as long as they rejeft this, they can do no lefs, confiftent- iy with themfelves, than reje6t the Influence of the other *, and fo confine Shame and Honour refuking from that Infpedlion to this Scene of Things only : where, I am of Opinion, it will have no Influence upon private Adions, but up- on a Suppofltion of their being brought to Ac- count in the open publick Judgment declar*d by the Gofpel.
H E allows of the Influence of the Deity by way of Infpedtion to the End mentioned ; and alfo of Example in Benevolence and Beneficence, as the only genuine virtuous Spring of A(5tion, as far as the Confideration of Deity has any Share in it : And difallows the Influence of his Power^ as the Oppofite of it. But then he fliould not have connected to that Confideration, as he does. Rewards and Puni/hments. For all the Ideas of them, with refpeft to their taking place, are relative, not to Power, but to Jujlice : And in order to depreciate the Motives that are virtu- oufly and dutifully drawn from Rewar(?s and Pu- nifhments, he places the Deity in a quite diffe- rent Afpeft before thofe who make ufe of thofe Motives, than what they behold him in, who are actually influenc'd by them.
They don't at all view him in his Pidure of
Po-zver^ pxercifing an ahfolute Will, or enforcing
Obedience by particular Rewards and Punifh-
ments. "Who but a Deiji has fuch an Idea of
E 2 God,
52 DEISM Delineated.
CHAP. God, in his reveal'd Will ? No, they look upon ^"^hj his Will, not as abfolute, or capricious, but as
^''^'^*'''^ governing by the Reafon and according to the Nature of Things, as has been fhewn -\ ; and that his -partifular Rewards and Punifhments flow from his Wifdom and Goodnefs, and will be duly put in Execution by his Juftice. The previous denouncing fuch Sanftions is a Contradiction to an arbitrary Will ; becaufe it gives every Body an Opportunity to a6l fo, as to efcape any ill EfFefls from fuch a Will. Whether there is in- deed Virtue and Goodnefs, which he denies to be in A6tions influenc'd by fuch Motives, will be confider'd in its Place,
He 'fuppofes further, that Self-Affe£lion or Regard to private Good in this World, being it- felf a vicious Motive with Regard to ferving the Publick and confulting the Good of others, as he had maintain'd before || -, fo here % the Exer- cife of that Self-Love improved-and made ftrong- er in a Subjefl of more extended Self-Inter efl, /. e. future Reward in another World, fpoke of in the Paragraph before, has a Tendency to diminijh the Affeoiions towards Publick Good or the Intereji of Society : And he confirms this by the Exam- ple of the Narrownefs of Spirit obfervable in de- vout Perfons and Zealots of every Religion. I ihall not anfwer for every devout or zealous Per- fon even of the Chriftian Religion, becaufe fe- veral exert a Zeal without Knowledge where to place it, or Prudence when to ufe it ; and there- fore the Fault is wholly in them, if they are found wanting in that, or any Inftance of Mora*
■\ Throughout Vol. I.
H CharaH. Vol. II. pag. 25. J Bid. pag.'58.
lity,
DEISM Delineated.' 53
lity, and not in the Chriftian Religion, which CHAP, infpires the contrary. ^^J^
To the reft of his Aflertions I anfwer, and hope to make appear both from the Nature of Things, and from the reveai'd Will of God, Tbai moral Obligation is founded upon Self- Affe5lion or Regard to ■private Good^ influenced and direct- ed by the /Authority of God as its Bafis. And that the Practice of Morality is primarily^ and mojl Jlrongly influenced from Motives and Confidcrations of the Good and Happinefs^ of the Agent.
By SELF-AFFECTION I mean the Affec- tion a Man regularly has, or ought to have for himfelf, in the compleat Senfe of Self. As the main Duration of his Being lies in Futurity^ his chief Good or Happinefs, or Confideration of Self muft therefore lie there- *, which he is to love and regard as the ultimate End of his A6lions. The Nature and Kind of his Good and Happi- nefs muft be according to the Nature and Kind of his Being. If that is complex in the Union of Body and Mind now, it will be more perfedl hereafter in the greater Perfedlion of both of them : If the Mind confifts of Faculties fuited to the Perception and Enjoyment of Good (fup- pofe Underftanding, Will, and Affedions) there muft be relative Objedls fuitable to thofe Facul- ties both here, and hereafter.
In order to enjoy Happinefs here and here- •after, our wife Maker has accordingly confti- tuted us reafonable, fociahle, accountable or reli- gious Creatures. To confider.the Relations we ftand in, regulate our Affedtions, diftinguifh na- tural Good from moral, true Happinefs from E 3 falfe.
54 'DEISM Delineated.
CHAP, falfe, fhort Pleafure or Pain from what is laft- ^^^- ing and more concerning, in order to reform and
^''^^^"**''^ regulate the Elefiion of the Will, and fuperin- tend all Acflion to the ultimate End as fociahle^ made to enjoy our Good not folitarily, but in So- ciety, both in this World and the next ; and being made fenfible of the fame, we are imprefs'd with natural Love and Affedion to Society, as well as to our private Selves^ as we are Accoujttable and [Religious : We fubmit our Reafon to his who gave us our Being with our Reafon, in cafe he has truly revealed any Directions to our ul- timate Happinefs, which we could not otherwife have found out ; and think ourfelves bound to underftand, and do his Will, and be affeded with the Sanations he has annex'd thereto.
Man then being conftituted to enjoy his Good or Happinefs in Society, his Good, as a fociable intelligent Agent, muft be implicated with, and conne5led to the Good of others, intelligent of their Good as we are of ours ; our Mores or Manners refpefling their Good, the Rules and Diredions concerning it, in Conjunflion with our own, makes it moral Good ; and others being fenfible of that Communication with and Refpedt had to them, gives it the Idea of Good,
But all that NecefTity, Force,Compu]fion being fet afide, which fubvert the Liberty of the Will, and for that Reafon are Contraries to Virtue and Morality, the Qualification ; and no Jefs fo to Happinefs itfelf, v/hich is the End. Since Hap- pinefs fo much depends upon the Choice of the WiU, that if it was forc*d upon, it* would infal- libly difguft a free Agent : it remains that Vir- tue and Moriility mult be the Choice of the Will,
and
\-o/^^
PEISM Delineated. 5^
and Purfuit of the Affections, as well as the Dif- CHAP, covery of the Underftanding. The Qijery then ^^^' is, .what obliges or induces to this moral Good •, or, upon what Foundation ultimately, is the OBLIGATION to it laid ? and what /^z/m it being laid ? and confequendy what is it that primarily, and mod ftrongly moves Man to it ? The true Anfwer, I prefume, is Self-AfFe6lion, or the Regard the Man has to his main Happi- nefs, as his ultimate End. And this will appear vVhether the Motive is drawn (i.) from Affedion to Society or the Publick. Or (2.) from the Rea- fon or Relation of Things. Or (^.) from the Command of God. The Obligation may be confider'd externally, as propounded to the Mind ; or internally, as laying hold of the Will, caufing its Eledion, and ftimulating to Aftion.
I. In cafe the Motive is taken from Affec- tion to the Publick, or the Good of others. That the Will may not verge the wrong Way, nor Reafon be guilty of Overfights thro' the Cor- ruption of Nature, we are provided with natural .Injiinofs and AffeBions^ to prompt the Reafon and folicit the Will to the doing beneficent, kind, and humane Aflions. And where we are the mofl obliged in the Reafon and Relation of Things, there the Affedion is the ftrongeft, proportionably to the Nearnels of the Relation. ,So that fome Adions of the grcateft Confequence to Society are fecured by three Laws, and the Performance induced by as many Motives. Pa- rents, for Inftance, are obliged not to he hitter to- wards their Children by Inftind:, by Reafon, and by the Law of God ; fo, that of honouring Fa- ther and Mother is founded in all three. The E 4. Affedion
56 DEISM Delineated.
CHAP. AfFedlion lefifens as the Sphere or Circle enlarges ^^^- from the neareft to felf^ to the outmoft Circle of
^^•^V^all, all Mankind, which is ftill SELF at the fartheft Diftance ; and tho' Man is reftrain'd from the commerce of Beneficence by the limi- tation of Power, yet he is indefeafibly entitled to the Benevolence of the Mind, and to all the good Effedls of that, as Opportunity offers. To be . defeflive therefore in, and infenfible of the obli- ging Inilinds of Nature in the nearer Spheres within our Power, is a greater Crime than to be defedive in the remoteft, and fuch a Violation of the Law of Nature, as to be "joorfe than an In- fidel -, for that is a TranfgrefTion of that Faith of Nature^ which the Heathens for the moft part flriftly obferve. Charity the moft extcnfive of all is required to be added to Brotherly-Kindnefs, i. e. the Love of thofe of the Houfhold of Faith, which is to be added to Godlinefs * as foon as we enter that Floufhold.
This Publick-Affedlion is not wholly the Gift of Nature *, for then every one would be poffefs'd of it, and where would be the Virtue ? But it is a reafonable, religious Improvement up- on the Foundation of Nature ; and is to be taught, regulated, and conduced to make it a Virtue. The Meafure by which it is to be re- gulated and conducted is the Love of ourfehes, truly confider*d and underftood ; that is cer- tainly the firft Affection and the ftrongeft Prin- . ciple in any Agent, expedted to fhew his Love to the Publick. »
Every Man is fuppofed, other Circumftances being equal, to love himfclf in the higheft De-
* 2 Pet. i. 7
gree,
DEISM Delineated; ^7
gree, preferably to all others, at all times, andCHAP. therefore not to love himfelf more at one time ■ •^^^• than another, but to the End of his Days to ^-^^Y^^ carry an Affedion to true Self, paramount to that of other?. Upon this, mutual Love is grafted, and regulated by it. Upon this Principle hu- man Society, in its prefent indigent Condition, is tied together by innumerable Ligaments : By as many Conveniencies of Life as the infinite Labour and Contrivance of Man has furnifhed for the Gratification of Self-AfFedion, and fup- plying thofe Wants which no Man is fufEcienc to of himfelf -, but are readily furnifh'd by mu- tual Ufefulnefs and correfponding Commerce. And whilft the Self-Affedion of one Man is juft and honeft, civil and complaifant to the Self- Affedion of all other Men, he enjoys all the Good of Society.
In A(5ls of Beneficence and publick Spirit the Thoughts of Self-Advantage muft be difcarded, in one Senfe •, that is, if the Adion is done merely, or principally out of a Profpeft of Vain- glory, to be talk'd of by Cotemporaries, or Af- ter-Ages (and who can tell whether the cele- brated Deed of Regulus had any other Motive? *) This is an irregular ferving ourfelves, and not
* As to any other Pretence of being a Virtue fee a few Pages after. LaSiant. de falfa Sapientia, Lib. III. cap. 26. according to his ufual Eloquence, obferVes of this fort oi falfe Virtue, Ita Jit ut nihil aliud ex ^virtute captetur niji Gloria. Sed hac aut fufewacua^ •fif hre'uis ejly aut prams hominum judiciis non fequenda. Nullus igitur ex "virtute fruSus eji, ubi •virtus mor talis eji, is" caduca. Ita qui hac locuti funt^ mnhram quandam 'virtutis 'viderunt, ipfam 'virtutem non 'vide- runt. Defixi enim fuerunt in t err am ', nee niultusfuos erigebanty ut earn pojjknt intueri j quce fife a call regionihtis oflendebat.
the
^8 DEISM Delineated.
CHAP- the Publick. Though we fhould give all our XVI. Goods to the Poor, or lay down our Lives for the
^*'^'''''^^'*'^ Brethrejt^ if we have not a real Love for the Poor and confcientioufly intend their Good ; or, if we have no Fidelily to the Chriftian Caufe, nor defign the Confirmation of that glorious Faith ; we have no Charity, either to Man, or God ; we ferve not the Publick, but our own Vanity altogether.
But if we take in the due Confideration of Self-Affedion, what we (hall be benefitted in this Life or the next ; by loving the Publick and ferving it when we are called, to bear fome La- bour, Hazard, or Expence ; when we confider that the Enjoyment of our Good and Happinefs in Society here runs parallel with the Happinefs and Profperity of that Society : Tho* every Sub- je(5l has a natural Right, by the Appointment of God, to Happinefs in Society, and for that Rea- fon every fupreme Magiftrate is called the Mi- 7iijler of God to that Subjedl for good ; yet as Pri- vate Good is embarqu'd in the Ship of Publick Good, every one in Society is bound to pro- mote the Happinefs of others as well as him- felf, and by doing fo has a Claim from the So- ciety, as well as from God, for fecuring his own ', and confequently forfeits that Right to his own Welfare, by difturbing, or intercepting that of others ; (put by confuking both we are laying up a good Foundation moreover againfb the Time to come, and (htll reap hereafter ac- cording to the Plenty or Spare of our fowing here •, what Opportunity fiiould we decline, or Danger flinch from, when we fee ourfelves like to reap the Advantage of it r If we liave not our Rccoaip'jnce here, wc are fure of it here- after.
DEISM Delineated. $g
after, for whatever we may lofe, or poftpone inCHAP, the various Ways of doing good to others ; fee- ^^^il. ing a Cup of cold JVater fhall not mifs of its Re- ^^ ward.
This is regarding our Citizenjhip as we oiJght to do, in both Stages of our Being ; here we have no continuing Ci:y, living upon bits and crumbs of broken Happinefs ; in the immove- able fucceeding one is the happy Society, when we fljall fit down with Abraham, Ifaac, and Ja- cob to a full Meal of Happinefs, where Charity never faileth, thither we are bid to aim, and have our Eye and Converfation principally turn'd to. There is the Publick, all good Men are invited to partake in, and therein feek their Advantage for ever. And the more they feek it, the more their Benevolence flows, the more their Endea- vours flourilli for promoting the Good of others here. Thofe Motives of another World being the appointed Balance againft the Exorbitancy of every earthly Paflion, to keep it from degene- rating to a Selfifhnefs, inconfiftent with the Good of others ; and that lafting regard to felf there, recovers us to the true Love of ourfelves and others here ; preventing the ill Effects and Dif- orders arifing from falje Self-Intereft, Ambition, Envy, Avarice, Revenge, Malice, Inju^ice, Op- preffion, Fraud, i^c. So far is it from being Selfifj^ Mercenary, or Servile to be moved and induced by thefe Rewards in performing the re- lative Duties of Society, that nothing can begin, or perfect them fooner -, inftead of irfenfibh di- mimjhifig the AJfetlion towards publick Good or Jh- tereji of Society^ as this Author impeaches, it !crn- fibly and moil mightily tends to augment and advance it.
Besides,
6o DEISM Delineated;
CHAP. XVI. Besides, if true Self-affeflion is the Meafure
^^'^^^^^^^and Standard of publick Affeftion, how fhould that be vicious, or depraved, or defedive, or de- ferving to be excluded, which is to meafure out the Virtue, Proportion and Quantity of the other ? For fhould publick AfFeftion run fo high, in voluntary Oblations, as to throw away Life in a miftaken Notion of ferving others (no Law of God or Defence of the Community requiring it) it ought to be branded as ridiculous, romantick, , nay, as a Crime againft the Publick, being in Truth a Violation of that Self Affedlion and Pre- fervation whereon the Publick fubfifts : An In- creafe of fuch Inftances would be its Ruin, as the Care of every Individual duly preferving felf^ and referving to commanded Occafions, is its common Prefervation. So facred and perfonal is Prefervation to the Intereft and Happinefs of SELF, that in equal Circumftances, it takes place of regard to all others ; and at Years of Difcretion is unalienable ; as is every Man's pri- vate Judgment of the ejfential Means tending to that End.
What is the Publick to any private Perfon unlefs his Intereft and Good is included fo as to enjoy in Partnerlhip with it, contentedly fhare- ing Profit and Lofs, according to his Station ? The Comforts and Benefits he confults to him- fclf, are propofed only to be enjoy'd in concert with the Good of cxhers, which together with himfelf make the Whole. Does not the diligent Bee, whilft it is clubbing its particular Induftry and Fidelity to its Publick, propofe to enjoy in Winter the Fruits of Summer toil, as fecurely as the bell of them ? When true Self- advantage
moves
DEISM Delineated. 6t
moves and flimulates to Adion with this Regu-C H A F. lation and Deference, it moves as God, and Na- v^il> ture, and Society would have it, the Man is per- ^^'"^^^^""^ forming the Condition of his Bond, both to God, and Society -, in Spite of what the faid Author affirms as above. No Creature can he conftdered otherwife [than vicious] when the Pajfion towards Self-goody though ever fo moderate^ is his real Mo- tive. And when it moves in that moderate fub- ordinate Sphere, the more diligent we are in that Purfuit, the truer we are to the Publick, as well as ourfelves.
For if the Good of the Publick confifts ia the aggregate Good of fo many Particulars as that Publick confifts of, when every one purfues his own Profperity in Connexion with that of others, every one promotes his own and others at the fame time ; and fo doing right to every Man, and himfelf, takes the right way of pro- * moting the Profperity of the whole. And when the Love of Self joins, as it always ought, to make it true Intereft or Love of Self, with the Love of others, the Adlion is carried on and performed fo much the better, with the Increafe . of a double Power of two Motives, both Social, Rational, and Virtuous. Nor is Self-advantage any, Bribe to the Action, becaufe that Confide* ration is part of the Adion, and part of the Vir- tue ; the principal Stake, and the Primum Mo* hile, moving every Man to a6t what is beft for himfelf, both in his Publick, and Private Capa- city.
The Advancement of Self-happinefs is the «/- timate End ; and the fincere Endeavours of every one jointly in his Sphere, to promote the Hap-
pineft
6t DEISM Delineated.
CHAP, pineft of others, are the Means fubordinate to ic ^/^lij^y the Appointment of God. By fuch Means a ^^^^*^ Man may merit of Society \ but neither by the Means, nor the End can he merit of God •, be- caufc both were his Duty -, and as fucb will meet with the Approbation of God, himfelf, and all wife Men.
I CONCLUDE therefore that the Motive or mo- ral Obligation to that fociable Action or Virtue has the Self-good and Happinefs of the Agent, in its true Senfe, for its Bafis. To feparate that and expel it out of the Adtion as excentrick, is to call a Damp upon publick Good, and put afunder what God and Nature have join*d toge- ther. The Prudence and Self-Approbation of the Agent will always be grounded upon a joint Promotion of the Good of each, and in the Ne- gleft of neither. And though the Praife and * Efteem of others, whether cotemporary, or in diftant Times, refpe(5ls the Agent only from tTie Good others receive from his Aftion, yet thole Admirers muft fuppofe the other Confideration to make it prudent, and compleat the Glory of it ; • according to that Maxim, If thou art IVife^ thou Jhali be Wife for thyfelf^ Pro v. ix. 12.
No body therefore denies what our Author fays when he further explains himfelf, Mifcellan. Reflet. * *' That for a Creature whofe natural '* End is Society [he ftiould have faid Happinefs *' in Society] to operate as is by Nature [better^ *' by the God of Nature] appointed him tozuards •' the Good of fuch his Society, or Whole, is in " reality to purfue his own natural and proper
f Charafts Vol. III. pag. 22%.
<' Good,
PEISM Delineated. 65
** Good. And that to opersitt contrary-wifey orCHAP, *' by fuch Affeftions as fever from that com- ^^h. " mon Good, or publick Intereft, is in reality, ^'"^''^^ *' io work towards bis own natural and ;propr V III."
And thus with refped to Puhlick Spirit ^ and Generofity^ every Perfon, in every Station of Life, rfnay perform Heroick A6lions, according to his Sphere ; or in the Words of an ingenious Wri- ter "f", " No external Circumftances of Fortune, " no involuntary Difadvantages, can exclude *' any Mortal from the moji heroick Virtue, For " how fmall foever the Moment of publick Good ** be, which any one can accon[)plifh, yet if his *' Abilities are proportionably fmall, the ^O' «* tienty which exprefles the Degree of Virtue^ ** may be as great as any whatfoever. Thus ** not only the Prince, the State/man, the Gene- *' ral, are capable of true Heroif?n,' tho* thefe ** are the chief Charaders, whofe Fame is dif- *' fufed through various Nations and Ages ; but " when we find in an i>oneJi Trader^ the kind *' Friend , the faithful prudent Advifer^ the cha- •' ritable and hofpitable Neighbour, the tender Huf- *' band and affectionate Parent, the fedate yet " chearful Companion, the generous Affijiant of ** Merit, the cautious Allayer of Contention and *' Debate, the Promoter of Love and good Under- ** y?*?;?^^';?^ among Acquaintances ; ifweconfider, " that thefe were all the good Offices which his *' Station in the World gave him an Opportu- ** nity of performing to Mankind, we muft •* judge this Chara^er really as amiable^ as thofe,
f Inquiry conctrning moral Good and Evil, hy Hutchefon, pag. 194.
" whofe
64 DEISM Delineated:
CHAP." whofe external Splendor dazzles an injudi- ^^}^ " cious World into an Opinion ibal they are the "^^^V^ « only Heroes in Virtue:*
But publick Spirit or Love of Country in Governors and Rulers of Society, befides Care at home, has a larger Extent of Confcience and Sphere of Duty with regard to other Countries (and almoft all other Countries, by Navigation, are Neighbours to a maritime Power.) For as their private. Kingdom is but as one Individual in refped to all others ; fo, when no Injury is offer'd, mediately or immediately, none ought to be done purely to the Advantage or Extent of Empire of that particular Kingdom ; that being a vicious 'Self-love, a kind of Piety to Country that is really impious, being a Sin againft univerfal Benevolence, the publick Spirit or Humanity due to the Rights of all Men, and confequenrly fuch a Love of Country like the Rojnans *, and lately the grand Monarch, which gloried in the Conqueft of innocent Neighbours, was as unfit to be recommended by the Gofpel, as Piracy, or Robbery: The Romans terminated their Virtues to this World, and whilft they were feverally free Agents incorporating themfelvesto that End, they became Inftruments in the Hand of Providence for mighty Purpofes, in taking Provinces of the World from others and giving to them ; that being their View and their Heaven to enlarge the Bounds of Empire, to enjoy their own Liberty, and take away that of other Peo- ple. The Virtues fubfervient to that End were Roman Virtues, full of Renown. And fo long
* Quae omnia non utique Virtutes, fed Virtutum funt ever- fiones. Vid. La^. Lib. VI. cap. 6.
DEISM Delineated; 6^
as they pradifed them more Majorum, as a Law CHAP, and Fafhion of a Roman, i. e. with a Thirft o[,^^J^ publick* Glory, join'd to a Contempt of private Wealth and Luxury, they increafed in Empire ; kept that, and Liberty*: But as faft as Cor- ruption enter'd, loft both with the fame Pace, they advanced in each. But the Virtuq of Greai Briiain and its Rulers is much more glorious in placing itfelf in the reverfe ; who, having it in their Power, according to that certain Maxim of TuUy, ^i mare tenet, eum necejfe eft RERUM potiri, (And is there any other Empire upon this Globe fo large as the Ocean ? Or fo fitted to hold the Balance of at leaft Europe, Africa, and America ?) YeC religioufly abftain from encroach- ing upon any of the Rights and Liberties of any of their Neighbours ; placing the very Honour and.Confcience of their Dominion, in preferving the Peace, and preventing any dangerous En- croachment, one upon another, among neigh- bouring and refpedful Nations.
It is commonly faid, that Compaffion, Grati' tude, Frlendfhip, are difinterefted, and have not their Motives from ' Self-advantage ; which is true in a comparative Senfe ; that there is lefs Confideration of immediate Self in them, than in other fociable Efforts : But ftill Self moves in each of them, and not at all to their Difparage- ment. Thefe Benevolences are originally found- ed in Inftindl, or that Affedion to Society plant- ed in us, as their Source ; and are cultivated by Reafon and ConGderation : For as mucfe as fome
* Patriae rem unufquifque, non fuam, augeri properabat, pauperque-in divite, qiiam dives in paupers imperio verfari inalebat. Vat. Mtijc. Lib IV. cap. 4.
-Vol. II F Pcrfona
66 DEISM Delineated^
CHAP. Perfons degenerated from Humanity and Reafon XVI. are found void of them. Notwithftanding thefe
^'^^/'^^^ Inftinfls and Affections for Society are as necef- fary to folicit Reafon to do good to the Publick, as Hunger, and Third, and Wearinefs, arc ef- fential to put Reafon, otherwife forgetful, in mind of providing for the Nourifhment and Sup- port of the Individual.
The firft very naturally and inftantaneoufly flioots up from the univerfal Root of Inftindl, for refcuing from thofe Evils our common Na- ture is liable to •, nor can any refufe it to a pro- per Objeft, but fuch as are loft to Humanity, The aflifting fuch unhappy Objefls is fo far from oppofing Self-affe£tion, that it is an adlual re- lief to its Commotions ; a probable Security moreover of the like Ufage under our Misfor- tunes •, and without doubt a well-pleafing Sacrifice of Thankfgiving to God, that we have hitherto efcaped.
Gratitude has its Foundation likewife in Nature, and in fuch a vehement Attradion to Benevolence, and reciprocal Returns to the Be- nefaftor, according to our Ability -, and fo ftrong an Impulfe upon the Will, that it is in a manner irrefiftible ; if any thing can be faid to conjlrain and compel it, it is that, and that is faid of the Love of Chrijl conferr'd upon Man. And are not thofe Returns both in Nature, and Grace, the moft generative and produdlive of frelh Be- nefits ? and can Self forget that ?
Friendship is very often grounded in a na- tural Affinity and Cognation of Souls, from a perceiv'd Similitude of Manners and Difpofi-
tions :
I3iEISM Delineated. 67
tlons : We cannot chufe the Nearnefs of our CHAP. Blood, whilft an Union as near, and dear, and ^^^i. faithful, is frequently chofen ; and that lives ^'v^^ and fubfifts upon mutual Kindnefles and a Reci- procation of good OiEces, which fuppofes Self on both fides. But what an incoherent recoiling Obje61;ion does Chara^eriJHcks bring againft Cbrijiianiiy, becaufe it does not exprefsly allot extraordinary Reward hereafter for extraordinary Friendfhip between two particular Perfons here? Does not that reftrain and confine his own boaft- ed Benevolence, which he makes fo generally obligatory ? And can he confidently declare that to be fo particularly rewardable, which is a ma- nifeft and fometimes vicious Limitation of, and Exception to his own Principle ? It is a fign he was hard put to it for Obje6lions, when he makes ufe of fuch. Do not thofe Friendfhips mutually reward themfelves, when that peculiar Relation happens to be forrn'd by a Confent and Harmony of Minds , mutual Efieeniy and reciprocal Tendernefi and Affeolion^ by blazoning Fame and making two Heroes ? Does Chriftianity, which in all things improves Nature, forbid it ? Does it not leave Nature to its own Attra6tion in Simi-^ Ittudes, when they happen to concur ? And are there not accordingly Inftances of fuch particular dear Friendfhip among Chriftians ; whilft that Religion nobly enlarges the Affection, and would bring all Mankind into the Sphere of its Attrac- tion ? And is not the Inftance of the greateil Friend to Mankind our Saviour^s dying for Ene- mies, illuftrated from that very Exception he brings againft the Apoftle ? Rom. v. 7. *
'^'CharaSi. Vol I. pag. 102. ,
F 2 Did
6S DEISM Delineate^.
CHAP. XVI.
Did not their very Enemies, with great Ad- miration, give that Charadler of the primitive ChrilVians, See how they love one another ? And does not Simplicius, who has wrote fo very well upon Friendlhip, declare, " That a few In- *' ftances would be fome Comfort in this mife- '* rable Age •, when the Vices and Vilenefs of " Mankind feem to have baniflied it almoft quite " out of the World : * " Confequently, that fix or /even Pair of Friends in fo many Ages are mention'd as an extraordinary Thing. Whereas it was fo common and fo much better enlarg*d among Chriftians, it has fcarcc been thought worth mentioning.
So much, in all thefe Refpe6ls, is private Good and Advantage affianc'd with, and con- nected to the Good we do unto others.
II. Suppose the Motive drawn from the Re- lation, and Reafonablenefs of Things. This in fome Refped: coincides with the former. In one, the Agent is confider'd as he ftands affe5ied, in the other, as he is related to Society. But this takes in the Fitnefs and Congruity of the Ac- tion, and derives the Motive and Obligation upon the Agent from the Confideration of his being fo and fo ftation'd and circumftanced in Life, equally excluding, with the former, Self- Advantage or Happinefs as a faulty Principle. This is true, like the former, but not the whole Truth of the Cafe, that gives Force to the Mo- tive, Spring to the Adion, and a Tie to the Obligation, according to the STANDARD of Nature.
* Com. on Epi£I. Chap, xxxvii.
^ For
DEISM Delineated^ 69
CHAP. For what is Fttnefs and Congruity as applied ^^^^^. to Adlion, but a relative Name and Confidera- ■'"^ tion of that Adion, as it has a Tendency, and is adapted to feme End and Purpofe ? All Adion has fome End, and every Agent is fuppofed to propofe that in the firjl Place, as his Mark, to give a Scope and View to v/hat he is doing. Fit- nefs then muft be in the Nature of a Means to attain, or a Salification to enjoy that End."
Now the End is aftually fix*d and dated by the WILL of God, who is likewife fuppofed to have propofed it, as the Scope of his ^yorks and the Purpofe of his Ading. The End being fix'd, the Means and Qualifications refpeding that End are likewife fix'd, and connected toge- ther infeparably in the Nature of Things he has made j nor can any Agent make any Alteration either in the End, or the Means. If therefore he chufes and defigns the End, he is neceffarily and invariably obliged to chufe and purfue the Means in order to it.
To have RefpeU unto the Recompence of Re- ward, is to confider the ultimate End of our Ac- tions, and intend the Glory, Fruition, or Vifion of God -, and if the Virtue of Righteoufnefs and true Holinefs^ or Holinefi of Truths Eph. iv. 24. is the preparative Qualification and improveable Image of God for that Enjoyment, that End muft be the fupreme Meafure and Obligation of all our moral Aftions ; as the Conformity of our particular fubordinate Adions to the feveral Laws and Rules of Virtue (all being to many Direc- tions and Cautions to that End) conftitutes their particular and fpecial Morality,
F 3 That
<y6 DEISM Delineated! i\
CHAP.
,^^.^^^ That Reference to the End therefore feems to be the Standard to the Agent, both of the Reafonablenefs, and Morality of his Adlion : And not the Agreement of his Acflion to the Relation or Circumftance he is plac'd in. That indeed founds the Reafon of relative Duties ; but what makes thofe Duties moral is the Fitnefs and Re- ference of them, chofen as fuch, to the End God appointed them, Happinefs. The bare Know- ledge and Apprehenfion of the Relation of Things does not induce the Agent to aft, unlefs the faid End of Happinefs to himfelf, and others, is propofed from his afling according to that Relation. And when the A6lion has attain*d that End, or truly intended it, it is morally good ; and is, at the fame time, a Conformity to the fupreme Reafon^ which has appointed thofe bell Anions to thofe beft Ends : And the divine Will and Commandments are fo many Dire6lions of our Aflions to the Happinefs of purfelves and others, in both Worlds.
What other, or what better End could the Fountain of all Self-goodnefs and Happinefs pro- pofe, in making Man, than to communicate //^/j- finefs to him^ according to the Nature and Fa- culties he had given him ? The very Glory of Goodnefs confills' in coiitmunicating itfelf, nor could it otherwife ever have been known. Man then being made a free Agent, and a fodahle Creature ; to make his Happinefs confident wich, and fuitable to his Nature, it mud be the Refult of his Choice ; and enjoyable alfo in So- cieiy : Imperfedly enjoyable in this Life, more compleatly in the next. And what wifer or bet- ter Choice can he poffibly make, than of that
End
DEISM Delineated; 71
End and that Happinefs which his Maker hasCHAP. chofen for him, and laid before him for his Ac- ^V'- ceptance or Refufal ? But what greater Enforce- ^"^^Y^^ ment of, or Obligation to his Good, can be laid upon him, for determining and obliging his Will to Acceptance, than fuch a Choice laid before him ?
Be there never fo many different Opinions about Happinefs (as what it is in the prefent Life, where it is neceflarily mix'd and imperfeft, there muft ever be different Sentiments, and as many Judgments as Taftes of Pleafure, and but one Truih\o unite in, viz. that Happinefs which is fubordihate and leads to the total or ultimate Happinefs hereafter) if the Author of our Being and Faculties, who beft knows what is beft for us in both Worlds, has fhew'd us our Good and Happinefs in each, all Believers of his Revela- tion mufl fubfcribe to his Truths and Rules con- cerning it : And all others will for ever be at a Lofs without it.
If Happinefs then is the natural, ultimate End of Man, and that End is chofen, that go- verns and obliges to the Choice of the Means ; and the Reference to and Confideration of the End muft be the Motive in chufing and purfuing the Means : the Means will accordingly be cho- fen not fo much for their own Sake, as for the Sake of the End. And as God, the Patron of our particular Happinefs, and of Society, or ge- neral Happinefs, has tied and connected fuch and fuch Aftions in Society to general, and particu- lar Happinefs in it here, and hereafter -, and that Happinefs depends upon the Performance of fuch Adfions by natural Confequence, or by F A ills
72 DEISM Delineated.
CHAP, his Appointment ; then the Performance of them
XVI. is a necejfar'j Means or Qualification for the End •,
v^v^^^and in Regard to that, the Agent is induced and
obliged to obferve and do them, becaufc he can*t
obtain his End without it.
And becaufe necejfavj to attain that End, that fhews the Fitnefs, Congruity^ Reafonahlenefs^ Or^ der^ and Beauty of the Adion -, as Beauty con- fifts in a due Proportion of the Means to the End, and likewife the Agreement of the A<5lion to fuch a Relation or Circumftance of Life. If the A6tion had not been neceflary to the End, it had neither been beautiful, nor orderly, nor rea- fonable, nor fit : But as it is indifpenfably ne- ceflary, that renders it // to be done, becaufe it fo exa6lly fits the End -, reafonable^ becaufe it would be abfurd to think of the End without it ; orderly as fubordinate ; beautifidy as proportion^ to it.
Take away Happinefs, the End to which it tends, it produces nothing : What then becomes of tho'e fine Charafters Fitnefs^ Reafonablenefs^ &c. Do they refide in the Means without the End ? Then the A6lion is fit and reafonable, be- caufe it is fit and reafonable, ^c. i. e. for no Reafon ; if no End is applied, no Reafon is ofFer'd, nolnftance alledg'd of its Fitnefs ; what is this but a fpeculative reding in the Means without "the End, and a Recommendation of them without any Refpeft unto it ? The Obli- gation therefore, or Inducement to the Adion, does not derive from dry Truth, Relation of the Agent, Fitnefs ; but in relative Truth, called Ho- linfs cf Truth, Eph. iv. 24. as it is in the Mar- gih J holy Manners are cxpeded from holy
Faith,
DEISM Delineated; 7j
Faith, as a pure Effedt is from a pure Caufe,CHAP.' that one fhould enlighten and enliven the other XVI. before Men. Fitnefs, as it agrees with and is''"^^'^^ fuited to the End, makes the Means to be emr braced, and purfued into Adion.
God has made the Relation and Tendency be<» tween the Means and the End ; and therefore commanded moral Good becaufe it is naturally good, tends to, and qualifies for Happinefs : And has prohibited moral Evil as it leads to Mi- fery •, and as Mifery and Happinefs are ejfentially different, fo there is an ejfential Difference be- tween the other. And thofe natural and immu- table Tendencies, make the natural and immu- table Law of purfuing the one, and avoiding the other. The Agent therefore chufing the Ac- tion not as an End, but a Means in Reference to Happinefs, makes the moral Good j he co-ope- rates with God in chufing the fame End with him, and chufing and adapting the fame Means. His Mores to God, and Society, are regulated as they ought to be, and therefore his Adion is 7noraUy Good. The Ad:ion of itfelf is a natural Good produdive of natural Happinefs -, but as it is chofen for the Sake of the Happinefs, it be- comes a moral Good, produdive of Happinefs fuitable to, and chofen by a moral Agent. The Tie of the Obligation is faften'd from the Endy to the Choice of the Agent's Will, moving to and embracing the Means in refpeft to the End, whether the Obligation is confider'd with fomc externally, as proceeding from the Law or Com- mand of thoftj that require the Adion ; or f«- fe^nally with others, as inherent in the Agent.
Why
74 DEISM Delineated:
CHAP.
yj^^i^ Why then (hould that be laft, or lead in the Adion, which God and Nature has made firft and ereateft in it •, firft in the Intention, and greateft in the Execution ? He that duly confiders the End will never do amifs. The propofing the external Motives of Happinefs or Mifery, Life or Death, is fetting the End of the A<5lion be* fore the Agent, that he may condud himfelf ac- cordingly.
Or, if the Adion is confider'd as a Salifica- tion for enjoying the End, Happinefs ; which Qualification is as neceffary in the Nature of Things, as "Tajle is to a Palate : That introduces the moral Tafie, which feems to be a Tafting our own Happinefs in Society, and at the fame Time tafting the Happinefs of Society.
It remains therefore that Happinefs is the Eftimate and Criterion of the moral Tajie^ Fit- nefiy Relation^ 'Truth *, Beauty^ Goodnefs^ Obliga- tiofiy uipprobatioMy Reafonablenefs. And confe-
quently
* Happinefs as an End is the Choice of the Will, and that End muft have Means fuitable to it ; and thofe Means being fix'd, and immoveably fettled by the God of our Nature in the Refpefts or Relations of Perfons to Perfons, or Perfons to Things, in their Circumftances, as his Providence orders them, that makes the Truth of Things : Which the Author of the Religion of Nature delin. has made the Foundation of his valuable Book. Tho' in making MoraUty confill in re- fpefting Truth, as Truth, he plainly carries the Matter too far. Becaufe all Truth as fuch being equal, all Truth would be equally important ; and every Adiion regarding any fort of Truth would be moral ; and no Difference in moral Ac- tions. It muft therefore be thofe Truths, which one way or other refpeft tlie Good and Happinefs of ourfelves, or others^^ that concern a moral Agent, or can come under a moral Con-
iideration;,
DEISM Delineated. 75:
quently that the Difpute has been about Words, C H AP» which receive their full and ultimate Meaning ^j^i^ from the other ; and are all reconciled in it. >^^v^
What is Pnhlick-Affenion but multiplying the Love of Self, by the Rule and Order of Ci- iizenjhi]) in both Worlds ?
What is the moral Tafle^ but that Hunger and Third in our Nature after Happinefs ; di- re6led to llighteoufnefsy in order to accomplifh it, and be fatisfied ?
What
fideration, as Means to that End ; if they offer true Means to that End, they cure Ignorance and Miilake ; but it is the Office of the Underftanding to diftinguifti of that as its pro- per Objeft. The Underftanding is the mental Eye of the Agent to fee his Way to the End : But it is not the Eye that moves the Feet to walk in the Way, but the Will ; Self- motion fprings from that, and that is the only moral Agent in the Man, and when it chufc» an A£lion or Means to that End, it becomes moral.
He (kysipag. 52, the trueft Definition of Natural Religion is. The Pur/uit ofHappinefs by the FraSiice of Reafon and Truth, It is plain then, that he very rightly makes Happinefs the lEnd of his Truth : But the Praiike of Reafon and Truth feems a very unaccurate Expreffion ; had he faid chufmg true Means by the Difcernment of Reafon, and putting them in praftke to that End, he would have made his Truth both eligible and prafticable, and fo brought it into Morality. His Syftem of Truth is vaftly beholden to Revelation, tho' unacknow- ledg'd, and made all to proceed from a mere Philofopher : But what Philofopher before the Appearance of the Gofpel ever taught fome of thofe Truths, or put any of them in fuch a Light as they appear in that Book ?
However the Deills have no Reafon, as I doubt fome of them think they have, to plume themfelves upon it ; for they can find no Arguments there to contradiSl Revelation ; but they may pleale to read their own Condemnation in thele Words of the Author. " Here I begin to be very fenfible
" how
y6 DEISM Delineated,
CHAP. XVI. What is the Faculty of Reafon given for,
^^'^^^'^^but to find out Truth, and the Relation of Things, and Perfons, as they affe5l and concern our Happinefs ? Speculative Truth, and Rela- tion * may ferve for Contemplation, and enter- tain the Faculty hereafter, when it is more at leifure. But now is the Scene of Adion, Proba- tion, and Diftindion of the Ways and Means which lead to our End. Tho* it (hews the Will the Reafonahlenefs of the Adion never fo clearly from Truth and the Relation of Things, it only clears the Eye- fight of video meliora proboq\ the Judgment is often convinc*d, and the Man no Convert. But the Will is guided mofl in its Choice by the Motive, and gain'd by the Con- fideration of Advantage and Happinefs \ and that, which is eternal^ is adapted to influence moft, and prefer that Choice as moll reafonable, which makes it an Agent to the bejl Purpofe.
«* how much I want a Guide. But as the Religion of Nature ** is my Theme, I muft at prefent content myfelf with that ** Light which Nature affords; my Bufmefs being, as it ** feems, only to Ihew what a Heathen Philofopher without " any other help, and almoft ttV7t)Ji'Jhi.KTQ; may be fup- " pofed to think. I hope that neither the doing this, nor any " thing elfe contain'd in this Delineation can be the leaft Pre- " judice to any other true Religion. Whatever is immediately " re'veal'd from God, muft, as well as any Thing elfe, be " treated as being nvhat it is ; which cannot be, if it '\s nojt ' ** treated with the higheft Regard, believed and obeyd. That
" therefore which has been fo much inhfted on by me, and is «* as it were the Burden of my Song, is fo far from under- «• mining true repeat d Religion, that it rather paves the Way «' for its Reception." fag. 211.
* See the prefent Dean of Chrifl-Churclh Anfwer to Chri- ftianity as old, &cq. pag, 245.
So
DEISM Delineated. 77
C H A P.
S o high as you can lay the Suppofition or De- ,^^}1m fign of fixing fuch an End, and conftituting ^'^^'^' fuch a Society, or Syftem, fo high you may place the Relation, Fitnefs and Obligation : One will be immutable and eternal in the fame Senfe the other is. But the a5lual Commencement' of the Relation, Fitnefs, and Obligation, can be no older than the firft beginning of fuch a Syftem, or Society •, being no more in Fa(ft and Reality than the Confequence of the adual Exiftence of fuch Beings.
I F the WILL of God is the Meafure of his Power in giving Exiftence to fuch a Syftem, and like wife of his Goodnefs in communicating Happinefs, and fixing that for the End ; which muft be granted, unlefs you affirm he is a necef- fan, not a free Agent with refpedl to the Ef- -fedls either of his Power, or Goodnefs ; and if the £nd was fix'd by his Will, and that End is Happinefs, then all Notion of Arbitrarinefs is fhut out from hisy^'iW.
And as the End determines the Means, and he could not will any Means inconfiftent with the End that he had willed, then the moral Vir- tues proceed likewife from, and are fix^d by his Will, as well as the End. Then the moral Rea- fon, Relation, and Fitnefs of Things feem to depend upon his Will^ and not his Will upon them for its Determination *, feeing they receiv'd their' confequent Being, Exiftence, and Confti- tution, from the previous Determination of that Will. Wifdom and Power being eternally at- tendant upon that Will when it has a Mind to a^ ; ever knowing what is beft, fecures the ever
willing
j9 DEISM Delineated.
CHAP- willing what is beft ; ever willing what is beft XVI. eftablifhes eternal Holinefs, out of which arifes ^■^V^^ eternal Goodnefs and Juftice ; out of thsm arife his Commands, which are holy, juft and good.
Concerning thofe other Perfeflions, the Exercife whereof " depends upon his [God's] *' J^ill ; fuch are his Juftice, Veracity, Good- *' nefs, Mercy, and all other moral Perfedions ; " the abfolute Immutability of thefe is not in- *' deed fo obvious and felf-evident ; becaufe it " depends on the Unchangeablenefs, not only of *' his EJfence^ but of his IFtll alfo. Neverthe- *' lefs, upon careful Confideration, the Unchange- " abknefs of thefe likewife will no lefs certainly " appear: Becaufe in a Being who always knows " what is right to* be done, and can never pof- *' fibly be deceiv'd, or aw'd, or tempted, or " impofed upon ; his general IVill or Intention, " of doing always what is beft and moft fit and *' right, will in Reality, though not upon* the •' fame Ground of natural Necejfity^ yet in Event, *' and upon the whole, be as certainly and truly *' unchangeable^ as his very Eftence itfelf — With " the Father of Lights, there is no Variablenefs " nor Shadow of Turning.*" The fupreme Per- feftion is the Meafure of all Things : Return eji index fui^ ohliqiii.
And if that is the Re5fitude of the divine Will to be ever fteddy to Good, and determin'd to that which is befi in the whole, in the Conftitu- tion of Things he has willed ; the moral At- tributes feem to flow from that, as their Foun- tain ; his eflential Holinefs is his effential, yet
• Dr. ClarK%?ojihu7noui Serm. Vol. I. pag. 147, 148.
free
DEISM Delineated. 7^
free Adherence to Good. For whatever is morale H A P, in God, or Man, muft have JVill and Choke for ^^jl, its Root and Origin. The Choice or Energy ^'^V^ of the Will, the univerfal Principle of moral A6lion, authenticates the Adion, and denomi- nates it moral ; chufing, God leading the Way to (hew what is, and is not Good, what he marks, diftinguifhes, and direds to be fo, and avoiding what he difapproves and forbids, fo thac Will to Good is the fame in kind in God, in An- gels and in Men, tho' they differ in Degree, i, e. in Adherence to Good. Man's Degree is to he Followers of God as dear Children : — Rom. xii. 4. Abhorring that which is Evil, cleaving to thai which is Goo^jfuitable to his diminutive Human Capacity, And as the whole of Morality feems to be a Syftem of pr apical Means and Ends, graduated into feveral intermediate Ends, and all fubordinate to the ultimate End ; the Rule of Morality, Good and Evil, Right and PFrong^ Fitnefs and Unjitnefs, feems to be fix'd in the fix*d Refped of the Means to the End ; intend- ed, chofen, and put in pradice for the Sake of the Ends that are intermediate, and that which is ultimate. And the Gradation of Good and Evil, Right and Wrong, &c. will arife, as the Means affedl it, i. e. promote, or hinder the me- diate, or ultimate End : The laft being the greateft Concern to the Agent. And the Difiinc- iion pf Good and Evil, ^c. will confift and be ji}c'd in the fix'd Suitablenefs or Agreement, Dif- agreement or Contrariety, of the Means to the rcfpedive Ends. And that Diftindion will be as durable, and immutable, as the Will of God has aftually fix'd the ultimate End and Enjoy- ment of Happinefs in another World, and the fubordinate End or Tafte of it in this, for every
Member
Jo DEISM Delineated.
CHAP. Member of Society ; and immutably conne«5ted »vJ^v^ the Means to the Ends. And as God governs '^^"^ by the Truth and Righteoufnefs of that Rule, and by the Improvements made to it by his re- veal'd Will •, that Rule, with the Improve- ments, where difcover'd, is a fix'd Law both to God, and Man. And confequently Righteouf- nefs, Truth, Love of Virtue, and Hatred of Sin, i^c. in the Proceedings of Men, will be of the fame kind in the Proceedings of God, but of a larger Compafs,
Commands therefore refulting from his Will being always fo laid in the Nature and Rela- tions of Things, as to confult the beft, i: e, Happinefs of the moral Agent, he governs ac- cording to his free Choice of Happinefs ; it is much the fame Thing to fay, the Thing com- manded is finally holy, jufl:, and good to that Creature, becaufe he commands it, as to fay be- caufe it is holy, juft and good in its own Nature to that Creature, therefore he commands it. Since the Fitnefs of Things does not exift before the IVill of God, to difpute whether the Fitnefs of Things, or the Will of God obliges, is a Difpute only of Words. The Goodnefs of Things confifts in their Fitnefs for anfwering the Ends they were appointed to ; the Goodnefs and Virtue of Agents in this World appear in re- gulating their Adions in Conformity to the Will of God, which has chofen and fitted fuch and fuch Adions to the final Happinefs he has con- ftituted Man to ; and to confult that in his moral Conduct, is the fame Thing as to confult the Glory of God, or the Glory of fuch an Ap- pointment. Such a moral Fitnefs of the Means relative to his own Happinefs, the End accord- ing
DEISM Delineated. 8t
ing to the Will of God, is the Rule or Law CHAP, of his A(5lion, and of his Obligation. And fo ■^^^• every Sin againft God and our Neighbour is a ^^'^V^*^ Sin alfo againft a Man's felf, being a Tranf- greffion of that Law, which is a Diredion to his own Happinefs. In the laft Place,
III. SUPPOSE the Motive drawn from the Com- mand of God. But he knows- our Nature tOo well to give forth Laws and Commandments without annexing San^iions to them. He knows he has no Authority over the free Choice and cledlive Faculty of Man in Comparifon of what thofe Sanations give him. Had he ordain'd us for Mifery, we could have no Refpedl or Obli- gation at all to him : But as he propounds Hap- pinefs, as well as Mifery, to our Choice^ at the Option of our own Behaviour ; and has done fo very much to fecure and incrcafe Man's Happi- nefs, when he firft prevaricated with it, thac obliges us indeed to him.
And as our Happinefs is complex with re- fpeft to both Parts of our Conftitution, and in both Stages of its Duration ; what it mifles in one, to be compenfated in another j he only can lay the compleat Motive^ and the lafting Obligation before us, to induce us paramount to all others, at all Times, and in all Places, to obferve his Will. In doing that, we fecure the divine Favour, which includes a Security of our Happinefs in both Parts of our Nature, and in all its Faculties. And as the Commands of God are Diredions and Qualifications for our Happinefs, by conneding that Means to that ■End, what can poQibly be wifer, or more pre- vailing upon a free Agent, than to affix thac
Vol. ^, G Sane-
82 DEISM Delineated.
CHAP. San<5lion to the Command, as a Reward of the
^^L^ Adion, which is the ultimate End of it -, and
^"^v^^ Cq bringing the End of the Adion before the
Agent, dire»5l his Choice, and oblige, and induce
him more powerfully- to it?
The trueft Method of inveftigating any Law whatfoever is, firft to enquire the End of the Law, and then. the Means of performing and fulfilling it. What can animate Man more to be chearful in doing all the Good he can to his Fellow-Creatures, than the Confideration of the greater Good he (hall lay up and receive for fo doing ? And that the very Means of attaining Happinefs above, is the communicating Happi- nefs here below ? Or what can better reduce all the felfifh AfFedions, the Authors of fo many fublunary Mifchiefs, into due Order and Subor- dination to the general Good, than the Certainty of lofing a greater Intereft hereafter for the fake of attaining a lefs, and fo much the lefs as be- ing a repented, mokfted, or envied Good here ? Univerfal Happinefs is God*s End and View in the Creation and Redemption of the World ; and as that Whole confifts of fo many Indivi- duals, when every one purfues future. Felicity by the Means in his own Power, which are fo many providential Diredions to every Man (that of contributing to the Happinefs of others, being one amongft the reft) he concurs with God's Defign, and not only prays, but contributes to his Kingdom coming daily to Perfedlion, coming where it has not yet enter'd ; and where it has, coming daily to greater Perfeflion of Rule over us.
And as he never reaps but where he has fown, and according to what he has fown j and has
made
DEISM Delineated 83
made Virtue natural to our Reafony to our Affcc- CHAP. tion to Society, and alfo to our Defires of Hap- ^^I- pinefs in this World, and the next : In exciting ''"'^^V^^ to the Praftice of it, he makes ufe of Motives fometimes from one, fometimes from the other, but all terminating in the Interefl and Advantage of the Agent here, and hereafter.
When he addrefies to Reafon, he expoftu* lates with, and adjures that, to confider our Ways, pnder the Path of our Feet, whither they are tending, and what will be the Confequence of our Doings. Confideratlon being the adlual open- ing the Ey of the Mind within us ; earneftly direding its Thoughts, which are its mental Sight of the Invifibk^ yet incomparably more importing Man, than all the vifible Things that furround him. Thus the Faith of Abraham in his Life of religious Confideration faw the Day of Chrift, and was glad. He appeals to the Sen-* timents of Equity, Juftice, Right and Wrong, Good and Evil, which immediately and inti- mately fpring up in our Reafon, upon the lead Confideration of Society and its feveral Rela- tions, as an innate Law, as fo many confcious Maxims and known Truths previous to his Re- velation, to try the Equity of his reveal'd Will, and to compare and meafure their own Ways by the fame. And as the End is intentionally known before the Means, that gives Confcience the Province of approving, or dilapproving ; as the Adion has a Tendency to advance, or ob- ftruct our Happinefs. We have a Confcience or Perception likewife wrought in us for publick Good -, that Totals of which we make one, and whofe Intereft, in moft Refpeds, is one with ours ; that gives the Senfe of Honour or Praife, G 2 Shams
§4 DEISM Delineated.
CHAP. Shame or Reproach, as our Actions have benc- ^^^' fitted or preiudic'd, help*d or harm'd that.
That Love to Society implanted in us, the great Patron and Protedor of it would not have withdrawn, but ftill continued to our perfonal Enemies, becaufe they are yet ftill of the fame Society with us ; leaving the Vengeance or Re- drefs of every tolerable Wrong, confident with the Being of Society, to himfelf : That we ought to imitate the great Father of it, being in that like Children to their Father ; and, co-operating with his Providence, according to our Sphere, beftow our general Good, Kindnefs, and Bene- volence, and not limit it, nor pafs over the Op- portunity he has given us, becaufe the Objedl has been once an Enemy, left a cancelled Obli- gation return upon us *, confidering ourfelves how much we receive from, and yet how often we offend God. And why are we commanded to imitate him, the Head of the Society, in that Particular, but becaufe our Happinefs in Society confifts in,- and is improved by it ? Thus the Love of Enemies, being one Branch and Particular of the univerfal Law of Benevolence, is the Law of our Nature, and the neceflary redintigration of Society -■> and therefore is fo ftridly enjoin'd, enforc'd, and inferted into daily Prayer by Chri- ftianity, which is the Perfeder of every thing that is good in this World, and the next. And therefore the Deiftical Ridicule of this Duty is a ftanding Monument againft them, as well of the Shallownefs of their Heads, as of the Badnefs of their Hearts, with refpefb to So- ciety, and Human Nature. And why is that Publick good, the Co7iverfwn of a Sinner, fuch great Sinners againft God and the Publick, from
_ the
DEISM Delineated. $^
the Error of their fFays, fo much recommended, C H A P. but for the fake of that increafe of Happincfs ^^^• it brings to Society, and to the Converter ? '^-^'Y^^
In doing good to others, the Example of God and Cbrijl are propofed, and likewjfe the laying up a good Foundation againjl the lUme to come, and reaping plentifully, that the Chriftian may be moved by one, or both of them, as he is difpofed. Some Virtues and Duties are pro- pos'd and prefs'd, fometimes upon a Temporal Advantage, at other times upon an Eternal. And fo the Scripture becomes all Things to all Men, that it may gain fome by all, as they are difpos'd to be gain'd by any. Means.
Why are we bid to love God with all our Hearty with all our Soul, &c. but becaufe that Love, as it adds nothing to God (did it add any Thing we fhould be fuperior to him) re-a5}s upon ourfelves, by an Expanfion of ourfelves towards him in an Unity of Will ; and, railing the Love of our own Happinefs in him, throws off the falfe, and fixes the true Love of our- felves and our own Good, where it ought to be. That Love does not caft out the Love of our- felves, but encourages it as its Foundation ; when it is perfed, it cafteth out Fear ; and fo increafes the Love more and more : And as we know it confults our Intereft, we refign our- felves to him in a great Meafure, without fo much as thinking of that, in Confidence of his taking care of it.
But, when we have erred and flrayed very
much from hin), nothing but a State of Danger,
G 3 or
86' DEISM Delineated.
CH^P. or the Confideration of the negleded Motives s^J^lijOf Rewards and Punifliments, which lay hold ^'^^^of the ftrongeft Principle within us, SELF- PRESERVATION, can recover us : The ge- neral Excellency of Virtue, and the Turpitude of Vice are weak and incompetent Topicks in fuch a Cafe ; but when the Eye of the Mind is open'd by Confideration, to fee the feveral Ends they lead to ; then the Excellency of the one, and Turpitude of the other, is fenfibly and com- pleatly perceiv'd.
For what is the Excellency of Virtue -, it mud be excellent for fomething, and what is that, but as it is the beft Accommodation and indif- penfable Provifion for our Happinefs in both Worlds ? And what is the Turpitude of the other, but as it deceives and betrays us into Mi- fery in both ? And what is Folly but the Senfe of a wrong Choice, and falfe Purfuir, for which we hate and loath ourfelves into Repentance, and true Love of ourfelves -, for being fo unwife as to love every Thing, and every Perfon better than felf ; -for being fo very thoughtlefs as to endeavour to monopolize Vice, by railing ac- cording to the common Mode, at the Pradlice of that in other People, which they pamper and indulge in themfelves. What is Repentance but a Retradation of a wrong Choice of Happinefs exchanged for a better? And what is Wifdom but the Senfe of the Neceflity of pradlifing Vir- tue, and adually letting about it ? Then we underftand the Meaning of the Word ongbl to Fear, and ferve God 5 when our Happinefs, or Mifery depend upon our Care, or Negledl in doing it. For the Fear of the Lord is ail Wifdom^ and tn all fViJdom is the perforjnance of the Law^
and
DEISM Delineated, S7
^d the knowledge of his Omnipotence, Eccluf. CHAP. xix. 20. ^^^- ,
All the Paflions are fubfervient to the de- termin'd Choice of the Will ; being every one of them fo many Modifications and Efforts of itfelf towards its Obje6l, or its Good or Happi- nefs (be it chofe right and wifely, or wrong and foolifhly) whether in the concupifcible, or ira- fcible Kind. The Greeks rightly name it to iye- /xov/Kov or TO Kvrs'isffiov. For it governs all the Powers of the Agent with an Imperial Autho- rity i they wait accordingly at its Levee and re- ceive Orders, and change their Objeds, as the other changes its Objed, or its Notion of Happi- nefs. The Eleftion of the Will having fix'd its Objed as its Good or Happinefs, the Adhefion of that Faculty to that Objed is its Love, and the Avoidance of the contrary Evil its Averfion or Hatred : And as that Adhefion of Will or Love of the Objed is a King of our own cha- fing, no wonder we are fo willing to obey its Laws. If the Good or Evil is prefent, Love and Hatred is modified into Complacency or Joy, or Grief and Anger : If future, into De- fire and Hope, or Fear and Caution. So tha|;^ the Ferfon who loves any of the Things of this World fupremely, has a different Happinefs and a wrong Objed of all his PafTions, in refped to him who fupremely loves God and Goodnefs ; which verifies that Maxim, If any Man love the World, the Love of the Father is not in him. In the State of Innocence the Paflions were fubjed to the Underflanding or difcerning Faculty of the Soul, but, upon TranfgrelTion and wrong Choice, went over to the Government of the Will or chufing Faculty of the Mind, and un- G 4 der
8S DEISM Delineated.
CHAP. (3er that Obedience have continued ever fine?.
y^^_^ Nor is there any pofTible Way of governing them to any Eft'td, or fetting them to tolerable Rights, but by rectifying the Eledion of the other. For this reafon Love is direded to abound more and more in Knowledge^ and in all Judgment^ that zve may approve things that are excellent^ that IV e may be fine ere and without offence^ Phil. i. 9, 10. • When the right End is pitch'd upon, the Leader Love, and under that all the reft, fall into Order, and Subordination ; and then all the Commandments refpeding God, or our Neighbour, are perceivably fumm'd up and praclifed in the Love of each of them ; whilfl: the true Love of Self is the Foundation of them both.
As Love is the fupreme governing Paffion, nothing is, or ought to be its chief, mod pre- ferr'd, conftantly adhered to Objedt, but what is its fupreme End, viz. God, and Happinefs in his Favour ; and if Charit'^, for the greater En- joyment of our Neighbour, is the End of the Commandments refpedting him, we perceive the Reafon why Religion is fumm'd up in the Love of God, and our Neighbour. And if all true Religion of the End refpe6ting them confifts in the Love of them, how devious and abfurd is that modern Pretence to true Religion, which erefts its Syllem upon dry Rationality j pure Underjlanding, and gazing Admiration?
If the End God has propofed to our Ac- tion is the true End of our Aftion, and is the firfl: Principle of a religious Converfation ; and all moral Adtions are denominated from their End and Intention, more than their Effedls and
Events -s
DEISM Delineated. 89
Events ; it is an allow'd Maxim, that whatever C HAP. is the firft Principle in conftituting a Thing, ^^h, ought often to be recurr'd to, to keep it from ^"-OP^ deviating. Habits, being an Aggregate of many lingle Ads, are of the very felf-fame moral Spe- cies with the particular Ads which compound them. And when the Love of Virtue is put co the y^T?, what it is that in reality ftill feeds and fupplies that Love, our Author is forc'd to own the Truth again ft his Confcience, and the whole Defign of his Book. " 'Tis certain, fays he, " on the other Side, that the Principle of Fear *' of future Punifhment, and Hope of future Re- *' ward, how mercenary and fervile foever it " may be accounted, is yet in many Circum- " fiances a great Advantage, Security, and Sup- " port to Virtue *.'*
Was Socrates*^ Love of Virtue mercenary and fervile, who is the bcft Deijl upon Record, ex- cepting Joh. When jfhe genuine Nature of the Love of Virtue is called in Queftion in Specu- lation, whether the Love of it is, for its own fake, or for the fake of Benefit and future Re- ward ; is there any poflible Way of deciding it better,' than recurring to a Tefl ; and that Ted a Matter of Fa6t ? And did not both thofe great Heroes fupport themfelves and their Virtue in their greateft Diftrefs, upon the future Profped of the Favour of God ? And as they lived, and loved Virtue upon that untraverfible Principle of natural Religion, God is, and is a Rewarder of thofe that diligendy feek him, in the Defire, andSenfe of the want of Revelation, fo they died in the Love of Virtue upon the fame Principle.
* Chara^, Vol, II. pag, 60*
For
go DEISM Delineated*
CHAP.
^^^- For they were genuine Deifts according to ^'^'^'"^■''^ Nature, living in the Fear of God, and there- fore were Realijls in their Refpeds to Virtue. But the modern Deifts, who ered: their Syftem upon the Principles of this Author, may entitle themfelvcs to any Name fooner than true found Deifts. They make mighty high Pretences to the Love of Virtue, upon the old Stoical Prin- ciple of being its own Reward, exclufive of the Fear or Favour of God ; and fo are mere No- minals in the Love of it, and are like to be left in the lurch, as Brutus was, with the Name Vir- tue. For this Author, more exalted in his own Opinion, than in Title, derides the Fear of God as ridiculous Cowardice, and any Regard to his Rewards as no lefs ridiculous Avarice * The Stoicks flood to their Principle in their acuteft Sufferings. But this Author fhews himfelf Ma- iler neither of their Courage, nor their Con- fiftency. For when his a% nominal Virtue is put to the Pinch, then he calls in Rewards, Rewards to its Security and Support, at the fame time he profefledly derides the Belief of them. Is not this a great Inconfiftency in his moral Ar- chitedlure ? He neither builds in the Stoick Or- der and Proportion, nor in the Socratick ; but makes a Jumble of two Contrarieties to ere<5t one Whole.
Is that moral Syftem beautiful, or deform'd, which is deftitute of an intelligent fuper-intend- ing Power, whofe head Bufinefs is to reward, and punifti according to the Agent's Deport- ment ? Is that Building of that great Connoijfeur
* Chara^. Vol, I. pag, 1 29.
in
DEISM Delineated. gt
in Beaucy, or the Admirers of it moft to be ad- C H a P. mired at ? The Antinomian Principle of ferving ^VI. and pleafing God, after difcarding any Obliga- '^^'V^^ tion to his Laws and Commandments, is not more abfurd or fantaftical. Befides, they who niake their Duty their Intereil, and engage themfelves to Virtue, as God would have them, for the Sake of the folid Reward he has annex- ed, have ail the ideal Charms of the Beauty of Virtue, Honefty, moral Tafte, as entire to en- Certain them by the Way, as thofe Inamorato's or Don ^ixol^s of abftrafted Charms, who fcorn their fupreme Intereft in the Purfuit. And therefore where fuch an Interejl joins in the Pur-s fuit of Things lovely, the Scent muft be ftronger,' and the Chafe furer and brifker.
And thus we rightly intend and purfue the Good and Happinefs of Ourfelves, the Service of God, and the Benefit of our Neighbour, in one and the fame Aftion. For God has made our Duty and Intereft, his Glory and our own Good the fame Thing ; they are but different Exprefllons importing the fame Meaning. Man's Happinels was the certain End of God, in creating him ; when that is intended, his Glory is effedtually intended, tho' unmentioned : When an intended Work is accomplilh'd, and the Work-Mafter attains the End propofed from it, he at the fame Time attains all the Glory re- fulting, or defired from it : And when the Glory of God is mention'd as the End of our Ac- tions, what does that point to, but a due Care over them, not to difappoint him of his End in creating and preferving us ? When mention'd as the End of our Praife, what is that but ac- l^nowledging to his Bounty the Receipt of our
Happinefs f
gi DEISM Delineated;
^ Y^'^^' Happinefs ? So that if God feeks his own Glo-
AVI.
XVI
ry, by communicating of his Goodnefs towards
our Happinefs, we can never otherwife feek his Glory, but by making his Methods effedual to our own Happinefs in his rewarding Favour ; at the fame time we defign our own true Happi- nefs in all that we cio, we defign his Glory : PFe eat, and drink, and fhould aft in all other Things to our own Happinefs, therefore are we bid to do the fame to the Glory of God ; and to glorify his Goodnefs by our Thank/giving. Wherein does the Glory of a Governor confiTl but in confult- ing the general Happinefs of the Governed ? If that is the Scope of his Power, and the Aim of his Authority, and God is our fupreme Gover- nor, Good, or God for that purpofe, we can ne- ver think of our own, in concert with the ge- neral Happinefs of Society here and hereafter, but we think of the Glory of God. The Deijis therefore, who neither intend his Glory, nor their own future Happinefs from his Rewards, in any thing they do, do violently and unnatu- rally remove the moral Anions of Men from the Center God has appointed to them.
No well-meaning Chriftian, who duly de- f5gns his own eternal Happinefs, ought there- fore to be difquieted ; tho* I am afraid not a few have been put under falfe Fears, where no Fear was, left they fhould be Hypocrites, becaufe they don't feel in themfelves that they love God, 'and Virtue enough for their own Sake, but un- luckily happen to think at the fame Time, of their own Advantage by it. That Expreffion for their ozvn Sake, tho' very common, when it comes to be examin'd, is doubtlefs nothing more than a Stricture of Piety, and an ex- alted
DEISM Delineated. jpji
alted Commendation of God and Virtue, andCHAP. ought to be conftrued always, in this Life at ]^^li, leaft, with that Qualification. Tho* the King- ^-O/'^^ dom of Heaven confifts of Righteoufnefs, as being the Law of that Kingdom, yet that Law Is admirable and amiable with refpefl to its hap- py Confequences upon the Subjeds.
For in a ftridt Intendment, exclujive of all Thoughts of our own Intereft therein, it is, I. With refped of God ; without Faith, the Scripture tells us, it is tmpJJlUe to fleafe him \ and what is that Faith, but as it follows, that he is, and is a Rewarder of thofe that diligendy feek to pleafe him ? The true Notion therefore is not to pretend to love Virtue for its own Sake, but for God's Sake, i. e. to do good not for fecular Ends and Expectations, but with in- tuition on his Command, who fees in fecrec whatever is intended to him, and will hereafter reward openly for it. 2. With refpecfl to our- felves it is, in Fad, imprafticable in this- State of Things. ' But what is worfe, a kind of fetting up for Independency, or a fcorning to be be- holden, or acknowledge ourfelves to be what we are, dependant needy Beings ; an adual under* valuing of God's Rewards •, prepofterous and inconfiderate Arrogance in fuch indigent Crea* tures as we are, it is a falfe ftating our owii Cafe, and therefore muft be a wrong Scheme.
D o we pretend to add any thing to God, by pretending to love him for his own Sake? Does he really (land in any need of our Love, or .can we think it is requir'd of us on his own Account ? If not, let us make Senfe of it, and love him as heartily as qver we. can». by keeping
his
p4 DEISM Delineated.
CHAP, his Commandments for our own Sake. For y^^}lj we indeed ftand in need of all the good ^^^'^Effeds of thofe ardent Streamings and Incli- nations of the Mind towards the Author of our Felicity, as they return upon the Mind with Interell, add great Improvement to it, by- refining it from the Love of this World, and fitting it for a better. The End of loving God is to be like him, and the End of that is our own Happinefs.
Our Love of God is not a giving, but an indigent receiving Love ; we love him becaufe he firft loved us, a Love of Gratitude for his relative, munificent, and undeferved Kindneffes. What have v/e to give, but the litd'e Nothing of our Thanks, which acknowledges our De- pendance, his Fulnefs, and our Need of Re- ceiving ; and is fo far acceptable to the ge- nerous Giver of all our Enjoyments, and of our Hopes of more ? So that to pretend our Love of God in this Life ought to be fo funtle, pure, and i{}imix'd, as to have no other Objeft than ' ■ merely ihe Excellency of that Being itfelf, in order to render it acceptable, or convince our own Minds of the Sincerity of our Love towards him, is indeed to rriake our Love unacceptable to him, to convidl ourfelves of Hypocrify before him, and of being Flatterers in Love, and Sy- cophants in Devotion.
But the more dependant we make ourfelves on him in acknowledging the Receipts of all that we have in this Life, of the Means of Grace, and the Flope of Glory in the next, then our Love and Devotion refpefling him as what he is to us, our Bmefathr in thefe Things, is truly
fateful
DEISM Delineated 95
grateful and becoming us ; and therefore grate- C HAP. ful and acceptable to him. And the offering i^L^ fuch Love muft appear to the Heart «nd Con- ^^ fcience to be perfedly fincere and dutiful in fuch Creatures as we are ; becaufe it proceeds from the Senfe of our Dependancy, as being his Crea- tures^ recipient and expe£tant of all our Good, If our Author admits the 'Thought of Self-Hap- pinefs and Fruition * or Gratitude -f into the Love of God, then he admits Self-Interejt -, then he excludes pure Efteem, Excellenc^y and own Sake : And therefore can be no Apolog'j for jhat Principle.
I T is ridiculous in him to alledge there, in order to remove Mercenarinefs out of Religion, and make it liberal: " How fhall one deny " that to ferve God by Co7npulfwn, or for In- ** tereft merely, is fervile and mercenary ? '* For who that confiders either the Nature of God or Man, can grant it mercenary to ferve him in the Way he himfelf requires, and from the Motives all his true Servants recorded in Scripture have aoiually ferv'd him ? Was their Religion fervile and illiberal ? Does the greateft Wifdom we are capable of in declining the greateft Evils that can befal us, deferve the Name of Compulfwn ? Or to purfue the greateft Happinefs of our Na-? ture, is that a reproachful Interefi? He re- proaches only himfelf and his own Syftem, by adding in the next Page, " That altho* this *' Service of Fear be allow*d ever fo low or " bafe ', yet Religion ftill being a Difcipline and " Progrefs of the Soul towards Perfection, the " Motive of Reward and Punilhment is Pri-
* Cb^aii. Vol. II. p3g, 270. t 3i(i. pag. 272.
" mary
96 DEISM Delineated.
" mary and of the higliefl: Moment wit
" till being capable of more fublime Inftruc-
CHAP. " mary and of the higliefl: Moment with us; XVI. (c • • -" - - -- - -
^^'^" tion, \tf^ are led from this fervile State to
*' the generous Service of Affe^ion and Love? " If the Motive is Primary in ferving God in this World, why does he prefently after in the Margin inconfifliently make it only Supple- menial ?
Besides, it is a more liberal, and lefs mercenary Morality, by Faith and Hope to ex- ped: the Reward of Happinefs, from the inter- pofing Difl:ribution and Allotment of our Hea- venly Governor, fulfilling his general Promifc, than to depend upon and be wholly influenced by a Stoical Notion of rewarding Happinefs, as neceflarily and infeparably connedled to Virtue by a blind Fatality. Neceflity and Fate would, in that Cafe, prefide and be the only Deity, and there would be no longer room for Faith, or Hope, or Prayer, which helps to qualify the Soul with virtuous Difpofitions -, at the fame time it refigns up itfelf in SubmilTion to all the Difpofals of Providence in this World ; but any Regard to the heavenly Will, or his Difcri- mination in the next Life, would become ufelefs, upon that Suppofuion. If Love confifts in an Union of Mind and Inter-eft, Inclinations and Defigns, we muft forego our own miftaken ones, and, by Imitation, unite ourfelves to thofe of God; and the Proof of that Progrefs in uniting ourfelves by Love to him, is keeping his Commandments ; which are Prefcriptions, as well for our unlearning Evil, as learning Good, and correding the falfe Love of Self into that which is good and true and divine, by copying after God in fo many Attitudes of Like- ned
t)ElSM DfiLIliEAtED. 97
hefs and Similitude. - So that we love God becaufeC HAP* be firjl loved us, in firft making Man in his ^^^• own Image ; and when he had unmade himfeJf^ "w^/^ by Tranfgreflion, making him over again as it were, by fending his Son in the Likenefs of Man.
What makes the tJappinefs of God, makes alfo ours, by Imitation and Communication» When the'Love of him perfects us in the Imita- tion of liking, defiring, and purfuing the fame Things and Views with him, it gives us Pofief- fion of him, makes us partake of his Happinefs^ and derives it upon ourfeives. The more w(i know andconfiderGodandhisWaySjthe morew6 love, the more we imitate, the more we are like him. And his Perfe(5lions of Holinefs^ Jujiice^ Mercy, &c. are the Exemplars of all Virtue, the Patterns of our Imitation, the Objedls of our Love, and the Source that communicates Happinefs to us. And as that future Fruition (fonfifts in delighting in God, being like him^ and receiving of his Abundance in proportion to the Increafe of our Likenefs, we muft carry Oil in the Lamp with us ♦, for there is none to be borrow'd, or bought at the unexpe6led Hour i but we muft be previoufly fitted with fome Likenefs and Qualification, in order to be changed into and inverted with more glorious Likenefs •, and if we don*t learn to lOve God in this World, where we go to School to learn ir> We (hall have no Notion of it hereafter, and fo be deftitute of all Qualification for Happinefs in his Prefence. So -that all our Love tor him here, is for the fake of being happy with him for evermore.
You II, H Is
93 DEISM Delineated.
CHAP. ^^^I. Is it culpable? Is it not rather commend-
^*^''^^''"'**'^ able for a Traveller to think of his Journey's End ; or a Stranger of his Home ? This was certainly the Viaticum, or Provifion in the Way, of the old Heroes of Faith in their Road to Heaven, infomuch that one of the Greek Com- mentators affirms, that the Thoughts of return- ing home, and being Strangers or Sojourners in this World, is the firji Virtue, and ever'j ^rtue in this JVorld*. Thefe Candidates for Heaven, and wife Oeconomijts of Happinefs, having no exprefs Revelation of the Gofpel, but as it ferved to fhew their Faith, that a heavenly Country was to be preferred to an earthly, wifely follow'd the Didates of Nature in preferring a greater Good to a lefs, and a lefs Evil to a greater, in Virtue of the Promife of God to Jdafn, and af- terwards renew'd to j^braham.
But the noble Author lull cited deviates from Nature, in order to attain his malevoIeiTt Ends againft Revelation, (in Oppofition to which he feems to have had the moft unnatural Preju- dices) by a general Law and Principle of his Syftem of Virtue, he difcards the Confideratiori of private Good, or Self' Affection, from havino- any Share in it ; difcards alfo the natural Dic- tates of common Prudence and Confcience, for preferring the greater to the lefs private Good ; and depreciates the Virtue built upon that Prin- ciple of common Senfe, and Nature, under the Notion of a Bargain, His Words are,
K6(r(j.ii TiiTis. Chryfi. Heb. xi. 13, And I may add, tho' they were Strangers in this World, they were intimately known to and acquainted with the Maker of it,
♦* Now
DEISM Delineatei) 99
CHAP- '* Now the more there is of this violent ^^^^ " AfFeftion towards private Good, the Icfs Room ^^-^"V^^ " is there for the other fort [AfFedlion] towards *' Goodnefs it/elf^ or any good and deferving Ob- *' jecl, worthy of Love and Admiration for its " own fake ; fuch as God is univerfally ac-
" knowIedg*d.'* And afterwards fpeaking of
Refignation to his Will, that there is " no more " Worth or Virtue [in fuch an Inftance] than " in any other Bargain of Inierefl: The Meaning *' of his Refignation being only this, That he " refigns his prefent Life and Pleafures conditio' " jMlly^ for that which he himfelf confejfes to he *' beyond an Equivalent ; eternal Living in a State *' of highefi Pleafure and Enjoyment *.'*
And elfewhere, " I know too, that the *' mere Vulgar of Mankind often (land in need " of fuch a re6lifying Obje6l as the Gallows be- *' fore their Eyes. Yet I have no Belief that *' any 'Man of a liberal Education^ or common ** Honefl'j^ ever needed to have Recourfe to this *' Idea in his Mind, the better to reftrain him *' from playing the Knave. And if a Saint had *' had no other Virtue than what was rais'd in *' him by the fame Objedl of Reward and *' Punifhment, in a more difant State ; I know " not whofe Love or Efteem he might gain "be- *' fides: But for my own part, I fliould never *' think him worthy of mine t •" He adds in the next Page, " Nothing is ridiculous but what '* is deformed: Nor is any thing Proof againil ** Raillery except what is handfome and jtifi.'* And preiently after, " Nothing fo fuccefsful to
* CharaSl. Vol. II. pag. 59, \ Ibid, Vol I, pag. 127. H 2 *' be
100 DEISM Delineate©;
CHAP.*' be play'd upon, as the PafTions of Cowardice XVI. « and Avarice:*
Is this his Ridicule of ChrijTtan Virtue? The Ridicule recoils and fixes only upon himfelf; ac- cording to his own Maxim, the Ridicule^ if ill ■placed at firft^ will certainly fall at lajl where it deferves *. And that is true enough, according to the old Maxim, Rifu inepto 7nhilineptiu5. See- ing then he ridicules the Inftinds and Operations of Nature and common Senfe, and the Influence of all Laws human and divine, in order to ridi- cule Chrirtianity ; I afk his Admirers, where does the Ridicule fall ? I would not have it fall, if it could be help'd, upon them, or their ador- ed Author ; becaufe in Truth, the Matter is too ferious for fuch Levity.
H o w in Fadl is th^t common Honejly, which fuperfedes the Fear of the Gallows, firft educated in Subjeds, but from the religious Principle of the fuperior Fear of God, to whom they muft give an Account of their Actions ? If that had its due Effeft upon all Perfons, there would be no need of Civil Laws with fuch Sanations : For the Law is not made for the Righteous, who maintain their Charadler upon that Principle ; but for the Unrighteous, and Difohedient, who de- generate from it -, as Indiclments for the Breach of the Law fuppofes, and arraigns the Criminal firft and foremoft for 7iot having the Fear of God before his Eyes. If all the Laws Divine and Human fuppofe the Degeneracy of human Nature, and are grounded on it ; and the hea- venly Leginnture, and likewifethe earthly, fhew
* ChareSl. Vol. I. .pag. lO.
their
DEISM Delineated. loi
their Wifdom in providing Remedies and Helps C HAP. againft ir, and annexing Sandions to their refpec- ^^'b,. tive Laws, which give them all their Efficacy ; ^^^ is the Degeneracy of human Nature, to be ridiculed as a Phantom, a Thing confefsM and felt by all the wife Men in the World ? And are the Laws of God and Man to be banter*d and laugh'd at ? For to ridicule the Sandions, with- out which the Laws are but Cobwebs, is a di- red^ unavoidable Ridicule upon the Laws of both, A decent Laugh indeed !
It is true, Epicurus of old, and Hohbs of late, maintained the Principle of Self-Affe^ion and private Good ; but it was in the depraved Senfe, and vicious Extreme ; Self was all in all with them. They excluded Benevolence, Pro- vidence, and all Confcience towards God or Man out of their Scheme: And fo the Paffion for Self having no inward Senfe of God, nor of the Publick to regulate it in the Heart, whence it fprings, becomes Atheifm and the worft of Evils in Society. But with that Regulation and Re- ference conftantly guiding and direding it, it moves in Sphere, and does all Duty to God, and Man. iV-ccordingly Socrates^ and EpitletuSy the moft eminent upon Heathen Record, as well for the Praftice, as the Knowledge of mo- ral Virtue, both efpoufed this Principle under the fame Regulation ; and conduced their Actions by the Expeftation of the Favour of God, and his Rewards for well-doing. But this Vifionary in Virtue and Reformation having made a great Difcovery of the Poeth Meaning of. Senfus Com- munis *, that it fignifies Publick Senfe, or AfFec-
* Chara^, Vol. I. pag. 103;
H 3 tion.
102 DEISM Delineated.
CHAP, tion, makes that his firft and only Principle of ^^'J[- Virtue •, and, at once, expels Regard to Self, to
^'^^y*^ Q,)^^ to any of his Rewards or Punijhjnents^ out of his Syftem •, at leaft from having any rightful Share in his Virtue ; fave only by the by at a dead Pinch future Rewards and Punifhments are, allow'd to fhovv their Heads. For he profefled- ly ridicules the having Refpedl to God's Rewards and Punifliments as Avarice, 2ind Cozvar'dice, as above gbferved, ^
Skin for Skin and all that a Man hath will he give for his Life % tho* it came from a wifer and more virtuous Deift, and a far better Philofo- pher than his Difciples can pretend our Author to have been, he rallies it * neverthelefs as He- terodox Sophiftry, as if it was unnatural. What is natural in the Confultations of every Agent is too filthy to mix with his pure Virtue ; that be- ing a Compofition of an Ideal^ 'Tranfcendental Notion oppofed to Self. Yet the Truth forces the Confeffion from him, that it is the Height of Wifdom, no doubt, to be rightly SelfifJj f .
Why is Truth fo ftrong and prevailing but becaufe it is Nature P And why is Self-Preferva- tion the ftrongeft Principle within us, but becaufe it is the fume Nature ? As long as that Princi- ple fubfiils, and is influenced by a due Regard to him who is our Preferver, the Juggle and Fa- fcination of his pretended Virtue muft vanilli before it -, as being in Reality nothing better than the Nature, and the Self-moving Principle
of Man inverted. Is that beautiful, or is it de-'
form'd, which delineates real Life, and Nature
^Ch^ra^. Vol. If. pag. 123. \ Ibid. pag. 2\.
in
DEISM Delineated* 103
in an inverted Order? It may carry a grcatCHAP. Sound with it, as many other Cheats do, which ^VI. pretend the Good of the Publick and nothing ^""^'"'^''^^''^ elfe; but it is the Sound of Words and no- thing more that captivates the Admirers ; be- caufe in fadl and fober Senfe, it is impradicable by the Generality ; and I wifli that was not the Author's real Policy, to fee up Virtue upon a Principle plaufible (in falfe Theory) but in good Truth equivalent to being impradicable ; which, under the Name, effectually banilhes the Thing Virtue out of the World.
If fuch a School of Virtue, fet up in Contradic- tion to real fra5iifing Nature, is a moral Defor- mity, then according to our Author's own Di- ftindtion, that fuch is tjhe Irue Objedjt of Ridicule, how can his Syftem efcape it ? If it is neither handfome nor ju^ to eftablifh an impradicable Foundation of Virtue, how can it be Proof againft that Raillery he would fet on Foot ? efpecially when the Laughing Faculty is generally moft lavifti againft your Impojtors and Pretenders to Things againft the real Powers, and known Movements of Nature. The Paramount of all Ridicule upon Record is, Parturiunt monies^ nafci- tur ridiculus mm. — ■ But if he digs a Pit for
others, and falls into it himfelf, who will pity him, or help laughing ? For a Bull in Senfe is certi^nly to all IVIen of Senfe an aukward ridicu* lous Beau in fine Words,!
Whence that ExprefTion, * / woidd not he guilty of fuch a Thing for the whole World ? Not from his fpeculative Publick-Senfe, but common Senfe, in the obvious Meaning, habitually taught
* CharaSi. Vol. I. pag. 133.
H 4 and
104 DEISM DELINEATEDr
CHAP, and inculcated in Chrijlendom from that Maxim ^^h^ of Profit and Lofs, whofe Author was Chrift, If '^ a Man frooulcl gain the whole Worlds and lofe his own Soul. . If the Followers of this great
Lover of Paradox, more than of Virtue, will vouchfafe to Ihew common Senfe in pradifing upon that divine Maxim, we are agreed.
Epicurus, Hobbs, Spinofa, and almofl: all the eminent Atheifis and Fatalijls^ are recorded as paffionate Admirers and Extollers of Virtue for its own Sake, not for the Hope of any Reward after Death, but for the Excellence of Virtue it- felf, and the Advantage the Followers of it re- ceive in this Life ; which evinces, that it has been a general Combination to attack and fub- vert Religion, under thefe falfe Colours ; that the Pretences to this aerial Love of Virtue com- monly run the higheft where the Life of real Morality and Religion is made a Vidim, and lies bleeding and dying at their Feet : And that the owning or difowning the Being of a God amounts to one and the fame Irreligion, where- ever a future Judgment, the Influences of thofe Rewards and Punifliments (the Sinews of his Laws, and Inftruments of his Government) are denied or derided, and Duty and Obligation thrown off the Hinges : the Confequences, which naturally follow, are very plain ; The Worfhip of God is Enthufiafm ; Chriftianity an ImpoJi$tre ; and Heaven and Hell a Sweetmeat., or Rod for Children to take their Phyfick 'f". They ought to have no Influence upon Virtue according to him, for he fays a Man can be Good and Vir- tuous in no Degree till he likes and affeds Good-
■f An Expreffion of the Author K&CbarcUi, Vol. II. p. 247.
nefa
DEISM Delineated. 105
nefs and Virtue for its own Sake, and as amiable C H A P, in itfelfW. The Truth forces itfelf upon him a ^^li. little after, and he finds himfelf under a Necef-^ ^'v^^ fity to own 'tis certain on the other Side, that the Principle of " Fear of future Pimijhment " and Hope if future Reward^ how mercenary " and ferviie ibever it may be accounted, is yet, *' in 7nanj Circumjiances^ a great Advantage and " Support to Virtue J." What is this but ad- vancing a notional Principle, for fubverting the Virtue of Chriftendom, under a whimfical Di- ftindion ?
Now according to the Obfervation of the Author of Chrijlianity as old, &c. That every Ex- ception to a general Rule is founded upon a general Rule itfelf; the above Exception, which he al- Jows of, muft certainly be acknowledg'd the iruejl, firfi^ fuperior general Rule •, being fo evi- dently founded in Nature and the Truth of Things-, confequently, that his Dodlrine of Virtue muft be excepted out of it, as an Extravagance and a Rant of Enthufjafn, being grounded in an un- natural Endeavour to put afunder what God and Nature have join'd together. Had he firft made a due Inquiry into Nature, he had made a better Inquiry concerning Virtue. For that which makes Virtue impra^icable to the Generality^ ac- cording to the Meafures of Man in his prefent State, can never be the Way to ferve Virtue, or recommend it, in good earnefi\ to Fraftice.
What truer, and yet what worfe Chara*6ler can be given of the Deifs Religion, who rejed: Chriftianity, than that it is apparently bottom'd
H Charaa. Vo^ II. pag. 66. J Ibid. Vol. L pag. lo.
upon
io6 DEISM Delineated.
CHAP, upon Ignorance, or Mijlakes, both of the Nature XVI. of Ma7i, and God ? And that they fight againji
^-^^V^ true Religion (the invincible Gofpel) in the War of Ignorance ; as it is elegantly exprefs*d, Wi[d. xiv. 22. Their Blunders about the Goodnefs of God have been fhewn before, and Ihewn to be their Sheet Anchor. And as to the Nature of Man, is it not abfurd to go about to jlifie, fo inhumanly ftifle thofe Springs of A6lion in hu- man Nature ; and fo unnaturally baffle thofe De- fires of Reward, which natural Religion infpires i God is, and is alfo a Rewarder of thofe that Mi- gently feek him.
And out of Spite to the Chriftian Revelation, which has made thofe Rewards fo bright and glorious, and attainable upon the mod rea- fonable Eafmefs, is it not monftrous in their Leaders to fet up an unnatural Dominion of Ir- religion over their wretched Votaries, by dii- couraging the moft effedlual Principles and Mo- tives to Virtue ? Does not Chrillianity cheriOi, cultivate, water thofe natural Seeds of Virtue, and pufh them to Growth and Increafe by the Profped: of the moft glorious Harvefi ? Does it not hold out a Crown of Reward, more pre- cious and ponderous than all the Crowns of this World, to the Faith of the true Followers of Nature and of God ? For every one who truly and diligently does fo, embraces and fuper -acids Chrifi ; who came to reveal. God, and Nature. The Sources of the divine Goodnefs, and Per- fedtipns, no otherwife difcovgrable, yet, being difcovered, are found perfedly fuitable, and en- gaging to our rational Faculties. Nor is there any true Syltem, either of the Nature of God, ©r Man, in his prefent degenerate State, but in
his
DEISM Delineated. 107
his moft wife and merciful Governmenn over U5,CH ap.' by the Mediator Chriji Jefus. And does not ^^'^• this judicious Obfervance of Nature demon- ^-OT*^ ftrate the Author of Chridianicy to be the un- doubted Author of Nature ? Whereas they muft make Converts to the Ignorance of God^ and Man^ and Nature^ before they can make Profelytes to their Deijm.
In fhort, as at the Beginning, Jefus, and the Refurreclion, and his Judging the World in Righ- teoufnefs, thofe fundamental Reafons for Re- pentance, were receiv'd as balibling by the Epi- cureans^ and Stoicks, who of all the Seds of Phi- lofophers were moft contrary to Chriftianity *, fd. a modern Deijl feems to be an unhappy Compo- fition of both of them, and therefore nourifhes a double Spite againft that Religion. In con- tradiflion to the better Sentiments .of Socrales, he maintains with the Sloick, the Self-fufficiency of Man to all Virtue ; and that Virtue is its own felf-fufficiettt Reward -, he flights the Revivifcence of his Body^ as a Return to Prifon, ratjier than to an original conftituent Part of himfelf ; and therefore with the Epicurean indulges irs Grati- fication, and makes the moft of its fhort Conti- nuance, as an eftential Ingredient of his Happi- liefs * : And both Seels join in him, in laying afide the principal Care of divine Providence, by difannulling his fpecial Concern, to reward the Righteous, and puni/h the Wicked (the beft Thing worth the Concern of fuperintending Pro-
* See Chrijlianlty as old, pag. 1 4. where the Author makes one 'End of regulating the Appetites, the conducing the more to the Pleafure of the Senfes, as one Cmfilfue7it of Man's Happinefs, which \Qxy well agrees with the Hiftory of Ep- curus.
vjdence)
io8 DEISM Delineated.
CHAP, vidence) by the Hands of an appointed Judge^ in ^^^- the moft diftinguifhing, diftribucive, confpicuous,
iV^^Y^v^^^j everlafting Manner before all moral Agents. And confequently, his Ill-will to Chriftianity carries a double Oppofition and Refiftance to a Jeftis or Saviour ; to a Refurre5iion ; and to his Judging and Difiributing future Rewards and Pu- nifhments. Yet, bating the Refurreflion of the Bod'j, and the Perfon to judge, Socrates could have inform'd him, all their Sentiments are con- trary to the Truth and Nature of Things, tho* he fhould not condefcend to be perfuaded by ChriJ} and his Apqfiles. I am afraid he believes with the Stoick, that all Sins are equal, becaufc he makes fo light of difbelieving the Gofpel.
Who would imagine, yet fo it is, that fo fine a Genius, at ridiculing Chriftianity under the Name. of Enthu/tafm, fhould run into real En- thufiafm and Knight- Errantry himfelf, in order to explode it ? For the fame dazzling Ideal No- tion of Virtue, which led him to contradi6b, and be very polite in Bombaft -f , overfhooting the
Powers
•f- By Bomhnji I mean, that Excefs in Language, or Dis- cord in Sentiment oppofite to the true Sublime ; which owes its Beauty and Grandeur to the exprcffing Things in Con- formity to the Nature of Things. Confequently there may be a falfe Sublitne in Words of the pureft Di£^ion, agreeable and charming enough to thofe who don't underftand the Truth and Harmony of Things, whilft they are affefted with the fuperficial Harmony of Sounds and Fiddles, Words and Pe- riods. Cujufcunque orationem videris foHicitam et politam, fcito animum quoque non minus effe pufillis occupatum. Mag- nus ille remiflius loquitur et fecurius : quaecunque dicit, plus habent fiduciae quam curse — Oratio vultus animi ell : fi cir- cumtonfa eft, et fucata et manufada, oftendit ilium quoque non effe Jincerum, Sc habere aliquid fra^i. . Sen. Ep. 115. 'i'he jejunenefs of his Reafoning withcrf the Verdure of his
Expreffions,
DEISM Delineated: 109
Powers of Nature and Pradice, has alfo ledCHAP. many ^ietijis\], Myjlkks^ and pretended ^^^"^^ ,J^^^ of the Romi/h Church, which fets up its Throne ^^ - ' upon the plain Abufe of Nature and Chriftia- nity, into the like Enthufiaftick Extravagancies, Flight and Fancy, and Tokens of Want of Judg- ment. They would not touch, no not they, any of God*s Rewards, no not with a Pair of Tongs ; they would willingly, great Souls ! annihilate themfelves, and their Happinefs, before the Image of Virtue they have fet up in their own Fancy -, and be contented to damn themfelves eternally for the fake of the paflionate Love
they have for God. But when you hear fuch
Extravagancies, always beware of Cheats, Im-
Exprefllons, and his Departure from Truth and Nature turns every Shew of Sublime into real Bombaft. For as Truth duly reprefented according to the Nature of Things is the moft fplendid, magnificent, and affefling of all Things, fo polifh- ed Words in rounded Periods deviating from the Nature of Things, are no better than a genteel Impofture with refpeft to right good Senfe, an irtful (^ackifh Deception as to Truth, and a Whorifh Paint laid upon Nature by a good Hand. A falfe irreligious Thought cover'd over with pretty fweet Words, is Poifon in a Sugar-Plumb : But I hope Religion is not like Italian Songs, where the worft Meaning of Words tuned with fine Sounds makes the beft Mufick;
I " Contemplatinje Perfons ought to di'vejl ihemfehes of all " Affeaions to all things : fhey ought to rejea and defpi/e all " God's Gifts and Favours, aftd to Jlrip themfelves of all Incli- " nations e^^en for Virtue itfelf." Letter from Rome concern- *• ing the ^ietijls, pag. 85.
Another of their Tenets is, « T^rue Contemplation muft keep " itfelf fix'd only to the Effence of God, imthout refleBing either « on his Perfons or his Attributes. And an A3 of Faith thus " conceinj'd, is more perfect and meritorious, than that tvhich " conftders God ivith the Divine Attributes, or cwitb the Per- " fons of the Trinity in it," pag. 74. Behold a manifeft Strain of refined fecret Deifm, harmonizing ill their high Flight, with open modern Deifm '
podors,
110 DEISM Delineated.
CHAP, poftors, and Jugglers in Virtue, and tiie Lore XVI. of God. For
Every fobcr-minded v/\Ce Chriftian will be fure to fhew their Wifdom in regarding their high- eft Intereft above all Things *, and conduct their whole Behaviour by that View, Becaufe indeed a due Regard to the Rewards and PuniflimentS of another Life, as brought to Light and admi- niftred by Cbrijl, have a fober, true, pra6lical sTendency for promoting the doing Good, incom- parably beyond any Deijiical Scheme. And there- fore that Diftin^ion which the faid Author would fet up between Virtue and Religion*^ as if the former was moft commonly diminijh'd and crampt by the latter, couches under it a fcan- dalous, falfe Reflediion upon the Chriftian Re- ;::ligion.
As, to that Narrownefs of Spirit which he pre- tends is peculiarly obfervahle in the devout Perfons, find Zealots cf almoft every religious Perfuafion -f . And again, " If by the Height of devout Ex- ** tafy and Contemplation, we are rather dif- " abled in this Refpedl, and render'd more un- .. ** apt to the real Duties and Offices of Civil ' " Life, it may be faid that Religion