Skip to main content

Full text of "Four dissertations"

See other formats 


it^P^M 


S2a  a  03  £^  ,i£iu  Q3. '52' 

OK  TllK 

AT 

PRINCETON,   N.  J. 
SAMUEL    AONEW^, 

OF     P  JII  I.  A  n  E  I,  P  H  I  A  ,     PA. 


'/e2. 


©^. 


PTT/tn/i/cJ^  y^r^^-/^^^. 


■  ^  <rt— =-o  e<?*^"?  S<*rr:>-''?  "^P 


!]■        6Ve.Sf^        Division ...l|^.-- 

^:         Shelf r       ^     ,.  f 

/,  ^  Sec  ion A 


I 


1 


f 


^^ 


X 


^^^ 


^y^ 


■■■:?r-'.:^'' 


y 


'-^^'i^ 


FOUR 


DISSERTATIONS' 


I.   On    providence. 
11.  On    prayer. 

III.  On  the  Reasons  for  expe6ling  that  virtuous^ 
Men   ihali   meet   after  Death   in   a  iState   of  % 
'Happinels.   ■ 

IV.  On  the  Importance  of-  Christianity, 
the  Nature  of  Historical  Evidence, 
and  Miracles. 


By   RICHARD'^RICE,   F.R.S 


LONDON: 

Printed  for  A.  Millar  and  T.  Cadell,  oppofite  to 
Catherine- Street,  in  the  Strand. 

/ 
M  DCC  LXVII.  / 


Publified  by  the  fame  Author^ 
Printed  for  A.  Millar  and  T.  Cadell  in  the  Strand^ 

A  Review  of  the  principal  Queftions-  and  Difficul- 
ties in  Morals  ;  particularly,  thofe  relating  to 
the  Original  of  our  Ideas  of  Virtue,  its  Nature,  Foun- 
dation, Reference  to  the  Deity,  Obligation,  Subjedl- 
matter  and  San6lions.  In  One  Volume  06tavo, 
Price  65. 


[  iii  j 


ADVERTISEMENT. 

THE   Author  hasibeftowed 
fo  much  pains  on  Ithe  Firjl 
of    the     following     Dijftrtations^ 
that  he    hopes  it   will  \^   found 
worthy  of  careful  attenticb.     His 
view  in  the  Second  and  T/)rd  Dif- 
feriations    is    in  a  great   ^eafure 
PraElical\  and  he  begs  tHs  may 
be  remembered,  and  that  futable 
allowances   may    be    made  when 
they    are   read.     He  wi{hes\ear- 
neftly  to  be  able  to  contribut  to- 
wards   advancing   the    interei  of 
virtue  and  rational  religion  in^he 
world  ;     and  he  will  think    t^t 
his  life  has  been  fpent  to  a  vali 
A  2 


m 


^•>'i»«'  "'i^>«"v 


[     i^     ] 

ble  purpofe,  fhould  he  ever  fuc- 
ceed  in  this  in  the  fmalleft  de- 
gree-   

The  Fourth  DilTertation  is   de- 
fio-ried  chiefly  in  anfwer  to  an  ob- 
ledion    againft     Chriftianity,     on 
which  conflderable  ftrefs  has  been 
laid.      I'  is,   perhaps,  too   foreign 
to  the  main   end  of  this    work* 
There  cannot,    however,  be  any- 
great  impropriety  in   giving  it  a 
place-iere. 


CO  N- 


[  ?:Vr   '] 

CONTENT   S. 


ypfi 


DISSEllTATION    L 

On   Pro  YiJD  e;^  CE. 


Sc6t.  I.  /^.F  the  Argumejtts  for  Providence 
from  the  Ferfeclions  of  the  Deity. 

P-  3 

Seft.  IT.  Of  the  Arguments  for  Providence 
from  the  gejieral  Laws  and  Conjlitution  of 
the  World.  ?•  23 

Sed.  III.  Of  the  Marnier  in  which  Providence 
is  admi?iijlered,  p.  60 

Sed.  IV.  Of  the  Ob] eBions  againjl  Providence. 

p.  89 

Sea.  V.  Of  the  Ufes  of  tkeDo5lrine  of  Pro- 
vidence^ p.   162 

D  I  S  S  E  R. 


vi  C  O  ^  T  E  ll  T  S. 

DISSERTATION    II 

On    Prayer.  3 

Secfl.  L  T'he  Nature y  Reafonablenefs  and  Effi* 
cacy  of  Prayer  explained^  and  the  Obje5iiont 
to  it  anfwered.  p.   1 97 

Sedt.  II.  Of  the  Importance  of  Prayer  as  an 

inftnmental  t)uty,  the  Happinefs  of  a  de* 
vout  Temper  and  the  particular  Obligation 
to  Public  Worjhip.  P-  230 

Sedl.  III.  Of  the  Manner  in  'which  Prayer 
ought  to  be,  performed.  p.  276 

DISSERTATION    III. 

On  the  Reafons  for  expecting  that  virtuous 
Men  fiall  meet  after  Death  in  a  State  of 
Happinefs.  P-  3^1 

DISSERTATION   IV. 

Oil  the  Nature  of  Hlftorical  Evidence  and 

Miracles. 
Sea.  I.  IntroduBory  Obfervations  relating  to 

the  Importance  of  Chrijiianity,  its  Eviden- 
ces^ 


CONTENTS.  vii 

cesy  and  the  ObjeBions  which  have  been  made 
to  it.  P-S^^ 

Seft.  II.    ^he  Nature  and  Grounds   of  the 

Regard  due  to  Experience^  and  to  the  Evi^ 

.  ^dence  of  Tefimonyy  fated  and  compared, 

p.  384 

Se<a.  III.  Of  the  Credibility  of  Miracles,  and 
the  Force  of  Tejlimony  when  employed  to 
prove  them.  P*  4^3 

Conclufon.  P«  4^6 


^01        .      ii  S 


DISSER« 


•-■1  a 


2ia 


DISSERTATION     I. 


O    N 


PROVIDENCE. 


B 


DISSERTATION    I. 


O   N 


PROVIDENCE. 


SECTION.     L 

Of  the  arguments  for  Providence  fro?n  the 
perfections  of  the  Deity, 

IT  cannot  but  be  a  matter  of  anxious 
enquiry  with  every  confiderate  per- 
fon,  how  far  he  has  reafon  to  think 
well  of  that  w^orld  in  which  he  exifts, 
and  of  its  laws  and  adminillration.  If 
about  this  no  fatisfa^flion  can  he  ob- 
tained, there  will  he  an  end  of  ajl  the 
chief  comforts  and  hopes  of  reafonable 
beings.  The  courfe  of  events  mull:  be 
viewed  with  fufpicion,  and  the  world 
conten>plated  with  difguft  and  pain. 
B  2  T-e 


4  0>^    Providence. 

The  dodlrine  of  Providence,  therefore, 
is  plainly  of  the  hioheft  importance ; 
^nd  the  v^riter  of  the  following  Differ-: 
tation  can  v^ant  no  apology  for  attempt- 
ing to  aiTift  in  explaining  and  defending 
it,  though  he  fhould  fall  iliort  of  his 
aim,  and  be  able  to  do  no  more  than 
^ew  a  good  intention,  and  perhaps  en- 
gage a  few  to  join  with  hini  in  care- 
fully reviewing  a  fubjedt  that  cannot  top 
often  employ  our  thoughts. 

What  I  ihall  begin  with  will  be  an  ac- 
count of  fome  of  the  principal  argu- 
ments that  prove  an  unerring  Provi- 
dence. 

If  it  can  be  proved  that  the  Deity 
^dminiil-er$  all  the  affairs  of  the  world, 
and  extends  his  care  to  every  created 
being  in  fuch  a  manner  that  nothing 
hard  or  oppreffive,  nothing  inconfiftent 
with  rectitude  and  v/ifdom  in  the  go- 
vernment of  events  ever  comes  to  pafs  y 
or,  in  other  words,  if  it  can  be  proved 
-^  f^  that 


O.^   Providence.  ^ 

^*  that  all  the  occurrences  in  nature  are 
^^  under  perfedly  wife  and  good  direc- 
*^  tion  /*  then  the  docftrine  of  Provi- 
dence, -in  the  higheft  and  ftritteil:  f^nfc 
of  it,  will  be  eflablifhed. 

There  are  two  ways  of  proving  this* 
One,  from  the  conlideration  of  the  Di- 
vine perfedtions.  The  other,  from  what 
falls  under  our  notice  of  the  frame  and 
conftitution  of  the  world.  Let  us  firft 
confider  the  evidence  arifing  from  the 
former  of  thefe  heads. 

We  have  the  beft  reafons  for  afcrib- 
ing  to  the  Deity  all  poffible  excellence ; 
or  for  conceiving  of  the  firft  caufe  as  a 
being  abfolutely  perfed:.  In  the  idea  of 
abfolute  perfedlion  is  implied  infinite 
power,  wifdom,  and  goodnefs ;  and  in 
thefe,  fuch  a  providence  over  all  things 
as  has  been  mentioned.  The  Deity  can- 
not be  an  indifferent  fpedator  of  the  fe- 
fies  of  events  in  that  world  to  which  he 
has  given  being.  His  goodnefs  will  as 
B  3  certainly 


6  On    Providence. 

certably.  engage  him  to  dircd  them  a- 
greeably  to  the  ends  of  goodnefs,  as  his 
wifdomand  power   enable  him   to   do  it 
in  the  mofl  effedual  manner.     Thus  we 
muft  conclude  according  to  all  our  ideas 
of  thefe  attributes.     Could  we   call  that 
being  good  who  would  refufe  to  do  any 
good  which  he  is  able  to  do  without  the 
leajft  labour  or  difficulty  ? — God  is  prefent 
every  where.     He  fees  all  that  happens  -, 
and  it  is  in  his  power,  with  perfeft  eafe, 
to  order  all  for  the  beft.     Can   he   then 
poiTefs   goodnefs,  and  at   the  fame  time 
not  do  this  ? — I  am,    fjppofe,  in    afflic- 
tion.-   The  author  of  mj' exiftence,  who 
is   almighty  and    righteous,   knows   my 
condition,  and  fees,  what  I  feel.     Would 
he,  if  he. fa w  that  my  afflidlion  is  im- 
proper,  or  that- 1  labour  under  any  real 
grievance,    fuffer    it  for    one    moment  ? 
'Tis  utterly  impoflible. — A  God  without 
a  Providence  is  undoubtedly  a  contradic- 
tion.    Nothing  is  plainer  than  that  a  be- 
ing of  perfect   reafon  will,  in  every  in- 
ilaoce,  take  fuch  care  of  the  unlverfe  as 

perfecft 


On    Providence.  j 

pcrfed:  reafon  requires.  That  fuprem6 
intelligence  and  love  which  are  prefent 
to  all  things,  and  from  w^hence  all  things 
fprung,  muft  govern  all  occurrences, 
and  exclude  from  the  conftitution  of  na- 
ture all  real  ill  and  diforder. 

Thefe  eonfiderations,  it  fhould  be  ob^ 
ferved,  prove  what  has  been  called  a 
particular  in  oppofition  to  a  general  Pro-* 
vidence.  We  cannot  conceive  of  any 
reafons  that  can  influence  the  Deity  to 
exereife  any  providence  over  the  world, 
which  are  not  likewife  reafons  for  ex- 
tending it  to  all  that  happens  in  the 
worldi  As  far  as  it  is  confined  to  gene- 
rals, or  overlooks  any  individual,  or  any 
event,  it  is  incomplete,  and  therefore 
unfuitable  to  the  idea  of  a  perfeft  Be- 
ing. 

A   great   deal  of  very  foolifh  ridicule 

has  been  thrown  on  this  fubjedl,  and  {c-' 

veral  objedtions  have   been  made,   which 

prove    no   more   than   the   ignorance   of 

B  4.  thofe 


8  On   Providence. 

thofe  who  make  them.  It  will  be  pro- 
per here  diftindly  to  take  notice  of  fome 
of  thefe. 

•  One  common  prejudice  againft  this 
dodrine  arifes  from  the  apprehenfion 
that  it  is  below  the  dignity  of  the 
Deity  to  watch  over,  in  the  man- 
ner it  implies^  the  meaneft  beings,  and 
all  the  minuteft  affairs.  In  anfwer  to 
this  it  may  be  obferved,  that  -a  great 
number  of  minute  affairs,  if  they  are 
each  of  them  ofyi/;?^  confequence  5  make 
«p  a  fum  which  is  oi  great  confequence  |. 
and  that  there  is  no  way  of  taking 
care  ot  this  fum^,.  without  taking  care 
of  each  particular.  Whatever  events 
indeed  are  ^wholly  frivolous^  it  would  be 
•s.bfurd  to  fuppofe  the  Deity  to  concern 
himfclf  about.  Such  events  want  no 
dlred;ion.  They  are  capable  of  no  di- 
:re«5lion.  But,  on  the  contrar}'',  all  e- 
¥'2nt3,  not  wholly  frivolous,  are  proper 
Qbje(5t3  of  attention;  and  what  would 
'fee  really  degrading  to  the  univerfal  pa- 
rent is^  not  his  watching  over,  but  neg- 
lecting 


On  'Providence.  9 

lefting  them.  This  objection,  therefore, 
under  the  appearance  of  honouring  God, 
plainly  difhonours  him.  Nothing  is  ab- 
folutely  trifling  wherein  the  happinefs  of 
any  individual,  even  the  moft  iniignifi- 
cant,  is  at  all  concerned :  nor  is  it  be- 
neath a  wife  and  good  Being  to  interpofe 
in  any  thing  of  this  kind.  To  fuppofe 
the  Deity  above  this,  is  to  fuppofe  him 
above  adting  up  to  the  full  extent  of 
goodnefs  and  reditude. 

The  fame  eternal  benevolence  that  firft 
engaged  him  to  produce  beings,  cannot 
but  engage  him  likewife  to  exercife  a  par- 
ticular providence  over  them;  and  the 
very  loweft  beings,  as  well  as  the  high- 
eft,  feem  to  have  a  kind  of  right  to  his 
fuperintendency^  from  the  very  ad:  of 
bringing  them  into  exhlence.  Every  ap- 
preheniion  tliat  this  is  too  great  a  con- 
defcenfion  in  him,  is  founded  on  the 
pooreft  ideas ;  for  furely,  whatever  it 
was  not  too  great  a  condefcenfion  in 
him  to  create,  it  cannot  be  too  great  a 
3  conde- 


lO  0/^     P  R  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E. 

condelcenfion  in  him  to  take  care  of  ^i 
It  is  proper  to  add,  that  with  refped  to 

God 

'Trct^ayoLyzii',  co^i  kolto,  vtAvrct  TfOTTov  dd^vvcnop  (jlH 
vrpoyont^sLi  vToBin  ra.  i/t'  olvth  'PreLpety^^iVTet-  Sim. 
Comment.   Cap.  38. 

Some  of  the  obfervations  which  have  been  made 
above  may  be  found  alfo  in  Plato's  well-known  lOth 
Dialogue  of  Laws.  In  this  dialogue  Plato  teaches 
excellently  that  (fince  what  is  felf- moving  is,  by 
its  nature,  before  that  which  moves  only  in  confe- 
quence  of  being  moved)  mind  muft  he  prior  to  mat-^ 
tey\  and  the  caufeof  all  its  modifications  and  changes; 
and  that,  therefore,  there  is  an  univerfal  min<l  poileft 
of  all  perfeclion,  which  produced  and  which  a£luate^ 

all  things hl  yz  jfov    n^y^fjuvtov    ovS'^cjtof  a/a^^ 

Xiy<itv  »  '^c/.<jvv  'JL^^rrw  ^yj^vTav  A-vyjw  iT<i^iay'-tv  'Trd.vrct, 
—After  this  he  {hews  that  the  Deity  exercifes  a  parti^ 
cular  providence  over  the  world,  taking  care  of  fniaU 
no  lefs  than  great  things.  Q^  i^iu-tKni  auiKpm  njt 
Pui,  ovy^  m^op  »  Ticv  fj.eyiQit  J'i^(f):ov.-Teov^  In  proving 
this  he  obferves,  *'  that  a  fuperior  nature  of  fuch 
*'  excellence  as'  the  Divine,  which  hears,  fees,  and 
"  knows  all  things,  cannot  in  any  inftance  be  fuD- 
"  ject  to  negligence  or  lloth  ;  that  the  meaneit  and 
*'  the  greatelt  parts  of  the  world  are  all  equally  his 
*'  work  or  pofleliion  ;  that  great  things  cannot  be 
*'  ri"-htly  taken  care  of  without  taking  care  of 
**  fmall  i   and  ihat,  in  all  cafes,  the  more  able  and 

"  perica 

3 


0;^   Providence.  ii 

God  all  the  diftinCtions  of  high  and  low 
in  the  creation  vanilh.  All  beings  are 
infinitelyy  that  is,  eqtiallyy  inferior  to 
him. 

Another  prejudice  by  which,  probab- 
ly, the  minds  of  many  are  affetfled  on 
this  fubjed:,  arifes  from  the  notion,  that 
it  muft  be  fome  trouble  to  the  Deity  to 
fuperintend  and  diredl  all  the  immenfe 
variety  of  events  in  the  univerfe.  It  is 
not  eafy  in  this  inftance  to  avoid  con- 
ceiving of  God  as  like  ourfelves,  and  to 
remove  all  human  imperfecftions  from 
our   ideas    of  him.      We    fhould    fludy 

*'  perfecSl  any  artift  Is  (as  a  phyfician,  an  architect, 
*••  or  the  ruler  of  a  ftate)  the  more  his  fkill  and  care 
"  appear  in  little  as  well  as  great  things.  Let  us 
not  then  (fays  he)  conceive  of  God  as  worfe  than 
*'  even  mortal  artifts."  Ot/J'e  ya.^  ctvzv  (Tfxnt^eov  ra? 
piyet^ai  octatv  oi  hSoKayoi    M^ov^    su   K^fSrat //« 

791'  yi  BiOV  £t^lCi}<TCOfy.iV  'TTOli    BfHTUy    S'niJ.lOV^yCOV  tpctVKQTi' 

pot  :  01   Trt  '7rfoff)]KovTdL  avToii  '.pyA  OffU  '7ri{  AV  A^ilVOVi 

itett  (jiiyctxct  ct-jipyet^ovTcti.  The  chapter  laSimplU 
cius  juft  quoted  contains  many  obfervations  fimilar 
to  thefc,  and  well  defcrves  to  be  confulted. 

this 


14  O;?    P  R  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E* 

this  as  much  as  we  can,  and  take  caf<§ 
always  to  remember  that  the  whole  of 
poffibility  is  alike  eafy  to  mjinite  power 
and  knowledge ;  and  that  it  is  a  contra- 
diftion  to  imagine  that  they  can  be  ever 
encumbered  or  perplexed. 

But  the  objection  of  moft  confequence 
is  that  taken  from  the  fuppofed  incon- 
fiftency  of  a  particular  providence  with 
the  liberty  of  reafonable  agents,  and  the 
general  laws  of  the  world.  This  objec- 
tion may  be  feen  excellently  anfwered  irt 
7he  'Religion  of  Nature  delineated,  Sedl.  V. 
Svhere  it  is  fhewn,  how  by  fecret  influx 
ences  on  the  minds  of  men ;  by  the  in- 
troduSion  of  different  charadlers  on  the 
ftage  of  the  world  at  proper  times,  and 
in  proper  places ;  by  the  miniftry  of  in-^ 
vifible  beings,  and  a  fuitable  adjuftment 
of  phyfical  and  moral  caufes  and  events 
to  one  another,  it  may  be  poffible,  con- 
fiftently  with  the  laws  of  nature  and 
the  liberty  of  mankind,  to  direft  all  oc- 
currences in  fuch  a  manner,  that  nothing 

on 


Qu     P  R  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  a*  J  3 

on  the  whole  unfit  to.be  allowed,  or  un- 
ftiitable  to  any  cafe,  fliall  come  to  pafs. 
—  In  fliort :  Concerning  every  event  wq 
may  realbn  thus.  Either  it  is  of  impor-i 
tance,  or.  it  is  not.  As  far  as  it  is.  not  of  im- 
portance, fo  far  it  is  no  object  of  concern 
to  any  being.  As  far,  on  the  contrary, 
as  it  is  of  importance,  either  in  itfclf,  or 
its  circumftances,  or  oa  account  of  its  in-, 
fluence  on  other  events^  fo  far,  as:  aK 
ready  obferved,  it  is  worthy  of  notice 
and  regard,  and  it  would  imply  imper- 
fe(ftion  in  the  adminiftration  of  nature 
that  the  courfe  of  events  fhould  be  fo  re- 
gulated as  to  admit  it, .  fuppofing  it  oa 
any  account  not  proper  ta  be  admitted^ 
— The  opinion  that  fuch  a  particularr'^v^ 
region  of  events  is  not  poffible,  without 
breaking  in  upon  free,  ageacy  and  thet 
laws  of  the  univerfe,  fliews,  I  tunik,' 
narrow  views.  It  would,  indeed,:  b^ 
impoffible,,  if  a  man,  for  example,  hap^^^ 
pens  to  be  under  a  wall  when  it  is  fall-- 
ing,  to  prevent  his  being  killed,  without 
Ijifpending.  the_  law.  of  gravitation.:.  B.ut 
*  .  how 


14  0;^    P  R  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E. 

how  eafy  would  it  have  been,. had  his 
death  at  this  particular  time,  and  in  this 
particular  manner,  been  an  event  proper 
to  be  excluded,  or  which  was  not  con- 
fiftent  with  exadt  order  and  righteoufnefs 
in  the  regulation  of  events;  how  eafy,  I 
fay,  in  this  cafe,  would  it  have  been  to 
hinder  him  from  coming  too  near  the 
dangerous  place,  or  to  occafion  his  com^ 
ifig  fooner  or  later,  by  infenfibly  influ- 
encing the  train  of  ideas  in  his  mind, 
and  in  numberlefs  other  methods,  which 
afFefl:  not  his  liberty.  And  fmce  this 
was  eafy  to  be  done,  and  yet  was  not 
done,  we  may  alluredly  conclude  that 
it  was  not  right  to  be  done,  and  that  the 
event  did  not  happen  without  the  coun- 
fel  and  approbation  of  providence.  In 
general  3  every  perfon  whenever  any  e- 
\zx\\.y  favourable  or  unfavourable,  hap- 
pens to  him,  has  the  greateft  reafon  to 
own  the  Divine  hand  in  it  j  becaufe,  it 
appears,  as  far  as  we  can  judge,  that  had 
the  Deity  fo  pleafed,  it  might  have  been 
prevented  by  a  fecret  diredion  of  natu-? 

ral 


0/2    P  R  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E.  15 

ral  caufes,  and  of  the  thoughts  of  men, 
without  offering  any  violence  to  them. 
How  plainly  may  we  perceive,  that  if 
we  ourfelves  had  a  greater  acquaintance 
with  the  powers  of  nature,  and  nearer 
accefs  to  the  minds  of  men,  we  could 
eafily  over-rule  and  dired:  many  events 
not  at  prefent  in  our  power,  agreeably  to 
our  own  purpofes,  without  the  leaft  in- 
fringement of  the  general  laws  of  the 
world,  or  of  the  liberty  of  mankind  ? 
But  how  much  eafier  muft  it  be  for 
that  being  to  do  this  abfolutely  and  per- 
fectly, to  whom  all  the  powers  of  nature 
are  fubjed:,  who  fees  through  all  depen- 
dencies and  connexions,  and  has  conftant 
accefs  to  the  heart  of  every  man,  and 
can  turn  it  whitherfoever   he  pleafes  *  ? 

Where 

*  We  are,  I  believe,  more  ignorant  than  is  ge- 
perally  imagined  of  the  manner  in  which  ideas  arife 
within  us,  and  of  the  caufes  on  which  the  fuccef- 
fion  of  them  in  our  minds  depends.  By  this  fuc- 
peflion,  the  courfe  of  events  in  the  world  feems  to 
be  in  a  great  meafure  determined  ;  and  he  who  had 
the  complete  management  of  it  might  give  rife  to 

almofl 


|6  O;^    P  R  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E. 

Where  then  can  be  the  difficulty  of  be- 
lieving an  invifible  hand,  an  univerfal  and 
ever-attentive  providence,  which  guides 
all  things  agreeably  to  perfe<5t  redlitude 
and  wifdom ;  at  the  fame  time  that  the 
general  laws  of  the  world  are  left  unvio- 
lated,  and  the  liberty  of  moral  agents 
is  preferved  ? 

With  refpefl:,  particularly,  to  general 
laws,  and  the  inconveniencies  commonly 
fuppofed  to  be  infeparable  from  them,  we 
may  conceive  that  none  would  be  at  firft 
cftabliilied  which  would  produce  any  in- 
conveniencies not  rights  all  things  con^ 
fidered,  to  be  allowed ;  or,  that  fuch 
would  be  eftablifhed  whofe  inconve^ 
niencies  might  even  become  occali- 
ons  of  good,  as  the  afflidions  of  hu-^ 
man  life  have  a  tendency  to  bring  men 

almofl:  any  events  he  defirec^,  at  the  fame  time  that 
men  went  on  to  think,  and  judge,  and  a(5t  from' 
thcmfelves  as  they  do  now.  But  who  can  fay  how 
far  it  may  be  actually  influenced  by  the  fu^geftions 
of  invifible  beings,  and  particularly  by  the  fccret  a- 
gency  of  the  fupreme  Spirit  ? 

tQ 


G;2    P  R  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E.  17 

to  fobriety  and  thoiightfulnefs,  and  to 
teach  them  feme  of  the  moft  important 
virtues.  Or,  fuppofing  the  inconveni- 
encies  arifing  from  any  neceffary  gene- 
ral laws  to  be  in  themfelves  abfolute 
evils,  we  may  conceive  that  there  may 
be  direction  in  various  ways,  with  refped: 
to  the  inftances  in  which  they  ihall  hap- 
pen ;  or  that  remedies  may  be  provided 
for  them  in  the  original  conftitution  by 
particular  fecondary  laws,  as  the  incon- 
veniencies  attending  the  abfence  of  the 
fun  are  remedied  by  the  lights  with  which 
we  can  furniih  ourfelves  in  the  night, 
or  as  the  ill  eifedls  which  would  often 
arife  from  gravity  and  other  natural 
caufes,  are  prevented  by  the  powers  and 
inflincfts  with  which  animals  are  en- 
dowed. It  is,  without  doubt,  abfolute- 
ly  neceffary  that  natural  caufes  fliould 
operate  uniformly  and  fteadily.  Were 
they  liable  to  frequent  interruptions,  the 
regularity  of  nature  would  be  deftroyed; 
there  would  be  no  room  for  the  exercife 
of  prudence  and  forefight,  and  an  uni- 

C  veri' 


ax 


1 8  On    Providence. 

verfal  inadtivity  would  take  place  among 
reafonable  beings.  If  then  it  fhould  be 
true,  that  fome  evils  are  impoffible  to  be 
feparated  by  any  methods  from  the  uni- 
form operation  of  any  law  of  nature  ne- 
cefTary  to  the  general  good,  fuch  evils 
only  render  this  law  fo  much  lefs  good, 
while  yet  it  may  be  the  beft  poffible, 
and  the  impoffibility  of  preventing  them 
without  greater  harm,  becomes  itfelf 
a  fuiiicient  vindication  of  Providence 
in.  permitting  them,'  and  renders  them 
entirely  confiftent  with,  nay  injiances  of^ 
a  perfect  order  in  the  ©economy  of  the 
univerfe. 

In  a  word.  It  is  felf-evldent  that  if 
there  is  one  event  in  nature,  of  which  all 
ii\^  care  is  not  taken  that  is  I'ight  to  be 
taken,  the  adminiftration  of  the  world 
is  fo  far  defecflive,  and  the  character  of 
its  author  imperfedt.  It  will  be  a  con- 
tradiction to  fay,  in  anfwer  to  this,  that 
there  are  caufes  and  reafons,  which  ren- 
der  it   \\o\.  pofjible  to   take  fuch  care  of 

eijcry 


O-i    Provide  m  c  e.  19 

every  tv^nt;  for  the  care  r/V/5/  to  be 
taken  can  be  no  other  than  all  the  care 
fqfjibk  to  be  taken.  It  follows,  therefore, 
that  no  one  who  believes  a  perfcd:  Deity- 
can  deny  a  Providence,  or  doubt  whe- 
ther it  is  particular. 

Leafi:  I  fliould  not  find  a  properer  place^ 
I  Ill-all  beg  leave  to  add  here,  as  fomc 
preiumption  in  favour  of  fuch  a  perfect 
order  \\\  nature  as  a  particular  Providence 
implies,  that  there  is  in  order  and  right 
an  eifential  tendency  to  get  the  afcendant 
over  their  contraries.  They  imply  in 
their  natures  fuperior  forcey  Jlabilityy 
and  permane7icy 'y  Vv^hereas,  confufion  and 
wrong  as  fuch  are  neceflarily  weaky 
iinjiabky  and  felf-dejiru5iive.  This  a- 
lone,  I  think,  rnight  be  fufficient  to 
engage  an  attentive  mind  to  believe, 
previouflv  to  any  coniideration  of  the 
actual  flate  of  the  world,  that  the  for- 
mer, rather  than  the  latter,  mufc  be 
likely  to  be  prevalent  in  it.  But,  per- 
haps, v/e  may  with  reafon  proceed  fur- 
C    2  ther 


20  0;Z     P  R  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E. 

ther  in  this  way  of  thinking.  The  very 
notion  that  there  is  any  circumftance  in 
the  courfe  and  adminiftration  of  the 
world  as  it  jhould  not  be,  appears  to  me 
to  be  felf-evidently  incredible.  It  im- 
plies an  impoffibility  like  that  of  deftroy- 
ing  fpace  and  duration;  for  it  implies 
the  non-exiflence  of  what  cannot  even 
in  thought  be  deftroyed  y  of  infinite y  om- 
nipotent y  and  enjerlafilng  reafan  and  good- 
nefs.  While  we  conceive  thefe  to  re- 
main, (and  otherwife  we  cannot  conceive 
without  a  contradiction)  we  muft  be- 
lieve that  every  thing  repugnant  to  them, 
or  not  allowed  by  them,  is  excluded  from 
nature  *. — But  let  this  be  as  it  will.     It 

feems 

*  It  would  take  up  too  much  ttmc  as  well  as  lead 
to  a  fpeculation  too  abftrufe  for  the  prefent  difcourfe 
to  explain  my  full  meaning  here,  or  to  {hew  that 
we  have  an  intuitive  perception  of  the  exiftence  of 
infinite^  everlajling^  omnipotent  intelligence  and  rc5Jitudsy 
which,  like  eternity  and  immcnfity,  we  cannot  de- 
ft^oy,  but  remain  after  we  have  fuppofed  them  away, 
and  the  ideas  of  which  are  included  in  all  our  rea- 
foninfrs,  and  all  our  notions  of  truth  and  morality. 

I 


On    Providence.  21 

feenis  to  me,  on  the  whole,  fcarcely  more 
certain  that  events  happen  at  all,  than 
that  they  do  not  happen  without  the 
Providence  of  the  Deity.  As  the  mak- 
er and  preferver  of  the  world  he  muft 
take  cognizance  of  whatever  happens, 
and  have  an  abfolute  dominion  over  it. 
Some  determination,  therefore,  of  his 
will  there  muft  be  with  refped:  to  every 
event.  His  knowing  that  an  event  hap- 
pens, and  at  the  fame  time  not  inter- 
poling  to  prevent  it,  is  a  confent  that  it 
Ihould  happen ;  and  as  this  confent  muft 
be  founded  on  fome  reafons,  it  is  the 
very  fame  with  exerciiing  a  providence 
over  the  event.  This  obfervation  will 
have  more  weight  if  we  add,  that  he 
forefaw  the  event  before  it  happened, 
and  yet  was  not  pleafed  fo  to  difpofe 
things  as  to  exclude  it;  or,  that  when 
he    eftabliflied    the    prefent    fyftem    of 

I  therefore  only  hint  this  argument,  and  leave  the 
reader  to  judge  of  it   as  he  pleafes.     See  Review  of 
the   Principal  ^leftions    and    Difficulties    in   Morals^ 
Chap.  V. 

C  3  nature. 


22  On   Providence. 

nature,  he  knew  that  it  would  arife  in 
confequence  of  his  eflabhfnment,  which 

yet  he  did  not    think    fit   to   alter. 

We  ought  to  poflefs  not  mucii  lefs  than 
his  omnifcience  to  be  able  to  comprehend 
the  realons  which  have  guided,  in  every 
inftance,  the  determinations  of  his  pro- 
vidence. It  fliould  be  enough  to  us  to 
know  that,  whatever  thefe  reafons  arc, 
they  muil  be  worthy  of  infinite  intelli- 
gence, or  at  leafl,  of  a  piece  with  that 
perfedlion  of  wifdom  and  art  which  we 
fee  in  the  whole  of  the  inanimate  crea- 
tion. But  thefe  obfervations  I  fhall  have 
occafion  to  refume  in  fome  of  the  folio v/- 
1X12,  feftions, 

D 


>         T-N 


E  C  T. 


Ov^     P  R  O  V  1  D  E  N  C  E.  23 


SECT.     IL 

Of  the  arguments  for  Providence  from  the 
general  laws  and  conflitiition  cf  the 
%vorld^. 


TT  has  been  fliewn  in  the  preceding 
JL  fecffcion,  that  the  perfedl  charader  of 
the  Deity  cannot  be  maintained  without 
allowing  an  all- dire fting  and  unerring 
Providence,  It  would  have  been  taking 
much  too  large  a  compafs  to  enter^  on  this 
occaiion,  into  an  account  of  the  evidence 
for  the  Divine  perfecflions.  'Tis  fuffi- 
cient  if  it  appears  that  the  docftrine  of 
Providence  refls  on  the  fame  foundation 
with  them,  and  follows  from  them. 
There  is,  however,  one  objection  here, 
of  which  it  v/ill  be  proper  to  take  fome 
notice.  It  may  be  faid  *'  that  our  only 
^*  evidence  for  the  Divine  perfedlions  is 
C  4  ''  taken 


24  On   Providence. 

*'  taken  from  what   we  oblerve  of  their 

"  effedls  in  the  frann.e  of  nature,  and  that 

*'  therefore  to  infer  from   thefe    perfec- 

'^  tions  any  greater  order  and  wifdom  in 

**  the  adminiftration  of  nature  than  we 

*'  can    adually    obferve,    is    to    fappofe 

**  greater  perfedtion  in    the  Deity   than 

*'  can  be  proved,  and  the  fame  with  firft 

*'  determining  the  properties  of  the  caufe 

<*  by  the  efted,  and  then  determining  the 

*'  properties  of  the  effedl  by  the  caufe." 

In  anfvver  to  this  I  vvould  obferve,  ill, 
that  it  is  not  true  that  our  whole  evidence 
for  the  Divine  perfedlions  is  taken  from 
the  frame  of  nature.  The  difcoveries  of 
reafon,  however  they  may  be  preceded 
by  obfervation  and  experience,  and  take 
their  rife  from  them.,  tranicend  them  in- 
finitely ;  and  in  many  inftances  force  us 
to  receive  truths  v/hich  they  are  incapa- 
ble of  fuggeiling  ''^\  But, 

*    I   am    under  a    neccflity   of    referring     again 
to   the  Reviezv    of  the  pnn,.ipal  ^lejiions    and  Dif- 
ficulties   in    Morals^     Chap,    ifl  and     loth,    where  I 
have  endeavoured  to  prove  all  that  is  here  aflerted. 
,  The 


0/2     P  R  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  B.  25 

But,  2dly,  fuppofing  that  our  whole 
knowledge  of  the  Deity  muft  be  derived 
from  w^hat  we  fee  of  his  works,  it  will  not 
follow  that  we  ought  to  afcribe  to  him 
only  juft  that  precife  degree  of  the  per- 
fedions  we  believe  him  to  poflefs,  which 
is  equal  to  what  we  can  comprehend  of 
their  effefts  in  the  contrivance  and   or- 

The  works  of  creation  damnjlrate  that  the  Creator  is 
poflefled  of  power  and  intelligence.  That  he  pofTefies 
them  in  the  highejl  pojfible  degree^  follows  from  his  na- 
ture as  an  uncaujed  being.  Whatever  qualities  fuch 
a  being  has,  he  muft  have  necejfarihj^  and,  therefore, 
in  their  fource  and  in  infinity.  This  Is  capable  of  the 
firidleil:  proof,  and  muft,  1  fancy,  appear  to  every 
one  who  has  juft  views  of  this  fubjecl.  l^he  perfeSi 
intelligence  of  the  Deity  being  in  this  way  difcovered, 
it  will  follow  that  he  is  poftelTed  of  pcrfeSi  benevoknce 
and  reSiitude ',  for  thefe  are  included  in  perfe6l  intel- 
ligence ;  as,  I  think,  is  fliewn  in  the  treatife  juft  re- 
ferred to.  And  thus,  on  the  principles  maintained 
in  that  treatife,  the  complete  idea  oi  Deity ^  confift- 
ing  of  infinite  poiuer^  intelligence^  and  goodnefs  eflen- 
tially  united,  will  be  eftablifhed  :  and  this  being  e- 
ftablifhed,  the  doctrine  of  an  unerring  providence 
guiding  all  events,  or  of  a  perfect  order  in  naturje, 
will  be  likewife  eftablifoed,  as  Is  fliewn  in  the  prc- 
(:eding  fedion, 

der 


26  On   Providence. 

der  of  the  world.  This  would  impl)% 
that  we  ought  never  to  infer  from  any 
{lata  more  than  they  immediately  contain, 
and  therefore  would  put  an  end  to  all 
reafoning. — The  caufe  muft  always  have 
in  himfelf,  in  a  greater  degree,  tliofe  per- 
fcftions  which  he  communicates. 

It  would  be  eafy  to  fhew  that  from 
the  works  of  creation  we  have  reafon  to 
infer  a  much  higher  degree  of  power, 
wifdom,  and  goodnefs  in  the  Creator 
than  they  directly  exhibit  ^  and  there^ 
fore,  it  will  be  right  in  this  cafe,  firft  to 
argue  upwards  from  the  efFe(ft,  as  a 
foundation  for  proving  the  perfeffions  of 
the  caufe,  and  then  back  again  from 
the  caufe  thus  difcovered  to  the  effecfl. 
Thus,  in  natural  philofophy,  by  reafon- 
ing from  particular  fafts  we  gain  the 
knowlege  of  the  general  laws  which  ob- 
tain in  nature,  and  afterwards  apply 
thefe  laws  to  the  explanation  of  other 
facets  which  could  not  otlierwife  have  been 
accounted  for.     For  inflance  5    from  th^ 

faili 


0/2     P  R  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E.  27 

fiift    that    gravity    is  the   power    which 
keeps  the  moon  in  her  orbit,  is  inferred 
the  general  law  of  gravitation,  by  the  help 
of  which    the  whole    order  of  the  folar 
fyftem  is  laid  open    to    us,    and   all  the 
motions   of  the  bodies   that  compofe  it 
explained.     How  abfurd  would  it   be  to 
objed:  in  this  inftance,    that  no  conclu- 
fion  can  be  drawn  from  any  fadls  which 
will  prove  any  greater  degree  of  regula- 
rity in  nature  than  thefe  fads  thcmfelves 
exhibit,   or  which    can  be    rightly  ufed 
to  explain  any  other  fads,    about   whicl^ 
we  can  make  no  experiments  ? 

It  is  proper  to  add,  3dly,  that  we 
adually  fee  that  nature  is  the  efFed  of 
fuch  wifdom  as  furpaffes  our  higheft  con- 
ceptions. We  know  this  in  numberlef^s 
inftancesi  and  the  fame  wifdom  that 
takes  place  in  thefc  inftances,  we  are 
unavoidably  led  to  apply  to  other  in- 
ftances w^here  it  is  not  (cen,  and  to  the 
whole  adminiilration  of  events.  It  will, 
}  hope,  appear  hereafter  that  this   is  an 

obfer- 


28  0/2   Providence. 

obfervatlon  of  particular  weight  on  the 
iubjedl  of  Providence.  In  the  mean  time, 
it  is  neceffary  that  I  fliould  enter  upon 
fome  topics  of  a  different  nature. 

The  defign  of  this  fedlion  is  to  give 
an  account  of  fuch  arguments  for  Provi- 
dence as  may  be  gathered  from  confider- 
ing  the  general  lav^s  and  conftitution  of 
tlie  world. 

In  order  to  be  as  explicit  as  I  can  on 
this  head,  I  fhall  beg  leave  to  obferve, 
fidiy  that  it  appears  undeniably  that  there 
is  a  plan  of  nature  fettled,  which  deter- 
mines m  general  the  couije  of  events.  A 
particular  order  of  caufes  and  effedls  is 
maintained  regularly  and  fteadily.  Laws 
have  been  eftablifhed  which  operate  inva- 
riably. Many  diiferent  claiTes  of  crea- 
tures have  been  brought  into  exiftence, 
and  placed  in  circumftances  adapted  to 
their  different  natures,  and  all  provided 
for  fuitably  to  their  wants  and  exigencies. 
The  world,    therefore,  has  not  been  left 

to 


0;Z     P  R  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E.  29 

to  fluftuate  fortuitoufly.  There  is  a  care 
taken  of  it,  and  a  diredlion  given  to  its 
affairs. — But  this  does  not  come  up  to 
what  I  have  here  chiefly  in  view. — It  is 
evident  not  only  that  there  is  a  plan  or 
conflitution  of  nature  by  which  beings 
are  provided  for,  and  a  general  direction 
given  to  events ;  but  that  there  is  an 
influence  of  the  Deity  conftantly  exerted 
to  maintain  this  conflitution. — In  other 
words;  it  may  be  proved  *'  that  the 
**  Deity  is  always  prefent  and  always 
**  adiive  in  all  places ;  and  that  his  e- 
**  nergy  is  the ^r/?  mover  in  every  mo- 
**  tion,  and  the  true  fource  of  all  the 
**  powers  and  laws  v/hich  take   place  in 

"  the  material  world." To  this  con- 

clufion  all  true  philofophy  leads  us ;  and 
it  is  a  point  fo  clofely  connected  with 
the  main  purpofe  of  this  Differtation, 
that  I  fliall  make  it  the  fubje(5t  of  par- 
ticular examination. 

Much  labour  has  been  employed   by 
fome  perfons  to  account  for  all  the  pha^- 

nomena 


30  On     V\  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E*' 

nomena  of  nature  by  the  powers  of  me-^ 
chanifni,  or  the  neceflary  laws  of  mat- 
ter and  motion*  But  it  feems  indifpu- 
tabie  tiiat  this  cannot  be  done.  The 
pnjnary  caufts  of  things  muft,  certainly^ 
be  fome  powers  or  principles  not  me- 
chanical. For  let  it  be  granted  that  any 
particular  effeft  is  owing  to  the  im.pulfe 
of  ether  matter  on  that  in  which  the 
effect  is  obferved^  it  may  be  aiked, 
what  gives  motion  to  this  other  mat- 
ter. If  it  is  anfwered,  the  impulfe  of 
fome  third  matter ;  it  may  be  again  afk- 
ed>  whence  this  third  matter  derives  its 
motion.  ilnd  thus,  w^hatever  number 
of  intermediate  fteps  there  may  be,  we 
muft  at  laft  come  to  fome  matter  that 
cid  not  receive  its  motion  from  the  im- 
pulfe of  other  matter ;   or   to  fome  im- 

mechanical    caufe. This    reafoning 

can  no  way  be  evaded,  but  by  either 
maintaining  an  endlefs  progreffion  of 
motions  communicated  from  matter  to 
matter,  without  ^ny  Jirji  J72over -,  or  by 
frying,    that    the    firft   impelling  matter 

moved 


On    Providence.  31 

moved  itfelf.— — The  former  is  an  abfur- 
dity  too  great  to  be  embraced  by  any 
one  5  and  there  is  reafon  to  hope,  that 
the  eilential  inadlivity  of  matter  is  at 
prefent  fo  well  underftood,  that  there 
can  be  but  few  who  will  care  to  affert  the 
latter. — All  our  reafonings  about  bodies 
and  the  whole  of  natural  philofophy  are 
founded  on  the  three  laws  of  motion,  laid 
down  by  Sir  Ifaac  Newton  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Principia.  Thefe  laws  ex- 
prefs  the  plaineft  truths ;  but  they  would 
have  neither  evidence  nor  meaning,  were 
not  inadlivity  contained  in  our  idea  of 
matter. 

I  know  it  will  be  faid,  that  matter, 
though  naturally  inert,  may  be  made 
to  be  otherwife  by  Divine  power.  But 
this  is  the  fame  with  faying,  that  matter 
may  be  made  not  to  be  matter.  If  in- 
activity belongs  to  it  at  all,  it  muft  be- 
long to  it  as  matter,  or  folid  extenfion, 
and  therefore  muft  be  infeparable  from 

it, 


32  On   Providence. 

it  *.      The  natures  of  things  are  necef- 
farily  what  they   are,    independently  of 
all  power.     Matter  is  figured:,   moveable^ 
difcerptibki  inaBroe,  and  capable  of  com- 
municating motion  by  impulfe  to  other 
liiatter,   juft  as  the  four  fides  of  a  fquare 
and  its  diagonal  are  incommenfurable  *y  that 
is,   not  by  W//,    but  by  ejjence.     Thefe 
are'   not  accidental,  but  primary  qualities 
of  matter.     Befides ;  matter  void  of  in- 
aftivity,  fuppofmg  it  poflible,  could  pro- 
duce   no   effefls.'    'Tis   only   in    confe- 
quence  of  this  property  that  it  is  capa- 
ble of  giving  motion  to  other  matter,   or 
of  anfwering  any  purpofe.     Were,   there- 
fore, the   firfl  impelling  matter   before- 
mentioned  diverted  of  its   inertia^  or  en- 
dowed with  a   principle  of  felf-motion, 
it  would  be  utterly  unfitted  for  the  end 
afligned  it.     What  is    now  afierted  will 
perhaps  be  evident,  and  the  impofiibility 
of  matter    without  inertia  appear   more 
plainly     upon    confidering     particularly 

*  See  the  Enquiry  into  the  Nature  of  the  Human  Souly 
Se£l.  I.  N^  15,  24,  265  27. 

what 


On   Providence.  33 

what  would  happen  on  the  collifion  of 
fuch  matter  with  other  matter  of  the 
fame,   or  of  a  different  kind. 

We  know  nothing  of  matter,  and  can 
determine  nothing  about  it,  if  it  is  not 
true  that  it  muft  yield  to  every  impulfe 
upon  it  in  proportion  to  the  force  im- 
prefled,  and  that  the  motion  comniiuiicated 
by  every  impulfe  is  always  equal  to  that 
loft  by  the  impelling  body  and  cannot  be 
either  greater  or  lefs ;  or,  in  other  words, 
that  it  is  endowed  with  r^Jijlance,  and 
abfolutely  and  entirely  paffive'^.     But  no- 

*  What  I  mean  here  when  exprefled  more  accu- 
rately is,  that  a  change  of  J}  ate  is  always  produced  in 
the  body  impelling,  equal  to  that  produced  in  the 
body  impelled.  In  coinfojltiort  of  motion,  or  when 
one  body  ftriktrs  another  body  in  motion  obliquely, 
there  is  always  motion  loll  \  bccaufe  fome  of  the 
force  of  the  impelling  body  muft  be  fpent  in  merely 
altering  the  dlre(£i:ion  of  the  other  ;  though  evert 
here,  as  well  as  in  the  rejolutim  of  motion  where,  for 
the  fame  reafon,  motion  is  always  gained,  the  general 
rule  holds,  that  the  fum  of  the  motions  the  fame 
wav,  and  the  diffcri:nce  of  the  motions  cc-ntrarywTi.yay 
art:  always  the  fame  before  and  affrr  coIlifion. 

D  thing 


j4  On   Providence. 

'thing  like  this  can  be  true  on  the  fuppo- 
fition  of  active  or  unrefifting  matter. — 
For  let  a  mafs  of  fuch  matter  be  con- 
ceived to  ftrike  another  mafs  of  inad:ive 
matter  at  reft.  I  alk  w^hat  would  hap- 
pen ?  Not  the  moving  of  that  at  reft.  For 
the  impelling  body  having  no  refiftance, 
or  no  tendency  to  continue  in  any  ftate  of 
motion  or  reft,  it  can  have  nothing  like 
force,  and  therefore  can.  produce  no  efFeffc. 
• — Shall  it  then  pafs  through  or  penetrate 
the  body  at  reft,    and  go  on  to  move  as 

if  nothing  ftood  in    its    way  ? This 

alfo  is  impoffible^  or  we  have  no  idea 
at  all  of  matter  as  2tfolid  fubftance,  or  as 
fomething  diftinft  from  mere  extenfion. 
— 'Tis  certain  then  that  its  motion  muft 
be  ftopped,  but  without  communicating 
the  leaft  motion  to  the  body  at  reft,  or 
having  the  leaft  efFecft  upon  it.  That 
is,  an  effed:  vi\\\  be  produced  without  a 
caufe  :  For  the  body  at  reft  not  having 
received  any  alteration  of  its  ftate,  it 
could  not  have  re-aSed  or  been  the  means 
of  altering  the    ftate  of  the  other. 


There 
3 


0//    Pr  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E.  35 

There  is  no  way  of  avoiding  thefe  con- 
tradiftions  but  by  laying,  what  is  too  ri- 
diculous to  deferve  any  anfwer ;  that  the 
moving  body  had  the  fagacity  to  exert 
its  activity  to  flop  itfelf  the  very  inftant 
it  came  into  contad:  with  the  other. 

But  again ;  let  us  on  the  other  hand, 
fuppofe  a  body  of  inactive  matter,  (that 
is,  of  fuch  matter  as  we  commonly  rea- 
fon  about,  and  is  the  only  fubjedl  of 
the  laws  of  mechanifm)  to  move  towards 
another  body  of  felf-moving  and  unre- 
lifting  matter,  and  to  impel  it  in  the 
very  dired:ion  in  which  it  tends  to  move 
itfelf.  Now  'tis  certain  that  having  an 
innate  tendency  or  endeavour  to  move  in 
this  direftlon,  it  cannot  rejift  motion  in 
this  direftion,  and  that  therefore  the  firll 
body  without  being  rc-a(^ted  upon,  or 
having  its  own  ftate  in  any  manner 
altered  by  the  impulfe,  would  carry 
it  along  with  the  fame  velocity  with 
which  itfelf  moves.  Nay,  the  firft 
body,   though  ever   fo  fmall,  would,    in 

D  2  the 


36  0/z   Providence. 

the  circumftances  fuppofed,  communi- 
cate any  motion  though  ever  fo  great  to 
any  mafs  or  maffes  of  matter,  without 
lofing  any  motion  itfelf,  that  is,  without 
meeting  with  any  obJlruBioTty  ov  afting 
at  all  on  the  matter  moved.  And  thus 
any  effeft  may  be  produced  by  the  moll 
inadequate  caufe,  or  rather  by  no  caufe  at 
all. 

Once  more;  let  a  collifion  be  con- 
ceived to  happen  between  two  equal 
bodies  both  compofed  of  matter  without 
incrtiuy  moving  in  contrary  directions » 
As  one  of  them  cannot  be  conceived  to 
penetrate  the  other,  the  refult  mud  be, 
that  both  fhall  be  flopped,  but  by  no- 
thing ;  for  both  wanting  that  property  on 
account  of  which  we  fay  of  matter,  that 
when  once  in  motion  it  will  perfevere 
in  motion,  unlefs  fomething  ftops  it,  or 
having  no  power  of  reliflance,  neither  of 
them  can  be  any  obftrudion  to  the  mo- 
tion of  the  other  *.  But 

*  The  refinance  of  matter  is  an  exprefTion  that  muft 
be  ufed  in  fpeaking  on  this  fubjedl  for   want  of  a 

better ; 


O//    Pr  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E.  37 

But  the  impofiibility  of  all  adive  qua- 
lities  or    tendencies    in   matter   may  be 

proved 

better  ;  but  there  is  fome  danger  of  mifunderftandln^'' 
it.  The  meaning  of  it  is  not  that  matter  makes 
any  oppofition  to  a  change  of  its  ftate,  or  exerts  a 
force  to  maintain  itfelf  in  the  ftate  it  is  in,  as  fome 
have  very  improperly  exprefled  themfelves.  This 
would  imply  that  very  activity  which  I  have  en- 
deavoured to  fhew  to  be  inconfiftent  with  its  na- 
ture 5  and  were  it  true,  a  part  of  the  force  of  every 
impulfe  would  be  fpent  merely  in  overcoming  this 
oppofition  without  producing  any  other  eiFe6t ;  and 
therefore  the  fum  of  the  motions  the  fame  way  would 
be  always  greater  before  than  after  collifion,  which 
is  impofTible.  The  largeft  body  will  be  moved  by 
,  any  t\iz  Jlighteft  impulfe  of  the  fmalleji  ;  but  then  it 
can  be  moved  only  in  proportion  to  the  force  of  the 
impulfe  ;  and  this  is  what  is  chiefly  meant  by  the  re- 
fijlance  of  matter.  "  For  inftance.  A  body  at  red 
will  refijl  another  which  is  moving  towards  it  j  that  is, 
it  will  be  an  ohftruclion  to  the  motion  of  this  other. 
The  latter  will  be  retarded  by  the  former,   and   will 

iofe  juft  as  much  motion  as  it  communicates. In 

other  words.  The  r^t^wr^?  of  matter  is  that  in  its 
nature  which  makes  it  require  an  adequate- foreign 
caufe  of  every  change  of  ft  ate,  or  from  whence  it 
is  wholly  pajfwe^  and  incapable  of  receiving  any  mo- 
tion from  impulfe  that  is  not  in  a  certain  fixed  pro- 
1^  3  ponioa 


38  O/z    Providence, 

proved  in  a  way  ftill  more  dired:  and  de- 

cifive. Let  it  be  fuppofed  that  a  body 

now  at  reft  has  an  innate  tendency  to 
move.  This  tendency  muft  produce  its 
efFeft,  either  by  a  gradual  acceleration  in 
the  manner  gravity  afts  j  or  by  inftan^ 
taneoufly  producing  that  particular  degree 
of  motion  which  fatisiies  it,  and  then 
ceafing.— -- In  the  former  cafe;  the  ten- 
dency to  acceleration  being  the  fame  with 

portion  to  the  relative  momentum  of  the  impelling  bo- 
dy, and  ftrictly  equal  to  the  change  of  flate  it  fuffers 
io  confequence  of  the  impulfe.  In  this  proportion 
matter  is  always  moved  w//Z>^/://  difficulty  \  but  beyond 
this  there  is  not  only  2i  difficulty  but  an  mpojfibility  of 
inoving  it  ;  and  whatever  motion  it  can  be  fuppofed 
to  receive  from  any  impulfe  that  is  greater  than  that 
which  the  impelling  body  lofes,  it  muft  derive  from 
yiothing  at  all. 

I  have  fpolcen  above  of  i\\c  force  of  matter  and  of 
its  a£ling^  at  the  fame  time  that  I  have  aficrted  it  not 
to  be  active.  An  attentive  and  candid  reader  cannot 
think  this  an  iriconfiftency.  The  adtivity  denied  to 
matter  is  a  power  of  changing  its  own  ftate,  not 
that  of  acting  upon  other  matter  by  impulfe.  This 
fort  of  a£tivity  or  power  follows  from  and  is  neceiTa- 
rily  implied  in  its  perfect  paflivenefs  or  inertia. 

a  ten- 


O/?    Pr  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E.  39 

a  tendency  to  a  conftant  change  of  ve- 
locity, and  this  being  a  permanent  qua- 
lity in  the  body,  no  particular  motion  de- 
rived from  it  can  have  the  leaft  duration^ 
but  muft  be  given  and  deftroyed  at  one 
and  the  fame  moment,  and  therefore 
nothing  could  be  done. — In  other  words; 
fuch  a  tendency  is  a  tendency  to  an  infi- 
nity of  different  velocities  at  once,    and 

therefore  is   impoffible. Neither  can 

motion  be  acquired  in  the  latter  way ; 
for  motion  fo  acquired  no  force  could 
deftroy,  becaufe  at  the  very  inftant  it  is 
dejlroyed  it  muft  be  acquired  in  confe- 
quence  of  the  fuppofed  tendency.  No 
impulfe,  therefore,  can  without  a  con- 
tradi(flion  be  fuppofed  to  have  any  eitedt 
upon  the  motion  of  fuch  a  body  r,  and 
though  ever  fo  fmall,  it  would  carry 
before  it  all  the  bodies  of  the  world  if 
in  its  way,  without  being  itfelf  retarded. 
And  were  two  fuch  bodies,  moving  in 
contrary  diredions,  to  meet,  fince  nei- 
ther could  be  ftopped,  they  muft  either 
penetrate  one  another,  or  be  annihilated. 
D  4  It 


40  O^     P  R  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E. 

It  is  eafy  to  fee  that  the  fame  way  of 
arguing  may  be  ufed  to  prove,  that  th^re 
can  be  no  innate    tendency   in   matter, 

when  in  motion,  to  a  ftate  of  reft. 

Matter  naturally  preferves  the  rnotion 
once  imprefled  upon  it,  juft  as  it  does 
its  figure;  and  were  not ^ this  true,  it 
would  not  be  pcfTible  that  any  force 
(}"iould  give  it  motion,  for  the  effecft  of 
fuch  force  not  being  capable  of  remain- 
ing any  time,  it  would  be  loft  as  foon^ 
as  gained;  that  is,  no  effc(ft  would  be 
produced, 

Thefe  are  obfervations  which  I  am 
perfuaded,  no  perfon  can  duly  attend  tp 
without  feeling  the  weight  of  them. 
Nothing,  furely,  can  be  ir^ore  repugnant 
to  our  ideas  of  niatter  than  fejf-motion  ; 
nor  is  there  any  conclufion  wdiich  there 
is  much  rpore  reafon  to  rely  upon  than 
that  it  is  not  a  fubjed:  capable  of  any 
Jpontcneous  powers.^  and  therefore  muft 
owe  every  change  that  can  happen  in  i,t 
to  fomc J creign  influence. 

This 


0;/    Pr  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E.  41 

This  conclufion  will  be  further  con- 
firmed if  we  confider  what  naturally 
offers  itfelf  in  the  next  place,  and 
what  mufl:  not  be  omitted  on  this  ar- 
gument, that  felf-moving  matter  muft 
have  thought  and  defign.  Whenever 
matter  moves  it  muft  move  in  fome 
particular  direction,  and  with  fome 
precife  degree  of  velocity;  and  there  be- 
ing an  infinity  of  thefe  equally  poffible, 
it  cannot  move  itfelf  without  feleding 
one  of  thefe  out  of  the  reft,  or  deterr- 
ming  itfelf  to  one  of  them  exclufively  of 
all  the  others,  and  therefore  not  without 

defign. But  this  is  not   all.     It  may 

be  plainly  proved  that  matter  cannot  be 
the  ultimate  caufe  of  the  phenomena  of  na- 
ture, or  the  agent,  which,  by  any  pow- 
ers inherent  in  itfelf,  produces  the  ge- 
neral laws  of  nature,  wjthout  pcfleffing 
the    higheft    degree    of  knowledge    and 

wifdom. Let  us,  as  a  proper  inftance 

to  reafon  upon  here,  take  the  particular 
law  of  gravitation.  The  true  account,  I 
fay,  ot    this  law  cannot    be  any   innat? 

propenfitics 


4^  O/Z     P  R  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E. 

propenfities  of  matter  to  motion,  or  Its  u- 
niformly  moving  itfelf  according  to  ftated 
rules.      For   in  order    to    obferve    thefe 
rules,  every  particle  of  it   muft  be  able 
to  conform  itfelf  to  all  the  different  fitu- 
ations  it  can  be  in,   and  therefore  muft 
know   the    precife    diftaiicesy    magnitudesy 
and  number  of  all  the  furrounding  parts  of 
matter;    thefe  being  the    circumftances 
which   univerfally   determine    the    force 
and  direction   of  gravity.      Thus;    if  a 
particle  of  matter  on  the  furface  of  the 
earth  tends  towards  the  earth  by  its  own 
energy,   and  without  any  foreign   influ- 
ence upon  it,  with   that  precife   degree 
of  velocity,  and  in  that  precife  diredlion 
which  the  law    of  gravitation   requires, 
it  muft,  in  order  to  this,  know  the  pre- 
cife/^wr^'  and  bulk  of  the  earth,   and  its 
fitiiation  upon  it,   fince  the  fmalleft  va- 
riation  in   any  one    of  thefe   particulars 
will  alter  the  velocity  and  direction  of  its 
motion.     When  placed  within  the  furface 
it  muft  diminifti  its  own  force  at  different 
diftances  froin  the   center,  in  ihcfmple 

direct 


On   Providence.  43 

dire^  ratio  of  thefe  diftances.  When 
placed  without  the  furface,  it  muft  di- 
minifh  its  own  force  in  the  inverfe, 
duplicate  ratio  of  its  diftances  from  the 
center.  When  carried  to  the  center  of 
gravity  between  the  moon  and  the  earth, 
it  muft  determine  itfelf  to  reft.  When 
carried  beyond  this,  it  muft  determine 
its  motion   towards  the  moon,    and  not 

the  earth. Is  it  poftible   that  matter 

fhould  vary  its  own  motions  in  a  manner 
thus  wonderful;  infomuch  that  all  the 
diiferent  parts  of  it  appear  to  aft  in 
perfed:  concert  with  one  another  for 
producing  the  order  of  nature,  and 
bringing  about  the  beft  ends  ?  The 
following  argument  will,  I  believe, 
fliew  that  there  is  not  lefs  than  the 
evidence    of   demonftration   againft     the 

poffibility  of  this. Nothing  can  know 

or  aB  where  it  is  not.  The  prefence 
and  adivity  of  every  particle  of  matter 
are  confined  to  that  particular  part  of 
fpace  it  fills  up.  Were  it  ever  fo  intel- 
ligent or  adiive  it  could  k?iow  nothing,   it 

could 


44  On  Pro  V  I  DEV  CE, 

could  do  nothing  beyond  this.  How  then 
can  it  be  fo  acquainted  with  the  flate 
of  bodies  at  the  greateft  diftance  from 
it,  and  no  way  connected  with  it,  as  to 
be  able  to  ad:  in  concert  with  them, 
and  to  move  itfelf  in  exadl  conformity 
to  their  fitua(;ion  and  numbers  ?  * 

What    has    been    faid    of  gravitation 
might    with    equal    evidence  be  proved 

*  "  It  is  inconceivable  that  inanimate  brute  mat^ 
'-^  ter  fhould,  without  the  mediation  of  fomething 
*'  elfe,  which  is  not  material,  operate  upon  and  af- 
*^  fe(Sl  other  matter  without  mutual  conta£l,  as  it 
*'  muft  be,  if  gravitation  be  eflential  and  inherent  in 
**  it.     And  this  is  is  one  reafoq  why  I  defired  you 
"  would  not  afcribe  innate  gravity  to  me.     That 
"  gravity  fhould  be  innate,  inhereyit,  and  cfTential 
*'  to  matter,  fo  that  one  body  may  acl  upon  another 
"  at  a  diftance  through   a  vacuum,  without  the  me- 
''  diation  of  any  thing  elfe,  by  and  through  which 
*'  their  aftion  and  force  may  be  conveyed  from  one 
"  to  another,  is  to  me  fo  great  an  abfurdity  that  I 
*'  believe  no  man  who  has  in  philofophical  matters  a 
*5  competent  faculty  of  thinking,   can  ever  fall  into 
*^  it."     See  the   Third  of  the  Four  Letters  from    Sir 
Ijaac  NriVton  to  Dr,  Bcntley^  printed  for  Mr,  Dodflcy, 

cou- 


0/2    Pr  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E.  45 

concerning  any  more  general  caufe,  of 
which  poffibly  gravitation  may  be  only 
ah  efFedl;  fuch  as  Sir  liaac  Newton's 
JEther^  or  whatever  other  mediums  or 
powers  may  exift,  and  be  the  real  primal- 
ry  caufes  of  the  phasnomena  of  the  world. 
The  elafticity,  for  example,  of  fuch  an 
ather  as  Sir  Ifaac  Newton  has  defcribed, 
fuppofmg  it  to  exift,  muft  be  derived, 
not  from  any  powers  of  felf-motion  in 
the  matter  of  this  cether,  but  from  the 
conftant  agency  upon  it  of  an  intelligent 
and  omniprefent  fpirit  *. 

To 

*  ''  In  our  enquiries  iRto  nature"  (fays  an  excel- 
lent phllofopher)  "  we  are  always  meeting  with 
"  powers  that  furpafs  mere  mechanifm,  or  the  ef- 
*'  fe<Sls  of  matter  and  motion.  The  laws  of  na- 
"  tare  are  conftant  and  regular,  and  for  ought  we 
*'  know  all  of  them  may  be  refolved  into  one  ge- 
''  neral  and  extenfive  power ;  but  this  power  itfelf 
<«  derives  its  properties  and  efficacy  not  from  me- 
"  chanifm,  but  in  a  great  meafure  from  the  im- 
''  mediate  influences  of  the  flrft  mover,"  M?\ 
Macklauriris  Account  of  Sir  Ifaac  Newtoris  Dlfcoveries^ 

Book  IV.  ch.  9.  §.  12. ''  Later   philofophers 

<*  frame  hypothefes  for  explaining  all  things  mecha- 
3  nically  j 


46  0;/    PR  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E, 

To  afiert  that  matter  can  conform  its 
own  motions  in  the  manner  requifite  to 
produce  and  maintain  thofe  general  laws 
of  nature  on  which  the  world  depends, 
is  indeed  but  little  better  than  diredt 
atheifm,  or  refolving  ultimately  the 
whole  order  and  contrivance  of  the  world 
into  matter  and  motion.— Some  good 
men,  however,  have  been  ftrangely  de- 
ceived on  this  fubjeft,  by  confufed  no^ 
tions  of  the  Divine  power  to  plant  laws 
in  matter,  or  to  endue  it  with  certain 
afliive  principles  *  and  tendencies,  in 
virtue  of  which  it  (hall  of  itfelf,  and  in- 

"  nically;  whereas,  the  main  bufinefs  of  natural 
"  philofophy  is  to  argue  from  phaenomena  without 
*'  framing  hypothefes,  and  to  deduce  caufes  from 
"  efFe6ls  till  we  come  to  the  very  firft  caufe,  which 
*'  certainly  is  not  fnechanicalJ'*    Newton's  Optich,  ^wy 

28. "  Caufs    fimpliciflimae    nulla  dari  poteft 

*'  mechanica  fexplicatio :  fi  daretur  enim,  caufa 
'*  nondum  eflet  fimplicIiTuTia."  Mr,  Cotes's  Preface 
to  Newton  s  Principia, 

*  "  The  great  author  of  all  things  (Mr.  Derham 
*'  fays)  has  infpirited  the  materials  of  which  the 
''^  world  confifts  with  the  a^ive  quality  called  gravity,*' 

JjirO'Theology^  Book  VI.  ch.  3. 

dependently 


Qn-  5^:  R  o  V  IB  B  H  c  E.,  47 

dependently  of  any  immediate  external 

influence  upon  it,  execute  the  plan  at  firfl: 

laid  by  infinite  wifdom,  and  continue  the 

form   and    order   of  the   univerfe.     But 

they  could    never   have  entertained  any 

fuch   opinion,   had  they    attended    in   a 

proper  manner  to  that  inertia  of  matter 

before  explained,   by  which  it  is  as  in- 

capable  of  changing   its  ov^n  ftate  with 

refped:  to    reft   and  motion    as   its  own 

figure  J   or  had  they   confidered   that  if 

matter,  by  its  own  proper  agency,  produces 

the  laws,  and  keeps  up  the  regularity  of 

nature,  it  is  a  fubjecfl  naturally  capable 

of  thofe  pov/ers   whereby   it    does  this, 

and  might  as   well  have  at  firft  difpofed 

itfelf  into    the   form   and   order  of  the 

univerfe  *. 

It 

*  'Tis  worth  obferving  that  the  reafoning  here 
ufed  holds  with  equal  force  againft  a  notion  that 
has  been  embraced  and  defended  by  fome  great  men,, 
but  which  is  totally  unworthy  of  them  ;  I  mean 
the  notion  of  a  plajllc  nature^  or  certain  vital  znUfpi' 
ritual,  but  unintelligent  and  7iecejfary  agent  which  the 
Deity  is  fuppofed  to  have  created  to  carry  on  under 
himfelf  his  fcheme,  and  to  produce  the  various  ef- 

fe«^ 


48  0«   Providence. 

It  has  been  alfo  often  objedted   ''  that 

"  it    is    impairing     the    beauty    of   the 

**  world, 

fe£ls  and  phaenomena  of  nature. If  an  unintel- 

iigent  agent  can  a6l  with  fuch  uniformity,  and  yet 
fo  varioufly,  as  to  produce  the  order  of  the  world, 
and  govern  its  motions  ;  if,  for  inftance,  it  can 
frame  the  bodies  of  plants  and  animals,  or  fo  dire6l 
its  own  adlion  as  to  impel  the  particles  of  matter  to- 
wards one  another^  in  fuch  different  directions,  and 
with  fuch  different  forces  in  different  fituations^  as 
to  be  the  conflant  caufe  of  thofe  laws  and  powers 
which  obtain  in  the  corporeal  univerfe,  and  on  which 
depend  its  form  and  being ;  if,  I  fay,  this  is  pof- 
iible,  there  is  an  end  of  all  our  reafonings  about 
caufes  and  effects,  and  of  all  arguments  for  defign 
and  intelligence  in  the  author  of  nature,  taken  from 

its  regularity  and  beauty. It  avails  nothing  to 

fay,  that  this  agent  a6ts  in  fubordination  to  the 
Deity,  and  only  in  virtue  of  powers  given  it  by 
him.  For  it  is  not  fuppofed  to  be  merely  an  inftru- 
nient  in  the  hands  of  the  Deity  which  never  ads  ex- 
cept in  ^onfcquence  of  being  firfl  a£led  upon  ;  but 
what  it  does  it  is  fuppofed  to  do  properly  by  a 
power  inherent  in  itfelf,  without  wanting  any //«- 
?ned'iatc  dire6tion  from  the  Deity  ;  and  the  very  rea- 
fons  that  have  been  afligned  for  fuppofmg  fuch  an  a-  • 
gent,  are,  that  it  is  abfurd  to  think  that  the  Deity 
(hould  be  continually  employed  fo  much  in  vain,  as 
is  r^cceffary  to  be   fuppofed,  if  the  general  laws  of 

th» 


0;z   P  R  o  V  I  D  E  N  c  E.  49 

^^  world,  and  reprefenting  it  as  a  pro- 
*'  ducfhion  more  imperfe(5l  than  any 
*^  work  of  human  art,  to  maintain  that 

''  it 

the  world  are  derived  from  his  agency  ;  and  that  it 
is  difhonouring  him  to  conceive  of  him  as  acling 
himfelf  continually  on  matter,  and  immediately- 
concerned    in    framing    the    bodies   of  the   meaneft 

plants  and    infedls. To  as  little  purpofe  is  it 

to  fay,  that  omnipotence  can  give  fuch  a  power 
tv>  an  unintelligent  agent :  for  what  has  not  wifdom 
cannot  adl  wifely,  and  no  power  can  make  that  to  be, 
which  catinct  be.  If  the  Deity  can  make  a  caufe 
that  a£ls  without  knowledge  or  dcfign  to  produce 
regular  efFe6i:s ;  then  it  is  in  the  nature  of  things 
poilible  for  fuch  a  caufe  to  ^xoAucq  fuch  efte6ls  ;  then 
defign  in  the  caufe  is  not  necefjary  to  the  greateft 
conceivable  order  and  regularity  in  the  effect,  nor 
can  we  certainly  infer  the  one  from  the  other  :  then, 
in  fhort,  any  thing  may  produce  any  thing,  and  no 
conclufion  with  refpecl  to  the  caufe  can  be  drawn, 

in  any  cafe,  from  what  we  fee  in  the  efi'ecl. ■ 

The  efFc6ls  of  habits  have  been  very  Improperly  al- 
ledged^  as  affording  inftances  of  regular  action 
without  knowledge  or  defign.  For,  what  is  done 
by  habits,  is,  I  think,  always  done  in  confequence 
of  fome  volition  or  dlre6lIon  of  the  mind;  and  our 
not  being  confcious  of  it  is  in  reality  no  more  than 
not  remembering  it,  the  whole  effect  of  a  habit  oi\ 
the  executive  powers  confiding  in  their  more  eafy 

£  and 


50  Ov^     P  R  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E. 

**  it  cannot  fubfift  of  itfelf,   or  that    it 

*'  requires  the  hand  of  its   maker  to  be 

**  always   at  it  to  continue  its  motions 

**  and  order." 

The  full  anfwer  to  this  objedion  is, 
that  to  every  machine  or  perpetual  move- 
ment for  anfwering  any  particular  pur- 
pofe,    there    always    belongs     fome  Jirjl 

and  ready  compliance  with  the  dictates  of  the  mind. 
But  not  to  infift  on  this ;  let  it  be  granted  that  re- 
gular actions  are  frequently  performed  in  confequence 
of  habits  without  thought  or  defign;  this,  if  true, 
muft  be  owing  to  certain  powers  and  laws  of  the 
animal  oeconomy  which  muft  be  accounted  for  in 
the  fame  manner  v/ith  other  powers  and  laws  which 
obtain  in  nature,  and  cannot  be  made  an  argument 
for  fuch  a  blind  plaftic  force  as  has  been  contend- 
ed for,   without  begging  the  queftion. See  the 

truly  great  and  learned  Dr.  Cudiuorth's  IntelleSfual 
Syfiem^  Book  I.  Chap.  3.  where  the  opinion  on  which 
I  have  made  thefe  remarks  is  particularly  explained 
and  defended.  See  alfo  an  account  of  a  controverfy 
which  it  occafioned  between  Mr.  Bayle  and  Le 
Clcrc,  in  the  account  of  the  life  and  writings  of 
Dr.  Cudworth,  prefixed  to  the  fecond  edition  of  the 

Intellectual  Syjlem  by  Dr.  Birch. Dr.  Henry  More 

and  Dr.  Grew  have  likewife  maintained  this  opi- 
nion. 

^  move?'. 


Oji   Providence,  51 

mover,  fome  weight  or  fpring,  or  other 
power  which  is  continually  afting  upon 
it,  and  from  which  all  its  motions  are 
derived  :  Nor,  without  fuch  a  power, 
is  it  poffible  to  conceive  of  any  fuch 
machine.  The  machine  of  the  univerfe 
then,  like  all  befides  analogous  to  it  of 
which  we  have  any  idea,  muft  have  a 
frjl  mover.  Now,  it  has,  I  think,  been 
demonftrated,  that  this  firil  mover  cannot 
be  matter  itfelf.  It  follows,  therefore, 
that  this  objedion  is  fo  far  from  being 
of  any  force,  that  it  leads  us  to  the 
very  conclufion  which  it  is  brought  to 
overthrow. The  excellence  of  a  ma- 
chine by  no  means  depends  on  its  going 
properly  of  itfelf,  for  this  is  impofllble; 
but  on  the  fkiH  with  which  its  various 
parts  are  adjufled  to  one  another,  and 
all  its  different  effeds  are  derived  from 
the  conjtant  aution  of  fome  power.-  -■■* 
What  would,  indeed,  make  a  machine 
appear  imperfedt  and  deformed  is,  a^^ 
ligning  a  feparate  power  to  every  diflin^ft 
E  2  part. 


^  On    F  R  o  y  I  D  E  N  c  t. 

part,  Without  allowing  any  place  for 
mechanifm.  And,  in  like  manner,  what 
would  really  make  the  frame  of  nature 
appear  imperfetl  and  deformed  is,  re- 
folving  phaenomena  too  foon  to  the  Di- 
vine agency,  or  fuppofing  it  the  imme- 
diate caufe  of  every  particular  effed:.  But 
every  one  mull  fee  that  what  I  have 
been  pleading  for  is  not  this,  but  Only, 
that  however  far  mechanifm  may  be  car- 
ried and  the  chain  of  caufes  extend  in 
the  material  univerfe,  to  the  Divine 
Pov/er  exerted  continually  in  all  places, 
every  law  and  every  effedt  and  motion  in 

it  muft  be  at  laji  refolved.-- This  is  a 

concluficn  which  the  modern  improve- 
ments in  natural  philofophy  have  abun- 
dantly confirmed,  and  which  fome  of 
the  firft  and  befh  philofophers  have  re- 
ceived ;  nor  can  that  philofophy  be  other- 
wife  than  little  and  contemptible  which 
Jiides  the  Deity  from  our  views,  which 
excludes  him  from  the  world,  or  does 
not    terminate    in    the   acknowledmient 

and 


O?!   Providence.  53 

and  adoration  of  him  as  the  maker,  pre- 
ierver,    and  ruler  of  all   things  '^. 

The  point  on  which  I  have  been  in- 
filling is  of  fo  much  importance  that  no 
apology  can  be  neceffary  for  dwelling  fo 

long  upon  it. What    has    been    faid 

has  a  tendency  to  give  an  attentive  mind 
the  deepeft  fenfe  of  the  dependence  of 
the  creation  on  the  Deity  j  for  it   iliev»^s 

*  "  The  philofopher  who  overlooks  the  traces  of 
*^  an  all-governing  Deity  in  nature,  contenting  him- 
"  felf  with  the  appearances  of  the  material  univerfe 
<'  only,  and  the  mechanical  laws  of  motion,  neglects 
"  what  is  moft  excellent;  and  prefers  what  is  im- 
''  perfect  to  w^hat  is  fupremely  perftx%  finitude  to 
*^  infinity,  what  is  narrow  and  weak  to  what  is 
"  unlimited  and  almighty,  and  what  is  perifning  to 
"  what  endures  for  ever."  Mr.  MacklaunrCs  Account 
of  Sir  Jfaac  Newton  s  Difcoveries^  Book   IV.  Ch.  q, 

Sed.  I. "  Sir  Ifaac  Ncv/ton  thought  it  moft 

*'  unaccountable  to  exclude  the  Deity  07ily  out  of  tiic 
*'  univerfe.  It  appeared  to  hira  much  more  juft 
''  and  reafonable-to  fuppofe  that  the  whole  chain  of 
*'  caufcs,  or  the  feveral  feries  of  ihem,  fliould  cen* 
"  ter  in  him  as  their  fource  ^  and  the  whole  fyftem 
"  appear  depending  on  him  the  only  independent 
<•  caufe."    Ibid,  Sea.  5. 

E  3  i^^. 


54  On   Providence, 

VIS  that  he  is  properly  the  life  of  it,  the 
irjinitc  Spirit  by  which  it  is  informed  and 
fuftained  ;  that  all  material  caufes  are  no 
more  than  inftruments  in  his  hand,  and 
that  from  him  their  efficacy  is  derived  ; 
and  that,  fo  far  is  he  from  being  an  idle 
fpedator  of  what  happens,  thatv/ere  he, 
for  one  inftant,  to  fufpend  his  agency, 
univerfal  confufion  would  take  place,  and 
all  nature  fall  to  pieces. 

I  need  not  fay  how  irrefiftible  the  evi- 
dence is  which    arifes    from    hence   for 

the  dodrine  of  Providence. What  it 

may  be  of  moil  importance  to  recom- 
mend to  notice  in  this  place  is  the  fol- 
lowing obfervation. ^It  has  been  prov- 
ed that  the  Deity  pervades  and  actuates 
the  whole  material  world,  and  that  his 
unremitting  energy  is  the  caufe  to  which 
every  effed:  in  it  muft  be  traced.  Now, 
the  fpiritiial  world  is,  without  doubt,  of 
greater  confequence.  Is  his  energy  then 
wanting  here  ?  Is  there  not  one  atom  of 
tnatter  on  which  he  does  not  ad;  and 

is 


On   Providence.  55 

is  there  then  o?2e  living  being  about  which 
he  has  no  concern  ?  Does  not  a  Jlone 
fall  without  him  5  and  does  then  a  man 
fuffer  without  him  ?  Are  fuch  influences 
as  may  be  necelTary  to  bring  about  a  juft 
regulation  of  events  in  the  moral  world, 
lefs  likely  than  thofe  influences  w4iich  we 
know  to  be  exerted  continually  to  main- 
tain the  order  of  the  inanimate  world? 
■The  truth  is,  the  inanimate  world 
is  of  ?2o  confequence  abftradted  from  its 
fubferviency  to  the  animate  and  rea- 
fonable  world.  The  former,  therefore, 
muil:  be  preferved  and  governed  entirely 
with  a  view  to  the  latter  *. 

This  leads  me  to  a  further  argument 
on  this  fubjed  which  has,  I  think,  con- 
fiderable  weight,  ^nd  feems  greatly  to 
flrengthen  the  conclufion  I  would  eftab- 

*  I  have  not  mentioned  here  the  conftant  exertion 
of  Divine  power  in  maintaining  the  fuccefHon  of 
vegetables,  and  in  producing  men,  and  other  be- 
ings, becaufe  particular  notice  of  it  will  be  taken 
hereafter, 

E  4  lifh. 


56  0;^     P  R  O  V  I  D  ^  N  C  E. 

lifli. This  'argument    has    been 

hinted  already,  but  it  is  neceffary  that  it 
fhould  be  here  brought  more  particularly 
to  view.  It  offers  itfelf  to  us  upon  con- 
lidering  the  wifdom  manifefted  in  the 
flrudlure  of  every  objeft  in  the  inani- 
mate creation.  How  beautiful  is  the 
form  of  every  vegetable,  and  how  cu- 
rioufly  arranged  its  parts  ?  What  exqui- 
fite  mechanifm,  what  nice  workmanfl:iip 
and   amazing    art   appear   in    every   leaf 

and  fpire  of  grafs  r Let  us  now  afk 

ourfelves;  has  God,  on  obje6ls  in  them- 
felves  fo  worthlefs,  poured  forth  fuch  a 
profufion  of  wifdom  and  Ikill,  and  is 
he  fparing  of  thefe  in  the  concerns  of 
reafonable  beings  ?  or  does  he  lefs  regard 
order  and  fitnefs  in  the  determination  of 
their  flates  ? — It  is  not  poffible  to  imagine 

this. Whatever  appearance  the  aftairs 

of  men  may  at  prefent  make  to  us,  we 
may  be  certain  that  they  are  directed  by 
the  fame  wifdom  with  that  which  we 
obferve  in  the  reft  of  nature  5  that  is, 
ty  a  wiiuom  which  we  know  to  bo  in- 
finitely 


O;^    P  R  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E.  57 

finitely  fuperior  to  ours  j  by  a  wifdom 
which,  in  the  loweft  objeds,  is  exaft 
and  incomprehenfible,  and  which,  there- 
fore, muft  be  as  much  more  fo,  in 
higher  objefts,  as    they    are    of  greater 

value. ' — To   this  purpofe  in  a  great 

meafure  is  the  reafoning  we  find  in  Matt, 
vi.  28,  &c.  Why  take  ye  thought  for  rai^ 
7nent  ?  Conjider  the  Mies  of  the  field  how 
they  grow.  They  toil  not^  neither  do  they 
fpin  ;  and  yet,  I  fay  unto  you,  that  even  So-- 
lomon,  in  all  his  glory ^  was  not  arrayed  like 
one  of  thefe\  Wherefore,  if  God  fo  clothe 
the  grafs  of  the  field,  which  to-day  is, 
and  to-morrow  is  cafi  ijito  the  oven-, 
ffjall  he  not  much  more  clothe  you,  O  ye 
of  little  faith  ?  Behold  the  fowls  of  the 
air,  for  they  fow  not,  neither  do  they 
reap,  nor  gather  into  hams ;  yet  your 
heavenly  father  feedeth  them.  Are  not  ye 
much  better  than  they  ? 

There  is  not  indeed  any  thing  which 
has  a  much  greater  tendency  to  give  re- 
lief to   a  mind  earneftly   v/ifhing  to  be 

fatisfied 


58  0/2   Providence. 

fatisfied  of  a  wife  iuperintendency  of  all 
that  befalls  it,  than  to  contemplate  the 
curious  organization  of  any  flower  or 
herb  of  the  field,  and  the  attention 
beftowed  on  even  its  outward  figure; 
and  then  to  confider  whether  it  is 
probable,  that  the  Being  who  fo  won- 
derfully wrought  fuch  a  fubftance,  can 
neglecft  any  intellige?it  creature,  or  be 
inattentive  to  any  circumftance  of  his 
exiftence;  whether  he  who  has  with 
perfeft  exaftnefs  adjufted  the  parts  of 
dead  matter  to  one  another  in  the  moft 
trifling  planfy  muft  not  be  proportion- 
ably  exad:  in 'what  is  of  infinitely  great- 
er moment,  the  adjuftment  of  plea- 
fure  and  pain  to  a  human  foul.* 
Or,  let  fuch  a  perfon  fix  his  thoughts 
on  the  flrudiure  of  his  body,  .and  con- 
fider, whether  it  is  credible  that  he 
who  has  fo  fearfully  made  this,  and 
difplayed  fuch  unfpeakable  wifdom  in 
adjufting  and  regulating  every  particle 
of  matter  that  compofes  it ;  has  not 
difplayed  proportionable  wifdom  in  the 

ftrucSure 


0«    P  R  O  V  I  D  E   N  C  E,  59 

ftrufture  of  his  mind,  or  is  not  pro- 
portionably  careful  in  adapting  events 
to  its  cafe,  and  in  regulating  what- 
ever it  feels.—— To   fay  no   more. 

If  unerring  v^ifdom  fhews  itfelf  in  the 
direction  and  government  of  corporeal 
nature,  and  all  its  parts  are  ordered 
in  number,  weight,  and  meafure,  fo 
that  the  more  we  know  of  it,  the  more 
we  are  forced  to  admire  it,  if  its  mean- 
eft  works  are  finiflied  with  complete 
accuracy,  and  the  whole  fyftem  ap- 
pears harmonious  and  grand  in  the 
higheft  poffible  degree ;  what  harmony, 
what  wifdom  and  goodnefs  may  we 
well  reckon  upon  in  the  government 
of  the  intellectual  world  ?  What  care 
and  accuracy  in  difpofmg  the  lots  of 
the  individuals  of  it  ?  How  grand  muft 
be  its  plan,  and  how  perfecft  its  or- 
der ? 


SECT. 


60  On    F  ROY  ID  EN  c^. 


SECT.     III. 

Qfthe  manner  in  which  Provideiice  is 
adminijlered. 


WHAT  has  been  hitherto  faid 
contains  a  brief  view  of  the 
principal  arguments  for  the  dodrine  of 
a  righteous  and  all-wife  Providence. 
My  defign  in  this  feclion  is  to  offer  a 
few  obfervations  relating  to  the  mode 
of  adminiftring  it. 

I  have  frequently  in  the  preceding 
fcftions  fpoken  on  the  fuppofition,  that 
a  perfcdl  dire6lion  of  events  is  brought 
about  by  the  Divine  influence,  immedi- 
ately and  conftantly  exerted  every  where 
for  that  purpofe.  It  muft  however  be 
remembered  that  this  is  a  point  about 
which  all  are  not  agreed.     Many  wife 

and 


On   Providence.  6i 

and  good  men  are  ftrongly  prejudiced  a- 
gainft  the  fuppofition,  that  there  have 
been  any  interpofitions  of  Divine  Pow- 
er fince  the  creation  in  directing  affairs, 
as  implying  an  impotence,  unfl^ilful- 
ncfs,  and  operofenefs  unworthy  of  in- 
finite wifdom.  They,  therefore,  chufe 
to  conceive  of  the  laws  and  order  of  the 
material  world,  as  having  been  at  firil 
adjufted  in  exad:  correfpondence  to  what 
fhould  happen  in  the  moral  world,  and 
the  whole  fcheme  including  all  events 
as  originally  defigned  and  laid  in  the 
beft  manner,  and  now  continually  going 
on  to  open  and  unfold  itfelf  agreeably  to 
the   Divine   idea,    without    any  cccafiou 

for  any  interpofitions. As  far  as  fuch 

maintain  the  fame  perfedt  diredion  of 
affairs  in  confequence  of  an  origmal  e- 
ftablifhment,  as  is  commonly  fuppofed  to 
be  brought  about  by  conJia?2t  influences, 
they  maintain  all  that  we  have  reafon  to 
be  anxious  about  on  the  prefent  fubjedl. 
And  this,  indeed,  I  fhould  imagine,  it 
muft  be  impofiible  for  any  one  who  has 

jull 

5 


62  O;/    P  R  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E. 

juft  notions  of  the  Divine  perfecfllons  to 
avoid    maintaining,    let    him    think    on 
this  fubjed:  in  other  refpedls  as  he  pleafes. 
For  thus   we   may   argue. — When   the 
Deity  at  firft  fixed  the  prefent   plan  of 
nature,    and  gave  Beings  their  different 
powers  and   affedions,    he  either  had  a 
perfecft   forefight  of  the  whole  train    of 
events  that   would   arife  in  confequence 
of  his  eflablifhment,  or  he   had   not. — 
If  he  had  this   fore-knowledge,  the  e- 
vents  fore-known  were  either  all  of  them 
fuch  as  he  faw  it  would  be  properefl  to 
leave  as  fore-known,  or  they  were  noto 
If  the   afiirmative  is   aflerted ;    it  is  all  I 
plead  for.     Every  event  in   this  cafe  will 
be  juft  fuch  as  perfeA  reftitudeis  pleafed 

either  to  ??iake  it,  or  to- fuffer  it  to  be. 

But,  on  the  contrary,  if  amongft  the 
fore-known  events  there  were  any  which 
it  was  on  any  account  right  or  proper  to 
exclude ;  on  this  fuppofition,  a  good 
theift,  who  rejefts  all  occafional  interpoji- 
tions  muft  of  necefhty  fay,  that  the  ori- 
ginal plan   would  have   been  fo  altered 

a^ 


O/^   Providence,  63 

as  to  exclude  thefe  events,  and  to  pro- 
duce a  complete  coincidence  of  all  that 
ihould  happen  with  the  counfels  and 
defigns  of  infinite  wifdom  and  goodnefs. 
This  cannot  be  avoided  while  the  exi- 
ftence  of  infinite  wifdom  and  goodnefs 
in  nature  is  believed  -,  and  thus  the  doc- 
trine of  Providence  in  its  higheft  fenfe 
will  ftill   be  afferted. 

But  if  an  exad  fore-knowledge  of  all 
aftions  and  events,  and  fuch  a  perfed: 
original  eftablifhment  in  confequence  of 
it,  as  I  have  mentioned,  are  thought  by 
any  to  be  impoffible  5  and  if,  for  this 
reafon,  no  more  is  fuppofed  than  that 
powers  were  given  to  beings,  and  ge- 
neral laws  fettled,  and  then  events  fuf- 
fered  to  arife  as  they  would  without 
any  particular  care  or  fuperintendency 
exercifed  over  them;  in  this  cafe,  the 
dodtrine  of  Providence  will  be  entirely 
rejedled  :  And  if  fuch  fentiments  are  true, 
the  univerfe  is  a  chaos  ;  the  character  of 
the  parent  of  it  is  imperfecfl;  all  truftin 

him. 


64  0/2     P  R  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E. 

him  and  fupplications  to  him  are  ab- 
furd,  and  no  part  of  practical  religion  has 

any  good  foundation. But  after  what 

has  been  before  faid,  I  hope  I  may  be 
allowed  to  take  it  for  granted,  that  thefe 
fentiments  are  not  true,  and  that  there  Is 
indeed  a  perfed:  direction  of  all  events. 

• The  point  I  am  now  confidering  is, 

in  what  manner  this  is  accomplifhed ; 
and  it  has  probably  been  already  feen  in 
fome  meafure  why  I  chufe  to  conceive 
of  it  as  produced  by  conftant  infiuences> 
rather  than    fuch  an  original    eftablifh- 

ment   as    I    have    mentioned. It  will 

appear  to  fome,  that  an  original  eftab-^ 
lifhment,  anfwering  this  purpofe,  implies 
univerfal  fatalifm,  and  that  in  events 
happening  amongft  reafonable  agents, 
there  muft  be  infinite  variations  and  un- 
certainties not  poffible  to  be  regulated 
by  it.  But  be  this  as  it  will ;  it  muft, 
I  think,  be  difficult  for  an  attentive  per- 
fon  to  perfuade  himfelf,  that  the  other 
method  of  adminiftring  Providence  is 
not  the  moft  capable  of  bringing   about 

a 


O/Z    Pr  O  V  I  D  £  N  C  E.  6^ 

a  perfedl  regulation  of  events.  And  if 
this  fhould  be  true ;  or,  if  any  purpofes 
of  vvifdom  and  goodnefs  may  be  anfwered 
by  conftant  influences,  which  could  not 
at  all,  or  not  fo  well,  have  been  anfwer- 
ed in  any  other  way,  we  may  be  fatisfied 
that  there  really  are  fitch  influences :  And 
to  afTert  the  contrary  from  a  prejudice 
againft  them  as  not  regular,  or  not  be- 
coming the  Deity,  feems  in  the  higheft 
degree  unreafonable.  Can  it  be  irregular 
to  produce  the  higheft  regularity,  or 
unbecoming  the  Deity  to  govern  the 
univerfe  and  its  affairs  in  fuch  a  manner 
as  is  moft  agreeable  to  the  ends  for  which 
he  created  it  ?  Will  he  facrifice  the  high- 
eft,  order  to  theloweft^  or  fufFcr  events 
to  arife  at  random  in  the  v/orld,  rather 
than  at  any  time  put  forth  his  hand  to 
dired  them  ?  Muft  he  have  been  only 
lookin£(  en  ever  fince  the  creation ;  and 
is  this  what  is  moil  becoming  him  ? 

Some,   probably,   are  led  into  miftakes 
on  this  fubjed,  by  thinking  of  the  man- 

F  ncr 


66  On   Providence. 

ner  in  which  it  is  moft  becoming  the 
Deity  to  a(fl,  too  ftridtly  in  conformity 
to  that  in  which  men  are  obliged  to  adl. 
They  have  but  little  power,  and  there- 
fore are  obliged  to  be  as  frugal  of  it  as 
poffible.  But  there  is  nothing  difficult 
to  the  Deity,  and  confequentJy  there 
can  be  nothing  to  influence  him  to  chufe 
one  way  of  a<5ting  rather  than  another, 
beiides,  its  being  more  agreeable  to  recti- 
tude, and  more  conducive  to  his  end. 
And  this  likewife  is,  in  reality,  the  moft 
beautiful  way  of  adling.  Beauty  confifts 
chiefly  in  the  proper  and  efFedual  adap- 
tation of  means  to  ends.  For  this  rea- 
fon,  thofe  means  are  the  m^oft  beautiful, 
and  thofe  fyftems  the  beft,  which  beft 
anfwer  their  end. In  mere  natural  or- 
der, abilraded  from  all  ufe,  there  is  no- 
thing valuable;  and  the  very  reafon  why 
the  Deity  has  chofen  to  eftablifh  a  courfe 
of  nature  is,  the  neceffity  of  it  as  a  means 
to  produce  happinefs,  and  to  give  his 
.rcafonable    creatures   room  for  a  proper 

exertion 


0)1   Providenc  e.  67 

exertion  of  their  faculties^  and   for   the 
praffice  of  virtue* 

Thefe  obfervations  feem  to  me  of  im* 
portance    on    the   prefent   fubjed:  5    but, 
without  having  recourfe  to  them,  it  muft 
furely  be  very  evident,    that  influences, 
confiftent  with  the  free  agency  of  beings 
and  uniformly  exerted  to  exclude  every 
event  fit  to  be  excluded,  and  to  produce 
perfedl  order  in  the  adminiftration  of  the 
world,   are  fo   far  from  unbecoming  the 
almighty  and  omniprefent  parent,  that  we 
can  conceive  of  nothing  more  worthy  of 
him,   or  that  can  make  his  charadter  ap- 
pear more  amiable.     Nor  is  there   any 
more  reafon  to  be  prejudiced  againft  them, 
than  againft  the  influence  which  the  con- 
ilitution  of  the  world   allows    to    every 
agent  over  events,   in  proportion   to  his 
power  and  knowledge.     There  is  no  per- 
fon  who   does   not   influence   in   various 
ways  what  paflTes  withfn  the  circle  of  his 
friends  and  acquaintance,  and  it  has  never 
yet     been     thought     that     the     liberty 
"      F  2  of 


68  On    P  R  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E. 

oi  maokindj  or  their  fcope  for   aftion  is 
afFeded  by   it.       Invifible    and    fuperior 
Beings  may  alfo  be   frequently  employed 
in  directing  occurrences  among  mankind. 
Now,  the  influence  of  Divine  Providence 
is  a  fadl  of  the  fame    kind  with   thefe, 
and  feems    not    to    be   on    any   account 
more  liable  to  objecflions.     Shall  we  ac- 
knowledge the   influence   of  every  agent 
on  events,  and  deny  that  of  the  Supreme  ? 
Was  it  indeed  fit  that  by  one  original  adt 
he  fliould   exclude  himfelf  from  all  fur- 
ther concern  with  his  works ;  or  can  it 
be  poflfible  to  imagine  that  the  Being  who 
is  the  fountain  of  all  energy,  and  whofe 
nature    is    perfe(3:    adlivity    and    power, 
fhould  be  tlie   c;^//  inadive  Being  in  the 
univerfe  ?  Is  it  not,  on  the  contrary,  much 
more  rational  to  believe,  that  his  influence 
over  events  extends  as  much  further  than 
that  of  any  other  Being,  and  is  as  much 
more  conftant,   as  the  relation   in  which 
he   (lands  to   Beinj^s  is  nearer,    and    his 


power  and  wifdom  greater  ? 


Ill 


Oj7     Pr  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E.  69 

la  (hort;  the  notion  of  an  ^&//!^/6(y  Be- 
ing, pejfe^l/y  benevolent  y  obferving  the  afFdirs 
of  his  own  offspring,  and  yet  never  exerting 
any  influence  to  give  them  that  diredion 
which  he  moft  approves,  muil:,  1  iliould 
think,  appear  too  inconfiftent  and  ab- 
furd  not  to  fliock  every  attentive  and  un- 
prejudiced  perfon. — ^ With    refpe^:, 

however,  to  the  analogy  I  have  juft  men- 
tioned between  Divine  Providence  ^d 
the  influence  of  created  agents,  'tis  ne- 
ceffary  to  obferve,  that  it  ihould  be  con- 
fidered  with  fome  caution.  We  (hall 
here  be  in  great  danger  of  deceiving  our- 
felves,  if  we  judge  of  what  the  Deity 
fhould  do,  by  v^hat  we  ought  to  do. 
'Tis  our  duty  to  exclude,  as  far  as  we  can, 
all  vice  and  fufferings  from  the  world; 
and  becaufe  this  is  not  done  by  the  Deity, 
v/ho  has  all  hearts  in  his  hands,  and  an 
unlimited  power  over  events,  fome  have 
queftiontd  whether  he  at  all  direds 
events,  or  concerns  Himfelf  about  us. 
But  happy  is  it  for  the  world  that  it  i? 

F   I  110; 


yo  0/z   Providence. 

not  governed  in  the  manner  in  which 
human  wifdom  v^ould  govern  it.  From 
what  is  incumbent  on  us  in  our  circum- 
ftances,  we  cannot  by  any  means  infer 
what,  in  this  inftance,  it  is  proper  for 
the  Deity  to  do  as  fupreme  governor  *. 
We  are  too  -much  unacquainted  with  his 
counfels  and  plan  to  be  able  to  determine 
this.     Undoubted    fadt  proves  that  the 

#  A  teacher  of  religion  who  had  the  power  by  his 
inflrudlions  and  perfuafions  to  engage  men  efFecluaJly 
to  virtue  would  be  inexcufable  as  far  a$  he  neglected 
this.  But  it  fepms  that  Jefus  Chrift  could  have  (o 
fpoken  to  men,  and  i'o  influenced  their  hearts,  as 
to  render  his  rniniflry  more  fuccefsful  than  it  was. 
He  tells  us,  that  thrre  were  places  where,  if  he  had 
done  the  fame  works  that  he  did  in  Judea,  the 
inhabitants  would  have  repented  in  fackcioth  and 
afhes.  Thefe  places  therefore  muft  have  been  denied 
the  rricans  which  it  was  known  w'ould  have  brought 
them  to-happinefs. — There  are  degrees  of  advantages 
which,  if  .men  refift  or  mifimprove,  the  Deity  does 
not  fee  fit  to  grant  them  more,  whatever  he  may 
know  would  be  the  confequence.  gut  by  what  rea- 
fons  or  rules  particularly  his  providence  ir.  guided  in 
this  inftancc  we  cannot  fay. 

3  original 


0/Z     Pr  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E.  7t 

original  conflitution  was  fo  eftablifhed 
by  him  as  to  admit  of  vice  and  fufFer- 
ings  in  the  prefent  ftate,  and  that  there- 
fore it  cannot  be  a  part  of  his  fcheme  of 
Providence  entirely  to  exclude  them. 
We  fee  that  there  are  numberlefs  perfons 
to  whom  he  does  not  give  all  the  ad- 
vantages for  virtue  and  happinefs  which 
they  might  enjoy,  and  which,  in  all 
probability,  would  be  ^fFeftual.  'Tis 
fufficient  to  know  that  he  gives  more 
than  enough  to  all,  and  does  every  thing 
that  it  is  wifeft  and  beft  for  him  to  do, 
in  order  to  bring  about  univerfal  and  in- 
finite happinefs. But  this  fubjedl  will 

be  more  particularly  confidered  hereafter, 
when  I  come  to  examine  the  objedions 
againft  Providence,  taken  from  the  evil, 
natural   and  moral,  in  the  world. 

Many  of  thofe  who  think,  that  there 
are  no  conftant  influences  of  the  Deity 
in  directing  events,  are  ready  to  acknow- 
ledge, and  every  one  who  believes  that 
Chriflianity  was  proved  by  miracles  and 
F  4  came 


^2  0/2     P  R  O  y  I  P  E  N  C  E. 

came  from  God,  mufh  acknowledge,  that 
there  are  particular  emergencies  in  which 
lie  does  interpofe  in  the  affairs  of  the 
world.  Now,  this  conceffion  is  fuffici- 
ent  to  eftablifli  what  I  am  plead- 
ing for.  For  let  it  but  be  allowed  that 
the  Deity  has  ever  once  interpofed  fmce 
the  original  eftabliihment  of  things,  and 
there  will  remain  no  tolerable  reafon  foi: 
imagining,  that  he  does  not  interpofe  con-^. 
tinually,  as  far  as  there  is  any  occafion. 

It  will,  I  think,  be  frivolous  to  affert, 
that  this  account  of  Providence  rnafces  it 
a  continued  feries  of  77iiracles,  If  all  ex- 
ertions of  Divine  Power  are  to  be  con- 
fidered  as  ?.niraailousy  this  will  indeed  be 
trucj    nor  w^ill  there  be  the  lead  reafon 

why  it  fliould  not  be  admitted. That 

influence  of  lupcrior  power  w4iich  is 
implied  in  a  miracle  may,  for  ought  we 
know,  be  exerted  on  numberlefs  occa- 
fion s  5  and  what  diftinguifhes  it  from 
common  events  may  be  only  that,  in  the 
caft  of  a  miracle,  the  influence  of  fuperior 

power 


On   Providence,  jn 

power  is  rendered  obvious  and  fenfible,  by 
the  extraordinary  circumftances  attending 
a  particular  fad.  Thus;  the  removal  of 
a  difeafe  in  the  common  courfe  of  things 
no  perfon  can  look  upon  as  miraculous, 
whatever  he  may  believe  concerning  the 
conftant  agency  of  the  Deity  in  the  crea- 
tion. But  if  a  (Jifeafe  is  removed  inftan- 
taneouflyat  the  command  of  a  man,  or 
in  any  other  manner  which  cannot  be 
accounted  for  by  the  ordinary  pov/ers  of  "^ 
nature ;  in  this  cafe,  the  interpofition  of 
fuperior  power  becomes  vi/We,  and  a  pro- 
per miracle  happens. 

But  v/hat  effedually  removes  every  ob- 
jedion  of  this  kind,  and  almofl  decides 
the  queflion  1  am  confidering,  is  a  point 
which  has  been  already  at  large  infifled 
upon ;  namely,  ^^  That  the  caufe  from 
''  which  the  general  laws  ^  that  o-overn 


■' e 


''  thi 


*  It  is  to  be  wifhcd,  that  all  who  think  on  the  fub- 
jea  of  this  fedion  would  confider,  what  they  mean 
by  the  word  Laivs.   It  is  very  ambiguous  and  indeter- 


minate 


74  O;/    P  R  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E. 

"  the  material  world  are  derived,  is  the 
**  immediate  power  of  the  Deity  exerted 
"  every  where."  It  has,  I  hope,  been 
fliewn  in  the  laft  fed:ion,  that  we  have 
clear  and  flrbng  evidence  for  this. — To 
what  was  there  faid,  I  will  beg  leave  to 
add,  on  the  prefent  occafion,  that  it  is 
from  this  caufe  alfo,  in  particular,  muft  be 
derived  that  conftant  fucceffion  of  ve- 
getables and  animals  which  is  kept  up  in 
the  world.  There  is  not  one  fadt  in  na- 
ture which  can  be  completely  accounted 
for  by  the  mere  pov/ers  of  mechanifm. 
Moft  certainly  then  this  facl  cannot  be 
thus  accounted  for.     'Tis  utterly  incon- 

minate  in  its  fignification,  and  has  been  often  ftrange- 
Jy  mifapplied  and  abufed.  The  prefent  queftioji 
farniihes  us  with  a  ftrong  proof  of  this.  The  gene- 
ral laws  of  nature  fignify  nothing  but  particular 
phenomena  which  are  obferved  in  nature,  or  particu- 
lar modes  of  the  operation  of  fome  caufe.  When, 
therefore,  the  regulation  of  events,  the  continuance 
of  the  order  of  the  world,  or  the  formation  of  vegeta- 
bles and  animals  is  afcribed  to  Laws  eftabliflied  at  the 
creation,  cither  the  word  Laws  has  no  fenfe  at  all,  like 
the  word  Nature  when  ufed  in  the  fame  manner,  or  it 
muft  fignify  the  regular  and  conftant  agency  of  the 
Creator. 

celvablcj 


O//    P  R  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E.  75 

ceivable,  that  works  of  fuch  ftupendous 
art  as  the  bodies  of  vegetables   and  ani- 
mals, myriads   of  which  are  continually- 
formed  about  us,  fhould  be  derived  from 
laws  planted  at  the  creation  in  dead  mat- 
ter, which  have  ever  fince  executed  them- 
felves.     Thofe    who    fay   this,  fay    they 
know  not  what.     They  make  unmeaning 
words  fland  for  caufes,  and  attribute  to 
matter  infinitely  more  than  it  is  capable 
of.       Every    new    vegetable    or    animal, 
therefore,  I  confider  as    a    new  produc- 
tion of  Divine  Power,   ailing    conftantly 
and   regularly  according   to   an  order  or 
fcheme  at  firft  fixed  by  his  wifdom.     But 
there  is  particular  reafon   to  think   thus 
with  refpedl  to  the   confcious   and  living 
principles   of  animals.     'Tis  juft  as  pof- 
fible  that  thefe  fhould  arife  into  exiftence, 
in  confequence  of  laws  eftablifhed  at  the 
creation,   without  any  immediate  exertion 
of  Divine  Power,  as  it  is  that  they  fliould 
arife  into  exiftence  of  themfelves  without 
any  caufe  at  all  *. On   this  account, 

the 
*  I  am  fenfible  that  there  is  room  here  for  recurring 

to 


^6  0>^     P  R  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E. 

the  prejer^ation  of  all  things  appears  to 
be  indeed  but  very-  little  different  from 

.   a  con^ 

to  the  notion  of  an  original  fimultaneous  produdioii 
of  all  things  ;  and  that  fome  will  not  hefltate  to  af- 
iert,  particularly,  concerning  the  living  principles  in 
men  and  brutes,  that  they  have  exifted  from  the  firft 
formation  of  this  earth,  and  have  ever  fmce  either  lain 
dormant  till  united  to  bodies,  or  been  tranfmigrating 
from  one  animal  to  another;  I  will  not  lofe  time  ih 
pointing  out  the  abfurdity  and  extravagance  of  this 
notion.  How  poor  are  the  prejudices  which  lead 
perfons  to  fcek  fuch  expedients  for  maintaining  the 
inacStivityof  the  Deity  ?  What  is  it  that  renders  it  fo 
necefTary  to  confine  the  exertion  of  creative  power  to 
the  firft  formation'  of  a,  fyftem^  rather  than  to  con- 
iider  it  as  going  on  to  exert  itfelf,  according  to  a  fixed 

order,  during  the  continuance  of  a  fyftem  ? Let  this 

however  be  allowed.  Still,  fince  fuch  an  original 
I'lmalianeous  creation  as  I  have  mentioned  mufl  be 
fuppoicd  for  every  particular  fyftem  ;  and  fince,  moft 
probably,  ther^  are  new  fyftems  continually  brought 
into  being  in  the  boundlefs  univerfe  ;  it  will,  even  in 
this  way,  be  neceliary  to  admit  the  conflant  exertion 
of  Divine  Power  ;  nor  is  it  pollible  to  avoid  this  con- 
clufion,  without  extending  the  notion  now  mentioned 
to  the  whole  of  nature,  and  afierting.that  there  never 
has  been  more  than  one  2.Qt  of  Divine  Power,  and 
that  all  the  fLicceffions  of  Beings  and  worlds  fince 
the  commencement  of  created  txiftence,  with  all 

theii 

3 


Oil   Providence.  77 

a  continual  creat'm  y  for  was  creative 
power  to  ceafe  operating,  the  confequence 
would  be,  that  no  more  new  beings  would 
make  their  appearance  in  the  world,  and 
that  this  earth  would  foon  become  a 
wild  and  horrid  defart. 

The  conclufion  arifing  from  thefe  ob- 
fervations  is  very  obvious.  Divine  Pow- 
er, we  fee,  did  not  ceafe  operating  at  the 
creation.  It  appears,  on  the  contrary, 
that  there  is  a  conftant  exertion  of  it 
through  all  nature.  Can  there  be  any 
reafon  for  denying  that  by  it  Providence 
is  adminiftered  ?  Though  employed  con- 
tinually in  the  prefervation  of  the  gene- 
ral laws  of  the  material  world,  and  the 
produftion  of  animate  and  inanimate 
Beings,  mufl  it  be  fuppofed  to  have  nor 

their  different  laws,  Have  taken  place  of  themfelves, 
and  will  for  ever  continue  to  do  fo,  in  virtue  of  that 
one  act,  without  requiring  any  immediate  diredion 
from  the  Creator,  or  any  interpofition  of  his  power. 
If  there  is  any  perfon  who  is  inclined  to  adopt  this 
opinion,  I  have  nothing  to  fay  to  him. 

thine: 


78  0;Z     PR  O  VI  DE  N  C  E, 

thing   t( 
agents  ? 


thing   to    do   with   the  affairs  of  moral 


t) 


I  cannot  think  of  more  than  one  diiEH-^ 
culty  that  can  here  offer  itfelf  to  any 
perfon's  thoughts.  It  is  poifible,  that 
fome  who  admit  thofe  general  influences 
of  Divine  Power  by  which  the  world 
is  preferved,  may  yet  imagine  that  there 
is  an  incredibility  in  that  kind  of  influ- 
ence which  the  interpofitions  of  Provi- 
dence imply,  becaufe,  being  accommo- 
dated to  particular  cafes  and  occafions, 
it  muft  be  a  particular  and  occaiional  in- 
iiuence  introduced  out  of  courfe,  and  not 
reducible  to  any  ftated  and  uniform  mode 
of  operation.  It  cannot  perhaps  be  ne- 
cefTary  to  take  much  notice  of  this  ob- 
jection.  Since   general  influences   are 

only  a  number  of  particular  ones,  the 
diflindion  upon  which  it  is  founded  can- 
not be  of  much  weight.  And,  fup- 
pofing  it  of  weight,  it  muft  be  in  a  great 
mealure  invalidated  by  fome  of  the  fadls 
I   have  mentioned;  for  among  thefe  are 

inftances. 


On   Providencjb.  79 

inftances,  not  only  of  general  and  ftated 
exertions  of  Divine  Power  in  the  world, 
but  of  fuch  as  muft  be  meant  by  par- 
ticular and  occafional  Ones. However, 

were  it  at  all  neceffary,  it  might  very 
well  be  granted,  without  any  prejudice 
to  the  prefent  argument,  that  the  Deity 
always  afts  by  general  influence,  and  in  a 
ftated  courfe.  It  is  eafy  to  conceive,  that 
the  agency  by  which  a  particular  provi- 
dence is  carried  on,  may  be  an  agency  by 
laws  operating,  in  given  circumstances, 
invariably  and  regularly ;  for  no  one  can 
fay,  what  laws  and  regulations  may  be 
eftablifhed  in  the  univerfe,  by  which 
events  may  be  fecretly  directed.  Dr. 
Butler  *  obferves,   that  fo  particular  an 

interpofal 

*  "  Thus,  that  miraculous  powers  fhould  be  ex- 
*'  erted  at  fuch  times,  upon  fuch  occafions,  in  fuch 
"  degrees  and  manners,  and  with  regajd  to  fuch 
^*  perfons  rathei^than  others;  that  the  affairs  of  the 
"  world,  being  permitted  to  go  on  in  their  natural 
*'  courfe  fo  far,  fhould,  juft  at  fuch  a  point,  have 
*'  a  new  direction  given  them  by  miraculous  inter- 
*<  pof.tions;  that  thefe  interpofitions  fhould  be  ex- 

*«  aaiy 


8q  Oji   Providence. 

interpofai  of  tlie  Deity  as  that  in  the 
Chriftian  revelation,  might  have  been  by 
general  law^s.  It  is  at  leaft  certain,  that 
there,  is  one  law  to  vs^hich  the  whole  of 
divine  influence  in  nature,  of  whatever 
kind  it  is,  may  be  reduced.  I  mean  the 
{w}pvQmQ\2iV7  oireBitude,  When  viewed 
in  their  reference  to  this,  all  the  diverfities 
of  operation  by  which  the  adminiftra- 
tion  of  the  world  may  be  condudled;, 
2gree,  and  appear  to  be  only  different 
effed:s  of  one  and  the  fame  principld  - 
acling  varioufly,  according  to  the  different 
circumflaiices  and  characters  of  moral 
agents. -r-^- — If  any  perfoil  fhould  ftili 
want  fatisfad:ion  about  the  prefent  pointy' 

"  aclly  in  fuch  degrees  and  rcfpedls  only ;  all  this 
*'  rniiv  have  been  bv  f;encral  laws  :  Unknown  in- 
*'  deed  to  us  :  But  no  more  unknown  'than  the  laws 
'*  from  whence  it  is  that  fome  die  as  foon  as  they 
*'  are  born,  and;  others  live' to  extreme  old  agef 
"•  that  one  man  is  fo  fuperior  to  another  in  under- 
"  ftacding;  with  innumerable  moPe  things,  which 
"  we  canot  reduce  to  any  laws  or  rules  at  all,  tho' 
'*■  it  is  taken  for  granted  they  are  as  much  reduceablc 
*'  to  general  ones,  as  gravitation."  Jnalogy^  Fa.nll. 
Chap.  4. 

let 


0;2   Pr  o  V  I  b  £  N  c  E.  Si 

let   him  recoiled:  an  obfervation    which 
has  been  made  at  the  beginning  of  this 
fedlion.     Let    him    confider   that    there 
IS  no  more  reafon   for  being  prejudiced 
againft  the  influence  of  mvi/iik  agents^ 
and  efpecially  the  fupreme>  over  events^ 
while   a    courfe  of  nature    is  going  on, 
than   there  is  for  being   prejudiced,    on 
the   fame  account^   againft  the  influence 
which  vi/^o/e  agents  have  over  the  affairs 
of  their  Own   fpecies,   and    thofe  of  the 
Beings  belov\^  them.     The  latter  we  know 
to  be,  not  only  conflftent  with  the  courfe 
of  nature,  but  a  part  of  it ;  and  the  other 
may  be  equally  fo.     This  is  fo  true  that, 
agreeably  to  Dr.  Butler's  obfervation,  even 
the  interpofition  of  fuperior  power  im- 
plied in  a  miracle,   however   unufual    or 
extraordinary,    may  be  entirely  natural  : 
That  is  i  '  the  conftitution  of  the  v/orld 
may  be  fuch  as   allows  of  it  in  certain 
cafes.—.!  know  it  is  common  to  think, 
that  miracles  imply  a  fnfpajfion  or  viola^ 
tion  of  the  laws  of  nature.     But  no  opi- 
nion can  be  more  groundlefs.     Were 


u-e 
G  to 


82  0/2     P  R  O  V  1  t)  E  N  C  £. 

to  fee  the  motion  of  water  downwards 
ceafe  at  once  at   the  word  of  a  man,    or 
a  river   parted  in   its  courfe,   as   Jordan 
was,   we  {hould  fee  a  miracle.     But  we 
could  not  fay  that  the  law  of  gravita- 
tion was  fufpended  5   for  the  water  might 
have  gravitated   as    ufuaU  and   the  true 
caufe  of  the  event  be,  the  exertion  of  an 
adequate  fuperior  power  to  controul  the 
effefts  of  gravitation,  in  which  its  fufpen- 
fion  is  no  more  implied,  than  in  a  man's 
preventing  a  heavy  body  from  falling,  by 
applying  his  hand  to  it.     Nor  could  we 
in  this  inftance  fay,  that  the  event  was 
not  agreeable  to  the  conftitution   of  the 
univerfe ;   for  in  order  to  this  we  (hould 
be  able  to  difcover  what  the  conftitution 
of  the  univerfe  is,  taking  in  the  vifible  and 
inviiible  world,   and   that  it  excludes  all 
interpofitions  oi fuperior  power  in  human 

affairs.- -Every  one  will  eafily  fee  how 

thefe  obfervations  are  to  be  applied  to 
the  purpofe  for  which  they  are  mention- 
ed.  Difmiffmg    them,    therefore,  I 

ihall  beg  leave  to  introduce  here  one  fur- 
ther 


O;^     P  R  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  £.  83 

ther  obfervation  which  feems  worth  no-^ 
tice. 

It  ought  to  be  confidcred,  that  events 
happen  in  the  world  in  fuch  a  manner, 
as  plainly  render  it  not  unlikely,  that  there 
may  be  fome  fuperior  influence  concerned 
in  directing  them.  We  are  far  from, 
having  a  perfed  knowledge  of  all  the 
caufes  from  whence  events  arife,  and 
therefore  cannot  fay  how  far  the  Divine 
hand  may  be  among  thofe  caufes*  The 
uncertainty  which  attends  all  human 
fchemes  is  continually  obferved  and  felt, 
and  has  given  rife  to  the  common  no- 
tions of  Fortune^  by  which  many  of  the 
antient  philofophers  feem  to  have  meant 
the  fame  with  Provide?2ce.  The  bcfl 
laid  fchemes  often  fail  of  fuccefs  flrange- 
ly,  and  fome  of  the  moft  important 
changes  are  often  derived  from  incidents 
in  themfelves  entirely  frivolous,  fo  that, 
indeed,  it  is  not  poflible  for  us  to  imagine 
what  would  follow  from  an  alteration  of 
any  one  circumftance  in  the  general  feries 

Q  z  of 


84  0?2    Providence. 

of  events.  What  room  then  Is  there  fof 
the  influence  of  invifible  agency  ?  What 
a  command  over  events  would  a  fuperlor 
Being  have,  by  only  a  fecret  diredlion  of 
what  appears  to  us  moft  accidental  and 
trifling  ? 

Such  are  the  moft  material  obfervations 
which  have  occurred  to  me,  on  the  man- 
ner in  which  Providence  is  adminiftered. 
—The  great  enquiry  on  this  fubjecft 
is,  how  far  it  is  reafonable  to  admit  the 
conftant  exertion  of  Divine  influence  for 
this  purpofe.  In  anfwer  to  this  enquiry, 
I  have  endeavoured  to  reprefent  the  folly 
of  thofe  prejudices  which  difpofe  men 
to  exclude  from  the  world  the  influence 
of  the  Deity,  and  to  confider  him  as 
being  what  no  other  agent  is;  only  a  mere 
fpedlator  of  the  laws  and  order  of  the 
world.  But  more  than  this  has  been 
done.  It  has,  I  think,  been  demon- 
ftrated  that  the  laws  and  order  of  the 
world  are  nothing  but  his  uniform  agency; 
and  that  the  notion  of  a  felf-fubfifting 

world. 


0;z    Pr  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E.  85 

world,  or  of  a  fcheme  eilabliftied  at  the 
creation  which  has  been  ever  lince  exe- 
cuting itfelf  without  depending  on  the 
Creator,  Implies  an  abfolute  impoffibility. 
There  is,  therefore,  a  neceffity  of 
acknowledging  the  conflant  exertion  of 
Divine  influence  in  nature.  This  leads 
us  almoft  unavoidably  to  conceive  of  Pro- 
vidence as  adminiftered  by  it.  And,  in 
anfwer  to  a  difficulty  which  might  pof- 
fibly  remain  with  fome,  it  has  been  ob- 
ferved,  that  it  is  neither  neceffary  to  con- 
fider  the  influence  of  Providence  as  an 
adventitious  influence  out  of  the  courfe 
of  nature,  nor  if  it  was,  could  any  rea- 
fon  be  drawn  from  hence  for  rejeding 
it. 

The  queftion  I  have  been  difcufiing 
io,  I  think,  the  only  queftion  on  the 
mode  of  the  adminiftration  of  Providence, 
about  which  there  can  be  much  dilpute. 
It  is  neceflrary  this  fhould  be  obferved, 
bepaufe  fpme  probably  wilj  be  inclined 

G  3  to 


86  0?i    Providence. 

to  think,  that  there   is  another  queftion 
of  which  notice  fliould  have  been  taken  ; 
namely,  the  queftion  how  far  Providence 
is   carried  on  by   the   inftrumentality  of 
fubordinate    agents.      But  it  will   eafily 
appear,  that  the  difcuffion  of  this  queftion 
cannot  lead  us    into  any  fentiments  on 
the  points  I  have  been  confidering,  diffe-- 
rent  from  thofe  already  explained.     'Tis 
with  me  out  of  doubt,  that  there  is  an^ 
inftrumentality  of  fubordinate  agents  in 
carrying  on    the  deligns   of  Providence, 
and  it   may  not  perhaps   be  poftible  to 
conceive   how   far  it  reaches  i    but  then, 
I  confider  thefe  agents  as  ading  in  every 
inftance    under    the    fuperintendency    of 
the   Deity,    which  reduces  their  inftru- 
mentality into  a  perfect  coincidence  with' 
that    mode    of  adminiftring  Providence, 

for  which  I  have  pleaded. If  any  one 

will  deny  this,  and  aflert  that  there  is 
no  other  diredlicn  of  affairs  than  is  pro- 
duced by  created  Beings,  uninfluenced 
by  the  Deity,   and  afting  without  com- 

miffion 


On    Providence.  87 

miflion  from  him  ;  in  this  cafe,  there  will 
plainly  be  no  other  Providence  than  that 
of  thefe  Beings,  and  all  things  will  be 
left  to  the  effeds  of  an  original  eftablifli- 
ment,  without  any  fubfequent  care  or 
government.  Several  remarks  have 
been  already  made  on  this  opinion,  and 
there  will  be  occafion  to  fay  fomewhat 
more  about  it  in  the  next  fedion.  I  am 
in  hopes,  however,  that  but  little  need  be 
faid  to  convince  moft  confiderate  perfons, 
that  the  moral  world  is  not  thus  left 
to  itfelf,  or  that  the  feveral  orders  of 
reafonable  Beings  in  it  are  not  delivered 
up  in  fuch  a  manner  to  their  influence 
on  one  another,  as  that  there  is  no  fiipre?7ie 
direBion  from  the  Deity.  Were  there 
no  fuch  decifive  arguments  to  be  urged 
as  fome  that  have  been  propofed,  we 
might  well  reckon,  with  confidence,  that 
the  Being  v/ho  is  moft  nearly  related 
and  moft  intimately  prefent  to  the  world, 
is  alfo  the  Being  who  has  the  moft 
conftant  and  adlive  concern  with  it. 
G  4  But 


88  O;?     P  R  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E. 

Put  not  to  repeat  what  has  been  be* 
fore  faid,  I  fliali  now  proceed  to  fome 
further  pomts,  which  it  will  be  proper 
to  confider  on  the  fuh^c^  of  Providence, 


SECT. 


On  Providence.  8gf 


S  E  C  T.     IV. 

Of  the  0b]e5iions  againjl  Providence, 


A  Good  deal  has  been  faid  in  anfwer 
to  feveral  of  the  objections  which 
have  been  made  againft  the  dodlrine  of 
Providence.  But  there  are  fome  impor- 
tant ones  of  which  no  notice  has  been  tak- 
en, and  my  deiign  in  this  feftion  is  to  offer 
a  few  obfervations  upon  them. 

It  would  preclude  much  that  has  been 
objefted  on  this  fubje<ft  to  remember,  that 
the  diredlions  of  Providence  are,  as  it  is 
certainly  beft  they  (hould  be,  concealed 
and  invifible;  and  that,  therefore,  we 
cannot  in  particular  cafes  determine  in 
what  manner  its  influence  has  been  ex- 
erted, or  what  its  intentions  are.  My 
meaning  here  will  be  beft  explained  by 

con^ 


<5<3  On    P  R  O  V  I  D  E  N  Cl^. 

confidering  a  few  inflances. A  fleet, 

fuppofe,  has  beat  an  enemy's  fleet  in 
confequence  of   a   fudden    turn   of    the 

wind  in  its  favour. Here  would  be 

an  event  which,  we  might  afTuredly  be- 
lieve, did  not  happen  without  the  con- 
cern and  direction  of  the  Deity,  and 
which  might  reafonably  be  afcribed  to 
him  as  the  firft  caufe  and  fupreme  difpofer 
of  all  things.  But  it  would  be  prefump- 
tuous  to  fay,  that  it  proved  his  approba- 
tion of  the  vigors  and  their  caufe,  or 
that  the  fudden  turn   of  the    wind  was 

produced  by  his  immediate  hand. A- 

gain  j  an  earthquake,  let  us  fuppofe, 
has  laid  in  ruins  a  city  or  a  kingdom. 
That  perfon  would,  in  my  opinion,  be 
inexcufable,  who  fhould,  in  this  cafe, 
terminate  his  views  in  the  natural  caufes 
which  produced  the  earthquake.  The 
eftablifliing  thefe  caufes  at  firft  in  the 
frame  of  nature,  and  condudling  things 
fmce  in  fuch  a  manner  as  that  it  fliould 
happen  juft  ^when  and  where  it  did,  ought 
in  all  reafon  to  be  afcribed  to  the  Divine 

good 


On   Providence.  91 

good  pleafure.  And  were  not  this  the 
cafe,  or  were  it  true  that  it  never  was 
any  objedl  of  Divine  forefight  and  coun- 
fe],  but  derived  entirely  from  blind  chance 
or  fate,  all  religious  views  of  it  would 
be  irrational  and  abfurd.  The  particular 
intentions,  however,  of  Providence  in  fuch 
a  calamity,  or  the  reafons  by  which  its 
difpofals  with  refpedl  to  it  have  been 
guided,  we  are  not  capable  of  difcover- 
ing ;  and  many  perfons  have  been  much 
too  free  in  their  judgments  on  fuch  occa- 
fions,  and,  in  confequence  of  this,  have 
done  much  towards  bringing  this  dodlrine 
into  difcredit. We  may  perceive  in- 
deed fome  general  ends  which  are  an- 
fwered  by  all  events  of  this  kind,  fuch 
as  to  alarm  and  awaken  men,  and  bring 
them  to  a  fenfe  of  virtue  and  piety  :  But 
we  cannot  go  much  further;  or  fay,  for 
example,  that  the  calamity  was  defigned 
as  a  judgment  on  the  fufferers,  and  in- 
dicated  them  to  be  worfe  than  other 
men, 

Once 


92  O;/    P  R  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E.' 

Once  more.  A  good  man,  let  us  fup-r 
pofe,  with  ferioufnefs  and  fimplicity, 
makes  it  the  conftant  fubjeft  of  his  pray- 
ers to  the  Deity  that  he  would  fhew  him 
what  is  true  and  right,  deliver  his  mind 
from  the  influence  of  unreafonable  preju- 
diccSy  and  dired  his  thoughts  and  en- 
quiries.  Such  a  perfon  may,  I  think,  be 
aflured  in  general,  that  his  prayers  are 
gracioufly  regarded,  and  that  he  is,  in 
fome  way  or  other,  the  better  for  them. 
And  he  may  alfo  even  believe  that  his 
fentiments,  in  confequence  of  them,  are 
nearer  to  truth  than  they  would  other  wife 
have  been.  But  wherein,  particularly, 
they  are  fo;  or  how  far,  in  confequence 
of  his  prayers,  he  has,  on  any  one  point, 
been  guarded  from  error,  it  is  not  pof- 
fible  for  him  to  know.  As  the  Deity  has 
thought  fit  to  make  us  fhort-fighted  and 
fallible,  we  muft  be  ignorant  to  what  de- 
gree he  may  fuflfer  us  to  miftake.  Our 
chief  fecurity  and  comfort  on  this  head 
are,  that,  with  honefl  hearts,  we  cannot 
pijftake  dangeroufly,  or  fall  into  any  errors 
I  that 


O;^     P  R  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E.  9j 

that  ftiall  be  imputed  to  us  as  crimes,  and 
leflen  the  Divine  favour  to  us. 

What  has  been  now  faid  concernino" 
the  influences  of  Divine  Providence  is 
very  neceffary  to  be  attended  to,  in  or- 
der to  prevent  the  danger  of  fuperftitioa 

and  enthufiafm. That  there  is  a  wife 

Providence  extending  to  all  events,  we 
have,  it  has  been  fhewn,  fufficient  evi- 
dence to  prove :  And  that  its  influence 
is  not  difcernible  by  us,  or  diftinguiih- 
able,  in  its  exertions,  from  the  common 
operations  of  natural  caufes,  and  tho. 
courfe  of  our  own  thoughts,  is  no  more 
any  reafon  for  denying  its  reality,  than 
it  is  for  denying  the  reahty  of  our  fouls, 
or  of  the  ubiquity  of  the  Divine  effence^ 
that  they   are  not  the  immediate  objeds 

of  fenfible  obfervation. In  fome  in- 

ftances,  indeed,  the  interpofitions  of  the 
Deity  have  been  open  and  fenfible,  but 
fuch  interpofitions  are  very  extraordinary ; 
and  to  exped:  them  in  any  common  cafes 
would  be  madnei^.  The  delufions  of  en- 
thufiafm 


94  O;^    P  R  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E, 

thufiafm  take  their  rife  from  hence,  and 
confifl  chiefly  in  afcribing  particular  feel- 
ings, without  reafon,  to  fupernatural  fug- 
geftion  ;  or  in  imagining  that  the  direc- 
tions of  God's  Providence,  and  his  influ- 
ence on  the  foul,  are  capable  of  being 
particularly  obferved. 

'Tis  proper  that  it  fhould  be  further 
obferved  here,  with  refped  to  the  doftrine 
of  Providence,  that  it  ought  never  to 
be  explained  in  fuch  a  manner  as  to 
defl:roy  the  value  of  the  agency  of  created 
beings.  This  would  be  the  cafe  were 
fuch  a  dependence  of  events  on  the  Deity 
maintained,  as  would  imply  that  they  are 
not  at  all  dependent  on  the  wills  of  in- 
ferior Beings.  No  one,  I  hope,  who 
has  attended  to  the  account  I  have  giv-* 
en  of  Providence,  can  think  tJiat  any 
fuch  confequence  arifes  from  it.  I  have 
fliewn,  particularly,  how  confiflient  this 
dodrine  is  with  the  liberty  of  mankind  ; 
and  what  has  been  faid  to  this  purpofe, 
together  with  the  obfervations  that  have 

been 


0;2    P  R  0  V  I  D  E  N  C  E.  9^ 

been  made  on  the  manner  of  adminifter- 
ing  Providence,  is  fufficient  to  remove 
any  objedions  that  can  be  taken  from 
the  neceffity  of  allowing  Beings,  when 
created,  fcope  for  aftion,  and  leaving 
events,  in  fome  meafure,  to  be  deter- 
mined by  their  choice.  This,  undoubt- 
edly, is  neceffary.  Were  there  no  fcope 
for  adion  given  Beings,  or  had  they  no 
power  over  what  comes  to  pafs,  there 
could  be  no  fuch  thing  as  a  mo- 
ral government  in  nature,  there  would 
be  no  room  for  real  beneficence  and  the 
happinefs  connecSted  with  it,  and  the 
whole  rational  univerfe  would  be  a  fyftemi 
of  confcious  machinery,  void  of  value 
and  dignity.  But  then,  furely,  this  does 
not  oblige  us  to  maintain  that  the  Deity 
cxercifes  no  Providence  over  the  affairs 
of  rational  Beings.  The  power  which 
they  have  over  events,  with  all  its  re- 
ftridtions,  was  given  by  him;  and  all 
the  particular  exertions  of  it  are  under 
his  diredlion.  If  any  of  them  become 
depraved,     and    bring    calamities    upon 

tliemfelves 


96  0;2   Providence. 

themfelves  or  others,  we  muft  fay,  that 
fo  the  Deity  fufFers  things  to  happen* 
Thofe  circumftances  in  the  plan  of  na- 
ture and  ftates  of  Beings  which  gave  oc-^ 
cafion  to,  or  admitted  of,  fuch  evils, 
we  muft  afcribe  to  his  will ;  and  all 
that  happens  in  confequence  of  them 
we  ought  to  confider  as  fuperintended 
by  him  in  the  beft  manner.  Nothing 
would  be  more  unreafonable  than  to  ima- 
gine, that  there  is  any  inconfiftency  be-^ 
tween  a  limited  and  derived  dependence  of 
events  on  created  agents,  and  a  ftipreme 
dependence  of  all  events  on  that  firft  caufe 
of  whom,  and  through  whom,  are  all  things^ 
— — My  happinefs,  let  me  fuppofe,  de- 
pends entirely,  in  a  particular  inftance, 
on  the  determination  of  one  of  my  fellow- 
creatures.  It  will  in  this  cafe  be  ftridtly 
true,  that  it  is  the  Deity  puts  me  into 
his  hands.  If,  contrary  to  reafon  and 
the  Divine  law,  he  abufes  his  power^ 
it  will  be  my  duty  to  acquiefce  chearfully, 
from  a  conviftion  of  the  right  which  the 
Deity  has  to  make  my  happinefs  depend 

on 


Oh   Providence.  9% 

en   whatever  conditions  he   pleafes,  and 
of  the  unerring   reafon  by  which   all  his 
difpenfations  are  guided.     Not  to  be  an 
abfolute  lufferer  by  exiftence,  if  innocent, 
is    the    chief  unalienable   right   I   have. 
Within  this  limit  the  Deity  may,  in  any 
degree  he  fees  beft,  and  that  is  confiftent 
with  the  rules  of  diftributive  juftice,  make 
my  ftate    precarious  and    dependent.     I 
can  never  fuffer  beyond  what  is  fit ;  and 
I  may,  from  his  goodnefs,  expecfl  all  fuch 
remedies   for  the  fufferings   which  may 
be  brought    upon    me    as    are,   on    the  ■ 
whole,   proper   to   be  provided.     Red;i" 
tude,    under  the  government  of  a   beinp* 
of  perfed:  reditude,  I  may  be  fure,    fliall 
take  place  invariably,   univerfally  and  for 
ever  5    and   this  is  all  I  ought   to   wifh 

for.- In  a  word;    the    Divine  fcheme 

is,  plainly,  that  events  fliall,  to  a  certain 
degree,  be  what  created  agents  makef 
them.  His  will,  in  numberlefs  cafesy 
appears  to  be,  that  one  Being  fhall  or  fhall 
not  receive  particular  benefits,  or  fufl^er 
particular  evils,  as  his  fellow  Beings  fhall 
H  pleafe 


98  O;/     P  R  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E. 

pleafe  to  determine.  But  then,  this 
happens  no  farther  than  he  knows  to 
be  beft,  and  in  no  inftances  but  fuch  as 
he  appoints.  Every  determination  of 
every  Being  which  w^ould  produce  any 
degree  of  wrong  fufFering,  or  any  event 
not  confiftent  with  a  perfedl  order  of  ad- 
miniftration,  he  will  undoubtedly  either 
prevent,  or  over-rule  in  its  confequences. 
He  is  prefent  in  all  minds  5  and  that 
whole  concatenation  of  events  and 
caufes,  in  confequence  of  which  any  a- 
gent  finds  himfclf  at  any  time  in  any  cir- 
cumftances,  fliould  be  confidered  as  de- 
rived from  him,  and  as  having  been, 
in  every  part  of  it,  the  objed:  of  his  fu- 
perintending  care.  It  would,  as  I  before 
obferved,  be  denying  the  dodlrine  of 
Providence  entirely,  and  making  the  uni- 
verfe  in  a  manner  forlorn  and  fatherlefs, 
to  fuppofe,  that  all  that  the  Deity  does 
is  to  endow  Beings  with  powers  and  af- 
fedlions,  and  then  to  turn  them  out  into 
a  wide  theatre,  there  to  fcuffle  as  they 
can,    and  do  what   they  pleafe,  without 

taking 


On    Providence.  99 

taking   any  care    of   them,   or  prefiding 
over  their  affairs.     We  cannot  be  more 
fure  of  the  moral  perfections  of  the  Deity 
than  we  are  that  this  is  faUe*     Whatever 
evils  there  are  in  the  world,  they  can  be 
only    fuch    as    he   is   pleafcd     to    admit 
into  it.     When  he   willed  the   exiftencc 
of  the   prefent  univerfe,    he  willed  it  as 
including  every  event  which  he  forefaw 
would   arife  in  it.     All  abufe    of  liberty 
and  reafon  he  does  indeed  difapprove  and 
forbid,  and  will   adequately  puniili.     It 
is  of  eflential  mahgnity,   and  as  far  as  it 
enters  tends  to  lay  wafte  his  works.    But 
it  can  enter  no  further  than  he  fees  fit  to 
fuffer  it.     He   had  the  beft  reafons,  for 
eftablifliing  at  firil   thofe  ftates  and  con-^ 
nexions  of  Beings,  from  whence  he  knew 
it  would  fpring.     He  can  reftrain  and  di- 
rect it  as   he  pleafes,    and  even   turn   it 
into  an  occafion  of  good.     If  other  fyftems 
in  which  it  does  not  take  place  contain 
more  happinefs,    and  are  equally  pofiible 
and  proper,   they  might,   when  this   was 
produced,  have  been  previoufly  exiftent  in 
H  2  the 


i  oo  On    P  R  O  V  I  D  E  1^  C  E  • 

the  greateft  variety  any  one  can  imagine^ 
and  the  addition  of  this  might  have  been 
a  further  proper  exertion  of  infinite  good- 
nefs.  It  would  be  impofiible  for  the 
Deity  ever  to  aft,  if  it  is  a  juft  reafon 
againft  the  production  of  any  given 
fyftem,  that  there  are  others  poffible  in- 
eluding  greater  happinefs. 

But  thefe  are  obfervations  which  I  fhall 
have  occafion  to  infift  on,    and  to  explain 
particularly  hereafter,  and  which  lead  me 
to  what  I  chiefly  intended  in  this  fedion  ; 
namely,  to  confider  the  objections  againft 
Providence  taken  from  the  irregularities 
and  evils,    natural  and  moral,  which  we 
fee  in  the  world.     Thefe  are  the  greateft 
of  all  the  difficulties  that  occur  to  us  in 
thinking   of    this    fubjedl.      My    defign 
however  is  not  to  enter   into  a  detail  of 
all  that  may  be  offered  to  remove  them, 
but  only  tofuggeft  a  few  fentiments  with 
this  view,   which  feem  to  me  of  peculiar 
importance,    and    fome    of  which,   per- 
haps. 


On   Providence.         ioi 

haps,    have  not  been  enough  inlifled  on 
by  others. 


The  moll  common  anfwer  to  all  the 
difficulties  arifing  from  the  feeming  irre- 
gularities and  diforders  in  the  fyflem  of 
nature,  is  taken  from  our.  ignorance 
and   narrow    views,   compared  with  the 

extent  of  the  fcheme  of  Providence. 

This  anfwer  is  folid  and  important,  but 
it  requires  to  be  ftated  with  fome  care, 
in  order  to  appear  in  its  juft  and  full 
force.  It  may  be  faid  in  oppofition  to  it, 
*^  that  we  can  have  no  more  reafon  to 
'^  conclude,  on  account  of  unknown  re- 
'^  lations  and  connexions,  that  thtfeem- 
'^  ing  diforders  are  not  real/y  fuch,  than 
**  we  have,  on  the  other  hand,  to  con- 
'*  elude,  on  the  like  account,  that  the 
"  feeming  order  is  not  really  fuch  ;  and 
^*  that,  therefore,  the  fame  regard  is  due 
"  in  all  cafes  to  ii'regular  appearances  -as 
*'  to  regular  ;  that  both  fhould  be  allowr- 
''  ed  their  v/hole  weight  undiminiihed 
**  by  any  confiderations  of  our  ignorance, 

H  ^  ''  A\y\ 


102         On    Providence. 

^«  and  our  fentiments  be  determined  by  the 
**  degree  \n   which  we  fee,   or  think  we 
^^  fee,  the  one  to  prevail  over  the  other." 
— But  a  little  attention  will  difcover  this 
way  of  arguing,  in  the  prefent  cafe,  to  be 
very  fallacious.     The  pofition  on  which 
it  is  founded^    "  that  unknown  relations 
*^  may  as  well  fliew  feeming  order  to  be 
*'  diforder  as  the  contrarv,"  is  undoubt- 
edly  falfe.     Order  and  regularity,  we  are 
fure,  wherever    they   are   found,   cannot 
but  proceed  from    defign    and    wifdom ; 
and  it  is  not  poflible  that  any  unknown 
relations  fhould    deftroy   the   appearance 
of  them. — '—Thus  ;    if  we  faw  a  million 
of  things,  difpofed  regularly  at  the  angles 
of  a  polygon  of  a  million  of  equal  fides, 
v/e  fliould  neceflarily  conclude  that  there 
Avas  real  order  here,   derived  from  knov/- 
ledge   and  wifdom  ;  nor  could  we  help 
reckoning  it  impertinent  to  object,  that, 
if  we  knew   all  the    relations    of  thefe 
things   to  others,  we  might  perceive  the 
contrary.     But,  on  the  other  hand  ;  fup- 
pofin?  any  number  of  obic^rs  to  be  dif- 
pofed 


On   Providence.         103 

pofed  apparently  according  to  no  order, 
we  could  not  from  hence  conclude  that 
this  was  7'ealJy  the  cafe ;  becaufe  it  is  not 
impoffible  but  that  their  relations  and 
correfpondencies  to  furrounding  objedts, 
did  we  perceive  them,  might  fhew  us 
that  they  were  difpofed  in  the  moft  beau- 
tiful order. In  like  manner,  it  would 

be  very  abfurd  to  fay,  that  had  we  larger 
views  we  might  difcover,  perhaps,  that 
the  eye  was  not  made  for  feeing,  or  that 
the  bodies  of  plants  and  animals  are  not 
the  effeifts  of  art.  But,  it  is  by  no  means 
fo  to  lay  of  any  appointments  of  nature, 
or  parts  of  an  animal  body  whichy^-t';;;  ir- 
regular or  ufelefs,  that,  had  we  larger 
views,  we  might  perceive   them   to    be 

otherwife. It    is,    therefore,     evident 

that  the  relations  of  objeds,  or  tlieir  con- 
nexions with  other  objeds,  may  entirely 
alter  what  appears  irregular  in  them,  at 
the  fame  time  that  they  cannot  affecl: 
v/hat  appears  regular  5  and  that,  confe- 
quently,  contrary  to  what  has  been  ob- 
jedled,  there  is  the  greateft  regard  due  to 

H  4  our 


J04         On    Providence. 

our  ignorance  when  we  contemplate  the 
former,  but  none  when  we  contemplate 
the  latter.  The  Ont  miijl  be  the  effed 
of  wifdom,  and  the  other  may.  Froni 
the  appearance  of  deformity,  or  ill  con- 
trivance in  an  object,  when  feen  in  one 
pofition,  or  confidered  by  itfelf,  there 
may  not  arife  the  leaft  prefumption,  that 
it  will  have  the  fame  appearance  when 
f^tn  in  another  pofition^  or  when  con- 
fidered as  a  part  of  an  extenfive  ancj 
complicated  fyftem.  How  foplifh  may 
the  meafures  taken  by  the  rulers  of  a 
flate,  or  the  inftitutions  of  a  civil  polity, 
though  in  reality  the  wifeft  pofTible,  feeni 
to  a  perfon  not  enough  acquainted  with 
the  fituation  of  the  ftat^,  or  with  the 
whole  plan  of  the  civil  polity  ?  How 
dull  may  a  fmgle  part  of  a  mufical  com- 
pofition  appear  when  heard  alone,  which 
yet,  when  heard  in  concert  with  the 
ether  parts,  may  make  the  moil  delight- 
ful harmony  ?  How  auk  ward  may  a 
beautiful  and  necelfary  member  of  a  ma- 
j;l|ine  appear,    when  detaclied   from   the 

reft, 


On   Providence.         105 

y^^y  or  when  viev/ed  by  one  who  fees 
not  its  refcre72ce  to  the  end  of  the  ma- 
chine ?  How  confufed  does  the  fyftem  of 
jhe  world  appear  to  a  fpe.dator  on  the 
earth,  or  according  to  the  Ptolemaick 
fyfleni;  but  how  regular  and  harmoni- 
ous is  it  according  to  the  true  fyftem,  or 
as  it  would  appear  to  a  fpedator  in  the 
fun  ?  Can  it  be  exci^fable  not  to,  bear  in 
mind  fuch  truths,  when  we  contemplate 
Divine  Providence  ?  Or  is  it  at  all  judg- 
ing according  to  reafon,  not  to  make  the 
allowances  they  require  ?  Is  there  any 
one  who,  in  examining  any  work  of  hu- 
man art,  would  not  impute  to  his  igno- 
rance whatever  in  it  appeared  not  con- 
fiflent  with  the  fkill  which  the  general 
frame  of  it  difcovered  ?  Why  is  not  this 
equally  reafonable  with  refpedt  to  the 
conftitution  of  nature,  where  we  find  in- 
numerable proofs  of  infinite  wifdom,  and 
in  the  meaneft  produdions  of  which  is 
exhibited  an  incomprehenfible  exadnefs 
pf  art  and  workmanfhip  ? 

It 


io6         On   Providence. 

It  may  be  worth  adding  here,  that, 
being  ourfelves  parts  of  nature,  and  de- 
riving from  the  fame  original  with  it  our 
very  notions  of  order,  it  feems  very  in- 
credible that  we  ihould  be  able  to  corred: 
nature,  or  to  conceive  an  order  greater 
and  better  than  is  to  be  found  in  it  *. 

There  are  two  accounts  to  be  giv- 
en of  the  appearance  of  irregularities 
in  nature.  It  may  be  occafioned  either 
by  the  reality  of  thefe  irregularities; 
or  by  our  ignorance,  confined  views,  and 
difadvantageous  fituation  for  obferving 
nature.  It  may  be  owing  either  to  a 
real  want  of  wifdom,  or  to  the  infinity 
and  unfathojnablenefs  of  it.  The  firft  of 
thefe  accounts  contradids  numberlefs 
Fhcenoinena  of  nature;  is  inconfiftent 
with  the  perfediion  of  wifdom  apparent 
in  the  general  frame  of 'fthe  world,  and 
oppofes  our  moft  reafonable  apprehenfions 

*  See  Charaaefiftics,    Vol.  II.  p.  284. 

yi^.ncdv,  liJjyctp   av  uttoi  th,  //«pij  avTn  ss"/.     Aril!:,  de 
Mundo,  Cap.  V. 

con- 


O;?  Pr  o  V  I  D  E  N  c  E.  107 

concerning  the  nature  and  attributes  of 
the  lirfl;  caufe.  The  latter  account,  on 
the  contrary,  is  in  the  higheft  degree 
eafy,  natural,  and  obvious.  'Tis  fug- 
gefted  to  us  by  what  we  have  experienced 
in  iimilar  inftances,  and  agreeable  to 
wh^t,  from  the  reafon  of  the  thing,  we 
might  have  forefeen  muft  have  happened 
to  fuch  creatures  as  we  are,  in  confidering 

fuch  a  fcheme  as  that  of  nature. Can 

we  then  doubt  a  moment  to  which  of 
thefe  accounts  we  iliall  give  the  prefe- 
rence ?  Is  it  reafonable  to  fufFer  our  con- 
viction of  a  fa<fl:,  for  which  we  have  good 
evidence,  to  be  influenced  by  appearances 
that  may  as  well  be  confident  as  inccn- 
fiftent  with  it  -,  nay,  by  appearances  that, 
on  the  fuppofition  of  its  truth,  we  mufl 
beforehand  have  exped:ed  ?  Mufl  it  not 
be  ahvays  proper  to  fiifpecl:  our  judo-- 
ments  in  cafes  where  we  have  often  been 
miftaken,  and  where  it  is  certain  we  muft 
be  particularly  liable  to  miftake  ? 

Let  us  here  fix  our  thoughts  again  '*  on 
the  ftrudure  of  the   human  body.     We 

*  See  page  58, 

know 


ro 


8  On     P  R  O  V  I  D  E  N  CE, 


know  it  to  be  an  efFect  of  confummate 
ikilL  But  there  are  fome  of  its  parts 
the  ufes  and  propriety  of  which  we  do 
not  perceive.  Can  we  fuppofe  thefe 
parts  to  be  really  ufelefs,  and  the  human 
body,  in  fuch  inftances,  to  be  ill  made  ? 
Or  can  it  be  poffible  for  any  perfon,  in 
this  cafe,  to  infer  any  more  than  the 
^*  imperfeftion  of  his  knowledge  ?'' 
There  is  the  very  fame  reafon  againft 
drawing  any  other  concluiion  from  what 
is  dark  to  us  in  the  difpenfations  of  Pro- 
vidence, and  the  government   of  events. 

What,  in   truth,  would  be  moft  of 

all  unaccountable  is,  that  to  Beings  whofe 
views  are  confined  within  the  narrowefl 
limits  of  time  and  place,  many  parts  of 
an  infinite  plan,  contrived  by  infinite  wif- 
dom,  fliould  not  appear  unaccountable. 
It  ought  to  fatisfy  us,  that  we  fee  and 
know  enoMgh  to  convince  us  of  the  per- 
fection of  the  Divine  ways  and  works. 
To  exped  that  they  fhould  be  fully  un- 
derflood  by  us,  or  that  no  difiiculties 
(liould  embarrafs  us  in  our  enquiries  into 
5  them. 


On   Providence.         109 

them,  would  (hew  the  moft  inexcufable 
folly.  It  has  happened,  in  many  inftances, 
that  what  for  fome  time  had  been  looked 
upon  as  faulty  in  the  conftitution  of  na- 
ture, has  been  found  to  be  wife  and  good. 
This  ought  to  teach  us  diffidence  with 
regard  to  whatever  we  may  ftill  be  unable 
to  account  for.  All  the  fancies  of  men, 
that  they  could  mend  God's  works,  or 
correft  the  order  of  the  world,  have  hi- 
therto proved  nothing  but  their  ignorance 
and  prefumption.  As  new  light  has 
been  ftruck  out,  objedtions  have  vaniflied, 
and  the  Divine  works  have  flione  v/ith 
greater  brightnefs.  The  further  advances 
have  been  made  in  the  knowledge  of  na- 
ture, and  the  more  open  it  has  been 
laid  to  our  view,  the  more  glorious  It 
has  appeared,  and  the  ftronger  proofs 
have  been  difcovered  of  the  perfections 
of  its  author  :  And  hence,  what  we 
ought  in  all  reafon  to  reckon  upon  is, 
that  were  we  acquainted  with  the  whole 
of  nature,  or  had  faculties  for  entering 
into  the  counfels  of  Providence,  and  dif- 
covering  the  connexions  and  dependencies 

of 


no         On   Providence. 

of  all  its  parts,  every  irregulajity   would 
difappear,   and    all  that  now  puzzles  us 
be    found    completely    right    and    good. 
-The    chief    difficulties    occur  juft 
where    we  might  expeifl  them ;    in  the 
ftate    of    human  affairs,    and    the    ma- 
nagement   of   the   77ioral    world.      The 
fcheme  of  the  natural  world  lies  more  in 
one  view  before  us,  and  has  lefs  depen- 
dence on    paft   and   future    events;   but 
that  of  the  other,  'tis  reafonable  to  think, 
muft  be  as  much  more  deep  laid  as  it  is 
of  greater  importance.     It  muft  be    of 
inconceivable  extent  as  to  duration  as  well 
as  place y  confift  of  many  related  periods ^ 
and  proceed  through  a  long  fucceflion  of 
ages.     If  then  of  the  former  we  are  in- 
competent judges,  how    much   more  fo 
muft  we  be  of  the  latter ;  and  with  what 
patience   and    hope  ought    we,  under   a 
fenfe  of  our  blindnefs,   to  wait   till  time 
fhall  unravel   the   fcheme  and   fliew    us 
more  clearly  the  perfe(ft  order  of  the  Di- 
vine government  ?« In  lliort ;  that  per- 

fon  is   indeed   hardly  v/orthy  of  a  place 
among  God's  works,  who  obferves  them 

fo 


On  Providence.  m 
£o  carelefsly  as  not  to  know,  that  there  is 
a  depth  of  wifdom  and  contrivance  in 
them  v^hich  he  cannot  trace,  and  is  not 
led  from  hence  to  imphcit  and  hearty  ac- 
quiefcence,  believing  were  he  does  not  fee, 
and  adoring  where  he  finds  himfelf  inca- 
pable of  comprehending. 

The  next  obfervation  I  fhall  make  on 
the  objeftions  I  have  mentioned  is,  that 
in  general,  they  are  founded  too  much 
on  the  unreafonable  and  abfurd  expefta- 
tion  **  that  the  Deity  fhould  ad,  in  every 
^'Jingle  injiance,  to  the  utmoft  extent  of 
^*  his  power,  and  communicate  the 
*^  greateft  poffible  happinefs/'— Happi- 
nefs,  we  know,  is  greatly  prevalent  in 
all  we  fee  of  the  world.  Every  diftricft 
of  it  abounds  with  effeds  of  the  good- 
nefs  of  its  maker.  Our  complaint  then 
mufl  be,  not  why  is  not  goodnefs  dif- 
played  in  the  conftitution  of  nature,  but 
why  is  not  ;^;ord' goodnefs  difplayed.  But 
let  it  be  well  confidered,  that  this  is  a 
complaint,  the  foundation  of  which  it  is 
not  poffible  to   remove  :    For,    had  the 

i  happi- 


112        On   Providence. 

happinefs  communicated  been  ever  fo' 
g7'eaty  we  might  flill  have  afked,  why 
is  it  not  greater? 

As  long  as  the  fum  of  the  happinefs 
of  any  Being  exceeds  that  of  his  miferies, 
God  is  kind  to  him;  nor  does  it  make 
the  leaft  difference  to  a  Being,  whether 
any  particular  quantity  of  happinefs  with 
which  he  is  blefled  is  pure  and  unmixed, 
or  only  the  clear  excefs  of  his  enjoy- 
ments above  his  fufferings,  or  whether 
larger  capacities  of  enjoyment  are  given 
him  with  proportionable  dedudlions  of 
fufferings,  or  narrower  capacities  without 
any  fuch  dedudlons. 

As  far,  therefore,  as  the  attribute  of 
goodnefs  is  concerned,  no  objedions  can 
be  made  againft  any  natural  evils  over- 
balanced by  good,  which  may  not  equally 
be  made  againft  communicating  a  fmaller 
rather  than  a  larger  quantity  of  good, 
or  granting  narrower  rather  than  greater 

capacities    of   happinefs. Thus  -,    if 

the  animals  on  this  globe  (fuppofing  all 

along 


On   Providence.         113 

along  happinefs  to  prevail  in  their  exi- 
ftence)  fliould  be  exempted  from  the 
greater  calamities  that  befall  them,  they 
iliould,  for  the  fame  reafon,  be  exempted 
from  the  fmaller,  and  enjoy  an  uniform 
happinefs,  without  being,  at  any  time, 
in  the  leaft  annoyed  or  diflurbed.  This 
happinefs  alfo  they  may  exped:  to  be  the 
greateft  their  natures  are  capable  of,  and 
to  continue  for  ever.  They  ought, 
therefore,  to  be  immortal,  fubjed:  to  no 
decay,  liable  to  no  accidents,  and  fecure 
of  enjoying  every  pleafure  in  the  higheft 
poflible  degree.  But  we  cannot  flop 
here.  For  the  fame  reafon  that  they 
ought  to  be  thus  happy  to  the  utmoft 
extent  of  their  capacities,  they  ought  to 
have  had  higher  capacities.  But  how 
extravagant  is  all  this  ?  At  this  rate,  no 
finite  or  imperfedt  Being  muft  ever  be 
created. 

'Tis  a  very  different  queftion,  how  far 
the  wifdom  of  God  appears  in  the  mixed 
ftate  appointed  to  Beings :   And  fo  like- 

I  wife 


114  O//     P  R  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E. 

wife  is  the  queftion,  how  far  his  jujiice 
can  be  vindicated  in  the  relative  ftates 
of    mankind,    confidered   as    reafonable 

agents  of  different  moral  characters. 

The  chief  difficulties  attending  the  latter 
enquiry  are  removed  by  fuppoling  a  fu- 
ture ftate  ^  and  with  refped:  to  the  for- 
mier,  we  know  enough  to  be  fatisiied, 
that  all  the  particular  evils  incident  to 
Beings  are  under  good  dired:ion,  and 
that  it  is  for  the  beft  reafons  that  a  mix- 
ed ftate  is  appointed  them.  It  deferves 
particular  notice,  that  many  of  the  pains 
and  evils  to  which  all  animals  are  liable,, 
appear  plainly  to  be  defigned  as  means 
to  fecure  their  happinefs  and  to  guard 
them  againft  harm,  and  are  therefore,  as 
much  almoft  as  any  of  their  natitral  plea- 
fures  and  enjoyments,  proofs  both  of  the 
w-ifdom  and  goodnefs  of  the  Deity. 

I  have  called  the  expei^lation  that  God,.. 
in  a?iy  Jingle  injiance^  ihould  produce    the 
greateil    poffible  happinefs    unreafonable 
and  abfurd.     This  is  an   extremely   evi- 
dent 


On   ProvidencC-         ir^ 
dent  truth.     But  it  fliould  be  obferved, 
that  it  by  no  means  follows  from  hence 
that,    taking  in    the  whole   extent   and 
duration  of  the   creation,  a  quantity    of 
abfolute   good    has   not    been    produced 
which  exceeds  all  that  is  poffible  to  be  con- 
ceived.    Though  only  a  limited  quantity 
of  happinefs  can  exift  in  any  given  num- 
ber of  limited  eifeds,  and  though,  there- 
fore, all  that  we  can   reafonably  exped: 
With  regard  to  any  fingle  parts  of  nature 
is,    to    fee    that  good   is    prevalent,    or 
that  happinefs  is  defigned  and   commu- 
nicated, and  to  exped:  more  would   run 
us  into  the  greateft  abfurdities,  yet  the 
entire  plan  of  created  exiftence,  reaching, 
perhaps,   from  eternity  to  eternity,    and 
extending  through   immenfity,    may    in- 
clude   in   it    ifTfinitCy    or    ififinitely  infinite 
happinefe. 

But  to  difmifs  this.  It  w^ill  be  worth 
while  here,  to  apply  the  prefent  argument 
more  particularly  to   the   flate   and  cir- 

cumftances    of  man ^ Various  have 

1  2  been 


ii6         On    Providence, 

been  the  complaints  of  the  evils  under 
which  man  groans,  and  the  calamities 
to  which  he  is  liable.  But  if  it  mufl 
be  granted,  that  he  enjoys,  on  the  whole, 
more  pleafure  than  he  fuffers  pain;  that 
his  life  and  ftate  are  in  a.  high  degree 
eligible,  notwithftanding  the  evils  blend- 
ed with  them ;  and  that  the  whole  or- 
der of  his  nature,  as  it  came  from  the 
hands  of  the  Creator,  is  fuch  as  proves 
him  to  have  been  defigned  for  nothing 
but  virtue  and  happinefs  :  If,  I  fay,  this 
muft  be  granted,  as  furely  it  muft,  it 
fhould  go  a  great  way  towards  filencing 
all  objections  and  complaints.  For  it  will 
follow  that  the  meaning  of  them  mufl 
be  in  a  great  meafure  this;  **  Why  was 
*'  not  man  made  7nore  happy  and  per- 
*'  fed:  ?"  A  queflion  which,  agreeably 
to  what  was  before  obferved,  might  have 
been  afked,  though  he  had  been  placed 
ever  fo  much  higher  in  the  fcale  of  Being. 
—Let  then  every  objcdion  of  this  kind 
be  for  ever  exploded.  Man,  'tis  true,  is 
a  very   frail,   imperfcft,   and  fliort-lived 

3  creature ; 


0?i   Providence.         117 

creature  ;  but  ftill  his  exiftence  is  better 
to  him  than  non-exiftence.  Such  a  race 
is,  at  leaft,  /o772e  addition  to  the  univerfal 
happinefs  -,  and,  therefore,  it  was  an 
inftance  of  Divine  goodnefs  to  produce  it; 
and  inftead  of  murmuring,  it  becomes  us 
rather  to  praife  and  adore. 

But  it  will,  probably,  be  thought,  that 
no  obfervations  of  this  kind  aifed:  the 
main  difficulty  that  occurs  to  us  in  con- 
lidering  Providence,  which  arifes,  '^  not 
*^  from  the  natural  cvih  and  imperfedlions 
'*  of  man,  but  from  what  religion  teaches 
**  us  concerning  his  circumftances  as  a 
**  moral  agent,  placed  in  a  ftate  where  he 
*^  is  ftrongly  tempted  to  wickednefs,  and 
*^  where  it  muft  have  been  expedled  that 
**  a  general  corruption  would  prevail,  all 
**  forfeit  innocence,  and  great  numbers  fall 
**  into  the  future  punifhment  of  fin,   and 

"  be  loji  for   ever,''- -This    is    indeed 

an  important   difficulty ;   nor  would  I  at 
all  pretend  to  be  able  to  give  any   ade- 
quate folution  of  it.     Some  obfervations, 
I   3  how- 


1 1 8         On    Providence, 
Jiowever,  there  are,  fuggefted  by  the  pre-? 
fent  argument,  which  feem  to  leffen  it^ 
weight,    and    which,    therefore,   it   will 
not  be  amifs  to  propofe. 

Man  feems  to  be  in  the  loweft  order 
of  reafonable  Beings,    and  from  what  has 
been   faid,   it  appears  that  there  are  no 
objedlions  againft  creating  the  loweft  or- 
der, which    would   not   equally  hold  a- 
gainft  creating  any  other  order.     Now, 
^t  h  reafonable  to  think,  that  intelligent 
agents,  in  the  firft  period  of  their  ex ift- 
ence,     or     antecedently    to    all    fecurity 
from    experience    and  inflrudlion>    mufl 
be  more  liable  to  deviate  than  in  any  fub- 
fequent  period^    and  it  is   certain,   that 
thofe  in  a  lower  order  muft  be  more  frail 
^nd    defedible    than    thpfe    in    a    high- 
er.    What  wonder  then  is  it  if  of  thofe 
in  the  loweji  order,   and  who  confequent- 
Jy  muft  be  in  the  greateji  danger  of  de- 
viation,   many    lliould    adtually    deviate, 
;ibi]fe   their  liberty,   and  lofe  the   happi- 

nefs   they  mi2;ht  have  fecured  ? 'Tis 

abfurd 


On    Providence.         119 

abfurd  to  afk  why  was  liberty  granted 
them,  fince  it  is  eflential  to  intelligence, 
and  to  all  rational  and  moral  happinefs. 
Liberty  then^  they  mufl  have,  or  not  exill 
at  all,  and  the  confequence  of  liberty, 
when  expofed  to  temptations  and  trials, 
muft  fometimes  be  depravity  and  wicked- 
nefs.  And  why  Ibould  not  a  liberty  fo 
circumftanced  be  communicated,  as  well 
as  a  liberty  more  favourably  circum- 
ftanced *  ?  Can  it  be  afferted  that  all 
Beings  have  a  right  not  to  be  placed  in 
any  disadvantageous  ftates  ?  Or,  fhould 
this  be  allowed,  will  it  be  afferted  fur- 
ther, that  they  ought  not  even  to  be  ex- 
pofed to  the  poffibility  of  being  ever 
brought  into  fuch  ftates  ?  As  the  Deity 
might  not  have  given  exiftence  at  all,  he 

*  It  (hould  be  observed,  that  T  fuppofe  that  all 
Beings  might  have  bepn  placed  in  fuch  circumftances 
as  that  none  of  them,  though  poficft  of  perfecSt  natu- 
ral liberty,  fjiould  ever  be  in  danger  of  any  deviations 
or  calamities  :  And  the  defign  of  vi'hat  is  here  faid, 
and  of  a  good  deal  that  follows,  is  to  Ihcvv  that  we 
have  no  fufficient  reafon  to  expert  this  ;  and  alfo 
that,  allowing   it  poflible,  it  was  not  heR. 

I  4  may 


I20         On   Providence. 

may  furely  give  it  on  any  terms  which 
are  confiftent  w^ith  its  being  in  any  de- 
gree a  benefit,  or  not  worfe  than  non- 
exiilence.^He  cannot,  therefore,  be  under 
an  obligation  to  give  it  free  from  dangers 

and  inconveniencies.-! -Antecedently  to 

the  creation  of  man,  as  many  of  the 
moi^e  perfeft  orders  of  creatures  might 
have  exifted  as  can  pcffibly  be  imagined, 
and  the  creation  of  man  might  make  a 
further  addition  to  the  univerfal  happi- 
nefs.  Why  then  iliould  he  not  be  creat- 
ed ? — -Is  it  not  moft  reafonable  to  expedl 
that  Divine  goodnefs  iTiould  difplay  itfelf 
in  producing  an  endlefs  variety  of  effedls, 
and  in  giving  exiftence  to  every  different 
order  of  creatures  '^  capable  of  being 
happy  ? 

Thefc 

*  What  is  here  fuggefled  fhews,   that  the  creation 
of  a  variety  of  orders  of  creatures  is  not  only  con- 

llilent    with    goodnefs,    but  required   by  it. But 

there  is  another  obfervation  wiiich  ihews  this  in  a 
different  manner,  and  which,  though  particular  ufe 
will  be  made  of  it  again,  it  will  not  beamifs  jufl  to 
mention  on  this  occafion.     Had  there  been  no  ine* 

qualities 


On   Providence.         121 

Thefe    obfervatlons    are    fufficient    to 
prove,   that  the  perfedions  of  the  Deity 

by 

qualities  among  Beings,  there  could  have  been  np 
room  for  beneficence  ;  no  pofTibility  of  gratifying  the 
defire  of  doing  good  ;  no  opportunities  for  exercif- 
ing  virtue  in  one  of  its  higheft  inftances,  and  that 
principle  in  rational  Beings,  wrhich  affords  a  hap- 
pinefs  the  moft  worthy  of  a  rational  nature,  mull 
have  lain  for  ever  dormant  and  ufelefs.  Ses  Mr, 
Ahernethys  Sermons^  Vol.  II.  Serm.  III. 

I  cannot  forbear  adding  in  this  place,  that  it  feems 
to  me  very  improper  to  fay,  as  fome  have  done,  that 
God  chofe  this  fyftem,  in  which  evil  takes  place,  as 
the  beft  of  all  pofTible  fyftems.  'Tis  difficult  to  fay 
what  can  be  meant  by  the  befl  of  all  poflible  fyflems. 
If  it  fignifies  that  which  includes  t\iz  great  eft  fum  of 
happinefs,  it  is  as  inconceivable  as  the  lofigej}  of  all 
durations,  or  the  largeji  of  all  numbers.  Thofe  per- 
fons  muft  have  low  ideas  of  God's  works  who  can 
look  upon  this  earth,  with  its  connexions,  or  even 
the  whole  vifible  univerfe  of  fun,  planets,  and  fixed 
ftars,  as  at  ^11  confiderable,  when  compared  with  the 
reft  of  the  creation.  At  the  time,  therefore,  this 
fyftem  was  produced,  there  might  have  been  num- 
berlefs  other  fyftems,  containing  brighter  difplays  of 
infinite  power  and  goodnefs,  not  only  pojftble  but 
actually  ex'iftent.  All  that  we  can  reafonably  expe6l  to 
fee  in  what  falls  under  our  notice  of  the  works  and 
ways  of  God    is,  that  they  are  entirely   right  and 

good, 


^22         On   Providence. 

by  no  means  required  that  fuch  a  race 
^s  ours  fhould  not  exift.  When  con- 
iidered  by  itfelf  we  fee  enough,  notwith- 
flanding  the  difficulties  .that  we  meet 
with,  to  convince  us  that  it  is  the  ef- 
feft  of  wifdom  and  goodnefs :  and  when 
confidered  in  its  relation  to  the  whole 
fyflem  of  Beings,  we  know  not  how 
important  purpofes  it  may  ferve. 

It  is  particularly  neceffary  on  this  ar- 
gument to  bear  in  mind,  that  fufficknt 
advantages  are  fuppofed  to  be  granted 
to  all,  and  that  nothing  is  expelled 
from  any  Being  which  is  not  equitably 
proportioned  to  the  light  and  opportuni- 
ties he  enjoys. — —If  fome  have  fewer 
advantages  than  others,  all  have  more 
than  they  can  claim ;  and  from  all  as 
much  lefs  will  be  required,  as  they  have 
had  lefs   given   them.     If  fome  have   a 

good,  and  worthy  of  his  perfe£lions.  To  defire 
yr.orc,  or  to  expe6t  that  this  fyftem  fhould  be  the 
beft,  the  falreft,  and  happieft  poffible,  is  the  fame 
as  to  expe£l  that  there  fliould  be  no  Subordination 
or  variety  in  the  Divine  vyrorks. 

fmaller 


On   Providence.         123 

imaller  chance  for  happinefs  than  others, 
all  have  Jome  chance,  and  every  one 
might  have  had  none  at  all,  that  is,  might 
never  have  exifted*  Happinefs  is  always 
a  free  gift  from  God,  and  he  may 
make  Beings  liable  to  come  (hort  of 
it,  in  any  degree  he  fees  befto  Any  ca- 
pacity, any  poJIibtlity  of  happinefs  is  va- 
luable for  the  fame  reafon  that  happinefs 
Jtfelf  is  fo,  and  ought  to  be  received 
with  gratitude.  Nay,  fuch  at  prefent 
are  our  circumftances,  that  we  have  in- 
deed reafon  for  the  utmoft  gratitude. 
We  have  before  us  the  profpedl  of  a 
^lejj'ed  immortality  which  we   cannot  lofe, 

but  through  our  cv/n  fault.* Far  then 

be  it  from  us  to  accufe  our  Maker.- - 

It  is  in  your  power  to  fecure  infinite 
happinefs.  All  the  means  nece/Tary  for 
this  are  given  you.  Nothing  but  vo- 
luntary and  inexcufable  guilt  can  hurt 
you.  Praife  God,  therefore.  Improve 
carefully  the  advantages  you  are  blefl 
with ;  and  be  not  fo  unreafonable  as  to 
f  omplain  becaufe  you  are  not  faved  the 

care 


124  •  ^^  Providence, 
care  and  pains  you  muft  ufe  in  working 
out  your  falvation ;  for  this  is  a  complaint 
which  nothing  can  fatisfy,  befides  grant- 
ing you  every  poffible  advantage,  placing 
you  above  all  labour  and  hazard,  and 
making  you  abfolutely  indefectible. 

The  argument  on  which  I  here  infift 
is,  I  think,  fufficient  to  teach  us  a  hum- 
ble and  thankful  acquiefcence  in  the 
condition  allotted  us.  But  it  would 
fcarcely  be  right  to  omit  obferving,  that 
there  is  a  great  deal  more  to  be  faid  in 
the  prefent  cafe,  and  particularly  in  vindi- 
cation of  Providence,  with  refpedt  to  that 
ftate  of  labour  and  danger  in  which  we 
are  placed.  I  fliall,  therefore,  beg  leave 
to  digrefs  fo  far  as  to  introduce  a  few  ob- 
iervations  on  this  fubjedl,  not  immedi- 
ately connedled  with  the  main  argument 
which  I  am  purfuing. 

The  fad  that  our  ftate  is  a  ftate  of 
labour  and  danger  is  too  obvious  to  be 
queftioned.     There  is  nothing  in  human 

life 


On   Providence.         125 

life  ftable  and  certain.  There  is  nothing 
given  us  fo  freely  that  we  are  to  ufe  no 
pains  to  obtain  or  preferve  it.  Almofl: 
all  the  bleflings  of  our  Being  are  to  be 
earned  by  diligence,  if  we  would  poffefs 
them.  Such  is  the  Divine  eftablifliment, 
that  the  lazy  and  indolent  muft  be  defi- 
cient and  unhappy.  But  what  deferves 
moft  of  our  notice  is,  that  part  of  the 
precarioufnefs  of  our  ftate  which  iscaufed 
by  its  dependence  on  our  fellow-beings. 
There  is  not,  I  think,  any  fad  in  the 
conflitution  of  the  world  which  is  more 
remarkable  than  this ;  or  which,  at  firft 
fight,  feems  to  contradift  more  our  ideas 
of  Divine  goodnefs.  How  common  is 
it  for  one  man  to  have  at  his  command 
the  fates  of  whole  provinces  and  king- 
doms ?  Even  our  receiving  exiilence,  as 
well  as  our  condition  afterwards,  is  made 
to  depend  on  the  v/ills  of  our  fellow- 
beings.  In  the  beginning  of  life  we  are 
committed  to  the  care  of  parents  or  guar- 
dians, who  can,  almofl:  as  they  pleafe,  de- 
termine our  ftate  in  future  life,  or  cut  us 

off 


126         On   Providence, 

off  entirely  from  it.  What  is  fimilar  to 
this  is  true  of  our  ftate  as  moral  agents 
defigned  for  exiftence  hereafter.  As  an 
infant  is  put  in  the  way  to  the  happinefs 
of  the  prefent  life,  fo  is  a  grown  man  put 
in  the  way  to  happinefs  in  another  worlds 
and  naturally  capable  of  everlalling  im- 
provement in  knowledge  and  perfection. 
And  as,  in  our  former  capacity,  it  is 
put  into  the  power  of  men  to  caufe  us 
to  fail  of  the  happinefs  we  might  have 
enjoyed  in  life  -,  fo  likewife,  in  our  latter 
capacity,  it  is  put  into  their  power,  by 
various  means,  to  deprive  us  of  future 
happinefs,  and  to  caufe  us  to  mifcarry 
for  ever* 

What  has  been  already  faid  is  of  great 
ufe  to  filence  the  complaints  which  are 
apt  to  rife  within  us  againft  this  part  of 
the  conftitution  of  nature,  andean  hardly 
be  too  much  inculcated.  We  had  na 
right  to  exiftence  or  happinefs  at  all-? 
and  therefore  the  Deity  may  make  them 
dependent  and    precarious    in    whatever' 

manner ' 


O;^  Pr  o  V  I  D  E  N  c  E.         127 

manner  his  counfels  require.  But  we 
need  not  reft  the  defence  of  Providence 
on  any  argument  of  this  kind.  We  arc 
capable,  I  think,  of  perceiving  very  im-* 
portant  reafons  for  fuch  a  conftitution> 
and  of  difcovering  that  it  difplays  great 
wifdom  and  goodnefs. 

It  is  abfolutely  neceflary,  as  was  oh- 
ferved  page  95,  that  intelhgent  Be- 
ings fhould  have  fcope  given  them  for 
adlion.  There  is  a  plain  congruity  in 
making  their  happinefs  to  arife  from  the 
proper  exercife  of  their  powers^  and  ta 
be  the  refult  of  their  own  endeavours. 
This  is  the  only  happinefs  that  can  fuit 
the  natures  of  adlive  and  free  creatures. 
Had  they  no  command  over  events;  were 
bhfs  forced  upon  them^,  independently  of 
their  own  choice  and  endeavours ;  or 
were  their  ftates  fo  immutably  fixed  a& 
not  to  be  liable  to  be  afFeded  by  one  an- 
ther, the  confequence  would  be,  that 
they  would  have  nothing  to  do ;  that 
their  faculties  would  be  given  them  in 

vain ; 


128         On   Providence. 

vain ;  that  virtue  would  be  totally  ex^ 
eluded  from  the  creation,  and  an  univer- 
fal  ftagnation  or  quietifm  take  place  in 
it. 

But  I  fliall,  on  this  occafion,  defire 
particular  attention  to  the  following  ob- 
fervations,  which,  I  fancy,  will  ftrength- 
en  fome  of  thofe  already  made,  and  ihew 
us  plainly  what  unreafonable  expedlations 
we  are  apt  to  entertain  from  the  goodnefs 
of  God. 

Had  the  natural  courfe  of  things  in 
the  prefent  ftate  been  fuch,  that  when- 
ever any  particular  calamities  or  accidents 
happened  to  men,  there  fhould  have  been 
no  remedies  for  them  ^  we  could  have  had 
no  juft  reafon  for  complaint,  and  God 
would  have  been  good.  Nor  could  any 
arguments  have  been  taken  from  this  at- 
tribute to  prove  that  there  ought  to  have 
been  remedies  provided,  which  would 
not  equally  have  proved  that  they -ought 
to   be   eafy,  univerfal    and  infallible,  or 

rather 


Oh   Providence.         129 

rather  that  there  fhould  have  been  no 
occafion  for  them,  and  no  fufFerlngs  of 
pains  of  any  kind*  But  the  faft  is,  that 
there  are  remedies  provided  for  the  mif- 
fortunes  and  calamities  of  men,  and  that 
thus  greater  goodnefs  is  in  this  inftance 
difplayed  in  the  conftitution  of  nature, 
than  we  could  on  any  fure  grounds  have 
antecedently  expefted.  Men  are  not  left^ 
as  they  might  have  been,  to  perifh  irre- 
trievably by  the  calamities  that  happen  to 
them,  but  it  is  put  into  their  power  in 
numberlefs  cafes  to  help  one  another, 
and  to  prevent  the  fatal  efFedls  that 
v/ould  follow  particular  calamities.  A 
provifion  is  made  in  the  fpontaneous  a- 
gency  and  benevolence  of  our  fellow^- 
creatures j  for  a  great  addition  to  the 
happinefs  of  iife^  and  diminution  of  its 
{iifferings.  And  this  itfelf  becomes  a  ftill 
higher  difplay  of  goodnefs  beyond  which 
we  cannot  eafily  enlarge  our  ideas.  For 
by  eftablifliing  a  plan  wherein  Beings  are 
thus  left  to  be  the  voluntary  caufes  of  one 

K  another's 


1 30         On    Providence. 

another's  happinefs,  room  is  given  them 
for  the  exercife  of  beneficence,  for  gra- 
tifying the  noblell  affedtion  in  their  na- 
tures, and  enjoying  the  moft  GodUke 
bUfs  of  which  they  are  capable.  Had 
nature  been  framed  agreeably  to  what 
relight  have  appeared,  to  our  narrow 
views,  beft  and  moft  produdive  of  hap- 
pinefs, there  would  probably  have  been 
no  fuch  liablenefs  to  calamitous  events, 
or  dependence  of  Beings  on. one  another, 
as  we  obferve  in  it;  and,  confequently, 
the  higheft  kind  of  happinefs  would  have 
been  wanting  in  it,  and  the  very  end 
we  meant  to  fecure  would  have  been  de- 
feated. 

What  has  been  here  faid  of  the  con- 
ftitution  of  things  in  the  prefent  world, 
may,  I  fuppofe,  be  applicable  in  a  great 
meafure  to  the  whole  plan  of  Providence 
and  fyftem  of  being.  The  welfare  of  a 
fpeciesy  like  that  of  indlvidiuils  among  men, 
may  be  made  dependent  on  a  higher 
fpecies,   and   whole   orders  of  reafonable 

creatures 


On   Providence.          1.3 i 

creatures  may  be  fo  cireumftanced,  as  to 
be  liable  to  be  brought  into  very  cala- 
mitous ftates,  from  v/hich  it  may  not  be 
poffible  for  them  to  be  faved,  according 
to  the  general  laws  of  the  v^orld,  except 
by  the  kind  affiftance  and  labours  of  Be- 
ings fuperior  to  them.  And  from  w^hat 
I  have  obferved,  we  fee  reafon  to  believe 
that  fuch  a  general  oeconomy  of  nature, 
though  the  refult  in  feme  inftances  may 
prove  abortion  and  ruin,  v/as  neceffary 
to  produce  the  greateft  virtue,   and  the 

greateft  good  on  the  whole. -It  is  an 

enquiry  of  fome  importance  here  how  far 
the  dependence  of  Beings  on  one  another 
may  extend;  or  within  what  limits  it 
can  be  ccnfiftent  with  reditude,  that 
they  fliould  be  liable  to  faffcr  m  con- 
fequence  of  one  another*s  agency.  I  have 
already  hinted  fome  obfervations  on  this 
head  in  the  preceding  fedtion.  We  may 
be  affiired,  in  general,  that  the  connex- 
ions of  Beings  are  under  the  heft  regu- 
lations, and  their  powers  v/ifely  limited  : 
And  we  may  alfo  know,  in  particular,  that 
K  2  their 


132  On  Providence. 
their  dependence  on  one  another  cannot 
extend  fo  far  as  that  there  Ihall  ever 
happen  a  failure  of  adequate  retribution^ 
or  that  any  Beings  fhall  be  hable  to  be 
deprived  of  any  of  their  unalienable  rights, 
or  to  fuffer  any  thing  which  it  would  be 
wrong  or  hard  that,  as  the  creatures  of 
the  Deity,  they  fhould  fuffer.  The  pow- 
ers, therefore,  of  Beings  over  one  another 
cannot  extend  further  than  to  the  gifts 
of  bounty y  or  fuch  bleffings  as  the  Deity 
is  not  obliged  to  grant.  Of  this  Idnd  are 
exiftence,  its  perpetuity,  and  almoft  all 
its  privileges,  capacities,  and  advantages : 
And  therefore,  it  may  be  eafily  conceiv- 
ed what  degradations  and  loffes  may  be 
fometimes  brought  upon  Beings  under 
the  Divine  government,  in  confequence 
of  their  mutual  agency,  confiftently  with 
the  moft  perfect  juflice,  and  even  (if 
fome  of  the  preceding  obfervations  are 
right)  as  the  effed  of  a  conftitutioii 
formed  in  the  beft   manner  to   produce 

happinefs. But  the  queftion,   how  far 

the  dependence  of  Beings  on  one  another 
3  may 


On   Providence.  133 

may  extend,  wouid  carry  me  beyond  my 
prefent  purpofe  were  I  to  attempt  a  pro- 
per difcuffion  of  it,  nor  is  there  any 
occafion  for  now  entering  into  it  fur- 
ther. 

It  is  right,  I  have  fald,  that  the 
happinefs  of  intelUgent  Beings  fhould 
be  made  to  be  the  fruit  of  what  they 
do  and  deferve.  The  noblefl:  enjoy- 
ments, or  all  which  pre-fuppofe  moral 
merit,  can  have  no  other  fource^  and 
virtue  (fince  its  nature  will  not  ad- 
mit of  its  being  either  created  with  Be- 
ings, or  taught  them)  muft  always  be 
an  acquijition,  Thefe  confiderations, 
when  applied  to  the  fubjed  into  which 
I  am  enquiring,  have  a  conliderable  ten- 
dency to  render  it  lefs  puzzling.  It  is 
fcarcely  conceivable  that  an  agent,  in 
w^orking  out  his  own  happinefs  and  ac- 
quiring virtue  by  attention  and  care, 
iliould  not  be  in  circumflances  of  fome 
hazard  ;  and  if  this  is  true,  the  enquiry 
concerning  the  origin  of  evil  muft  be, 
TiOt,  why  any  Beings  have  been  placed  in 
K  3  a 


134         O;^    Providence. 

a  ftate  of  trial  and  hazard,  but  why 
they  have  been  placed  in  a  ftate  of  trial 
and  hazard,  attended  with  fuch  and  fuch 
circumftances  of  particular  difadvantage 
and  diftrefs. 

Upon  the  whole.  We  may,  I  think, 
perceive  that  it  was  neceffary  that  there 
ihould  be  a  real  contingency  of  events  in 
the  creation,  and  fuch  a  fubordination  of 
Beings  to  one  another  and  precm^ioufnefs 
of  their  ftates,  as  could  not  but  fubjedl 
them  in  many  inflances,  and  efpecially 
in  the  infancy  of  their  exiftence,  to  the 
danger  of  moral  defedtion  and  a  failure 
of  happmefs.  There  could  not  other- 
w^ife,  it  has  appeared,  have  been  room  for 
a  proper  exertion  of  the  powers  of  Be-f 
ino-s,  or  for  that  ffioral  excellence  by  which 
they  mod:  nearly  rcfemble  the  fountain  of 
all  perfedion,  The  right eji  and  alfo  the 
greatejl  happinefs  could  not  have  been  at- 
tained in  any  other  way.  This  appears 
to  mc  with  ftrong  evidence,  and  the  rea- 
fons    that    have    been   afiigned    feem    to 

prove  it. -But  it  is  time  to  return   tq 

what 


On   Providence.         135 

what    I   intended   here  chiefly  to    infift 
upon. 

I  was  confidering  the  obje(5lion  againft 
Providence  arifing  from  the  difadvantage- 
ous  ftate  we  are  in  for  virtue,  and  par- 
ticularly, from  what  mufl  have  been  the 
forefeen  confequence  of  it ;  that  future 
Jinallok  of  a  great  part  of  mankind  which 
religion  teaches  us  to  expect.  I  have 
faid  a  great  part  of  mankind.  How 
great  a  part  can  be  known  only  to  that 
Being  who  fees  through  all  futurity,  and 
who  fearches  all  hearts. — When  I  con- 
fider  the  general  careleffnefs  which  feems 
to  prevail  with  refped:  to  religious  vir- 
tue ;  the  inexcufable  defects  of  many 
v/ho  are  ranked  among  the  better  fort 
of  men ;  the  fcope  of  the  cliriflian  doc- 
trine, and  feveral  intimations  of  fcrip- 
ture ;  I  am  indeed  forced  to  entertain 
melancholy  reflections.  Every  benevolent 
mind  will,  however,  endeavour  to  think 
on  this  fubjeft  as  favourably  as  poflible. 
There  is  enough  in  the  face,  as  it 
K  4  mufl 


^36         On    Providen^ce. 

muft  appear  to  the  largeft  charity,  to 
render  it  in  the  higheft  degree  alarming, 
and  to  awaken  in  us  the  deepeft  concern 
for  ourfelves  and  our  fellow-men.  Mil- 
lions of  reafonable  Beings,  naturally  imr 
mortal  and  capable  of  infinite  improve- 
ment,  bereaved  of  all  their  hopes,  cut 
off  fronn  every  bleffing  of  exiftence,  caft 
away  for  ever  from  God  and  blifs,  and 
funk  in   irreco.verable  dejiruciian  I — What 

pan  be  imagined  mofe  Ihocking  ?— r 

But  though  fuch  a  fad:  cannot  but  greatly 
affed  an  attentive  rnind,  it  furniflies  with 
no  juft  reafons  for  cenfuring  Providence. 
God,  notwithftanding,  appears  to  he 
good,  infinitely  good.  No  cpnclufion  to 
the  contrary  could  be  drawn^  were  there 
ever  fo  great  a  difproportion  between 
the  number  of  thofe  who  fliall  be  faved, 
and  thofe  who  will  be  lofl.  One  may 
even  venture  to  affert,  that  it  would 
have  been  w^orth  while  to  have  create4 
this  world  fof  the  fake  of  only  orie  perfon 
t9^  be  faved  out  of  it,  and  fitted  in  it  for 

^v^rlajiijig  happinefs. But  thanks  be  to 

Divim 


On   Providence.         1-^7 


o, 


Divine  love,  the  virtuous  and  happy  part 
pf  our  fpecies,  when  they  fhall  hereafter 
he  Jfeparated  from  the  reft  of  mankind, 
vs^ill  appear  to  he  a  great  multitude^  which 
no  one  can  number ^  gathered  out  of  all  na^ 
tions,  and  kindred,  and  people,  and  tongues^. 
Nay,  we  cannot  tell  how  much  greater 
a  proportion  they  will,  on  the  whole, 
bear  to  the  reft  of  mankind,  than  the 
ftate  of  things  hitherto  in  this  world  has 
given  us  reafon  to  hope.  For  it  is  not 
impoffible  but  that,  before  the  end  of 
the  prefent  ftate,  a  general  reformation 
may  take  place,  and  knowledge,  peace, 
and  virtue  prevail  much  more  than  they 
have  ever  yet  done  f ,     This  many  have 

thought 

^  Rev.  vii.  9. 

t  It  is  the  opinion  of  fome  that  the  world  has 
from  the  firft  been  gradually  improving,  and  that 
it  will  go  on  to  improve  'till  fuperftitlon  and  wicked- 
nefs  fhall  be  in  a  great  meafure  exterminated.  The 
advances  and  difcoveries  made  within  the  three  lafl 
centuries  are,  indeed,  wonderful,  and  may  well  lead 
us  to  expe6l  an  approaching  general  amendment  in 
human  affairs.     The  light   which   has   been  lately 

ftruck 


138         On    Providence. 

thought  a  reafonable  objedt  of  ex- 
pectation, and  it  feems  to  be  very 
plainly  foretold  in  the  fcriptures. 

flruck  out  will  probably  increafe  ;  and  the  more  it  in- 
creafes,  the  further  will  free  enquiry  and  generous 
fentiments  fpread  ;  the  harder  will  it  be  for  eftablifh- 
ed  corruptions  to  maintain  their  ground  ;  and  the 
more  the  way  v/ill  be  prepared  for  the  downfall  of  all 
flavifh  hierarchies  and  governments,  and  for  the  in- 
trodu£l:ion  of  thofe  times,  when  truth  and  liberty 
fhall  triumph  over  all  oppofition,  when  nation  fhall 
no  more  lift  iip  a  fword  againft  nation,  every  falfe  re- 
ligion be  deftroyed,  and  the"  kingdoms   of  this  world 

hecome  the  k'tngdojns  of  the  Lord  and  of  his  Chr'iji. 1 

cannot  think  it  neceffary  that  the  world  fhould  con- 
tinue for  ever  divided,  as  it  is. now,  into  a  multitude 
of  independent  ftates  whofe  jarring  interefts  are  al- 
ways producing  war  and  devaluation.  A  fcheme  of 
government  may  be  imagined  that  fhall,  by  annihi- 
lating property  and  reducing  mankind  to  their  natu- 
ral equality,  remove  moft  of  the  caufes  of  contention 
and  wickednefs.  An  account  of  fuch  a  fcheme  has 
been  given  by  an  ingenious  writer  in  a  book  intitled, 

Profpe^s  of  Nature^  Mankind^  and  Providence. 

It  is  there  obferved,  that  if  a  government  of  this  kind 
fhould  be  once  efcablifhed  on  any  fpot,  the  advan- 
tages of  it  would  be  fo  vifible,  and  it  would  flrengthen 
and  extend  itfelf  fo  fafl,  that  in  time  it  would  be  very 
likely  to  become  qniverfal. 

But 


On  Providenc  e,.         i  39 

But  be  this   as   it  will ;   while  all  may^ 
a  great  number,  we   cannot  doubt,   will 
efcape   the  fatal  effeds  of  vice,   and  be 
brought    through    the     dangers    of  this 
world  to  endlefs  blifs, It  may  be  en- 
quired  here,  why  the  circumftances  of 
the    world    have    not   been    fo    ordered, 
as  that  this  number  fhould   be   greater; 
and    fomc    of    the   principal     obje(ftions 
againft  Providence  are  reducible  to  this 
enquiry :  But  it  is   one  of  that  fort  of 
enquiries  which  has  been  before  fhewn 
to    be    unreafonable.     It   is    an    enquiry 
which  might  have    been  made,   though 
this  number  had  been  greater,  or  though 
it  had  been  fo  great  as  to   include   every 
individual   of    mankind.     For,     on    this 
laft  fuppofition,   the   fame  general  prin- 
ciple would  have  led  an  objecflor  to  afk ; 
«  Why  are  not  more  of  mankind  brought 
^*  on     the     ftage,     fince     more     may  ?" 
[  *' Why  is  the    earth   fo    thinly  flocked 
^^  with  them,   fmce   it  might  have  been 
^*  always     full  ?"      Or,     though    alv/ays 
^'  full,  Why  was  it  not  made  larger,  or 

^^  created 


140  On  Providence. 
«'  created  fooner  ?"— — In  fliort;  had 
this  earth  been  fo  httle.as  to  be  capa- 
ble of  holding  only  a  number  of  men, 
equal  to  thofe  who  will  be  formed 
in  it,  as  it  is  now,  for  future  happi- 
nefs,  and  had  all  thefe  been  fo  advan- 
tageoufly  circumftanced  as  that  not  one 
of  them  fliould  mifcarry  :  Had  this,  I 
fay,  been  the  cafe,  it  could  fcarcely  have 
been  thought  that  there  was  room  for 
complaint,  or  the  leaft  reafon  for  que- 
ilioning  the  goodnefs  of  the  Deity.  But 
to  the  views  of  benevolence  there  can  be 
no  difference  between  fuch  an  earth  and 
the  prefent,  the  quantity  of  happinefs 
refulting  from  both  being,  by  fuppofition, 
the  fame.  This  is  true  of  two  fuch 
ftates,  abflrafting  from  all  connexions. 
What  they  may  be  when  viewed  in  the 
relations  they  may  have  to  other  ilates, 
or  when  confidered  as  parts  of  a  fyftem, 
it  is  not  pofFible  for  us  to  difcover.  There 
may  in  this  cafe  be  a  preference  due  to 
the  latter  5  or  it  may  be  the  unavoidable 
refult  of  a  general  plan  of  government 

produftive 


On   Providence.         141 

produdive,  on  the  whole,  of  the  greatefl 
abfolute  good  ^.     See  page  128 — 132. 

There 

*  I  am  fenfible  that  many  perfons  will  think;  that 
I  ought  here  to  have  taken  notice  of  the  good  which 
may  arife  out  of  the  evil  of  the  world,  and  the  im- 
portant ends  which  the  abortive  part  of  mankind  may 
be  made  to  ferve  under  the  Divine  government.  It 
has  been  faid  particularly  to  this  purpofe,  that  the  fu- 
ture puniftiment  of  wicked  men  will  be  the  means  of 
difplaying  to  the  creation,  in  a  manner  not  otherwife 
pofTible,  the  dreadful  nature  of  vice  and  the  perfe6l 
holinefs  of  the  Deity  ;  that  it  is  owing  to  them  that 
the  prefent  ftate  is  a  proper  fchool  of  virtue  to  that 
part  of  mankind  who  will  efcape  Xht  fecond  deaths  and 
that,  for  this  reafon,  they  anfwer  an  end  like  that  of 
dung  in  a  garden  which,  though  itfelf  loathfome, 
helps  the  growth  of  fome  choice  plants,  which  in 
proper  time  are  to  be  removed  to  a  more  confpicuous 
fpot,  where  they  will  fhew  themfelves  in  their   fi- 

nifhed   form  and  beauty. Such  is  the  docStrine 

which  fome  of  the  beft  writers  have  taught ;  and  they 
have  added,  that  this  do<3:rine  ought  not  to  have  any 
influence  on  our  notions  of  the  evil  of  vice,  becaufe, 
whatever  good  may  eventually  arife  from  it  in  con- 
fequence  of  the  difpofals  of  infinite  wifdom,  its  ef- 
fential  malignity  is  the  fame  ;  it  is  always  fatal  to  the 
individuals  who  pradlife  it*;  and  it  ftill  continues  true, 
not  only  that  its  tendency  is  to  ruin  the  creation,  but 
that  this  would  be  its  a^ual  effeci  were  it  under   no 

reftraint. 


142         On   Providence. 

There  is  one  obfervation  more  of  a 
particular  nature  on  the  prefent  fubjedt, 
which  is  fo  important  that  it  would  be 
inexcufable  to  omit  it.  What  I  have 
in  view  is  the  conformity  obferved  by 
Dr.  Butler,  betv/een  that  lofs  of  human 
creatures  which  I  have  been  confidering, 

reftraint. — I  leave  every  one  to  determine  for  hlmfelf 
how  far  thefe  obfervationsare  juft.    For  my  own  part, 
I  am  afraid  of  talking  much  in  this  way;  and,  per- 
haps,  it  will  in   fome   meafure  appear  from  what  is 
above  faid,    that  there  is  no  great  occafion  for  it  in 
order   to  vindicate  Providence  in  the  permiflion  of 
evil.     It  is  right  to  think  of  vice  as  always  an  enemy 
to  the  world,  and   of  the  havock  it   makes  among 
mankind  as  a  real  and  great  calamity.     The  founder 
of  our  religion  certainly  thought  thus,   otherwife  he 
would  not  have  ftooped  fo  low  and  fufFered  fo  much, 
to  prevent  the  efFecis  of  vice  and  to   fave  mankind. 
This  appears  likewife  from  the  laws  and  threatenings 
of  the  Deity,  and  from  all  that  we  fee  of  the  order 
of  ^ his  government.     The  wicked  may  with   no  lefs 
truth    be   confidered   as    the    weeds   and    briars   that 
choak  the  plants,  than  as  the  manure  that  helps  their 
growtlu     If  the  temptations   and  di'nculties  of  hu- 
man life  are  the  means  fometimes  of  improving  vir- 
tue,   by  affording   It  exercife,    they  are  alfo  generally 
the  very  caufcs  which  overwhelm  anJ  ruin  it. 

and 


On   Prtovidence.  143 

and   the  courfe  of  nature  in    other  in- 
ftances. — Vid.  Analogy^  Part  I.  Chap.  5. 
Alinoil  all  kinds  of  vegetables  and  trees 
have  a  vaft  profufion   of  feeds  prepared 
for  them,  far  the  greateft  part  of  which 
is  loft  y   and,  in  fome  inftances,   not  one 
of  them  in  many  myriads  grow  up    to 
any  thing.     The  like  is  very  obfervable 
in  th^  animal  world ;    and   were  one  to 
enter  minutely  into  this  part  of  natural 
hiftory,   it  would  be  furpriiing  to  obferve 
what  a  fuperfluity  of  eggs  is  provided  for 
fome  infects,  what  an  inconceivable  mul- 
titude of  creatures   are   loft  in   embryo, 
or  born  only  to  be  deftroyed ;    and  what 
great  numbers   of  even  thofe   that  pro- 
ceed fome  way  towards   a  ftate  of  ma- 
turity perifti  before  they  arrive  at  it. 

Should  it  be  faid  here  that,  as  this 
world  is  conftituted,  a  great  wafte  of 
this  fort  could  not  but  happen,  which 
rendered  it  neceffary  that  a  confiderable 
overplus  fliould  be  provided  ^  and  that 
the  greatnefs  of  the  numbers  loft  cannot 

be 


144        0/2   Providence. 

be  regarded  by  a  Being  in  whofe  eye  no- 
thing is  great,  to  whom  the  produftion 
of  any  one  number  of  any  objedls  is  as 
cafy  as  the  produdion  of  any  other  5  and 
who,  therefore^  can  with  no  more  rea- 
fon  be  cenfured  for  any  fueh  lofs,  than 
for  the  non-exiflence  of  the  Beings 
he  has  not  created  :  Should  this,  I  fay> 
be^*K)bje(fled,  it  would  be  obvious  to  an- 
fwer,  that  what  is  in  fome  degree  equi- 
valent to  it,  may,  with  equal  reafon,- 
be  applied  to  the  particular  cafe  under' 
confideration. 

In  thinking  of  the  analogy  of  nature 
in  this  inftance,  we  fhould  by  no  means 
forget  the  untimely  deaths  that  happen 
among  our  own  fpecies.  Many  perifli  in 
the  womb ;  and  the  greater  part  of  thofe 
that  fee  the  light,  and  are  put  in  the 
way  to  the  enjoyments  and  happinefs  of 
grown  men  in  the  prefent  life,  fall  fhort 
of  them,  and  are  nipped  in  their  bloom ^ 
Such  fads  as  thefe  have  a  tendency  ta 
make    the    deepeft  impreffion    on  every 

con- 


On   Providence.         145 

confiderate  perfon.  They  fhew  us  that 
what  we  are  taught  to  believe  with  re-* 
ipedl  to  the  future  lot  of  mankind  is  en- 
tirely agreeable  to  all  that  we  fee  of  the 
world  *.     Nor  have  we  any  reafon   for 

fufpefting 

*  I  fuppofe  it  will  be  eafily  feen  on  what  opi- 
nion of  the  future  punifhment  I  have  all  al#>ng 
argued  ;  and  if,  on  this  opinion,  the  ways  of  God 
can  be  vindicated,  there  is  no  other  which  any 
reafonable  perfon  is  likely  to  embrace,  on  which  they 
may  not  be  vindicated. The  difficulties  to  be  re- 
moved are  evidently  much  lefs  on  the  fuppofition  of 
the  tiliimate  rejloratlon  of  all  mankind  ;  but  this  opi- 
nion is  by  no  means  reconcileable  to  the  language  of 
fcripture ;  and  there  is  reafon  to  believe,  that  the 
confequences  of  vice  will  be  found  far  more  ter- 
rible. 

In  order  to  give  a  diftin(£ler  view  of  that  part  of 
natural   hiftory  which    I   have  mentioned  above,    I 

will    recite    the    following   facts. Monfieur 

Dodarty  in  a  piece  communicated  to  the  Royal  Aca- 
demy of  Sciences,  computes  that  an  elm'"fvery  year, 
at  a  medium,  produces  330,000  feeds,  and,  therefore, 
fuppofmg  it  to  live  a  hundred  years,  33  millions  dur- 
ring  its  whole  age. — Fern  is  vaftly  more  fruitful  in 

feeds. Hart's    tongue,    as   Dr.    Grczv   calculates, 

produces  in  a  year  a   million  of  feeds.     "  There   is 


146         On   Providence. 

fufpeding  that  this  part  of  its  conftitu- 
tion  is  faulty,  as,    I   hope,    the  preced- 
ing 

«'  an  infinite  diverfity  between  the  places  that  pro- 
*'  duce  and  nourifh  different  plants.     There  are  fome 
*'  that  2tre  not  produced    but  upon   other  particular 
*'  plants,    of  which  the  trunk,  or  the  bark,  or  the 
"  roots    have  alone  the  juice  that  is  agreeable   to 
"  them.     What  Monfieur  Tournefort  has  heard  from 
*'  Mcliieurs  Mcry  and  Lemery  is  yet  more  furprifing. 
**  There  are  akindofmulhroomswhich  grow  upon  the 
"  bands  and  plaifters  applied  to  the  wounds  and  fores 
«'  of  the  Tick  men  in  the  hofpital  called  L'Hotel-Dieu. 
*'  After  this  nobody  will   wonder  that  horfe   dung 
"  prepared,  as  Monfieur  Tournefort  mentions,  fhould 
*'  be  a  kind  of  foil  or  bed,   capable  of  bringing  forth 
"  the  ordinary  mufhrooms.     It  follows  from  hence, 
"  that  the  feeds  of  mufhrooms  muft  be   fcattercd   in 
*'  a  pretty  large  quantity,  in   an  infinite  number  of 
"  places  where  they  never  appear,  and  indeed  over 
*'  all  the  earth;  and  by  confequence,  likewife,  the  in- 
"  vifible  feeds  of  a  great  number  of  other  plants. 
'•  It  muft  be  owned  that  the  imagination  is   fliocked 
"  at   firft,   wnth    the  confideration   of  fuch  a  prodi- 
"  gious  multitude  of  different  feeds  fown  everywhere 
"  indifferently;  and  in  an  infinity  of  places,  in  vain 
"  too.     And  yet,  when  one  comes  to  weigh  the  mat- 
"  tcr,  one  muft  allow  it.     From  whence  come  other- 
''  wife  the   marfhy  plants    that  are  found  in   lands 
**  turned  to   fens,    and  which   never  appeared  there 

"  before  i 


On   Providence.         147 

ing  obiervations  will  prove*  It  is  obvious 
that  the  main   objedions  to  it    lead    us 

equally 

*'  before  ?  From  whence  come  thofe  new  plants  that 
*'  other  accidents  fccm  to  have  produced  fometlmes 
*'  in  certain  places  j  for  inftance,  the  black  poppies 
"  that  grow  in  the  burnt  grounds  of  Languedoc,  in 
*'  Provence,  and  in  the  ifles  of  the  Archipelago, 
*'  and  which  are  feen  no  more  the  following  ^rears  ? 
*'  From  whence  that  great  quantity  oi  Eryfinum  lati- 
**  folium  majus  glahrum  which  appeared  after  the  fire  of 
'*  London  upon  more  than  200  acres  of  ground  where 

*'  that  happened  ? Thefe  kinds  of  fads,  and  many 

*'  others  which  one  might  alledge,  equally  incontefti- 
*'  ble,  prove,  at  the  fame  time,  both  the  great  multi- 
*'  tude  of  feeds  fcattered  every  where,  and  the  want  of 

*'  certain  circumftances   to  make  them  appear. 

*'  If  to  this  fpeculation  on  the  invifible  feeds  of  plants, 
*'  we  join  that  of  the  invifible  eggs  of  infecSts,  which 
*'  is  exactly  parallel,  the  earth  will  be  found  full  of 
*'  an  inconceivable  number  of  vegetables  and  animals 
*'  already  perfe(Sl:ly  formed  and  defigned  in  miniature, 
*'  and  which  only  (lay  for  certain  favourable  accidents 
"  to  appear  in  full  length."  See  the  lives  cf  the  Frerjch^ 
Italian,  and  German  Philofophersy  late  members  of  the 
Royal  Academy  of  Sciences  at  Paris,  together  zvith  ab- 
Jiracts  offome  of  the  cboiceji  pieces  communicated  by  ther-i 

to  that  illujirious  fodety.    By  Mr.  Chajuherlayne. A 

fpider  lays,  as  naturalifts  tell  us,   five  or  fix  hundred 

eggs. As  the   notion  of  fpontaneous   generation 

L  2  is 


148         On    Providence. 

equally  to  objeft,  in  all  cafes,  to  the  cre- 
ation of  a  fmaller  rather  than  a  greater 

number 

is  now  unlverfally  exploded,  how  fhall  we  account 
for  the  infecls  that  never  fail  to  be  bred  in  particular 
places,  or  for  the  animalcules  that  are  found  in 
certain  infufions,  after  expofing  them  uncovered  to 
the  air,  except  by  fuppofing  that  the  eggs  of  thefe 
animals  are  continually  wafted  about  every  where  In 
the  air  ?  What  an  infinity  then  of  thefe  eggs  muft  be 

loft  for  want  of  falling  into  favourable  fituations  ? 

Some  have  maintained  that  the  bodies  of  all  living 
creatures  are  produced  from  the  animalcules  in  femine 
mafcuUno^  which  when  they  happen  to  find  a  proper 
titdus^  are  there  changed,  and  for  fome  time  nou- 
rifhed  and  enlarged,  till  at  lafl  the  creature  in  its 
complete  form  is  ripened  for  birth  ;  juft  as  all  trees 
and  plants  proceed  from  a  feed,  which  is  nothing 
but  the  tree  or  plant  itfelf  in  miniature,  and  which, 
upon  being  thrown  into  a  proper  foil,  is  there,  not 
formed,  but  unfolded,  nourifhed  and  increafed,  till 
it  becomes  a  full  grown  plant  or  tree.  \i  this  opi- 
nion is  true,  it  affords  a  moft  remarkable  inftance  to 
the  prefent  purpofe,  there  being  no  reafon  to  think, 
confidering  the  inconceivable  number  of  the  animal- 
cules mentioned,  that  one  out  of  many  millions  of 
them  ever  find  the  proper  nidus^  or  acStually  give  rife 
to  the  animals  intended  to   be   produced  from  them. 

Erractly  parallel  to  this,  is  the  account  given  by 

natur;ilifts  of  the  conftru^tion  and  ufe  of  the  flower 

which 


On   Providence.         149 

number  of  Beings.      There   is   nothing 
like  injujiice,  or  even  iinkindnefs,   implied 

in 

which  precedes  the  fruit,  in  plants,  and  trees,  and 
of  the  manner  in  which  the  farina^  or  fine  duft  of 
flowers  fecundifies  the  germen  or  feed  placed  at  the 
bottom  of  the  flower.  Mr.  Samuel  Moreland  in 
Philofophical  Tranfaclions,  N°.  287,  (after  giving 
an  account  of  a  well  known  part  of  natural  philo- 
fophy,  namely,  that  there  is  in  every  feed  a  feminal 
plant  lodged  between  the  two  lobes  which  confti- 
tute  the  bulk  of  the  feed,  and  are  defigned  for  the 
firft  nourifliment  of  the  plant)  mentions  it  as  his 
opinion,  that  the  feeds  which  come  up  in  their  proper 
involucra^  are  at  firft  like  unimpregnated  ova  of  ani- 
mals 5  that  the  farina  is  a  congeries  of  feminal 
plants,  one  of  which  mufl  be  conveyed  into  every 
ovum  before  it  can  become  prolific  ;  that  the  ptjlil  is 
a  tube  defigned  to  convey  thefe  feminal  plants  into 
their  nefl:s  in  the  ova  ;  and  that  there  is  fo  vaft  a  pro- 
vifion  made  bccaufe  of  the  odds  there  are,  whether 
one  out  of  a  great  number  fhall  ever  find  its  way 

through  fo  narrow  a  conveyance. This  theory  has 

been  received  by  Mr.  Geoffrey  and  many  others. 
It  fecms  now  pretty  well  confirmed,  and  has  bid  the 
foundation  of  the  Linnaan  fyflem  of  botany.  How 
remarkably  does  it  fhew  us  the  analogy  that  runs 
through  nature  ?  How  furprifing  to  confider  what  ar> 
expence  of  farina  there  is  to  produce  one  feed,  and 
L  3  what 


I  :;o         On    Providence. 

in  it  to  any  Being.     It  is  confiftent  with 
an  infinite  overbalance  of  good;    and,  for 

thefe 

what  an  expence  of  feeds  to  produce  one  plant  ? — Is  it 
impoffible  that  what  is  fimilar  to  this  fhould  take  place 
in  the  formation  of  reafonable  Beings  in  this  world 
for  happinefs  hereafter  ? — "  That  the  prefent  world 
*'  (fays  Dr.  Butler  in  the  paflage  above  referred  to) 
<'  does  not  actually  become  a  flate  of  moral  difcipline 
f '  to  many,  even  the  generality,  cannot  be  urged  as 
*'  a  proof  that  it  was  not  intended  for  moral  difcip- 
<'  line,  by  any  who  at  all  obferve  the  analogy  of 
<^  nature.  For,  of  the  numerous  feeds  of  vegetables 
^'  and  bodies  of  animals  which  are  adapted  and  put 
^'  in  the  way  to  improve  to  fuch  a  point  or  ftate  of 
^'  natural  maturity  and  peife£l:ion,  we  do  not  fee 
<«  perhaps  one  in  a  million  adually  to  improve  to  it, 
*'  Far  the  greateft  part  of  them  decay  before  they  are 
''  improved  to  it ;  and  appear  to  be  abfolutely  de- 

^'  ftroyed. 1  cannot  forbear  adding,  that  the  ap- 

''  pearance  of  fuch  an  amazing  wafle  in  nature, 
"  with  refpedl  to  thefe  feeds  and  bodies,  by  foreign 
<*  caufes,  is  to  us  as  unaccountable  as  what  is  much 
**  more  terrible,  the  prefent  and  future  ruin  of  fo 
'«  many  moral  agents,  by  themfelves,  /'.  e.  by  vice." 
There  is  a  further  circumflance  in  the  conftitution 
of  nature  applicable  to  the  prefent  purpofe,  which 
feems  to  be  worthy  of  notice,  and  which  I  will  men- 
tion as  briefly  as  pofiible. — One  of  the  moft  remark- 
able 


On    Provi.dence.         151 

thefe  reafons,   the   mere  circumftance  of 
its    unaccountableneis    as    occafioning    a 

ivajle 

able   and  diftinguifiiing  properties  of  human  nature 
is,  its  capacity  of  improvement.     What  the  lower  crea- 
tures were  at  firft,  they  are  now,  and  probably  ever 
will  be.     But  this  is  by  no  means  the  cafe  with  men. 
Previoully  to  all  advantages  from  experience  and  in- 
ftruaion,  they  are  nearly  the  favages  defcribed  by 
Mr.   Roujfeau,     {See  his  Treatife  on  the  Origin  of  the 
Inequality  among  Mankind)  or  creatures  running  naked 
and  wild  in  the  woods,   without  refleaion,  without 
fociety,  and  without  language.     Compare  them   in 
this  ftate  with  what  they  are  capable  of  becoming  by 
a  due  application  of  their  powers,  by  the  invention  of 
'arts  and  fciences,  and  the  eftablifhment  of  the  beft 
fchemes  of  civil  policy;  and  a  difFerence  will  appear 
not   inferior   to   that  between  men  and   the  loweft 
fpecies  of  brutes,  or  between  the  wifeft  perfon  on 

earth    and    a  child  juft  born.- This  natural  im- 

proveablenefs  of  the   human  race  has  never  taken  its 

^  complete  effea.     The   greateft   part,  of  men  have, 

from  the  beginning  of  the  world,  been  in    a   ftate 

of  darknefs  and  barbarifm.     Many  ages  paft  before 

the  difcovery  of  any   of  thofe  arts,  from  whence  are 

derived  the  chief  conveniences  of  life  :  And   though 

now,    in   confequence   of  the    acquifitions   of  fome 

thoufands  of  years,  human  life  in  a  few  nationsap- 

pears  in  a  ftate  of  confiderable  order  and  dignity,  yet 

ftill  it  is  farther  than  canbewellimagincd,  from  having 

L  4  attained 


i^fz  On    V  R  t)  V  I  D  E  N  C  E. 

ivajie  of  being  (which  is  the  moft  that  is 
puzzling  in  it)  cannot  be  of  any  great 
confequence.  The  feeming  wajle  may, 
for  ought  we  know,  anfwer  important 
ends,  and  appear  at  laft  to  be  the  greateft 
frugality.  How  hard  is  it  that  we  fliould 
be  willing  to  truft  the  wifdom  of  nature 
no  further  than  it  keeps  within  fight  ? 
How  inconceivable  is  it  that,  in  this  or 
any  other  inftance,  a  creature  of  yefter- 
day  and  a  reptile  of  the  duft  fhould 
be   able   to  fee   further,   or   to    contrive 

attained  any  where  to  a  ftate  fo  improved  and  happy 
as  we  fee  it  to  be  capable  of. ^^This  lofs  of  the  ef- 
fect of  human  improveablenefs  will  appear  equally 
remarkable,  if  we  confider  the  individuals  of  mankind. 

— Thoufands  of  Boyles,  CJarks  and    Newtons 

have  probably  been  loft  to  the  world,  and  lived  and 
died  in  ignorance  and  meannefs,  merely  for  want  of 
being  placed  in  favourable  fituations,    and   enjoying 

proper  advantages. Such  has  been  the  cafe  with 

mankind,  confideredas  defigned  only  for  exiftence  in 
this  world.  But  they  are  capable  of  exifting  in  a 
Jiighcr  ftate.  They  are  capable  of  an  endl-js  future 
progrefs  in  knowledge  and  happinefs. — Can  any  one 
fay,  that  the  effe(£l:  alfo  of  their  improveablenefs  in 
this  refpcft  may  not  fail  in  numbcrlcfs  inftances  ? 

better;^ 


On   Provi-dence.         ^^3 

better,  than  that  original  intelligence  irora 

whence   all    things    fprung  ? 1    feel 

particular  fatisfadlion  whenever  I  make 
fuch  reflexions,  and  therefore  I  hope  I 
fliall  be  excufed  if  I  am  too  often  recur- 
ring to  them. 

^I  have  now  propofed  the  thoughts 
which  have  appeared  to  me  of  moil: 
confequence,  towards  reconciling  oor 
minds  to  our  ftate,  confidered  as  a  mixed 
and  imperfed:  ftate ;  a  ftate  of  labour, 
temptation,  and  danger ;  and  a  ftate  in 
which  many  are  likely  to  fail  of  future 
happinefs,  and  to  be  loft  for  ever.  Some 
of  the  obfervations  which  have  been  made 
on  the  head  laft  mentioned,  have  gone 
on  the  fuppofition,  that  the  virtuous  part 
of  mankind  are  not  only  to  be  equitably 
diftinguiihed  from  others  in  proportion  to 
the  difterence  of  their  charaders,  but 
to  be  rewarded  hereafter  with  an  emilefs 
life  in  a  ftate  of  ever  increafing  happi- 
jiefs.  As  we  have  reafon  to  think  this 
to  be  the  faft,  it  makes  no  great  diffe- 
c  rence 


154         ^^^   Providence, 
rence  with  refpecft  to  the  argument  on 
which  I  have  infilled,    how^  it  comes   to 
be  fad: ;    whether,   for  inftance,  it  is  to 
be  confidered  as  derived  from  the  origi- 
nal  canjiitution  of  the  Deity,    or  as  the 
effedl  of  an    extraordinary  difpenfation  of 
mercy.     In  juftice,    however,    to   what 
the  Chriftian  Revelation   has  taught  us, 
I  cannot  difmifs  this  fubjed:  without  ob- 
ferving,  that   the  latter  is  in  reality  the 
truth.     The  Scriptures   are  exprefs    and 
clear  in  reprefenting  Chrift  as  the  author 
of  eternal  lijcy  pr  our  rejlorer  to  immor- 
tality.    The   account  there  given  feems 
to  be,    that   we  were  indeed  at  firft  in- 
tended for  immortality,   but  that  in  con- 
fequence  of  certain   events  at   the  com- 
inencement  of  the   prefent  ftate,   we  loft 
it,  and  were  brought  into  fuch  circum- 
ftances   of    diftrefs   as  gave  occafion    to 
the  interpofition  of  the  Meffiah,  by  whofe 
benevolent  agency  our   race  has  been  fo 
far  delivered,  that  all  the  truly  penitent 
Ihall  efcape  the  fecond  death,  and  be  made 

happy  for  ever. As  one  who  believes 

I  Chri- 


071   ProvideInce.         155 

Chriftianity,  I  am  obliged  to  think  this 
a  true  account ;  and  there  are  feveral 
reafons  which  determine  me  to  think  it 
an  account  entirely  credible.  Death  has 
in  it  all  the  appearance  of  being  an  evil 
for  which  fuch  creatures  as  we  are  might 
not  be  originally  intended.  The  beft  of  us 
have  expofed  themfelves  to  the  confe- 
quences  of  guilt  in  many  inftances.  I 
cannot  conceive,  why  it  fliould  be  thought 
unlikely,  t\i2itfiich  Beings  fhould  be  in  a 
ftate  which  (though  perfectly  right  con- 
fidered  in  its  reference  to  the  Divine  ad-- 
miniftration)  may  yet  be  a  degraded  or 
fallen  ftate,  and  fuch  as  might  have  need- 
ed fuch   a  Saviour  as  Jefus  Chrift. . 

I  fhould  be  carried  far  beyond  the  pur- 
pofe  of  this  Differtation  were  I  to  fay 
much  more  here.  I  will  therefore  ad- 
vance no  further  than  to  offer  a  few  hints, 
in  order  to  fhew  what  force  fome  of  the 
arguments  already  propofed  have  to  vin- 
dicate Divine  Providence,  even  on  the 
fuppofition  that  our  real  ftate  is  that  now 
mentioned. 

It 


156         071   Providence. 

It  has  been  proved,  I  think,  that  there 
is  no  reafon  to  look  upon  our  prefent  ftate 
as,  in  any  refpefl:,  inconfiftent  with  the 
perfedions  of  the  Deity  "*.  Moft  cer- 
tainly then,  it  is  a  ftate  into  which  he 
might  have  made  us  liable  to  be  brought 
in  confequence  of  any  connexions  proper 
to  be  eftablifhed  in  the  univerfe.  We 
fee  among  the  individuals  of  mankind 
that,  in  confequence  of  their  dependence 
on  one  another,  they  are  often  deprived 
of  benefits  which  feemed  to  be  intended 
for  them  by  the  conftitution  of  the  Deity, 
and  brought  into  ftates  which,  tho'  they 
give  no  reafon  for  complaining  of  Pro- 
vidence, are  yet  juftly  deemed  calamitous. 

*  If  any  one  fliould  fufpe£t  an  inconfiftency  in  fay- 
ing that  our  flatc  i$  calamitous,  and  yet  a  ftate  that 
difplays  God's  goodnefs,  and  in  which  we  might  have 
been  originally  placed,  let  him  put  the  cafe  of  a  per- 
fon  fallen  from  honour,  eafe,  and  wealth,  to  the 
cares,  and  toil,  and  indigence  of  low  life ;  would  it 
TiOt  be  true,  that  the  condition  of  fuch  a  perfon  was 
calamitous  ?  But  might  he  not,  as  many  actually 
are,  have  been  horn  in  it,  and  yet  have  abundant  rea- 
fon to  be  thankful  for  exiftencc  ? 

How 


On   Providence.         157 

How    credible     is    it    that    there    may 
alfo  be   events  or  connexions  in  nature 
by    which,     confidently     with     perfedt 
wifdom     and    goodnefs,    the    like    may 
happen    fometimes    to    a  /pedes  ?     The 
enjoyment   of  whatever   is    a  favour  in 
exiftence,    may   be  made   precarious    in 
any  degree   the  creator  pleafes,   or  fuf- 
pended  on  any  conditions  that  he  fees  to 
be  moft  conducive  to  the  ends  of  his  go- 
vernment.      The    bleffings    which     the 
Chriftian  fcheme   fuppofes  mankind  had 
loft,  they  never  had  any  right   to.     The 
Divine  perfedlions   certainly   do  not  re- 
quire, that  fuch  virtue  as  ours  fliould  be 
rewarded   with    the     Chri/ian  fahation. 
Had  our  Maker  intended  us  only  for  a 
temporary  exijience,    we   flipuld  have  had 
>no  reafon  for  any  other   fentiments  than 
grateful  ones,   provided  we  enjoyed    any 
degree   of  happinefs,  and   received    uni- 
verfally  an  adequate  retribution.     But  he 
has    been    infinitely    more    kind    to   us. 
That    very  conftitution    of   his   govern- 
ment 


158         On   Providenck. 

ment  which  made  us  liable  to  be  brought 
into  that  calamitous  ftate  which  Chri*' 
ftianity  fuppofes,  made  provifion  alfo  for 
the  pofTibility  of  our  deliverance  and  re- 
ftoration  to  the  views  of  a  happy  eter- 
nity ;  and  thus  difplays  the  higheft  wif- 
dom  and  goodnefs  we  can  imagine,  a- 
greeably  to  the  obfervations  in  page  130 

—  133- 

But  it  is  high  time  to  ftop.  I  feel 
myfelf  in  danger  of  going  far  beyond  my 
depth.  The  ways  and  adminiftration 
of  the  Deity  muft  be  unfathomable  to  us. 
Were  they  otherwife,  they  could  not  be 
infinitely  wife  and  good.  The  origin  of 
evil  has  been  the  grand  fubjed;  ot  en- 
quiry among  thoughtful  men  in  all 
ages,  and  various  have  been  the  fenti- 
ments  about  it.  What  has  been  now 
faid  on  this  point  is  offered  with  a  deep 
fenfe  of  imperfediion  and  blindnefs. 
Though  it  fcems  to  remove  fome  diffi- 
culties, it  does  not,  I  am  fenfible,  re- 
move all.     What  has  been  laft   infifted 

on 


0;Z    F  R  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E .  1  59 

on  fliould  be  particularly  attended  to. 
If,  according  to  the  fcriptures  and  ancient 
tradition,  our  ftate  is  indeed  a  fallen 
ftate,  the  dired:  folution  of  the  queftion 
concerning  the  origin  of  evil  would  be 
a  recital  of  the  manner  in  which  we 
were  brought  into  it,  or  a  diftind  ac- 
count of  thofe  caufes  and  events  under 
the  Divine  government  from  which  it  is 
derived.  But  fuch  an  account,  fuppof- 
ing  it  given  us,  we  may  not  perhaps  be 
capable   of  underftanding  *.     We   muft 

*  The  account  of  the  Fall  in  Gene/is  is  far  from 
being  fuch  an  account  as  I  here  mean.  It  is,  per- 
haps, in  fome  meafure  veiled^  or  at  leaft  partial^  and 
defigned  only  to  inform  us  that,  whereas  we  were  at 
firft  placed  higher  in  the  fcale  of  being,  we  were 
reduced  lower  and  funk  into  our  prefent  mortal  flats 
in  confequence  of  fome  connexions  we  had  with  fu- 
perior  orders  of  creatures,  or  of  the  agency  of  an 
evil  Being  reprefented  by  the  Serpent  -,  a  deliverer  be- 
ing at  the  fame  time  promifed,  who  fhould  dejitoy  tlse 
works  of  the  devil, — See  the  laft  eiTliy  in  a  book  intitled, 
CritOy  where  a  good  deal  tliat  deftrves  attention,  is 
faid  by  the  ingenious  and  learned  author,  on  the  power 
of  fuperior  Beings  and  the  connexions  we  may  have 
had  with  them  5  and  alfoj  on  another  fubjecl  touched 
in  page  141. 

there- 


i6o         On   Providence. 

therefore  be  much  in  the  dark  -,  and 
while  we  are  fo,  while  we  fee  nothing 
but  juft  the  prefent  moment,  and  know 
fo  little  of  the  hiftory  of  the  univerfe, 
and  its  connexions  and  laws,  it  cannot 
but  be  unreafonable  to  pretend  to  be 
able  to  form  an  adequate  judgment  of 
our  ftate,  or  completely  to  account  for 
every  circumftance  in  it.  Every  one 
who  looks  about  him  muft  lament  the 
degeneracy  of  mankind ;  and  every  one 
who  believes  the  doctrines  of  rehgion 
muft  tremble  for  the  danger  he  is  in, 
and  the  multitudes  who  are  likely  to  be 
loft.  Inftead  of  allowing  ourfelves  to 
be  very  anxious  about  difcovering  the 
particular  caufes  that  brought  us  into 
thefe  circumftances,  our  chief  enquiry 
fhould  be,  whether,  amidft  all  our 
darknefs,  we  do  not  fee  enough  to  alTure 
us  that  God  is  perfedly  righteous  in 
all  his  ways ;  and  about  this  I  can 
entertain    no   doubts,   for   the    reafons   I 

have   endeavoured  to  explain. But, 

above   all   things,   it  is   our    bufinefs   to 

take 


On     PROVIt)ENCE.  l6t 

take  care  of  ourfelves,  to  keep  clear  of 
the  corruption  that  is  in  the  v)orld  through 
liift^,  to  ftrive  to  fave  our  own  fouls 
amidft  the  dreadfiil  wreck,  and  at  the 
fame  time  to  do  all  we  can  to  fave 
fome  with  ourfelves.  This  is  the  great 
ufe  which  we  fliould  make  of  what  We 
have  reafon  to  believe  concerning  cur 
itate ;  and  I  wifh  I  knew  how  to  im- 
prefs  on  the  mind  of  the  perfon  who 
reads  this  a  due  fenfe  of  its  importance. 
Without  doubt  every  other  objedl  of 
concern,  compared  with  it,  is  entirely- 
trivial  and  infignificant. 

*  ^  Pet.  i.  4. 


^M  SECT. 


1 62         On   Providence. 


S  E  C  T.    V. 

Of  the  Vfes  of  the  DoBrine  of  Providence* 

IN  the  preceding  fedllons  I  have  con- 
fidered  moft  of  the  queftlons  relat- 
ing to  the  dodlrine  of  Providence,  which 
feemed  to  me  of  great  importance.  I 
have  endeavoured  to  give  a  juft  view  of 
the  nature  and  proofs  of  it,  but  have 
not  aimed  at  difcuffing  every  queftion 
that  has  been  ftarted  about  it,  or  in- 
fiftlng  on  every  argument  that  might 
have  been  urged.  In  ftating,  particu- 
larly, the  evidence  for  Providence,  I 
have  avoided  entering  into  fome  reafon- 
ings  which  have  a  great  effetS  on  my 
own  mind,  becaufe  likely  to  be  con- 
fidered  as  too  abflradted  and  metaphyfi- 
cal,  and  becaufe  alfo  a  full  explanation 
of   them  could   not    be   properly   given 

in 


On     PROVIDENtEi  163 

jn    this   diiTcrtation  *.     What  has   been 
faid,   however,     will,     I   hope,   be    fuf- 

ficient 

*  0{  this  fort  are  the  following  obfervations,  which 
I  will  juft  mention  here,  becaufe  it  is  poflible  that, 
without  any  particular  explanation,  they  may  appear 

to  a  few  as  important  as  they  do  to  myfelf. Since 

all  limitation  muftbe  an  effect  of  fome  limiting  caufe, 
it  can  have  no  place  In  an  unorlginated  nature.     Un- 
briginated  pov/er,  wifdom,  and  goodnefs,   therefore, 
muft  be  mfinite.     Wherever  infinite  power  is,  there 
muft  be  infinite  knowledge^  it  being  contradidory  to 
fuppofe  that  the  power  of  any  intelligent  Being  can 
extend  further  than  his  ideas.    And,  fmce  the  obliga- 
tions of  moral   rectitude  are  founded  in  eternal  truth 
and  reafon,  where  there    is  infinite  knotvkdge^   there 
muft  be  infinite  ^5(7i«£/}.     There  is,  therefore,  a  ne- 
cefTary  connexion  betv/een  infinite   power,  wifdom, 
and  goodnefs.     They  are  eflentially  one,  and  cannot 
refide  in  different  natures.     The   fovereignty  of  the 
univerfe,    therefore,    muft    be    perfectly    wife    and 
righteous  j  and  all  the  order  and  beauty  in  the  crea- 
tion are  to  be  traced  up  to  one  eternal  and  immutable 
principle,    of  order  and  beauty,  and  of  all  that  is  ve- 
nerable and  excellent. It  deferves   particular  no- 
tice,  that   the  necefTary  connexion  which  our  own 
ideas  teach   us,  in  the  manner  juft  mentioned j   be- 
tween  infinite   power,  wifdom   and    goodnefs,    and 
which  certainly  is  the  moft  agreeable  and  important 
of  all  truths,  is  exhibited  to  us  in  all  that  we  fee  of 
M  a  the 


I  &4  C>;/  Providence. 
licient  to  convince  fuch  as  vv^ill  impaf'*' 
tially  attend  to  it,  and  nothing  now  re- 
mains but  that  I  reprefent  the  proper 
improvement  of  this  fubje6t,  and  con- 
fider  the  influence  which  it  ought  to 
have  on  our  tempers  and  lives. 

Here,  ifl:.  It  fliould  be  recollefted 
that  the  argument  on  which  I, have  prin- 
cipally infifled  in  the  laft  feclion,  fur- 
nifhcs  us  with  a  flrong  reafon  for  con- 
tentment. As  this  reafon  for  content-^ 
ment  cannot  be  too  much  inculcated, 
I  fhall  not  fcruple  to  recall  fome  of  the 
obfervations  before  made,  in  order  to 
give  a  more  diflindl  and  full  account  of 
it. 

The  fadl  I  (hall  go  upon  is,  that  hap- 
pinefs  is  prevalent  in  human  life.  This, 
I  know,   has  been  denied  by  fome,    but 

the  world ;  there  being  no  inftance  in  which  the 
foiver  that  matle  the  univerfe  has  dilplaycd  dcfign, 
which  docs  not  appear  to  be  wife  and  kind  defign. 
Compare  the  note  in  page  24. 

cer-" 


On   Providence.         165 

certainly  without  any  reafon.  There  is, 
in  reality,  no  comparifon  between  the 
blejjings  and  the  calamiucs  of  life,  or  be- 
tween the  number  of  hours  in  which  we 
enjoy  fome  kind  of  pleafure,  and  thofe 
in  which  we  fuffer  pain.  What  in  fome 
meafure  deceives  us  in  this  matter  is,  our 
confidering  every  ftate  in  which  we  are 
not  exempted  from  all  tineajinefs ^  as  a 
ftate  of  abfolute  mifery ;  whereas  we 
may  be  happy,  that  is,  the  whole  pleafure 
of  exifting  may  not  be  deftroyed,  un- 
der confiderable  degrees  of  uneafinefs. — ^ 
We  are,  on  the  contrary,  apt  to  coniider 
no  ftate  as  happy  which  is  not  attended 
with  fome  fenfatioris  of  pofitive  joy;  and 
this  is  true  as  this  word  h^  been  generally 
ufed,  but  is  far  from  being  fo  if  w^e  ap- 
ply it,  as  I  now  do,  to  any  ftate  or  cir- 
cumftances  in  which  to  he  is  better  than 

not  to  be. Life,  though   deftitute    of 

any  particular  gratifications,  is  naturally 

agreeable.      Seldom    does    it    happen    at 

the   end  of  a  djiy  that  we  have  no  reafon 

M  3  to 


I 


j66         On   Providence. 

to  thank  God  for  it,  or  that  we  can  fay 
Avith  truth,  upon  reviewing  it,  that  it 
has  been  a  miferable  day  to  us.  A  ftate 
of  fome  degree  of  enjoyment,  or  of 
exemption  from  all  fuch  diftrelTes  as  take 
away,  while  they  laft,  all  comfort,  being 
our  ufual  ftate,  it  is  what  we  look  for 
and  reckon  upon ;  and  therefore,  what- 
ever happens  to  put  us  out  of  this  ftate, 
or  to  render  exiftence  a  real  burden, 
is  the  more  obferved  and  makes  the 
deeper  impreffion.  And  from  hence  it 
comes  to  pafs,  that  one  fit  of  ficknefs  or 
difafter  engages  the  attention,  and  fur- 
nifties  with  matter  for  converfation  for 
months  or  years,  while  all  the  health 
and  pleafures  ^ith  which  common  life 
abounds,  are  overlooked  and  difte- 
garded. 

Suppofing  it  then  evident  that  the 
portion  of  good  allotted  to  men  exceeds 
the  portion  of  evil,  let  us  next  enquire 
what  reafon  they  can  have  for  difcon- 
tent.  Happy,  in  foii^e  degree,  they  feci 
I  them- 


On  Providence.         167 

themfelves.  If  then  they  are  dilTatisfied, 
it  muft  be  becaufe  they  are  not  more 
happy.  But  this  is  perverfenefs  and  pre- 
fumption :  For  if  this  be  a  juft  reafon 
for  diffatisfadlion,  it  is,  in  the  nature 
of  things,    impoffible    they  fhould  ever 

be  fatisfied. A  perfon,   fuppofe,   in  a 

low  ftation  and  narrow  circumftances, 
finds  upon  comparing  his  enjoyments 
and  fufFerings,  the  former  to  be  greateft, 
and  his  exiftence,  all  things  confidered, 
to  be  preferable  to  non-exiftence.  Why 
then  is  he  not  contented  ? — '^  Becaufe  he 
*'  is  not  ftationed  higher  in  the  world/* 
— -Suppofe  this  granted  him.— —Will 
not  the  fame  ground  of  difcontent  ftill 
remain  ?  And  would  it  not  remain  tho* 
he  was  even   raifed  to  the  ftation  of  an 

angel  *  ? It  is  plain,    therefore,   that 

nothing 

*  No  perfon  of  any  reflexion  can  Imagine  that  this 
argument  implies,  that  we  ought  not  to  ufe  proper 
means  to  improve  our  circumftances,  or  increafe  our 
happinefs.  The  moft  vigorous  ufe  of  fuch  means  is 
confiftent  with  the  higheft  degree  of  fubmlirion  to  the 
Divine  will,  nay,  is  required  by  it.  Whatever  hap- 
M  4  pincfs 


J  68  On    P  R  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E. 

nothing  can  be  more  abfurd  than  difeon^ 
tent.  It  goes  upon  a  principle  which 
would  level  the  whole  univerfe,  and  fow 
uneaiinefs  among  all  the  inferior  orders 
of  Beings.  The  true  language  of  it  is ; 
*^  I  will  be  at  the  top  of  th?  creation, 
^'  I  will  accept  of  no  happinefs  fhort 
*'  of  the  greatefl  that  can  be  communi- 
^*  cated." -What  can  equal  the  ar- 
rogance of  fuch  a  difpcfitlon  of  mind  ? 
How  entirely  does  it  unfit  for  exiftence 
under  God's  government,  where  there 
muil:  be  fubordinations  and  diftindlions 
of  all  forts  and  degrees  ?  How  bafe  is  it 
to  complain  of  that  Being  who  has  given 
us  all  wx  enjoy,  merely  becaufe  he  ha$ 
not  given  us  7nore,  when,  without  wrong, 
he  might  have  given  us  nothhig?  It 
becomes  not  :thofe  who  are  obliged  for 
every   degree  *of  good    to  pure    favour, 

plncfs  lies  within  the  reach  of  the  powers  given  us 
and  we  can  innocently  obtain,  ought  to  be  con- 
fidcred  as  a  part  of  the  happinefs  intended  us  by  Pro- 
vidence ;  and  it  would  be,  not  acquiefcing  in  its  dif- 
pofals  but  thwarting  them,  to  deprive  ourfelves  of 
jt  by  iti^ciiyity  and  negligence, 

t9 


On  Providence.  169 
to  prefcribe  how  much  they  fliall  have ; 
or  for  tliofe  who  might  never  have  ex- 
ifted,  to  determine  how  perfect  and  hap- 
py they  fhall  be.- We  need  not  doubt 

but  that  it  is  for  the   beft  reafons,  that 
our  flate    is    fuch   as   we   find   it.     Our 
duty  is   to   accept   humbly  that   portion 
of  bhfs  which  falls  to  our  /hare,   to  ac- 
quiefce   chearfully    in    our   different  fta- 
tions,   and  to   efteem  ^s^^xy  little  which 
may  be  granted  us  a  kindnefs   that  calls 
for  gratitude.     Thus  fliall  we  make  the 
moft  of  what  we   enjoy,    aft  fuitably  to 
the    relation    of    creatures,    recomm.end 
ourfelves  to  our  all-wife   Governor,    and 
take  the  certain   method  to  fecure  fui> 
ther  favour. 

It  will  not  be  improper  to  obfcrve 
here,  that  though  I  have  argued  on  the 
fuppofition  that  happinefs  is  prevalent  in 
human  life,  yet  v/e  fliould,  in  reality, 
have  no  good  reafon  for  complaint,  tho' 
the  contrary  were  true,  provided  it  v/as 
the  effed:  of  our  own  ill  condud.     From 

this 


ijo        On  Providence. 

this  fource,  undoubtedly,  proceed  our 
worft  evils.  Human  life,  as  it  is  the 
gift  of  God,  or  as  we  might  make  it 
by  behaving  fliitably  to  his  intentions 
and  ftudying  to  maintain  tranquility,  is 
an  unfpeakably  greater  bleffing  than  we 
commonly  find  it.'  This  obfervation 
places  the  abfurdity  of  difcontent  in  a 
light  that  cannot  but  imprefs  every  in- 
genuous mind.  Is  it  not  fhameful  to 
murmur,  on  account  of  evils  which  we 
voluntarily  bring  upon  ourfelves,  con- 
trary to  plain  admonitions  and  warnings  ? 
Does  it  not  infinitely  more  become  guilty 
Beings,  who  are  fo  much  the  creators  of 
their  own  fufferings,  to  accufe  and  re- 
proach themjelves,  than  to  exclaim  againft 
Providence  ? 

I  cannot  quit  thefe  reflexions  without 
adding,  that  the  fame  argument  with 
that  now  ufed  to  fliew  the  folly  of 
difcontent  in  general,  may  be  employed 
to  (hew  the  folly,  in  particular,  of  the 
inclination  which  many  perfons  difcover 

to 


On   Providence,         171 

to  complain,  becaufe  greater  light  and 
evidence  on  feveral  fpeculative  points 
have  not  been  granted  them.  Every 
man  has  light  enough  to  a6t  upon,  and 
to  diredl  him  in  his  mofl  important  con- 
cerns. This  is  all  we  can  have  any  right 
to  expedl ;  and  to  indulge  difcontent  be- 
caufe v^e  have  not  fo  much  as  wq  wifla 
for,  or  as  is  neceflary  to  fatisfy  curiofity, 
w^ould  be  tacitly  to  aflert  that  we  have  a 

right  to  be   omnifcient. It  is  indeed 

our  duty  to  ftrive  to  obtain  all  the  light 
poffible ;  but  at  the  fame  time  we  ihould 
remember,  that  it  is  no  fmall  part  of 
virtue  to  acquiefce  in  that  degree  of  light 
allotted  us  by  Providence,  or  which  we 
are  able  to  acquire  in  the  faithful  ufe  of 
pur  faculties.— But  to  difmifs  this  fubjeft. 

I  would  further  obferve  with  refpeft  to 
the  proper  improvement  of  the  dodrine 
of  Providence,  that  it  ought  to  be  always 
attended  to  and  recognized  by  us.  The 
care  of  the  Deity,  we  have  feen,  extends 

to 


/ 

172         Oh    Providence. 

to  all  events.  Nothing  happens  with-, 
out  either  his  appointment  or  permiffion. 
It  muft  be  our  duty  to  remember  this, 
and  to  maintain  a  deep  fenfe  of  it  in  our 
hearts.  Nothing  can  be  more  reafonable 
than  that  we  fliould  look  up  continually 
to  the  Sovereign  Arbiter  of  nature,,  ex- 
peft  fuccefs  in  our  undertakings  from 
him,  and  acknowledge  \am  in  all  our 
ways.  There  is  within  us  an  unhappy 
pronenefs  to  fink  into  an  infenfibility 
with  refpecfl  to  him  ,  and  it  is  remark- 
able that  the  chief  caufe  of  this  is  the 
peculiar  degree  of  our  dependence  upon 
him,  and  his  being  fo  much  one  with 
our  fouls  that  we  overlook  him.  There 
is  nothing  fo  near  us,  and  therefore,  there 
is  nothing  that  we  are  fo  apt  to  dif- 
regard.  He  is  in  every  breath  we  draw 
and  in  every  thought  we  think,  and  for 
this  very  reafon  he  engages  not  our  at- 
tention y  and,  becaufe  every  thing,  he  be- 
comes nothing  to  us. Thus,  in  par- 
ticular, his  power  is  as  much  difplayed 
m  thofc  events  which  are  moft  com- 
mon. 


On   Providence.         173 

mon,  as  in  thofe  which  are  moft  extra- 
ordinary. But  in  the  former  we  feldom 
take  notice  of  it,  whereas  in  the  latter 
it  alarms  and  terrifies  us.  \Ver6  the  bo- 
dies on  the  furface  of  the  earth  to  afcend 
into  the  air,  or  were  the  planets  to  fly 
out  of  their  orbits,  our  thoughts  would 
be  immediately  drawn  to  God's  hand ; 
but  it  afteds  us  not  in  cafes  where  there 
is  much  more  reafon  to  acknowledge  it, 
in  the  tendency  of  bodies  downwards, 
and  the  regular  motions  of  the  heavenly 
bodies.  What  comes  to  pafs  out  of  the 
ufual  courfe  we  are  never  backward  to 
afcribe  to  him ;  but  what  is  done  con- 
ftantly  and  regularly,  we  are  ready  to 
confider  as  coming  to  pafs  of  itfelf,  and 
requiring  no  caufe.  We  fliould  endea- 
vour to  guard  our  minds  againft  this 
weaknefs,  and  fludy  to  acquire  a  habit 
of  carrying  up  our  views  to  God  on  all 
occalions.  We  may  be  fure  of  being 
right  in  doing  this.  The  courfe  of  nature 
is  nothing  but  his  power,  exerting  itfelf 
every  where  according  to    fixt  rules,  m 

order 


174  O/^  Providence, 
order  to  anfwer  the  beft  ends.  The 
frame  of  the  world  muft  be  in  every 
refped  what  he  has  been  pleafed  to  or- 
dain. By  him  it  fubiifts,  and  in  him  we 
livCf  and  move,  and  have  our  beings  *.  See 
Seft.  II.  page  41 — 54. 

One  cannot   think,    without  concern 
and  furprife,  of  the  inexcufable  degree  in 
which  fome  perfons  are  guihy  of  that  dif- 
regard  to  Providence,  on  which  I  am  now 
remarking.     They  terminate  their  views 
in  the  objeds  of  fenfe,  and  forget  all  fu- 
perlor  and  invifible   power.     They  con- 
fider  the  Deity  as  either  withdrawn  from 
the  world  to  enjoy   repofe  in  the  extra- 
mundane  fpaces;  or,  if  neceflarily  prefent 
to  it,  as  an  idle  and  vaing-lorious  Being, 
who    is  above  concerning    himfelf  with 
any  thing  in  it.     They  look  no  higher 
for  the  fource  of  any    evils   they    fufFer^ 
or  bleffings  they  enjoy,   than  change ^   or 
fortune^   ox  fate ^   and  they    are  generally 
very   well  fatisfied  if  they  can  point  out 
the  immediate  caufe  of  an  effed  without 

*  Acts  xvii.  28, 

€n- 


0;7  Providence.         17^ 

enquiring  any  further.     This   has  been 
too  true  of  even  fome  who    have    been 
diftinguiflied  by  the  name  of  Philofophers.  \ 
But  it  is  impoffible  that  they  fhould  have 
anyjufk  title   to  that  charadler.     It  has 
appeared,    I   beheve,    that  fuch  a  w^ay  of 
thinking  is  no  lefs  repugnant  to  true  phi- , 
lofophy,   than  it  is  miferably  gloomy  and 
difcouraging*. 'Tis  worth  remember- 

*  "  A  little  philofophy  inclineth  mens  mind  to 
«*  atheifm  ;  but  depth  in  philofophy  bringeth  mens 
*<  minds  about  to  religion,'*  Lord  Bacon* s  EJfay  on 
"  Atheifm » 

"  In  the  entrance  of  philofophy,  when  the  fecond 
*'  caufes  moft  obvious  to  the  fenfes  offer  themfelves 
*'  to  the  mind,  we  are  apt  to  cleave  to  them,  and 
*«  dwell  too  much  upon  them,  fo  as  to  forget  what 
**  is  fuperior  in  nature.  But  when  we  pafs  further^ 
•'  and  behold  the  dependency,  continuation,  and 
"  confederacy  of  caufes,  and  the  works  of  Provi- 
«'  dence,  then,  according  to  the  allegory  of  the 
"  poets,  we  ^afily  believe  that  the  higheft  link  of  na^ 
*«  ture's  chain  muft  needs  be  tied  to  the  foot  of 
"  Jupiter's  chair  j  or  perceive  that  philofophy,  like 
*'  Jacobus  vifion,  difcovcrs  to  us  a  ladder  whofe  top 
"  reaches  up  to  the  footftool  of  the  throne  of  God/* 
Mr.  Maclaurins  Account  of  Sir  Ifaac  Newton's  Philofo^ 
phical  Difcoveriesy  Book  I.  Chap.  3. 


1^6         On   Providence. 

ing,  particularly,  that  the  difpofition  i6 
be  fatisfied  with  difcovermg  the  im" 
mediate  caufes  of  efFedls  in  natural  philo- 
fophy,  without  carrying  our  views  higher, 
argues  exadly  the  fame  folly  with  that 
of  a  perfon,  v/ho  fliould  imagine  that  he 
had  fufficiently  accounted  for  the  motion 
of  a  particular  wheel  in  a  machine,  by 
flbewing  that  it  was  turned  by  the  wheel 
next  to  it,  without  extending  .  his  views 
to  the  fkill  of  the  artift,  and  to  the 
fpring,  on  whofe  cpnftant  aftion  all  the 
motions  of  the  machine  depended  ^  or 
rather  it  argues  the  fame  folly  with  that 
of  the  Indian  mentioned  by  Mr.  hockey 
who  fatisfieij  himfelf  with  thinking  that 
the  world  was  fupported  by  an  elephant, 

and    the    elephant    by  a  tortoife. It 

fliOuld,  however,  be  obferved  here  that 
there  is  an  extreme  on  the  other  fide, 
which  ought  carefully  to  be  avoided. 
I  mean,  the  extreme  into  which  thofe 
perfons  run  who  have  rccourfe  immc^ 
diately  to  Divine  power,  in  order  to  ac- 
count for  every  event,  and   who  are  apt 

to 


On   Providence.         177 

to  look  with  horror  on  all  attempts  to 
aflign  the  natural  caufes  of  events.  The 
former  extreme  is  atheifm.  This  is  fu^ 
ferjiition 'y  and  both  argue  great  fliort- 
fightednefs  and  ignorance.  But  the  laft 
is  perhaps  the  moft  excufable.  We  can- 
not fay  how  far  the  dependence  of 
lower  caufes  on  more  general  ones 
reaches,  or  how  complicated  the  me- 
chanifm  of  nature  may  be;  but  we  know 
that  the  Maker's  agency  is  the  primary 
caufe  which  eftabliflied  all  others,  and 
to  which  all  others  owe  their  force  ;  and 
this  proves,  that  there  is  a  juft  fenfe  in 
which  we  may  afcribe  to  him  every 
effect  in  the  material  world,  and  con- 
fider  all  that  happens  as  the  refult  of  his 
will. 

Thirdly.  From  the  account  that  has 
been  given  of  Providence  we  may  learn 
the  reafonablenefs  of  prayer.  Were  it 
true  that  the  Deity  does  not  attend  to 
our  affairs,  or  that  the  feries  of  events 
goes  on  in  one  immutable  dired:ion  in- 
N  dependently 


ijS         On   Providence. 

dependently  of  him,  no  help  could  be 
expected  from  him ;  nor  could  we  be 
at  all  the  better  for  any  application  of 
our  minds  to  him,  and  therefore  prayer 
would  be  an  abfurdity.  But  it  has  been 
fhcwn  that  the  contrary  is  true.  If  I 
have  argued  right,  the  feries  of  events 
is  juft  what  he  fees  fit  to  appoint  or  al- 
low. He  is  intimately  prefent  with  us 
every  moment,  obferving  all  our  thoughts, 
and  difpofing  all  the  circumftances  of  our 
exiflence.  The  whole  world  is  in  his 
hand,  and  by  an  imperceptible  diredlion 
of  the  operations  of  natural  caufes  and 
of  the  thoughts  of  mankind,  he  can 
over-rule  whatever  comes  to  pafs^  and 
grant  proper  anfwers  to  prayer. — —The 
objedion  then  againfl  prayer,  taken  from 
the  fuppofed  unalterablenefs  of  the  courfe 
of  things,  and  the  impoffibility  of  de- 
riving any  benefit  from  it,  confiftcntly 
with  the  fettled  order-  of  the  world,  is 
groundlefs. — If  there  is  an  all -dire  ding 
Providence,  nothing  can  be  more  fit  than 
to  endeavour  to  engage  it  in  our  favour. 
I  If 


On   P  R  o  V  I  b  E  isi  c  E.         179 

If  we  owe  our  whole  happinefs  to  God, 
and  the  entire  fate  of  our  Beings  is  de- 
termined by  his  will,  it  muft  be  inex- 
cufable  not  to  acknowledge  and  worfhip 
him.  If  he  governs  all  created  exiftence, 
and  nothing  can  come  to  pafs  contrary  to 
his  counfels,  it  is  reafonable  to  feek  his 
protection,  to  fly  to  him  in  danger^ 
to  beg  his  aid  in  accomplifliing  our 
good  defigns,  to  implore  his  bleffing  on 
our  enjoyments,  and  to  recommend  to 
his  care  thofe  who  are  dear  to  us.  Nor 
can  any  perfon,  who  has  his  mind  duly 
impreffed  with  a  fenfe  of  the  abfolute 
dependence  of  all  things  on  the  Deity, 
omit   thefe    ad:s   without    offering   great 

violence  to  himfelf. The  belief  of  an 

omniprefent  Deity  prompts  the  human 
heart,  with  a  force  almofl  irrefiftible,  to 
direft  its  defires  to  him.  This  tendency 
difcovers  itfelf  in  all  mankind  j  and  as 
far  as  it  operates,  it  implies  a  neceffity 
of  confid^ring  prayer  as  likely  to  be  of 
avail  to  procure  blefiings  iot  us.  It  may 
be  well  prefumed  that  this  fentiment  of 
N  2  nature 


1 8o        On   Providence. 

nature  muft  be  right;  and  that  the  Deity 
does  indeed,  either  by  himfelf  or  fome 
intermediate  agency,  follow  prayer  with 
fuch  bleffings  as  it  may  be  a  juft  reafon 
for  communicating.  Experience  and 
obfervation  prove  nothing  to  the  contrary. 
For,  fuppoling  the  conftltution  of  the 
world  to  be  fuch  as  e/labliflies  an 
availablenefs  in  prayer,  it  muft  be  im- 
poiiible  to  diftinguifli  the  bleffings  which 
have  this  fource  from  others.  It  is 
enough  that  we  have  reafon  to  conclude 
that  God  is  a  friend  to  the  pious  and 
v^orthy,  and  that  we  fee  in  general  their 
flate    to   be    happier    than  that   of    the 

irreligious  and  vicious. The  opinion 

that  the  Deity  has  limited  himfelf  to  a 
fettkd  courfe  of  afting,  or  to  general 
laws  from  which  he  never  deviates,  has 
very  little  to  do  with  this  point.  For  let 
it  be  allowed  to  be  true ;  Is  it  likewife 
true  of  ail  thofe  fubordinate  Beings,  who 
may  be  the  minifters  of  his  Providence? 
May  it  not  be  itfelf  a  law  of  his  govern- 
ment, or  one  part  of  his  fettled  courfe 

of 


On   Providence.         iSi 

of  afting,  to  make  a  proper  difference 
between  thofe  who  Acknowledge  his  fu- 
preme  dominion  by  prayhig  to  him,  and 

thofe  who  do  not? But  v/hat  is  it 

informs  us  that  the  Deity  never  adls  but 
by  general  laws  ?  The  reafon  I  have  men- 
tioned more  than  once  *  for  the  eftablifli- 
ment  of  general  laws  is  far  from  being 
any  juft  foundation  for  this  opinion. 
Particular  influences  accommodated  to 
particular  occafions,  though  fuppofed  not 
reducible  to  any  general  laws,  may  yet 
be  agreeable  to  them,  and  entirely  con- 
fiflent  with  their  inviolablenefs ;  as  13 
fliewn  in  the  firfl  and  third  feftions. 

It  is  neceffary  to  add,  that  were  there 
in  truth,  on  account  of  the  unalterable- 
nefs  of  the  courfe  of  nature  and  the 
impropriety  of  adventitious  influences, 
no  benefit  to  be  derived  from  fupplica- 
tions  to  the  Deity,  an  inconfiflency  would 
be  eftablifhed  in  the  conftitution  of  the 
world;   for  by  the  frame  of  our  minds 

*  See  page  17. 

N  3  it 


J 82         On    Providence. 

it  would  diBate  prayer  to  us,  at  the  fame 
time  that  by  fixing  its  unav.ailablenefs  it 
had  rendered  it  vain  and  impertinent. 
But  this  fubjed:  will  come  to  be  more 
amply  difcuffed  in  the  next  DifTertation. 

In  the  next  place.  God's  Providence 
is  the  proper  objeft  of  abfolute  confix 
dence.  We  ought  to  truft  in  it  with 
firmnefs,  and  to  throw  upon  it  all  our 
cares.  The  belief  of  it  fhould  render  us 
ferene  in  all  feafons,  and  fupport  and  en- 
courage us  in  the  worft  extremities.  It 
is  impoffible  that  any  event  in  which 
our  intereft  is  concerned  fliould  be  neg- 
leded.  We  are  under  the  protection  of 
infinite  power  ;  and  the  charge  of  fove- 
reign  goodnefs.  No  perplexing  fears, 
therefore,  or  defponding  folicitude  fliould 

^t  any   time  enter  into  our  breafts. 

One  truth,  however,  Jet  us  carefully  at- 
tend to.  Let  us  ren:>ember  that  our  truft 
in  God's  Providence  ought  to  be  regu- 
lated by  a  regard  to  the  fpotlefs  purity 
of  his  characfter,    and   accompanied   air 

wayq 


On    Providence.         183 

ways  With  the  pradtice  of  virtue,  and 
our  own  utmoft  prudence  and  diligence. 
Without  this  our  expectations  from  Pro- 
vidence are  vain,  and  our  truft  in  it  will 
be  prefumption-  What  it  is  chiefly  em-- 
ployed  in  is  the  adjuftment  of  events  to 
the  different  charardlers  of  moral  agents. 
God  is  a  righteous  Being,  and  he  can  fa- 
vour none  but  the  righteous.  If  we  are 
not  of  this  number  we  have  nothing  to 
expeft  from  him.  His  government, 
which  fliould  be  the  joy  of  the  whole 
creation,  ought  to  be  a  terror  to  us ; 
and  it  will  be  a  necefTary  inftance  of  its 
perfe(ft  redlitude  to  confign  us  over  to 
punifliment.  It  would  be  difhonourable 
to  him  to  exercife  goodnefs  towards  thofe 
who  abufe  his  goodnefs,  and  are  nufances 
in  his  works.  It  is  not  fit  that  rational 
agents  fliould  be  made  happy  v/ithout 
their  own  a^flive  concurrence,  and  virtu- 
ous induftry.  But  thefe  fuppofed,  there 
is  nothing  that  fliould  difturb  us,  nor 
i^  it  poffible  that  we  fliould  expedl  too 
much  from  the  bounty  of  our  Maker. 
N  4  After 


184         On   Providence. 

After  difcharging  our  duty  and  making 
the  beft  ufe  we  can  of  the  powers  given 
us,  we  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  trull 
our  concerns  with  the  Deity,  to  commit 
to  him  our  whole  exiflence,  and  wait 
quietly  for  the  iflue  of  prefent  events, 
which  will  prove  glorious  beyond  con- 
ception to  every  true  friend  of  righteouf- 
nefs. 

In  connexion  with  this  it  muft  be 
obferved  that  the  dodlrine  of  Provi- 
dence is    a   fource    of  the    higheft  joy. 

Were   events  under  no  good  di- 

recftion ;  did  blind  neccfTity  or  fickle 
chance  govern  the  world,  our  condition 
would  indeed  be  deplorable.  We  could 
look  at  nothing  with  any  complacency. 
All  nature  would  lofe  its  beauty,  and 
appear  dark  and  defolate.  But  this  is 
by  no  means  our  flate.  The  order  of 
nature  is  wife  and  good  beyond  all  that 
we  can  allc  or  think.  Almighty  power, 
it  has  been  fhewn,  united  to  perfcifl  wif- 
dom  and  benevolence,  is  at  the  head  of 
1  the 


On   Providence.         185 

the  univerfe  aftuating  all  its  parts,  and 
prefiding  over  all  its  events.  What  feems 
itioft  formidable,  therefore,  may  fit  eafy 
on  our  minds,  and  infinitely  more  may 
be  expefted  to  take  place  in  nature  than 
the  moil  benevolent  heart  can  imagine.— 
How  delightful  are  thefe  truths  ?  With 
what  exultation  and  triumph  fiiould  they 
fill  us  ?-^ Do  you  fufFer  under  any  ca- 
lamity ?-— Remember  that  the  eye  of 
the  Deity  is  upon  you,  and  that  you  can 
fufFer  nothing  but  in  confequence  of  the 
difpofals  and  counfels  of  his  ever-attentive 
and  unerring  Providence.  Accept  then 
your  fufferings  with  a  zeal  becoming  his 
faithful  fubjed:.  Submit  to  them  with 
loyal  and  hearty  affection,  and  never 
indulge  a  repining  thought.  Wherein 
can  your  dignity  confiil:  except  in  having 
one  will  with  God  ?  Can  you  be  difpleaf- 
ed  with  what  is  right  ?  Would  you  have 
the  world  governed  wrong  ?— No  degree 
of  improper  pain,  no  fufferings  inconfiftent 
with  a  perfeft  order  of  adininiflration 
can  ever  find  admiflion  into  the  world. 

Our 


i86         On   Providence. 

Our  affairs, >  and  thofe  of  our  friends 
and  of  all  our  fellow-creatures,  are,  in 
every  particular,  under  the  management 
of  everlafting  and  omnipotent  reafon  and 

love. Is   not   this   what    every    heart 

muft  wifh  for  ?  Is  there  any  thing  that 
we  can  poffibly  defire  beyond  it  ?  What 
fatisfaciion  fhould  we  feel  in  exiftence,  ,to 
find  ourfelves  in  a  fcene  fo  glorious,   in 

circumftances  fo  happy  ? Did  the  uni- 

verfal  order  require  us  to  facrifice  to  it 
every  advantage  of  exigence,  or  were 
the  fubordinations  eflablifhcd  in  the  crea- 
tion for  producing  the  greateft  good  fuch 
as  obliged  us  to  give  up  all  our  happi- 
nefs ;  though,  in  thele  circumftances, 
fuch  a  fealty  of  heart  to  the  government 
of  the  univerfe  as  would  caufe  us  to  re-- 
joice^  is  not  perhaps  attainable  ;  3^et,  if  du- 
ly prevalent,  it  would  certainly  produce 
perfedl  acqiiiefcence.  But  this  is  a  fuppo- 
lition  that  we  have  no  reafon  for  making. 
No  fuch  trial  is  put  upon  us.  Our  cir- 
cumftances are  infinitely  happier.  The 
univerfal  order  has   already   brought   us 

much 


On   Providence.         187 

much  happinefs ;  and  we  are  affured  that, 
if  we  avoid  vice  and  difcharge  our  duty, 
our  happinefs  fhall  not  ceafe  at  death, 
but  be  renewed  in  brighter  regions,  and 
there  go  on  increafing  and  improving 
tp  all  eternity. — Oh!  ravifhing  hope. — 
Glory  for  ever  be  to  that  inconceivable 
grace  which  thu5  bleffes  us  *. 

Once  more.  I  cannot  help  obferv- 
ing  that  the  account  which  the  fcrip- 
tures  give  of  the  dodlrine  of  Providence 
leads  us  to  believe  their  heavenly  ori- 
ginal. It  is  not  poflible  to  confider^ 
without  admiration,  the  elevated  defcrip- 
tions  which  they  give  of  God  as  prefiding 
pver  the  world,  producing  all  the  revo- 
lutions in  it,  and  working  all  things  after 

*  The  wages  of  fin  h  death.  But  the  gft  of  God 
is  eternal  Ufe^  through  J  ejus  Chrijl  our  Lord.  Rom. 
vl.  23.  Bleffed  he  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord 
Jffus  Chri/i,  who,  according  to  his  abundant  jnercy,  has 
begotten  us  again  to  a  lively  hope^  by  the  refurreSiion  of 
Jefus  Chrijl  from  the  dead^  to  an  inheritance  incorruptible^ 
undcfiled^  and  that  fadeth  not  away^  rejerved  In  heaven  for 
Vf^  I  Pet.  i.  3,  4. 

the 


j8S         On   Providence. 

the  counfel  of  his  own  will  *.  The  whole 
hiftory  they  contain  is  one  uniform  dis- 
play of  the  Divine  fuperintendency  of 
our  affairs, — It  is  an  obfervation  no  lefs  juft 
than  common  that  there  is  this  remark- 
able difference  between  the  facred  hiftory 
and  all  others ;  that  whereas  other  hiflo- 
ries  feldom  go  higher  than  the  paffions  of 
men  and  the  powers  of  nature  for  the 
fources  of  the  events  they  relate,  this 
always  carries  our  thoughts  up  to  the 
jirjl  caufe,  and  direds  our  views  to  God 
as  the  guide  and  governour  of  whatever 
happens.  Thus ;  of  the  fwordy  or  a  fa-- 
miney  or  a  pejl Hence y  it  fays  that  Godfent 
it  \  y  of  every  calamity  in  a  cityy  that  he 
does  it ;  of  the  wind  and  the  lightnifig^ 
that  they,  go  forth  at  his  word;  of  the 
raiuy  that  he  gives  it  y  of  the  falling  of 
a  fparrow  to  the  groundy  that  it  happens 
7iot  without  him ;  of  what  feems  moft 
cafual,  that    he  direfts  it,    and    of  the 

*  Eph,  i.   II. 

•t  If.   xlv.  7. Amos  Hi.  6. Pfal.  cxlviii. — - 

Ffov.  xvi.  33. Matih.  x.  29,  30.— Rom.  xi.  36. 

hairs 


On   Providence.        c  1[B9 

hairs  of  our  heady  that  they  are  all  niim- 
^^;r^/.— Such  reprefentations  of  Divine 
Providence,  fo  agreeable  to  our  beft  no*- 
tions,  and  exceeding  all  that  can  be  found 
in  other  writings,  afford  an  internal  evi- 
dence of  confiderable  importance  in  fa- 
vour of  the  fcriptures. 

But  further.     As  the  dodlrinc  of  Pro- 
vidence,   fuppofed  previoufly  eftablifhed, 
furnifhes  us  with   an  argument  for  the 
fcriptures,  fo  thefe  in  their  turn  furnifh 
us  with  an  argument  for  Providence.-— 
We  fee  here  that  we   have   connexions 
w^ith  an  inviiible  world    of  fpirits,  that 
there  have  been  interpofitions  of  fuperior 
power  in  our  affairs,    and   that   heaven 
does  intereft  itfelf  about  us   particularly 
and  wonderfully. — But  what  I  have  now 
chiefly  in  view  is,  the  argument  for  Pro- 
vidence arifing  from   the  completion  of 
the  fcripture  prophefies.     There   are  in 
the  Old  and  New  Teftament,  many  pre- 
diftions  of  events  very  diflant  from  the 
times  when  they  were  delivered,   which 

are 


190        On   Providence. 

are  reprefented  as  fure  to  be  verified  by 
Divine  Providence.  The  accomplifli- 
ment  of  fuch  predictions,  when  it  hap- 
pens, proves  that  the  predicted  events 
were  indeed  fubjedt  to  the  fuperinten- 
dency  of  Providence,  and  obhges  us  to 
conclude  the  fame  concerning  all  events. 
When  we  find,  for  inftance,  that  the 
prefent  ftate  of  the  Jews  and  the  cor- 
ruption of  chriftianity  by  popery  were 
foretold,  and  the  principal  circumftances 
attending  them  defcribed,  fome  thoufands 
of  years  ago,  we  cannot  doubt  but  thefe 
events  have  been  all  along  objects  of  the 
attention  of  the  Deity,  and  happen  only 
in  confequence  of  his  unfearchable  coun- 

fels.. It  is  worthy  of  fpecial   notice, 

that  the  reprefentation  made  in  thefe 
prophecies  of  tht/potlefs  *  holinefs  of  the 
Deity  as  his  moft  diftinguifliing  attribute, 
and  the  chief  Ipring  of  his  adions  in 
^uiding  events,  proves  further  that  the 
adminiftration  of  the  world  is  holy  and 
rig-htcous. In  fliort.     The  Bible  gives 

*  Rev   iv.  8. — XV.  4. 

US 


O//    P  R  O  V  I  D  E  N  C  E.  191 

US  a  hiftory  of  all  the  great  fads  in  which 
this  earth  is  concerned  from  its  creation 
to  its  diiTolution.  A  confiderable  part  of 
this  hiftory  muft  be  prophetical,  and  what 
we  have  feen  verified  of  this  part  de- 
monftrates  that  the  writings  containing  it 
come  from  the  author  and  ruler  of  na- 
ture. It  likewife  proves  that  the  world 
is  under  a  moral  government,  and  that 
Divine  Providence  watches  over  it  thro' 
every  period  of  its  duration.  And,  per- 
haps, the  prophecies  which  ftill  remain 
to  be  accompliflied  may  fome  time  or  o- 
ther  afford  a  demonflration  of  thefe 
truths  that  will  put  to  flight  all  infidelity^ 
and  convince  and  furprife  the  whole  world. 

It  ought  not  to  be  forgotten  on  this 
occalion  that  there  is  one  event,  im- 
portant above  all  others,  which  the  fa- 
cred  writings  foretel,  and  to  which,  they 
acquaint  us,  every  prefent  difpenfation 
of  Providence  refers.  I  mean  the  last 
JUDGMENT;  when,  we  are  told,  every 
one  Jl:ii!l  receive  according  to  bis   ivoris, 

anj 


%gz        On  Providence. 

gnd  the  Divine  moral,  government  with 
refpe<^  to  the  human  race  fliall  be  con- 
fummated  ;  when  the  earth  ivith  all  her 
njuorksjldall  he  bumf  up\  the  Son  of  man 
appear  in  poiver  and  great  glory y  and  all 
that  are  in  their  graves  jhall  hear  his  voice ^ 
andfiall  come  forth y  they  that  have  done 
good  to  the  refurreBion  of  Ife^  and  they  that 
have  done  evil  to  the  refurredfion  of  dajn- 
nation.  What  we  have  i^^w  verified  of 
the  fcripture  prophecies  ajjiires  us  that 
iiich  a  time  is  coming ;  and  happy  are 
thole  who  are  always  thinking  of  it,  and 
preparing  for  it. 

To  conclude  the  whole.'  ---Let  us 
labour  earneftly  to  bring  our  minds  into 
that  temper  which  the  dodrine  of  Pro- 
vidence requires.  Let  us  follow  impli- 
citly wherever  it  leads  us,  and  make  an 
abfolute  furrender  of  our  wills  to  God's 
will,  fupprefling  all  foUicitude  about 
every  thing  but  ading  faithfully  the  part 
he  has  affigned  us,  maintaining  inviolably 
our  allegiance   to  his  government,    and 

never 


On     PROVlt>ENCE.  193 

never  wiftiing  to  enjoy  any  advantage 
\vhich  he  is  pleafed  to  deny,  or  to  be 
exempted  from  any  troubles  which  he 
can  permit  to  come  upon  us.- — Thus  fhall 
we  be  eafed  of  all  unneceffary  cares, 
enjoy  that  peace  of  God  which  pajjeth  all 
imderjlandingy  and  attain  to  the  higheft 
dignity  and  blifs  of  which  rational  Beings 

are   capable. Oh  !   joyful    refledion  ! 

God  reigns  and  all  is  well.  Eternal 
wifdorh  and  benevolence  are  prefent  every 
where,  and  govern  all  things.  Welcome 
then  every  event.  Welcome  difappoint- 
ment,  ficknefs  or  death.  Let  tempefts 
roar.  Let  thunder  tear  the  heavens, 
or  earthquakes  overturn  cities  and  king- 
doms. In  all  we  may  hear  the  voice  of 
the  prefiding  Divinity  ail\iring  us  that  we 
need  not  fear.  Within  the  embraces  of 
his  arms  we  muft  be  always  fafe. 
'Rejoice  in  the  Lord  all  the  earth.  Say  a?no?ig 
the  heathen  that  the  Lord  reigneth.  Let 
the  heavens  rejoice^  and  let  the  earth  be  glad. 
iM  the  fea  roar,  and  the  floods  clap  their 
O  hands. 


194        O//   Providence. 

hands  '*. Fraife  him  all  ye  his  angeh. 

Praife  him  fun  and  moon,  Praife  hi?n  ye 
Jlars  of  light,  Pratfe  him  ye  dragons  and 
all  deeps.  Fire  and  haiU  fnow  and  vapour^ 
mountains  ajid  fields^  beafls  and  all  cattle^ 
creeping  things  and  flying  fowls,  kings  of 
the  earth  and  all  people  y  Praife  the  name 
of  the  Lord,  for  his  name  alone  is  excellent. 

-. Let  the  whole  creation  join  in  raifing 

one  fong  of  praife  to  him. Praife  tha 

Lord,   O  my  foul, 

*  Pfa!.  xcv:»cxlviii»  ciii. 


A     jl 


D  I  S  S  E  R- 


DISSERTATION    IL 


O   N 


PRAYER 


02 


^'  Mt.  V 


VJ 


DISSERTATION    IL 


O   N 


PRAYER 


S  E  C  T  I  O  N     L 

^he  Nature^  Reafonabtenefs,  and  Efficacy  of 
Prayer  explained^  and  the  Objections  to 
it  anfwered.  ' 


H 


AVING  in  the  foregoing  differ- 
tation  endeavoured  to  explain  and 
defend  the  doftrine  of  Providence,  I  fhall 
now  proceed  to  treat  of  the  duty  of 
Prayer.  There  is  no  religious  diity  a- 
gainft  which  more  objections  have  beeri 
made.  It  will,  therefore,  be  necefiary 
to  be^in  this  diflertation  with  ftatino^ 
particularly  its  nature  and  reafonable- 
nefs.  After  vdiich,  I  /hall  give  an 
O    3  account 


198  On   Prayer. 

account  of  the  manner  in  which  it  ought 
to  be  performed,  in  order  to  render  it 
acceptable  and  fuccefsful.  Thefe  are 
the  two  heads  under  which  I  fhall 
throw  what  I  intend  to  fay  on  the  fub- 
jeft  now  before  me. 

By  Prayer,  I  mean  a  ferious  and  folemn 
addrefs  of  our  minds  to  the  Deity,  as 
the  fountain  of  being  and  happinefs,  and 
the  parent  and  governor  of  the  world. 
It  has  been  divided  into  feveral  diftind: 
parts  according  to  the  feveral  afts  of  our 
minds  when  engaged  in  it.  The  chief 
of  thefe  parts  are  the  four  following. 
Acknowledgment  of  our  dependence,  and 
of  the  Divine  perfeftions  and  fovereignty. 
Thankfulnefs  for  the  mercies  we  have 
received.  A  penitential  confeffion  of 
what  we  have  done  amifs ;  and  offering 
up  our  defires  of  favour  and  happinefs 
for  oiirfelves  and  others. 

Nothing    is    plainer    than     that     the 
firft  of  thefe   is    reafonable.       Abfolute 

per- 


On     P  R  A  Y  E  il>  1:99. 

jperfedion  of  nature  and  charadler,  and 
complete  excellence,  muft  be  the  pro^ 
pereft  objedls  of  acknowledgment  and 
efteem.  Worflilp  and  adoration  muft. 
be  due  to  the  Being  who  made  us,  and 
who  poffefles  infinite  power,  wifdom,.  and 
goodnefs.  He  who  is  fupreme  over  all 
beings  ought  to  receive  the  homage  of  all. 

The   obligation    to  the  next  p^rt   of 
prayer,  or  thankfgiving  for  the  mercies 
we  enjoy,  is  as  evident  as  the  obligation 
to   gratitude   in   general.     There   is  no 
clearer   principle   of    reafon,    than    that 
thankfulnefs  i&  due  for  benefits  received; 
and  if  that  perfon.  adls  wropg,  who  is  not 
grateful  to  human  benefacflors,    or  who 
does  not  ftudy  in  a  proper  manner  to 
teftify  his  gratitude,  it  is  not  pofiible  that 
he  can  be  innocent  who  is  void  of  grati- 
tude to  the  Deity ;  or  who  neglefts  to  offer 
up  thankful  acknowledgments  to  the  Be- 
ing to  whom  he  owes  all  he  />,    all  he 
^as,  and  all  h^  hopes  f()r\ 

0  A  The 


200 


On     P  R   A   Y   E 


The  propriety  alfo  of  the  third  part 
of  prayer,  or  of  a  penitential  confeilion 

of  our  guilt,   is  very  obvious. As  far, 

therefore,  as  thefe  conftitute  Prayer  there 
feems  no  room  for  queftioning  its  reafon- 
ablenefs  :  And  it  iliould  be  remembered 
that  in  reality  they  are  very  important 
parts  of  Prayer. 

It  w^ill,  however,  be  obje6ted  pro- 
bably by  fome,  that  all  that  feems  ne- 
celTary  in  thefe  inftances  is  a  fenfe  of  the 
Divine  goodnefs,  and  of  our  dependent 
and  guilty  ftate^  and  that  where  this 
fenfe  and  the  proper  reverent,  grateful, 
and  penitent  difpofitions  are  found,  there 
can  be  no  occafion  for  what  is  meant  by 
Prayer. 

I  anfwer ;  that  it  is  plainly  proper  not 
only  that  we  fhould  pollefs  thefe  difpofi- 
tionsy  but  that  they  fliould  be  drawa 
forth  into  cxerctfey  and  expreJJ'ed' hy  par^ 
ticular  a£ts  before  the  Deity.  Good  dif- 
pofitions,  when  not    attended  with    the 

adts 


0)1     P  R   A  Y  E  R,  201 

ads  which  are  the  proper  expreffions  of 
them,  muft  be  defed:ive.  Gratitude 
and  repentance  lead  us  in  all  cafes  to 
grateful  and  penitential  acknowledg- 
ments. When  in  their  due  ftrength, 
they  always  produce  thefe ;  and  it  is 
plainly  fit  they  fhould. — It  is  incumbent 
upon  us  to  teftify  our  regards  to  the 
Deity  in  the  beft  manner  we  can ;  but 
it  would  be  abfurd  in  any  perfon  to  pre- 
tend he  does  this,  who  refts  in  con- 
templation, and  avoids  all  diredl  praife 
and  worfhip* 

The  laft  part  of  Prayer  I  mentioned 
was,  offering  up  our  defires '  of  favour 
and  happinefs  for  ourfelves  and  others. 
This  is  what  is  mofl:  properly  ftiled 
Prayer  y  and  it  is  what  has  been  mofl: 
objeded  to,  and  what  therefore  fhali 
be  now  particularly  examined.  The  dif- 
ficulties which  have  been  raifed  about 
it,  would,  I  believe,  have  been  little 
regarded  had  more  attention  been  given 
to  the  native  and  uncorrupted  did:ates  of 

the 


202  On     P  R  A  V  E  R. 

the  human  mind  on  this  fubjeft.  What 
is  evident  if  it  be  not  fo,  that  what  we 
want  from  God  it  is  fit  we  fhould 
humbly  implore  from  him  ?  What  com- 
mon and  unperverted  underftanding  can 
doubt,  whether  there  is  a  propriety  in 
alking  for  the  bleffings  and  benefits  which 
we  muft  owe  to  his  bounty  ?  Is  it  pof- 
fible  that,  if  we  negleft  this,  it  fhould 
be  equally  fit  that  we  fhould  be  made 
happy  by  him  ?  Who  can  help  feeing 
that  devout  fupplicants  are  more  proper 
objects  of  favour  than  thofe  who  never 
pray,  though  it  fliould  be  fuppofed  pof- 
fible  that,  in  other  refpeds,  their  qua- 
lifications  may   be    alike  ? In   fhort  i 

the  ad:  of  addrefling  our  defires  to  God 
for  the  benefits  which  are  necefTary  to  our 
happinefs,  implies  in  it  that  itXii.Q  of  our 
dependence  upon  him,  and  that  acknow^ 
ledgment  of  his  dominion  which  render 
it  felf-evidently  proper.  The  fitnefs  of 
it  is  i.nmediately  perceived  by  the  lowefl 
as  well  as  the  highefl  underflanding ; 
and  the  force  of  nature  and  reafon  wiU 

extort 


On     P  R  A  Y  E  R.  203 

extort  It  from  every  mind  that  poffeffes  a 
juil  fenfe  of  piety. 

But  let  us  attend  to  the  objections  that 
have  been  urged. 

In  the  firft  place;  it  has  been  faid, 
««  that  there  can  be  no  reafon  for  Prayer, 
"  becaufe  God,  being  omnifdenf^  needs 
**  not  to  be  informed  of  our  wants ; 
*«  and  being  unchangeable y  none  of  our 
**  fupplications  can  be  the  means  of 
"  making  any  alteration  in  him,  or  of 
"  obtaining  from  him  any  benefits." 


;iiip  .♦.,»ii# 


Before  I  confider  this  and  the  other 
objedlions  commonly  infifted  on  againft 
Prayer,  I  mufl  beg  leave  to  recommend 
to  particular  notice,  that  I  affert  that 
there  is  an  immediate  propriety  or  fitnefs 
in  fupplicating  the  Deity  for  the  blef- 
fings  w^e  want.  For  the  truth  of  this 
I  appeal  to  every  man's  confcience. 
No  words   can  make  it  plainer  than  it 

tnuft  appear  by  its  own  light. Now 

the 


204  On    Prayer. 

the  defign  of  all  juft  objedions  againft 
Prayer  ought  to  be,  to  fhew  that  there 
is  indeed  no  fuch  immediate  propriety  in 
the  adt  of  fupplication ;  nor  can  any 
objeftions  which  have  not  this  tendency, 
or  which  fuppofe  that  there  is  no  fuch 
propriety,   be  of  the  leaft  confequencCi 

Keeping  this  then  in  remembrance, 
let  us  confider  the  objedlion  juft  men- 
tioned.  The  firft  part   of  it,  or  the 

affertion,  that  God,  being  omnifcient, 
needs  not  to  be  informed  of  our  wants, 
is  entirely  impertinent.  For  no  one  ever 
faid  that  the  defign  of  Prayer  was  to  in- 
form the  Deity  of  what  he  did  not  know. 
The  plain  defign  of  it  is,  to  obtain  for 
ourfelves  the  bleflings  we  pray  for.  This 
is  what  every  one  niuft  mean  whenever 
he  prays.  'Tis  implied  in  the  very  idea 
of  the  adlion,  that  we  think  it  has  a 
tendency  to  procure  for  us  what  we  fup- 
plicate.  This  tendency  is  founded  on  the 
propriety  which  I  have  faid  there  is  in  afk- 
ing  for  the  benefits  we  want.  Hence  afk- 
4  ing 


0/2      P  R  A   Y  E  R.  205 

ing  becomes  a  means  of  having,  and  is  uni- 

verfally  fo  confidered. In  other  words; 

afking,  in  a  proper  manner,  for  bleffings 
from  Gpd  has  a  tendency  to  procure 
them  for  us,  becaufe  it  is  doing  what  is 
fit  to  be  done  \  and  what,  therefore,  God 
cannot  but  exped  and  require  us  to  do 
as  a  condition  of  our  having  them. 

Let  us  now  confider  what   regard   is 
due  to  what  is  faid  in  oppofition  to  this 

in  the  latter  part  of  the  objedion. 

*«  God,  'tis  faid,  is  unchangeable ;  and, 
^*  therefore,  no  prayers  can  be  the  means 
f' of  making  any  alteration  in  him,  or 
<*  of  caufing  him  to  bellow  any  bleffings, 
**  which  he   would   not   have  beftowed 

f*  without  them." 1    anfwer^    'tis 

true,  indeed,  that  our  prayers  can  make 
no  alteration  in  the  Deity ;  that  is,  in 
his  nature y  charaBery  or  difpojitions ,  But 
they  may  make  an  alteration  in  the  ex-* 
ternaL  effedis  of  his  agency,  or  in  his 
manner  of  treating  us.  Nay,  they  mujl 
make  fuch   an  alteration  if  they  at  all 

alter 


2o6  Ofl     P  R  A  Y  E  K. 

elter  our  qualifications  ^  or  if  offering 
them  up  is  the  performance  of  a  duty, 
or  doing  what  is  proper  to  be  done. — 
The  diftinftion  between  the  perfedions 
of  God  confidered  as  piinciples  or  difpo- 
fitions  in  his  nature,  and  the  exercife  of 
them  in  a  courfe  of  outward  adlions,  tho* 
an  obvious  and  ufeful  diftindtion,  many 
feem  entirely  to  forget.  An  affertion  may 
be  very  juft  when  undcrftood  of  the  lat- 
ter of  thefe,  which  would  be  very  wrong 

when  underftood  of  the   former. 

Thus,  in  the  prefent  cafe,  though  it 
would  be  improper  to  fay,  that  God  may 
be  rendered  more  propitious  or  favour- 
able in  dijpofition  to  his  creatures  by  any 
thing  they  can  do ;  yet,  furely,  he  may 
be  rendered  more  propitious  or  favour- 
able in  aS  to  them.  That  is ;  their 
ailtions  may  be  the  means  of  many  effedls 
of  his  favour  to  them.  They  may  avert 
the  confequences  of  his  difpleafurc,  and 
procure  bleflings  for  them  which  they 
would  other  wife  never  have  had. 

'Tis 


On  Prayer.  207 

,     'Tis   worth  adding,   that  as   we   may 
thus  by  our  aftions  obtain  bleffings  for 
our/elves  from  the  Deity,  confiftently  with 
his  immutabihty ;   fo,   Hkewife,   may  we 
for  others.     Or,    what  fome  Beings  do 
for   their  fellow-beings,    their   benevo- 
lence, labours,  and  virtue  may  influence, 
though   not  properly  the  Divine  perfec- 
tions, yet   the  exercife  of  them.     They 
may   fupply    reafons  to  infinite    wifdom 
for  favouring  others,    and  obtain  eflfefts 
of  Divine  goodnefs  for  them  which  they 
might  elfe  have  wanted. — — But  to  re- 
turn.    If  it   be   really   proper   that  wc 
ihould  humbly   apply    to   God   for   the 
mercies  we  need  from  him,   it  muft  be 
alfo  proper  that  a  regard  fhould   be  paid 
tofuch  applications,  and  that  there  fliould 
be    a  different  treatment  of  thofe  who 
make  them  and  thofe  who  do  not ;   and 
it  muft  be  exceeding  frivolous  to  objed, 
that    this    would    imply    changeablenefs 
in  the  Deity.     God's  unchangeablenefs, 
when  confidered  in  relation  to  the  exer- 
tion of  his  attributes  in  the  government 

of 


2oS  On    Prayer. 

of  the  world,  conlifts,  certainly,  not  in 
always  ading  in  the  fame  manner  how- 
ever cafes  and  circumflances  alter;  but 
in  always  doing  what  is  right,  ^nd  va- 
rying his  condudl  according  to  the  various 
aftions,  charadiers,  and  difpofitions  of 
Beings.  If  then  prayer  makes  an  altera- 
tion in  the  cafe  of  the  fupplicant,  as  be- 
ing the  difcharge  of  an  indifpenlible  du- 
ty ;  what  w^culd,  in  truth,  infer  change- 
ablenefs  in  him,  would  be,  not  his  re- 
garding and  anfwering  it,  but  his  not 
doing  this.     , 

Hence,  'tis  eafy  to  fee  that  the  notice 
which  God  may  be  pleafed  to  take  of 
our  prayers  by  granting  us  blefiings  in 
anfwer  to  them,  is  not  to  be  coniidered 
as  an  yielding  to  importunity y  but  ^s  one 
injlance  of  his  ading  agreeably  to  reafon, 
or  his  fuiting  his  dealings  with  us  to  our 
conduft.  Nor  does  it  imply  that  he  is 
backward  to  do  us  good,  and,  therefore, 
wants  to  be  follicited  to  it.  This  is  no 
more  implied  in  the  cafe  of  Prayer,  than 

in 


On    Pray  e  R;  209 

in  that  of  repentance,  or  any  other  in- 
flance  of  good  condiidt,  wb.en  confidered 
as  obtaining  for  us  bleffings  and  favour. 
God  is  always  ready  to  do  us  all  poiiible 
good ;  but  there  are  certain  conditions 
on  the  performance  of  which  the  effedls 
of  his  goodnefs  to  us  are  fufpended. 
There  is  fomething  to  be  done  by  us 
before  we  can  be  proper  objeds  of  his 
favour  ^  or  before  it  can  be  fit  for  him 
and  confiilent  with  the  meafures  of  his 
government  to  grant  us  particular  bene- 
fits. We  have  a  part  to  aft,  and  duties 
to  difcharge,  which,  if  negledred,  can- 
not but  deprive  us  of  his  protection,  and 
leave  us  dellitute  and  unhappy. 

But    I   have,    perhaps,    beftov/ed    too 

much  time  on  this  objedtion. Let  us 

then  proceed  to  another  on  which  great 
ftrefs  has  been  laid.  **  Before  we  pray 
*'  we  are  either  worthy  to  receive  v/hat 
"  we  pray  for,  or  we  are  not.  If  we 
'*  are  worthy,  'tis  needlefs  to  pray  becaufe 
**  we  fhall  have  v/hat  is  proper  to  be 
P  *'  given 


210  On     P  RAVER. 

*'  given  us,  whether  we  pray  for  it  or 
*^  not.  If  we  are  imworthyy  no  prayers 
*'  can  be  of  any  avail." 

The  weaknefs  of  this  objedtion  will 
be  obvious  to  any  one  who  will  apply 
it  to  a  parallel  cafe,  and  fuppofe  it  urged 
againil:  repentance,  or  any  other  duty, 
when  confidered  as  a  means  of  procuring 
bleffings  for  us.  *'  Before  w^e  repent  (it 
"  might  be  faid)  it  is  either  fit  we 
**  fl:iould  receive  bleffings  from  the  Deity, 
**  or  it  is  not.  If  it  is  fit,  we  fliall  re- 
*'  ceive  them,  whether  we  repent  or  not; 
*^  for  God  v^ants  nothing  to  engage  him 
*'  tO  do  what  is  fit.  If  it  is  not  fit, 
*^  our  repentance  can  be  of  no  avail."-— 
-pEvery  one  will  acknowledge  the  in- 
tolerable abfurdi ty  of  fuch  a  way  of  ar- 
guing againil  repentance,  and  fee  that 
the  full  anfwer  to  it  is,  that  before  re- 
pentance it  may  be  unfit  that  we  ihould 
be  favoured   by   the    Deity,  but   that  it  ] 

may  become  fit  upo?i  repentance. In 

like  manner,  the  full  anfwer  to  th-e  pre*. 

fent 


On     P  R   A   -i'  E  R .  2  11 

feiit  objection  againft  Prayer  is,    that  be- 
/ore  Prayer  we   may   be    unworthy,    and 
that  Prayer  may  be    the  very  thing    that 
makes  us  worthy.     Before  v/e  pray  it  may 
be  unfit  to  beftow  particular  bleflings  up- 
on us,   and  it  may  be  therefore  fit   to  be- 
ftow  them    becaufe   we   pray   for   them. 
That  this  is  true  is  undeniable,    if  there 
is  an   immediate  reditude   in  afeing   for 
bleffings  from  the  Deity;    for  hence,   as 
was    before    obferved,   it    becomes  itfelf 
one  cojtdition  of  having,   one  circumftance 
in  our  characters  that  contributes  to  ren- 
der us  proper   objeds  of  favour,  or    one 
part  of  condu(fl  which  cannot  be  negleft- 
ed    without    negleding   what  is  reldbn- 
able,  without  negletling  virtue  and  duty, 
and  fo  far  difqualifying  ourfelves  for  re- 
ceiving   bleffings Suppofe  two   per^ 

fons,  in  other  refpeds  of  like  qualifica- 
tions, one  of  v/hom  makes  cOnfcience  of 
frequently  and  feriouily  addreffing  his 
wilhes  to  the  Deity  for  mercy  and  hap- 
pinefs.  The  other  entirely  omits  this, 
and  never  puts  up  any  fuppiications  to 
him*  Is  it  likely  that  both  thefe  perfons 
P   2  ^      will 


212  0;2      P  R   A   Y  £  R. 

will  be  treated  alike  ?  Does  not  the  one 
do  right y  and  the  other  do  wrong  ?  Does 
not  the  one  a<ft  as  becomes  a  dependent 
Being,  and  the  other  as  if  he  was  inde- 
pendent ?  May  not  the  prayers  of  the 
one,  as  being  in  themfelves  reafonabk 
ad:s  and  proper  acknowledgments  of  de- 
pendence and  indigence,  be  eflicacious 
towards  procuring    for  him  fome  effefts 

of  particular  favour  ? On  the  whole ; 

hov/  evident  is  it  that  this  objection,  like 
the  former,  does  not  prove  but  fuppofe 
that  Prayer  is  not  reafonable  ? 

It  has  been  further  objected,  that  me- 
ditation alone  may  anfwer  all  the  purpofes 
of  Prayer,  by  fixing  in  our  minds  all 
thofe  good  fentiments  which  are  exprefTed 
by  it ;  and  that  therefore  it  cannot  be  a 
neceffary  duty. 

As  a  reply  to  this   it  might  be  faid, 

that  meditation  alone  cannot  fo  well  and 

fo  effedually  anfwer  this  end.     But  the 

moll:  proper  reply   is,    that    it  goes    on 

I  the 


On    Prayer.  213 

the  falfe  fuppofition  that  Prayer  is  reafon- 
able  only  on  account  of  the  good  effects 
produced  by  it  in  our  minds.  There 
is  belides,  I  have  faid,  an  immeduite  pro- 
priety in  it.  It  is  in  it/elf  a  duty,  hke 
gratitude  or  veracity,  independently  of  its 
confequences.  It  is  not  only  an  exprej- 
Jion  or  declaration  of  good  fe)itiinents, 
but  the  immediate  exerci/e  of  them  in  di- 
red:  and  explicit  ad:s. 

But  ftill  it  may  be  pleaded,  *^  that  the 
*^  difpofitions  orfentiments  from  which 
"  Prayer  fhould  proceed  are,  in  ftrid:- 
**  nefs,  all  that  can  be  neceilary ;  and 
**  that  'tis  very  unlikely  that,  while 
*^  deeply  fenfible  of  our  need  of  mercy 
*'  from  God  and  our  dependence  upon 
*^  him,  and  pofleirmg  the  mofl  fervent 
*'  defires  of  his  favour  and  the  moft 
<*  humble  and  pious  difpofitions,  we 
**  fhould  fuffer  merely  on  account  of 
**  our  omitting  all  formal  fupplications, 
**  which,  when  confidered  as  direded 
^*  to  a  Being  who  perfectly  knows  our 
P   3  ''  defires. 


214     •  0;J      P  R  A   Y   E   R, 

*'  defircs,    and    who    wants    nothing    to 

*«  enp-ase   him   to  fulfil  them   as  far  as 

''  is  proper,  look  more   like   ceremoni- 

"  ous  impertinences    than    ads   of  real 

**  duty." 

What  is  fug£;eR-ed  in  the  latter  part 
of  this  objedlion  has  been  confidered 
before.  One  can  really  fcarce  think  it 
T'Ciiiblc  for  an  unprejudiced  underftand- 
ii'.g  ferioufly  to  determine,  that  addreffing 
our  defires  of  good  to  an  omniprefent 
Peity,  or  fupplicating  him  for  benefits, 
is  an    impcrtincnccy    and    not  a  reafonablq 

and  proper  aB. With    refpeci:   to  the. 

former  part  of  the  objecftion,  'tis  enough 
to  fay,  that  defires  and  fentiments  are  far 
from  bchig  clone  fufficient  in  any  cafe» 
'Tis  the  acts  in  which  they  fliew  them- 
felves  that  give  them  their  worth  and 
acceptablcnefs.  No  pious  defires  and 
fentinients  can  be  what  they  ought  to 
be,  \yhich  do  not  carry  us  to  the  adts 
that  are  exprefTive  of  them,  and  ifTue 
ia  devotion,  Befidesthe  defires  and  fen--. 
^  timents^ 


On    Prayer.  215 

tlments,  the  ad:s  themfelves,  as  was 
before  obferved,  are  proper.  Indeed,  it 
is  not  conceivable  that  thefe  can  be  fe* 
parated.  He  who  has  the  feehngs  that 
become  a  creature  and  a  fmner  will  not 
flop  at  inadtive  defires  and  reflexions. 
A  convidion  of  indigence  and  dependence 
which  has  no  effed:  in  turning  the  foul 
towards  heaven,  and  engaging  it  to  diredt 
its  defires  to  him  who  alone  can  fulfil 
them,  is  as  real  a  contradiftion  as  a  gra- 
titude or  benevolence  which  produces  no 

ads  of  gratitude   and   benevolence. . 

He  that  is  poffefled  with  proper  affec- 
tions to  the  Deity  will  feel  the  reafcn- 
ablenefs  of  Prayer :  He  will  be  neceffa- 
rily  difpofed  to  it,  and  incapable  of  re- 
frainins:  from  it  without  dolns:  violence 
to  hinifelf.  A  perfon  who,  with  due 
attention  and  a  right  temper,  confiders 
God  as  his  maker  and  preferver,  the 
parent  of  the  univerfe,  the  difpofer  of 
all  blefTmgs,  and  the  fource  of  all  hap- 
pinefs,  cannot  fail  to  dired  his  heart  to 
P  4  him 


2l6  0/7      P  R    A  Y  E  R. 

him  in  humble  aPxd  fervent  fupplications. 
The  love  of  God  in  the  foul  and  prayer 
arc  fo  infeparably  conneded  that  they 
are  almoft  the  fame.  No  one  who  has 
a  juft  perception  of  the  dependence  of 
all  things  upon  God,  and  is  pierced 
with  a  fenfe  of  the  amiablenefs  and  ex- 
cellence of  his  nature,  can  help  falling 
down  before  him  in  prayer  and  adoration. 
No  one  who  knows  what  he  has  done 
to  offend  him,  who  fees  himfelf  loft 
without  his  protedion,  and  is  duly  con- 
fcious  of  his  innumerable  wants,  can 
avoid  flying  to  him  for  fuccour  and  mer- 
cy. One  proof  of  this  arifes  from  the 
fadl,  that  there  are  few  who,  in  times 
of  danger  or  any  particular  emergencies 
and  difliculties,  do  not  neceffarily  look 
up  to  God  for  help.  'Tis  the  voice  of 
nature  at  thefe  times  that  God  is  to  be 
prayed  to ;  and  indeed,  in  general,  at  all 
times,  it  appears  to  be  the  irrefiftible 
fcnfe  of  mankind  that  Prayer  is  reafonable. 
There  is   as   much    a   tendency    in  our 

natures 


0/2     P  R   A   Y   E   R.  217 

natures  to  devotion  as  to  food  or  focietv. 
Our  native  bent  lies  evidently  this  way, 
which  never  fails  to  difcover  itfelf  in  the 
moft  irreligious  people,  when  calamities 
or  death  threaten  them. 

To  the  perform  then  who  alledges,  that 
ferious  arid  frequent  meditation  joined 
with  pious  affeftions  and  defires,  is  all 
that  can  be  our  duty,  and  that  every 
thing  beyond  is  mere  ceremony  and  folly; 
it  will  be  proper  to  reply  by  aJkino-- 
**  Do  you  indeed  pradife  fuch  medita- 
**  tion  ?  Do  you  poflefs  thefe  pious  af- 
'^  fecftions  and  defires,  and  ftudy  to 
**  cherifh  them  by  all  proper  means  ? 
^*  Do  you  often  fet  yourfelf  to  think  of 
"  the  Deity,  to  contemplate  his  perfec- 
^^  tions,  to  recoiled:  his  mercies,  and 
**  to  endeavour  to  affedt  your  mind  with 
*'  a  fenfe  of  your  abfolute  dependence 
**  upon  him  ?  Can  you  truly  fay  that 
"  you  live  and  aft  under  the  power  of 
^*  religious  principles  and  fentiments  ?" — 

I 


21  8  0/2     P  R  A  Y  E  R. 

I  may  venture  to  pronounce  that  you 
cannot  anfwer  in  the  affirmative.  'Tis, 
therefore,  impertinent  to  make  fuch  an 
objedion;  nor  are  you  properly  qualified 
to  underltand  the  full  force  of  the  an- 
fwer to  it  ^. 

Should 

"^  "  Gratitude,  love,  and  edeem  are  aife^lions 
*'  which  decline  concealment  v/hen  they  are  lively. 
*'  We  are  naturally  prone  to  exprefs  them,  even 
*'  though  they  give  no  new  happinefs  to  their  obje£t." 
See  the  chapter  on  the  ivorJI/ip  due  to  the  Deity  in  Dr\ 
HuUhinfoiis  Syjh-m  of  Moral  Philofcphy^  Vol.  I.   Page 

217. 

— *'  The  human  mind  feels  a  powerful  impulfe 
*'  urging  it  forward  to  beg  God  to  beftow  what  it 
*'  wiflies  for  with  vehemence:  And  this  very  argu- 
^'  ment  which  is  urged  againft  the  lifting  up  holy 
<'  defires  to  God  (viz.  that  he  is  infmite  in  goodnefs, 
<'  and  willing  to  gratify  them)  is  a  principal  motive 
*'  ipr  offering  them  up  \  and  makes  it  impoflible  for 
*'  a  well-difpofed  mind  to  abftain  from  it."  Dr^ 
Lcechmmis  Sermon  on  Prayer. 

The  impulfe  mentioned  here  and  above,  urging  us 
to  addrefs  our  defires  of  happinefs  to  God,  being 
plainly  natural,  is  to  be  confidered  as  a  direction  to 
pray  from  the  author  of  nature.  The  impoffibility 
q{  avoiding  it,  where  there  are  juft  affciSlions  to  the 
Deity,   is  founded  not  only  on  this  natural  impulfe, 

but 


0;^      P  R   A  Y  E   R.  219 

Should  it  be  again  ajfked,  whether  a 
Being  would  be  lefs  favoured  by  the 
Deity  on  account  of  his  omitting  Prayer, 
fuppofing  this  omiffion  to  proceed  from 
nothing  but  a  perfuafion  of  its  impro- 
priety :  It  would  be  proper  to  give  the 
fame  anfwer,  as  might  be  given  to  the 
fame  queftion,  fuppofed  to  be  aiked  con- 
cerning the  omiffion  of  any  other  moral 
duty  from  the  fame  convidtion. 

Once  more.  It  may  be  faid,  that 
'*  the  courfe  of  things  is  unalterable; 
"  and  that,  therefore,  no  anfwers  to 
^'  Prayer  can  be  expe'ded,  without  fup^ 
*'  pofmg  God  to  work  miracles  for  us, 
"  or  to  break  in  upon  the  general  laws 
''  and  fettled  order  of  the  world." ^ 

but  alfoon  a  fitnefs  which  In  this  cafe  is  palpable  to 
every  perfon,  To  repeat  defires  in  our  minds,  being 
at  the  fame  time  fenfible  that  the  fupremc  difpofer  of 
our  lot  ftands  by  us  and  obferves  them,  without  ever 
(lireding  them  to  him,  or  looking  to  him  for  the 
accomplifhment  of  them;  this  implies  a  neglea 
of  the  giver  of  all  good,  fo  repugnant  to  the  fenti- 
ments  of  the  human  heart  and  fo  criminal^  as  to  be 
abfolutely  incompatible  whh  right  difpofitions. 

This 


220  On    Prayer. 

This  objeftion   has    been    diftindly   an- 
fwered  in  the  Differtation  on  Prdvidence, 
to  which   therefore    I   muft    refer  *.     I 
fhall    only    obferve    here,    that  under  a 
perfect  government   there  cannot  be  any 
fuch    general    laws,    as    are    inconfiftent 
with  every  perfon's  being  treated  agree- 
ably  to  what  he  is  and  does;   and   that, 
confequently,  fince  the  difcharge  or  neg- 
lect of  the  duty  of  Prayer  is   one  impor- 
tant circumftance  that  goes  towards  de- 
termining  the   charad:ers  and  deferts  of 
Beings,  there  can  be  no  fuch  laws  in  na- 
ture as  render  it  necefiary,  that  reafon- 
{ible  Beings  fliould  be  treated  in  the  fame 
manner  whether  they  pray  or  not.     This, 
indeed,   is   itfelf  the  principal   law   and 
the   immutable   order  of  the  Divine  ad- 
miniflration,    ^*  that  all  Beings  fliall,  on 
**  the  whole,  receive  according:  to  their 
"  works :"  And  it  is  of  but  little  weight 
in  oppofition  to  this,   that  we  cannot  fee 
diftindly   in   what  manner   the    laws  of 

*  Page    177,  &c. 

the 


On     P  R  A  Y  E  R.  221 

the  world  operate  towards  bringing  it 
about  as  the  great  end  of  God's  govern- 
ment, and  the  laft  iflue  of  all  prefent 
events. 

Hitherto,  I  have  confined  myfelf  to 
the  confideration  of  Prayer  for  otirjehcs. 
It  may  be  thought  that  fomething  fur- 
ther ought  to  be  faid  in  defence  of  pray- 
ing for  others. **  For  what  influence, 

*'  it. may  be  faid,  can  our  prayers  have 
"  on  the  ftate  of  others  ?  What  benefit 
**  can  they  receive  from  our  intercef- 
**  fions  ?  Is  it  to  be  conceived  that  God, 
*^  like  weak  men,  may  be  perfuaded 
«'  by  the  importunity  of  one  perfon  to 
*'  beftow  on  another  any  bleffings  which 
'*  he  would  not  elfe  have  beftov/ed, 
^^  and  for  the  reception  of  w^hich  no 
"  importunity  can  render  him  more 
^'  qualified  ?" 

The  proper  anfwer  to  this  will  appear 
if  we  confider,  that  it  is  by  no  means 

neceffary 


222  O;^     P  R  A  Y  E   R* 

nec^flaiy  to  fuppofe  that  the  treatment 
M'hich  Beings  Ihall  receive  depends,  in 
all  cafes,  folely  on  what  they  are  in 
themfelves.  This,  without  doubt,  is 
what  the  univerfal  Governor  ch'ejly  re- 
gards ;  but  it  is  not  a//.  And  tho'  there 
are  fome  benefits  of  fuch  a  nature,  that 
no  means  can  obtain  them  for  Beings 
w4io  have  not  certain  quahfications,  there 
are  other  benefits  which  one  Being  may 
obtain  for  another,  or  for  which  he  may 
be  indebted  entirely  to  the  kind  offices 
of  his  fellow- creatures*  An  advantage 
may  become  proper  to  be  granted  to  an-^ 
other,  in  coniequence  of  fome  circum-* 
fiances  he  mav  be  in,  or  fome  relations 
in  which  he  may  lland  to  others,  which, 
abftraded  from  fuch  cireumftances  and 
relations,  would  not  have  been  proper  ** 
Nothing  is  more  intelligible  than  this, 
or  happens  more  frequently  in  the  com- 
mon courfe  of  affairs  and  events.  The 
whole  fcheme  of  nature  feems  indeed  to  be 
contrived  on  purpofe   in  fuch   a  manner, 

*  See  before,  page  207, 


On   Prayer.  223 

as  that  Beings  might  have  it  in  their  pow- 
er,  in    numberlefs   ways,     to    blefs    one 
another.     No  attentive   perfon  can  con- 
fider  without  furprize  how  precarious  the 
ftate  of  men  in  particular  is  left,  and  how 
dependent  their  moft  important  intereils 
are  made  on  their  condud:  to  one  another* 
One    end    of    this    conftitution    appears 
plainly  to  be,   to  give  us  room  and  fcope 
for    the   exercife   of  beneficence.     And, 
'in   general,  it   is  obvious  that    had    the 
ftate  and  happinefs  of  Beings  been  made 
otherwife  than  precarious  and  dependent 
in  the  manner  we  find    them,    all  poffi- 
bility    of  this   virtue,  and    confequently 
the  fublimeft  part  of  rational  and  mora! 
happinefs,    would    have    been    excluded 
from   the  creation  '^^ 

But  not  to  infift  on  this.  'Tis  (ui^^ 
ficient  for  my  purpofe,  that  the  general 
fad  is  certain ;  that  Beings  may,  in  va- 
rious ways,  be  the  procuring  caufes  of 

*  See  the  Diflertaticn  on  Providence,  page  laS, 

good 


224  On    Prayer* 

good  to  one  another.  So  true  is  this,. 
that  almoft  all  our  happinefs  is  conveyed 
to  us,  not  immediately  from  God's  hands, 
but  by  the  inftrumentality  of  our  fel- 
low-beings, or  through  them  as  the 
channels  of  his  beneficence,  in  fuch  a 
{txii^y  that  had  it  not  been  for  their 
benevolence  and  voluntary  agency,  we 
Ihould  have  for  ever  wanted  the  blef- 
lings  we   enjoy. 

Let  us  now  apply   thefe  obfervations 

to  the  cafe  of  Prayer  for  others. 

Why  may  not  this  be  one  thing  that 
may  alter  a  cafe,  and  be  a  reafon 
with  the  Divine  Being  for  fhewing 
favour  ?  Why,  by  praying  for  one  an- 
other, may  Ave  not,  as  in  many  other- 
ways,  be  ufeful  to  one  another  ?  Why 
may  not  the  univerfal  Father,  in  con- 
fideration  of  the  humble  and  benevolent 
interceffions  of  fome  of  his  children 
for  others,  be  pleafed  often,  in  the  courfe 
of  his  Providence,  to  direct  events  for 
the  advantage  of  the  perfons  interceded 

for 


On    Prayer.  225 

fDr  in  a  manner  that  would  not  other- 
wife  have  been  done  ? -No  truly  bene- 
volent and  pious  man  can  help  lifting 
up  his  heart  to  the  Deity  in  behalf  of 
his  fellow-creatures.  No  one  whofe 
breaft  is  properly  warmed  with  kind 
wKhes  to  his  brethren  about  him, 
and  who  feels  within  himfelf  earnefl 
deiires  to  do  them  all  pofiible  good, 
can  avoid  offering  up  his  kind  wiflies 
and  defires  to  the  common  Bene- 
fador  and  Ruler,  who  knows  v/hat 
is  beft  for  every  Being,  and  who  can 
make  thofe  we  love  infinitely  happy. 
In  reality;  fupplications  to  the  Deity 
for  our  friends  and  kindred,  and  all 
in  whofe  welfare  >/e  are  concerned,  are 
no  lefs  natural  than  fupplications  for 
otirfelves.  And  are  they  not  alfo  rea- 
foriablc  ?  What  is  there  in  them  that  is 
not  worthy  the  mofl  exalted  benevolence  ? 
May  it  not  be  fit  that  a  wife  and  good 
Being  lliould  pay  a  regard  to  them  ? 
And  may  not  the  regarding  and  anfwer- 


226  0/?     P  R  A  Y  E  R. 

ing  them,  and,  in  general,  granting  blef- 
fings  to  ibme,  on  account  of  the  virtue 
of  others,  be  a  proper  method  of  en- 
couraging and  honouring  virtue,  and 
of  rewarding  the  benevolence  of  Be- 
ines  to  one  another  ? Perhaps,  in- 
deed, it  may  not  be  eafy  to  conceive  how 
much  regard  is  paid,  in  the  difpofals  of 
Providence,  to  the  benevolent  defires  and 
virtue  of  fome  Beings  in  the  treatment 
of.  others.  Perhaps,  there  may  not  be 
a  better  way  of  encouraging  righteoufnefs 
in  the  creation,  than  by  making  it  as  much 
as  poffible  the  caufc  of  happinefs  not 
only  to  the  agent  himfelf,  but  to  all  con-t 
necled  vv^ith  him.  There  is  no  virtuous 
Being  who  would  not,  in  many  circum- 
ftances,  chufe  to  be  rewarded  with  a 
grant  of  bleflings  to  his  fellow-beings 
rather  than   to  himfelf. 

Thefe  obfervations  feem  to  me  fuffi- 
cient  to  defend  Prayer  for  others,  and 
to  fliew  that  it  may  have  an  eftedl  on 
their   condition.      Were  it   true  indeed 

that 


On     ?  R  A  Y  E  k.  227 

that  it  could  have  no  fuch  effed:,  as  hav- 
ing of  itfelf  no  influence  on  the  charac- 
ters or  perfonal  quahfications  of  thofe 
prayed  for,  it  v^ould   be  more. difficult  to 

defend  it. The    immediate  viev/  of 

every  one  in  praying  for  another,  as  well 
as  for  himfelf,  is  to  obtain  v/hat  he  prays 
for ;  and  did  any  one  apprehend  that  the 
ad:  of  fupplicating  the  Deity  for  others 
has  no  tendency  to  be  of  any  advantage 
to  them,  I  cannot  fee  what  could  ever 
lead  him  to  it.  No  one,  I  fuppofe,  will 
affert  that  what  we  mean  by  addreffing 
our  defires  to  the  Deity  for  otkej's  is  feme 
benefit  to  oiirfehes.  It  muft,  therefore,  be 
wrong  to  reft  the  whole  defence  of  Prayer 
on  its  tendency  to  promote  our  moral  and 
religious  improvement.  This,  without 
doubt,  is  in  the  higheft  degree  true  of  it ; 
but  it  is  its  cffeB^  not  its  immediate  and 
direct  end. 

Several  queflions,    not   eafj/   to  be  an- 

fwered,  may   be  afl.ed'  about  the   extent 

of  the   efficacy  of  Prayer.     But  this    is 

Q_2  jiot 


228  On    Prayer. 

not  a  point  into  which  it  is  necefiary  for 
me  to  enter.  All  I  plead  for  is,  that  it 
is  not  abfiird  to  fuppofe  it  om  thing 
which  the  Deity  is  pleafed  to  regard  in 
the  communication  of  good  to  his  crea- 
tures. How  far  it  becomes  a(ftually  a 
ground  cf  favour,  or  what  anfwers  to 
it  arc  granted  in  particular  inflances,  we 
are  not  capable  of  determining.  There 
is  here,  undoubtedly,  room  for  much 
folly  and  fuperftition.  Care  fhould  be 
taken  that  neither  cur  prayers  for  our- 
felves  or  others  be  too  particular,  and 
that  we  indulge  no  ether  expediation  in 
confequence  of  them  than  that,  if  the 
fruits  of  genuine  benevolence  and  piety, 
th.ey  ihall  be  accepted  and  heard  as  far 
as  is  confiftent  w^ith  the  order  of  the 
world  and  the  purpofes  of  infinite 
wifdom* 

It  would  be  very  unreafonable  to  urge 
■on  this  occafion  an  objection  already  con- 
sidered ;  that  God  is  infinitely  good,  and 
wants  nothinr^   to  en^a^-e   him   to  i:^rant 

any 


On     P  R   A  Y   E   R.  229 

any  bleffings  to  thofe  who  are  not  impro- 
per objects  of  them.  Nothing  is  plainer 
than  that  this  may,  with  ^qual  force,  be 
urged  againfl  any  other  duty  of  natural 
religion.  The  v/hole  queflion  is,  whe- 
ther Prayer  may  not  itfelf  be  a  circum- 
ftance  creating  propriety  and  altering  a 
cafe.  For  my  part,  I  fee  no  fufScient 
reafon  for  denying  the  poffibility  of  in- 
terceiTions  or  interpofitions  which  may 
make  an  infinite  difference  in  the  cafes 
of  particular  Beings,  and  gain  the  highefl 
bleffings  for  them.— But  it  is  time  to  fi- 
nifh  this  part  of  the  defence  of  Prayer. 


CLs  SEC  T. 


230  On    Prayer 


S  E  C  T.     11. 

Of  the  hnportance    of  Prayer  as  an  in-- 
flnimental  Duty,     the   Happinefs   of  a 
devout     Temper^     and     the    particular 
Obligation  to  public  Worflnp, 

THERE  remain  fome  further  ar- 
guments, for  Prayer  of  great  weight 
which  muft  not  be  overlooked.  I  have 
hitherto  defended  it  without  any  regard 
to  its  effedls  on  our  tempers  and  lives ; 
but  it  is  neceifary  that  thefe  fliould  be 
particularly  reprefented,  in  order  more 
fully  to  recommend  and  juftify  it. — No- 
thing, certainly,  can  tend  more  to  pro- 
mote a  right  condudl  and  temper  and 
to  eflablifh  within  us  all  good  difpofitions, 
•than  this  duty  properly  difcharged.  He 
that  makes  confcience  of  frequent  'and 
ferious  Prayer  muft  live  under  an  habitual 
fenfe  of  the  prefence,  authority,  and  pro- 
I  videncQ 


On    Prayer.  231 

videncc  of  God,  and  of  his  dependence 
upon  him  and  obligations  to  him.  He 
muft  be  continually  reminding  himfelf 
of  the  moft  important  truths,  and  ex- 
citing himfelf  to  the  utmofl  care  of  his 
life.  He  muft  be  always  exerciling  re- 
pentance for  his  tranfgreffions  and  bene- 
volence to  his  fellow-creatures.  It  is 
fcarcely  poffible  for  fuch  a  man  to  be 
otherwife  than  truly  virtuous.  The  in- 
dulgence of  known  guilt,  and  a  regu- 
lar courfe  of  unafFe<fled  devotion  are  fo 
incompatible,  that  it  is  not  conceivable 
that  they  can  be  united  in   one  and   the 

fame   man. 1  acknowledge  that  there 

are  many  pretendedly  devout  people  who 
are  as  f^lfe,  fpiteful,  peevifh  and  co- 
vetous, and  in  every  refped:  as  una- 
miable  as  any  perfons  in  the  world  : 
And  the  fcandal  given  by  fuch  has,  I 
believe,  contributed  more  than  any  thing 
towards  bringing  devotion  into  difcredit. 
But  what  is  the  Devotion  of  fuch  ? 
-A  mere  lip  fervice ;  not  the  work 
of  the  foul.  The  femblance  of  devotion  ; 
0^4  not 


232  On    Prayer. 

not  the  reality.  An  abufe  of  the  AU 
mighty  3    not  genuine  woiiliip  and  piety. 

Where  the   true  fpirit  of  devotion 

prevails,  it  cannot  fail  to  render  a  man 
more  amiable,  and  to  promote  the  pu- 
rification of  his  mind.  It  will  itifie  in 
the  birth  all  wrong  tendencies;  fubdue 
the  temper  to  kindnefs  and  charity ; 
conquer  every  rebellious  inclination,  and 
form    the   heart    and    life    to    univerfai 

goodnefs.- Can  a  man  fet  himfelf  often 

to  realize  to  himfelf  the  infpediou  of 
the  Deity  and  to  adore  his  perfections, 
while  he  feels  himfelf  an  enemy  to  his 
laws  and  government  ?  Can  he  with  a 
contrite  heart  confefs  his  fms,  and  not 
refolve  tb  forfake  them  ?  Caq  he  fo  mock 
his  tremendous  Creator  as  to  feek  favour 
from  him  while  he  goes  on  to  affront 
him ;  or  to  beg  that  love  and  forgive- 
nefs  to  himfelf  which  he  is  not  willing  to 
pra(flife  to  others  ?  Can  he  pray  for  thofe 
who  difpitefully  ufe  *  hi7n  and  perfecute  him, 
and  at  the   fame    time  indulge    rancour 

*  Matt.  V.  44. 

in 


On     P  R   A  V   E   R.  23 

in  his  heart  ?  In  fliort ;  can  he  employ 
himfelf  in  turning  his  attention  fre« 
quently  to  eternal  righteoufnefs  and  good- 
nefs,  without  participating  of  fome<legTees 
of  thefe  excellencies ;  or  preferve  a  con- 
ftant  intercourfe  between  his  mind  and 
the  firft  and  beft  of  all  Beings,  without 
growing  like  to  him,  and  being  confirm- 
ed in  pious  gratitude  and  refignation  ? — 
''Tis  one  of  the  jufteft  obfervations,  that 
what  we  don't  think  of  is  the  fame  to 
us  as  if  it  did  not  exiit.  There  is  little 
or  no  difference  between  what  is  not 
confidered  and  what  is  not  believed.  It  is 
the  rcjlexion  on  what  is  believed  that  ren- 
ders it  ufeful  to  us,  and  gives  it  its 
whole  pov/er  to  influence  us.  The 
pradlice,  therefore,  of  ftated  Prayer 
muft  be  of  unfpeakable  ufe,  as  it  is 
perpetually  fixing  our  reflexions  on  thofc 
truths  which  are  the  fprings  and  fup- 
ports  of  goodnefs.  There  Is  nothing  does 
this  fo  well.  There  is  nothing  engages 
the  attention  fo  clofely  to  the  moft  im- 
portant truths,  and  confequently  nothing 

that 


234  O;^    Prayer. 

that  has  fo  much  power  to  excite  good 
afFedions,  and  to  keep  alive  and  confirm 
good  refolutions.  I  will  venture  to  add, 
that  for  this  reafon  it  muft  be  the  beft 
means  of  preparing  our  minds  for  Di- 
vine influences,  and  of  drawing  into  them 
thofe  irradiations  of  Divine  grace  which 
upright  and  pure  minds  have  reafon  to 
exped:.  When  in  the  midil  of  the  hurry 
of  life  and  full  of  its  cares,  our  minds 
are  not  properly  fufceptible  of  good  im- 
preffions.  But  when  we  retire  from 
the  world,  and  employ  ourfelves  in  the 
duties  of  devotion,  all  fenfible  objedls 
lofe  their  power;  the  tumults  of  paf- 
fion  fubiide ;  the  voice  of  the  Deity 
within  us  is  capable  of  being  heard, 
and  our  breafts  are  thrown  open  to 
heavenly  communications. 

We  may  then  lay  it  down  as  certain, 
that  Prayer  is  in  the  greateft  degree  fub- 
fervient  to  virtue,  and  productive  of  the 
higheft    advantages.      'Tis   in    this   that 

the 


0«     P  R  A  Y  E  R.  235 

the  converfion  of  the  foul  to  religious 
goodnefs  generally  firft  flieWcS  itfelf. 
'Tis  the  beft  friend  of  every  virtue,  a 
faithful  monitor  in  all  feafons,  a  pow- 
erful quickener  in  every  laudable  under- 
taking, and  one  of  the  chief  fprings  of 
that  wifdom  which  is  from  above,  and 
that  peace  which  the  world  cannot 
give. 

But  it  mufl:  be  here  attended  to,  that 
though  Prayer  is  inftrumental  to  virtue 
in  the  manner  now  reprefented,  it  is  by 
no  means  merely  an  injlriimental  duty. 
This  muft  be  acknowledged  if  what 
has  been  before  faid  is  juft.  It  appears 
to  me  unqueftionable  that  it  is  a  prime 
and  original  duty  of  natural  religion, 
which  derives  its  obligation,  not  folely 
from  its  effeds,  but  is  of  intrinfick  ob- 
ligation and   reftitude. 1    muft    add, 

that  it  is  the  higheft  poffible  recommen- 
dation of  Prayer,   that  it  is  not  only  //- 
y?^ virtue,  but  the  beji  means  oi  virtue; 
not  only  itfelf  a  duty,  but  of  the  greateft 

ufe 


236  On    Prayer. 

ufe  to  maintain  and  increafe  a  regard  to 

all  other  duties. 

What  has  been  laft  infifted  on  natu- 
rally leads  to  an  obfervation  proper  to  be 
juft  mentioned,  and  which  will  fet  the 
reafonablenefs  of  Prayer  in  a  light  fome- 
what  different  from  that  in  which  we 
have  hitherto  viewed  it.— Suppofe  that 
it  had  no  immediate  propriety  in  it,  yet 
if  it  is  fo  important  a  means  of  virtue, 
and  fo  ufeful  towards  impreffing  on  the 
mind  pious  fentiments ;  if  without  it  we 
fhould  neceflarily  grow  more  remifs  and 
earelefs,  lefs  mindful  of  the  Deity  and 
lefs  affe(3:ed  with  his  perfedions  j  this 
alone  affords  to  the  Deity  the  highefb 
reafon  for  commanding  it,  and  making 
the  regular  difcharge  of  it  a  ftanding 
law  of  his  government,  and  a  ftanding 
condition  of  his  favour. — ^ — And  as  in 
the  reprefentation  before  given  of  Pray- 
er, it  implied  no  reflexion  on  the  good- 
nefs  of  God,  to  maintain  that  he  expeds 
us  to  do  what  we  ought  to  do ;  that   is, 

addrefs 


On    Prayer,  237 

addrefs  him  and  ajk  for  bleffings  before 
we  have  them  :  So  here,  there  is  plainly 
much  lefs  reafon  for  fuch  an  objeftion  5 
our  ideas  of  Divine  goodnefs  being  not 
diminiflied  but  magnified  by  fuppofing, 
that  he  makes  folemn  adls  which  are 
conducive  to  our  higheft  perfection  ne- 
ceffary  to  our  being  favoured  by  him. 

Before  I  proceed  further,  I  cannot  help 
flopping  to  take  notice  on  this  occafion 
particularly  of  the  inter cejjiojiary  part  of 
Prayer,  as  a  moft  obvious  inflance  of 
the  tendency  of  Prayer  to  improve  us.-— 
No  one  can  avoid  feeing  how  happy  an 
effed:  this  muft  have  in  fweetening  our 
tempers,  in  reconciling  us  to  ail  about 
us,  and  cauiing  every  unfriendly  paffion 
to  die  away  vs^ithin  us.  V/e  cannot  offer 
up  prayers  to  God  for  our  fellow-men, 
without  fetting  them  before  our  minds 
in  fome  of  the  moft  engaging  lights  poffi- 
ble ;  as  partaking  of  the  fame  natures 
with  ourfelves,  liable  to  the  fame  wants 
and  fufFerings,  and  in  the  fame  he'plefs 

circumflances ; 


238  ^On    Prayer. 

circumflances ;  as  children  of  the  fame 
father,  fubjedls'  of  the  fame  all-wife 
government,  and  heirs  of  the  fame  hopes. 
He  who  prays  for  others,  with  under- 
ftanding  and  fmcerity,  muft  fee  himfelf 
on  the  fame  level  with  them  -,  he  muft 
be  ready  to  do  them  all  the  good  in  his 
power;  he  muft  be  pleafed  with  what- 
ever happinefs  they  enjoy ;  he  can  do 
nothing  to  leiTen  their  credit  or  comfort; 
and  fervent  defires  will  naturally  rife 
within  him,  while  thus  engaged,  that 
his  own  breaft  may  be  the  feat  of  all 
thofe  good  difpofitions  and  virtues  v/hich 
he  prays  that  they  may  be  bleft  with, 
Refentment  and  envy  can  never  be  in- 
dulged by  one  who,  whenever  he  finds 
himfelf  tempted  to  them,  has  recourfe 
to  this  duty,  and  fets  himfelf  to  recom- 
mend to  the  Divine  favour  the  perfons 
who  excite  within  him  thefe  paflions. 
No  defire  of  retaliation  or  revenge,  no- 
thing of  unpeaceablenefs,  ill-nature,  or 
haughtinefs  can  eafily  lliew  itfelf  in  a 
heart    kept    under    this   guard   and    dif- 

cipline. 


On  Prayer.  239 
cipline.  How  is  it  poffible  to  ufe  him  ill 
for  whom  we  are  conftant  advocates  with 
God  ?  How  excellent  a  parent  or  friend 
is  he  likely  to  make,  who  always  remem- 
bers before  God  the  concerns  and  inte- 
refts  of  his  children  and  friends,  in  the 
fame  manner  that  he  remembers  his 
own  ?  Is  there  a  more  rational  way  of  ex- 
preffing  benevolence  than  this  -,  or  a  more 
effedlual  way  of  promoting  and  enlarg- 
ing it  ? Nothing  is  more  deiirable  or 

more  delightful  than  to  feel  ourfelves 
continually  under  the  power  of  kind 
affeiftions  to  all  about  us.  Would  v/e 
be  thus  happy  ?  Would  we  have  our 
hearts  in  a  conftant  ftate  of  love  and 
good- will  ?  Would  we  have  every  tender 
fentiment  ftrong  and  adive  in  our  breafts  ? 
-Let  us  be  conftant  and  diligent  in 
this  part  of  devotion,  and  pray  continu- 
ally for  others,  as   we  do  for  ourfelves. 

I   might  in   this    manner  go   throuo-h 
all    the    different   parts    of  Prayer,    and 
point  put  particularly  the  happy  influ- 
ence 


240  On    Prayer. 

ence  which  they  are  fitted  to  have  oil 
our  tempers  and  condud.  But  this 
would  be,  in  a  great  meafure,  a  need- 
lefs  work;  it  being  hardly  pofiible  to 
doubt  on  this  point* 

From  the  whole  of  what  has  been 
faid  we  may  now  colledl  the  following 
reafons  for  Prayer,  which  deferve  cur 
careful  attention. 

I  ft.  It  is  in  itfelf  necefiarily  right* 
We  cannot  omit  it  without  violating  the 
plaineft  reafon ;  without  contradicfting 
the  higheft  relations  in  which  we  ftand  j 
and,  in  effedt,  fetting  ourfelves  up  as 
felf-fufficient  and  independent.  Nothing 
can  be  criminal  if  it  be  not  fo  to  for- 
get Him  from  whom  alone  comes  every 
good  gift ;  to  negledl  Him  who  is  the 
blifs  of  all  nature.  Shocking,  certainly^ 
is  the  guilt  of  every  irreligious  perfon. 
He  ftiould  blufli  to  lay  any  claim  to  true 
wortii  of  charader. 

sdlyi 


On    Prayer.  241 

gdly.  Prayer  is  ncceflary  to  promote 
a  good  temper  in  us,  and  to  train  us  \xp 
in  righteoufnefs.  Without  it  all  our 
Virtues  will  wither,  our  good  defires 
and  refoliltions  will  languilli,  and  reli- 
gious truth  lofe  its  power  over  our 
minds.  Prayer  rightly  performed  im- 
plies the  lively  exercife  of  love.^  grati- 
tude, humility^  repentance,  hope,  re- 
lignation,  and  almoft  all  the  worthy 
principles  that  can  aftuate  the  heart* 
When  this  is  negledled  they  lie  dormant, 

and  muft  tend  to  decay. As  a  heart 

overflowing  with  love  to  God  and  mari 
will  unavoidably  give  itfelf  vent  in  Pray-^ 
cr^  fo  Prayer  has  a  tendency  to  carry 
this  blefled  temper  to  its  higheft  pitch  ^ 
nor  is  it  eafily  to  be  conceived  how 
friendly  an  influence  thefe  have  on  one 
another,  or  how  clofely  they  are  con-* 
nested.— — ^Nothing  can  be  more  fublimd 
than  a  fpirit  of  unafi:ed:ed  and  zealous 
devotion.  A  heart  infpired  with  this 
mufl;  be  holy  and  pure,  prepared  for 
every  good  work,  and  filled  with  every 
jRjk  Divine 


242  On    Prayer. 

Divine  grace.  This  facred  fire,  where- 
ever  it  enters,  will  confume  the  drofe 
of  the  mind  and  refine  all  its  powers. 
Serious  and  attentive  Prayer  brings  us 
to  a  nearer  view  of  the  Divine  perfect 
tions,  and  draws  light  and  glory  from 
them  into  our  hearts.  By  this  we  ele- 
vate ourfelves  above  fenfible  objects, 
unite  our  fouls  to  the  firft  good,  furren- 
der  our  wills  to  God's  will,  and  main- 
tain in  ourfelves  a  conftant  and  chearful 
acquiefcence  in  that  order  of  events  which 

his  wifdom  has   appointed. In  fliort. 

Prayer  is  the  main  duty  of  religious  vir- 
tue; the  neareft  approach  to  God  we 
are  now  capable  of;  the  immediate  ex- 
ercife  of  our  nobleft  afFedions  on  their 
higheft  objed:,  and  the  fupport  and  life 
of  all  true  piety. 

^dly,  'Tis  incumbent  upon  us  to  pray 
as  we  hope  for  the  favour  of  God.  This 
is  one  qualification  for  his  favour;  07ie 
important  means  of  obtaining  blefllngs 
from    him*      Thofe    who  omit  it  mufl 

be 


On     P  R  A  Y  E  1^.  243 

be  under  his  dilpleafure ;  but  thofe  who 
acknowledge  him  in  all  their  ways,  and 
live  under  a  fenfe  of  his  rightful  do- 
minion expreffed  by  all  fuitable  a(flionSi 
muft  be  approved  by  him^  and  the  ob- 
jeds  of  his  peculiar  care.  'Tis  impof- 
fible  that  he  fhould  not  make  a  difference 
between  them  and  the  impious  men 
who  addrefs  no  acknowledgments  to 
him. 

To  thefe  arguments  for  Pray^  taken 
from  what  has  been  faid  to  fhew  the  rea- 
fonablenefs  of  it,  I  will  add  that  the  Chri- 
ftian  revelation  enjoins  it.  This,  I  know, 
will  weigh  but  little  with  moft  of  thofe 
who  objed:  to  this  duty.  But  it  muft  havei 
great  weight  with    every  attentive  chri- 

ftian. Our   holy  religion   exhorts    us 

to  pray  without  ceajing ;  to  pray  alirays 
with  all  manner  of  prayer,  and  fupplica- 
tion  in  the  Jpirit ;  to  continue  in  prayer ,  and 
watch  unto  the  fame  with  thankfgiving  \  to 
lift  up  every  where  holy  hands  without 
wrath  or  firife^  and  to  make  fupplicatiom 
R  a  and 


244  0;2     P  R  A  Y  E  R* 

and   hiterceJfiGns  for  all  men,  ftnce  this  is 
good  and   acceptable  in   the  fight  of  God. 
This  duty   is  particularly   recommended 
to  us  by  the  example  of  Chrifl  himfelf, 
the  founder   of  our  faith    and    hopes  *. 
The   accounts  we  have  of  the   time  he 
fpent  in  devotion,    and  of  his  regularly 
performing   all    the   offices  of  it,    prove 
that  this   muft  be  an  important  part  of 
righteoufnefs,    and   that  there  is   no  vir- 
tue   fo    perfedl   or   dignity    of  charafter 
fo    great    as    to    fuperfede     the     reafons 
on  which  the  obligation  to  it  is  founded. 
Such  imperfedl  and  finful  creatures  as  we 
are    have    certainly  peculiar    reafons   for 
it,  and  therefore  muft  be  in  the  higheft 

degree  inexcufablc  if  they  negled:  it. 

But  further ,  Chrift  has  encouraged  us 
to  this  part  of  duty  by  promifing  par- 
ticular favour  to  thofe  who  diligently 
pradtife   it.     That  efficacy   of  Prayer  to 

*  Matt.  xiv.  23.  iVhen  he  had  fe?it  the  mtdt'itiuh 
{ii'jay^  he  went  up  into  a  ?nountain  apart  to  pray.  Luke 
vi.  12.  He  went  cut  into  ci?nQnntain  to  pray ^  and  continued 
all  7iight  in  prayer  to  God, 

obtain 


On     P  R  A   V  E  R.  24^ 

obtain    bleffings    for    us    which    I   have 
endeavoured  to  prove  and  explain,   is  by^ 
him  clearly  aflerted.     Thus  Matt.  vii.  7/ 
Ajk  a7id  ye  flail  have.     Seek  and  ye  flail' 
find.     Knock  and  it  floall  be  opened  to  you. 
For  every  one  that  aflethy  receiveth.     He 
that  feekethy  findeth.      And  to    hiin    that 
knockethy  it  floail  be  opened.     Matt.  vi.  6. 
But    thou    ivhen    thou  praycjl,    enter    into 
thy  clofety  rnd  pray  to  thy  Father  in  fe- 
cret ;  and  thy  Father  who  feeth  in  fecret 
flail  reward  thee  openly,-^-- — To  the  fame 
purpofe   he    has    taught    us   in   the   pa- 
rable  of  the  widow    and    unjuit  judge. 
Luke  xviii. 

But  let  It  be  remembered,  that  though 
Chriftianity  thus  commands  Prayer,  it  v^, 
by  no  means  merely  a  chrillian  duty.  • 
Tis  an  effential  part  of  all  religion.  All- 
nations  of  men  acknov/ledge  the  obh- 
gation  to  it,  and  the  pra«^tice  of  it  has 
been  as  univerfil  as  the  belief  of  a 
Deity. 

R  3  Li 


1246  On    Prayer, 

In   the  laft   place.     I   would    recom-« 
mend   this  duty  from   the  confideration 
of  the  pleafures  that   attend  the  due  dif- 
charge   of  it.     Prayer,    as  has  been  be- 
fore   obferved,    is     the    exercife    of  our 
higheft  affeftions  on  their  higheft  obje(ft, 
and  the   intercourfe  of  our    minds  with 
uncreated    and    fovereign    goodnefs.     It 
muft,    therefore,    be   the   foundation    of 
the  higheft  pleafure.— -It  is  alfo  in  Prayer 
that  the  happinefs  arifing  from  the  prac- 
tice of  virtue,   and  the  hope  and  triumph 
it  infpires   are  chiefly  felt.     At  no  other 
time   are   we  fa    open   to  the   caufes   of 
virtuous  pleafure,   or  fo    difpofed   to  the 
moft  joyous  and  exalting  reflexions.     It 
is  in    the   power  of  every   one  who  will 
make  the   experiment   to  fatisfy  himfelf 
about  this.     What  delight  does   a  virtu- 
ous man  often  feel  when  he  puts  himfelf 
folemnly  into  the  prefence  of  his  Maker, 
and  confiders  him  as  one  with  his  foul  and 
as  obferving  every  motion   within  them; 
when  he   implores   all   fuitable  bleilings 
from    him    with   a   liyely   faith    in    his 

L'eadinef§ 


On      P  R  A  Y  E  R.  247 

readinefs  to  give  him  more  than  he  can 
afk  or  think ;  when  he  adores  his  in- 
conceivable excellencies,  and  magnifies 
and  bleffes  that  love  which  gave  being 
to  the  world;  when  he  commits  his 
whole  exiftence  to  him  with  boundlels 
hope,  and  gives  full  fcope  to  every 
pious  and  grateful  affecflion  ?  What  rap- 
ture and  ravifhment  attend  fuch  exer- 
cifes,  and  how  high  do  they  lift  our 
fouls  *  ? ^— Words  are  indeed  want- 
ing here ;  nor  is  it  pofiible  properly 
to  defcribe  the   pleafure   there  is   in   all 

*  "  In  thefe  the  foul  is  enlightened,  enlarged, 
*«  raifed,  ravilhed.  In  thefe  it  foars  up  to  heaven, 
"  and  looks  down  upon  earth.  In  thefe  it  pofTefTes 
''  liability  and  fecurity,  peace  and  reft  in  the  midft 
"  of  a  frail  unftable  nature,  and  a  reftlefs  ^nd  tu- 
"  multuous  world.  In  thefe  all  the  pafTions  of  the 
*'  foul  are  exercifed  with  a  moft  tender  fenfible  de-, 
"  light,  forrov/,  fear,  or  reverence.  Hate  and  in- 
"  dignation  do  here  exprefs  themfelvcs  to  the  height, 
"  not  only  without  any  diforder  or  torture,  but  alfo 
"  with  ffreat  contentment  and  fatisfa6lion  of  ourna- 

o 

''  ture.  Love,  hope,  joy  reign  here  without  either 
"  check  or  fatiety."  Dr.  Lucas  s  Enquiry  after  Hap- 
finefs.     Vol.  I.   page  117. 

R    4  th^ 


243  On    Prayer. 

the  ads  of  devotion ;  in  addreffing  our 
deiires,  with  a  pure  heart,  to  our  al- 
mighty parent  \  in  praifing  him  for  his 
innumerable  benefits ;  in  befeeching  him 
to  caufe  us  to  grow  in  every  amiable  dif- 
pofition;  in  interceding  with  him  for 
thcfe  we  love;  in  feeling  benevolence, 
gratitude,  and  hope  kindling  v/ithin  us 
before  his  eye ;  in  fpreading  our  wants 
and  perplexities  before  him,  and  feek- 
ing  direftion  and  help  from  him;  iri 
throwing  our  cares  and  burdens  upon 
him,  and  referring  ourfelves  to  his  dif- 
pofal,  fo  as  not  to  retain  any  ii)ifi:  of 
any  thing  which  he  is  pleafed  to  forbid 
or  deny.  Even  the  tears  of  penitential 
forrow  and  contrition,  or  of  fympathy 
and  benevolence,  into  which  a  devout 
perfon  may  fometimes  be  melted,  have 
a  fv/eetnefs  in  them  not  to  be  expreffed, 
and   are    more   to    be    defired    than    the 

greateft  joys  of  the    irreligious. Am 

I,  Reader,  nov^'  talking  to  you  a  language 
you  do  not  underftand  ?  Have  you  never 
felt  .any    of   the  pleafures    I   am    now 

fpeaking 

.5 


On     P  R  A  Y  E  R.  249 

ipeaking  of?  Do  you  not  know  what  it 
is  to  look  up  to  God  in  private  and  to 
pour  out  your  foul  before  him  ? — Un- 
happy then  are  you,  and  a  ftr^nger  yet 
to  what  you  ought  to  be  beft  acquainted 
with. 

In  order  to  obtain  a  juft  fenfe  of  the 
pleafures  conceded  with  devotion,  it 
(hould  be  remembered  v/ith  how  much 
mors  force  our  affe^ftions  ought  to  ex- 
ert themfelves  before  the  Deity  than 
in  any  other  circumftances,  and  what 
greater  influence  his  prefence  ought  to 
have  over  us  than  the  prefence  of  in- 
ferior Beings.  It  is  certain  that  we 
have  more  to  do  with  him  than  with  all 
nature,  that  he  may  be  infinitely  more 
our  happinefs  than  any  of  thofe  objedls 
Vvhich  he  has  adapted  to  our  faculties, 
and  that  the  neareft  and  moft  important 
of  all  relations  is  that  between  a  creature 
and  the  Creator,  The  approach,  there- 
fore, of,  an  upright  mind,  poiTefl:  of  juft 
yiews  and  proper  feelings,    to  the  Deity, 

to 


25a  On   Prayer. 

to  its  guardian  and  life  and  greateil:  friend, 
cannot  but  be  productive  of  the  higheft 

effeds. But  it  will  not  be   amifs,  on 

tiiis  occalion,  particularly  to  compare  the 
pleafures  of  devotion  with  thofe  arifing 
from  contemplating  the  works  of  the 
Deity.  In  ftudying  the  laws  and  order 
of  the  univerfe  we  converfe  only  with 
effeds,  but  in  devotion  our  minds  are 
turned  immediately  to  ^  the  caufe,  and 
contemplate,  not  tht  fiadows  or  Jig?is  of 
wifdom,  power,  and  goodnefs,  but  thefe 
qualities  themfelves  as  they  exift  in  the 
neceffary  nature  of  the  Deity.  How 
mtuch  higher  objecfts  of  contemplation 
and  admiration  muft  uncreated  excellence 
and  abfolute  perfection  be,  than  any 
traces  of  thefe  or  emanations  from  them  ? 
'Tis  in  God  alone,  in  the  fupreme  in- 
telligence which  fills  all  things  and  from 
whence  all  order  and  good  fprung,  that 
we  can  find  complete  fulnefs  of  all  that 
is  lovely  and  beatifying,  and  where 
every  power  within  us  can  have  rooin 
for  its  utmoil  exertion. 

It 


On    Prayer.  251 

It  cannot  be  doubted  but  that  the  plea- 
fures  I  am  now  fpeaking  of  will  con- 
flitute  a  principal  part  of  our  happinefs 
in  every  future  period  of  our  exiilence. 
We  can  indeed  enjoy  them  but  very  im- 
perfecflly  here.  Many  low  cares  and  de- 
fires  are  continually  forcing  themfelves 
into  our  minds,  and  diftradting  their  at- 
tention, and  rendering  it  impoffible  for 
us  to  difengage  them  enough  from  fenfi- 
ble  objedls,  and  to  acquaint  ourfelves 
with  God  in  the  manner  we  defire. 
But  hereafter  we  may  hope  to  get  nearer 
accefs  to  him,  and  obtain  clearer  views 
of  his  glory  and  majefty.  All  that  now 
retards  the  flight  of  our  fouls  to  him 
and  checks  their  happinefs  in  him  will 
be  removed.  Every  cloud  that  now 
hides  him  from  our  fight  will  vanifh, 
and  we  fliall  be  able  to  feel  his  pre- 
fence  with  us  in  a  manner  we  cannot 
now  conceive.  How  high  then  will  the 
pleafures  of  devotion  rife  ?  With  what 
ardor  and  tranfport  fhall  we  be  able  to 
worfhip  and   to  praife  him,    to  caft  our 

foul§ 


2^2  On    Prayer. 

fouls   before  him,   and    to   delight   our- 
felves   in  him  ?— But  let  it  be  remem- 
bered,  that    this  is    a   happinefs    which 
will  never  be  enjoyed  by  any  who  forget 
God  now.     If  we  allow  ourfelves  in  guilt 
and  irreligion,    or  cultivate  no    acquain- 
tance  with  the   Deity   in   this   life,    we 
cannot  be  fit  for  feeing  him  and  dwel- 
ling with  him  in  another  life.     A  courfc 
of  prefent  devotion,   as   it   will   give   us 
fome  foretafles  of  the  happinefs  of  hea- 
ven,  is   alfo  neceffary  to  inure  us  to  it 
and  prepare  us  for  it. 

I  cannot  omit  obferving  further,  under 
this  head,  that  devotion  is  not  only,  in 
the  immediate  exercife  of  it,  thus  a  fource 
of  happinefs,  but  alfo  conftitutes  a  ge- 
neral temper  conducive  in  the  higheft 
degree  to  happinefs.  The  fpirit  of  Pray- 
er is  the  fpirit  of  hope,  humility,  gra- 
titude and  refignation ;  and  muft,  there- 
fore, as  far  as  we  are  pofTelTed  of  it, 
be  produdtive  of  an  inward  fatisfaclion 
and  tranquility  which  are  preferable  to 

all 


On    Prayer.  25^ 

all  fenfible  delights.     A  mind  thus  turned 
has  many  fources  of  pleafure  peculiar  to 
itfelf.     'Tis  elevated  above  the  tumults 
of   this   world,    and    can    preferve    felf- 
enjoyment  in  all  circumftances,  and  take 
up  its  reft  in   God  in  the  midft  of  out- 
ward troubles  and  calamities.-      'A  truly 
devout  temper  is  indeed  the  very  tem- 
per of  blifs.     It  cherifhes  and  ftrengthens 
all    the     tender     and    agreeable     affec- 
tions,   and  checks  all   the  turbulent  and 
painful  ones.     It  difpofes   us  to   receive 
pleafure  from  every  objed:  about  us,  gives 
new  luftre   to  the   face  of  nature,   ren- 
ders every  agreeable  fcene  and  occurrence 
more   agreeable,  heightens  the  relifh  of 
every    common    bleffing,    and    improves 
and  refines    all    our    enjoyments.     How 
bleft  is  that  man  whofe  defires  are  con- 
tinually direded   to   heaven  ;    who  is  al- 
ways   exercifing   gratitude  to   the  Deity 
and   truft  in  him ;    whofe  heart  is  kept 
clofe  with  him,    and  whofe  thoughts  are 
full  of  him ;    who  taftes  his  beneficence 
in   whatever    gives   him    pleafure ;    who 

terminates 


254  ^^^    Prayer, 

terminates  all  his  views  in  him,  and  has 
learnt  to  carry  his  attention  from  every 
degree  of  beauty  and  good  in  created 
Beings,  to  the  inexhauftible  fountain  of 
all  beauty  and  good  ?  What  peace  and 
ferenity  muft  fill  a  mind  affured  that  its 
affairs  are  under  the  bejl  diredion ;  con- 
fcious  of  its  intereft  in  almighty  love ; 
and  vv^hofe  regard  is  habitually  fixt  on 
that  unfearchable  wifdom  which  conducts 
all  events  ? 

I  will  add,  that  devotion  greatly  im* 
proves  the  pleafure  attending  all  enqui* 
ries  into  nature,  and  advances  in  the 
knowledge  of  it.  The  difference  be-^ 
tween  the  pleafure  received  by  a  devout 
and  an  indevout  mind  in  obferving  the 
univerfe,  is  like  that  between  the  plea- 
fure received  from  the  fame  caufe  by  a 
man  and  a  brute.  'Tis  the  confidera- 
tlon  of  the  univerfe  as  God's  work, 
and  the  obfervation  of  his  power,  wif- 
dom, and  goodnefs  difplayed  in  it  that 
cloath    it   with   its    chief  beauties,    and 

render 


On  Prayer,  255 

render  it  in  the  higheft  degree  a  delight- 
ful fpedtacle.     There  is  no  greater  in- 
centive   to    devotion   than    an    attentive 
confideration  of  the  glorious  order  of  na- 
ture ;    nor  is  there  any  tendency  v^ithin 
us  more  natural  than  that  arifing  from 
hence  to  religious  adoration.     And  there 
is  an  inexpreffible  pitifulnefs  in  the  cha- 
rafter  of  a  man  who  ftifles  this  tendency; 
who  confines  his  views  to  fecond  caufes, 
and  forgets  the  Jirji ;   who  fees  not  the 
Deity  in  his   works ;    who   devotes    his 
time  to  philofophical  refearches,   but  fa- 
tisfies    himfelf    with    mere    fpeculation, 
who    can    furvey   the    world,    enjoy    its 
pleafures    and    reflecft  on    its   wonderful 
ftrufture,   without  lifting  up   his   heart 
to  the  author  of  it,  without  being  warm- 
ed into  praife,  or  feeling  any  pious  and 
devout  emotions.— — Admiration  is   one 
of  the  moll    pleafing    afFedtions   of  our 
natures ;   and  this  cannot  but   be  excited 
in  the  moft  infenfible  mind,  upon  obferv- 
ing    the    works    of    the    creation.      But 
then  only  is  our  admiration  what  it  ought 

to 


256  On    Prayer. 

to  be,  and  the  pieafure  attending  it  com^ 
plete,  when  it  is  exalted  into  devotion-, 
""Tis  devotion  that  confecrates  knowledge 
and  renders  it  fubfervient  to  its  proper 
end;  that  gives  unbounded  fcope  to  our 
moft  raifed  afFeftions,  and  employs  ouf 
faculties  on  an  objecffe  every  way  ade- 
quate to  them. 

Thus  w^e  fee    what  reafons   there  are 
for  Prayer,  and    what  motives   we  have 

to  pradlife  it* The  natures   of  things 

render  it  our  indifpenfible  duty.  Our 
improvement  in  true  virtue,  and  even  its 
very  being  within  us,  depend  upon  it* 
The  uncorrupted  dictates  of  our  own 
minds,  and  the  general  fenfe  and  voice 
of  mankind  proclaim  the  iitnefs  of  it, 
and  call  us  to  it.  The  favour  of  God 
to  us;  our  intereft  in  the  protection 
and  bleffing  of  his  all-difpofmg  Provi- 
dence, and  the  fupply  of  our  various 
wants  are  in  a  great  meafure  conneded 
with  it.  The  Chrillian  revelation  en-* 
joins  it ;  and  it   is,    moreover,   a  means 

of 


On    Prayer.  257 

of  maintaining  communion  between  hea- 
ven and  our  minds,  a  fource  of  pleafure 
of  the  higheft  kind,  and  a  neceffary 
preparation  for  eternal  happinefs. — If  then 
we  value  all  that  is  moft  important,  or  if 
the  plaineft  and  ftrongeft  confiderations 
of  reafon,  duty  and  intereft  can  influence 
us,  w^e  fhall  not  live  in  the  omiffion  of 
Prayer. 

What  I  have  hitherto  faid  is  applicable 
chiefly  to  private  Prayer.  I  fhall  now 
beg  leave  to  add  a  few  obfervations  par- 
ticularly ovi  family  and  publick  Prayer. 

If  the  former  is  right,  there  can  be 
no  doubt  but  that  the  latter  is  fo  like- 
wife.  There  are  few  or  no  objedions  to 
the  one,  which  may  not  be  equally  made 
$0  the  other.  We  are  to  confider  our- 
felves  not  only  as  private  perfons,  but 
as  members  of  families  and  of  fociety, 
and  in  thefe  capacities  ought  to  offer  up 
praifes  and  fupplications  to  God. 

S  With 


2j8  On     P  R  A  Y  E  R. 

With  relped  to  Jamily  Prayer,  I  can- 
not help  ailcing  with  ferioufnefs  and 
coacern  -,  where  the  religion  of  that  fa- 
mily can  be  that  never  meets  for  religious 
v/orfhip  ?  With  what  reafon  can  fuch  a 
family  expect  the  bleiling  of  heaven  up- 
on it  ?  Is  it  not  fit  that  thofe  who  live 
together  in  the  fame  houfe,  and  are  con- 
neded  to  one  another  by  the  clofefl  ties ; 
who  in  common  depend  entirely  upon 
God,  need  continually  his  care,  and  are 
always  receiving  mercies  from  him  ;  is  it 
not  fit,  I  fay,  that  thefe  fliould  alfo  join 
together  in  owning  their  common  depen- 
dence and  obligations,  in  feeking  that  pro- 
tection they  need,  and  in  paying  ho- 
mage to  their  great  preferver  and  guar- 
dian ?  Can  they  imagine  that  they  will 
on  the  whole  do  equally  well,  whether 
they  make  confcience  of  this  or  difre- 
gard  it  P  Is  it  of  no  importance  that  thofe 
who  have  children  or  fervants  under  their 
pare  fliQVild  endeavour  to  teach  them  the 
fear  of  God,   and  do  what  they  can    to 

inftil 


On     P  R  A  Y  E  R,  259 

inftil  good  principles  into  them,  to  keep 
them  mindful  of  their  duty,  and  preferve 
them   from   the  greateft  of  all  dangers; 
the  danger  of  lofmg  eternal    happinefs, 
and   being  undone  for  ever  by  guilt  and 
irreligion  ?     Is    it  incumbent    on    them 
to  provide   for    their    bodies  y    and  ought 
they   to  take  no  care  of  their  fouls,    of 
their  reafonable  and  immortal  part  ?    But 
how  little  care  of  this  kind  can  be  taken, 
and  under  what  great  difadvantages  mufl 
children  and  fervants  lie,    if  thofe   who 
have  the  diredion  of  them  feldom  or  ne- 
ver call  them  together  to  worfhip  God  ? 
Surely   that   religion   mufl    be   very 
carelefs  which  extends  not  to  our  fami- 
lies,  and   fufFers    us    to    forget    God    in 
them.     And  we  ought  to  remember  that 
a  caf^elefs  religion  is  likely  to  prove  an  i?i- 
fufficient  religion.— -In  a  word.    If  the  chief 
interefts  of  a  family  are  to  be  confulted, 
or  the  lirfl  of  all  the  relations  in  which 
we  fland  to  be   regarded,    family  Prayer 
is  reafonable  and  proper;    nor  can  any 
S  2  perfon 


i6o  On    Prayer. 

perfon  deny  this  with  any  colour  of  rea- 
fon,  who  acknowledges  the  obligation  to 
pray  at  all.  If  then  it  is  reafonable  and 
proper,  how  can  the  flated  omiffion  of 
it  be   reconciled  to  a  character  of  found 

virtue  ? ^^  Conftant  family  worfhip 

*^  (fays  the  excellent  Archbiihop  Tillotfon) 
**  is  fo  neceflary  to  keep  alive  a  fenfe  of 
**  God  and  religion  in  the  minds  of  men, 
"  that  I  fee  not  how  any  family  that 
<*  negledls  it  can  in  reafon  be  efteemed  a 
<^  family  of  Chriftians,  or  indeed  to 
**  have  any  religion  at  all/* 

I  know  of  no  tolerable  plea  that  can 
be  found  for  the  omiffion  of  this  duty. 
There  is  no  mafter  of  a  family  who 
(liould  not  be  afhamed  to  fay  that  he 
cannot  find  time  (fuppofe  one  quarter 
of  an  hour  in  every  day)  for  one  of  the 
moft  important  and  reafonable  of  all 
works.  And  there  have  been  fo  many 
good  forms  of  prayer  for  the  ufe  of  fa- 
milies: puhlifh^d,  that  no  one  can  plead 
.  .  want 


On     P  R  A  Y  E  K.  2tH 

want  of  abilities  who  is  at  all  able    to 
read. 

Let  us    next   turn    our    thoughts    to 
public  worfliip. 

It  IS  very  evident  that  in  confequence 
of  the  principle  of  fympathy  in  the  hu- 
man heart,  every  aft  or  fervicc  in  which 
We  engage  in  company  with  one  another 
is  likely  to  be  performed  with  more  de- 
light, and  to  be  produftive  of  greater 
effefts.  Our  affeftions  operate  in  fociety 
with  particular  force.  We  are  naturally 
warmed  by  the  prefence  of  one  another, 
and  infenfibly  catch  one  another's  feel- 
ings. This,  1  think,  fuggefts  a  reafon 
of  great  weight  for  the  public  exercifes 
of  religion ;  for  it  proves  that  they  have 
a  particular  tendency  to  imprefs  the 
"tninds  of  men,  and  to  do  them  good. — 

But  not  to  infift  on  this. Tis  furely 

a  moft   obvious  principle   of  natural  re- 
ligion,   that  God   ought    to   be  publicly 
^^  S  3  worfhip- 


262  On    Prayer. 

worfhipped.  Nothing  can  be  more  be- 
coming creatures  linked  together  in  fo- 
ciety,  and  fo  united  to  one  another  by 
nature,  intereft  and  public  afFeClions  as 
men  are,  and  who  have  fo  many  common 
wants  and  cares,  than,  at  ftated  times, 
to  agree,  with  one  heart  and  voice,  in  ad- 
drefiing  their  defires  to  their  common  pa-^ 
rent.  Is  it  poffible  that  there  fliould  be 
any  impartial  perfon  who  can  avoid  fee- 
ing and  feeling  a  congruity  and  becom- 
ingnefs  in  this  ?  Is  there  a  more  agree- 
able or  noble  fight,  than  that  of  a  mul- 
titude of  reafonable  Beings  engaged  in  of- 
fering up  their  joint  homage  and  thankf- 
givings  to  the  fupreme  ruler   and  bene- 

fador  ? The  heathens  appear  to  have 

been  univerfally  fenfible  of  the  obligation 
to  public  worfhip,  and  they  had  public 
forms  of  devotion  on  which  they  con- 
fcientioufly  attended.  It  is  therefore 
furprifing  that  any  who  are  not  atheifts 
fhould  be  able,  with  any  peace  or  fa^- 
tisfaction,  to  dlow  themfelves  in  the  neg- 

lea 


\ 


On    Prayer.  26? 


Jeft  of  it.  Such  do  really  in  effed:  with* 
draw  themfelves  from  the  government  of 
God,  rejed  his  authority  over  them,  de- 
ny his  Providence,  and  declare  they  have 
no  dependence  upon  him,  or  obligations 

to   him. But,    befides  ;    let  it  be  con- 

fidered  what  v/ould  be  the  confequence 
if  all  were  to  follow  the  example  of 
fuch,  and  what  would  then  be  tiie  ftate 
of  mankind.  Are  not  the.  public  and 
ftated  forms  of  religion  the  evident 
means  of  keeping  up  order  in  the 
world,  and  of  preferving  in  the  minds 
of  men  fome  fenfe  of  morality  and  du- 
ty ?  Were  thefe  aboliflied,  how  many 
of  the  moft  powerful  reftraints  from  vice 
would  be  taken  away  ?  Plow  foon  fliould 
we  fink  into  the  favagenefs  and  barbarifm 
of  Indians  and  Hottentots  ?  What  mul- 
titudes would  be  loft  in  ignorance  and 
guilt  who  now,  under  the  influence  of 
the  public  fervices  of  religion,  are  train- 
ed up  in  piety  and  goodnefs  for  future 
happinefs*?  Was  there  then  nothing  to 
''  •  engage 

J  '*  And  were  it  not  for  that  izwi^  of  virtue  which 
S  4  «  is 


264  On     P  K   A  V  E  R". 

engage  perfons  to  an  attendance  on  public 
worfhip,  belldes  the  influence  their  ex- 
ample may  have,  this  alone  fliould  be 
fufficient.  And  this  ihews  us  alfo  how 
poor  an  excufe  it  is  which  fome  make 
when  they  fay,  that  they  know  alrea- 
dy all  they  are  likely  to  hear  from  the 
pulpit ;  and  that  they  can  improve  their 
time  at  home  as  well   as  at  a  place   of 

*^  is  principally  preferved,  fo  far  as  it  is  preferved, 
**  by  national  forms  and  habits  of  religion,  men 
*'  would  foon  lofe  it  all,  run  wild,  prey  upon  one 
*'  another,  and  do  what  elfe  the  word  of  favages  do." 
See  JUr,  JVoUaJtans  Religion  af  Nature  delineated^ 
Sea.  V. 

^"^  'Tis  plainly  our  duty  to  promote  virtue  and  hap- 
*^  pinefs  among  others.  Our  worfhipping  in  fociety, 
**  our  recounting  thankfully  God's  benefits,  our  ex- 
*'  plaining  his  nature  and  perfeftions,  our  exprefling 
''  our  admiration,  efteem,  gratitude  and  love,  pre- 
"  fents  to  the  minds  of  others,  the  proper  motives 
♦*  of  like  afFeftions  ;  and  by  a  contagion,  obferv- 
*'  able  in  all  our  paflions,  naturally  tends  to  raife 
*'  them  in  others.  Piety  thus  diffufed  in  a  fociety 
**  is  the  ftfongeft  reftraint  from  evil,  and  adds  new 
♦'  force  to  every  focial  dlfpofition,  to  every  engage- 
**  ment  to  good  offices."  Dr,  Hutchefon's  SyJIem  of 
Moral Philofophy^  Vol,  I.  page  217. 

public 


On    P  R  A  V  F.  '^^  26^ 

public  worfiiip.     For  fuppofing  this  true 
of   the    perfons   who   talk     thus,     they 
ought   to  remember  that  it  is   not  true 
of  the   bulk  of  mankind,    who  plainly 
need  the  aid  of  pubUc  inftruftions  and 
admonitions.     By   abfenting   themfelves, 
therefore,    they  contribute   towards   de- 
feating the  effecft  of  what  is  calculated 
to    promote     the    general   good.      They 
ought,   befides,   to  confider  that  the  end 
of  attending  on  the  public  fervices  of  re- 
ligion is  n6t  merely   to  receive  inftruc- 
tion ;    but   to   worfhip   God,   to  join  as 
members    of  fociety   in    honouring   and 
glorifying    our    common    Lord    by    ce- 
lebrating his  praifes   together,    and  pub- 
lickly    acknowledging    and    fupplicating 
him.     This   is  what  cannot   be  done  at 
home.     And  there  is  no  excufe  or  apolo- 
gy poffible  which  can  make  the  ftated  and 
voluntary  omiffion  of  it  otherwife  than 
criminal  and  fhameful.     I  cannot  indeed 
refled,  without  fome  indignation,  on  the 
conduft  of  thofe  who  allow  themfelves 

in 


266  On    Prayer, 

in  this  guilt,  who  difcover  fo  little  re- 
verence for  the  Deity  and  regard  to  de- 
ce?icy  as  to  chufe  to  be  fauntering,  feaft- 
ing,  or  fleeping,  while'  their  fellow- 
creatures  are  engaged  in  attending  to 
truths  of  infinite  importance,  and  in 
offering  up  their  acknowledgments 
to  the  giver  of  all  good.  How 
aftonifhing  is  it  that  this  fhould  be  fo 
common  as  it  is  ;  that  in  a  land  of  light 
and  knowledge,  in  this  Chriftlan  and 
proteftant  nation,  the  public  worihip  of 
God  fhould  be  more  flighted,'  and  the 
places  defigned  for  it  more  deferted  tuan 
perhaps  ever  was  known  among  civilized 
pagans  ?  Nothing  can  have  a  much 
worfe  afped:  on  the  welfare  of  the  na- 
tion, or  threaten  it  with  greater  evils. 
When  a  people  become  generally  irre- 
ligious and  impious,  they  become  ungo- 
vernable, untradable,  ready  for  every 
evil  work,  and  ripe  for  mifery  and  de- 
ftrudtion.  Religion,  to  fay  the  leaft  of 
it,    is    a    moft    ufeful    engine    of    flate, 

and 


On    Prayer.  267 

and  one  of  the  beft  fupports  of  public 
order.  If  we  confider  it  only  in  this 
light,  it  is  the  proper  objed;  of  public 
encouragement  *  -,  and  the  perfon  who 
does  not  iludy  to  countenance  it  in  his 
condud:,  is  fo  far  a  pernicious  member 
of  fociety. 

Before    I  proceed  to  what  further  lies 
before  me  in  this  difcourfe,  it  comes  in 

*  By  the  public  encouragement  that  fhould  be 
given  to  religion,  I  do  not  mean  the  magiftrate's 
interpofing  his  authority  to  require  compliance  with 
any  particular  form  of  it,  or  to  raife  any  one  relio-i- 
ous  party  above  others.  This  vt^ould  be  going  out 
of  his  province,  and  has  hitherto  been  nothing  but 
an  encroachment  on  liberty,  the  fhoaring  up  of  er- 
ror, the  dejRjrudion  of  peace  and  harmony,  and  a 
violation  of  fome  of  the  moft  important  rights  of 
mankind.  The  way  in  which  it  is  earneftly  to 
be  wifhed  that  all  in  public  ftations  would  encou- 
rage religion  is  by  their  example-,  by  employing  their 
influence  to  promote  a  confcientious  regard  to  it  in 
thofe  forms  of  it  which  every  one  approves  moft; 
by  leading  the  way  in  an  attendance  on  its  public  fer- 
viccs,  and  at  the  fame  time  protecting  alike  all  who 
are  fincere  in  the  profefTion  of  it. 

my 


268  On    Prayer. 

my  way  to  take  particular  notice  of  two 
extremes  into  which  men  are  apt  to 
fall;  both  common,  and  both  fatal. — — 
The  firft,  and  that  which  it  is  moft  to 
my  prefent  purpofe  to  mention,  is  the 
extreme  into  which  thofe  perfons  fall 
who  pay  no  regard  to  piety  or  any  of 
its  duties,  but  profefs  great  zeal  for 
juflice  and  gratitude  and  all  focial  du- 
ties. As  far  as  fuch  pradlife  focial  du- 
ties, and  are  truly  faithful  and  bene- 
volent, they  cannot  be  too  much  ho- 
nouied.  But  while  they  continue  re- 
gardlefs  of  the  Deity,  and  void  of  de- 
votion, there  is  furely  an  effential  defe<5l 
in  their  characters.  They  want  the 
living  root  5  they  want  the  bejft  f  jpport, 
and  a  capital  part  of  real  goodnefs.  The 
Deity  ought  to  be  the  objecft  of  the  firft 
regard  of  a  virtuous  man.  Love  to  him 
muft  be  his  prevailing  affedion ;  and 
he  cannot  but  be  anxious  about  making 
the  proper  acknowledgments  of  him  in 
every  capacity  and  relation  of  life.  The 
exercifes  of  devotion,   I  have  fliewn,  are 

fome 


On    Prayer.  269 

fome  of  the  noblefl  employments  of  our 
minds  5  mod  worthy  of  our  rational 
powers  ',  r.  moll  perfeftive  of  our  tempers 
and  charafters,  and  productive  of  the 
greateft  delight.     Can  then  a  good  man 

negledt  thefe  ? A  good  man   without 

religion. A  benevolent  heart  without 

love  to  the  firil  benevolence. A  grate- 
ful mind  without  gratitude  to  its  great- 
eft  benefadtor. A  righteous  life  with- 
out prayer  ;  without  any  ad:s  expretling 
fuitable  difpofitions  to  the  head  and  pa- 
rent of  the  creation. What  palpable 

contradicflions  are  thefe  ? 

The  other  extreme  I  meant,  and  the 
worft  by  far  of  the  two,  is  that  into 
which  thofe  fall  who  are  zealous  for  de- 
votion, and  exa(5l  in  all  pofitive  and  re- 
ligious duties,  but  at  the  fame  time  neg- 
le<fl  focial  duties ;  make  religion  a  cloak 
for  wickednefsi  indulge  cenforioufncfs 
and  uncharitablenefs  ;  and  will  lye,  trick, 
cheat,  calumniate,  undermine  and  pre- 
varicate.    Thefe   are    indeed    deteftable. 

Thejr 


270  On    P  R  A  V  E  rJ 

They  know  nothing  of  true  devotion. 
They   are,   on   many  accounts,    fome   oi 

the   vileft  of  mankind. -It  (hould  be 

our  earneft  ftudy  to  difcharge  our  whole 
duty,  and  to  acquire  an  univerfaily  right 
temper  and  charadler.  Nothing  fhort 
of  this  can  denominate  us  truly  virtuous. 
No  zeal  for  any  one  fpecies  of  virtue  or 
pundluahty  in  fome  parts  of  duty,  while 
others  are  negleded,  can  avail  to  our 
acceptance. 

I  have  fuch  an  opinion  of  the  im- 
portance of  this  that  I  cannot  help  en- 
deavouring here  to  engage  attention  to 
it  by  dwelling  a  little  longer  upon  it, 
with  a  particular  view  to  the  two  forts 

of  charadiers  I  have  mentioned. ^It  is 

univerfaily  acknowledged  that  a  virtuous 
man  is  one  who  ads  in  conformity  to 
his  duty.  We  can  have  no  other  idea 
of  a  virtuous  as  diftinguilhed  from  a 
vicious  man.  But  let  us  confider 
what  mull  be  meant  when  this  is 
faid.     Can   the   meaning  be  that  a  man 

is 


0?i  Prayer.  271 

is  virtuous  if  he  difcharges  a  part  of 
h^s  duty  only,  or  if  he  conforms  to  it 
in  more  inftances  than  he  tranfgrefles  it  ? 
If  this  Is  true,  then,  fuppofing  our  whole 
duty  to  be  contained  under  any  number 
of  heads,  as  for  inftance,  under  tem- 
perance, gratitude,  juftice,  benevolence, 
and  piety ;  it  will  follow  that  a  man 
who  pradlifes  three  of  thefe  will  be  a 
virtuous  man,  though  he  neglefts  the 
other  two.  If  he  is  temperate,  juft,  and 
pious,  he  is  a  virtuous  man,  though 
he  wants  gratitude  and  benevolence.  Or 
if  he  is  grateful,  juft  and  benevolent, 
he  is  a  virtuous  man  though  he  wants 
piety  and  temperance.  On  the  contrary; 
he  only  will  be  a  vicious  man  who  pof- 
fefTes  only  two  of  thefe  and  wants  the 
reft.     Is  it  poffible  that  any  perfon   can 

maintain    f  ).ch    an   abfurdity  ? When 

St.  Paul  affures  us,  that  neither  forni-* 
cat  or  Si  nor  covcious  men,  nor  drunkards  ^ 
nor  revilersj  nor  extortioners  fhall  inhe- 
rit the  kingdom  of  God;  did  he  mean 
that  2^  fornicator,  or  a  covetous  'man,  or 
.2  a 


272  On    Prayer. 

a  drunkard,  or  an  extortioner  ihall  inherit 
the  kingdom  of  God,  provided  he  h^s 
but  that  one  vice,  and  fulfils  his  duty  in 
other  inftances  ?  When  eternal  happinefs 
is  promifed  in  the  New  Teftament  to  all 
that  repent ;  does  it  mean  by  repentance, 
not  the  forfaking  of  a//  fins,  but  all 
except  that  one  which  we  love  moft  ?— 
If  fuch  doftrine  is  right;  with  what 
fort  of  charafters  will  heaven  be  filled  ? 

Who  is  there  that  will  not  be  faved  ? 

But  let  no  one  thus  deceive  himfelf.  If 
there  is  any  regard  due  to  feme  of  the 
plaineft  didlates  of  reafon  and  fcripture, 
it  is  paft  doubt  that  no  kind  of  partial 
goodnefs  can  be  true  goodnefs,  and  that 
he  only  is  virtuous  who  endeavours 
faithfully  to  do  his  whole  duty.  The 
fame  truth  will  appear  very  evidently 
if  we  confider  true  goodnefs  as  confid- 
ing, not  in  having  (what  no  Being  can 
want)  a  regard  to  redlitude,  but  in  h^^ 
ing  governed  by  it :  For,  certainly,  it  can- 
not govern  where  there  is  any  one  pafiion 
that  over-powers  it,  or  where  there  is 
2  any 


On    Prayer.  273 

a?2y  blown  guilt  indulged,  or  any  known 
obligation  neglected  in  the  flated  courfe 
of  life.  Virtue,  we  fhould  remember, 
is  one  undivided  thing.  It  is  the  fame 
in  all  the  different  parts  of  it;  and  an 
habitual  difregard  to  it,  in  any  one  in- 
ftance,  is  difregarding  the  whole,  and  be- 
trays moil:  manifcfdy  a  heart  falfe  to  its 
intereft,    and  void  of  a  juft  affedion  for 

it. But   not    to  fay  more  "©n    this 

fubjea  *. 

I  am  fenfible  that  I  have  been  in  dan- 
ger of  incurring  the  derifion  of  fome  per- 
fons,  by  talking  as  I  have  done  of  family 
religion,  of  the  pleafures  of  devotion,  and 

of  happinefs  in  the  Deity. But   this 

gives  me  no  great  concern.  What  I 
have  been  infilling  upon  is,  in  my  opi- 
nion, of  unfpeakable  importance,  Thofe 
who  have  entertained  contrary  opinions 
are  welcome  to  rejecft  it.     I  can  only  wifh 

*  It   is  conlidered  at  large  in  The  Reviav  of  the 
principal  ^ejiions  in  Morals,  Chap,  IX. 


It 


274             0;;    Prayer. 
it  was  poffible   for  me  to  convince  them 
of  a  miftake  which,  I   think,  moft  un- 
happy and  dangerous. Others,    by 

what  has  been  laid  of  devotion,  private 
and  public,  as  indilpenfably  obhgatory 
in  itfelf,  and  the  fupport  and  hfe  of  vir- 
tue, may  be  led  to  reflect  very  ferloufly 
on  the  ftate  of  his  fellow-men.  An 
ardent  and  at  the  fame  time  a  rational 
and  unaffeded  devotion  is  one  of  the 
chief  excellencies  and  glories  we  can  pof- 
{cfs.  Nothing  can  make  us  appear  morq 
venerable,  or  beflow  greater  dignity  on 
our  charad:ers.  But  where  fliall  we  find 
much  of  it  ?  What  numbers  either  pour 
contempt  on  devotion  by  principle,  or 
negledl  it  through  a  criminal  indolence, 
or  difgrace  it  miferably  by  the  tricks  of 
fuperftition  and  the  madnefs  of  enthu- 
fiafm  ?  How  unaccuftomed  to  the  beft 
and  moft  neceffary  exercifes ;  how  im- 
merfed  in  {tnk ;  how  full  of  low  cares ; 
how  inattentive  to  th;;  Divine  nature, 
and  deftitute  of  heavenly  affedions,   are 

a  great  part    of  mankind  ? When, 

indeedi. 


0?i    Pray  e  r.  275 

indeed,  I  confider  that  piety  and  fimpll- 
city  and  purity  and   prevailing  regard  to 
every  known  obligation,  which  are  necef- 
fary  to  conftitute  genuine  goodnefs  -,   and 
when  I  compare  thefe  with  the  carelef- 
nefs   and   defefts  of  numberlefs   perfons 
about  me,  and   even  of  feveral  who  on 
many  accounts  are  refpea:able  and  wor- 
thy,   I    cannot   help    feeling   a    painful 
concern  and  grief.— Would  to  God  we 
were  all  more  diligent,  and  more  follici- 
tous    about    acquiring  true   worth,    and 
leaving  nothing  undone  that  reafon  and 
piety  require. 


T  2  SECT. 


2/6  On    Prayer 


SECT.     III. 

Of  the  Manner  in    which    Pi^ayer   ought 
to   be  performed. 

I  HAVE  now  finifhed  the  firft  part 
of  my  defign  in  this  Diflertation. 
What  I  had  further  in  view  was  to 
reprefent  the  manner  in  which  Prayer 
ought  to  be  performed,  in  order  to 
render  it  an  acceptable  and  profitable 
fervice. 

The  firfb  obfervation  I  {hall  make 
on  this  fubjedl  is,  that  Prayer  ought 
to  be  performed  with  a  mind  pro- 
perly prepared  for  it,  and  with  fixed 
and  compofcd  thoughts.  'Tis  an  impor- 
tant and  folemn  work,  and  no  pains  can 
be  too  great  to  perform  it  in  a  becoming 
manner.  Before  we  engage  in  it,  'tis 
proper  to  take  time  for  ferious  recol- 
'  '  ^^  Icftion, 


0)1     P  R  A   Y  E   R.  277 

leftion,  for  confidering  what  we  are 
going  to  do,  and  endeavouring  to  bring 
our  minds  to  a  right  temper,  and  to  im- 
prefs  them  With  fuitable  deiires  and  fen- 
timents.  'Tis  not  likely  to  be  attended 
with  great  advantages  when  this  is  neg- 
lected, or  v/hen  performed  with  minds 
full  cf  worldly  cares,  ruffled  by  paffion, 

or  diffipated  by  pleafure. But  if  it  is 

thus  proper  to  prepare  ourfelves  for  Pray- 
er, it  muft  be  much  more  fo  to  avoid 
all  levity  and  abfcnce  of  mind  when  ac- 
tually engaged  in  it.  For  otherwife 
we  ill  all  not  pray  at  all,  but  tnock  the 
Deity  with  unmeaning  founds.  What 
can  be  more  indecent,  or  exprefs  greater 
difrefped:  to  the  Moft  High,  than  to 
draw  nigh  to  him  with  our  lipSy  while 
our  hearts  are  far  from  him  ;  to  pretend 
to  addrefs  ourfelves  to  him,  and  at  the 
fame  time  to  fuffer  our  thoughts  to  wan- 
der to  the  ends  of  the  earth  ?  Can  we 
think    he  will   hold   them  guiltlefs   who 

thus   trife  with  him  r If  we  worftip 

him  at  all,  it  ought  to  be  with  a  guard 
T  3  upon 


2 


8  O/Z      P  R  A    Y  E   R, 


upon  our  attention,  with  an  awe  of  him 
upon  our  minds,  and  an  inward  and 
fincere  devotion.  No  bodily  fervices  or 
external  pageantry  and  fliew  can  pleafe 
bim.  He  is  an  omniprefent  and  perfe(ft 
mind  who  looks  to  our  minds,  and 
regards    nothing    but    the    ads    of    our 

minds. 'Tis    true,   the  beft   men  are 

liable  to  wanderings  and   diftradtions   of 
mind    in  religious   exercifes.     But  fome 
there  are    who    are    utterly    inexcufable 
this  way ;  who  indulge  themfelves  in  in- 
attention, and  fatisfy  themfelves  with  the 
carelefs  repetition  of  a  fet  of  words  and 
the  mevtform  of  worfhip.     There  is  too 
much  reafon  to  believe,   with  refpeft  to 
public    Prayer  in   particular,  that  many 
attend  it  without  any  view  at  all  to  de- 
votion or  improvement,  only  becaufe  it 
is  the  cuftom,  or  for  fome  lefs   innocent 
reafon  i    and    that   others,  who    perhaps 
are  never   abfent  from   it,    feldom  rea/Iy 
pray,  but  pafs  away  the  whole  folemnity 
of   worfhip    in    a  heedlefs    and    trifling 
rnanner,  with   their  thoughts  employed 

on 


On    Prayer.  279 

on  bufiiiefs,  or  intent  on  pleafure  and 
folly..  How  can  per  ions,  who  have  any 
fenfe  of  the  obligation  and  importance  of 
Prayer,  know  themfelves  to  be  thus  guil- 
ty, without  fevercly  reproaching  them-, 
felves  ?  Were  it  not  for  the  influence 
which  the  examples  of  fuch  might  have, 
they  Vv^ould  be  aimed  as  innocent  if  they 
were  openly  irren^ious,  and  never  ap- 
peared at  any  place  of  Divine  worihip. 

2dly,  We  ought  to  pray  with  fer- 
vency of  affection  and  defire.  Thi3  muft 
be  of  particular  importance.  It  cannot 
be  imagined,  that  any  prayers  will  be 
accepted,  which  are  not  emanations  from 
a  heart  charged  with  good  defires.  The 
jufteft  and  heft  definition  that  can  be 
given  of  devotion  is,  **  that  it  is  the  af- 
*'  fedions  correiponding  to  the  Divine 
**  nature  and  charader,  expreffing  them- 
**  felves  by  their  proper  adls."  As  far, 
therefore,  as  thefe  affedlions  are  either 
wanting  or  languid,  devotion  lofes  (I 
may  fay)   its  foul,   and   degenerates  into 

T  4  a 


28o  On    Prayer. 

a  worthlefs    formality. The   proper 

difpofitions  for  Prayer  are  gratitude  and 
love  to  God  'y  efteem  and  veneration  for 
him;  joy  and  confidence  in  his  good- 
nefs  ',  a  fenfe  of  our  dependence  upon 
him  as  the  abfolute  difpofer  of  our  lot ; 
forrow  for  the  diforders  of  our  hearts; 
humility  and  felf-abafement  ;  hatred  of 
all  fin  ;  love  to  virtue  as  our  chief  good  ; 
and  unfeigned  benevolence  to  our  fellow- 
creatures.  For  the  fame  reafon  that  we 
fliould  poflefs  thefe  difpofitions  at  all 
when  we  pray,  they  fhould  be  warm  and 
adtive  within  us.  It  is  not  poffible  that 
we  fhould  then  be  too  much  concerned 
about  reviving  in  ourfelves  the  beft  fen- 
timents,  and  raifing  to  the  utmoft  every 
pious  aff^edion.  Our  affedtions  cannot 
be  too  intenfe  when  the  Deity  is  the 
objedt  of  them.  It  is  not  poflible  for 
any  Being  to  honour  and  love  him 
enough.- — We  ought  never  to  think  of 
him  without  reverence.  With  what  re- 
verence then  fhould  we  pray  to  him  ? — 
Our    hearts    indeed    here    require    our 

ftrifteft 


On     P  R   A   Y   E   R.  281 

ftridlefl  care;  and  after  all  our  labour 
we  fhall  find  them  much  too  cold. 
Every  virtuous  man  laments  the  weaknefs 
of  his  good  afFe6lions,  and  the  infenfibi- 
lity  into  v^hich  he  is  apt  to  fink  with 
refped:  to  the  mofl:  interefl:ing  concerns. 
We  are  furrounded  with  alluring  fcenes 
and  objeds,  which  fiirongly  folicit  our 
attention  and  engage  our  paflions,  and 
which,  if  we  are  not  watchful,  will 
purfue  us  to  the  clofet  and  the  church, 
and  there  caufe  our  minds  to  fi:art  afide, 
and  damp  and  check  them  in  their  af- 
cent  to  the  Deity.  In  thefe  circum- 
ftances  it  is  encouraging  to  refle(5l,  that 
God  remembers  we  are  dujly  and  will  ac- 
cept us,  notwithftanding  any  infirmities 
which  we  endeavour  faithfully  to  corredt 
and  remove. 

That  fervor  in  Prayer  which  I  am 
now  recommending,  is  fo  far  from  being 
inconfiftent  with  the  mofl  free  and  per- 
fect exercife  of  our  rational  powers,  that 
it  is  its  neceflary  effeft.    The  jufter  views 

we 


282  Oji   Prayer, 

we  have  of  our  ftate,  and  the  more 
plainly  and  truly  we  perceive  the  de- 
pendence of  all  things  upon  God,  our 
own  ignorance  and  defed:s,  the  impor- 
tance of  virtue  and  the  evil  of  vice; 
the  more  our  hearts  muft  be  imprefled ; 
the  higher  our  affeftlons  muft  rife  3  and 
the    more  earneitly  v/e  fliall   pant  after 

wifdom,  diredion  and  virtue. There 

is,  however,  a  fervor  in  reHgious  ex- 
ercifes  which  is  entirely  mechanical,  and 
the  effecl  of  nothing  but  pride  and  pre- 
fumption.  Againft  the  influence  of  this 
we  iliould  take  care  to  guard.  All  in- 
ward perfuafions  and  tranfports  of  which 
we  can  give  no  good  account ;  all  fal- 
lies  of  blind  zeal  and  aiFedtion  we  fhould 
fupprefs  in  ourfelves  as  delufive  and 
dangerous.  Reafon  ought  always  to  be 
the  governing  faculty,  and  the  affedions 
muft  not  lead  but  follow.  It  will  there- 
fore, be  extremely  wrong  in  any  perfon, 
to  judge  of  his  religious  character,  by 
the  heat  and  the  extafies  he  may  feel 
in  devotion,  without  examining  into  the 

fources 


On    Prayer.  283 

fources  of  them. Tho*  it  be  in  ge- 
neral true,  that  where  the  pure  love  of 
God  and  a  fpirit  of  genuine  piety  pre- 
vail, there  will  be  an  unfpeakable  ardor 
and  delight  in  the  exercifes  of  devotion; 
and  though  one  reafon  why  many  reli- 
gious men  do  not  feel  more  of  this 
ardor  and  delight,  is  the  imperfedion  of 
their  characters ;  yet  it  fhould  be  re- 
membered, that  the  only  fafe  and  in- 
fallible way  of  judging  of  ourfelves  is  by 
our  adions  *.  Every  tree  muft  be  known 
by  its  fruits.  The  nature  and  degree  of 
inward   principles    muft   be    determined 

*  It  fhould  be  attended  to,  that  the  fervency  in 
Prayer  which  I  have  in  view,  is  an  engagement 
and  ardor  of  mind,  confifting  in  the  exercife  of  ftrong 

and  lively  fentiments  of  virtue  and  piety. There 

are  many  good  men  of  cold  natural  tempers,  who  may 
feldom  be  much  moved  with  any  thing  in  the  com- 
mon courfe  of  worldly  affairs,  and  who  therefore, 
in  religion^  may  feel  little  of  that  pallionate  zeal 
ar)d  heat  which  others,  of  warm  tempers  but  poiTibly 
far  lefs  refpe£lable  chara6lers,  may  feel  continuaily. 
The  rule,  therefore,  given  above  IhouM  not  be 
forgotten. 

by 


284  ^^    Prayer. 

by   their    effedls.     He  is   the  bed   man 
who  is  moft  remarkable  for  good  works. 
He  loves   God  moft  who  is  moft  like  to 
him  y    who   maintains   in  all    he   thinks 
and  does  the  moft  ftridl  regard  to  truth 
and  right,   and   is   the    moft  ufeful   and 
kind    to  his  fellow-creatures.     The  true 
raptures  in  religion  are  thofe  which  flow 
from   a  confcience    void  of  offence   to- 
wards    God    and    man,    from    a    mind 
thoroughly  reconciled   to  eternal  righte- 
oufnefs,    and  a  lile   fhining    with    every 
Divine   grace  and  virtue.     The  true  fpi- 
rit  of  devotion  prevails  moft,  where  there 
is  the  moft  exemplarinefs  of  converfation 
and    behaviour ,   the    moft    regular   dif- 
charge  of  all  moral  and  religious  duties ; 
the  moft  abfolute  refignation  in  all  events 
to  the  Divine  will ;    and  the  greateft  de- 
grees   of   meeknefs,    patience,     candour, 
charity,   and  felf-government. 

3dly,  We  ought  to  be  conftant  in 
Prayer  ;  or  in  the  language  of  fcripture 
to  pray  always   with  all  manner  of  prayer 

and 


On    Prayer.  285 

and  fupplication   in  the  fp'irit.     So   many 
and  fo  great  are  the  adv.Mitages  of  Pray- 
er,   and  of  fuch  uie  is  it  toward^  guard- 
ing us   againft  temptations  and  promot*% 
ing  our  conformity  to   the   Divine  laws, 
that  it  ought  to   make  one  of  the  flated 
employments   of  our  lives.     So  apt   are 
we  to  lofe  our    fenfe  of   the   mofl:    im- 
portant truths,  to  link  into   a  forgetful- 
nefs  of  our  chief  intereft,   and  to  grow 
indolent  and  carelefs  amidft  the  avoca- 
tions  of  bufinefs   and  pleafure,  that  we 
ought  to   be    often    having   recourfe   to 
it,    reviving    by  it  good   impreffions   on 
our    minds,   and   putting    ourfelves    into 
the  proper    pofture    for    receiving  grace 
and.  help    from     heaven.       When    this 
duty  is   negledted    our   beft    defence    is 
loft,     our    progrefs    in    virtue    fiackens, 
and  we  mull  be   in  great  danger  of  be- 
ing  carried  away  with   the  evil    of  the 

v^orld.-. 'As  you  value  then  all  that  is 

of  confequence    to   a   moral   agent,   you 

ought  to  be  frequent  in  Prayer.     If  you 

have   any  ambition  to  grow  in  goodnefs, 

a  vou 


286  On     P  R  A  Y  E  R. 

you  will  without  doubt  be  diligent  in 
uling  this  beft  means  of  it.  If  you  have 
a  juft  fenfe  of  thofe  mercies  with  which 
every  moment  of  your  exiftence  is  filled, 
you  will  be  continually  fending  up  your 
thankfgrvings  for  them.  If  you  know 
what  fatisfadtion  there  is  in  true  devotion, 
or  have  had  any  experience  of  its  pow- 
er to  make  you  more  happy  and  God- 
like, it  will  not  be  in  your  power  to 
avoid  employing  yourfelf  often  in  it. 

There  are   no  particular  rules    to  be 
given  on  this  head.     Every  one  is  here 
at  liberty  within  certain  limits,  and  mufl: 
regulate  himfelf  as  he   finds  moft  fuit- 
able  to  his  temper  and  circumftances.     I 
fhall  only  fay,  that  at  leaft  we  ought  to 
apply  to  the   purpofes  of  devotion  fome 
portion  of  time  in   every  day.     I  fhould 
think    that   no  religious  perfon  can  well 
content  himfelf  with  lefs  than  this. — Sup- 
pofe,  for  inftartce,   that  we   made  it  our 
pradice  to  devote  the  greateft  part  of  an 
hour  every   morning  or  evening  to  the 
2  duties 


On   Prayer,  287 

duties  of  ferious  recollediion,  felf-exami- 
nation,  and  private  Prayer ;  befides  more 
time  on  Sundays,  and  at  other  extraor- 
dinary feafons. Would   there  be  any 

thing  unreafonable  in  this  ?  Would  we 
not  find  ourfelves  abundantly  recompenf- 
ed  for  it,  by  the  vigour  and  alacrity  with 
which  it  would  infpire  us  in  the  ways 
of  righteoufnefs,  the  heavenly  turn  it 
would  give  to  our  minds,  and  the  con- 
ftant  watchful nefs  and  attention  to  our 
charad:ers  which  it  would  produce  ? 
Would  we  ever  have  reafon  to  refleft, 
that  we  had  thus  taken  too  much  pains 
to  cultivate  worthy  affecftions,  and  to 
prepare  for  a  better  ftate  ?  Would  we 
repent  of  fuch  a  courfe  when  we  came 
to  die  ?  Would  not  this  and  more  than 
this  be  aftually  our  practice,  v/ere  we 
fenfible  enough  of  the  infinite  impor- 
tance of  religious  virtue,  or  as  much 
in  earned  about  it  as  the  children  of 
this  world  arc  about  pleafure,  gain  and 
honour  ? 

The 


^88  On     P  R  A  Y  E  R. 

,  The  great  advantages  arifing  from  fuch 
a  method  of  devotion  as  that  now  pro- 
pofed,.  have  been  attefted  to,  from  their 
ov^n  experience  "*,  by  fome  of  the  wifeft 

*  'Tis  related  of  Dr.  Boerhaave  (in  his  life  by  Dr. 
Brown)  that  he  ufed  to  devote  the  firfthour  in  every 
day  to  meditation  and  prayer  ;  which,  he  ufed  to  fay, 
prepared  and  ftrengthened  him  for  the  following  em- 
ployments of  the  day. — We  are  told  of  the  excellent 
Mr.  Jbc-niethyy  that  it  appears  from  his  diary,  that  be- 
Udes  the  daily  exercifes  of  the  clofet,  he  frequently  Ihut 
himfelf  up  the  whole  day  for  the  fecret  fervices  of  de- 
votion.    The  reafons  he -gives  for  fpending  fo  much 

time  in  this  way  are  in  his  own  v/ords  thefe. . 

*'  I  apply  my felf  to  thefe  exercifes,  ift,  Becaufe  they 
*'  are  a  noble  employment  of  the  mind,  moft  worthy 
**  of  its   rational    powers,  tending  to    their   higheft 

"  perfed^ion,  and  affording  moft  folid  joy. 2dly, 

*  In  folemn  tranladtions  with  God  I  may  hope  for 
"  fuch  a  co.nfirmatioii  in  virtuous  „fentiments  and 
''  Jifpofitions,.  and  fuch  advantages  over  worldly 
*■'  luffs  as  rriay  be  of*  great   ufe  to   me  in  future  life  j 

*'  and    this    hope  is  juflined   by  experience. 

<•'  3dly,  I  would  lay  ftricler  obligations  on  myfelf 
*'  tg  greater  watchful oets  .and  caption  againft  the 
'•  fiTJn^S'cf  eiror   ;inJ   pcji;^lexity ..  and    guilt,  imp 

''  wnich  1   have    bcen^  formerly^  nriijj^jj," See   the 

A  count  of  Mr,"  Mernethys  Life  pvejixed  to  the  third 
l(olu%*e  of  hh 'Sermons]  j-rage  i8. 

•'/^'-  /r   -w:* '"'■-■  and 


On     P  R  A  Y  E  tl»  Cl2>() 

and  beft  men  ;  and  there  are  many  now 
in  the  world,  who  would  not  exchange 
it,  for  the  moft  profperous  courfe  of  ir- 
religion  that  can  be  imagined.- — It  Is 
neceffary  to  obferve  here,  that  at  the  fame 
time  that  we  devote  fome  part  of  every 
day  to  religious  duties,  there  fhould  al- 
ways run  thro*  the  reft  of  the  day  pre-^ 
vailing  piety  and  goodnefs,  and  a  fpirit 
of  love  and  humility.  In  othef  Words  i 
when  not  aftually  engaged  in  Pray- 
er, we  fliould  keep  ourfelves  as  much 
as  poffible  in  a  difpolition  for  it,  and 
fpeak  and  a<5l  on  every  occafion  in  fuch 
a  manner,  as  to  fhew  to  all  about  us 
that  we  are  often  engaged  in  the  beft 
exercifes.  Happy  beyond  expreffion  are 
thofe  who  thus  walk  with  God  i  who 
ftudy  always  to  live  in  the  fame  Ipirit 
that  they  pray. 

I  muft  add,  that  there  art  many  mci- 
dental  occafions  in  life,  in  which  Prayef 
is  peculiarly  proper.  Such  are  all  occa-* 
fions  in  which  we  have  any  weighty 
affairs  under  coniideration>  or  are  about 
U  engaging 


290  On    Prayer, 

engaging  in  any  important  undertakings. 
Nature  and   reafon  then  ftrongly  prompt 
us  to  feek  the   bleffing   of  heaven   upon 
our  undertakings,   and  to  implore  direc- 
tion  and  wifdom  from  that  Being  who 
governs  all  events.     Plato,    in   a  palTage 
which  has  been  often  quoted  ^",  fays,  that 
among  the  Greeks,  no   one  of  any   dif- 
cretion  would  ever  undertake   any    thing 
without  firft  invoking  the  Deity. — Times' 
of  trouble  and  affli-flion  are  likewife  pe- 
culiarly proper  for  Prayer.     There  is  no 
relief  at   fuch  times  like   to   that  ariling 
from  pouring  out  cur  forrows  before  our 
Maker,    meditating  upon   them  as  what 
he  fees  and  yet  permits,    and  profeffing 
before  him  our  hearty  acceptance  of  them 
as  his  will. — When  we  have  in  any  in- 
flance  been  drawn  into  guilt,  it  become^ 
VIS   particularly  to  confcfs  it  in  his  pre- 
fence;  and  to   form,  under  his  eye,    fo- 
lemn  refolutions  to  endeavour  ia  future 

time    to    be    more    careful. Again ; 

\vhen  we  have  received  any  extraordina- 
ry mercies  or   deliverances,  it    becomes 

*  /«  Timao  Jul  iHiilo^ 


On     P  R  A  Y  E   R.  ^91 

US  particularly  to  acknowledge  them. — - 
When  we  are  tempted  to  any  crime, 
we  ought  alfo  to  fly  to  Prayer  as  our 
very  beft  fecurity.  There  are  few  temp- 
tations which-  would  not  lofe  their  force, 
if,  when  they  come  in  our  way,  we 
would  take  tiriio  to  fet  ourfelves  ferioufly 
to  this  duty.  A  prayer  then  offered  up 
with  attention  would  place  us  under  the 
guardiandiip  of  heaven,  and  bring  our 
minds  in  fuch  a  manner  under  the  im- 
preffions  of  the  motives  to  virtue,  that 
it  would  be  fcarcely  pofiible  for  us  to 
deviate  from  it  '^. 

4thly,  In  order  to  render  our  prayers 
fuccefsful,  'tis  abfolutely  neceffary  that 
they  jfhould  be  accompanied  with  a 
holy  life,  and  the  diligent  ufe  of  our 
>own  endeavours  to  acquire  what  we  pray 
for.     The  efficacy  of  Prayer  arifes   from 

*  See  Mr.  Amorys  Sermon  on  the  Advantage  of  Pray  ^ 

er  \   and  alio  his  Diabgiu;  on  Devotion. 1  would  fur- 

tl>er  beg  leave  here  to  rccommcn.l  to  every  head  of  a 
family  Mr.  Pkkard's  three  difcourfcs  on  the  Religious 
GjVir7immt  of  a  Fcwiih. 

.{.  •  U   2  its 


292  07t   Prayer. 

its  being  the  means  and  fruit  of  virtue, 
as  well  as    from  its  being  an  immediate 
aft  of  virtue,  or  a  due  acknowledgment  of 
>our  dependence,  and  the  performance  of 
what  is  in  itfelf  fit   to   be   performed, 
Xf  therefore  we    feparate    fropi   it    vir- 
tuous refolution   and    right   praftice  we 
deflroy    its  value,    and    make    it    much 
worfe    than   what    fome    think    it   muft 
alv^ays   be,    **   a^  infignificant  form    or 
:**;!tr ceremony."      A  wicked  mans  prayers 
are  an  abomination   to  the  Lord,     If  we 
regard  iniquity  in  our  hearts,  it  is  certain 
he  will  not  hear  us.     As   a  righteous  life 
without   Prayer  implies  a  contradiction. 
Prayer  being  one  eflential  part  of  right 
pradice  '^" :  So  Prayer  without  a  righte- 
ous    life    is ,  impiety    and    profanenefs. 
What    an    infult,    for   inftance,    on    the 
Deity    would   it  be  to  alk  of  him  the 
pardon  of  thofe  offences  which  we  de- 

*  Imo  vero  auda<Ster  affirmare  pofTum  eum  qui 
fine  finceris  ad  dcum  precationibus.  virtutem  fedatur, 
nunquam  illarn  poflTe  affequi,  fed  evanidam  duntaxat 
aliquain  illius  umbram  et  inane  imitarfientum.  Dr, 
Moris  Enchirid,  Ethicurri, 

fign 


Oji    Prayer.  293 

fign  to  repeat ;  to  thank  him  for  thofe 
benefits  which  we  employ  in  rebelHon 
againft  him;  or  to  implore  his  blefling  on 
any  of  our  unlawful  undertakings  ?  What 
a  mockery  of  him  would  it  be  to  feek 
wifdom  and  happinefs  from  him,  and  at 
the  fame  time  to  negledl  the  appointed 
means  for  obtaining  them ;  to  pray  not 
to  be  led  into  temptation,  and  at  the 
fame  time  to  put  ourfelves  into  the 
way  of  it;  or  to  bring  with  us  Into 
His  prefence  any  fecret  vice  or  favourite 
paflion  to  which  we  are  determined  his 

authority  fliall  not  extend  ? If  then 

we  would  have  our  prayers  fuccefsful 
we  muft  refolve  to  abandon  all  iniquity : 
They  muft  be  affifted  by  good  works, 
and  render  us  through  our  whole  condu<i 
^  more  amiable  and  worthy, 

^i  I  have  before  more  than  once  touched 
upon  what  I  am  now  obferving ;  but  it 
is  of  fo  much  importance  that  it  cannot 
be  too  often  repeated,  or  too  much  in- 
culcated. J  muft  therefore  be  excufed 
U  3  fbr 


294  ^^^    Prayer. 

for  infilling  here  ftill  further  upon  it. 
—There  are,  certainly,  no  perfons 
whodeferve  more  of  our  deteftation,  than 
thofe  who  reft  in  the  external  fervices 
of  religion,  without  endeavouring  to  ac- 
pompany  them  with  fuitable  adtions  ia 
common  life.  'Tis  melapcholy  to  find 
in  all  'religious  focietjes  fo  many  of  thefe 
hypocrites ;  men  who  (liew  no  concern 
about  going  further  than  the  form  of 
godlinefsy  and  yet  look  upon  themfelvep 
as  the  only  favourites  of  heaven.  They 
are  conftant  in  Prayer  :  But  it  does  not 
mend  their  tempers  or  fubdue  their  paf- 
iions.  They  will  not  break  the  fabbath 
or  omit  a  facrament :  But  they .  wuU 
pradice  cunning  and  deceit,  and  fpeak 
evil  of  th^ir  neighbours.  At  church  they 
are  all  ferioufnefs  and  fandity.  In  their 
families  they  are  tyrants,  and  in  their 
fliops,  cheats.  Like  the  Pharifees  of  old 
they  tithe  ?nint,  anife  and  cummin  3  but  they 
neglecf  the  ^weightier  matters  of  the  law, 
judgment^    mercy   and  fidelity  ■^.       Theif 

*  Matt,  xxiii.  23. 

laith 


On    Prayer.  295 

faith   is  uncharitablenefs,   and  their  zeal 

pride   and   rancour. Oh  !   wretched 

men !  How  can  you  avoid  knowing 
that  you  are  fubftituting  the  means  for 
the  end,  and  that  the  moft  profligate 
linners    will    enter    into    the    kingdom 

of    heaven    befare    you  ?^ Offences 

of  this  kind  will  come.  But  woe  be 
to  thofe  by  whom  they  come.  At  the 
univerfal  reckoning  they  will  ■  plead  : 
^*  Lord,  Lord,  have  we  not  propbefied  in 
**  thy  name,  and  eat  and  drank  at  thy  ta^ 
''  ble?  Have  we  not  offered  up  many 
"  a  prayer,  kept  many  a  fail,  and  been 
"  zealous  for  thy  caufe  ?"  But  we  are 
affured  that  the  anfwer  they  fhall  re- 
ceive will  be  :  T never  knew  you.  Depart 
from    me  ye  that  work  iniquity  •^-. 

It  has  before  been  fl:icwn  at  large,  that 
Prayer  has  the  greatefl  tendency  to  make 
us  in  every  rcfpedt  better.  In  propor- 
tion to  the  degree  of  this  t^xi&^WQy,  muft 
be  the  peculiar  guilt  of  thofe  in  whom 
it  does  not  take  effedl.     Su^^h  are  wicked 

*  Alatt.  vii.  22. — Luke  xili.  25,  26,  27. 

•  U   4  in 


296  On    Pray  e  r-, 

in  oppofition  to  ilronger  motives  and 
obligations  than  others ;  and  therefore 
fliew  greater  depravity  of  character. 
They  do  unfpeakable  harms  and  that 
fpurious  piety  in  which  they  truft  is  in- 
deed vvorfe  than   atheifm, Are  you  a 

reHgious  man  ?  Tremble  at  the  thoughts 
of  fuch  guilt.  Remember,  that  your  prin^ 
cipal  v/ork  is  to  be  done  after  you  have 
been  prefent  at  religious  exercifes.  Shcvy^ 
to  all  about  you  that  religion  is  lovely 
and  happy,  the  infpirer  of  hope  and 
joy,    and    the    parent   of  all    excellent 

qualities  and  noble  acftions. You  make 

confcience,  I  will  fuppofe,  of  Jlatedly 
retiring  for  ferious  recolledion  and 
prayer.  Nothing  can  be  more  reafon-f 
able  5  nothing  more  important.  But 
how  do  you  a6l  in  the  intermediate 
times  ?  Do  you  leave  your  retirements 
with  fweeter  difpofitions  and  firmer  pur- 
pofes  to  be  and  do  all  that  is  gene- 
rous and  worthy?  Are  you  afterwards 
more  humble  and  meek,  more  candid 
jind  fmcere,  more    watchful   over  your 

life. 


^ ...  ^.. 
On    Prayer.  297 

life,  and  fuller  of  love  and  kindnefs  to 
mankind  ?-^ — This,  without  doubt,  ought 
to  be  the  effed  of  your  devotions  \  and 
if  they  have  not  this  efFedl;  or  if,  on 
the  contrary,  they  only  render  you  more 
proud  and  difagreeable  and  lefs  ufeful 
as  a  member  of  fociety,  from  a  notion 
that  they  v^''ill  be  accepted  as  compen- 
fations  for  deficiencies  in  moral  duties- 
as  far  as  this  is  true,  your  prayers  are  a 
curfe  to  you,  and  your  religion  is  nd4 
thing  but  an  execrable  and  deftruftiVe 
fuperftition.— I  muft  not  omit  to  ob-i 
ferve,  ^ 

5thly,  That  v^e  ought  to  pray  and 
give  thanks  in  the  name  of  Chrift.  Thai 
are  v^e  direfted  in  the  New  Teftament! 
John  xvi.  23.  Verily  I  fay  unto  yoii\ 
whatfoever  ye  JImH  ajk  the  Father  in  iiiy 
name^  he  Jhall  give  it  you.  Ephelt 
V.  20.  Giving  thanks  always  for  ah 
things  to  God  in  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jefiis 
Chriji.  Col.  iii.  17.  Whatfoever  ye  do  t?i 
'word  or  in  deedy  do  all  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord  Jfus.     The    meaning  of  this  is; 

that 


agS  On    P  R  A  Y  E  R, 

that  we  ought,  in  our  reHgious  fervices 
and  all  our  actions,    to  maintain  a  regard 
tO'  the   relations  in   which   Chrift  ftands 
to   us,  and  to  confider  ourfelves   as    his 
followers. — —Nothing  can  be  more  rea- 
fonable    than     this.      The    relations    in 
which   we  ftand    to   Chrift    are   of  the 
greateft  iraportance.     A  regard  to  them, 
and  a  compliance  with  the  duties  refult- 
ing   from    them   are  a  neceffary  part  of 
goodnefs,  and  an  indifpenfible  condition 
of  favour  to  all,  as  far  as  they  have  been 
made  known.     If  Chrift  is  indeed  what 
the   fcriptures    fay,    the   way,    the    truth 
and  the  life  ;  the  propitiation  for  our  fins ; 
our    Deliverer  from  death,  and   the  Sa- 
viour and  Judge   of  the  world,    it  is  fit 
that  he  fliould  be  recognized  in  thefe  cha- 
rafters,  and  that    our  prayers  fhould  be 
pfFered    up  under  a  fenfe  of   them.     It 
cannot  be  excufable   to  treat   with   neg- 
left    that  name   to   which    we  owe  our 
profpeft  of  a    bleffcd    immortality,    and 
pit  which    every  knee  is  commanded  to  bow 
of  things  in    heaven   and  things  in    earth 

3  aiid 


Qn    Prayer.  299 

and  things  tinder  the  eart/j^  to  the  glory  of 
God  the  Father  '*.  The  inconceivable 
benefits  which  we  receive  by  Chrift's 
miniftry,  and  the  high  ftation  to  whicl^ 
he  is  exalted  for  the  good  of  mankind, 
afford  us  the  nobleft  foundation  for  joy 
and  hope,  and  the  warmeft  admiration 
of  Divine  goodnefs.  It  would  be  wrong 
to  forget  thefe  at  any  time  ;  but  it  muft 
be  particularly  fo  to  forget  them  when 
engaged  in  the  duties  of  devotion. 

It  may  not  be  improper  here  to  make 
a  few  obfervations  on  the  /natter  and 
compojition  of  Prayer,  as  the  due  regu- 
lation of  thefe  has  a  confiderable  ten-r 
dency  to  render  it  a  more  profitable  fer- 

vice. With   refped:  to    the  matter  of 

Prayer ;  what  requires  moft  to  be  re- 
membered is,  that  we  ought  never,  ex- 
cept with  great  caution,  to  pray  for  any 
particular  worldly  advantages.  The  rea- 
fon  is  obvious.  We  cannot  fay  what 
advantages  of  this   kind  are  fit  for  us, 

*  Phil.   ii.  10,    n, 

or 


30O  072    Prayer. 

or  moft  conducive  to  our  true  intereft. 
Thofe  comforts,  fuccefles  and  gratifica- 
tions v/hich  we  may  be  ready  mofl 
eagerly  to  defire,  may  be  entirely  im- 
proper to  be  granted  us ;  or,  if  granted 
us,  might  perhaps  prove  pernicious  to 
us.  And,  on  the  contrary,  thofe  fuf- 
ferings  which  we  may  be  moft  apt  to 
fhrink  from  and  to  deprecate,  may  in 
reality  be  ufeful  to  us,    and   prove,  on 

the   whole,  the  greateft  benefits, — 

Virtue  alone  is  what  we  certainly  know 
to  be  good  for  us.  This  either  implies 
in  it,  or  will  draw  after  it,  all  that  is 
important  to  a  reafonable  Being.  It  is 
the  true  riches,  the  noblefl  treafure,  the 
higheft  honour,  and  God's  beft  and 
choiceft  gift.  If  we  have  this,  it  fig- 
nifies  nothing  what  we  ^^anf.  If  we 
want  this,  it  fignifies  nothing  what  we 
have.  To  the  acquifition  of  this,  there- 
fore, and  our  improvement  in  it,   ought 

all  cur  prayers  to  be  direfted. 1  hope 

it  will  not  be.faid  that  this  being  placed 
in  our  own  power,  we  have  no  reafpa 

for 


0«     P  R  A  Y  E  R.  301 

for  any  applications  to  God  for  it,  but 
ought  to  feek  it  entirely  from  ourfelves. 
Such  a  fentiment  cannot  eafily  be  enter- 
tained by  any  who  have  a  due  fcnCe 
of  their  own  frailties,  or  due  appre- 
henfions  of  the  Deity,  as  the  author  of 
all  good  and  the  ruler  of  all  events,  of 
'whoniy  and  through  whoifz^  and  to  whom 
are  all  things. Is  any  man  truly  vir- 
tuous ?  And  has  he  no  reafon  to  praife 
God  on  this  account  ?  May  he  venture 
to  declare  that  he  owes  it  not  in  any 
way  to  God  ?  Was  it  not  in  confequence 
of  the  Divine  will  and  diredlion,  that  he 
was  brought  into  thofe  circumftances, 
and  had  thofe  views  of  things  laid  be- 
fore his  mind,  which  have  produced  this 
happy  effeft  ?  Is  there  no  reafon  to  think 
'that  there  have  been  many  good  men 
m  the  world  who,  had  their  circum- 
ftances been  in  the  leafl  different  from 
what  they  were,  had  one  incident  in 
their  lives  never  happened,  or  had  any 
fmaller  (hare  of  advantages  been  granted 
them,  would  have  continued  in  the  num- 
ber 


302  On     P  R   A  Y  E  R. 

ber  of  the  carelefs   and  irreligious,  and 

been  loft  for  ever  ^  ? 

With 

*  "  'Tis  God  who  has  made  the  mind  of  man  ca- 
"  pable  of"  perceiving  motives,  and  of  being  wrought 
*'  upon  by  them.  'Tis  God  who,  in  the  courfe  of 
"  his  Providence,  has  prcfcnted  fuch  a  train  of 
*'  motives  to  any  one's  mind,  as  has  engaged  him 
'^  to  pradice  all  the  virtues  of  a  holy  life.  To 
*'  God,  therefore,  the  praife  of  it  is  to  be  given.'' 
Dt\  Leechmari's  excellent  Sefmo?2  on  Prayer,  page  Ii2. 

Nothing  can  be  more  ilrong  than  what  m.any 
heathen  writers  have  faid  on  this  fubjecl.  Msyar 
c  ay^V^  Osicy  ro  ipycVy  UTTfp  (icta-iXzia^j  virzp  s\su- 
^ioij,^.     T»  Gsb?  (juiJ-vriO-o ',    ^y.zivc'j    iTriKoKa  jSo^Oov 

TrXsovTSf.  Ucic^  yao  /jr=i(^iov  ^HfJi'^v  n  o  iy.  (fav- 
raaioiv  i^updv  y.ai  €xxps?:xoov  ra  Xoyy.  Arriani 
Epia.  Lib.  II.  Chap.  i8.  "  Great  is  the  confli6li 
*'  divine  the  enterprize  ;  for  a  kingdom,  for  liberty, 
"  for  tranquility.  Remember  God.  Call  upon  him 
"  for  aid,  as  mariners  do  on  Caftor  and  Pollux  in  a 
*'  dorm  :  For  what  greater  florm  is  there  than  that 
"  aiifmg  from  violent  pallions  clalhing  with  reafon?" 
— — Ek  rrs  c/^iayotaj  sx^aXs  /^'jTrnv,  (p'c^ov,  sTriOu- 
/utiav,  &c.  Taura.  c'**  yx  £S"iv  cXXco;  v/.€cl\u-j  u 
(j.n  Trpos"  /Jtcvov  Tov  0£ov  aTTcCXsTTcvra,  sy.sfvw  /jtcvco 
Trpc&xsTrcvOoTa,  Trpor  SKSiva  7:pccra.yixaL(ji  xa^cocrf- 
w/jisyov.     "  Grief,  fear,  defirc,  5cc.  cannot  be  othcr- 

«'  wife 


Oh    P  R  A  Y  E  R.  303 

With    refpecl    to    the    compofition    of 
Prayer  we    may  obferve,   that  it  ought 

to 

*'  wife   conquered  than  by  looking  to   God  a^one^' 
*'  and  relying  upon  him."  lb.  Lib.  II.  Chap.  i6.— — » 
Again  ',  Lib.  IV.  Chap.  4.     Haft  thou  overcome  thy 
luft  or  thy  anger?     Ilotja)    /xsi^oay  aiTia    Gucraj   n 
yxarsia,  i\  V7ra^')^ta,     Taura    sx,  an  uvtb  ymra% 
Viai  OLiro  rm  ©sojv.   "  How  much  greater  reafon  for 
*'  a  facrifice  is  this  than  a  confulfhip  or  procuratorfhip  I 
*'  For  this  proceeds  from  thyfelf  and  from  God.". — ^ 
Excellent  alfo  to  the  prefent  purpofe  are  the  words 
of  Hierocles  in  his  Commentary  on  Pythagoras^  Golden 
Verfes,  verfe  48.     Outs  ya.^  [J.0V0V  7rpoGu/jt£i<3'ar  c^s; 
ra    jiaXa,    w?  e(p  iavroi^    ovra.   :iarop^:))a-aty    y,ai 
^cdpis-   ra  ©s^  c-uvipynct^  -,   are   -vJ/fXyjr  ty^c  s'J;:^^?? 
Sec,     "  We   ought  neither  to  purfue  virtue,  as  if  it 
^*  was  in  our  own  power  to  acquire  it,  without  the 
^'  help    of  God  ',    nor    to    content    ourfelves    with 
«*  mere    prayer,  without  ufmg  our  own  endeavours 
'«  to   acquire    vihat    we     pray   for.       This   will   be 
^'  either   to  make  our  virtue  impious,  or  our  prayers 
^^vunfuccefi^ful.     But  impiety  deftroys  the  eflence  of 
*'  virtue  J    and   ina6lion,   the   efficacy  of  prayer." — - 
Plato  (in  Meno)  after  he  had  endeavoured  to  prove 
that  men  have  not  virtue    (perhaps  he  means  chiefly 
political  or  public   virtue)   either  from  nature  or  in^ 
ftru6lion,  concludes  that   it   mud  be  a  Divine  com- 
munication i  and  obferves,  that  for  this  reafon  virtuous 

men 


304  On    P  R  A  V  E  k. 

to  be  plain>  ferious  and  iimple.  No-* 
thing   can   be   more   contemptible  than 

an 

men  have  been  juftly  called  dmne.  Ex  /xsv  rcivui; 
TOUTS?  T»  XoytciMiy  0)  /jcsvcov,  Gskx  fjiotpa.  Yifjiiv  f  ai- 
virai  Trapayiyvoixivri  »  cipsrji  cr?  'irctpuyiyvirau — - 

. To  the  fame  purpofe  fpeaks   Seneca.     Bonus  vir 

fine  Deo  iumo  eji.  An  poteft  aliquis  fupra  fortunam, 
nifi  ab  illo  adjuftus,  exfurgere  ?  Ille  dat  confilia 
magnifica  et  ereda.  In  unoquoquc  virorum  bono- 
rum  (quis  Deus  incertum  eft)  habitat  Deus.  Epift, 
41.  ''  No  perfon  is  virtuous  without  God.  How 
*'  can  any  one  rife  above  fortune^  unlels  a/lifted  by 
*'  him.  'Tis  he  gives  great  and  noble  defigns."——* 
ha  dico^  Luciliy  facer  intra  nos  fpiritus  bahliat^  bonorum 
makrumque  nojiror'um  ohfervator  et  cujlos.  Hie  prout  a 
nobii  iraSlatm  efly  ita  nos  ipfe  tra6fat.  Ibid.  *'  There 
*'  dwells  within  us  a  holy  fpirit  who  obferves  and 
**  watches  our  good  and   bad  deeds,  and  who  treats 

*^  us  as  he  is  himfelf  treated  by  us." Multos 

et  noftra  civiias  et  Gracia  tulit  fmgulares  viros  ;  quorum 
Keminem,  nifi  juvante  DcOy  talem  fu'tffe  credendum  ejf, 
*'  Both  our  city  and  Greece,  fays  Cicero,  have  pro- 
'<  duced  many  extraordinary  men  ;  none  of  whom, 
"  we    ought     to     believe,      could     be    what    they 

"  were    without   God's    help." Nemo  vir  mag- 

nus  fine  aliquo  Divino  cfflatu  unquam  fuit.     De   Nat* 

Deorum,  L.  II.  66. The  fubjcdl  of  Maximus 

Tyrius's  2d  Diilertation  is  this  qucilion  s   "  whether 

"  a  good 


O^     P  R  A  Y  E  R.  305 

an  affefted   difplay  of  eloquence  in   this 
duty,  quaint  phrafes,  fludied   antithefes, 

vain 

**  a  good  man  is  fuch  in  virtue  of  a  Divine  communi- 
**  cation  or  not."  He  maintains  the  affirmative,  and 
obferves  that  God  ought  to  be  much  more  acknow- 
ledged the  giver  of  Virtue  than  of  arts  and  fciences, 
or  any  temporal  bleflings ;  this  being  the  beft  and 
greateft  good,  and  therefore  what  he  muft  be  moft 
ready  to  communicate.  Men,  he  fays,  on  account 
of  the  infirmities  of  their  natures,  need  the  influence 
of  an  aflifting  and  co-operating  Deity  to  lead  them  to 
virtue.  Asovrat  cuvayoivi^a  Gm  y.ai  au}Xi\if\oDo^ 
Tr)f  poxrif  x^f  ;;^si  pa/coy  far.  The  life  of  Socrates, 
he  fays  DifT.  3c.  was  full  of  prayer.  Hv  0  Bjo? 
^oxpars?  ^£5-0?  €u;;^y}?.  But  the  things  he  prayed 
for  were  not  riches  and  power,  but  a  virtuous 
mind,  a  quiet  life,  unblemifhed  manners,  and  a 
death  full  of  hope,  which  are  glorious  gifts,  and 
fuch  as  the  gods  beftow.  Aprnv  ^^x^^  ^^^  ^o"y* 
^»av  Bi»    -aai  Xoi\v  afJuiXTrlov   %ai  iUiXyriv  ^avarov 

ra  ^a\j[j.a<^a   J^aipa^  ra  Gso:?  cl^ora «  As   for 

"  the  gods,  who  has  told  thee  that  they  cannot  help 
♦*  us  in  thofe  things  which  they  have  put  in  our 
•«  own  power  ?  Whether  it  be  fo  or  not  thou  {halt 
"  foon  perceive^   if  thou  wilt   but   try  and   pray." 

Marc,  JntonL  L.  IX.  S.  40. "  It  is  the  duty  of 

"  all  who  are  endowed  with  reafon  to  afk  all  good 
«  things  of  the  gods  -,   particularly  the   knowledge 

X  4«     of 


3o6  On    Prayer. 

vain  tautologies,  a  redundancy  of  lan- 
guage,   or    impertinent    excurfions    into 

matters 

*'  of  themfelves,  for  there  is  nothing  greater  that 
"  man  can  receive  or  God  beftow.'*  TicivrcL  fxsv 
^ii  rayaha.  rois  vouv  f^ovra?  arrsfOai  Trctpa  ro)!/* 
6€0Dy  •  iJLaKi<^a  Jli  th?  Trsp:  aurcuv  S7rrs-y)/xy]j  &C, 
Pluta.  de  Ifide  et  Ofiride  initio. 

Some  of  thefe  paflages,  at  the  fame  time  that  they 
fhew  us  what  the  beft  antient  philofophers  thought 
of  our  dependence  on  the  Deity  for  the  acquifition  of 
virtue,  prove  lilcewife  that  they  thought  very  highly 
of  the  reafonablenefs  and  importance  of  prayer.  But 
I  fhall  beg  leave  to  take  occafion  here  to  produce  a 
few  more  pafTages  in  order  to  prove  this. 

*'  To  worftiip  the  gods  and  to  pray  to  them, 
^'  fays  PlatOy  is  above  all  things  fit,  decent,  beautiful 
*'  and  conducive  to  a  happy  life."  PIc2t.  de  Leg.  L.  IV. 

In  the  12th  book  of  laws  (Sub  fine)  he  obfsrves, 

*'  that  it  Is  above  all  things  proper,  that  none  but  fuch 
"  as  underftand  and  venerate  and  practice  religion 
*'  (hould  be  chofen  magiftrates,  or  be  held  in  efteem 

*'  on  account  of  their  virtue." In  another  of 

his  Dialogues  he  obferves  to  the  fame  purpofe,  that 
it  {hould  not  be  thought,  that  there  is  any  part  of  hu- 
man virtue  of  greater  weight,  than  religion  or  piety 

towards  the  Deity.  Ep'in,  Sub  fine. C'laro  (in  Offic, 

Lib.  I.  Cap.  ult.)  places  in  the  firft  rank  of  duties 
thoic  wc  owe  to  God  ;  And  he  obferves.  that  to  de- 

ilroy 


O;^     P  R  A  Y  E  R.  307 

matters    of  controverfy  and  fpeculation, 
as  if  our  defign  was  to  fhew  the  Deity- 
how 

llroy  piety  and  religion  is  to  introduce  confufion  into 
human  life,  and  to  fubvert  all  fecial  duties.     De  Nat, 

L.  I.  n.  2. "Marcus  Antoninus  afierts  that  the  foul 

of  man  was  made  for  godlinefs  no  lefs  than  for 
juftice,  and  that  the  former  is  the  proper  ground  and 
fpring  of  the  latter.  De  rebus  Suis,  Lib.  XI.  S.  i8, 
The  chief  article  of  the  unwritten  law  men- 
tioned by  Socrates  (in  Xenoph.  Mem.  L.  IV.  C.  IV. 
S.  19,)  is,  that  the  gods  ought  to  be  v/orfhipped» 
This,  he  fays,  is  acknowledged  every  where ;  and 
received  by  all  men  as  the  firft  command.  Flapet 
Tracrtv  civGpooTroir  'ir^o^rov  vo/at^grar,  ra^  ©gyr  CtCsrv. 
— '——Piety,  fays  Hierocles^  is  the  chief  and  the  pa- 
rent of  all  the  virtues,  and  the  contempt  of  piety  the 
caufe  of  all  vice.  In  Carm.  Pythag.  Verf.  i.  17. — 
If  you  fearch  the  world,  fays  Plutarch^  you  may  find 
cities  without  walls,  without  letters,  without  kings, 
without  money ;  but  no  one  ever  faw  a  city  without 
a   Deity,    without  a    temple,    or    without  prayers. 

Plut.  adverfus  Coloiem. He  concludes  his  trea- 

tife  on  fuperftition  with  obferving,  ''  that  thofe  v,'ho, 
*'  forfaking  that  piety  which  lies  in  the  middle,  run 
*^  into  irreligi on  to  avoid  fuperfition^  adl  like  a  perfcn 
*'   who  to  avoid  a  wild  beaft,  or  a  fire,  {hould  run 

*'   among  pits  and   precipices." But  there  would 

be  no  end  of  quoting  pafTages  of  this  kind. 

X  2  Nothing 


308  On    Prayer. 

how  finely  we  can  talk,    or  how  much 

we  know. 1  have  now  in   view  piib^ 

lie  Prayer  only.  In  private  Prayer  'tis 
not  to  be  fuppofed  that  any  one  can  fall 
into  thefe  abfurdities  and  indecencies. 
Here  a  truly  devout  heart  will  often  find 
itfelf  above  the  ufe   of  words.     And  in 

Nothing  Is  more  certain  than  that  religion  has 
been  held  in  the  higheft  veneration  among  all  civiliz- 
ed nations,  and  particularly  among  the  wife  Greeks 
and  Romans.  "  Our  city,  (fays  Valerius  Maximns^ 
**  of  Rome.  Lib.  I.  Cap.  i.)  has  always  held  every 
<*  thing  to  be  of  inferior  value  to  religion." — It  is  im- 
poflTible  to  think  of  this  without  being  furprifed  at  that 
difregard  to  religion  which  prevails  at  prefent  in  this 
kin'^dom.  Has  it  indeed  been  difcovered  that  the  vvif- 
dom  of  all  ages  has  been  deceived  in  this  inflance,  and 
that  piety  is  no  part  of  a  good  charajSler  ?  One  v/ould 
think  that  this  muft  be  the  cafe  ;  for  it  is  not  ealy,  on 
any  other  fuppofuion,  to  account  for  that  tranquility 
and  fatisfa^lion  with  which,  not  merely  the  vulgar  and 
illiterate,  but  many  fenfible  and  in  other  refpei51:s  vir- 
tuous men,  fecm  to  live  in  ihe  ncgle6l  of  religious  du- 
ties. 'Tis  plain,  however,  th:it  the  epithet  hcathemjh 
has  been  very  in^properly  applied  to  uich  perfons,  for 
it  appears  that  FIfeathens  thought  and  prad^ifed  very 
differently.      -^Cl    ^fft    Ir^    Pno/lO';>. 

general 


On    Prayer.  309 

general  It  will,  perhaps,  be  right  in  pri- 
vate Prayer  to  fuffer  ourfelves  to  be 
guided  by  our  feelings  and  afifeftions, 
and  the  prefent  ftate  of  our  circum- 
ftances,  without  tying  ourfelves  down 
to    any  particular  forms. 

I  might  go  on  to  give  an  account 
of  the  means  of  acquiring  a  true  fpirit 
of  devotion,  and  of  improving  in  it ; 
and  alfo  to  point  out  the  hindrances  ol 
it. — The  principal  helps  to  devotion  are, 
the  uninterrupted  praftice  of  it  with  fin- 
cerity;  clofe  and  frequent  meditation 
on  our  own  wants,  and  on  the  Divine 
nature  and  attributes  5  the  diligent  dif- 
charge  of  every  othej^  duty  of  life  ;  an 
ardent  love  of  virtue  and  zeal  to  grow 
in  it ;  and  a  heart  lifted  above  fenfible 
objefts,  and  warmed  with  benevolent 
wifiies  and  worthy  fentiments, — ^The 
chief  enemies  to  devotion  are,  vanity 
and  diffipation  of  mind ;  the  love  of 
pleafure  j  the  deceitfulnefs  of  riches  ; 
gloomy  notions  of  the  Deity ;  inatten- 
X  3  tioa 


3IO  On    Prayer, 

tion     to    religious    truths ;     carelel'snels 
in     cultivating     good     affections  ;    and 
the    indulgence    of    known    guilt.       A 
heart    filled    with    the    cares     of    life, 
and   ftrongly    attached   to  v/orldly  plea- 
fures,    profits    and    honours,    cannot    a^ 
fcend  to    heaven,  or   rife   to  clear  views 
and    a  calm  contemplation  of   Spiritual 
and   Divine    objeds.     The   fire   of  luft, 
of  am.bitio;?,     or    refentment    will    foon 
put  out  that  of  devotion.     A  foul  con-r 
fcious  of  demerit  and  deformity,  burden- 
ed with  a  fenfe  of  guilt,  and  unable  to 
refolve    upon    a     prefent    and    thorough 
amendment  muft  be  averfe  to  the  Deity, 

and  to  all   religious  duties. 'Tis  our 

duty  to  labour  more  and  more  to  remove 
thefe  hindrances  of  our  religious  im- 
provement, to  make  ufe  of  every  me- 
thod In  our  power  to  cherifh  a  devout 
temper,  and  to  throw  off  all  low  cares, 
all  irregular  defires  and  perplexing  paf-. 
fions,  that  our  fouls  may  turn  themfelves 
with  greater  eafe  and  alacrity  to  the  au- 
thor of  their  exigence  and  th^ir  only 
2  l^ap-* 


On    Prayer.  311 

happinefs. But  after  all  that  vvc  can 

do,  innumerable  imperfedtions  muft  cleave 
to  our  beft  exercifes  in  the  prefent  ftate. 
How  reviving  is  the  profped  of  a  better 
ftate,  where  we  fhall  lofe  all  our  prefent 
infirmities,  and  nothing  damp  the  exta- 
fies  of  our  fpirits;  where  'wefiallfee  God 
face  to  face y  ferve  him  without  wearinefs, 
and  be  happy  in    him  for  ever  ? 

To     fum     up     and     conclude     the 

whole. Wretched    is    the  man   who 

lives  as  without  God  in  the  world. 
Let  all  who  would  be  happy  remem- 
ber what  danger  they  muft  be  in, 
not  only  from  crimes  they  co^nmit,  but 
from  any  known  duties  which  they 
ncgleB,  Let  them  confider  that  according 
to  the  reprefentation  in  Matth,  xxvth, 
many  will  hereafter  be  condemned,  not 
for  being  aBively  vicwus,  but  for  being 
unprofitable  *y  not  for  isjafthig  their  talents, 
but  for  not  improving  them  \  not  fur  any 
harm  they  have  done,  but  for  good  they 
have  not  done.  Of  all  the  omiffions 
X  A,  which 


312  0;z    Prayer. 

which  we  can  be  guilty  of,  one  of  the 
rnoll:  unwarrantable  and  fatal  is  the 
omiffion  of  devotion.  To  want  piety  is 
to  want  the  fureft  foundation  of  all  excel- 
lent qualities,  and  to  break  that  which 
our  Lord  calls,  th.t  Jirji  and  great  com- 
mandment of  the  law  *.  No  worfe  blind-? 
nefs     or    calamity     can     happen     to    a 

rational    creature.- What   fliould    we 

think  of  a  oerfon  who  fhould  never  ad- 
4refs  himfelf,  in  a  way  of  acknow- 
ledgment and  refpefl-,  to  another  perfon 
upon  whom  he  was  dependent,  and  to 
whom  he  owed  all  his  happinefs  ? 
Would  not  fuch  a  one  fliew  a  temr- 
per  void  of  all  gratitude  and  ingenuity  ? 
— — What  an  injury  is  it  to  our  minds 
to  refufe  opening  them  to  heavenly  light 
and  grace;  to  (hut  out  of  them  the 
nobleft    fentiments  ^  and  to    remain   re- 

*  Matt.  xxii.  37.  Thou  JJ)aU  love  ih  Lord  th^  God 
With  all  thy  hearty  and  ivlth  all  thy  foul.  This  is  ibe 
Jirji  and  great  commandment.  And  the  fee  on  d  is  like  unto 
it ;  thou  Jh(dt  love  thy  neighbour  as  ihyfelf.  On  ihefe 
two  commaudmenis  hang  all  the  laiv  and  the  prophets, 

gardlefs 


0/1     P  R  A  Y  E  R*  31^ 

gardlefs  of  the  infinite  Deity,  though 
always  foliciting  our  attention  and  work- 
ing within  and  without  u$;  though  fur- 
rounded  with  his  glory,  dependent  every 
moment  on  his  power,  and  maintained 

by  his  goodnefs  ? Can  he-  be  qualified 

for  the  worihip  of  fuperior  Beings  in  the' 
manfions  of  the  blefl^ed,  who  never  v/or- 
fhips  here  below?  Can  he  poffefs  true 
goodnefs  who  forgets  the  fountain  of  all 
good,  and  omits  a  fundamental  part  and 
important  means  of  goodnefs  ?- — ^Even 
the  beft  men,  with  all  the  aid  which  they 
derive  from  religious  duties,  find  it  diffi- 
cult to  keep  their  minds  in  tolerable  or- 
der, and  to  maintain  themfelves  in  tran- 
quility and  purity  ?  What  then  muft  be 
the  condition  of  thofe  who  pay  no  reo-ard 
to  thefe  duties?  In  what  confufion  muft 
their  minds  lie  ?  Into  what  a  defart  muft 
their  charaders    run  ?   How  unprepared 

muft  they  be  for  ficknefs  and  death  ? 

We  are  often  feeing  that  thofe  who  have 
negledled  Prayer  in  life,  fly  to  it  with 
eagernefs  in  death.     They  then  fend,  for 

minifters 
2 


314  0/7     P  R  A  Y  E   R. 

minifters  to  pray  with  them,  and  expect, 
perhaps,  that  encouragement  and  com- 
fort fhould  be  given  them.  But  what 
comfort  can  be  given  them  ?  He  that 
now  paffes  his  days  without  Prayer,  in 
vain  will  he  fly  to  it  when  he  comes 
to  die.  The  happinefs  of  another  world 
is  promifed  to  a  holy  life^    not  to  a  fc- 

nitent  death. Let    us    then,  while   in 

health,  apply  ourfelves  to  the  moft  necef- 
fary  duties,  and  endeavour  always  to  be: 
fo  devout  and  diligent   as  we  fhall  foon 

wifh  we  had  been. In    a  little  time 

this  world  vnll  be  no  more  to  us ;  the 
curtain  will  drop  between  us  and  all  mor- 
tal fcenes ;  the  folemn  events  which  we 
are  often  hearing  of,  and  w^hich  we  are 
apt  to  fee  at  a  great  diftance,  w^ill  over- 
take and  amaze  us  j  religion  and  eternity 
will  appear  to  us  in  their  juft  impor- 
tance, and  nothing  will  prove  of  any 
advantage  to  us  except  the  good  we  now 
do,  and  the  habits  of  virtue  and  piety 
which  we  pofTefs.  Let  us  take  care  to 
bear  this  in  mind  amidft  all  our  engage- 
ments 


072    Prayer.  315 

ments  and    purfuits.      Let  us   ftrive  to 
acquire   that  fpirit  of  true   piety  which 
will    affimilate    us    to    the    Deity,    and 
ellablifh  our  fouls  in  peace  and  refigna- 
tion  and  a  fuperiority  to  defiling  paffions^ 
Let  us  do  all  in  our  power,  by  our  ex- 
ample and  influence,   to  revive  the  credit 
of  religion,  and  to  remove  the  prejudices 
which  prevail  againft  it.  Thefe  prejudices, 
as  far  as  they  proceed  from  the  dreadful 
effefts  of  the  corruptions  of  religion,  are 
indeed  in  the  highefl  degree   unreafon- 
able :  for  no  one  can  be  ignorant,  that  what 
is  mofl  ufeful  arid  valuable  becomes  in  all 
cafes  the  moft  pernicious  when  corrupted. 
But  the   inexcufablenefs  of  thefe  preju- 
dices affords  no   reafon  for  being   more 
remifs  in  endeavouring   to  remove  them,. 
Did   religion  appear,  in  the  tempers  and 
lives   of  all  who  profefs  it,    to   be  that 
joyful  and   divine  thing  which  it  really 
is,  every   objedion   to  it  would   vanifh, 
and  it  would  foon  force  univerfal  reve- 
rence and  admiration. But  I  feel  my- 

felf  in  danger  of  being  too  tedious. 

In 


3l6  O//     PtI  A  Y  E  R. 

In  the  latter  part  of  this  differtation  I 
have  endeavoured  to  fhew  in  vv^hat  man- 
ner we  ought  to  pray.     I   have  infifted 
particularly    on    our    obligation   to  pray 
with  minds  duly  prepared  ;    with  ferven- 
cy,   frequency  and    perfeverance ;    with 
univerfal   virtue    in    our    lives ;     in    the 
faithful  ufe  of  the  means  for   acquiring 
what  we  pray  for,  and  as  the  followers 
of  Jefus  Chrift,   who  through  him  look 
for  a  refurre<5tion  from  death  to  the  en- 
joyment of  endlefs   life    and    happinefs, 
• — Kow   delightful   and  improving   mufl 
fuch  devotion  be  ?  How  mighty  its  pow^ 
er  to   refine  and  exalt   our   fouls  ?  How 
unutterable   the   fweetnefs  of  a  life  thus 
fpent  ?  How    noble  an    acl    of  mind   is 
a  prayer  thus  offered    up  with  fimplicity 
and   humility,    with   collected  thoughts, 
pure  hearts,  affured  hope,   warm   affec- 
tions, and   in  the   lively  exercife    of  all 
worthy  fentiments  ?    Does  any  man   lack 
wjfdomy    or    any    thing    good    for    him  ? 
Let   him    in    this    manner  ajk    it  of  Gody 
ivho  ^ivcth    to    all  men    liberally ^  and  it 

jJmll 


0?l     P  R   A   Y   E   R.  317 

Jhall  be  ghen  him  *.  Nothing  can  hap- 
pen amifs  to  fuch  a  perfon.  He  has 
an  almighty  friend  to  confide  in,  who 
hears  liim  at  all  times,  is  engaged  in 
his  defence,  and  will  diftinguifh  him 
eternally  and  infinitely  from  the  irreli- 
gious and  profane. 

*  James  i    5. 


D  I  S  S  E  R. 


DISSERTATION    IIL 


O    N 


The  Reafons  for  expeding  that 
virtuous  Men  fhall  meet  after 
Death  in  a  State  of  Happinefs. 


r 


DISSERTATION   IIL 

O  N 

T^he  Reafons  for  exptEiing  that  wtuoiLs 
Men  Jloall  meet  after  Death  in  a  State  of 
Happinefs, 

NO  perfon  who  ever  makes  any  fen-* 
ous  reflexions,  can  avoid  v^ifhing 
carneftly  to  be  fatisfied.  Whether  there  i$ 
^  future  flate  ?  And  if  there  is.  What 
expeftations  he  ought  to  entertain  w^itli 
refpeft  to  it,    and  by  what    means   his 

happinefs    in  It   miift    be    fecured  ? »- 

There  are  many  arguments  which  lead 
us  to  conclude,  in  anfwer  to  the  firfl  of 
thefe  queftions,  that  we  are  indeed  defigri- 
ed  for  another  ftate.  And  there  are  alfo 
many  which  at  the  fame  time  prove, 
that  the  practice  of  virtue  muft  be  our 
beft  fecurity  in  all  events,  and  the  moil 
Y  likely 


322  The  Jiin^ion  of  vtrtiioiis  Men 
likely  method  to  fecure  happinefs  through 
every  poflible  future  period  of  our  dura- 
tion. True  goodnefs  is  the  image  of 
the  Deity  in  our  fouls;  and  it  is  not 
conceiveable  that  it  fhould  not  recommend 
us  to  his  particular  regard,  or  that  thofe 
who  praftife  it  fliould  not  be  always  fafeft 
and  happieft.  On  the  fuppolition  of  a 
fviture  world,  nothing  offers  itfelf  more 
unavoidably  to  our  thoughts  than  the  no- 
tion, that  it  will  be  a  ftate  in  which  pre- 
fent  inequalities  will  be  fet  right,  and  a 
fuitable   diftindion  made  between   good 

and   bad    men. It   muft  however  be 

owned,  that  this  fubjedl,  as  it  appears 
to  the  eye  of  unafifted  reafon,  is  involv- 
ed in  much  darknefs.  That  in  the  fu- 
ture ftate  all  men  (hall  receive  an  ade- 
quate retribution^  we  may  in  general 
knoWy  but,  had  we  nothing  to  guide 
us  befides  natural  light,  we  could  not  go 
much  further  on  any  fure  grounds,  or 
give  a  fatisfadtory  reply  to  feveral  very 
interefting  enquiries. 

The 


in  the  Heavenly  State.'  323 
The  connderation,  particularly,  of  oar- 
felves  as  giiihy  creatures,  would  raife 
doubts  in  our  minds;  and  thefe  doubts 
would  not  be  leffened  but  increafed  by 
•reflefling,  that  under  the  divine  govern- 
ment^ happinefs  is  connedied  with  virtue, 
and  punifhment  with  vice.  The  fa(ft, 
that  virtue  will  be  rewarded,  does  not 
by  any  means  determine  what  fuch  virtue 
as  ours  may  expe(fl:.  The  virtuous  among 
mankind  are  to  be  confidered  as  penitent 
Jinners,  and  what  peculiar  treatment  the 
cafes  of  fuch  may  require,  or  how  far  re- 
pentance might  avail  to  break  th^  con- 
nexion eftabhfhed  by  the  divine  laws 
between   fm    and'mifefy^   would   not,  I 

think,  be  clear  to  us. Here  then  the 

aid  of  the  chriftian  revelation  comes  in 
moft  feafonably,  and  gives  us  the  moft 
agreeable  information.  It  furniflies  u^ 
tvith  a  certain  proof  from  fadt  of  a  fu- 
ture ilate,  and  ihews  to  our  fenfes  the 
path  of  life  m  the  refurredlion  and  afcen- 
fion  of  Jefus  Chrift.  It  afiires  us,  that 
repentance  will  be  available  to  our  com- 
V  2  plete 


324  ^^^  Jundiion  of  ^virtuous  Men 
plete  falvation,  and  that  all  virtuous  men 
fliall  be  rewarded  with  a  bleffed  and  glo- 
rious Immortality.  At  the  fame 
time,  it  teaches  us  to  confider  this  as  the 
efFedt,  not  of  the  ordinary  laws  of  the 
divine  government,  but  of  a  particular 
interpofition  in  our  favour,  and  a  love  to 
man  in  Jefiis  Chrift  which  pajjh  knov)- 
ledge. 

But  it  is  not  my  prefent  purpofe  to  in- 
fift  on  thefe  things.  The  reality  of  a 
future  ftate,  as  it  is  difcoverable  by  rea- 
fon  and  as  it  has  been  confirmed  and 
explained  by  the  chriftian  revelation, 
muft  be  now  taken  for  granted.  The 
defign  of  this  difcourfe  is  only  to  offer  a 
few  thoughts  on  one  particular  queftion 
relating  to  it,  which,  though  not  of  the 
highcjl,  is  yet  ol  fome  confequence.  I 
mean  the  queftion,  *'  How  far  we  have 
<«  reafon  to  expeft,  that  we  Hiall  bereaf- 
"  ter  be  reftored  to  an  acquaintance  with 
**  one  another,  or  again  fee  and  know 
**  one  another." 

There 


in  the  Heavenly  State.  325 
There  are  probably  but  few  who  have 
felt  what  it  is  to  be  deprived  by  death  of 
perfons  they  loved,  whofe  thoughts  have 
not  been  a  good  deal  employed  on  this 
point.  What,  on  fuch  occafions,  we 
muft  delire  chiejiy  to  know  is,  that  our 
friends  are  happy ;  but  it  is  unavoidable 
to  inquire  further  concerning  them  with 
fome  anxiety,  whether  we  are  likely  e- 
ver  to  fee  them  again.  It  would  be  dif- 
mal  to  think  of  a  departed  friend  or  rela- 
tive, that  "  He  is  gone  from  us  for  ever, 
*^  that  he  exifts  no  more  to  us."  But 
virtuous  men  have  no  reafon  for  ^ny  fuch 
apprehenfions :  And  one  of  the  unfpeak- 
able  comforts  attending  the  belief  of  a 
future  ftate,  arifes  from  the  hope  it  gives 
of  having  our  friendfhips  perpetuated, 
and  being  re-united  in  happier  regions 
to  thofe  whom  we  have  loved  and  ho- 
noured here. 1  am  well  fatisfied  that 

this  is  a  very  rational  hope ;  and  in  or- 
der to  fliew  that  it  is  fo,  I  fliall  beg  leave 
to  offer  the  following  obfervations, 

Y3  Let 


326     The  JunBhn  of  'virtuous  Men 

Let  it  be  confidered  firft,  what  efFecfb 
our  future  recoUedtion  of  thofe  who  are 
nov/  dear  to  us,  is  likely  to  have  uppi^ 
us.T — ^We  have  great  reafon  to  believe, 
that  all  the  fcenes  of  this  life  will,  in 
the  future  life,  be  prefented  to  our  me-? 
mories,  and  that  we  fhall  then  recover 
the  greateft  part,  if  not  the  whole  of 
*our  prefent  confcioufnefs.  The  fcrip- 
tures    teach    us  this   in   a   very    ftriking 

manner. '^ It    is   not   therefore    to    be 

doubted,  but  that  we  fhall  hereafter 
have  a  diftinft  remembrance  of  our  vir- 
tuous friends  and  kindred;  and  this  re- 
membrance, one  w^ould  think,  muft  be 
attended  with  fome  revival  of  particular 
regard,  and  have  a  |;endency  to  draw  us 
to  one  another,  as  far  as  it  will  be  poffiblc 

Or  proper.' -It  will,  I  know,    be  ob- 

jefted  to  this,  that  our  attachments  tq 
relations  and  friends  are  derived  from 
inftinfts  which  have  been  planted  in  us 
to  carry  on  the  purpofes  of  the  prefent 
{late,  and  which  muft  ceafe  intirely  here- 
after.    This  'is,    undoubtedly,    in    fome 

degree 


in  the  Heavenly  State.         '^ij 
deo-ree  true.     Every  inftindive   determi- 
nation,  which   refpefts  only  the  exigen- 
cies of  the  prefent  life,   will   ceafe  with 
it.     But  does  it  follow  from  hence,  that 
we  are  likely  hereafter  to  be  left  as  indif- 
ferent  to   thofe   who  are    now    our    re- 
lations and  friends,   as  if  we  had  never 
known   them?  This    would    be    a    very 
wrong  conclufion.    The  natures  of  things 
render  it  fcarcely  conceive  able,  that  the 
recolledlion    of    thofe    valuable    perfons 
with  whom   v/e   now    have  connections, 
(of  valuable  parents,   for    example,   who 
had  the  care  of  us  in  our  firft  years,  and 
have  brought  us  up   to  virtue  and  hap- 
pinefs,)  fhould   not,  in  every  future  pe- 
riod of  our  duration,    endear  their  me- 
mory to  us,    and  give  us  a  particular  pre- 
ference of  them,  and    inclination  to  feek 
their  fociety.     Many  of  the  diftindions, 
which  we  make   in  our  regards  between 
fome  and  others,  are  derived  from  reafon 
and  neceffity ;  and  this  feems  to  be  the 
cafe  in  the  prefent  inftance.-- — fWe  are, 
perhaps,   apt  fometimes  to  carry  our  no- 
Y  4  tions 


52S     l^he  yunSion  of  virtuous  Men 
tions  too   far  of  the  difference  between 
what  we  now  are,  and  what  wc  raall  be. 
in  thene;xt  ftage  of  our  being.     Ii,  would 
be  abfurd  to  fuppofe,  that  we  ihall  here^ /^ 
after  want  all  particular  defires  and  pro- 
penfities.     Benevolence,    curiofity,  .  felf-r 
love,  the  defire  of  honour,  and  mcfr    of 
our  more  noble  and  generous  aff^iilions,  . 
will  not  decreafe  but  grow   as   the  per- 
fection of  our  intelleftual  nature  giT^wSvi. 
And.  even  ourprefent  facial  inJiinBs   may  . 
ledve   effedts  on  our  tempers    which  n^ay 
produce  an  everlafting  union  of  fouls,  and 
lay  the  foundation  of  fentiments   and  de^- 
iires  which   flaall  never  be  loft, 

Buttheie  obfervations,  lamfenfible,  are 
not  direffly  to  the  prefent  purpofir  Whet 
affords  the  plaineft  evidence  on  this  fubr, 
je(fl,  is  the  following  confideratioh.'-—- ^ 
There  is  great  reafon  to  believe '  tliat  ' 
virtuous  men,  as  beings  of  the  fame  fpe- 
cies  who  have  begun  exiftence  in  the 
fame  circumftances,  and  been  trained  up 
to   virtue  in   the  fame  ftate  of  trial  and 

difcipline^j 


in  the  Heavenly  State.  32^^ 

difcipline,    will  be  hereafter  placed  in  the 
fame  common  manfions  of  felicity.     It  is 
groundlefs    and    unnatural    to    imagine, " 
that  after  paffing  through  this  Yii^y   they ' 
will  be  removed  to  different  worlds,  or" 
fcattered  into  different  regions  of  the  uni- 
verfe.      The  language    of  the  fcriptures 
feems  plainly  and  exprefly  to  determine  the 
contrary.     They  acquaint  us,  that  man- 
kind are  to  be  raifed  from  the  dead  toge- 
ther y  and  to  be  judged  together  -,  and  that 
the  righteous,   after  the  general  refurrec- 
tion  and  judgment,  are  to  be  taken  to- 
gether to  the  fame  heavenly  ftate,  there  • 
to  live  and   reign  with   Chrift,    and   to 
fhare  in  his  dignity  and  happinefs.    When, 
in  the  epiftle  to  the  Hebrews,  (chap,  xii.-  -. 
?2,  23,  24.)  we  ate  faid,;  in  confequencerit 
of  the  clear  difcoveries  made  by  the  gof- -vf^ 
pel  of  a  future  ftate,  to  be,  as  it   were^T 
already  come  to  the  city  of  the  living  God, 
fa  an  innumerable  company  of  Angels,  to  the^i'y 
general  ajfembly  and  church  ofthefirjl-bom^  L 
and  to  the  fpirit^  of  pijl  men  made  pcrfe5l : 

1% 


330  The  JunBion  of  virtuous  Men 
it  is  plainly  implied,  that  we  are  to  join 
the  general  aflembly  of  juft  men  and 
of  angels  in  the  realms  of  light,  and 
to  be  fixed  in  the  fame  manfions  with 
them. 

The  ftate  of  future  reward  is  frequent- 
ly, in  the  New  Teftament,  defcribed  un- 
der the  notion  of  a  city,   that  is,  a  com- 
munity or    fociety.     It   is   likewife   very 
often   called   a  kingdom ,    the  kingdom  of 
God,  and   the  everlajling  kingdom    of  our 
Lord    and  Saviour    fefus    Chrifl.      The 
great    end    of  Chrift's  coming    into  the 
world  w^as   to  lay  the  foundation  of  this 
kingdom,  by  faving  men  from  the  effedts 
of  guilt,    delivering    them    from    death, 
and  uniting  the    virtuous    part  of   them 
under  one  perfedt  and  everlajfting  govern- 
ment in  the   heavens.     'Tis    faid  of  the 
true  difciples  of  Chrift,  that  *  becaufe  he 
lives y  they  Jhall  live  alfoy  that  they  fliall 
hereafter  appear  with    him  in  glory  ^  that 
he  is  now  entered  for  them  into  hearven  as 
their  for  erun7icr ;    that  he  is  there  prepar- 


ing 


John. 


in  the  Heavenly  State.         331 

ing  a  place  for  them^  and  that  he  will 
foon  come  again  to  take  them  to  hlmfelfy 
that  where  he  is,  there  they  may  be  alfoy 
beholding  his  glory.  This  account  is  ut- 
terly inconfiftent  with  the  fuppofition, 
that  thofe  who  fhall  partake  of  the  fu- 
ture reward  of  virtue  are  to  be  difperfed 
into  different  parts  of  the  univerfe,  and 
fcarcely  leaves  us  any  room  to  doubt  on 
the  prefent  queftion.  For,  is  it  poffible, 
that  we  fhould  be  happy  hereafter  in  the 
fame  feats  of  joy,  under  the  fame  per- 
fe<a  government,  and  as  members  of  the 
fame  heavenly  fociety,  and  yet  remain 
ftrangers  to  one  another  ?  Shall  we  be 
together  with  Chrift,  and  yet  not  with 
one  another?  Or  fhall  we  lofe  one  ano- 
ther in  that  multitude  which  cannot  be  num- 
bered ^%  of  thofe  who  have  been  refcued 
by  him  from  deftrud:ion,  and  who  wull 
follow  him  to  his  everlafting  kingdom? 
Being  in  the  fame  happy  ftate  with  our 
prefent  virtuous  friends  and  relatives. 
Will  they  not  be  acceffible  to  us  ?  And 
ff  acceffible,  Shall   we   not  fly  to  them, 

and 
*    Rev.    vli.    Q. 


332     T^he  JunBion  of  virtuous  Men 

and  mingle  hearts  and  fouls  again  ? — I  am 
very  fenfible,  that  a  great  deal  of  what 
the  fcriptures  fay  of  the  future  ftate  is 
accommodated  to  our  prefent  imperfedl 
ideas,  and  muft  not  be  underftood  too 
literally.  But  if,  in  the  prefent  in- 
ftance,  it  means  any  thing,  it  muft 
mean  as  much  as  implies  what  I  am 
pleading  for. 

In  order  to  give  fome  further  evidence 
on  this  point,  it  will  not  be  amifs  to  de- 
fire,  that  the  following  palTages  of  fcrip- 
ture  may  be  attended  to. — The  TheiTalo- 
nians,  a  little  before  St.  Paul  wrote  his 
firft  epiftle  to  them,  had,  it  feems,  loft 
fome  of  their  friends  by  death.  In  thefe 
circumftances,  he  exhorts  them  not  to 
forrow  like  others  who  had  no  hopey  be- 
caufe  they  might  conclude  certainly, 
from  the  death  and  refurredion  of  Jefus, 
that  thofe  who  had  Jlept  in  him,  God 
ivould  hereafter  bring  with  him.  He  tells 
them  hy  the  word  of  the  Lord,  or,  as  from 
immediate   revelation,  that  a  period  was 

coming 


in  the  Heavenly  State.  333 

coming  when  Chrift  would  defcend 
from  heaven  with  ajhouty  with  the  voice 
of  the  arch' angel y  and  with  the  trwnp  of 
God;  and  when  the  friends  they  had  loft 
fhould  be  raifed  from  the  dead,  and,  toge- 
ther with  themfelves,  fiould  be  caught  up 
to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  airy  and  to  live 
for    ever  with  hi?n.    1  Theff.  iv.    13,    14, 

&c. But  what  I  have  in  view  is  more 

diftindlly  aflerted  in  the  2d  chapter  of 
this  epiftle,  verfe  19th.  For  what  is  our 
hopey  our  joy,  our  crown  of  rejoicing?  Are 
not  even  ye  in  the  prefence  of  our  Lord  fe-" 

fas    at     his    coming? *Tis     moft 

plainly  implied  in  thefe  words,  that  the 
apoftle  expefted  to  fee  and  know  again 
his  Theffalonian  converts  at  Chrift's  fe- 
cond  coming.  The  fame  remark  may 
be  made  on  his  words  in  2  Cor.  iv,  14. 
knowingy  that  he  which  raifed  up  the 
Lord  Jefusy  Jhall  raife  us  up  alfo  by  Jefusy 
and prefent  us  with  you.  And  alfo  in  2  Cor. 
i.  14.  As  you  have  acknowledged  us  in  party 
that  we  are  your  rejoicingy  even  fo  ye  alfo 
are  curs  in  the  day  of  the  Lord  Jfus, 

Having 


334     The  yun^iion  of  liirtiious  Men 

Having  made  thefe  obfervations  to 
flxew,  that  we  may  with  reaibn  enter* 
tain  the  exped:ation  of  joining  one  ano^ 
ther  hereafter  5  I  fhall  now  beg  leave  to 
give  myfelf  free  fcope  in  imagining  and 
reprefenting  the  happinefs  with  v/hich  it 

will  be  attended. It  is   fcarcely  pof- 

fible  for  any  perfon  not  to  look  upon 
this,  as  one  moft  agreeable  circumilance 
in  the  future  ftate  of  felicity.  It  has  a 
tendency  to  render  the  contemplation  of 
another  w^orld  much  more  delightful. 
The  hope  of  it  rifes  up  unavoidably  in 
our  minds,  and  has  generally,  if  not  al-» 
ways  *",  accompanied  the  belief  of  a  fu-* 
ture  exiflence.  Nor  does  there  appear 
the  leajft  reafon  why  we  fliould  helitate 
here  a  moment,  or  refufe  falling  in  rea- 
dily with  the  natural  and  common  appre- 

*  0  pnedarum  diem^  turn  ad  illud  dlvinum  animo- 
rurn  concilium  catumque  proficifcar ;  cumque  ex  hac  iurha 
£t  colhrJto7ie  d'ljcedam  !  Proficifcar  euhn  mn  ad  cos  folurh 
vlros  de  qu'ihus  ante  dixi,  fid  ct'iam  ad  catonem  ineum^  quo 
nemo  v'lr  rncUor  nsitus  f/i^  mmo  pietate  praftantUr^  &Cw 
Cicer.  de  Sene(Slute, 

henfions 


in  the  Heavenly  State.         33^ 

henlions  of  mankind.  Without  dwelling 
therefore  any  longer  on  the  evidence  for 
this  point,  let  us  recolledl  fome  of  the 
particular  circumftances  which  will  con- 
tribute towards  rendering  the  future  junc- 
tion of  virtuous  men  joyful. 

One  of  thefe  circumftances  will  be  the 
remembrance  of  their  prefent  connexi- 
ons with  one  another.  For  me7z  to  meet 
men  ki  the  heavenly  fociety;  for  beings 
to  join  one  another  hereafter,  who  have 
begun  their  exiftence  on  the  fame  planet, 
felt  the  fame  fears,  and  undergone  the 
fame  difcipline,  muft  be  the  caufe  of  plea- 
fure.  What  then  will  it  be  {or  friends 
to  meet  friendsy  and  kindred  to  meet  kin- 
dred? What  will  it  be,  after  obtaining 
a  complete  conqueft  over  death,  to  be 
reftored  to  thofe  who  are  now  dear  to  us 
as  our  own  fouls,  and  to  whofe  example 
and  inftruftions  we  are,  perhaps,  indebt- 
ed for  the  higheft  bleffings  ?  With  what 
delight  will  the  pious  parent  meet  his 
children,  the  hufband  the  wife,  and  the 
5  mafter 


336     T^he  JunSimz  of  vir tutus  Men 

mafter  his  family?  How  will  many  good 
men,  now  of  oppofite  fentiments,  re-* 
joice  to  fee  one  another  in  blifs,  and  to 
find  thofe  errors  correfted  and  thofe 
filly  prejudices  removed,  which  here 
keep  them  at  a  diftance  from  one  ano^ 
ther?  How  will  the  faithful  clergyman 
rejoice  with  thofe  of  his  flock  who  have 
profited  by  his  labours,  and  whom  he  has 
been  the  means  of  reclaiming  from  vice, 
or  improving  in  goodnefs  ?  What  congra-* 
tulations  and  mutual  welcomings,  may 
we  fuppofe,  will  then  take  place  be- 
tween all  virtuous  friends  ?  How  agree- 
able will  it  be  to  review  together  the 
converfations  which  they  have  with  one 
another  in  this-flate  of  darknefs,  and  to 
recolledt  and  compare  the  fcenes  they  now 
pafs  through,  the  doubts  that  now  perplex 
them,  the  different  parts  they  now  ad:,  and 
the;  different  temptations  and  trials  with 
which  they  fl:ruggle?  Are  fuch  views 
and  reflexions  all  vifionary?  Surely  they 
are  not.  If  there  is  indeed  to  be  that 
future  junftion  of  the  worthy  among 
^  5  mankind. 


'  '^^\r'fBeHeave?2ly  State,         337-. 

mankind,  which  I  have  pleaded  for, 
they  are  fufficiently  warranted,  and  mull 
offer  themfelves  to  every  confiderate 
mind. 

Another  circumftance  which  will  con-'' 
tribute  to  the  joy  we  fliall  have  in  meet- 
ing one  another  hereafter,  will  be  our 
reflexion  on  the  common  danger  we  fhali 
have  efcaped.  We  are  told  in  the  plain- 
eft  terms  by  the  mouth  of  divine 
wifdom,  that  all  who  do  wickedly 
iliail  be  doomed  to  that  everlafling fire  *■ 

which 

"^^Matth.  XXV.  41.  ThenJJ)allhe  fay  to  them  on  the 
left  'handy  depart  from  me  ye  cur  fed  into  everlafling  fire  ^ 
prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels.  It  has  been  obfer- 
ved  as  remarkable,  in  the  paflage  from  whence  thefc 
words  are  taken,  that,  whereas  the  kingdo?n  into. 
wHTch  the  righteous  are  to  be  advanced,  is  faid  to 
have  been  prepared  for  them  from  before  the  founda- 
tion of  the  world  ;  the  everlafling  fire^  on  the  con- 
trary, into  which  the  wicked  are  to  be  configned,  is 
faid  to  have  been  prepared,    not  for  them,    but  for  the 

devil  and  his  angels, -This  fecms  to  intimate   to  us, 

that  the  devil  and  his  an^iels  were  the  firft  tranf^ref- 
fors,  who  have  been  the  means  of  involvins;  mankind 
in  guilt  and  diRrefs, 

Z  i 


33^    0?i  the  Junction  ofvktuous  Men 

which  was  prepared  for  the  devil  and  hh 
angeh ;  and  that  braad  is  the  way,  and  wide 

I  cannot  forbear  adding,  with  refpedl  to  the  repre- 
fentation  which  the  fcriptures  often  make  of  the  fu- 
ture ftate  of  punifliment,  zs  zn  unquenchable  and  ever - 
lajVing  fire  into  which  the  wicked  are  to  be  caft;  that 

probably  the  rcafons  of  it  may   be, 1/?,  The 

propriety  of  an  inextinguifliable  fire,  which  confumes 
whatever  is  thrown  into  it,  to  reprefent,  in  a  manner 
flriking  to  the  imagination,  the  future  everlafting 
rcje6^ion  and  extermination  of  all  that  work  iniquity. 

idly^  Learned  men  have  obferved,  that  there  is 

in  this  reprcfentation  an  allufion  to  the  continual 
fires  in  the  valley  of  Hinnom  near  Jerufalem,  where^ 
in  idolatrous  times,  innumerable  children  had  been 
burnt  alive  to  Moloch  5  and  where,  in  the  times  of  our 
Saviour,  there  was  a  fire  always  burning  to  confume 
the  fihh  of  the  city  and  the  carcafcs  of  animals.  Thiij 
valley  was  confidered  by  the  jews,  for  this  reafon,  ai» 
a  place  (o  unclean  and  horrible,  that  it  was  natural 
to  make  ufc  of  it  as  an  emblem  of  the  ftate  of  future 
punilhment.  It  is  well  known,  that  the  original 
words  rendered  by  the  tranflators  of  the  New  Tefta- 
ment,  Hell-fire,  are  the  fire  of  Gehenna^  or  the  fire  of 
the  valley  of  Hinnom,  It  was,  therefore,  from  this 
Valley-,  that  the  regions  of  punilhment  came  to  be  called 
by  the  ancient  Jews  Gehenna^  the  fign  or  emblem  being 
n^.c-nic  to  ftand  for  that  which  it  was  fuppofed  to  re- 
fcmblc. 

the 


in  the  Heavenly  State.  ^^g 

the  gate  that  ieadetb  to' dejlruclion,  and  that 
many  there  be  who  go  in  thereat.  Every 
pcrfon,  therefore,  who  fliall  hereafter  at^ 
tain  to  happinefs,  will  be  one  efcaped 
from  great  danger.  And  can  it  be  ima- 
gined, that  the  remembrance  of  this  will 
have  no  tendency  to  enhance  the  fatisfac- 
tion  attendirtg  the  future  jundion  of  good 
men  ?  Will  it  not  be  agreeable  to  fee 
that,  amidft  the  difmal  wreck,  our  friends 
have  been  prefer ved ;  and  that  they  arc 
fafe  landed,  after  being  toiled  on  the  fea 
of  this  world,  and  running  numberlefs 
rifks  of  being  caft  away  ?  Will  it  not 
give  us  the  higheft  pleafure  to  meet  a- 
mong  the  blefled,  thofe  perfons  for  whom, 
perhaps,  we  have  often  lighed  and  trem- 
bled; or  to  find,  that  inftead  of  being 
numbred  among  the  loft  and  miferable, 
our  earneft  wilhes  for  them  have  been 
anfwered,  that  they  have  acquitted  them- 
felves  well  in  life,  and  chofen  that  good 
fart  which  will  never  be  taken  from  them? 

Z  a  ThirJly, 


340    On  the  JiinBion  ofmrttious  Men 

Thirdlyy  It  may  be  proper,  on  this  oc- 
cafion,  to  think  of  the  place  where  we 
fhall  hereafter  join  our  virtuous  friends. 
We  fliall  meet  them  in  the  realms  of  light; 

m  that  city  *  which  hath  foundations  y  whofe 
builder  and  maker  is  God-,  in  the  e^oerlajling 
kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  fefus 
Chrijl.  We  fhall  fee  them  again  in 
thofe  new  heavens  and  that  new  J  earth 
wherein  dwelleth  right eoifnefs^  into  which 
nothing  that  deflethy  or  that  loveth  or  mak- 
eth  a  licy  fhall  be  admitted  -f- ;  where  all  tears 
will  be  wiped  away  from  our  eyes,  and  pain 
and  death  and  forrow  J}:all  be  known  no 
more  || ;  where  nature  will  ihew  us  its 
moft  glorious  face,  and  order,  peace  and 
love  reign  in  full  perfeftion  for  ever. 

But  one  of  the  particulars  that  moft  re- 
quires our  notice  here  is,  that  our  friends 
will  then  have  loft  their  prefent  weak- 
neflefs.    They  will  not  then  be  fuch  frail 


-* 


Heb.   xi.   10.         t  2  Pet.  iii.   13. 
t  Rev.  xxi.  27.  II  Rev.  xxi.  4. 

and 


in  the  Heavenly  State.  341 

and  helplefs  beings  as  we  now  fee  them. 
They  will  not  be  liable  to  be  iiifnared  by 
temptations,    or  ruffled  by   unreafonable 
paflions.     They  will  not  be  hafly  in  their 
judgments,   capricious  in   their  tempers, 
or    narrow    in    their     opinions.       Every 
wrong  byafs  will  be  taken  from  their  wills, 
and  the  imperfeftions,  which  now  render 
them   lefs    amiable,    will   be     removed. 
Our  hearts  fh all  never  more  ache  for  their 
troubles,  or  feel  anguifh  on  their  account. 
They    will   be  paft  all  ftorms,  cured  of 
all  follies,   and  eafed  of  all  pains.     They  . 
will    appear     in    finifhed     dignity     and 
honour,    after  the  education  and   difcip- 
line  of  this  world,  and  be  endowed  with 
every  excellence  which  we  can  wiili  them 
to  have.  —  What  pleafure  will  it  give  to 
meet  them  in  thefe  circumflances  ?  How 
dehghtful  will  be   our   intercourfe    with 
them  when  they,  together  with  ourfelves, 
fliall  be  thus  changed  and  improved  ? 

Once    more.     In     the    future    world, 

there    v/Ill     be    no   fuch    painful    fepa- 

Z  3  rations 


342    On  the  ju7tBio7i  of  virtuous  Men 

rations  from  our  friends  as  we   now  flifv 

fer. It  can  fcarcdy   be  faid  that  wc 

have  in  this  life,  more  than  juft  time  e-' 
nough  to  begin  friendships,  and  to  feel 
the  pangs  of  forrow  that  attend  the  diffo- 
Jution  of  them.  But,  in  the  heavenly 
irate,  we  fhall  feel  no  forrows  of  this 
kind.  Our  friends  will  be  immortal.  Our 
happinefs  in  them  will  be  liable  to  no  a- 
batements  from  the  fad  apprehenfion  of 
being  foon  parted  from  thenn,  and  feeing 
them  fmk  under  decay  and  ficknefs.  We 
iliall  never  be  witneffes  to  any  fuch  fliock- 
ing  fcenes  as  their  expiring  agonies.  The 
cruel  hand  of  death  will  not  be  able  there 
to  reach  them,  and  to  tear  them  from  our 
embraces  *,   They  will  flourifh  in  eternal 

health 

*  "  Who  would  naf,  (T^ys  §ocrates  in  his  apo- 
"  Jogy)  part  with  a  gr-eat  deal  to  purchafe  a  meeting 
^'  with  Orpheus^  Hefiod^  Homer ^  &c.?  If  it  be  true 
^'  that  this  is  to  be  the  confequence  of  death,  I  would 

'*  even  be  glad   to  die  often. What  pleafure  will 

^^  it  give  to  live  with  Palatncclcs  and  others,   who  fuf? 
f*^  fjarcd    urijuflly,    ^Jid  lo    fpirpare    my    fate    with 

*'  $hcirs? 


.        171  the  Heavenly  State.  343 

health  and  vigour,  and  be  with  us  for 
ever  witJp  the  Lord.-r — Such  are  the  cir-? 
c^umftances  that,  we  may  imagine,  will 
contribute  to  the  joy  attending  the  future 
jundlion  of  virtuous  men  in  the  heavenly 
ftafe.  I  cannot  help  adding  tlie  follow- 
ing reflexions  .- 

Firjl,  What  I  have  been  faying  has  a 
tendency  to  increafe  our  fatisfac^Hon  in  o'ur 
friends.  The  profpedl,  in  general,  of  a 
future  Hate,  muft  have  a  moft  friendly  in- 
fluence on  our  prefent  enjoyments. 
What,  indeed,  is  human  life  without 
fuch  a  profped?  What  darknefs  refts 
upon  it,  when  we  confider  it  as  no  more 
than  a  paffing  fliadow,  which  appearcth 
for  a  little  while  (ind  then  vanifieth  away  ; 
or,   as  a  iliort  period   of  tumultuous  buf~ 

'"  theirs  ?  What  an  inconceivable  happinefs  will  it 
*'  be  to  converfe,  in  another  world,  v/ith  ^ifiphus^ 
*'  Ulyjftsy  &c.  efpecially,  as  thofe  who  inhabit  that 
'f  wyrkl  fhali  die  no  more  ?- Kai   rr^^n  '^o-j  Xonro^^ 

tSlV'     Sccr.  ApoL  fipud  Plata- 

z  4  ^1= 


344    ^^'  ^^^  JunBion  of  virtuous  Men 

tie  and  uncertain  happinefs  diminillied 
J^y  many  vexations,  with  an  infinite 
blank  before  and  behind  it?  Such  a  view 
of  life  deprives  its  plcafures  of  their  relifh. 
It  is  enough  to  chill  all  our  thoughts, 
and  to  break  every  fpring  of  noble  acSion 

within  us. -But  if,  in  reality,  this  life  is 

only  an  introduBion  to  a  better  life,  or 
the  feeble  infancy  of  an  exiftence  that 
fliall  never  t'^A,  it  appears  with  un- 
ipeakable  dignity ;  it  has  an  infinitely  ini-^ 
portant  end  and  meaning ;  all  its  enjoy- 
ments receive  an  additional  relifh,  and 
the  face  of  nature  will  fliine  with  greater 

beauty  and  luftre. In   particular,    the 

confideration  of  the  circumflance  relat- 
ing to  our  future  exiftence  on  which  I 
have  been  infifting,  will  communicate 
new  joy  to  all  our  prefent  friendflnps. 
<■ — The  refletffcion  on  our  friends  as  heirs 
with  us  of  the  fame  blefled  immortality, 
as  perfons  whom  we  fhall  meet  in  the 
regions  of  heavenly  blifs  and  live  with 
for  ever,  muft  chear  our  minds  in  all  our 

inter^. 


in  the  Heavenly  State.         345 

intercourfe  with  them,  and  caiife  us  to 
look  upon  them  with  the  higheft  affedi-v 
on  and  dehght.  But,  to  conlider  them 
as  only  beings  of  a  day,  who  are  to  pcrifh 
in  death  we  know  not  how  foon ;  How 
uncomfortable  is  this?  What  a  damp 
muft  it  throw  over  our  friendfhips  ?  How 
dijfficult  mull  it  be  for  perfons,  who  have 
any  tender  feelings,  to  think,  without 
diftrefs,  of  agreeable  connexions  which 
they  fee  will  end  in  a  fpeedy  and  final 
reparation  -,  or,  of  valuable  friends,  all 
whofe  valuable  qualities  are,  in  a  little 
while,  to  be  wholly  extinguifhed,  and 
whom  they  are  juft  going  to  lofe  for  e- 
ver  ?  The  more  agreeable  the  connexions 
are,  the  more  diftrefs  muft  fuch  appre- 
henfions  create;  and  the  more  valuable 
our  friends,  the  greater  reafon  will  there 

be  for  pain. But,  fuppofe  what  has 

been  afferted  in  this  difcourfe;  fuppofe, 
that  our  prefent  connexions  are  to  be  re- 
newed hereafter,  that  we  are  again  to 
fee  thofe  valuable  perfons  who  are  gone 
before   us    from    hence,     or,     that  the 

friendr 


34^    On  the  JunBmi  of  virtuous  Men 

iriendfliips  which  now  take  place  betweeiT^ 
worthy  in^en,  are  only  the  beginnings  q£ 
an  union  of  mind«,  that  will  be  continue 
ed  and  perfeifted  in  the  heavens :  Sup- 
pofe  this,  I  fay,  and  all  will  be  triumph. 
We  fliall  have  abundant  encouragement 
to  cultivate  friendfliip.  The  view  of 
death  will  have  a  tendency  to  increafe, 
rather  than  damp  the  pleafares  attending 
it.  The  addition  of  a  good  friend  or  re- 
lative will  be  the  addition  of  one,  who 
will  fhare  with  us  in  the  joys  of  immor- 
tality, who  will  enter  with  us  into  the 
city  of  the  living  God,  and  be  our  ever- 
lafting  companion  in  glory. 

'Tis  natural  to  remark  further  on  this 
occafion,  how  important  it  is  that  we  cul^ 
tivate  only  virtuous  friendships.  Cicero 
has  obfcrved,  with  the  higheft  reafon, 
that  all  fricndihip  ought  to  be  founded 
in  virtue.  There  is  certainly  nothing- 
elfe  that  can  rpake  it  fafe,  lailing  and 
happy.  It  is  its  cement,  life^  joy  and 
^Towa.      Th^re  is  no   other  permanent 

founda- 


in  the  Heavenly  State.  347 

foundation  of  love,  or  bond  of  union  be- 
tween reafonable  beings.—- But  there 
is  nothing  much  better  fitted  to  fliew  the 
importance  of  virtue  in  friendfhip,  than 
the  fubjed:  now  under  our  confideration. 
How  fhocking  muft  it  be  to  beheve, 
that  our  deareft  intimate  is  one  whom 
we  cannot  expe<fl  to  fee  hereafter  in  bHfs, 
one  who  wants  the  love  of  the  Deity,  and 
who  is  haftening  faft  to  everlafting  puniih- 
ment?  How  can  any  perfon  think  of 
having  in  his  bofom  an  enemy  to  the 
order  of  the  world,  and  a  child  of  perdi- 
tion and  ruin  ?  With  what  pain  muft  an 
attentive  perfon  look  upon  fuch  a  friend, 
and  what  concern  muft  he  feel  for  him  ? 
On  this  account,  were  irreligious  friends 
to  allow  themfelves  time  enouorh  for  re- 
flexion,  they  \^>ould  neceffarily  be  the 
caufes  of  the  f?;reateft  trouble  to  one  ano- 
ther. Did  they  duly  attend  to  their  own 
circumftances,  the  danger  they  are  in, 
ihe  precarioufnefs  of  life,  and  the  near* 
nefs  of  the  time  when  they  fhall  be  fepa- 
fated    never    again    to  meet,  except  in 

that 


348    On  the  JunBion  of  virtuous  Men 

that  world  where  joy  is  never  known, 
and  hope  never  comes ;  did  they,  I  fay, 
properly  attend  to  thefe  things,  they 
would  furely  be  incapable  of  bearing  one 
another;  their  love  would  be  turned  into 
anguifli,  and  their  friendfhip  into  horror. 
Let  us  then  avoid,  as  much  as  we  well 
can,  becoming  intimately  connedled 
with  any,  except  the  virtuous  and  wor- 
thy. Let  us  refolve  to  cultivate  friend- 
fliip  only  with  thofe  whom  we  may  hope 
to  be  happy  withy^r  ever. 

In  the  next  place.  It  is  a  very  obvious  ob- 
fervation  on  the  prefent  fubjeft,  ihat  it  af- 
fords the  beft  confolation  in  a  time  of  grief 

for  the  death  of  friends. It  is,  I  think, 

very  credible  that  death  is  an  event,  for 
which,  fuch  creatures  as  we  are,  might 
not  at  firft  be  defigned.  It  looks  like 
a  break  in  our  exiftence,  attended  with 
fuch  circumftances,  as  may  well  incline 
us  to  believe,  that  it  is  a  calamity  in 
which  we  have  been  involved,  rather 
llian  a  method  of  tranjition  from  one  ftate 

of 
S 


in  the  Heavenly  State,  349 

of  exiftence  to  another,  originally  ap- 
pointed by  our  creator  and  common  un- 
der his  government.  This,  the  fcrip- 
tures  declare  plainly  to  be  the  real  fad: : 
But  then,  it  fhould  be  remembered,  that 
the  fame  fcriptures  inform  us  further, 
that  we  have  a  great  deliverer,  who  came 
into  the  world,  that  we  might  have  *  life  -, 
and  who,  by  death  has  dejiroyed  death  and 
him  who  had  the  power  of  deaths  and  obtain^ 
edfor  us  everlajiing  redemption. 

The  dark  and  dreary  grave,  therefore, 
has  now  nothing  in  it  that  fliould  make  it 
appear  terrible.  To  virtuous  men,  it  is  no 
more  than  a  bed  of  reft  till  the  morning  of 
a  joyful  refurredtion.  We  have,  as  chrif- 
tians,  fomething  better  to  fupport  us  under 
the  anguifh  produced  by  the  death  of 
friends,  than  the  cold  alternative  of  the  an- 
tient  philofophers,  that  either  they  are 
happy,  or  returned  to  the  fi ate  they  were 
in  before  they  were  born.  We  may  exult 
in  the  expe«ftation   of  finding   them  again, 

**  John  X.  10. Heb,  ii.   14. ix.   12. 

and 


350    On  thejuri^ion  of  virtuous  Men 

and  renewing  our  friencKhip  with  them  in  a 
better  country.  The  word  that  death  can 
do,  is  to  caufe  a  lliort  interruption  in  our 
intercourfe  with  tliem  ;  or  to  remove  them 
from  our  fight  for  a  moment :  We  fliall 
foon  follow  them,  be  raifed  up  with  thetn 
to  a  new  life,  and  take  pofleffion  with 
them  of  an  inheritance  iticorruptible^  ujtde^ 
filed,  and  that  fadeth  not  away  *.  Such 
are  the  hopes  which  the  bleffed  gofpel  gives; 
and  well  may  they  elevate  our  minds  above 
thefe  fcenes  of  mortality,  dry  up  our  tears 
in  every  feafon  of  forrow,  and  infpire  us  al- 
ways with  joy  iinfpeakablc  and  full  of  -f-  glory  ^ 
The  whole  eiFe<fl  which  the  inroads 
made  by  death  among  our  friends,  fhould 
have  upon  us,  is  to  render  us  more  diligent 
in  religious  virtue,  and  to  quicken  us  to 
greater  zeal  in  endeavouring  to  fecure  a 
meeting  with  them  and  with  all  worthy 
men  hereafter.  It  fhould  belong  only  to 
thofe,  whole  regards  are  confined  to  this 
world  and  who  have  no  hope,  to  be  in- 
confolable  on  fuch  occafions, 

*   I    Peter  i.  3,  4.  t   I  Peter  i.  8. 

Once 


in  the  Hea'uenly  State.  351; 

Once  more:  I  would  obferve,  that  the 
expectation  which  virtuous  friends  have  of 
being  completely  happy  together  hereafter^ 
furnifhes  them  with  a  very  important  direc-^ 
tion  for  regulating  their  prefent  behaviour 
to  one  another.  They  fhould  maintain  in 
their  whole  deportment,  that  purity  and 
dignity  which  become  fo  higli  an  expecta- 
tion.  They  fhould  endeavour,  by  their  ex- 
amples and  admonitions,  to  excite  in  one 
another  an  earneft  ardor  to  excel  in  every 
worthy  quality,  and  watch  continually  over 
one  another,  leaft,  through  the  indulgence 
of  any  failures,  they  fliould  lofe  future 
blifs,  and  come  to  be  eternally  feparated 
from  one  another.  Their  views  ought  to 
be  direded  always  to  the  heavenly  ftate, 
and  their  whole  concern  fliould  be  fo  to 
live  and  converfe  together,  as  to  fecure  a 
joyful  meeting  there. 

The  pleafures  of  fociety  and  friendfliip 

are  fome  of  the  greateft  we  are  capable  of. 

It  is  not  credible,  that  there  is  any  created 

intelligence  that  enjoys  a  happinefs  which 

5  is 


352    On  the  JunBion  of  virtuous  Men 

is  independent  of  all  focial  correfpondencies 
and  connexions.  A  ftate  wholly  folitary 
niuft  want  many  of  the  principal  fources  of 
blifs.  It  appears  dark  and  defolate,  and 
cannot  admit  oi  the  exertion  of  fome  of  the 
nobkft  powers  of  reafonable  beings.  Friend- 
fliip  therefore,  in  all  probability,  is  ever- 
lafting  and  univerfal  in  the  rational  creation, 
and  will  make  a  part  of  our  happinefs  in  e- 
very  future  period  of  our  exiftence.  The  coo- 
fideration  of  this  has  a  tendency  to  raife  our 
ideas  of  its  value,  and  fhould  engage  us  to 
be  anxious  about  fo  ading  in  this  relation 
now,  and  fo  Improving  its  bleffings,  as  that 
we  may  go  from  hence  properly  qualified 
for  the  more  noble  and  exalted  friend- 
fliips  of  another  world. — How  noble  and 
exalted  thefe  will  be,  it  cannot  enter 
into  our  hearts  to  conceive.  It  is  impoffible 
to  look  forwards  to  them  with  lively  faith 
and  attention,  without  feeling  an  alacrity 
and  elevation  of  mind,  not  to  be  produced 
by  any  other  caufe.  Let  us  before  we  difmif^ 
this  fubjed,  fix  our  thoughts  here  a  moment, 

and 


4u  4.,.. ;venJy  State.  ^rj 

and  recoiled  fome  of  the  obfervations  which 
have  been  made* 

It  gives  us,  in  the  prefent  life,  a  pleafure  of 
the  higheft  kind,  to  converfe  w^kh  wife  and 
worthy  men  amidft  all  our  prefent  imper- 
fedlions,  and  notwithftanding  the  certain 
profpeft  of  being  in  a  little  while  parted  by 
death.  What  then  will  it  be  to  join  the  ge- 
neral ailembly  of  the  great  and  good  in  the 
heavens  j  to  be  reftored  there  to  thofe  who 
are  now  the  defire  of  our  eye  and  the  joy 
of  our  hearts  5  to  converfe  with  them  when 
freed  from  every  weaknefs  and  adorned 
with  every  amiable  quality,  and  to  make  a 
part  of  the  glorious  company  of  Chrift's 
faithful  foUow^ers  at  his  fecond  coming  ? 
What  will  it  be,  not  only  to  have  our  pre-^ 
fent  friendfhips  thus  perpetuated,  but  to 
commence  new  ones  with  fuperior  beings ; 
to  live  and  reign  with  the  Saviour  of  finful 
mortals,  and  to  be  for  ever  improving,  with 
all  the  virtuous  part  of  the  creation,  under 
the  eye  and  care  of  the  Almighty  ? 

A  a       '  Wc 


354    0^^  ^^^  JunBioji  of  virtuous  Men 

We  are  now  frail,  feeble,  ignorant  and 
helplefs.  We  think,  we  fpeak,  and  aft  like 
children ;  but,  in  a  little  time,  we  ihall  be 
advanced  to  a  more  perfedl  ftate,  and  re- 
ceive our  complete  confummation  in  foul 
and  body  in  everlafting  glory.  Soon  the 
darknefs  of  this  world  will  vanifli,  every 
weight  will  be  removed  from  our  afpiring 
minds,  our  higheft  faculties  gain  full  fcope 
for  exertion,  and  unclouded  endlefs  day 
dawn  upon  us.  We  Ifhall  be  brought  to 
the  heavenly  fenifalem^  to  an  innumerable 
company  of  angels^  to  the  fpirifs  of  juji  meit 
made  perfeBy  to  Jefus  the  mediator  of  the 
new  covenant -i  and  to  God  the  judge  of  all. 
———We  have  latent  powers  which  it 
may  be  the  bufinefs  of  eternity  to  evolve. 
We  are  capable  of  an  infinite  variety  of  a- 
jgreeable  perceptions  and  fenfations,  which 
are  now  as  incomprelienfible  to  us,  as  the 
enjoyments  of  a  grown  man  are  to  an  infant 
in  the  womb.  Our  prefent  exiftence  is 
but  the  .firft  ftep  of  an  afcent  in  dignity  and 
blifs,  which  will  never  come  to  an  end.— - 
How  amazing  and  extatick  this  profped  t 
I  What 


ifi  the  Heavenly  State.  ^55 

\Vhat  fliall  we  fome  time  or  other  be  ?- ^ 

But  let  us  take  care  to  remember  the  truth, 
which,  in  this  difcourfe,  I  have   all   along 
'kept  in  fight.     Lejt  us  not  forget,  that  none 
but  perfons  of  righteous  Jives  and  charac- 
ters hav6  reafon  to  rejoice  in   thefe  views. 
—The    workers   of   iniquity  vAll  not  rife 
h\.\\.ft7iL     They   will   be  driven   from   the 
fociety  of  virtuous  beings.     They  will  lofe 
infinite  happinefs,  and  be  caft   away  for  e- 
ver.     They    are  nuifances  in  the  creation, 
and  unfit  to  be  prefcrved  ^  or,  according  to 
our  Lord's   reprefentation,  the  tares  amojig 
the  'wheat  ^  and  when  the  time  of  harveji /Joall 
come,  he  will  fay  to  his  reapers,  gather  to- 
gether, firfl  the  tares,  and  bind  them  in  bun- 
dies,  and  burn  them-,  but  gather  the  wheat 
into  my  barn  *.-.— Would  you  then   make 
fure  of  the   happinefs  I  have  -been  repre- 
fenting  ?   Would   you,    when  every  earth- 
ly connexion   is   broken,    obtain   admiffi- 
on    into  a   better    world,    and    an    union 
with  thofe  you  love  in  the  habitations  of 
the  juft?  Would  you    be  able,  hereafter, 

*  Matth.  xiil.    30* 

Aa  2  to 


t) 


356    On  the  Jiin6iio?i  of  "virtuom  Men 

to  join  your  voice  to  the  voices  of  mil- 
lions, v^ho,  after  the  long  filence  of  the 
grave,  will  break  forth  into  St.  Paul's 
fong  of  triumph,  0  grave  where  is  thy 
fvi6fory?  O  death  where  is  thy  Jiing?  Blef^ 
fed  be  God  who  giveth  lis  the  victory  through 
Jeftis  Chrifi  ?  Would  you  rife  to  a  place  on 
ChrijVs  throne  ^  -,  or,  fee  the  time  when  yoa 
fhall  look  down  upon  arch-angels  ?— — . 
Then  avoid  vice.  Practife  true  religion. 
Strive  to  get  above  defiling  paffions,  and 
to  grow  in  every  excellent  difpofition  ? 
.On  this,  all  depends.  This  is  the 
only  preparation  for  blifs,  and  the  only 
way  to  favour  under  the  divine  go- 
vernment. All  anxiety,  except  about 
this,  every  human  being  will  foon  know 
to  be  folly  unfpeakablc. Remem- 
ber, that  if  there  is  fuch  a  ftate  of  fu- 
ture exiftence  as  has  been  defcribed,  there 
is  nothing  worth  a  lingle  thought,  com- 
pared with  making  provifion  for  it ;  and 
that,  confcious  of  your  own  dignity,  it 
|)ecomes  you  to  look  continually  above  e- 

*  Rev.  iii.  2.1, 

very 


i?i   the    Heavenly  State.  357 

very  thing  mortal,  and  to  fpurn  with'dif- 
dain  at  thofe  pleafures,  profits  and  ho- 
nours, on  which  the  children  of  this  world 
fet  their  hearts. — Blejj'edare  they  who  keep 
the  commandments  of  God,  that  they  may 
have  a  right  to  the  tree  of  life,  and  may  enter 

in  through  the  gates  into  the  city  *. He 

that  over  Cometh  fiall  inherit  all  things.  But 
the  fearful  and  unbelieving,  and  the  abomi- 
nable, and  murtherers,  and  whoremongers, 
and  forcer  ers,  and  idolatrous,  and  all  liars, 
flmll  have  their  part  in  the  lake  that  burneth 
with  fire  and  brimjione -,  which  is  the  fecond 
death. 


*  Rev.  xxil.  14.    xxi.  7,  8. 


D  I  S  S  E  R- 


DISSERTATION   IV. 

O   N 

The  Importance  of  Chriftianity, 
The  Nature  of  Hiftorical  Evidence, 

AND 

MIRACLES, 


A  a  4 


DISSERTATION    IV. 

O  N 

The  Importance  of  Chriftianity, 
the  Nature  of  Hiftorical  Evi- 
dence,   and  Miracles. 


SECTION    T, 

Introdudiory  Obfervations,  relatmg  to  the 
Importance  ofChrlftianityy  its  I^videncesy 
and  the  QhjeBions  which  have  been  made 
to  it. 

IT  is  not  poflible,  that  any  informa- 
tion fhould  be  fo  important,  as  that 
which  we  have  in  the  facred  writings. 
The  difcoveries  lately  made  in  the  fyftem 
of  the  material  world  are  juftly  thought 
of  with  admiration.  They  bellow,  in- 
■'  deed 


362         On  Hijiorical  Evidence ^ 

deed,  new  luftre  and  dignity  on  human 
nature.  But  they  are  of  no  confequence 
and  deferve  no  regard,  compared  with 
the  difcoveries  contained  in  the  Bible, 
fuppofmg  it  in  titled  to  our  faith.  We 
are  here  made  acquainted  with  feveral 
fads  in  the  fcheme  of  the  moral  world,  and 
the  hifcory  of  providence,  which  are  not 
only  wondcrfidy  but  inter ejlingm  the  high-^ 
eft  degree. 

There  is  nothing  In  all  nature,  about 
which  we  have  fo  much  reafon  to  wifh  for 
information,  as  deathy  the  relentlefs  de- 
ftroyer  which  reduces  to  the  duft  every 
human  being,  and  which,  in  all  ages, 
has  held  the  world  in  bondage,  and  given 
birth  to  numberlefs  woes  and  forrows. 
Concerning  this,  the  fcriptures  reveal  to 
us  many  particulars  of  the  utmoft  impor- 
tance, which  we  could  not  otherwife 
have  known.  They  acquaint  us,  that  it 
was  not  an  original  part  of  the  divine 
fcheme,  but  a  calamity  in  which  our  race 
has  been  involved,  in  confequence  of  cer- 
tain 


and  Miracles.  365 

tain  connexions  which  took  place  under 
the  divine  government.  They  inform  us 
of  the  caufes  which  introduced  it,  and  of 
a  ftupendous  difpenfation  of  providence 
which  it  has  occafioned.  They  difcover 
to  us  that  great  MeJJiah^  by  whom  God 
made  this  world,  and  who  came  down 
from  heaven  to  deliver  it  from  diftrefs ; 
who  is  now  the  Lord  of  men  and  angels, 
^nd  who,  hereafter,  will  appear  in  glo- 
ry to  abolifh  death,  to  judge  mankind  in 
righteoufnefs,  to  execute  juftice  on  the 
wicked,  and  to  eftablifh  an  everhfiing 
kingdom,  in  which  all  the  virtuous  and 
worthy  ihall  meet,  and  be  completely 
and  unchangeably  happy. 

I  make  thefe  obfervations  in  order  to 
ihew  how  much  it  concerns  us  to  ftudy 
the  facred  records,  and  to  inquire  into  the 
evidences  of  their  divine  original.  It  is 
not  eafy  to  conceive  of  a  higher  obligar* 
tion,  that  fuch  creatures  as  we  are  can 
be  under.  There  is  fcarcely  a  principle 
in  oqr  natures  which  does  not  induce  us 


364         ^^^   Hijlorical  Evidence, 

to  tliis  powerfully.  In  particular;  as  the 
fcriptures  inform  us  of  the  chief  revolu^ 
tions  through  which  this  world  has  paft, 
and  will  pafs,  the  principle  of  curiofity 
leads  us  to  it.  As  they  profefs  to  teach 
us  God's  will,  and  to  give  an  account  of 
a  revelation  from  heaven,  all  the  princi- 
ples oi  piety  lead  us  to  it.  But,  more  e- 
ipecially,  we  are  led  to  it  by  the  whole 
force  of  the  principle  of  felf-love :  For,  if 
the  Bible  is  true,  it, fettles  the  terms  of 
falvation,  and  contains  the  words  of  eternal 
Ufe-y  and,  confequently,  the  folly  of  care - 
Icfly  rejedling  it  will  be  infinitely  worfe, 
than  the  folly  would  be  of  carelefly 
throwing  afide  a  deed,  which,  if  validly 
proved  our  title  to  a  large  eftate. 

I  think,  with  great  pleafure,  that  the 
fubjeft  to  which  I  refer  has  lately  en- 
gaged much  attention,  and  undergone  a 
icridl  fcrutiny.  It  is  to  be  wiflied,  that 
the  attention  to  it  may  continue,  and 
that  all  the  learned  and  inquifitive  would 
unite  their  efforts  towards   giving   it  the 

moil 


and  Miracles,  365 

moft  thorough  difcuflion,  allowing  every 
objeiftion  its  full  weight  and  a  fair  hear- 
ing, and  never  concealing  any  thing  that 
may  have  a  tendency  to  throw  light 
on  a  controveriy  of  fuch  moment. 
— —  The  oppofition  hitherto  made  to 
chriftianity,  has,  I  think,  done  it  the 
greateft  fervice.  It  has  been  the  means 
of  caufing  it  to  be  better  under- 
ftood,  of  fhewing,  in  a  clearer  light,  on 
what  foundation  of  evidence  it  /lands, 
Wd  of  removing  from  it  many  incum- 
brances and  adulterations,  which,  for 
many  ages,  had  miferably  difguifed  and 
debafed  it.  We  may  reafonably  hope  for 
Inore  and  more  of  thefe  good  efFed:s,  the 
more  unbelievers  go  on  to  exert  their 
ftrength  *.  Let  no  one  then  put  him- 
felf  to  the  leaft  pain  on  account  of  any 
of  their  writings.  Much  lefs,  let  any 
one  think  of  calling  in  the  aid   of  civil 

*  This  is  well  reprefented  in  the  feconJ-x»f  Dr.  Ge- 
rard's DiiTertations  on  Subjali  relating  to  the  Genuii  and 
Evidinui  of  Chnjlianitj. 

X  po\^'er 


•366         On  Hijlorical  'Evidence^ 

power  to  anfwer  them  *,  Detefted 
•be  the  men  who  have  ever  done  thi^. 
X»et  rather  unbelievers  be  encouraged  to 
produce  their  ftrongeft  objeiftions.  If 
chriftianity  is  of  God,  we  may  be  fure 
that  it  will  bear  any  trial,  and  in  the  end 
prevail. — The  civil  magiftrate  ought  not 
to  interpofe  in  the  defence  of  truth,  till 
it  has   appeared  that  he  is   a  competent 

*  We  have  lately  feen  a  cruel  inftance  of  this  In  the 
profecution,  pillorying  and  confinement  to  Bridewell^ 
of  a  poor  [iuny  infidel,  worn  out  with  age,  who 
was    utterly    incapable    of    doing    any     caufe    the 

leaft  good  or  harm. It  is  a  bad  excufe  to  fay,  that 

k  was  not  infidelity y  but  indecency  and  fiurrility  that  were 
punifhed  in  this  inftance.  For,  this  is  to  punifh  for 
the  circumftances  in  a  publication,  which  render  it  fo 
much  the  lefs  likely  to 'produce  any  efFedl.  Befides^ 
who  fhall  have  the  power  of  determining  whether  a 
book  againfl:  an  eftabliftied  opinion  is  writ  decently^  irv 
order  to  give  a  right  of  punifhing  ?  There  are  no 
hands  in  which  fuch  a  power  can  be  lodged,  without 
the  utmofl  danger  to  what,  as  reafonable  beings,  we 
ought  moft  to  value.  A  zealot  in  a  popijh  country, 
cannot  well  wifh  for  any  greater  power.  God  grant 
it  may  never  be  again  allowed  to  any  zealots  in  our 
own. 

judge 


and  Miracles.  367 

judge  of  truth.  This,  certainly,  he  is 
not.  On  the  contrary  -,  univerfal  experi- 
ence has,  hitherto,  proved  him  one  of  its 
worfl  enemies.  Nothing  can  be  more 
difgraceful  to  the  chriftian  religion  than 
to  fuppofe,  that  it  needs  Juc/j  alliftance. 
Were  this  true,  it  would,  by  no  means, 
be  worth  defending. 

Among  the  objeftions  which  have  been 
mad^  to  chriftianity,  there  are  fome  that 
contain  real  difficulties ;  and  w^hich  a 
candid  defender  of  chriftianity,  inftead  of 
pretending  intirely  to  remove,  fliould  al* 
low  to  v/eigh  as  far  as  they  can  go  againft 
the  evidence.  The  proof  of  chriftianity 
does  not  coniift  of  a  clear  fum  of  argu- 
ments, without  any  thing  to  be  oppoled 
to  them.  Butitisthe  overbalance  of  e  vi  - 
dence  that  remains  after  every  reafonable 
dedudion  is  made  on  account  of  difficult 
ties.  This^'is'  the  cafe  with  refpeft  to 
almofl:  every  point  that  can  employ  our 
thoughts;  and  thofc  who  believe,  that 
there   is    any   q[ueilion    which   they    can 

clear 


368         On  Htjlorical  Evidence, 

clear  of  every  difficulty,  may  be  fure, 
that  they  are  either  very  unfair  or  very 
fuperficial  in  their  inquiries. — But,  at  the, 
fame  time  that  I  acknowledge  this,  I 
mud  fay,  with  refpedl  to  chriftianity, 
that  molt  of  the  objeftions  to  it  have  re- 
ceived a  full  anfwer,  and  are  indeed  the 
effedls  of  either  want  of  candour,  or  of 
wrong  notions  derived  from  ignorance 
and  carelefs  examination.— I  will  beg 
leave  juft  to  mention  a  few  inftances  of 
this. 

It  has  been  faid,  that  if  chriftianity 
came  from  God,  it  would  have  been 
taught  the  world  with  fuch  clearnefs  and 
precifion,  as  not  to  leave  room  for  doubts 
and  difputes.'— I  cannot  think  that  any 
candid  perfon,  who  has  read  the  defences 
of  chriftianity,  would  mention  this.  Has 
the  author  of  nature  giv^n  us  reafon  in 
this  manner,  or  even  the  information  we 
derive  from  our  fenfes  ?  Is  it  poffible, 
while  we  continue  fuch  creatures  as  we 
are,    tliat  any  inftru(5tion   Ihould    be    fo 

clear 


and  Miracleii  2 69 

clear  as  to  preclude  difputes?  Suppofing 
the  deity  to  grant  us  fupernatural  light,  are 
we  judges  what  degree  of  it  he  ought  to 
give,  or  in  what  particular  manner  it 
ought  to  be  communicated  ? 

Again :  The  animofities,  perfecutions 
and  bloodfhed  which  the  chriftian 
religion  has  occafioned,  have  been  urg- 
ed as  objections  to  it, — '■- — This,  like- 
wife,  certainly  ftiould  not  be  mentioned, 
till  it  can  be  fhewn,  that  there  is  one  be- 
nefit or  bleffing  enjoyed  by  mankind, 
which  has  not  been  the  occafion  of  evils. 
How  eafy  would  it  be  to  reckon  up  many 
dreadful  calamities,  which  owe  their 
exiftence  to  knowledge,  to  liberty,  to 
natural  religion,  and  to  civil  govern- 
ment? How  obvious  is  it,  that  what  is 
in  its  nature  moft  ufeful  and  excellent, 
will,  for  this  very  reafon,  become  moll 
hurtful  and  pernicious  when  mifapplied 
or  abufed?  Chriftianity  forbids  every 
evil  work.  Its  fpirit  is  the  fpirit  of  for- 
bearance, meeknefs  and  benevolence. 
B  b  Were 


370  On  Hiflorical  "Evidence ^ 

Were  it  to  prevail  in  its  genuine  purity, 
and  to  be  univerfally  pradlifed,  peace 
and  joy  would  reign  every  where.  Un- 
charitablenefs,  prieft-craft,  contention 
and  perfecution,  are  evils  which  have 
taken  place  among  its  profeflbrs,  in  di- 
redt  oppoiition  to  its  fcope  and  defign. 
Is  it  not  then  hard  that  it  fhould  be 
made  refponfible  for  thefe  ?  Has  it  not  a 
right  to  be  judged  of  by  its  genius  and 
tendencies,  rather  than  by  any  mifchief 
which  blindnefs  and  bigotry  and  the 
love  of  domination  have  done  in  the  chrif- 

tian  church  ? For  my  own  part,  when 

I  contemplate  the  horrid  fcenes  which 
ccclefiaftical  hiftory  prefents  to  our  view, 
inflead  of  feeling  difgufl  with  chrifliani^ 
ty,  I  am  ftruck  with  the  divine  forejQght 
difcovered  by  its  founder,  when  he  faid, 
/  am  not  come  to  fend  peace  on  earthy  but  a 
Jword'y  and  led  to  a  firmer  faith,  arifing 
from  a  reflexion  on  the  warning  given 
in  the  fcriptures,  that  an  apoftacy  would 
come,  and  a  favage  power  appear  which, 
fhould  defile  God's  fanduary,  tread  un- 
der 


md  Miracles.  371 

der  foot  truth  and  liberty,  and  make  it- 
felf  drunk  with  the  blood  of  faints  and 
martyrs* 

Further  :  The  offence  which  has  been 
given  to  unbelievers,  by  the  pofitive  in- 
ftitutions  of  chriftianity,  affords  another 
inflance  of  plain  unreafonablenefs  and  dif- 
ingenuity.  There  is  not  a  more  ftriking 
recommendation  of  chriftianity  than  its 
Jimplicityy  or,  its  freeing  religion,  fo 
much  as  it  does,  from  the  incumbrance 
of  rites  and  ceremonies.  Other  religions 
are  loaded  with  thefe,  and  have  a  ten- 
dency to  hurt  the  intereft  of  morality,  by 
turning  the  attention  of  men  from  it, 
and  leading  them  to  feek  the  favour 
cf  God  more  by  an  exa(5lnefs  ixi  out- 
ward forms,  than  by  a  virtuous  temper 
arid  pradice.  Chriilianity  condemns,  in 
the  ftrongeil:  language,  this  dangerous 
fbperftition,  afiuring  us,  that  thofe  who 
fall  into  it  fhall  receive  the  greater  dam'" 
nation  ;  tliat  God  dejires  mercy  and  7iot  fa- 
cripce-y  and,  that  true  religion  confifts, 
not  in  anv  ritual  fervices,  but  in  ri^htc- 
B  b  2  oufnefi 


372         On   liijiorical  Evidence y 

oufnefs  and  ftacey  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghoji. 
To  cenfure  it,  therefore,  notwithftand- 
ing  this,  merely  becaufe  it  enjoins  two 
fuch  eafy  and  fimple  rites  as  baptifm  and 
the  Lord/s  fupper^  is  doing  it  manifeft 
injuftice,  and  fhewing  a  difpofition  wil- 
fully to  overlook  one  of  its  moft  peculiar 
and  diftinguifhing  excellencies. 

But,  there  is  no  objection  about 
which  more  h-as  been  faid,  than  that 
taken  from  the  want  of  univerfality  in  the 

chriftian  revelation. This  alfo,   in  my 

opinion,  is  an  objedtion  which  there  is 
great  reafon  to  expedl,  that  unbelievers 
fhould  drop.  Such  effedual  anfwers  have 
been  given  to  it,  that,  indeed,  it  is  fome  trial 
of  patience  to  fenfible  chriilians,  to  hear  it 
ftill  fo  much  infifted  on,  and  fo  often  re- 
peated. Thofe  who  are  influenced  by  it 
go  upon  a  notion,  that  they  could  not 
entertain,  were  they  not  too  partial  and 
carelefs  in  their  inquiries.  They  fuppofe, 
that  if  the  chriftian  revelation  is  true, 
there  muft  have  been  a  neccjjlty  of  it,  in 

order 


and  Miracles,  373 

order  to  fupply  mankind  with  fufficient 
means  for  fecuring  God's  favour,  and  at- 
taining to  future  happinefs.  But  fucha 
notion  is  intirely  groundlefs.  Afting  up 
faithfully  to  the  light  we  enjoy,  is  the 
only  condition  of  our  happinefs.  Glory 
honour  and  peace  JJjall  be  upon  every  one  that 
worketh  goody  be  he  Jew  or  Ge7itile  *. 
God  is  no  refpeBer  of  perfons,  (St.  Peter 
tells  us^  but  in  every  nation ^  he  that  fear ^ 
€th  hira,  and  worketh  right eoufnefsy  is  ac- 
cepted of  him, There  are  two  points 

©f  view  in  which  chriftianity  may  be 
confidered.  It  may  be  confidered  either  as 
an  inJiruBion  communicated  to  mankind ; 
or,  as  an  extraordinary  difpenfation  of 
providence  the  end  of  which  is  the 
redemption  of  mankind.  If  we  confider 
it  in  the  former  of  thefe  lights,  it  was  a 
favour  or  bleffing  which,  however,  deli- 
rable,  could  not  be  claimed,  and  m.ight 
not  have  been  given  to  any  part  of  man- 
kind. Were  there  reafon  for  concluding, 
that  it  cannot  be  of  divine  original,  m.ere- 
*  Rom,  ii.   10. Ads  x.  34,  35. 

B  1:.  3  ly 


-xiAp         On   Hiftorical  Evidence ^ 

ly  becaufe  the  benefits  of  it  are  not  exten- 
ded equally  to  all,  we  fhould  be  obliged 
to  conclude  the  fame  of  almoft  every  ad- 
vantage we  enjoy,  and  the  whole  courfe  of 
nature. — If,  on  the  other  hand,  we  confider 
chriftianity  in  the  latter  of  thefe  lights, 
its  end  might  have  been  anfwered,  by 
Chrift's  paffing  through  human  life  in  the 
manner  he  did,  though  no  hiftory  of  him 
had  been  writ,  or  knowledge  of  him  pre-? 

ferved  in  the  world. -In  other  words. 

There  were  two  purpofes  of  Chrift's 
coming.  He  came  to  teach  and  to  reform 
the  world;  but,  this  being  an  tnd  that 
might  have  been  accomplifhed  by  mucli 
lower  means,  we  ought  to  remember, 
that  he  came  principally  tofave  the  world. 
That  is;  I]e  defcended  from  heaven  riiid 
appeared  in  our  natures,  partly,  indeed,  to 
be  the  founder  of  a  vifible  church  enjoy- 
ing particular  light  and  advantages,  and 
which,  after  going  through  feveral  revo- 
lutions, fliould,  at  laft,  triumph  over  e- 
very  faifc  religion  and  take  in  all  nationsiji 
but,   primarily,   to  be   the   deliverer  of  a 

diftreft 


and  Miracles^  37^ 

diftreft  race,  to  acquire  the  power  of  for- 
giving fin  and  of  raifing  us  from  the 
dead,  to  reinftate  vij-tuous  men,  where- 
cver  or  whenever  they  have  Hved,  in  the 
profped:  of  a  glorious  immortaHty;  and 
thus  to  perform  a  fervice  under  the  di- 
vine government  of  infinite  importance, 
and  to  which,  probably,  no  agent  of  in- 
ferior dignity  was^  equal. Chriftiani- 

ty,  therefore,  is  fo  far  from  implying  an 
obligation  on  the  Deity  to  make  the 
knowledge  of  it  univerfal,  that,  on  the 
contrary,  in  the  benefit  of  what  is  moft 
eflential  to  it,  all  virtuous  men,  whether 
they  have  ever  heard  of  it  or  not,  will  be 
alike  fharers. 

Another  very  confiderable  caufe  of  of- 
fence to  the  oppofers  of  chriftianity  is,  the. 
account  given  in  the  gofpel  hiftory  of  the 

Demoniacs. It  ftiould,  I  think,    go  a 

great  way  here  towards  fatisfying  a  fair 
inquirer,  that  the  writers  of  the  gofpel 
hiftory  fpeak  of  the  cafes  of  the  Demo- 
niacs in  no  other  way  than  was  ufual  at 
B  b  4  the 


37-6         On   J$jlorical  Evidefice^ 

the  time  they  wrote,  and  in  which  we 
find  them  fpoken  of  by  other  contempo- 
rary bi^orians.  They  talk  the  language 
of  their  age  and  country,  and  in  confor-? 
jnity  to  prevailing  opinions.  Nor  is  it 
of  any  confequ&nce  to  the  credit  of 
their  hiftory,  whether  thele  opinions  were 
right  or  wrong,  or  even  what  they  them- 
felves  thought.  To  expect,  that  they 
fhould  be  better  informed  than  others  a- 
bout  the  caufes  of  diftempers  ^  or,  that 
fuch  inflruftion  fhould  be  communicated 
to  them  as  would  have  led  them,  in  the- 
prefent  cafe,  to  form  a  new  language 
and  to  fpeak  with  perfed:  accuracy,  feems 
as  unrcafonablc  as  it  would  be  to  enter? 
tain  the  fame  expeftation  with  refpe(fl: 
to  the  motion  of  the  fun,  or  the  fecon- 
dary  qualities  of  bodies.  The  one  has  as 
little  to  do  with  the  main  end  of  their  of- 
fice as  the  other.  Such  inflru«£lioA,  had 
it  been  given  them,  wotild  have  thrown 
needlefs  difficulties  in  the  way  of  the 
propagation  of  chriilianity ;  and,  it  muft 
have  klTcncd  its  evidence  to   fubfequent 


ages. 


and  Miracles.  2,77 

ages,  by  making  the  apoftles  appear,  not 
in  the  charafter  of  plain  and  unlettered 
men,  but  of  able  philofophers,  and  thus 
raiiing  a  fufpicion,  that  it  prevailed  in 
the  world  more  by  the  wifdom  of  men, 
than  by  the  power  of  God  and  the  de- 
monjlration  of  the  Spirit.  Our  Saviour,  no 
doubt,  might  have  taught  the  truth  on 
this  fubjeft,  and  red:ified  the  common 
^pprehenfions  as  far  as  they  were  errone^ 
ous.  But,  it  is  impoffible  to  fhew,  that 
there  was  fufficient  reafon  for  exped:ing 
this,  or  that  it  came  properly  within  the 
purpofe  of  his  miffion.  It  would,  per- 
haps, have  only  given  him  the  appear- 
ance of  being  a  friend  to  the  do&rine  of 
the  Sadducees,  and  embarraffed  the  minds 
of  his  followers,  without  doing  any  great 
good. 

The  prejudices  I  have  now  in  view,  are 
derived  chiefly,  from  the  frricl  notions 
which  have  prevailed  of  the  univerfal 
and  infallible  infpiration  of  the  writers 
of  the  New  Teftament.     And   there  is 

not. 


378  On  Hijlorical  Evidence^ 

not,  perhaps,  any  thing  which  the  friends 
of  chriftianity  have  more  reafon  to  com- 
plain of,  than  that  unbelievers  (hould  fuf- 
fer  themfelves,    carelefly   and  ignorantly, 
to  be  influenced  by  thefe  notions. — The 
gofpel    is    not    a    fpeculative  fcience,   or 
an     abftrufe     and    complicated     theory. 
Whatever  jargon  may  have  been  fathered 
upon    it    in    fyflems    and    creeds,    it  is 
in  itfelf  plain   and  fimple.     It  is  a  fet  of 
fads  exhibiting  and   demonftrating  this 
one  truth;  eternal  life,   the  gift 
OF  God,  through  Jesus  Christ  our 
LORD.      The  New  Teftament  contains 
a  narrative  of  thefe  fadls.     The   bufinefs 
of  the  apoftles  was  to   atteft  and  publifh' 
them  to  the  world ;  and  no  enquiries,  re- 
lating to  their  qualifications  and  authori- 
ty, are  of  great  importance  in  any  other 
view,  than   as  w////^^^'^  to  thefe  fadls.     I- 
think,  indeed,  that  they  have  an  autho- 
rity as  teachers y  as  well  as  witneffes:  But- 
what  they  infift  themfetves  mod  upon,  is 
their  office  as  witnefles,  and  the  regard  they 
claim  is  founded  principally  on  their  hav- 
ing 

5 


and  Miracles.  379 

ing  heard,  and  feen*,  and  handled  the  word 
of  life.  It  does  not  appear,  that  in  all  mat- 
ters of  reafoning  and  fpeculation,  the  firft 
chriftians  entertained  the  fame  fentiments 
of  their  authority,  that  many  do  now. 
Be  this,  however,  as  it  will  y  the  on- 
ly queftion,  certainly,  that  affedls  the 
truth  of  chriftianity  is,  "  Whether  they 
*«  were  honeft  men,  who  did  not  mean 
<*  to  deceive,  and  who  were  competently 
*'  informed    with    refped  to    the    fads 

«*  they  atteft." 1   wiili   the   attention 

of  unbelievers  could  be  held  to  this,  fet- 
tino-  afide  whatever  is  commonly  believ- 
ed,  or,  that  there  may  be  reafon  to  be- 
lieve, on  the  fubjed:  of  wjpiration.  If 
this  appears,  (as,  I  think,  it  does  abun- 
dantly) chriftianity  is  proved ;  nor  need 
any  perfon  be  anxious   about  more  in  it 

than  ne.ceflarily  follows  from  hence. 

But,  it  is  time  to  come  to  the  main  de- 
fign  of  this  differtation. 

-^fif.John  i.   T,  2. 

One 


280         On  Hiftorical  EiVidencey 

One  of  the  abjedtions  that  *  deferves 
moft  to  be  attended  to,  is  that  taken, 
from  the  nature  of  the  principal  fadls  re- 
corded in  the  fcriptures.  Thefe  are  mi^ 
raculouSy  and,  as  fuch,  (it  has  been  faid) 
*^  have  a  particular  incredibility  in  them, 
*^  which  does  not  belong  to  common  e- 
**  vents.  When  we  look  into  the  Bible, 
**  we  find  ourfelves  tranfported,  as  it 
'*  were,  into  a  rvQ\N  world,  where  the 
**  courfe  of  nature  is  altered,  and  every 
*^  thing  is  different  from  what  we  have 
*^  been  ufed  to  obferve.  Could  we,  in 
**  any  other  cafe,  receive  a  book  filled  with 
*'  vifions  and  prodigies,  and  containing 
*'  fo  much  of  the  marvellous'^  Ought  not 
**  fuch  a  book  to  ftartle  our  minds  ?  Or 
*'  can  there  be   any  evidence  fufEcient  to 

''  eftabhfli  Its  authority  ? Some  have 

gone  fo  far  in  this  v/ay  of  obje6ling,  as 
to  affert  in  general,  that  all  relations  of 
fadls  which  contradidl  experience,  or 
imply  a  deviation  from  the  ufual  courfe 
of  nature,  are  their  own  confutation,  and 
fhould  be  at  once  rejected  as  incapable  of 

proof, 

5 


and  Miracles.  381 

proof,  and  impoffible  to  be  true.— —One 
cannot  be  better  employed  than  rn  inquir- 
ing how  far  fuch  fentiments  are  right, 
and  what  regard  is  really  due  to  tejiimony, 
when  its  reports  do  not  agree  with  expe- 
rience.  I  fhall  endeavour  to  ftate  thia 
matter  as  accurately  a^  poffible,  by  en- 
tering into  a  critical  examination  of  the 
grounds  of  belief  m  this  cafe,  and  of  the 
nature  and  force  of  hiftorical  evidence. 

In  anfwer  to  the  queftlons  juft  propofed 
it  might  be  faid,  that,  fuppoiing  the  ftate 
and  connexions  of  this  world  to  be  fuch 
as    the   Bible    reprefents,    the  hiftory  it 
contains  could   not  but  be   a  hiftory  of 
extraordinary   events;    that  it  has  many 
internal   marks   of  truth     and   authority 
which  no  other  book  has ;  and  that,  par- 
ticularly,   we   are   witneffes    to   the   ac- 
complifliment  of  predictions  delivered  in 
it  thoufands  of  years  ago,    and  therefore, 
do  ourfelves  fee  fad:s  as  wonderful  as  any 
of  thofe  it  relates,  and  are  fure,  that  the 
writers  of  it  were  fupernaturally  inftruc- 

ted. 


382         On  Wftorical  Evidence^ 

ted,  and  might  alfo,  very  probably,  work 

rniracles.-^ What  has  been  laft  intima-^ 

ted  is  of  the  greateft  importance.  Chrifti- 
ans  infift,  and  they  think  they  have  pro- 
ved, that  there  are  very  remarkable  ap- 
pearances of  the  completion  of  feveral 
fcripture  prophecies.  The  patrons  of  in- 
fidelity ought  to  fhew,  if  they  can,  that 
there  are  not  indeed  any  fuch  appearances 
which  deferve  regard.  Nothing  can  be 
more  incumbent  upon  them  than  this  : 
For,  as  far  as  there  feems  reafon  to  be- 
lieve, that,  in  any  inftance,  a  fcripture 
prophecy  is  fulfilled,  an  unprejudiced 
perfon  muft  be  imprefTed.  It  affords, 
not  only  a  demonftration  of  the  credibili-^ 
ty  of  miracles,  but,  in  fome  degree,  an 
adlual  exhibition  of  them. 

But,  it  is  not  my  prefent  defign  to 
dwell  on  any  arguments  of  this  kind. 
In  what  follows,  I  ihall  confine  myfelf 
to  the  examination  of  the  principles  on 
which  the  objection  I  have  mentioned  is 
founded.     When  thefe  are  proved  to  be 

fallacious. 


end  Miracles.  383 

fallacious,  the  way  will  be  open  to  an 
eaficr  admiffion  of  the  dire^  evidences  of 
chriftianity,   and  they  will  operate  with 

greater  force, It  is  well  known,  that 

this  objedion  has  lately  been  urged  in  all 
its  ftrength  by  Mr.  Hume^  a  writer 
whofe  genius  and  abilities  are  fo  diitin- 
guifhed,  as  to  be  above  any  of  my  com- 
mendations. Several  excellent  anfwers 
have  been  publiflied  *  ^  and  it  is  not 
without  fome  pain,  after  what  has  been 
fo  well  and  fo  efFed:ully  faid  by  others, 
that  I  determine  to  take  up  this  fubjedt. 
I  imagine,  however,  that  it  admits  of 
further  difcuffion,  and  that  there  remain 
flill  fome  obfervations  to  be  made,  which 
have  not  been  enough  attended  to.- 
Before  I  proceed,  it  will  be  proper  to 
give  a  more  diftind;  and  full  account  of  the 
objed:ion  to  be  confidered. 

*  By  Dr.  Adaim  in  his  EJfay  on  Miracles^  In  anfwer  to 
Mr,  Hume's  EJfay  ;  and  by  the  author  of  the  Criterion^ 

or,  Miracles  examined,  he. Some  time  after  this 

diflertation  had  been  compofed.  Dr.  Campbell^  princi- 
pal  of  the  Marijhal  college  at  Aberdeen^  publi(hed  ano- 
ther anfwer,  which  is  written  with  great  judgment 
and  candour. 

SECT. 


384         On  Hijlorical  Evidence ^ 


S  E  C  T.    II. 

T!he  Nature  and  Grounds  of  the  Regard  due 
to  Experience  and  to  the  Evidence  of 
T^efwnony^  Jiated  and  compared. 

*'   TIT  X  p  E  R  I  E  N  c  E.,    we  have  been 

-ft /     told,     is     the    ground    of  the 

*'  credit  we  give  to  human  tejlimony. 
**  We  have  found,  in  pall  Inftances, 
**  that  men  have  informed  us  right, 
*'  and  therefore,  are  difpofed  to  believe 
*^  thern  in  future  inftances.  But  this  ex- 
*'  perience  is  by  no  means  conftant ;  for 
**  we  often  find  that  men  prevaricate  and 

**  deceive.- On  the  other  hand  :  What 

"  affures  us  of  thofe  laws  of  nature,  in  the 
*'  violation  of  which  the  notion  of  a  mi- 
**  raclc  confifts,  is,  in  like  manner,  ex- 
"  perience.  But,  this  is  an  experience 
**  that  has  never  been  interrupted.  We 
"  have  never  been  deceived  in  our  expec- 

**  tations. 


and  Miracles.  385 

*^  tations,  that  the  dead  will  not  come 
"  to  Hfe,  or  that  the  command  of  a  man 
"  will  not  immediately  cure  a  difeafe. 
"  There  arifes,  therefore,  from  hence, 
*^  a  proof  againft  accounts  of  miracles 
"  which  is  the  ftrongeft  of  the  kind  pof- 
*'  fible,  and  to  believe  fuch  accounts  on 
"  the  authority  of  human  teflimony,  is 
"  to  prefer  a  weaker  proof  to  a  ftronger, 
*^  to  leave  a  guide  that  never  has  deceived 
"  us,  in  order  to  follow  one  that  has  often 
"  deceived  us ;  or  to  receive,  upon  the 
**  credit  of  an  experience  that  is  weak  and 
"  variable^  what  is  contray  to  invariable 
"  experience." 

In  other  words:  ^'  A  miracle  is  an  e- 
"  vent,  from  the  nature  of  it,  inconfif- 
"  tent  with  all  the  experience  we  ever 
"  had,  and  in  the  higheft  degree  incredi-* 
*'  ble  and  extraordinary.  In  the  falfe- 
**  hood  of  teflimony,  on  the  contrary, 
**  there  is  no  fuch  inconfiftency,  nor  any 
**  fuch  incredibility,  fcarcely  any  thing 
^  being  more  common.  No  regard, 
C  c  **  therefore. 


3S6         On  Hifiorkal  Evidence^ 

«^  therefore,    can  be   due   to  the  latter^ 
<«  when  it  is  appHed  as  a  proof  of  the  for- 

«  rner.^ According  to  this  reafoning, 

•<  we  are  always  to  compare  the  impro- 
**  babiHty  of  a  fadt,  with  the  improbabi- 
**  lity  of  the  falfehood  of  the  teftimony 
**  which  aflerts  it,  and  to  determine  our 
"  affent  to  that  fide  on  which  the  leaft 
**  improbability  Hes.  Or,  in  the  cafe  of 
**  miracles,  \ve  are  to  confider  which  is 
**  mofl  likely,  that  fach  events  fhould 
**  happen,  or  that  men  fhould  either  de- 
**  ceive  or  be  deceived.  And,  as  there 
*'  is  nothing  mofe  unlikely  than  the  for- 
*'  mer,  or  much  more  common  than  the 
*^  latter,  particularly  where  religion  is 
**  concerned  >  it  will  be  right  to  form  a 
<*  general  refolution^  never  to  lend  any  atten' 
**  tion  to  accounts  of  miracles y  with  'whate- 
**  "jer fpecious pretexts  they  may  be  covered'^* 

*  See  the  EJpiy,  on  Miracles^  in  Mr,  Hume's  phil§^ 
fo[hical  ejjays  concerning  human  underjlanding^  pag,  205. 
2d.  edition,    in  the  Note. 

c  •*  It: 


md  AJi racks,  387 

**  It  is,  fays  Mr  Hume^j  a  ?naxim  worthy 
**  of  our  attentmj,  that  no  tefi'monj  is  Jliffi- 
**  cient  to  ejlablijh  a  jniracle,   unlefs  the  tejli" 
y  mony  he  of  fuch  a  kind,  that  its  falfehood 
"  would  be   more  miraculous  than  the  fadt 
<*  which  it  e7idcavours  to  eftablifi.     And  e^ 
*'  ven  in  that  cafe,  there  is  a  mutual  dejlruc-^ 
*^  tion  of  arguments^   and  the  fuperior  only 
**  gives  us  an  afjiirance  fuitable  to  that  degree 
"  rffo^^^^  'ii/'A/VA  remains  after  deducing  the 
**  inferior.     When  any  one  tells  me  that  he 
^^  faw  a  dead  man  rejiored  to  life,  I  immedi^ 
**  ately    confider  with  my f elf,    whether  it  be 
**  more  probable  that  the  perfon  jhould  either 
"  deceive  or  be  deceived,   or  that  the  faB  he 
**  relates  fjould  really  have  happened,  I  weigh 
*'  the  one  miracle  dgainjl  the  other,    and  ac-^ 
*^  cording  to  the  fuperior ity  which  I  dif cover ^ 
**  /  pronounce  my  decifion,  and  always  reject 
"  the  greater  miracle,     Ifthejalfehood  of  his 
**  tefimony  would  be  fnore  miraculous   than 
"  the  event  which  he  relates^  tben^   and  ftot 
"  ////  then,   can  he  pretend  to  command  jny 
C  c  2  "  belief 


388  On  WJlorical  Evidence^ 

**  belief  or  opinion  *." For  fuch  rea* 

fons  as  thefe,  Mr.  Hume  afferts,  "  T^haf 
"  the  evidence  of  tejtimony^  when  applied  to 
"  a  miracle,  carries  falfehood  upon  the  very 
*^  face  of  it,  and  is  more  properly  a  fubje5l 
"  of  derifion  than  of  argument  -f*  >  and  that 
**  whoever  believes  the  truth  of  the  chrifti- 
*'  an  rehgion,  is  confcious  of  a  continued  mi-- 
*•  rack  in  his  own  perfon,  which  fubverts  all 
**  the  principles  of  his  underjlanding,  and 
*•  gives  him  a  determination  to  believe  what 
**  is  tnojl  contrary  to  cujlom  and  experience  \y 

This  is  the  objeflion  in  its  complete  force. 
It  has,  we  fee,  a  plaulible  appearance, 
and  is  urged  with  uncommon  confidence. 
But,  it  is  founded  on  indifputable  fallacies, 

*  lb.  p.  182 p.  206.      /  defire    any  one  to   lay 

his  hand  on  his  hearty  dnd  after  ferious  confideration 
declare,  whether  he  thinks,  that  the  falfehood  of  fuch 
a  hook,  (ilie  Pentateuch)  fuf ported  by  fuch  teftimony^ 
would  he  more  extraordinary  and  miraculous  than  all  the 
miracles  it  relates  \  which  is,  however^  neceffary  to  make 
it  he  received,  according  to  the  meafures  of  prohahility  <?- 
liVe  ejlabliftjed. 

t  Page  195.         X  Page  207. 

and 


<ind  Miracles.  389 

^nd  is  indeed  nothing  but  a  poor  though  fpe- 
cious  fophifm.  I  cannot  hefitate  in  making 
this  aflertion  ;  and,  I  think,  it  muft  ap- 
pear to  be  true,  to  any  one  who  will  beftovv 
attention  on  the  following  obfervations. 

The  principles  on  which  this  objedlioa 
is  built  are  chiefly,  "  That  the  credit  we 
"  give  to  teftimony,  is  derived  folety  from 
f*  experience ;"  "  That  a  miracle  is  a  fadl 
^^  contrary  to  experience;'*  *' That  the 
**  previous  incredibility  of  a  fa(3:  is  a  proof 
"  againft  it,  diminifhing  in  proportion  to  the 
"  degree  of  it,  the  proof  from  teftimony  for 
"it;*'  and  "That  no  teftimony  {hould 
"  ever  gain  credit  to  an  event,  unlefs  it  is 
**  more  extraordinary  that  it  fhould  be  falfe, 
*'  than  that  thcj  event  fhould  have   happen- 

<c  ed."-- Every  one  of  thefe  aiTertions 

will,  upon  examination,  be  found  to  be  ei-r 
ther  plainly  falfe,  or  to  need  fuch  explana- 
tion to  render  them  true,  as  will  render 
them  of  no  ufe  to  the  purpofe  which  they 
^re  intended  to  ferve, 

C  c  3  Iiv 


J90         On  Hijiorical  E*vidence^ 

'-^tn  order  to  prove  this,  let  us  confider  the 
nature  and  the  foundation  of  that  affurance 
which  experience  gives  us  of  the  laws  of 
jiature.  This  affurance  is  nothing  but  the 
convi'dion  we  have,  that  future  events  will 
be  agreeable  to  what  we  have  hitherto 
found  to  be  the  courfe  of  nature,  or  the  ex- 
peBation  arifing  in  us,  upcn  having  obferved 
that  an  event  has  happened  in  former  expe- 
riments, that  it  will  happen  again  \n  future 
experiments.  This  expcdlation  has  been 
reprcfented  as  one  of  the  greateft  myfteries, 
and  the  refult  of  an  ingenious  and  elaborate 
difquilition  about  it  is,  that  it  cannot  be 
founded  on  any  reafon,  and  confifts  only  in 
an  affociation  of  ideas  derived  from  habit, 
or  a  difpofition  in  our  imaginations  to  paf^ 
from  the  idea  of  one  objec-l;  to  the  idea  of 
another  which  we  have  found  to  be  its  ufual 
attendant  ^.  But  furely,  never  before  were 
tuch  pains  taken  to   produce  darknefs  and 

perplexity  on   a   point  fo  plain. If  I  wa^ 

to  draw  a  flip  of  papei*   out  of  a   wheel, 

*   See  M:     HumfV  philofophical  elTays,   cftiy  4th 

V/here 


and  Miracles.  39! 

where  I  knew  there  were  more  white  than 
black  papers,  I  (hould  intuitively  fee,  that 
there  was  a  probability  of  drawing  a  white 
paper,  and  therefore  (liould  expeB  this;  and 
he  who  fhould  make  a  myftery  of  fuch  an 
cxpeftation,  or  apprehend  any  difficulty  in 
accounting  for  it,  wouW  deferve  more  to  be 
laughed  at  than  argued  with.— ^In  like 
manner ;  if,  out  of  a  wheel,  the  particu- 
lar contents  of  which  I  am  ignorant  of,  I 
fhould  draw  a  white  paper  a  hundred  times 
together,  I  fliould  lee  that  it  was  probable, 
that  it  had  in  it  more  white  papers  than 
black,  and  therefore,  (hould  expedl  to  draw 
a  white  paper  the  next  trial.  There  is  no 
more  difficulty  in  this  cafe  than  in  the  for- 
mer; and,  it  is  equally  abfurd  in  both  cafes 
to  afcribe  the  expeSlation^    not  to  k?i720w!edge^ 

but  to  injTtnci. The  cafe  of  our  aflurance 

of  the  laws  of  nature,  as  far  as  we  are  ig- 
norant of  the  caufes  that  operate  in  nature, 
is  exadly  the  fame  with  this.  An  experi^ 
ment  which  has  often  fucceeded,  we  ex- 
pe6l  to  fucceed  again,  becaufe  we  per- 
mV0  intuitively,  that  fuch  a  conftancy  of 
C  c  4  event 


39?  On   Wfiorical  Evidence ^ 

event  muil  proceed  from  fomething  in  the 
conilitution  of  natural  caufes,  difpofing 
them  to  produce  it;  nor  will  it  be  poffible 
to  deny  this,  till  it  can  be  proved,  that  it  is 
not  a  firft  principle  of  reafon,  that  of  every 
thing  that  comes  to  pafs  there  mufl:  be  fome 
account  or  caufe ;  or,  that  a  conftant  rc-cur-* 
rency  of  the  fame  event  is  not  a  facl  which 
requires  any  caufe. — In  a  word ;  We  trufl; 
experience,  and  expedl  that  the  future  ihould 
refemble  the  paft  in  the  courfe  of  nature,  foi: 
the  very  fame  reafon  that,  fuppofing  our-- 
felves  otherwife  in  the  dark,  we  fhould 
conclude,  that  a  dye  which  has  turned  an  ace 
ofteneft  in  fajl  trials  is  rnqftly  marked  with 
aces,  and  confequently  fhould  expect,  that; 
it  will  go  on  to  turn  the  fame  number  ofr 

teneft  in  fyture  trials. The  ground  of 

the  expedation  produced  by  experience 
being  this,  it  is  obvious,  that  it  will  always 
be  weaker  or  ftronger,  in  proportion  to  the 
greater  or  lefs  conftancy  and  uniformity  of 
(Dur  experience.  Thus,  from  the  happen- 
ing of  an  event  in  every  trial  a  million  of 
times,  we  fliould  conclude  more  confident- 


and  Miracles,  393 

ly,  that  it  will  happen  again  the  next  trial, 
than  if  it  had  happened  lefs  frequently,  or 
if  in  fome  of  thefe  inflances  it  had  failed. 
The  plain  reafon  is,  that  in  the  former  cafe 
it  would  appear,  that  the  caufes  produce- 
ing  the  event  are  probably  of  a  more  fixed 
nature,  and  lefs  liable  to  be  counteracted  by 

oppofite   caufes. It  muft,   however,   be 

remembered,  that  the  greateft  uniformity 
and  frequency  of  experience  will  not  af- 
ford a  proper  proof,  that  an  event  will  hap- 
pen in  a  future  trial,  or  even  render  it  fo 
much  as  probable,  that  it  will  always  hap- 
pen in  all  future  trials. — — In  order  to 
explain  this,  let  us  fuppofe  a  folid  which, 
for  ought  we  know,  may  be  conftituted  in 
any  one  of  an  infinity  of  different  ways, 
and  that  we  can  judge  of  it  only  from  ex- 
periments made  in  throwing  it.  The  oft- 
ner  we  fuppofe  ourfelves  to  have  it^w  it  turn 
the  fame  face,  the  more  we  fhould  rec- 
kon upon  its  turning  the  fame  face  when 
thrown  next.  But  though  we  knew, 
that  it  had  turned  the  fame  face  in  every 
trial  a  million  of  times,    there  would   be 

no 


394         ^^^  Hijhrical  Evide?ice, 

no  certaintyy  that  it  would  turn  this  face 
again  in  any  particular  future  trial,  nor 
even  the  leaft  probability ^  that  it  would 
never  turn  any  other  face.  What  would 
appear  would  be  only,  that  it  was  likely^ 
that  it  had  about  a  million  and  a  half 
more  of  thefe  fides  than  of  all  others  * ; 

or, 

*  If  any  one  wants  a  further  explication  of  what  is 
here  faid,  let  him  confidcr,  that  as  there  is  only  a 
high  prohabilityy  not  a  certainty^  that  the  fuppofed  fo- 
lid,  after  turning  the  fame  fide  a  million  of  times 
without  once  failing,  would  turn  again  this  fide  in  the 
next  trial,  the  prpbability  muft  be  lefs,  that  it  would 
turn  this  fide  in  two  future  trials,  and  ftili  lefs,  that  it 
would  do  it  m  three  future  trials;  and  thus,  the  probabi- 
lity will  dccreafe  continually  as  the  number  of  the  fup- 
pofed trials  is  increafed,  till,  at  laft,  it  will  become  an 
equal  chance,  and  from  thence  pafs  into  an  improbabi- 
lity  .^ — This  may  be  a  little  differently  reprefented 

thus.  Let  a  folid  be  fuppofed  that  has  1,600,000 
fides  of  the  fame  fort,  to  one  of  any  other  fort.  There 
is  a  probability,  that  in  a  million  of  trials,  fuch  a  fo- 
lid would  turn  conftantly  the  fame  fide.  Such  a  fup- 
pofition,  therefore,  would  completely  account  for 
this  event,  fuppofing  it  to  happen  ;  and  nothing  further 
couldy  with  reafon^  he  concluded  from  it.  But,  there  is 
^n  injjfii/y  of  other  fuppofitions  that  will  alfo  account 
^"  *  for 


and  Miracles.  39^ 

iOr,  that  Its  nature  was  fuch  as  difpofed 
it  to  turn  this  fide  oftener,  in  this  pro- 
portion, than  any  other;  not  that  It  had 
no  other  fides,  or  that  it  would  never 
turn  any  others.  In  reality,  there  would 
be  the  greateft  probability  agalnft  this.-— 
Thefe  obfervations  are  applicable,  in  the 
exaftcft  manner,  to  what  paffes  in  the 
courfe  of  nature,  as  far  as  experience  is 
pur  guide.  Upon  obferving,  that  any 
natural  event  has  happened  often  or  inva- 
riably, we  have  only  reafon  to  expeft  that 
it  v/ill  happen  again,  with  an  afiurance 
proportioned  to  the  frequency  bf  our  ob- 
servations. But,  we  have  no  abfolute 
proof  that  it  will  happen  again  in  any 
particular  future  trial  y  nor  the  leaft  rea-r 
fon  to  believe   that  it  will   always   hap- 

for  it,  of  which  the  particular  fuppcfitlon  that  it 
has  no  fides  of  any  other  fort,  and  that,  therefore,  it 
will  never  turn  any  other,  is  only  ojie.  Againft  the 
truth,  therefore,  of  this  particular  fuppofition,  there 
piuft  be,  in  the  clrcumilances  of  ignorance  above  fup- 
nofed,  the  greateft  probability. 


>en. 


-^06         On   Hljlorical  Evidence y 

pen  *.    For  ought  we  know,    there  may 
be  occafions  on  which  it  will  fail,  and 

fecret 

*  In  an  eflay  publifhed  in  vol.  53d  of  the  Philofo- 
fhical  Trarjfa^iom,  what  is  faid  here  and  in  the  laft 
note,  is  proved  by  mathematical  demonftration,  and 
a  method  fhewn  of  determining  the  exacSl  probability 
of  all  conclufions  founded  on  indu6tion.— — This 
is  plainly  a  curious  and  important  problem,  and  it 
has  fo  near  a  relation  to  the  fubjeiSl:  of  this  diflertation, 
that  it  will  be  proper  juft  to  mention  the  refuUs  of  the 
folution  of  it  in  a  few  particular  cafes. 

Suppofe,  i/?,  all  we  know  of  an  event  to  be,  that 
it  has  happened  ten  times  without  failing,  and  that 
it  is  inquired,  what  reafon  we  Ihall  have  for  thinking 
ourfelves  right,  if  wc  judge,  that  the  probability  of  its 
happening  in  a  Angle  trial,  lies  fomewhere  between 
jixteen  to  one  and  two  to  one. — The  anfwer  is,  that 
the  chance  for  being  right,  would  be  .5013,  or  very 
nearly  an  equal  chance. Take  next,  the  particu- 
lar cafe  mentioned  above,  and  fuppofe,  that  a  folid 
or  dpj  of  whofe  number  of  fides  and  conftitution 
we  know  nothing,  except  from  experiments  made 
in  throwing  it,   has  turned  conftantly  the  fame  face  in 

a  million   of  trials. In    thefe    circumftances,    it 

would  be  improbable^  that  it  had  lefs  than  1,400,000 
more  of  thefe  fides  or  faces  than  of  all  others  j  and  it 
would  be  alfo  improbable,  that  it  had  above  1,600,000 
more.  The  chance  for  the  Lttcr  is  .4647,  and  for 
5  «hc 


and  Miracles.  397 

fccret  caufes  in  the  frame  of  things 
which  Jometimes  may  counteradt  thofe  by 
which  it  is  produced.  * 

But 

the  former  .4895.  There  would,  therefore,  be  no 
reafon  for  thinking,  that  it  would  never  turn  any  o- 
ther  fide.      On  the  contrary,    it  would  be  likely  that 

this   would   happen  in  1,600,000   trials. In  like 

manner,  with  refpecSt  to  any  event  in  nature,  fuppofe 
the  flowing  of  the  tide,  if  it  has  flowed  at  the  end  of  a 
certain  interval  a  million  of  times,  there  would  be  the 
probability  exprefl^ed  by  .5105,  that  the  odds  for  its 
flowing  again  at  the  ufual  period  was  greater  than 
1,400,000  to  I,  and  the  probability  exprefled  by  .5352, 
that  the  odds  was  Icfs  than  1,600,000  to  one. 

Such  are  the  conclufions  which  uniform  experience 
warrants.^— —What  follows  is  ?ifpecimen  of  the  ex- 
pectations,  which  it  is  reafonable  to  entertain  in  the 

cafe   of  interrupted  or  variable   experience. If  we 

know  no  more  of  an  event  than  that  it  has  happened 
ten  times  in  eleven  trials,  and  failed  once,  and  we 
fhould  conclude  from  hence,  that  the  probability  of  its 
happening  in  a  fingle  trial  lies  between  the  odds  of 
nine  to  one  and  eleven  to  one,  there  would  be  twelve 
to  one  againji  being  right. — if  it  has  happened  a  hun- 
dred times,  and  failed  ten  times,  there  would  alfo  be 
an  odds  of  near  three  to  one  again/}  being  right  in  fuch 

a  conclufion. If  it  has  happened  a  thoufand  times 

and 


398         On   Hijiorkal  Evidence y 

But  to  fay  no  more  at  prefent  of  tliis^ 
Let  us,  in  the  next  place,  confider  what 
is  the  ground  of  the  regard  we  pay  to 
human    tejlimony, We  may,    I   thinks 

and  failed  a  hundred,  there  would  be  an  odds/iT  being 
right  of  a  little  more  than  two  to  one.  And,  fuppofing 
the  fame  ratio  preferved  of  the  number  of  happenings 
to  the  number  of  failures,  and  the  fame  guefs  made^ 
this  odds  will  go  on  increafmg  for  ever,   as  the  num-^ 

ber  of  trials  is  increafed. He  who   would    fee  this- 

explained  and  proved  at  large  may  confult  the  effay 
in  the  Philofophical  Tranfadtions,  to  which  I  have 
referred  ;  and  alfo  the  fupplement  to  it  in  the  54th  vo- 
lume.  The  fpecimen  now   given  is  enough  tcji 

fhew  how  very  innaccurately  we  are  apt  to  fpeak  and 
judge  on  this   fubje£t,   previoufly  to  calculation.     See 
Mr  Hume's  EfTay  on  miracles,  p.  175,  176,  ^c,  and 
Dr.  Campbell's  Eflay,  Se£l.  2d.   p.  35. — It  alfo  de- 
monftrates,   that  the  order  of  events  in  nature   is  de- 
rived from  permanent  caufes  eflablifhed  by  an  intelli- 
gent being    in  the  conftitution   of   nature,  'and    not 
from  any  of  the  powers  of  chance.     And  it  further 
proves,   that  fo  far  is  it  from  being  true,  that  the  un- 
derftanding  is  not  the  faculty  which  teaches  us  to  rely 
on  experience,  that   it  is   capable  of  determining,  in 
all  cafes,  what  conclufions  ought  to  be  drawn  from  it, 
and  \\\\7!itpr£cife  degree  of  eoflfidcnce  fhould  be  placed 
ill  it. 

fee 


and   Miracles.  399 

fee  plainly,  that  it  is  not  experience  on- 
ly j  meaning,  all  along,  that  kind  of 
experience  to  which  we  owe  our  expedta- 
tion  of  natural  events,  the  caufes  of 
"which  are  unknown  to  us.  Were  this 
the  cafe,  the  regard  we  ought  to  pay  to 
teftimony,  would  be  in  proportion  to  the 
number  of  inftances,  in  which  we  have 
found,  that  it  has  given  us  right  informa- 
tion, compared  with  thofe  in  which  it 
has  deceived  us  5  and  it  might  be  calcu- 
lated in  the  fame  manner  with  the  re- 
gard due  to  any  conclufions  derived  from 
induftion.  But  this  is  by  no  means  the 
truth.  One  adlion,  or  one  converfation 
with  a  man,  may  convince  us  of  his  in- 
tegrity and  induce  us  to  believe  his  tefti- 
mony, though  we  had  never,  in  a  finglc 
inftance,  experienced  his  veracity.  His 
manner  of  telling  his  ftory,  its  being 
corroborated  by  other  teftimony,  and  va- 
rious particulars  in  the  nature  and  cir- 
cumftances  of  it,  may  fatisfy  us  that  it 
muft  be  true.     We  feel  in  ourfelves,  that 

a 


400  On  Hijlorical  E-vidence^ 

a  regard  to  truth  is  one  principle  in  hu- 
man nature ;  and  we  know,  that  there 
muft  be  fuch  a  principle  in  every  reafona- 
ble  being,  and  that  there  is  a  necelTary  re- 
pugnancy between  the  perception  of  moral 
diftindions  and  deliberate  falfehood.  To 
this,  chiefly,  is  owing  the  credit  we  give 
to  human  teftimony.  And  from  hence, 
in  particular,  muft  be  derived  our  belief 
of  veracity  in  the  Diety.  It  might  be 
fhewn  here  in  many  ways,  that  there 
is  a  great  difference  between  the  convic- 
tion produced  by  teftimony,  and  the  coh- 
viftion  produced  by  experience.  But  I 
will  content  myfelf  with  taking  notice, 
how  much  higher  the  one  is  capable  of 
being  raifed  than  the  other.  When  it 
appears,  that  a  man  is  not  deceived,  and 
does  not  defign  to  deceive,  we  are  fo 
far  fure  of  the  truth  of  the  fafts  re- 
lated. But  when  any  events,  in  the 
courfe  of  nature,  have  often  happened, 
we  are  fure  properly,  of  nothing  but  the 
paft  faft.     Nor,  I  think,  is  there  in  ge-^ 

neral;, 


and  Miracles.  401 

neral,   antecedently  to   their  happening, 
any  comparifon  between  the  alTurance  we 
have   that  they   will    happen,    and   that 
which  we  have  of  many  fads  the  know- 
ledge of  which  we  derive  from  teftimo- 
ny.     For  example  i    we    are  not  fo  cer- 
tain that  the  tide  will  go  on  to  ebb  and 
flow,  and   the  fun  to  rife  and  fet  in  the 
manner  they  have  hitherto  done,  a  year 
longer,,  as  we  are  that   there  has    been 
fiich  a  man  as  Alexander y    or  fuch  an  em- 
pire as  the  Roman  *• 

-  *  It  might  have  been  added  here,  as  another  ob- 
fervatlon  of  confiderable  importance,  that  the  great- 
eft  part  of  what  is  commonly  called  experience  is 
merely  the  report  of  teftimony.  "  Our  own  expe- 
**  rience  reaches  around,  and  goes  back  but  a  little 
"  way  ;  but  the  experience  of  others,  on  which  we 
«'  chiefly  depend,  is  derived  to  us  wholly  from  tefti- 
«<  mony."     Dr.  Adams's  EJfay  on  MiracleSy  page  5th. 

In  proportion,  therefore,  as   we  weaken  the 

evidence  of  teftimony,  we  weaken  alfo  that  of  expe- 
rience; and  in  comparing  them  we  ought  in  reafon 
to  oppofe  to  the  former,  only  what  remains  of  the  lat- 
ter after  that  part  of  it  which  is  derived  from  the  for- 
mer, that  is,  after  much  the  greateft  part  of  it  is  de- 

du(^ed»  _ 

D  d  From 


40^  On  Uijlorlcal  Evidence^ 

From  thefe  obfervations  It  follows, 
that  to  ufe  tejlimony  to  prove  a  mi- 
racle implies  no  abfurdity.  *Tis  not 
ufing  2i  feebler  experience  to  overthrow  a- 
notherof  thefame  kind,  which  is Jlronger: 
But,  ufing  an  argument  to  eftablifli  an 
event,  vi^hich  yields  a  direcft  and  pofitive 
proof  and  is  capable  of  producing  the 
ftrongeft  convid:ion,  to  overthrow  ano- 
ther founded  on  different  principles, 
and  which,  at  bed,  can  prove  no  more 
than  that,  previoufly  to  the  event,  there 
would  have  appeared  to  us  a  prefump- 
tion  againfl:  its  happening. 

What  I  now  mean  will  be  greatly 
confirmed  by  obferving,  that  a  miracle 
cannot,  vl^ith  ftridl  propriety,  be  ftyled 
an  event  contrary  to  experience.  This  is 
one  of  .the  aflertions  which  I  have  men- 
tioned among  the  fallacies,  on  which  Mr. 
Huf27es  argument  is  founded.  A  mira- 
cle is  more  properly  an  event  different 
from  experience  than  contrary  to  it. 
Were  I  to  fee  a  temped  calmed  inftan- 

taneoufly 


and  Miracles.  403 

tmcoufly  by  th^^- ward  of  a  marp,  -  dL  my 
paft  experience  would  remain  the  fame  5 
and  were  I  to  affirm  that  I  faw  what  wasi 
contrary  to  ity  I-ioulid-  bnly  hie.art,   that  I 
faw  what  I  never  before  had  a-riy  experi-*.. 
ence  of.    In  like  manner ;   was  I  to  be  af- 
^ired  by   eye   witneffes  that, 'bii  a  parti- 
cular occalion,  fome  event,  different  frorrl 
the  lifual  coUrfe  of  things^,  'had  happened, 
teftimony,  in  this  cafe^^'would  afford  di* 
reft  and  peremptory  evidence  for^  the  fa(a; 
But  what  infotmatiOn  wbUld 'experience 
give  ?*— i— It    would  only  tell  me   what 
happened  on  other  occalions,   and  in  o^ 
ther  inilances.     Its  evidence,    therefore, 
would  be  entirely  hegative^i     It  Would 
afford  no  proper  proof  that  the- event  did 
not  happen  ;   for  it  can  be  no  part  of  any 
'one's  experience,  that  the  courfe  of  na- 
ture will  continue  always  the  fame. • 

There  cannot  then  be  any  tolerable  pro- 
priety in  aiferting  (as  Mr  Hume  -f  does) 

*  See  Dr,  Adams's  EJfay^Yzp  9th  and  23d. 
t  EJp^  <m  Aliraclesy   Page  179. 

D  d  2  that. 


404         On  Ilijlorical  Evidence^ 

that,  in  every  cafe  of  a  miracle  fupported 
by  teftimony,  there  is  a  contefl  of  twQ 
oppofite  experiences,  the  ftrongeft  of 
which  ought  always  to  determine  our 
judgments. 

But  thi«  leads  me  to  take  notice   of 
the  fundamental  error  in  this  argument : 
An  error  which,   I  fancy,  every  perfon 
xnuft  be  fenfible  of  when  it  is  mentioned, 
and  for  the  fake  of  pointing  out  which 
chiefly  this   differtation    is  written. 
The  error  I  mean  is  contained  in  the  af- 
fertion,  that  "  if,    previoully   to   an   e- 
**  vent,    there  was  a  greater  probability 
/*  againji  its  happening,  than  there  l^for 
•*  the  truth  of  the  teftimony  endeavour- 
"  ing  to  eftablifh  it,  the  former  deftroys 
/*  the   latter,  and   renders   the  event  un- 
"  likely  to  have  happened   in  proportion 
"  to  its   fuperiority."      That   this    is    a 
fundamental  point  in  Mr  Humes   objec- 
tion   muft    be    apparent    to   thofe  who 
have  confidered  it.     By  the  conteft  be- 
tween two  oppofite  experiences  in  mira- 
culous 


and  Miracles .  405 

culous  fafts  fupported  by  teftimony.  the 
greateft  of  which  always  deftroys  the  other 
as  far  as  its  force  goes;   he  cannot  confi- 
ftently  mean  any  thing  but  this.     One  of 
the  oppofite    experiences   muft  be  that 
which  acquaints  us  with  the  courfe  of 
nature,   and   by   which,   as   before   ex- 
plained, it  is  rendered  probable,   in  pro- 
,  portion  to  the    number  of  inftances  in 
which   an  event  has  happened,  that  it 
will  happen  in  future  trials.     The  other 
muft  be  that  from  whence  the  credit  we 
give  to  teftimony  is  derived,  which,  ac- 
cording to  Mr  Hume,  being  our  obferva- 
tion  of  the  ufual  conformity  of  fadis  to 
the  reports  of  witneffes,  makes  it  proba- 
ble that  any  event  reported   by   witneffes 
has  happened,  in  proportion  to  what  we 
,  have   experienced     of    this  conformity. 
Now,  as  in  the  cafe  of  miraculous  fads 
thefe   probabilities  oppofe  one   another, 
and  the  greateft,  according  to  Mr  Hume, 
muft  be-  the  firft,  becaufe  the  experience 
.   which  produces  it  is  conftant  and  inva- 
-    riable  >  it  follows,  that  there  muft  be  al- 

D  d  3  ways 


4o6         0/;  HiJloricaJ  Evidence^ 

ways  a  great  overbalance  of  evidence  a- 
gainft  their  reality.  He  feems  to  lay  it 
down  as  a  general  maxim,  that  if  it  is^more 
improbable  that  any  facjl  fhoqld  have  reaU 
ly  happened,  than  that  m^n  fhould  either 
deceive  or  be  deceived,    it  fhould  be  re-^ 

jefted  by  us. But,   it  muft   be   need^ 

lefs  to  take  any  pains  to  ihew,  that  the 
turning  point  in  Mr  Hume's  argument 
is  that  which  I  have  mentioned;  or,  in 
other  words,  the  principle,  that  no  tefti-^ 
rnony  fliould  engage  our  belief,  except 
the  improbability  in  the  falfehood  of  it 
is  greater  than  that  in  the  event  which 
it  attefls  *, 

*  Let  it  be  well  remembered,  that  the  improbabi- 
lity of  event  here  mentioned,  can  mean  nothing  but 
the  improbability  which  we  fhould  have  feen  there  was 
of"  its  happening  independently  of  any  evidence  for  it, 
or,  previoufly  to  the  evidence  of  tef^imony  inforrn- 
ing  us  that  it  has  happened.  To  fuppofe  that  any 
pther  improbability  is  meant,  would  be  to  make  this 
objection  to  the  laft  degree  abfurd  ;  the  whole  difpufte 
being  about  the  improbability  that  remains  after  the 
evidence  of  teftimony  given  fpr  the  event, 

fa 


.,<^Y  a^td  Miracles.  407 

In  order  to  make  it  appear  that  this  is 
an  error,  what  I  defire  may  be  confider- 
ed  is,  the  degree  of  improbability  which 
there  is  againft  almofl  all  the  moft  com- 
mon fafts,  independently  of  the  evidence 
of  teflimony  for  them.  In  many  cafes 
of  particular  hiftories  which  are  immedi- 
ately believed  upon  the  flighteft  teftimony, 
there  would  have  appeared  to  us,  previ- 
Qufly  to  this  teftimony,  an  improbability 
of  almoft  infinity  to  one  againft  their  rea- 
lity, as  any  one  muft  perceive,  who  will 
think  how  fare  he  is  of  the  falfehood  of 
all  fads  that  have  no  evidence  to  fupport 
them,  or  which  he  has  only  imagined  to 
himfelf.  It  is  then  very  common  for 
the  flighteft  teftimony  to  overcome  an  al- 
moft infinite  improbability. 

To  make  this  more  evident :  Let  us 
fuppofe,  that  teftimony  informed  us  right- 
ly ten  times  to  one  in  which  it  deceived 
us ;  and  that  there  was  nothing  to  diredt 
our  judgments  concerning  the  regard  due 
to  witnefles,  befides  the  degree  of  confor-^ 
D  d  4  mity 


40  3         On   Hiftorical  Evidence, 

mity  which  we  have  experienced  in  paft 
events  tx>  their  reports.  In  this  cafe,  there 
would  be  the  probability  often  to  one  for 
the  reality  of  every  fadt  fupported  by  tef- 
timony.  Suppofe  then  that  it  informs 
me  of  the  fuccefs  of  a  perfon  in  an  affair, 
againft  the  fuccefs  of  which  there  was 
the  probability  of  a  hundred  to  one,  or 
of  any  other  event  previoufly  improbable 
in  this  proportion.  I  afk,  What,  on 
this  fuppofition,  would  be,  on  the  whole, 
the  probability  that  the  event  really  hap- 
pened? Would  the  right  way  of  com- 
puting be,  to  compare  the  probability  of 
the  truth  of  the  teftimony  with  the  pro- 
bability that  the  event  would  not  hap- 
pen, and  to  rejed:  the  event  with  a  con- 
fidence proportioned  to  the  fuperiority  of 
the  latter  above  the  former  ?  This  Mr. 
Hume  diredts  ;  but  certainly  contrary  to 
all  reafon.< The  truth  is,  that  the  tef- 
timony would  give  the  probability  of  ten 
to  one  to  the  event,  unabated  by  the  fup- 
pofed  probability  againft  it.  And  one 
rcafon  of  this  is,   that  the  very  experience 

which 


and  Miracles.  40^ 

which  teaches  us  to  give  credit  to  tefti- 
mony,  is  an  experience  by  which  we 
have  found,  that  it  has  informed  us  right-^ 
ly  concerning  fadls,  in  which  there 
would  have  appeared  to  us,  previoufly, 
a  great  improbability. 

But  to  be  yet  more  explicit ;  Let  us 
fuppofe  the  event  reported  by  teftimony 
to  be,  that  a  particular  fide  of  a  die  was 
thrown  twice  in  two  trials,  and  that  the 
teftimony  is  of  fuch  a  nature  that  it  has 
as  often  informed  us  wrong  as  right.  In 
this  cafe,  there  would  plainly  be  an  e- 
qual  chance  for  the  reality  of  the  event, 
though,  previoufly,  there  was  the  pro- 
bability of  thirty-five  to  one  againft  it : 
And  every  one  would  fee,  that  it  would 
be  abfurd  to  fay,  that  there  being  fo  con- 
iiderable  a  probability  againft  the  event, 
and  no  probability  at  all  for  the  truth  of 
the  teftimony ;  or,  that  having  had  much 
more  frequent  experience  that  two  trials 
Jiave  not  turned  up  the  fame  face  of  a 
die,    than  of  the  conformity  of  fads  to 

the 
? 


41  o,         On  Hijlorical  Evidence^ 

the   fuppofed    teftimony,    therefore,    no 

regard  is  due  to  the  teftimony.. An  e- 

vidence  that  is  often  conneded  with  truth, 
though  not  ojtner  than  with  falfehood,  is 
real  evidence,  and  deferves  regard.  To 
rejed  fuch  evidence  would  be  to  fall  of- 
ten into  error,  whatever  improbabilities 
may  attend  the  events  to  which  it  is  ap- 
plied ;  and  to  affert  the  contrary,  would 
be  to  affert  a  manifefl  contradicSion. 

But  let  us  take  a  higher  cafe  of  thi$ 
kind.  The  improbability  of  drawing  a  . 
lottery  in  any  particular  affigned  manner, 
independently  of  the  evidence  of  teftimo- 
ny, or  of  our  own  fenfes,  acquainting  us 
that  it  has  been  drawn  in  that  manner, 
is  fuch  as  exceeds  all  conception  *,    And 

yet 

"*■  Thi3  Improbability  is  as  the  number  of  difFerent 
ways  which  there  are  of  drawing  the  lottery  ;  or,  as 
the  number  of  permutations  which  a  number  of 
things,  equal  to  that  of  the  tickets  in  the  lottery,  ad- 
mits of.  In  a  lottery,  therefore,  of  50,000  tickets, 
this  improbability  is  exprciTed  by  the  proportion  of 
i.X2x3X4X5x6&c.  continued  to  50jOOO.  to  one.  Or,  it 

is 


and  Miracles.  411 

yet  the  teftimony  of  a  news-paper,  or  of 
any  common  man,  is  fufficient  to  put  us 
out  of  doubt  about  it.  Suppofe  here  a 
perfon  was  to  rejedl  the  evidence  offered 
him  on  the  pretence,  that  the  improbabi- 
lity of  the  falfehood  of  it  is  almoft:  infi- 
nitely lefs  than  that  of  the  event  *;    or, 

fuppofe, 

is  the  fame  with  that  of  drawing  fuch  a  lottery  exa(5lly 
in  the  order  of  the  numbers,  firft  i,  then  2,  and  fo  on 
to  the  laft.  Moft  perfons  will  fcarcely  be  able  to  per- 
fuade  themfelves,  that  this  is  not  an  abfolute  impof- 
fibilityj  and  yet  in  truth,  it  is  equally  poffible,  and 
was  beforehand  equally  probable  with  that  very  way 
in  which,  after  drawing  the  lottery,  we  believe  it  has 
been  drawn :  And  what  is  fimilar  to  this  is  true 
of  almoft  every  thing  that  can  be  offered  to  our  affent, 
independently  of  any  evidence  for  it ;  and  particularly, 
of  numberlefs  fa6ls  which  are  the  obje<£ls  of  teftimony, 
and  which  are  continually  believed,  without  the  leaft 
iiefitation,  upon  its  authority. 

*  Dr.  Campbell  feems  not  to  have  attended  to 
the  fallacy  in  this  method  of  reafoning.  If  he  had, 
he  would  perhaps  have  expreffed  himfelf  differently  in 
fome  parts  of  the  tirft  and  fixth  fedlions  of  the  firft  part 
of  his  very  judicious  differtation  before  mentioned. — 
In  the  cafe  he  fuppofes,  of  the  Jpfs  of  a  paffage  boat 

which 
A 


412         0?i  Hijiorical  Evidence, 

fuppofe,  that  univerfally  a  perfon  wa$ 
to  rejedt  all  accounts  which  he  reads  or 
hears  of  fa6ts  which  are  more  uncom- 
mon, than  it  is  that  he  ihould  read  or 
hear  what  is  falfe :  What  would  be 
thought  of  fuch  a  perfon  ?  How  foon 
would  he  be  made  to  fee  and  acknow- 
ledge his  own  folly  ? 

iB^hich  had  croffed  a  river  two  ihoufand  times  fafely  ; 
it  is  plain,  that  an  evidence  of  much  lefs  weight  than 
the  probability,  that  an  experiment  which  had  fuc- 
ceeded  two  thoufand  times  will  fucceed  the  next  time, 
would  be  fufficient  to  convince  us  of  the  reality  of  the 
event.  Any  report  that  has  been  oftner  fouiid  to  be 
true  than  falfe  Would  engage  belief,  though  the  con- 
vi(Slion  we  fhould  have  had,  fuppofing  no  fuch  report, 
that  the  event  did  not  happen,  would  have  been  much 
ftronger  than  any  that  the  report  itfelf  is  capable  of 
producing.  I  have  above  afligned  the  reafon  of  this ; 
and  indeed  the  fophifm  I  have  endeavoured  to  point 
out  feems  to  me  fo  glaring,  that  did  not  fo  fagacious 
»  writer  as  Mr.  Hume  and  fome  others  appear  to 
have  been  deceived  by  it,  I  fhould  have  thought  it 
very  unnecefTary  to  fay  much  about  it. 


SECT. 


mid  Miracles^  413 


'     SECT,    in. 

Of  the  Credibility  of  Miracles,  and  the  Force 
of  Tejlimony  when  employed  to  prove  tbem^ 

TH  E  application  of  what  has  been 
faid,  in  the  laft  fedlion,  to  the  parti- 
cular cafe  of  miracles,  is  fb  obvious,  that 
it  need  not  be  much  infifted  on.  It  has 
plainly  appeared  how  little  the  credit 
of  teftimony  is,<  in  general,  affedted  by 
the  previous  improbability  of  events,  and 
howjuftly  it  has  been  obferved  to  be 
wrong  to  make  this  improbability  a 
proof  agcunjl  a  fad;,  deflroying,  in  propor- 
tion to  its  force,  the  proof  from  teftimo- 
ny yi?r  it. 

I  mull  add  what  deferves  particular 
notice,  that  it  alfo  (hews  us,  that  Mr. 
IJume%  argument  would  prove  nothing, 

even 


414        0;2  Hijlorical  Ei)idencei 

even  though  the  principle  before  oppofed 
were  granted,  namely,  that  we  derive 
our  regard  to  teftimony  from  experience, 
in  the  fame  manner  with  our  aiTurance  of 
the  laws  or  courfe  of  nature. 

'Tis  here  natural  to  afk,  "  Is  there 
*'  not  then  a  regard  due  to  the  im- 
**  pjobability  of  events,  in  confidering  the 
**  evidence  of  teftimony  for  them  ?  "  "  Is 
**  there  not  good  reafon  for  believing 
'*  fafts  more  or  lefs  eafily,  as  they  appear 
**  to  us  more  or  lefs  conformable  to  ex- 
"  perience  ? ''  I  anfwer ;  that,  though 
this  muft  undoubtedly  be  in  general  ac- 
knowledged, it  is  by  no  means  true  in 
the  fenfe  and  degree  in  which  it  has  been 
fometimes  infifted  on.  There  areinftan^ 
ces  in  which,  when  the  improbability  of 
an  event  goos  beyond  a  certain  pitch,  we 
necelTarily  hefitate  in  receiving  the  evi- 
dence of  teftimony,  at  the  fame  time 
that,  in  other  inftances,  we  fliould  give 
eafy  credit  to  the  fame  teftimony,  with- 
out 


and  Miracles.  ""^  41  r 

out  being  afFedled  'by    equal  or  greater 

^  improbabilities.  It  is  not,  perhaps,  fuf- 
ficiently  underftood  by  what  reafons  and 
principles  our  affent  is  governed  in  thefe 
cafes.  I  fhould  be  carried  much  too  far, 
were  I  to  attempt  a  difcuflion  of  this  fub- 
jed;  nor  is  it  in  the  leaft  neceiSary  to  my 
prefeht  purpofe.  It  is  enough  that  it  has 
been  proved,  that  the  influence  of  the  im- 
probabilities of  events  on  hiftorical  evi- 
dence is  not  fuch  as  Mr.  Hume  afTerts,  or 
fuch  as  aiFords  any  folid  argument  againft 
miracles. — We  have  feen,  that  teftimony  is 
continually  overcoming  much  greater  im- 

'  probabilities  than  thofe  of  its  own  falfe- 
hood,    and  that  it  is  even  its  nature  to  do 

^d  ^hc  objedion,  therefore,  founded 
on  the  fuppofed  abfurdity  of  trufting  a 
feebkr    experience    in    oppofition    to    a 

'ftronger>  or,  of  believing  teftimony  when 
it  reports  fadls  which  are  more  extraor- 
dinary than  falfehood  and  deception,  is  fa- 
lacious.  If,  in  common  cafes,  teftimo- 
ny overcomes  fuch  improbabilities  as  have 
•'^•^  been 


41 6         On  Hlporkal  Evidence ^ 

been  reprefented,  there  can  be  nothing 
unreafonable  in  fuppofing,  that  it  may 
overcome  thofe  attending  the  moft  un- 
common cafes* 

But  the  particular  improbability  attend- 
ing miracles  has  been  a  good  deal  mag- 
nified, and  my  principal  bufinefs  in  what 
remains  will  be  to  prove  this,  in  order  to 
ihevv  w^ith  what  propriety  and  efFed:  tef- 
timony  may  be  employed  to  gain  credit 
to  a  miracle.— —With  this  view  I  (hall 
propofe  the  following  obfervations. 

There  are  many  events,  not  miraculous^ 
which  yet  have  a  previous  incredibility 
in  them  fimilar  to  that  of  miracles,  and 
by  no  means  inferior  to  it.  The  events 
I  mean,  are  all  fuch  phenomena  in  na- 
ture as  arc  quite  new  and  ftrange  to  us. 
No  one  can  doubt  whether  thefe  are  ca- 
pable of  full  proof  by  teftimony, 1 

could,,  for  inflance,  engage  by  my  own 
fingle  teftimony  to  convince  any  reafon- 
Able  perfon,  that  I  have  known  one  of 

the 


the  human  fpecies,  neither  deformed  noj:.- 
an  ideot,  and  only  thirty  inches  high,  who 
arrived  at  his  moft  mature  ftate  at  feyen 
years  of  age,  and  weighed  then  eighteen 
pounds ;  but  from  that  time  gradually  de- 
clined, and  died  at  feventeen  weigh- 
ing only  twelve  pounds,  and  with  almoft 

every  mark  of  old  age  upon  him. 

Now,  according  to  Mr.  Hume's  argu- 
ment, no  teftimony  can  prove  fuch  a  fad  j 
for  it  might  be  faid,  that  nothing  being 
piore  common  than  the  falfehood  of  tefti- 
mony,  nor  more  uncojmnon  than  fuch  ^ 
fad,  it  mud;  be  contrary  to  all  reafon  to 
believe  it  on  the  evidence  of  teftimony. 

It  deferves  particular  notice  here,  that 
in  judging  from  experience  concerning  the 
probability  of  events,  we  ftould  always  take 
rare  to  fatisfy  ourfelves,  that  there  is  no- 
thing wanting  to  render  the  cafes,  from 
whv^h  we 'c.ieue,perfedly  alike.  Our  know- 
ledge that  ra^  :vent  has  alwa'  :  generally 
happened  in  certain  cip  '   .:es,   gives 

no  reafon  for  believing.    ,x...:.  jhe  fame  e- 
vent  will  happen,  wben  thcfe  cireumftan- 
E  e  ces 


41 8  On  Hijlorical  Evidence, 

ces  are  alte;-ed :  And,  in  truth,  we  are 
fo  ignorant  of  the  conftitution  of  the 
world  and  of  the  fprings'of  events,  that 
it  is  feldom  poflible  for  us  to  know  what 
different  pkcenomena  may  take  place,  on 
any  the  leaft  change  in  the  fituation  of 
nature,  or  the  circumftances  of  objefts. 
It  was  inattention  to  this  that  occafioned 
the  niiftake  of  that  king  of  Siam,  men- 
tioned by  Mr.  Lock,  who  rejected,  as 
utterly  incredible,  the  account  which  was 
given  him  of  the  effeds  of  cold  upon 
water  in  Europe.  His  unbelief  was  plains 
ly  the  effedl  of  ignorance.  And  this  in- 
deed is  almoft  as  often  the  cafe  with  un- 
belief, as  with  its  contrary.  Give  to  a 
common  man  an  account  of  the  moft  re- 
markable experiments  in  natural  philofo- 
phy  :  Tell  him  that  you  C2Ln  freeze  him  to 
death  by  blowing  warm  air  upon  him  before 
a  gooAJire-y  or  that  you  often  divert  yourfelf 
with  bottling  up  lightning  and  difcharg- 
ing  it  through  the  bodies  of  your  acquain- 
tance ;  and  he  will  perhaps  look  upon  you 
as  crazy,  or,  at  leaft,  he  will  think  himfelf 

fure 


and   Miracles.  419 

fure  that  you  mean  to  deceive  him.  Could 
we  fuppofe  him  pofleft  of  Mv,  Hume's  genius 
and  eloquence,  he  might  fay,  **  That  what 
"  you  acquaint  him  with  is  contrary  to 
*'  uniform  experience,  that  he  cannot  be- 
**  lieve  you  without  quitting  a  guide  that 
*^  has  never  deceived  him,  to  foilow  one 
**  which  is  continually  deceiving  him ; 
'*  and  that,  therefore,  fuch  fads,  when 
**  reported  by  teftimony,  are  more  pro- 
**  perly  fubjeds  of  derijlon  than  argirmentJ* 
But,  how  obvious  would  be  the 
weaknefs  of  his  reafoning  ? — A  perfon  in 
fuch  circumftances,  who  thought  juftly, 
would  confider  how  complicated  and  ex- 
tenfive  the  frame  of  nature  is,  and  how 
little  a  way  his  obfervations  have  reached. 
This  would  fhew  him  that  he  can  be  no 
competent  judge  of  the  powers  of  nature, 
and  lead  him  to  expefl  to  find  in  it  things 
ftrange  and  wonderful,  and  confequently 
to  enquire  what  regard  is  due  to  the  tef- 
timony which  informs  him  of  fuch  fads, 
rather  than  haftily  to  rejed  them.^— One 
E  e  2  cannot 


420         On    liijhrical   Evidence ^ 

cannot  help  being  greatly  difgufted  with 
the  inclination  which  fhews  itfelf  in  many 
perfons,  to  treat  with  contempt  what- 
ever they  hear,  be  it  ever  fo  well  attefted, 
if  it  happens  that  they  are  not  able  to  ac- 
count for  it,  or  that  it  does  not  coincide 
with  their  experience^  juft  as  if  they  knew 
all  that  can  take  place  in  nature,  or,  as  if 
their  experience  was  the  ftandard  of  truth 
tind  the  mcafure  of  poffibilityi  This 
is  really  no  lefs  filly,  than  it  is  vain  and 
prefumptuous.  It  is  barring  their  minds 
againft  improvement,  and  giving  them^ 
■felves  up  to  the  influence  of  a  principle 
Avhich  has  a  tendency  to  render  them 
unfit  for  fociety.  If  we  would  be  truly 
wife,  we  ought,  at  the  fame  time  that  we 
are  upon  our  guard  againft  deception,  to 
avoid  carefully  an  arrogant  fcepticifm, 
preferving  opennefs  with  refpeft  to  ^?iy 
evidence  that  can  be  offered  to  us  on  every 
fubjedl,  from  a  fenfe  of  our  own  ignorance 

and    narrow    views. But     to    come 

more  diredly  to  the  fubjedl  under  con- 
lideration. 

There 


end  Miracles,  421 

There  is,  I  have  faid,  no  greater  in- 
credibiUty  in  a  miracle,  than  in  fuch 
-facts  as  thofe  I  have  mentioned.  It  has 
been  aire  idy  (hewn,  p  393,  &c.  that  the 
moft  uniform  experience  aftbrds  no  reafon 
for  concluding,  that  the  courfc  of  nature 
will  never  be  interrupted,*  or  that  any  na- 
tural event  which  has  hitherto  happened, 
will  always  happen.  It  has  appeared,  on 
the  contrary,  that  there  muft  be  always 
reafon  againjl  this  conclufion.  There 
may,  I  have  faid,  be  fecret  caufes  which 
will  fometimes  countera(fl  thofe  by  which 
the  courfe  of  nature  is  carried  on.  We 
are  under  no  more  neceffity  of  thinking 
that  it  muft  be  the  fame  in  all  ages  than  in 
2\\  climates.  During  the  continuance  of  a 
world,  there  may  be  periods  and  emer- 
gencies in  which  its  affairs  may  take  a 
new  turn,    and  very  extraordinary  events 

happen. In    particular,    there     are, 

for  ought  we  know,  fuperior  beings  who 

may   fometimes  interpofe  in   our  affairs, 

and  over-rule  the  ufual  operations  of  na- 

E  e    3  tural 


422  On  Hijlorical  Evidence y 

tural  caufes  ^.  We  are  fo  far  from  hav- 
ing any  reafon  to  deny  this,  that  if  any 
end  worthy  of  fuch  an  interpolition  ap- 
pears, nothing   is   more  credible. ^ 

There  was,  undoubtedly,  a  time  when 
thi^  earth  was  reduced  into  its  prefent 
habitable  ftate  *  and  form.  This  muft 
have  been  a  time  of  miracles,  or  of  the 
exertion  of  fupernatural  power.  Why 
muft  this  power  have  then  fo  entirely 
withdrawn  itfelf,  as  never  to  appear  af- 
terwards ?  The  vanifhing  of  old  ftars, 
and  the  appearance  of  new  ones,  is  pro- 
bably owing  to  the  deftrudiion  of  old 
worlds,  and  the  creation  of  new  worlds. 
It  is  reafonable  to  believe  that  events  of 
this  kind  are  continually  happening  in 
the  immenfe  univerfe  ;  and  it  is  certain, 
that  they  muft    be  brought  about  under 

*  Sure  it  is,  that  Mr  Hume  at  lead,  cannot  dif- 
pute  the  credibility  of  this,  who  has  faid  of  the  mon- 
ftrous  fyftem  of  pagan  mythology,  that  it  feems  more 
than  probable  that,  fomewhere  or  other  in  the  univerfe, 
it  is  r'-^ally  carried  into  execution.  Natural  Ht/^ory  of 
Riliglojty  SQ^i.  nth. 

the 


and  Miracles,  423 

the  direaion  of  Ibme  fuperlor  power. 
There  is,  therefore,  the  conflant  exertion 
of  fuch  power  in  the  univerfe.  Why 
mull  it  be  thought  that,  in  the  lapfe  of  fix 
thoufmd  years,  there  have  been  no  occa* 
fions  on  which  it  has  been  exerted  on 
our  globe  ? 

What  I  am  now  faying   is  true  on  the 
fuppofition  that  a  miracle,  according  to 
the  common  opinion,  implies  a  violation 
ov  fufpenfion  of  the  laws  of  nature.     But, 
in  reality,    this  is  by  no  means  neceiiari- 
ly  included  in  the  idea  of  a  miracle.     A 
fenfible  and  extraordinary  effedl  produced 
hyfuperior  power ^  no  more  implies  that  a 
law  of  nature  is    violated^  than  any  com- 
mon   effect    produced    by    human  power. 
This  has  been  explained  in  the  difTertation 
on  Providence,  p.  81,82.  and  it  has  a  con- 
fiderable  tendency  to  render  the  admiffion 
of  a  miracle  more  eafy. 

Thefe   obfervations   demonflrate,   that 

there  is  nothing  of  the  improbability   in 

E  e  4  miracles 


424         On    Ilijhrkal  Evidence y 

miracles  which  fomc  have  imagined.  I 
may  even  venture  to  fay,  that  they  have  in 
them  a  much  lefs  degree  of  improbabihty, 
than  there  w^as,  antecedently  to  obferva- 
lions  and  experiments,  in  fuch  phcenomena 
as  comets y  or  fuch  powers  as  thofe  of  mag-^ 
netifm  and  ele6lricity.  My  reafon  for  this 
affertion  is,  that  it  is  far  more  Hkely  that 
the  courfe  of  nature  fhould  fome  time  or 
other  fail,  than  that  any  particular  povyers 
or  efFedls  {hould  exifl  in  nature,  which 
we  could  before-hand  guefs, 

A  due  attention  to  thefe  arguments 
will  neceflarily  difpofe  a  candid  enquirer 
to  give  a  patient  hearing  to  any  teftimo- 
ny  which  affures  him,  that  there  adlually 
have  been  miracles.  It  appears  that  to 
decline  this,  under  the  pretence  that  no- 
thing different  from  the  common  courfe 
of  things  can  be  proved  by  teftimony,  is  the 
moft  inexcufable  folly  and   prcfumption. 

The  miracles  of  the  New  Teflament, 

in  particular,    have  many    circumftances 
attending  them  which  recommend  them 

Arongly 


and  Miracles.  425 

ftrongly  to  our  good  opinion,  and  which 
lay  us  under  indiipenfable  obligations  to 
give  the  evidence  for  them  a  fair  and  pa- 
tient examination. Such   is   the   ftate 

of  mankind,  that  there  is  nothing  more 
credible,  than  that  our  affairs  have  not 
always  beeii  fuffered  to  go  on  entirely  of 
themfelves.  A  revelation  to  inftrud:  and 
reform  a  fmful  and  degenerate  world  is 
fo  far  from  implying  any  abfurdity,  that 
it  is  an  effed  of  divine  goodnefs  which 
might  very  reafonably  be  hoped  for. 
There  appears  to  have  been  great  need  of 
it ;  and  it  feems  to  be  certain,  that  there 
muft  have  been  a  revelation  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  world.  If  we  rejedl  the  mi- 
racles mentioneed  in  the  New  Tcftament, 
it  will  not  be  poflible  to  give  any  tolera- 
ble accoiint  of  the  eftabliiliment  of  fuch 
a  religion  as  the  chriftian  among  man- 
kind, by  a  few  perfons  of  no  education 
or  learning,  in  oppofition  to  all  the  pre- 
judices and  powers  of  the  world.  The 
excellence  of  the  end  for  which  they  were 

^vrought;  the  myriads  of  mankind  which 

they 

I 


426         On  Hiflor'ual  E'Vidence^ 

they  brought  over  to  piety  and  goodnefs, 
and  the  amazing  turn  they  gave  to  the 
ftate  of  religion  by  deftroying,  in  a  few 
years,  a  fyftem  of  idolatry  which  had  been 
the  work  of  a2:es,  and  eftablifliino:  on  its 
ruins  the  knowledge  and  wor(hip  of 
the  one  true  God;  thefe,  and  various 
other  undeniable  fadls  which  might  be 
enumerated,  give  them  a  I'igh  credibility. 
We  fee  here  an  occafion  worthy  of  the 
ufe  of  fuch  means,  and  a  probability  that, 
if  ever  fmce  the  creation  there  has  been 
any  interpofition  of  fuperior  power,  this 
was  the  time. 

CONCLUSION. 

Enough  has  been  now  faid  in  anfwer  to  the 
objeftion  which  has  been  the  chief  fubjecft 
of  this  diflertation  *.    The  neceffary  con- 

clufion 

*  Some  of  the  principal  obfervations  which  I  have 
made,  may  be  found  in  the  chapter  of  Bifbop  Butler's 
Analogy  on  i\\Gfuppofed  prcfumption  againji  a  Revelation 
confjdered  ai  miraculous.  Had  I  remembered  this,  it 
IS  probable  I  (hould  not  have  thought  of  drawing  up 

this 


and   Miracles.  4^7 

clufion  from  it  is,  that  the  main  bufinefs 
of  thofe  who  oppofe   chriilianity  fliould 

be 

this  differtation.  The  greateft  prirt  of  the  pafTage  I 
refer  to  I  (hall  here  give,  in  order  to  fave  the  reader 
the  trouble  of  turning  to  it,  and  alfo  to  enable  him  to 
judge  how  far  what  I  have  writ,  fhould  it  anfwer 
no  other  end,  may  be  of  ufe  to  illuftrate  and  ftrengthen 
what  this  excellent  author  has  faid. 

«  Firft  of  all,  there  is  a  very  ftrong  prefumption  a- 
<«  gainft  common  fpeculative  truths,   and   againft   the 
«  moft    ordinary    fa^s    before  the   proof  of  them, 
'<  which  yet  is  overcome  by  almoft  any  proof.    There 
«  is  a  prefumption  of  millions  to  one  againft  the  fiory 
<«  of  CxHir,  or  any  other  man.    For,   fuppofe  a  num- 
«  ber  of  common  fa^s   fo  and  fo  circumftanced,    of 
<<  which  one  had  no  kind  of  proof,  fhould  happen  to 
"  come  into  one's  thoughts,  every  one  would,  without 
««  any  poflible  doubt,  conclude  them  to  be  falfe.    And 
*«  the  like  may  be  faid  of  a  fingle  common  facl.  And 
«  from  hence  it  appears,  that  the  queftion  of  impor- 
ts tance,  as  to  the  matter  before  us,  is  concerning  the 
«  degree  of  the  peculiar  prefumption   fuppofed  againft 
«  miracles ;  not  whether  there  be  any  prefumption 
«  at  all  againft  them.  For,  if  there  be  the  prefumption 
*'  of  millions  to  one  againft  the    moft  common  fads; 
"  what  can  a  fmall  prefumption,  additional  to  this,  a- 
<«  mount  to,  though  it  be  peculiar?  It  cannot  be  efti- 
cif^  mated,    and  is   as  nothing.      The  only   material 

*'  queftion 


"^28         On   Hijlorical   'Evidence ^ 

be,  to  invalidate  the  dirc5i  evidence  for  it. 
Every   attempt  of  this  kind  would  de*- 

ferye 

**  queftion  is,  whether  there  be  any  fuch  prcfumption 
**  againft  miracles,  as  to  render  them  in  any  fort  incre^ 
"  dible.  Secondly^  If  we  leave  out  the  confideration  of 
"  religion,  we  are  in  fuch  total  darknefs  upon  what 
^'  caufes,  occafions,  reafons  or  circumflances  the 
"  prefcnt  courfe  of  nature  depends  5  that  there  does  not 
''  appear  any  improbability  for  or  againft  fuppofing, 
*'  that  five  or  fix  thoufand  years  may  have  given  fcope 
"  for  caufes,  occafions,  reafons  or  circumftances, 
*' from  whence  miraculous  interpofitions  may  have 
«'  arifen.  And  from  this,  joined  with  the  foregoing 
"  obfervation,  it  will  follow,  that  there  muft  be  a 
"prcfumption,  beyond  all  comparifon  greater,,  a- 
*'  gainft  t\\Q  particular  common  facls  juft:  now  inftan- 
,*'  ced  in,  than  againft  miracles  in  general^  before  any 
^"  evidence  of  either.  But,  thirdlyy  take  in  the  confi- 
**  deration  of  religion,  or  the  moral  fyftem  of  the 
**  vvorld,  and  then  we  fee  diftinc^:  particular  reafons 
"  for  miracles;  to  afford  mankind  inftru^lion,  addi- 
.f<  tioJial  to  that  of  nature,  and  tp   atteft  the  truth  of 

"  it. Lajlly^  Miracles  muft  not  be  compared   to 

''  common  natural  events,  but  to  the  extraordinary 
*'  phenomena  of  nature.  And  then  the  comparifon 
'<  will  be  between  the  prefumption  againft  miracles, 
•'  and  the  prefumption  againft  fuch  uncommon  ap- 
'•  pearances,  fuppofe,   as  comets,   and,  againft  there 

"  being 


and  Miracles,  429 

ferve  the  mofl:   ferious  regard;  and,    it  is 
vain  to  think  of  overthrowing  chriftianity  ill 
any  other  way.     As  far  as  there  is  reafon  to 
believe,  that  the  apoflles  wxre  neither  de- 
ceived   nor   intended   to   deceive,     we  are 
under  a  neceflity  of  receiving  the  fads  they 
witnefled    though    miraculous.      Let  then 
unbelievers  prove,    if  it    be  poffible,  that 
there  is  no  fufficient  reafon  to  believe  this. 
Let  them  fliew,  that  Chrift  and  his  apoftles 
were  either  enthiiftajis  or  hnpojiors,  and  ac- 
count for  their  conduit  and  writings  on  one 
of  thofe  fuppofitlons,  taking  along  with  them 
the  confideration,  how  nvild  and  frantick 

"  being  any  fuch  powers  in  nature  as  magnetifm  and 
^«  ekaricity,  {o  contrary  to    he  properties  of  other 

«  bodies,  not  endued  with  thefe  powers. Upon 

«'  all  this,  I  conclude,  that  there  is  certainly  no  fuch 
'«  prefumption  againft  miracles  as  to  render  them  in 
<«  any  wife  incredible.  That,  on  the  contrary,  our 
^«  being  able  to  difcern  reafons  for  them  gives  a  pofi- 
«  tive  credibility  to  the  hiftory  of  them,  in  cafes  where 
«  thofe  reafons  hold  :  And  that  it  is  by  no  means  cer- 
"  tain,  that  there  is  any  peculiar  prefumption  at  all, 
*«  from  analogy,  againft  miracles,  as  diftinguifhed 
"  from  other  extraordinary  phsenomena.'*  Analogy  of 
^Rd\gm^  6cc.  p.  243,  5:c, 

they 


4j.-3b         On   WJlorkal  'Evidencey 

they  muft  have  been  if  the  former,  and 
how  profane  and  abandoned  if  the  latter. 
But  let  them  not  pretend  that  they  are  able 
to  prove  a  priori^  that  no  accounts  of  mira- 
cles ca7i  be  true ;  or  fatisfy  themfelves  with 
faying  lazily,  that  deceit  and  falfehood  are 
very  common,  and  miracles  very  extraordina- 
ry 5  and  that,  therefore,  the  whole  quefti- 
on  is  decided,  and  there  can  be  no  occafion 
for  any  further  examination.  A  perfon 
who  fliould  reafon  in  this  manner,  in  other 
inftances,  would  be  quite  ridiculous.  Tefti* 
mony  is  an  evidence  which  admits  of  an  in- 
finite variety  of  degrees,  and  which,  fome- 
times,  is  fcarcely  fliort  of  demonflration. 
Though  it  often  deceives,  yet  there  are  fome 
kinds  of  it  that  have  never  decei  ed,  and  that 
cannot  deceive.  It  is  one  of  the  principal 
fources  of  all  our  information  and  know- 
ledge. To  argue,  therefore,  againft  chriC« 
tianity  from  the  general  topick  of  the  com- 
monnefs  of  falfe  teftimony,  is  trifling  and 
unjuft,  unlcfs  it  can  be  (hewn,  that  it  has 
been  common  ioxfiich  teftimony  as  that  of 

the 


and  Miracles.  431 

the  apoftles  to  be  falfe  *.  Hiftorical  evi- 
dence being  of  all  degrees,  what  is  true  of 

other 

*  It  may  be  worth  while  to  obferve  here,  that  the  ob- 
jection I  have  been  confidering  is  apph'cable  to  fa6ls 
for  which  we  have  the  evidence  of  fenfe^  as  well  as 
thoCe  which  depend  on  the  evidence  of  teft-imony.  Were 
we  to  be  eye  witnefTes  to  any  thing  quite  new  to  us» 
and  out  of  the  ufual  courfe  of  nature,  it  might  be  faid, 
that  what  we  perceive  being  contradictory  to  uniform 
experience,  but  deceptions  of  our  fenfes  common  ; 
therefore,  it  muft  be  wrong  to  beheve  the  reality  of  it ; 
becaufe,  this  would  be  trufting  a  feebler  experience 
in  oppofition  to  a  ftronger,  or,  receiving  a  faCl  upon 
an  evidence,  the  falfehood  of  which  would  be  lefs 
uncommon  than  the  faClitfelf.  He,  therefore,  that 
will  guide  himfelf  by  the  principles  which  are  the 
foundation  of  this  objection,  and  balance  oppofite  ex- 
periences in  the  manner  it  requires,  muft  have  been 
an  unbeliever,  though  he  hady^^w  the  miracles  related 

in  the  New  Teftament. Though  our  fenfes  have 

often  deceived  us,  we  cannot  help  relying,  in  general, 
without  diffidence  on  their  information.  There  are 
innumerable  circumftances  and  inftances  in  which  ihey 
have  never  deceived  us  :  And,  tharefore,  when  in  a- 
ny  particular  inftance  they  convey  to  us  any  informa- 
tion, it  is  trifling  to  objeC^,  that  they  have  informed 
us  wrong  in  fome  other  inftances,  except  thofe  other 
inftances  were  of  a  fimilar  nature.     And  even  fuppo- 

2 


432         On  Hlflorkal  Evidence y 

o^/6(^r  hifloncal  evidence  is  nothing  to  thih 
If  the  facfls  are  extraordinary,  there  may  be 
peculiar  circumftances  attending  them  tak- 
ing off  all  improbability  from  them  on  this 
account ;  and  it  may  be  even  lefs  wonderful 
that  they  fliould  be  true,  than  that  the  tefti- 
mony  reporting  them  fhould  be  falfe.  It  has 
been  fliewn  indeed,  that,  in  order  to  our 
reception  of  the  chriftian  miracles,  it  is  by 
no  means  neceffary  to  prove  this.  A  great 
deal,  however,  has  been  faid  to  prove  it 
with  much  ftrength  of  reafon,  by  the  de- 
fenders of  Chriftianity  *.    Why  ihould  not 

fome 

fing  this  fimilarity,  the  objection  will  be  of  little 
weight,  unlefs  the  number  of  fuch  ihftances  in 
which  they  have  deceived  us,  is  nearly  equal  to  or 
greater  than  thofe  in  which  they  have  not  deceived 
iis.< — It  appears  from  what  is  faid  above,  that  thcfeob- 
fervations  are  applicable,  with  like  propriety  and  force, 
to  the  information  we  receive  from  teftimonv. 

*   See  Dr.  Adams's  EfTay  on  Miracles, When 

Mr.  Hunic,  in  a  pafiage  before  quoted,  p.  387.  lays  it 
down  as  a  maxima  ''  That  no  teflimony  is  fufficient  to 
*'  cftablidi  a  miracle,  unlefs  the  falfehood  of  it  is  more 
"  miraculous  than  the  fadt  it  endeavours  to  eftablifti ;" 
tis  meaning,  I  fliould  think,  muft  be  that  as,  accor- 
ding 


end  Miracles.  433 

fome  notice  be  taken  of  the  arguments  they 
offer?  Why  Ihould  not   thofe   who  rejea 

chriftlanity 

<Jing  to  him,   no  teftimony  is  fufficient  to  prove  an  or- 
dinary  fa£t,  unlcfs  its  falfhood  is  improbable  In  a  high- 
er degree  than  the  fa6t  is  improbable,  in  the  cafe  of  a 
miraculous  fa6l  the  falfnood  of  the  teftimony  muft  be 
miraculous  in  a  higher  degree  than  tiie  fad  is  mira^uloui : 
that  is,  it  muft  be  certain^  that  there  is  no  other  ac- 
count to  be  given  of  the  falfhood  of  the  teftimony, 
befides  a  miraculous  deception  of  the  fenfes  and  fub- 
verfion  of  the  faculties  of  the  perfons  who  give  it.  We 
fhould  not,  therefore,  be  able  to  convince  Mr.  Hu7ne 
of  the  truth  of  chriftianity,  though  we  could  prove  to 
a  demonjiration^  that  the  apoftles  did  not  intend  to  de- 
ceive, and  were   not  themfelves  deceived  except  mi- 
racles were  employed  to  deceive  them.     It   muft  be 
further  proved  to  him,  that  a  miraculous  deception  of 
their  fenfes  and    fubverfion  of  their  faculties  would 
be  greater  miracles  than  the  fa^s  they  atteft.     At  this 
rate,  agreeably  to  what  was  obferved  in  the  laft  note, 
it  is  plain,  that  had  we  ourfelvesy^^  the  miracles  of 
Chrift  and  his  apoftles,  we   miift  nave  been  entirely 
doubtful  about  them,   unlefs  we  were  perfuadea  that  a 
deception  of  our  fenfes  required  a  greater  e?(ert.on  of 
fupernatural power,  than  the  reaUty  of  what  we  faw.— 
Surely,   no  one  can  think  that  fuch  an  argument  de- 
ferves  ferious  regard.     The  obvious  conclufion  from  it 
is,  that  we  have  no  reafon  for  believing  the  exiftence  of 

F  f  any 


434         ^^   Hijhrical  Evidence^ 

chriflianity  tell  us,  in  particular,  how  they 
account  for  the  rapid  progress  it  made  in  the 

world ; 

any  external  obje6ls,  or  the  reality  of  any  thing  we  hear, 
fee  or  feel  in  any  other  fenfe,  than  as  an  idea  or  mode  of 
perception  in  our  minds.  This,  however,  cannot  ftartle 
Mr.  Hume ;  for,  it  is  the  very  conclufion  he  has  led 
us  to  draw,  and  to  which  his  fyftem  of  philofophy 
neccfTiirily  carries  us.  '-' 

I  hope  I  fhall  be  excufed  if  I  give  room  here  to  art 
obfervation   which  is  a  little   foreign    to  the  prefent 

purpofe. It  has  been  objected,  that  fuppofing  the 

reality  of  the  miraculous  facls  of  chriflianity,  there  is 
no  connexion  between  them  and  the  truth  of  its  doc- 
trines. This,  in  my  opinion,  is  to  trifle  inex- 
cufably  ;  nor  can  it  be  worth  any  chriftian's 
while  to  fay  a  word  in  anfwer  to  it,  till  one  per- 
fon  is  found  who  can  honeftly  declare,  that  he  believes 
the  miracles  of  Chrift,  but  denies  his  divine  miiiion  ; 
that,  in  particular,  he  is  convinced  that  he  raifed  fe- 
veral  perfons  from  the  dead,  and  at  laft  rofe  himfelf 
from  the  dead  and  afcended  to  heaven,  and  afterwards 
poured  forth  on  the  apoillcs  and  iirft  chriftians  thofe 
gifts  of  thefpirit  mentioned  in  the  New  Teftament^ 
but,  at  the  fame  time,  doubts  v/hether  he  faid  true 
Vvhen  he  declared,  that  he  was  the  rcfurreSfion  and  the 
life ;  that  all  poiver  was  given  htm  in  heaven  and  earth  ; 
and  that  the  hour  would  come ^  when- all  that  are  in  their 
^ravei  Jkould  hear  his  voice  and  come  forthy  they  that  have 

done 


ani  Miracles.  ^2S 

World ;  for  the  manner  in  which  St.  Paul 
mentions  the  miraculous  gifts  in  his  epiftles  > 
and  for  the  fortitude  with  which  the  apof- 
tles,  in  giving  their  teftimony,  facrificed 
every  worldly  intereft  and  at  laft  laid  down 
their  lives  ?  Why,  inftead  of  making  any 
attempts  of  this  kind,  do  they,  in  general, 
infifl:  on  topicks  which  atfedt  not  the  dire^ 
evidence,  or  found  their  objedions  on  the 
adulterations  of  chriftiahity  by  human  in- 
ventions and  civil  eftablifhments,  without 
taking  pains  to  difcover  what  it  is  as  it 
lies  in  the  New  Teftament  ? 

If  the  chriftian  religion  is  true  we  have  clear 
information  on  points  the  mofl  intereding^ 
A  vicious  man  has  every  thing  to  fear,  and 
a  virtuous  man  every  thing  to  hope.  The 
queftion,  therefore,  whether  it  is  of  divine 
original,  is,  as  I  obferved  at  the  beginning 
of  this  differtation,  of  unfpeakable  impor- 
tance.    'Tis  inexcufable  to  treat  it  with  in- 

done  good  to  the  refurreSlion  of  Ufe^  and  ihey  that  hare  dene 
f*i)il  to  the  rejurrtclion  of  damnation,  John  xi.  25.  •  * 
V*   28,  29. 

F  f  2  difference  ; 


436  On  Hijlorical  Evidence^ 

difference;  or,  with  conceited  half-thinkr 
ers,  to  fuffer  ourfelves  to  be  led  into  infir 
delity  by  a  few  fpecious  difficulties,  without 
critically  examining  the  original  code  itfelii 
and  confidering  carefully  the  joint  force  of 
all  the  evidences  internal^  external  and./>r^r 
fumptive  taken  together.  If,  after  fuch  an 
examination,  any  perfon  {hould  judge,  that 
the  whole  amount  of  the  evidence  is  inade- 
quate to  the  proof  of  the  fads  on  which 
chriflianity  is  founded,  he  ought  next  to  con- 
fider  how  far  it  goes  towards  proving  them. 
That  it  goes  fome  way  towards  this  is  abfo* 
lutely  certain.  The  furtheft  that  any  enquir- 
er can  go  in  his  rejection  of  chriflianity  is, 
to  think  that  the  objedions  out-weigh  the 
evidence ;  but  he  cannot  poffibly  think  that 
there  is  no  evidence.  I  fhould  imagine  in- 
deed, that  he  cannot  poffibly  avoid  feeing, 
that  there  is  very  confiderable  and  ftriking 
evidence,  though  he  may  judge  it  infiiffici- 
ent.  It  is  not  conceivable,  that  any  one  can 
read  the  New  Teftament,  and  obferve  with 
what  a  force  and  purity,  before  unknown, 
it  teaches  morality  and  natural  religion;  the 
,  ♦;!,..  fiiblimc 


and  Mir^cleim  ^yj 

fublime  and  Angular  charadterit  has  dpawft, 

without  the  leaft  appearance  of  art  Or  effort, 

in  the  hiftory  it  gives  of  the  life,  difcourfes 

and  miracles  of  Jefus  Chrift  j  and  the  fpirit 

of  piety,  goodnefs,  love  and  heavenly  mind'- 

cdnefs  which  breathes  through  all  its  parts : 

It  is  not,  I  fay,  conceivable,  that  any  pefJ- 

fon,  after  fuch  a  perufal  of  the  New  Tefta- 

ment,  can  be  able  eaiily  to  perfuade  him- 

felf,  that  the  writers  of  it  were  fuch  mra- 

cles  of  madnefs  or  profligacy  as  they  muft 

have  been,  if  the  fads  to  which  they  bor^ 

teftimony  were  falfe,  and  the  religion  they 

taught  an  impofition  on  mankind. But 

not  to  dwell  on  this.  For  the  reafon  which 
has  been  affigned  it  is  certain,  that  no  infi- 
dels, who  are  inquifitive  and  candid,  can 
go  beyond  a  ftate  of  doubt.  They  muft  ac- 
knowledge that,  at  leafl,  there  is  evidence 
enough  to  give  a  chance  for  the  truth  of 
chriflianity;  and  they  ought  toconfider  feri- 
oufly  to  what  this  chance  amounts,  and  what 
obligations,  in  refped  of  pradtice,  their 
own  flate  of  doubt  lays  tliem  under.  Would 
they  do  this,   they  could  never  make  chrif- 

tianity 
2 


'4jS         On  HiJIdrical  Evidence^ 

Tlianity  a-  fabjeft  of  ridicule  or  contempt. 
-Though  not  convinced  of  its  truth,  they  would 
live  linderthe  apprehenfion  that  it  may  pof- 
fibly  pi'ov'e  true.  ■  Thofe  who  do  not  ad  thus 
xannotreafonably  complain  of  the  threatnings 
denounced  in  the  fcriptures  againft  iilfidelity. 
-Thefe'' threatnings 'certainly  (hould  not  be 
applied^  nor  were  they  ever  intended  to  be 
-applied  to  any  honeft  enquirers,  be  their 
doubts  vvhat^  they^wilL  There  is  nothing 
fundamental^  but  a  fincere  defire  to  know 
and  do  the  will  of  God,  Speculative  errors 
can  be  no  further  criminal  than  they  {hew, 
that  this  does  not  prevail  in  the  charader,  or 
proceed  from  criminal  difpofitions,  and  are 
made  fanduaries  for  vice.  That  this  is  one 
of  the  fources-  of  modern  as  well  as  antient 
infidelity,  appears  too  plainly.  The  purity 
and  piety  required/by  chriftianity,  though 
the  moft  irrefiftible  recommendation  of  it  to 
a  good  mind,  muft  create  flrong  prejudices 
againft  it  among  the  licentious  and  diflb- 
lute,  and  all  whofe  hearts  arc  not  governed 
by  the  love  of  God  and  virtue..  *JIe  that 
belkveth  not   h    condemned  already^  becaufe 

ht 
5 


r^^' 


aJid   Miracles.  429 

he  hath  not  believed  in  the  name  of  the  only 
begotten  Son  of  God.  And  this  is  the  con- 
demnation, the  reafon  of  the  condemnation, 
that  light  is  come  into  the  world,  and  men 
love  darknefs  rather  than  light,  becaufe  their 
deeds  are  evil.  For  every  one  who  doth  evil 
hateth  the  light,  neither  cometh  to  the  light 
leaft  his  deeds  fioould  be  reproved  "^ . 

*  John  iii.   iS,   19. 

THE     END. 


ADVERTISEMENT. 

AFTER  thefe  DifTertations  were  printed  ofF  I 
happened  to  look  into  an  Eilay,  entitled,  ^- 
marh  on  the  Laws  of  Motion  a?id  the  Inertia  of  Matter^ 
by  Dr.  Stewart,  ProfeJJor  of  Natural  Phihjophy  at  Edin- 
burgh, publifhcd   in  the  nrft  volume  of  the  Edinburgh 

Phyfical  Ellays. The   conformity  which   1   have 

found  between  the  obfcrvations  contained  in  that  ex- 
cellent paper,  and  lome  of  thofe  made  in  the  iecond 
fcdion  of  the  Diflcrtation  on  Providence,  has  agreeably 
furprized  me  ;  but  at  the  fame  time  it  has  given  mc 
fome  pain  becaufe  difcovered  fo  late.  I  cannot  help, 
therefore,  taking  notice  of  it  in  this  manner,  left  I 
fhould  appear  to  be  guilty  in  any  inflance  of  writing 
after  others  without  makin^^  proper  acknowlcd;;- 
ments. 


^mim 


-tM 


:i*  .<