be Witneffes of the Refurrection of our Bleffed Saviour, when they knew not with what Body he rose, or whether he had any real Body or no? In short, there is nothing more big of monstrous Abfurdities, than the Doctrine of Transubstantia, tion; and tho' the Papifts may endeavour to disguise it, and coin new and fubtil Distinctions, with never fo much Art, to keep the Learned in Play, and to impofe upon the Unlearned and Ignorant; and that they may fay fomething when prefs'd, tho' in truth they have nothing at all to fay to the Purpose: Yet the World begins to discover the Imposture, and to be fenfible of the Weakness of these frivolous Evasions, and this Doctrine will be the Mill-Stone,hung about the Neck of Popery, which will fink it at the last.

But fays N. C." Granting all you have "have faid to be true, yet it proves no more, than that ordinarily and for the "most part, the matter is fo: But why

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may not God notwithstanding this, do "otherwife upon Extraordinary Occa"fions, efpecially in Myfteries of Faith, "which are not fubject to the Ordinary "Rules of Nature? And why may not

we believe, that the Accidents of Bread exhibit another Substance to us ❝efpecially fince we have the Word of the Son of God for it, as well as the

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* Accidents of a Dove, and the Appear ance of Men could reprefent the Holy "Ghost, and the Angels to St. John the Baptift, and to Lot. John the Baptist "faw in appearance a Dove defcend, and ἐσ remain upon Chrift; yet he believed it was not a real Dove; because he was

told by him who fent him (God) that "it was the Holy Ghoft, that was to "defcend, and remain upon him. And "why may we not believe the fame God,

when he tells us, that that which appears to us to be Bread, is his Body, &c. And here our Author confeffes ingenuously, that we ought always to give credit to our Senfes, except in fuch ca fes where God tells us, that we must not give credit to them; and fo the determination of this Controverfie will devolve upon this Point; Whether God has ever told us, that we must not believe our Senfes; which I have good reafon to deny, because I cannot be certain that any fuch Revelation is from God, but by the Testimony and Evidence of my Senfes. Let us confider the Revelation of the Chriftian Religion; doth not the Proof of the Truth of this Revelation depend upon the Belief of the Refurrection of our Bleffed Saviour? And this Belief depends upon the Teftimony of the Apoftles, and their Teftimony upon the Evidence of Senfe.

For

For fince there is an infinitely wife and good Being, who first made, and ftill governs and preferves the World, he will not fuffer his poor Creatures to wander in the Dark, but will give them fufficient means to come to the Knowledge of the Truth, and pursue the End of their Beings; he directs all Ranks of Creatures according to the na ture of their Beings, Stones by the Laws of Motion, fenfitive Beings by Instinct, rational by Reafon, which depends on thofe Notices taken in by the Senfe. So that the laft Appeal both of Reason and Revelation is to Senfe; we are affur'd that there is fuch a Book as the Bible, by our Senfes, and 'tis by the reading or hearing of it that we come to the Knowledge of what is written in it; And therefore, if there fhould be any Text in Scripture which feems to contradict the plain Evidence of Sense, I fhould be very diligent in enquiring into the meaning of it, and wary in receiving any other Interpretation, but what is agreeable to the verdict of my Senfe; For I have the fame reafon to believe that Interpretation to be false, which I have to believe the Bible I read, to be the Word of God. So that the Queftio is not, Whether I should

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believe the Holy Scripture, or no; but when there arifes a Difference about the meaning of the Holy Scripture, which Interpretation I ought to prefer, that which is agreeable to Senfe and Reafon, or that which is plainly contradictory to both these.

But may not God fometimes interpose and alter the ufual courfe of Things? May not he make Things appear otherwise than they really are? And, is it not a fufficient Security against our being impos'd upon thereby, that God tells us this is fuch or fuch a Being? this is Bread, and this my Body?

But, First, we must be very well affur'd, that God doth tell us fo, before we affent to it; for here lies the great danger of our being impos'd upon, that we hould believe that to be reveal'd to us which really is not, and mistake the meaning of thofe words which have a Divine Authority ftamp'd upon them; and, how can we come at the meaning of them without the Affiftance of our Senfes? And if And if my Senfes may impose upon

me, 'tis impoffible that I fhould ever know what God has reveal'd unto me.. Secondly, We may be affur'd, that God never told us any thing which contradicts the Evidence of our Senfes. For God has placed our Senfes in us for this

very

Very End, to discover the differetice of one Object from another; the Frame and Conftitution of our Nature requires it, that we should come to the knowledge of Things by the mediation of Sense; and therefore if I may, upon any occafion disbelieve my natural Senses speaking to me, (which is as much the Voice of God ás any Revelation can be) why may I not with equal reason disbelieve thofe pretended Revelations which are contrary to the Evidence of my Sense? So that 'tis impoffible that any Revelation fhould command me to renounce my Senses, because the Truth of all Revelation must be prov'd by the Evidence of Senfe, which supposes that the Evidence of Senfe is always certain, and ever to be depended on. And therefore what His Grace fays, Volume 2. p. 67. That God can impose upon the Senfes of Men, and represent things to them otherwife than they are; is to be underftood only of God's Power; for tho' he is able to do it, yet his Truth, and Goodnefs, and Justice, do reftrain him from putting this Power into Act. And therefore no occafions can be fo extraordinary as to oblige God to do an unjust thing, or to violate the Truth of his Word, or fo far to impose upon us, as to make our Senfes reprefent Objects different from what they truly are, which would be in

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