pofe, that, had he lived in the fecond century, when the Roman and Afiatic Christians quarrelled about the keeping of Eafter, and ran to such indecent lengths of animofity and difcord, as might make the very heathen blush, that he would have ventured a single scratch of his finger, to have had it decided whether it was to be held "on the fourteenth day "after the firft moon in the new year, or "on the fame stated day in every year, or "on the first Sunday after the first full "moon." All this rout was made to very little purpose: and had the Author been weak enough to have entered into the difpute, had he fided with the Afiatics, and been excommunicated by Pope Victor for his pains, it would not, according to his prefent notions, have given him a moment's uneafinefs. But where the peace and well-being (I had almost said the very being) of fociety are concerned, where diforders, of the moft malignant kind, have infected the general mafs, to the deftruction of millions down to this moment, and threaten the deftruction of millions yet unborn, and those chiefly from among the most defenceless part of the human fpecies; when the luft, treachery, cruelty, and villainy of men, are let loose to ravage, as they can, on the weakness and credu lity lity of helpless women; and when all this is apparently the effect of abolishing those parts of the divine law, which were evidently made to prevent it, and the introduction of a fyftem of human invention is the means of its daily increase; too much cannot be faid to point out the cause of the difeafe, and to lead to the remedy. The former is from the substitution of the wifdom of man, in the place of the wisdom of GOD; the latter can only be discovered and rendered effectual, by restoring the wisdom of GOD to its due place in our esteem, and by making it, as it is found revealed to us in the fcriptures, the bafis of our municipal laws-the line of our conduct-the rule of our obedience. Perhaps fome may think, that there are points handled and difcuffed in this book, which had better been left under the clouds of obfcurity which have long overwhelmed them, and hidden them from vulgar obfervation, left difputes should be raised, and abufes committed by the perverfions of the evil and licentious. It is written concerning the fcriptures themfelves, that, to fome they are the favour of life unto life *, and unto others the fa Haurit lethiferum bufo de flore venenum, vour of death unto death. 2 Cor. ii. 16. And again-that the unlearned and unstable wrefted the epiftles of Paul, as alfo the other Scriptures, to their own deftruction. 2 Pet. iii. 16. As therefore there is nothing in this book, which is not to be found in those scriptures, as to the points above hinted at, the Author ventures it forth, confiding in him who hath faid-As the rain cometh down, and the fnow from beaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give feed to the fower, and bread to the eater; fo fhall my word be, that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I pleafe, and it shall profper in the thing whereunto I fent it. If. Iv. 10, 11. He cannot be of the mind of Synefius the Platonift, who was raifed to be a Bishop in the Chriftian church, but continued to be a determined Platonist; and had so far imbibed the spirit and doctrine of that school, as to declare his fentiments thus-" As "darkness is most proper and commodious for those who have weak eyes, fo I "hold that lyes and fictions are useful to "the people, and that truth would be "hurtful to thofe who are not able to "bear its light and fplendor." And he "adds 5 adds-" If the laws of the church would dispense with it, that he would philofophize at home, and talk abroad in the "common ftrain, preaching up the ge"neral and received fables.' See note z, Leland, vol. ii. p. 344. " Such is human prudence and wisdom!— but the divine wisdom faith-He that hath my word, let him fpeak my word faithfully. Jer. xxiii. 28. There is nothing covered that shall not be revealed; and hid, that fhall not be known. What I tell you in darknefs, that fpeak ye in the light; and what ye hear in the ear, that preach (unpúgate, proclaim, publish) upon the house-tops. Matth. x. 26, 27. Truth is like him that doeth the truth-it cometh to the light, that its deeds may be manifeft, that they are wrought in GOD. Error, like every one that doth evil, hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, left its deeds fhould be reproved. John iii. 20. 21. GOD never revealed any thing but that it fhould be known. When men want to conceal any part of divine revelation from the knowledge of others, it is too frequently with a purpose of preventing the detection of some errors in human fyftems, which, from fome finifter view or other, they dread the discovery of. Thus the church of Rome, jealous of the light of fcripture, fcripture, knowing that the whole dominion of popes and priests over the underftandings and confciences of the laity is founded in ignorance, keep, as far as they can, the fcriptures out of their hands. Others there are, who, from wellmeant, but mistaken, zeal, for principles which they have been taught to venerate, dread that these fhould be attacked; as thinking the cause of religion itself, is involved with the fuppofed truth of what they are accustomed to believe. There can be no doubt, that when our reformers first attacked the POPE's fupremacy, the worship of the Virgin Mary, the celibacy of priests, and other pious lyes and forgeries of the church of Rome, many devout and zealous people thought, that religion itself was, like the ark of old, 1 Sam. iv. 10, 11. about to be delivered into the hands of the Philiftines; and cried out, like Micah, when the Danites took away his Levite and his Teraphim—Ye have taken away my gods which I made, and the prieft-and what have I more? See Judges xviii. 24. If there be any thing in the Bible which ought to be concealed, it would be no very hard matter to prove, that it ought never to have been revealed. But as it often happens with private individuals, that they are afraid of looking too nar 2 rowly |