in the name of Chrift, that is, under a belief of that authority and power which the Father of the Universe has, for the good of mankind, conferred upon him; and in humility and meekness, in mortification and selfdenial, in a renunciation of the fpirit, wisdom, and honours of this world, in a love of God, and defire of doing God's will, and feeking only his honour, were by the Gospel made like unto Chrift. Golden Religion! Golden Age! The Doctrine of Christianity was then a Restoration of true Religion: the Practice of Christianity, a Restoration of human Nature. But now, alas! too many explainers are employed in darkening and making doubtful the revealed Will of God, and by paraphrases, expofitions, commentaries, notes, and gloffes, have almost rendered revelation useless. What do we fee in the vast territories of Popery, but a perfect Diabolifm in the place of the religion of our Lord; doctrines the moft impious and abfurd, the most inconsistent and contradictory in themfelves, the most hurtful and mischievous in their confequences; the whole fupported by perfecution, by the fophiftry of learned knaves, and the tricks of juggling priests? And if we turn our eyes from these regions of impofture and cruelty, to the realms of proteftants, do we not find fome learned christian critics and expofitors reducing the C

VOL. I.

infpired

-infpired writings to a dark science? without regard to the nature and intrinsic character of their doctrines, do they not advance notions as true and divine, which have not one appearance of divine authority; but, on the contrary, militate with the reafon of things, and the moral fitnefs of actions; and are fo far from being plain and clear, free from all doubtfulness, or ambiguity, and fuited to the understandings and capaci

"ty of men, that the darkness of them renders fuch pretended revelation of little fervice; and impeaches the veracity, wifdom, and goodness of God? Alas! too many -explainers are clamorous, under the infalli-ble ftrength of their own perfuafions, and exert every power to unman us into believers. How the apostles argued for the great excellency and dignity of Chriftianity, is not with them the queftion, fo far as I am able to judge from their learned writings; but the fathers, and our fpiritual fuperiors, have put upon the facred writings the proper explications; and we muft receive the truth as they difpenfe it to us. This is not right, in my conception. I own it does not feem to answer the end of the Meffiah's coming, which was to reftore Reafon and Religion to their rightful authority over mankind; and to make all virtue, and true goodness, flourish in the earth; the most

perfect

perfect bleffing to be fure that God could beftow on man, or man receive from God. This bleffing we must mifs, if human authority is to pin us down to what it pleafes to call fenfe of fcripture, and will fet up the judgment of fallible men as the test of Christianity. The Chriftian Laity are miferable indeed, if they be put under an obligation to find that to be truth which is taught by these Leaders. In truth, we fhould be unhappy men, with a revelation in our churches and our closets, if the leaders had a right to make their own faith pafs for the faith of the Apostles; or, if we refuse it, might lance the weapons of this world at their people. What must we do then as true Chriftians? I think for myself, that we ought to form our judgment, in matters of faith, upon a strict, ferious and impartial examination of the Holy Scriptures, without any regard to the judgment of others, or human authority whatever: that we ought to open the facred records, without minding any fyftems, and from the revealed word of God learn, that Chriftianity does not confift in a jingle of unintelligible founds, and new fundamentals, hewn out by craft, enthusiasm, or bigotry, and maintained with an outrage of uncharitable zeal, which delivers Chriftians to the flames of an eternal hell: but that the heavenly religion

C 2

religion of our Lord confifts in looking on the promised Meffiah, as the most confummate bleffing God could beftow or man receive; and that Jefus is that Meffiah; in acting according to the rules of the Gofpel, and in ftudying to imitate God, who is the moft perfect understanding nature, in all his moral perfections; in becoming the Children of God by being (according to our capacity) perfect as he is perfect, and holy as he is holy, and merciful as he is merciful; and in our whole moral behaviour as like to him as poffible.

:

In a word, to flee injustice, oppreffion, intemperance, impurity, pride, unmercifulness, revenge to practife juftice, piety, temperance, chastity, humility, beneficence, placability--to turn from our iniquities to the practice of all virtue: and through the alone mediation of the only begotten Son of God, believe in and worship the eternal mind, the one fupreme Spirit, in hope of a glorious immortality, through the fanctification of the Holy Ghost:These are the things the Lord came down to teach mankind. For the New Testament itfelf then we must declare, and look upon it as the only guide, or rule of faith. It is now the only deliverer of the declarations of our Lord: And the rule in our enquiry is, that every thing neceffary

2

ceffary to be believed by a Chriftian, is in thofe Books not left to be gathered by confequences, or implications; but the things neceffary to obtain the favour of God promifed to Chriftians are expressly declared. If this was not the cafe----if things abfolutely neceffary were not exprefsly proclaimed to be So, the gofpel revelation would be no rule at all (1).

(1) To the plain and fatisfactory method of feeking for the faith in the facred books, there were many adversaries and many objections raised. There are (fays a great man) a very numerous body of Christians who know no other guides but the living guides of the prefent Church; and acknowledge no other faith for the faith once delivered to the faints, but that which is now delivered to them by their present rulers, as fuch.

To establish this point, the greater part of thefe lay down the infallibility of the prefent church, and of every man of the past ages, through whofe mouth, or by whofe hands, the prefent traditions of faith, have defcended to them. And this, indeed, would be a very good method, if that fingle proof of infal libility could be proved. But this is a point fo grofs, and fo utterly void of all proof, that a great body of the Chriftian world, have broke loose from the power of this monfter, and declared for the New Teftament itself, as the only guide or rule of faith; the only deliverer of the faith to us of later ag s.

When this comes however to be put in practice, too many of the fame perfons who let the fcriptures up as the only guide, turn round on a fudden, and

C 3

let