God, by what the Folly of Men call Science. What then, is Ignorance to be indulged? No, by no Means; let us all keep the little Learning we have, and make much of, and improve it; but then let it be applied to its proper Objects. Let every Man endeavour to be perfect in that Sort of Learning which his Profeffion requires. The Miller needs not Languages; for when he knows the Name of his Mill in ten, he'll grind never the better for that. He who has a Taste for polite and regular Wrangling, may make use of his Logic; the Astronomer, the Architect, &c, may make use of the Mathematics; the Trifler, may read Cyclopedia, &c. and remain fo. The Metaphyfician may perplex himself, and the World with Entities, Non-entities, Abstractions, &c. but I could recommend to him this important Queftion: Whether there be such another Non-Entity as the Metaphysics themselves? That there are Objects in Nature, suited to the highest Attainments of the rational Soul, I take for granted, and believe it will be denied by none, but such as have not confider'd its Original. That these Objects lie beyond the Ken of the present System of Learning, is evident from the jarring and romantick Accounts our learned Men give of them; that this Jarring must arife from fome very great Deficiency in our Apparatus, (allow the Expreffion) our Means of enquiring, or fomething worse, is plain; for fure I am, 'tis not for want of an explicit and clear Account of those Objects, (and this Account in our Poffeffion too) that we remain at a Loss about them; but because we will needs set up for ourselves, and reason from wrong Date; so we can but make a Flourish, and pass for the Inventers of fomething new, and gratify our Pride, &c. we will afk of the Heathen, or the Devil, and be beholden

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holden to any Thing but Revelation, and infinite Wifdorn for Direction. Vain Man would needs be fomething, though a wild Ass's Colt, a Fool of yesterday, a Rebel against God! To give us clear Accounts of those Objects, or, if you please, a Clue to come at the Knowledge of them, (fuch I mean which we could not otherwise know) to ftain the Pride of all Flesh, to cure this conceited Madness, to convince us we are poor, short-fighted Creatures, and cannot save ourselves, to cure our Ignorance, and prevent our groping in the Dark, to guide us to the true Tree of Life. Gen. iii. last Verse, The eternal living Word of God, who alone is the true Foundation of Rest, Peace, and Comfort bere, and the Author of eternal Happiness bereafter, the Hebrew Scriptures were wrote. These contain the Sum of all we can know in divine, or natural Things; and I will venture to say, he who attempts to be either Divine, or Philofopher, without understanding the Use of this great Instrument of God, is just as wife as he who throws away his Tellefcope to view the Stars, or he who would traverse a mighty Ocean without his Compass. For what is he doing? He is reasoning without Principles, or rather from fuch, which the more he reasons from, the further he is from fatisfying himself, or any one elfe. This Ignorance of the Hebrew Scriptures, has been the next Cause of all the Jargon published in Defence of them, of all the Infidelity in the World, of all the false Philofophy and Errors in Divinity among us; and in Proportion as they are understood, these ignes fatui, these mifleading Principles must vanish. I expect my candid Reader will object that this carries an Invective f againft our Teachers and learned Men. I own it infers Blameworthiness in them, and I mean no more, for I have no particular Perton in View,

nor

nor can any one think himself pointed out till his own Confcience says, thou art the Man. I am forry there is so much Reason to say, that it does not appear by any of the Answers yet given to the Deifts of late, that the Authors knew how to come at the original Evidence of Chriftianity. If they did, why have they not produced it? For I shall take the Liberty to say they have not, nor have they been able to save the Reputation of Mofes and the Prophets. I shall only give one Instance among many which might be given: 'A certain Gentleman, who from his understanding Figures better than Letters, values himself upon his imagin'd Abilities, to abuse Mofes, though he never understood a Tittle of his original Writings, in an over-bearing Way ran down a Friend of mine the other Day, upon a Miftake of the Translators on Exod. xxi. 20. If a Man smite bis Servant with a Rod, and he die under bis Hand, be shall be punished; notwithstanding if be continue a Day or two, he shall not be punished. Here my fagacious Gentleman urged the Injustice, and Wickedness of Moses for giving a Law which excused the Master from Punishment, though his Servant died of his Wounds, within a few Days after his Master had given them by beating him. Whereas the Text says no fuch Thing; but if the Servant died under his Master's Hands, or of his Wounds afterwards, the Master was not to escape; but if the Servant was beaten for Crimes as he deferved, and continued ill a few Days only, then the Master was not to be punished.

UPON our Witlings Mistake of this, and many other Texts, the Rectitude of the Law of Nature was urged by him; and that this, and many more Laws of Moses were a Violation of it; and fince the Law of Nature has obtained fuch Repu

Reputation of late, as to be set up instead of, and against Revelation, by Woolaston, Foster, Chubb, &c. and the rest of the Chubbs their Followers, it will be necessary to take a View of it, or rather of what they mean by it, to see if the Light of Nature, the Law of Nature, natural Confcience, eternal Fitness, &c. be Realities, or Dreams; whether they subsist beyond the Brains of their Votaries, or not.

I AM very well aware, that here I have the whole Herd of Commentators, Lawyers, Philofophers, &c. and far the greater Number of the Clergy of all Sorts against me. I expect here to be charged with Pride, Obstinacy, Singularity, and Sauciness, to fet myself thus against the Learn+ ed World. The Charge I deny, and appeal from them, and from popular Prejudice, to common Senfe.

Bur before I enter upon that unmeaning Thing the Law of Nature, &c. It will be necessary to take a View of the Decalogue or Ten Commandments: I have already declared my Sentiments of the ceremonial Laws, and the Reason of the Addition of the Ten; I shall profecute this by inquiring into their Purport and Meaning, to fee whether their primary Meaning be not far above what we mean by the Laws of focial Life.

THERE never was any Difpute between the Jews, and the Heathens about what the Elabim was to do; both Sides expected Protection, Salvation, Victory, &c. from their respective Elahim. The Dispute was about who was Elahim, Jehovah or his Agents; Jehovah, or the material Heavens, (Nature); Jehovah asserts himself to be Elabim. The Heathens declare they know him not, nor

will acknowledge him; thus comes in the first Commandment.

THOU shalt have no other Elahim but me. There is no Dispute here. All agree that it relates to the true Object of Worship, and forbids all false

Ones.

" From the Context, I am a spiritual uncreated Effence, and thy Soul an Image of me, a spiritual created Effence; if thou enter into Covenant to worship any created Agents for Elahim, that is a Breach of the Terms of my Purification, and thou thereby forfeiteft the spiritual Estate granted by my Purification now exhibited; and my People are bound to ftone thee to Death, for a Tranfgreffor of the Terms, a Deserter, and a Rebel." as may be seen at large, Deut. xiii. If there arife among you a Prophet, or a Dreamer of Dreams, and giveth a Sign or a Wonder, and the Sign or the Wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto you faying, Let us go after other Elahim, which thou haft not known, and let us ferve them. Thou shalt not hearken to the Words of that Prophet, or that Dreamer of Dreams, for Jehovah, your Elahim, proveth you, to know whether you love Jehovah your Elahim, with your Heart, and with all your Soul; you shall walk after Jehovah your Elahim, and fear him, and keep his Commandments, and obey his Voice; and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him, and that Prophet, or that Dreamer of Dreams, shall be put to Death; (because he hath spoken to turn you away from Jehovah your Elahim, which brought you out from the Land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the House of Bondage, to thrust thee out of the Way, which Jehovab thy Elahim, commanded thee to walk in) so shalt thou put the Evil away from

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