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ing any opinion taken up without reason,) is it not prudent to prejudice all perfons, as early as poffible in favour of that, which is thought truth?

But fay they, fyftems of religion are various, and though all pretend to flow from one fountain, the Scriptures; yet the perverfenefs of men has fo muddied the waters, that few have skill to ftrain what is neceffary for their fpiritual fubfiftence.

This indeed with concern we are obliged to own; yet lamentable as the cafe is, mankind muft make the best of this troubled ftate of things, till it shall please the Spirit of God once more to move upon the face of the waters, and reduce this chaos of religious opinions, to a well connected fyftem of faving truths. And this, inafmuch as we are to expect no further revelation, muft arife from an honeft and diligent application of human talents to the divine books; which books certainly contain in them whatever an all-wife, and an allgracious God thought neceffary for ignorant corrupted men. Solomon tells us it is the Glory of God to conceal a thing; we should therefore acknowledge it great mercy in him to reveal any thing to us: But he has revealed a great deal, which, by a proper application of human means, may be understood, fo as to give reasonable comfort to honeft minds.

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Ó YOU this province does particularly belong, who, in the feminaries of learning are either laying the foundation of human letters, whereon to build the fabric of divine

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science; orare already arrived at the hono station of being wife mafter builders. now examining the fields of nature, wher ry object to a philofophic mind demonst felf exiftent BEING, infinitely powerful, and good; the whole creation being as o lume, in which every line expreffes the Attributes: For the invifible things of from the creation of the world are clearl being understood by the things that are made his eternal power and godhead.

By natural philofophy alone you are ab answer many of the pretenders to ath For if one of them afferts that the fuprem ing is material, you can fhew from bodies ing in fluids, that there is a vacuum, bu fupreme being is infinite as to fulness, as w extent, confequently not material: For ter is not infinite as to fulness, fince there vacuum. You can alfo fhew that inertne one of the firft, and most obvious propertie matter, whereby it ever continues in one ft unless altered by fome impelling or refift power; confequently it can never begin tion; but the fupreme being muft be the thor of motion in the world, otherwife th would be no fuch thing as motion at all: He is it demonftrated that God is not material.

If it be objected by another to the doctr of the refurrection of the fame body, that h man bodies may pafs into one another, eith among those who live upon human flesh, there be any fuch, or by paffing in food in fuch animals, as are cuftomary food to ma

4 σοφός αρχιτέκτων. η Cor. iii. 10,

in either of which cafes, they may seem to become constituent parts of a body, to which they did not originally belong: you may answer from discoveries in natural philofophy, owing to the fagacity of some late obfervers of natural things by the help of glaffes; that all living bodies in their firft ftate of existence confift of certain STAMINA, which are folded into a very narrow compafs, yet are capable of a great expansion; and that all that matter which was taken in by food, and which opened their original parts to the fize, which nature intended for them, does not conftitute the parts of a human body which fhall rife.

~For that matter is only a kind of exuviæ, that muft be thrown off from the original ftamina which alone will rife.

The foundation of this reafoning is very plain in moft feeds of plants, which are found to contain in miniature every thing belonging to a full grown ftate. An acorn is no lefs than an oak contracted into the fize of a nut: And an oak is no more than an acorn expanded into the fhape and Dimenfions of a Tree. This is but confirming and explaining St. Paul's meaning, who replies to the two questions: How are the dead raised? And with what body do they come? to the firft: How are the dead raised? he answers. Thou Fool that which thou foweft, is not quickened except it die, that is, the body must first die: To the fecond, and with what body do they come? he answers: Thou foweft not that body which shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or some other grain: But God giveth it a body, as it bath pleafed

pleafed bim, and to every feed his o That is, in every grain of corn, is con minute feminal principle, which is it entire blade, and ear; and in due fea pands itself when all the rest of the corrupted, and dead, that is, the lobe, being fingle in corn, is almoft peculia For most feeds have two or more lobes, fometimes rife in diffimilar leaves; but i the fingle lobe dies, and the feminal pr containing the plume and radical, evolv unfolds itself, into the vifible form of bo our prefent, mortal and corruptible body be but the extraordinary expanfion, of minute, hidden, and at present infenfible ciple, which at the refurrection fhall dif itself in its proper form.

Thus you fee a confiderable use may ber of these kinds of ftudies even in matters of ligion, to which in the opinion of the igno they seem to have no relation.

And as natural philofophy affifts you in fending Religion, fo will mathematics a From this science you may anfwer many of objections to the myfteries of faith. For i be required to affent to religious propofitio though we have not always clear and adequ ideas of things fignified by the terms, this is more unreasonable, than the affent required all the propofitions relating to infinity, wi which the mathematical fcience does abound and which no man converfant in those kind ftudies ever prefumed to deny. For infinit is equally incomprehenfible to the mind of ma

* See part 2. and Grew's anatome of plants.

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whether it be applied to quantity or to fpi ritual fubftance. And therefore the use of this and other incomprehenfible terms, which are the foundation of many glorious and useful truths, ought not to be objected to, except by thofe, who, out of fondness to ignorance, error and vice, are endeavouring to render the road to knowledge impaffable.

Does not the science of geometry begin with a trinity of myfteries? For is there any fuch thing as a point without dimenfions, a line without breadth, or a furface without profundity? Does not this science demonftrate, that the minuteft portion of matter has every dimenfion of the greatest, and is therefore ftill capable of divifion? And does not this contradict the first definition? A point is that which in magnitude is indivifible even in thought. Yet this is a noble science, and there is no way of coming at truth in it, except by means of thefe fuppofitions, which are feemingly contrary to truth, but abfolutely neceffary to the weak compre→ henfion of man, who cannot even conceive things by halves; but must be satisfied at the first setting out, with the unnatural prefumed conception of the third part of the dimenfions of quantity at once.

From this science alfo you may reply very justly to all thofe, who refufe their affent to truths upon account of fome difficulties, which feem to follow from them; which difficulties do not arise from the uncertainty of reafon, but very often from a fubtilty of mind disposed to embarrass things, rather than to clear them up. But fuppofing that they may arise from the

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