P. 86. [B]. The impious notion of the human Soul's being part or portion of the Divine Substance, made the Theiftical Philofophers give no credit to the Doctrine of a future state of rewards and punishments. [See the Divine Legation, Vol. II. B. 3. Sec. 4.] To avoid this impiety, certain Christian Enthusiasts taught that eternity was the condition of the Soul by nature as well as by grace. And fo, before they were aware, fell into the very error of the Philofophers, which they were fo anxious to avoid. For eternity being confeffed by all to be one of the attributes of the Deity, it followed, that the human foul was indeed part or portion of the Divine Subftance. This execrable frenzy, of which Religion could never get entirely free, (known by the name of SPINOZISM) hath of late appeared under its ugliest form in the Writings of Mr. W. Law, collected from the exploded ravings of Jacob Behmen. [See a book, intituled, An Appeal to all who doubt or disbelieve the truths of the Gofpel.]-But when learned men wake out of one delirium, it is not to recover their fenfes, but to fall back again into another; and that, generally, is its oppofite. So it was here. The Philofophic Converts to the Christian Faith, in the firft ages of the Church, were no fooner convinced of the folly of fancying

that the human Soul was a Part of the Godhead, than in their hafte to be at diftance from that monftrous opinion, they ran fuddenly into a contrary folly, and maintained, that the Soul had not one fpark of the Divinity in her whole. compofition; but was MATERIAL as well as mortal: now degrading man to a brute, whom before they had exalted to a God. Nor hath this extravagance been deftitute of (for what extravagance hath ever wanted) the patronage of modern Divines. We have feen it lately employed in fupport of a fresh whimsy, viz. THE SLEEP OF THE SOUL. One thing however feems to be defective in the Scheme; which is, the not rectifying the old error of a RESURRECTION. For, I apprehend, that when a MATERIÁL Soul is once gone to Sleep, nothing but a RE-CREATION can awake it.

P. 100. [C]. Other death had been underftood, viz. Eternal life in mifery. But, to fee what ill use hath been made of this portentous comment, we need only attend to Collins in his difcourfe of free-thinking. "We learn in the "Old Teftament, (fays he) that Adam by eating "the forbidden fruit fubjected himself and all,

his Pofterity to death. But the New Tefta"ment TEACHES US TO UNDERSTAND, by death, "eternal life in mifery; and from thence, we

"know

"know that GOD HAD BUT ONE WAY to put "mankind in a capacity of enjoying immortal

66

happiness." p. 153. Having given, in this buffoon manner, so abfurd and monftrous a picture of REDEMPTION, (to the compofition of which the School Divines had greatly contributed) he, and his free-thinking colleagues, hoped that their Doctrine of Chriftianity's being only a republication of the Religion of Nature would go down the eafier. And they well enough understood how to manage that unfcriptural error to their advantage; as may be feen by Tindal's book, intituled, Christianity as old as the Creation; which combats the Christian Revelation, under cover of the abfurd conceffions of certain latitudinarian Divines of a later date. Thefe conceffions, Tindal mifcalls the PRINCIPLES OF CHRISTIANITY. Hence this formidable book became one continued thread of contemptible fophiftry from beginning to end. Yet I remember the time when the false terror of it alarmed the whole body of the Clergy, for the danger of the Church, who were but just recovered from the Sacheverell-crifis.

P. 101. [D]. The REMONSTRANTS, fearing that this interpretation of the text might give countenance to the School-doctrine of ORIGINAL SIN, deny that Infants are here meant

by

by those who had not finned, &c. But the fear is vain. It was death, and not damnation, which reigned from Adam to Mofes. The expreffionΚαὶ ἐπὶ τὰς μὴ ἁμαρτήσανας, &c. implies it was a part only of the human species which was free from finning after the fimilitude of Adam's tranf greffion; or the being without fin. And what part could this be but the infantine?

P. 123. [E]. It is true, that notwithstanding the conformity of this language in the Revelations to that of Peter and to the Gospel of John, fome Critics, and particularly Grotius, would have the text in the Apocalypfe, which fays,-all that dwell upon the Earth fhall worship him whofe names are not written in the Book of Life, of the Lamb Alain from the foundation of the world-to be thus understood-The Book of Life written from the foundation of the World-and not as here tranflated-Chrift flain from the foundation of the World. However, both the one and the other fense infers the fame truth; for if the Book of Life [of the Lamb flain] was written from the foundation of the world, it is plain, that the Lamb flain, or the facrifice of his death, was preordained from the foundation of the World.

P. 129. [F.] The reafon why Jefus, at the first publication of the Gofpel, refers fo little to the FALL, which concerned all mankind, and

fo

fo much to his MESSIAHSHIP, which directly concerned only the Jews, is apparent; his Misfion was first directed to the houfe of Ifrael. He left his Apostles to carry on their Ministry of the Gospel, to the Gentiles. Hence St. Paul, who was more eminently the Apostle of the Gentiles, is fo explicite in his account of the RESTORATION FROM THE FALL. This furnished a handle to Lord Bolingbroke to affirm, with equal ignorance and malice, that-Paul preached a NEW GOSPEL, different from that of Jefus.

P. 158. [G]. A learned and serious Writer*, in a late book, intituled, Obfervations and Enquiries relating to the various parts of ancient Hiftory, hath a chapter hath a chapter concerning HUMAN SACRIFICES; which he thus introduces-One would think it fcarce poffible that fo unnatural a custom as that of HUMAN SACRIFICES Jhould have exifted in the world. But it is certain, that it did not only exist, but almost universally prevail ‡. Our account of the origin of this unnatural custom will much abate the wonder. However, the learned Writer folves the difficulty with much eafe; by deriving it from the Command to Abraham. And here, before I enter on the matter, permit me to repeat, what I have before

* Mr. Bryant. P. 267.

+ Printed in quarto, 1767.

obferved,