BL ? A _■ ■ u* m ■ OL ■ Glass _____ Book. ^ THE CELESTIAL MAGNET. BY DAVID B. SLACK, u That which may be known of Goa, is manifat into him. 1 '* jHogthe title of " Celestial Magnet" r BY DAVID B. SLACK. " That which may be tinoum. of God, is manifest in man, for he hath shown it unto him." Note. — The reason for my offering the title of il Celestial Magnet" to this little pamphlet, will sufficiently appear by its significancy of the subject contained in the sequel. PROVIDENCE, R. I. Printed by Miller & Hutchens, No. 1, Market-Square, (up stain?.) 1820. t)^ 1 1* .£>.£ ■*/> \ S TO THE READER. For presenting this pamphlet to the publick, I shall make no apology. A full conviction of the truth of its contents, was the only motive, which first prompted me to write it ; and which now in- duces me to give it a publication. Did I, in this instance, follow the example of those, who despise the idea of serving their own generation ; and who polish and accommodate their productions to an- other and more enlightened, of which they think themselves worthy, and regret that they had not been the fortunate enjoy ers, I should betray a van- ity and presumption of which I hope never to be chargeable. I am conscious that my age, abilities, and ac- quirements, would make it vain in me, to attempt a publick discussion of any other subject, than that of religion, the simplest of all things, and in which all mankind are equally concerned. Faithfully to serve my own generation, to endeavour, as far as possible, to ameliorate its suffering condition, to ' learn its character, and to encourage it in virtue and piety, is the only motive, which has, and I hope ever will induce me to action. It is my sincere wish, that this pamphlet may not reach another generation, either to become an object of imitation or of praise. Instead of serving our common Cre- ator, and affectionate Father, in sincerity and truth, the opinions and systems of one age, have ever been an idol, to charm the fancies, to enlist the prejudices, and to restrain the piety and devotion of the next ; and hence the service of God becomes a mere offering of the lips and tribute of the tongue. If we wish that peace and good will may prevail on the earth, let every one endeavour, according to his ability, to sweep from existence, that load of authority, which operates like a pestilence upon the present age, and which, if not destroyed, will extend its infection to posterity. Let us not live amid the rubbish of antiquity, while our existence is placed in so enlightened an age as the present. No man is worthy of imitation. God is the only proper object of imitation and praise. With this view of the subject, I enjoy a fearless innocence in offering the result of my reflections to the publick. And I hope that my Calvinistick friends, many of whom share much of my esteem, will be hereby relieved from that painful anxiety and concern, which they have appeared to manifest for my hap- piness and welfare ; and rest satisfied that their expectation of my return to their system is wholly without foundation. Undoubtedly they think me guilty of an apostasy. But an apostasy from what? From the service of my God ! Well might they be concerned were this the case ; but an apostasy of this character, I hope never to be guilty of. I very well know, that I have apostatised from their system. But, O happy apostasy. Thrice hap- py the day that truth triumphed, in my mind, over authority and interest. And would to heaven that I could see many such apostasies, from plans of entering into the ministry, the law, and all those employments, which oppress the poor ; and tend most wofully to degrade one half of mankind? to el- evate and gratify the other. I think that my class-mates, and fellow-students in the University, would do well to consider deeply, and to investigate candidly, the subject of their du- ty, before they resolve to enter either of the learn- ed professions. To do good, in the world, is the only profession which can give peace to the mind, and appear hon- ourable in the sight of God. To hoard up knowl- edge as the miser does his riches, without conde- scending to impart any of it to our needy fellow beings,isone of those ridiculous absurdities of which mankind have always been guilty. Such as we have, let us impart to others, until their condition and happiness is on a level with our own. I mean not that all mankind should be equal in their posses- sions of property, perhaps this might not be expe- dient. But knowledge and happiness are capable of an equal diffusion among all classes of men. And should simony in all professions, cease, the period would soon arrive, when we could say again, "peace on earth, and good will to all men." I wish to be understood, that when divines are spoken of in the course of this pamphlet, they are considered as a class and not as individuals. It is not the object of this work to raise a publick dis- pute. This, my present feelings would lead me to decline. If it, in any measure, serve to divest the subject of religion of that mysterious phraseology, which has too long concealed its simplicity and im- portance from the minds of men, one of its principal objects will be accomplished. I write not for rep- utation ; that, I consider to be too transient a va- pour to employ the noble mind, and to engage thr affections of the pious heart. THE CEIiESTIAI* ai&G3H"ET. As the benevolence of the Deity has made such a wonderful and inestimable provision, for the important and indispensible ad- ventures of the mariner, from clime to clime, and from sea to sea, I am led so strongly to presume upon the same divine benevolenc'e, as to think it has likewise made as wonderful a provision, by means of which, to direct the little, but imperishable bark of the human soul, across the sea of life, and to secure it a triumphant, and joyful entrance into the harbour of eternal truth, and the in- visible city of celestial happiness. And although the virtue of this Divine Magnet, may, at present, be but little known, and seem to be a subject of so much, and such universal distrust, as to be almost entirely neglected ; yet the pe- riod has been, when many of the human species, by watching its pointings, as it stood for the harbour of eternal truth, have found their passage ; and have, long since, entered into the full fruition of all that happiness, for the attainment of which, they so magnani- mously encountered the forbidding difficulties and danger of life. As the young and inexperienced mariner, who, fearful and faith- less, at first, gradually feels his heart swell with a hope of reach- ing the sightless strand ; so he, who follows invariably the dic- tates of Conscience, or of the Holy Spirit, as it is called in script- ure, becomes more and more confident, that this holy principle will eventually introduce him into a peaceful realization of all truth. I shall first attempt to show that we have strong ground to ex- pect such a principle in the human mind, from the care and atten- tion which the Deity has exhibited, in providing for the security and welfare of the body ; and in the next place, that moral phi- losophers and christians, universally, know and believe in such a principle ; and last, that this principle is, the agion pneuma, or; holy spirit, mentioned so often in the scriptures. In the first place, let us see what kind of a director man is to ex- pect, as he is considered in a state perfectly free, from all that in- formation, which has been transmitted to him by his predecessors or communicated to him by his cotemporaries. 8 Man appears in this (to Mm) new and untried world, a weak and helpless creature ; for a long time, incapable of subsisting without the assistance of others, a perfect ideot, as to knowledge, though a perfect being, as to the possession of those faculties and organs, which are adequate for the attainment of all the happiness, which he was designed to enjoy himself, and to impart to his fel- low beings. By a careful revision of the matchless mechanism of his mind" and body, he finds himself (that is his nature) completely fitted to the constitution of the world into which he has been introduced. He finds that the light of the sun, is made a pure and infallible me- dium, by the aid of which, the innumerable objects of creation are gradually revealed to his sight, brought within the reach of his investigation, and subjected to an accurate survey. He finds that the mountain is fitted to swell his heart, and to ennoble his imagination ; the vast expanse of the heavens to amaze and astonish his mind : the landscape to please him, and to invite his curiosity to survey the unrivalled mechanism of its flowery vesture ; the gentle river to enrich the neighbouring soil, to im- part life to the adjoining fields of vegetation^ and by the simple inventions of man, to lighten his labours, and to hasten the march of human industry. The ocean, too, he sees completely fitted for wafting the neces- saries of life from clime to clime, while it cherishes and supports within its bosom, millions of beings, designed for the benefit and happiness of man : besides, ten thousand tribes of quadrupeds, and of feathered kind, stand the ready victims to satiate the hungry palate, and to invigorate the fainting energies of his body. Man, likewise finds, that the atmosphere is not only fitted to support his labouring lungs, and to strengthren his enfeebled fibres, but that it wafts to his ear ten thousand varieties of sound, by which he can secure himself from impending danger ; and by the organs of speech communicate all his pains, wants and pleasures to his syspathizing fellow beings. And although lie sometimes wantonly perverts this invaluable blessing, by the invention of musical instruments, and makes it a licentious repast for the ear, when its design was the support of life and the conveyance of useful information ; yet it is a standing monument of the benevo- lence, the wisdom and goodness of our Creator. He also finds an exhilarating fragrance, luxuriously diffused through the vegetable kingdom, which has alike admirable fitness 9 to the organs of smelling, and serves to impart strength, and vigour, and pleasure, to the whole frame. Nor does man here finish his discovery of the divine wisdom -ind goodness, in providing for the security and^elfare of his pres- ent existence. The earth teems with ten thousand varieties of food, of cordials and delicacies, while his palate, like a vigilant sentinel, sits and separates the deadly from the salutary, and re- ceives with discretion their cheering influence. These are com- mon to every clime and region of the earth, so that every disease bas its remedy, and every desire something to satisfy it. Another order of God's blessing to man is perceived in the hap- py contrivance of the senses, to secure the body from evil and to promote its pleasure. The eye is most admirably adapted to dis- cover the objects addressed to it, though it would be of no service without the medium of light. Nor is there less wisdom, in the construction of the ear. A most happy contrivance is discerned in the sense of feeling, to gain information from surrounding ob- jects, and to guard the body from innumerable evils. The breeze refreshes it*, the sun warms it, the shower cools it, and the atmos- phere attempers it. Thus man, completely furnished with guard- ians to his body, with corresponding mediums of support, of pleasure and of remedy, is introduced, along from the cradle to the grave, through an almost infinite variety of grades, light being the great magnet to attract his eye and direct his steps. Yet no miraculous operation is exerted to enable the eye to dis- charge its office, the ear to distinguish the varieties of sound, the palate to receive its diet, or the sense of feeling to inform us of the neighbouring objects. And although experience gives man a confi- dence in his ability to exert these organs, each must effect a cer- tain condition in order to a complete discharge of its office. The opening of the eye is the condition of seeing, listening the condi- tion of hearing, &c. These conditions are the obvious result of man's own agency. Nature sends forth no overweaning dogmas, to dissuade man from confiding in his ability, to govern and direct his senses, in providing for the safety and Welfare of the body ; but, on the contrary, she has displayed her usual benevolence, in giving to experience a wonderful power, to create in the breast of man, a confidence in his ability to provide for his present existence. And we should think him unworthy of the name of a human being, who should attempt to weaken that confidence, which the Deity has seen fit to place in man for his benefit and happiness. But such is the temper of the presentdivines, that vrere all the 2 10 men of science on the globe, to exert the united force of their phi- losophy and learning, in dissuading men from putting trust in their ability to transact the common business of life, they would not have a more stagnating effect upon human industry, than many of these divines now do in morality and religion, who exert their ut- most, to weaken that reliance, which experience teaches every man, to place in his ability to love and serve his Maker. Perhaps this is a digression. Much more might be said of the benevolent provision, which an all-wise governour of the universe has made for the welfare of our present existence. But it will be at present omitted. Finally, the care and mercy of the Deity, is impartially and universally exercised among his creatures. All enjoy the com- mon and essential blessings ; all are subject to the greatest and most fearful evils; nevertheless, there may be some little variety in the blessing and evils, which arises from the prudence or impru- dence of the individual. But, from the view we have taken, there is a strong presumption, that if our predecessors had exercised all the prudence, of which they were capable, and also, if we should do the same, we might be free from most, if not all of those miseries, to which we are now subjected. How impartial, then, is the goodness of God in thus happily providing for our present existence ! None of the tribes of the human species, is doomed to eternal darkness, by a general loss of their eyes, or by a privation of light ; none to faint and ex- pire for want of a refreshing atmosphere ; none deprived of these, fragrances, and of those cordials with which nature has so bounti- fully crowned her teeming board. What has been now shown of the divine love and mercy in oup temporal concerns, 1 think amply sufficient to drive our divines from that wicked and unaccountable paradox, which makes the Dei- ty more careful and interested in the preservation of the body* than of the soul. We wish not to prove that the providence of God is such, that he lets none of his creatures suffer. This opinion we see daily contradicted. All that is contended for, is that he has placed all mankind equally in a capacity of salvation ; and all would obtain it, if they would but employ this capacity. We have already seen that the bodies of men are only placed in a capacity of sal- vation. The improvement of this capacity belongs to the agency of man. The provisions that are made, for securing the health and effect- 11 i iig the maturity of the body, make it highly probable, that the same benevolent being, who has done so much for one part of man, has, likewise, made a much greater provision for the soul, that part which never dies, and in comparison of which, the body is no more than an invisible dew-drop, to the great compass of the mighty deep. The indispensible necessity of such a principle, as can guide the soul of man safely through the vicious and deceitful wind- ings, trodden out by designing men, is obvious to the mind of every one. The eye is not more necessary to direct the steps of the £ody, than the conscience and reason of man to direct the steps of the soul. And as the eye would be wholly useless to the body, without the medium of light, so would the reason and con- science of man be wholly useless to the soul, without that constitu- tion of truths, which make up one side of the natural, moral and religious world. Moral and religious truths, when clearly perceiv- ed and practised, constitute the life and happiness of man. That which makes these truths appear such to the mind, 1 call the holy spirit, or agion pneuma ; mentioned so often in the scriptures. All will acknowledge, that there is a certain measure of evidence connected with every moral truth, which always introduces that truth into the mind, when attended to, and invariably impresses it thereon, in proportion to the attention paid to it. This light of evidence (as it is sometimes called) has been known, and experi- enced, in all ages, nations, and languages. " It is the light that raises up and gives energy to the depressed spirit of every man, that comes into the world." If attended to and followed, it gives to the mind perfect peace and consummate happiness. It dispels ignorance, doubt and errour, the main sources of misery, and dis- closes to the human understanding, ten thousand beauties and ex- cellencies, in the character of God, which are wholly concealed from the abusers and rejecters of this heavenly light. If then., all mankind agree, that there is a sufficient measure of evidence connected with every moral and religious truth, both to introduce it into and to impress it on the mind, in such a manner, as to produce all necessary action, then it is perfect folly to contend about the name of that which impresses the mind with truth ; for it makes no difference, whether we call it the light of truth, the light of evidence, the sun of righteousness, the holy spirit, the grace of God, the comforter, or conscience ; though this last name is better known and more generally understood, than the others. Great care should be taken, that we get no more causes into ;he account, than are necessary to the production of the effzc* 12 Now the evidence of truth has no more resemblance, in reality, to light, than it has to darkness. The foundation of the figure consists in the similarity of effects. Light is a medium by which alone, natural objects are revealed to the sight, and just such a proportion of it, appears to be necessary to obtain a complete per? ception of the object of vision. So evidence is that alone, which reveals both natural and moral truths to the understanding, and in- duces belief. And the faith we have in any truth thus revealed, is always in proportion to the evidence, perceived. The opera- tion of the understanding is necessary to the reception of this evi- dence, in the same manner, as the opening of the eye is requisite for a discovery of the object addressed to it. But, in either of these cases, there is nothing miraculous, as some would have it. Both these operations are the effect of man's own agency, as much as the growth of a tree, or of a spire of grass, is the effect of the agency of the Deity. If all truths are eternal and immutable, and are all disclosed to the minds of intelligent beings, of one kind or other, by the light of evidence^ then it is a very natural conclusion, that all created intelligences, are under the necessity of having agencies, inde- pendent of each other, capable of performing similar, yet separate conditions, in order to the complete discovery of these truths. It will be allowed by all men, I believe, that the happiness of cur species, arises almost entirely from the perception and love of truth ; but, if men think themselyes in possession of sufficient power, to perceive and love natural truths, such as make up the sciences of mathematicks, natural philosophy, cbymistry and metaphysicks, why should they listen to those paradoxical enthusiasts, who tell them that moral truths can just be perceived, but not truly loved without the assistance, nay more, the irresistible agen- cy of God. But we might, with as much truth, pretend that the Deity himself, requires another agency to make him perceive and love truth as that man does. With respect 1,0 the perception and love of truth, man is made in the likeness of the peity ; else why made at all 1 why are these noble powers of reason, memory, im- agination, and reflection given him, if he has not also an agency sufficient to employ them, in the investigation and love of those truths, which employ the sublime powers of Jehovah. From what has been said, it evidently appears, that the under- standing of man, is the only instrument, by which he discovers truth, his agency the power that employs it ; and the light of evi- dence, or the spirit of God- as the ancients called it, that which in- 13 produces truth into the inind, and «rpresses it on. it. The juror decides from evidence ; the mathematician demonstrates from ev- idence ; the chymist and naturalist admit no truth, but what ap- pears such from a sufficient measure of evidence. In a word, the light of evidence is the only revelator in the natural, and moral world ; it is the unerring magnet, which has conducted both phi- losophers and christians, to a world of new and important truths. But, more especially, do we behold its wonderful power and agen- cy in the moral and religious world. So much happiness did it afford the ancient christians, by revealing truths to their simple, honest minds, that they called it the comforter, the holy spirit of promise, which should lead them into all truth. But of its nature we are entirely ignorant ; as much so as we are of the nature of mind, or power. Its effects only are perceived. We have no right to complain of the ancients, for calling it a spirit, nor they of us, for calling it evidence, or the light of evidence, or the light of truth. They were not able to separate it from the truths it re- vealed ; and no more are we. The word spirit was the most pro- per and intelligible among them, as the word evidence may be among us. Undoubtedly they feh a much greater share of happiness from the influence of what these words express, than we do. Its effect upon the mind, depends entirely upon the honesty, or dishonesty, with which vye go into the pursuit of truth. It sets the dishonest mind in torment, and the more dishonesty, the more torment ; but the more honesty, the more happiness and peace. It so settles and pacifies ihe mind of the simple inquirer, that, in scripture language, " it becomes an anchor to the soul, both sure and stead- fast," holding it still amid the clamour of popular opinion, and fash- ionable prejudices. Some may startle at the idea, that what, at the present day, is called the light of evidence, is the same thing, as was called by the ancients, the agion pneuma, the comforter, or the grace of God. But, if we find that what we call the light of evidence, affords comfort to our species, and are sensible of no other £ause, why shall we not take it for the same thing, which the ancients called comforter ? They called what they preached the enaggellion or logos; ministers at the present day, call what they preach, the gos- pel, and tell their hearers, that it is the same that the apostles preached. But how do they know this ? They certainly have a different name ; as different as the word pneuma> is from that of evidence. The only reason that ministers have for thinking, that their preaching is the sajne as thai of the apostles, is from a simi- 14 larity of effects. The aposttes evidently meant by the agion pneuma, or holy spirit, that which tells men the right and the wrong, changes their hearts and affections, by the introduction of truth into their minds, and by impressing it upon them. But let a man, now, be perfectly honest ; let his mind converse awhile will the truths in the moral and religious world, let him divest himself of prejudice in this converse, as much as he would in demonstrat- ing a proposition in geometry, and he will shortly find his sou! translated out of its native darkness, into a world of light, enjoy- ing all that happiness, possessing all that boldness of declaration, and all that patience and submission in suffering, which so remark^ ably characterized the lives of the apostles. We know nothing of the meaning of these words, which the scripture writers used, except by our having experienced, what we think to be the same as they relate of their experience. It is we, in the language of the very candid Dugal Stuart, " that infuse the very soul into every word" of the scriptures. The astonishing power of truth apon the minds of the scripture- writers, very natur- ally led them to attribute it to some operating medium, which ihey seemed to think resembled the pneuma, or wind, for so the word meant in that age. But still had they been questioned upon this subject, they would, undoubtedly, have acknowledged, that they perceived no resemblance, in reality, between what revealed truth to their minds, and the wind, or spirit as they called H. But little did these holy, honest, simple men think, that these figures, which they were obliged to make the medium of commu- nicating their thoughts to others, would become the basis of those paradoxical systems, which now burden and harass our species. 'ihey adapted their language to the character, the ignorance and the opinions of the age in which they lived, and thought not of providing opinions and rules of conduct for future generations. The apostles had imbibed, to their sorrow, the opinions and prej- udices of their countrymen and ancestors, and now began to think it time to teach men not to get their rules of conduct from each other, but immediately from their heavenly Father, Him they thought a much nearer, better, and more faithful friend, than any they had on earth. They taught others that God was infinitely more tender and loving, than any earthly parent could be ; that his provisions for men were universal and impartial ; that his pro- vidence always had, and always would, pervade the universe. With a firm belief of a God of this character, they ventured their all in order to make him known to others. From the emboldening 15 effect, which truth had upon their minds, they referred their hap- piness to a pouring out of God's spirit. But will any man be so absurd as to contend, that the spirit or mind of God, is capable of being poured out, like a fluid, from one vessel into another ? Or that, in reality, it is capable of descending and ascending ? This would imply, that the mind of the Deity was moving about, and did not fill all space. Men often speak of pouring out their hearts and souls before God, but their souls don't leave their bodies, at (hose times, any more than at others. Why, it may be asked, did the scripture-writers make so much use of the word pueuma, wind or spirit ? It is^well known, that the Jewish nation dealt more in comparisons, of all kinds, than any other nation with whose history we are acquainted. This custom arose, from the great deficiency of words, in their language. The wind, being an exceedingly subtle element, incapable of being detected by the eye, but still capable of producing astonishing ef- fects, by its velocity and changes, they very naturally attributed the changes produced in their minds, by the impression of truths (which, before the day of their great leader, they were ignorant of) fto some power, not perceived by the understanding ; and which, in this respect, they thought to resemble the atmosphere. The comparison is a veryyKtqjiH^'c one. We feel the effects of the atmosphere, but the eye cannot detect its nature ; so the mind feels the happy effects of truth, when impressed upon it, by a suf- ficient measure of evidence, but the evidence itself, in the essence ef it, is not perceived. If the honest inquirers after truth, now en- joy the same happiness, and express the same boldness, in defend- ing it, which the primitive christians did, are we not obliged to say that truth is disclosed to their minds in the same way, and by the same power, although we give it another name, but which, per- haps, is better understood. I perceive something in me, which tells me what is right and what is wrong for me to do. I also am sensible of a peace of mind, when I do the right, and of a torment when I do the wrong ; I therefore think this principle to be the same, which in scripture, is called the holy spirit, and which is acknowledged to be an uni- versal principle, a celestial magnet, to guide the intellectual world. It has, generally, been considered, by metaphysicians, a faculty of the mind, but which has appeared so subtle a faculty, that they have almost despaired of defining it. My own opinion is, that it is not a faculty of the mind, but that it is a? separate from the mind as light is from the eye. The light of evidence. I believe. 16 to be that true spirit, which points out to man every step oi hi3 duty. In the natural world, as I have before observed, there is a certain measure of evidence, belonging to every truth, and which reveals it to the mind. This is true of every proposition in geom- etry, in natural philosophy and chymistry. In the moral and re- ligious world, truth is open to the mind in the same way. By contradicting the greatest measure of evidence on any subject of duty, we feel a degree of pain ; by complying with it, we feel a degree of happiness. The faculty which perceives this pain or pleasure, I call conscience. But, as the term conscience, is gen- erally taken to comprehend both that which gives us a prescience of right or wrong, and also the faculty which perceives the pain or pleasure of following the one or the other, it may be much the safest term to employ on the subject. I shall, therefore, use it accordingly, and contend that conscience is the magnet, which will point out to man every step of his duty, the only antidote to save him from his sins ; and finally introduce' him into a world ot celestial truth. In the language of Thomas Read, " it is the candle of God, set jp in the human mind." It burns both day and night, giving light to all our thoughts and affections. Its faint glimmerings, are perceivable in every individual of our species. No human power is able to extinguish it, or to erase it from the mind. It lighted up the path of Abel, Noah, Moses, Daniel, Socrates, Christ, Paul, Lu- ther, Fox, and innumerable others, whom time forbids to mention. It is a species of language, which the Deity uses, to make known his will to man, and which he has most admirably adapted to his understanding. Though man may be deaf, dumb, and blind ; still it is a sure medium, to bring into his mind, the will of God. In a word, it is a voice, which no confusion can drown, and from which no torment can divert the attention. It whispers, and the Siberian marches to his Lama ; the Hindoo to the Ganges, the Ot- toman to his alcoran, and the christian to his bible. Finally, it is not in the power of man, to close the ears of hi3 understanding entirely against it. The virtue of this celestial magnet, is known only by experi- ment. When the Europeans first tried the power of the magnetick needle, to direct their course on the ocean, they were exceedingly timorous, daring only to venture a few leagues from their native shore ; but venturing still further, gathering strength at every league, they at length reach our western continent, and sang their T<* Denm. in celebration of the mighty power ot God. So I 17 a-pprehead it will be, iu some measure, with those who venture out from the scriptures to which, by education, they have become nat- uralized, and who shall take for their guide, that magnet which directed the course of the scriptural writers, and which will lead them into regions of truth yet unexplored. Those who distrust this gift of God, and think it unworthy of their notice, must expect that their infidelity will increase, till they have rendered themselves incapable of condescending to so humiliating a leader. But though it be humiliating* yet it affords the mind all that freedom, and imparts to it all that boldness and dignity, which make up the life and happiness of man. When a man acts up to, and studiously improves all the known principles of his nature, what can he do more ? He certainly improves in this case, all the talents, which he had given him. But if he abuse* his conscience, he does despite to that very gift, or grace of God 9 which would have saved him from all his sins. Jesus Christ did not bring the conscience of man, or the holy spirit, into the world. It always was in the world, though the world knew it not, as having virtue to save it from sin, as produc- ing all that peace, love, joy, long-suffering, kindness, gentleness and truth, displayed in the conduct of the apostles, as healing, by dictates of prudence, all the diseases of body, as well as of the mind ; and as giving a measure of foresight into the events of this world. But men have so long turned their attention from the die* tates of this principle, and been listening so long to the melodious sounds of human invention, that they begin to think that nothing can be true knowledge ; but what enters into the mind through the ear. But, says Dr. Campbell " it makes no difference what way knowledge gets into the mind, provided it be there." If then we iud a principle in our minds, which gives us a knowledge of gooA and of evil, it is worthy of our highest attention. It is not placed there without some very important purpose. It deserves to be •lassed among the works of God, all of which hold a relative im- portance in the great system of nature. It is acknowledged, by the most eminent of the Calvinists, that conscience, if not perverted, would enable man to live free from liu, and to perfect his nature. They likewise acknowledge, that man can pervert and resist, that operation of the holy spirit, wbicfe they wish to make something more than the light of conscience. But, if the influence of the holy spirit, as they make it, can be per- verted, why should that be any safer a guide than the first gift of Sod. which h conscience. If bsth aire equally liable to peiversioiu a 18 1 see no gain hy admitting into their system a different guide iroxu what is common to all mankind. If, therefoie, it is generally acknowledged, that, by a due attention to, and a right improve- ment of that principle, which appears to be a gift Universally ac- knowledged among all mankind* that man can perfect bis nature, I think it would be much the safest way, to take it for the real spirit mentioned in the scripture, and to pay all our attention to that. We might as well say, that our reason must not be trusted to, because it is liable to deceive us, or that our memory and im- agination must never be improved, because they are liable to de- ception ; and that, therefore, we must have new faculties of reason, memory and imagination, before we shall be fitted to discharge our duty ; as that conscience must not be trusted, because it caa be perverted. The man who pretends to distrust the efficacy of his conscience to lead him into ail truth, may, for the same reasons, distrust the ability of his eyes, to discover the objects of vision ; or of his ears to distinguish the varieties of sound. But the organs of sight and of hearing, aided by ihe powers of light and air, are the only means the Deity has ever given any man, to discover the objects of sight and to distinguish the varieties of sound. To suppose in this case, that the Deity ever has or ever will make any alteration in, or give any more assistance to man, in seeing and hearing, than he has already given, necessarily implies, that he can improve upon bis own skill. So, if the conscience of man is a work of the Dei- ty, as much as the eye is : to suppose that he ever does, or eve? will give any more assistance, than the light of evidence, either implies that his work has failed of its object, or that he is or will be able to make some essential improvement upon his first attempt Men may as well pray that God would increase the brilliancy of the sun, that they may see better, or change the nature of the atmosphere, that they may hear easier, as to pray that God would give them more assistance, than they now have to discover and obey his will. I believe that God finished his work in making man, and in such a manner, as left no room for an after supplement, or alteration. — The whole analogy of nature may be brought in confirmation of this opinion. If, therefore, by a right improvement of what man possesses, he may perfect his nature ; and become a real child of God, what does God or what do we wish for more ? had we as much again assistance, as we now have, it would still rest upon a right improvement of it, whether we entered into heaven or not. Let us not, therefore, despise little things, considering the wisdom 19 the goodness and love of that being from whom'Ve receive them. Though our gifts may be like mustard seeds on their reception, they are as much as we deserve, with the assurance that they are capa- ble of infinite increase. \( } then, we find that God deals with all his children in the same way, and like a kind parent speaks to tvin all in the same language ; and discloses his will to them as fast and as fuliy as they are disposed to receive it, a verbal or written expression of his former dealings with some of them, is no rule for the rest. As a kind parent, he had much rather that they would all come individually to him, than to have them listening to each other. He can assign them their places better than any other being. But some will say, how can we converse with God, since he is in heaven and we on the earth ? Absurdly imagining, that God has chosen him out some more congenial place, where, perhaps, he has a throne of great glory, a right hand and a left, a footstool and a sceptre, in a word, where he dwells in all the ease, luxury and authority of a pope. No wonder that vice and iniquity prevail on the earth, when the Deity, in the minds of men, is placed at such an awful distance from them. But some there are, who boldly assert, both by word and practice, the immutability of God ; that be is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever ; that he is so per* fectly uniform, as never to deviate from a certain character; that he appears to the minds of all men, in all ages, on all occasions, and in all societies invariably the same ; that his providence is the same, that by this all mankind may learn their Father's will and designs respecting them, that his residence, and his presence, are as visible in this world as in any anterior to it, or that shall come after it. We feel perfectly satisfied with the means we possess of know- ing the thoughts, designs and hearts of each other. And what are they? Merely motions, gestures and sounds, which, by a suffic- ient attention to them, give us a kind of mirror, in which we think ourselves able to see the very souls of men. Yet we see no mind, no intelligence, no power, no prudence, no prescience, no love, no benevolence there, we see only the effects or fruits of them. We see ten thousand inventions, such as towns, palaces, ships, stee- ples, arms, and an innumerable variety of machines, all effects of a power and intelligence, which are, in essence, hid from the eye, though we may have no doubt, but they exist in those bodies which we call human, which we are daily conversant with, which we see, love, hate, trust, listen to, speak to, handle and 30 sometimes destroy. When tbey are near us, wo revere ov de« spise them, according as we judge of their wisdom and goodness* But yet, that God is much nearer us, than we to each other, that he knows us better, shows wore design, wisdom, benevolence and is readier of access, will be allowed by all, who acknowledge his existence. The effects of his wisdom and goodness, are ever be- fore us, speaking to us in ten thousand ways. It is the language ot philosophy, that the best poetical description is exceedinglyvapid in comparison of nature contemplated in her own simplicity. And must not those descriptions of the Divine character, which were given in an age, when men seemed to catch only the ruder linea- ments of it, be incomparably less fitted to impress the mind of man with just notions of God, and of his designs, than the pure counte- nance of nature now vigorous and fresh before us? The writers of the scriptures themselves, seem to have been so fully impressed with an idea of the inadequacy of language to express what even they learned of the characer of God from his works, and of the perishable nature of all human signs, that they referred their cotemporaries to a period, when they hoped that the human species would be so enlightened as to lay them aside, and individ- ually fulfil the obligations they owe to their maker, as they are impressed upon, or written in their hearts, by a careful and dili- gent watch over his movements about them, and in them. What if men should contend that it was a much easier and safer way to learn the human character, by written signs and pictures, which. are entirely devoid of those finer lineaments, constantly varying in the living countenance, than to obtain this knowledge by au actual observation of tbe expressions of all the passions and feel- ings, which exercise the heart ? Would they appear more incon- sistent than many of them now do, in chaining down the human mind to decipher the meaning of those antiquated enigmas and comparisons contained in much of the old and new testaments, in order to get a knowledge of God and of their own duty ? The prophets saw the evil tendency of written laws and creeds ; that they made men's minds contracted, uncharitable, and ambitious of engrossing all piety and true worship to themselves. They saw that the knowledge which their own countrymen had through this source, though originally derived from observations on tbe provi dence of God, made them boasters of their own institutions ; and the most overbearing contemners of the comparatively inferiour institutions of their neighbours. Jesus Christ saw their delusion Shewed them their errour, and taught, them to observe the growfli 21 of tbe lily, and of the epire of grass, if they wished to learo the care, the wisdom and tbe power of God. St. Paul perceiving the great errour o( the Athenians, in placing him at so great a dis- tance, as to make him unknowq to them, strongly reproved their folly. If, then, God is as visibly present in this world among his chil- dren, as they are among each other, what more danger is there of our mistaking his meaning, than the meaning of each other? And why not get bis instructions as immediately as we get the in- structions of our earthly parent ? Wherever we behold an opening bud or a trembting dew-drop, there, do we see a certain power and intelligence displayed as indubitably as the motion of my pen discovers a power and intelligence in me. Yet we are not in the habit of getting the designs of the Deity from his movements about us, and in us, as we are of each other. Yet were we accustom d to this method of learning the will of God, this language would in time become as intelligible to u<* as that which we use among our- selves. The blaze of the candle now before me displays infinitely more design than the candlestick, which holds it, does ; yet I Infer from the shape of the cand'e-itick, its proper design which is to bold the candle. So likewise of the blaze, that its object, or one of them, is to aid my eye in writing. 1 admire the artist who arcade the stick, and think him a well meaning man, though I neither know his name, nor where he lives. But the Deity, i know, must be as near to me as he is to the highest angel in heaven, and shall I not much more admire his power, wisdom and goodness, display- ed so immediately about me ? But if I am taught that he is at an awful distance from the in^ Habitants of this world, and that he is inaccessible to them ; that inhere is no meaning to his providence, my respect, my love, and gratitude to him, will in a great measure cease. With what an awe we go into the presence of a great philoso- pher, whose language, motions, and gestures are all intelligible to us. How silent we are, and how willing to listen to him. Bui Lf we had been taught, that his mind existed not where we hear the sound of his voice, or where we see his motions and gestures ; but at an awful distance, perhaps on the moon, or some other planet, our respect and attention to him would, in a great mea- sure, cease. So with the Deity, if we are taught not to listen tc him wherever we see the effects of his power and wisdom, we most certainly shall have no regard to him. But if we look upor. tevery thing wc s«e, even the lightning as directed with infinite^ m more design than the very rod that is erected to reeeive it, ws stall always prais-e his hand, and love and revere the wisdom, the goodness and skill of the Deity in this world as well as in the world to come. The next world may be different, but I see no reason for thinking that his presence will be any more sensible, or his Providence any more perfect and particular in that, than in this world. It is said in the scriptures, that in the next world, the Deity will be seen face to face. And so also Moses is said to have spoken with him face to face in this world. But what igno- ramus will contend that the Deity has a face like a man, or that he was seen in the form of a man by Moses, writing with his finger on tables of stcne. John says, •* no man hath seen God at any time. 1 ' If he be correct in his opinion, Moses' account cannot be taken, literally, as some seem inclined to take it. To be sure t John might never have read the account of Moses ; but if ever he had, he certainly did not understand it according to the letter. It seems to be the moot natural way, that we should gain an ac- quaintance with our Heavenly Father, as we become acquainted and familiar with each other; i. e. by an attention to what of him js passing about us and in our minds. Our affinity to him in the Mext world will, doubtless be increasing in proportion to our love, and adoration of his character ; and our misery, to the hatred and despite which we have to his dealings with us But all this, in some measure, we see in this world. We see that vice has a ten- dency to put God out of the thoughts of men, and to place him at a distance from them ; and that virtue and piety has the opposite tendency of bringing him into their thoughts, and of producing an holy affinity to, and reliance upon him. If what has now been said, be true, why should men think of taking the bible for their only rule of conduct in this life, any more than in the next ? If the Deity reveals his will as immediately and intelligibly in this world as we expect he will in the next, why should any set of men cling to the bible as the only medium hy which the Deity speaks tOj and converses with his children ? We can carry the bible no farther than the grave, and some have gained such an affinity to their God, that they have left it long be- fore that time ; and perhaps in passing from this world to the next, perceived but very little, if any difference in the manner in which God revealed himself to them. That the bible was intended, neither by God himself, nor by those w r ho wrote it, to be the chief rule of man's conduct in thsf world, is evident from a variety of reasons 23 In the first place, if God has designs and information to com- municate to his children, it is very probable that he chooses that medium of communication, which is intelligible to all of them ; so that they might pass from one nation to another, and from one lan- guage to another, but still understand the language of the Deity. But if the bible be the only will cf God, men are under the ne- cessity of carrying it with them in journeying over the world, among different nations and tongues ; otherwise they can have none, or but very little knowledge of his will and designs. Lan- guage, whether written or spoken, is constantly varying in itt meaning. Words, sentences, and books, written in one age, have suffered a partial loss of their signification, when they have arrived to the next ; and by proceeding on through several ages, still los- ing as they advance, they must in time become quite obscure ; as we see verified in ancient books, especially in the meanings of the old and new Testaments. So we see that time and its changes will carry us entirely away from the original meaning of the scrip- tures, as it already has from the signification of the Egyptian lan- guage of hieroglyphics ; and in a partial manner from the meaning of several other languages, as the Sanscript, and the language of some of the natives of this country. It is well known that enigmas and comparisons made up a large part of the language of the Hebrews ; so that by a remove from the subjects of these figures, which consisted of peculiar ani- mals, trees, metals, persons, customs, vessels and diseases, this part of their medium of communication, can be but faintly understood by us. The bare words of an ancient author give us but half his meaning. The place, the circumstances, the company, the cha- racter of his nation, and hi? own passions and feelings, must all be known to receive his words in the senses which he affixed to them. But does the Deity put his later children to all this study and perplexity in order to have an understanding of his will ? Had every event and transaction, every character and thought, every passion and its effect, which have existed since the creation of the world, been fairly inscribed on adamant or marble, all this would be utterly inadequate to convey to us the will of God respecting our conduct. The next reason I have to offer against taking the scriptures as the chief rule of our conduct, is, that those who wrote them evi- dently addressed them either to their own age and nation, to cer- tain societies, to individuals, or to certain occasions. And if they vrote and spoke to accomplish some object which they then had 24 $D view, when that object was accomplished, their writing and speaking had accomplished all the end for which they intended them. To make any further use of those writings, therefore, otherwise than as historical, is evidently destroying their original Intention, or putting meanings to them which never entered the minds of the authors. Divines, when they preach, are in the habit of giving about five or six meanings to every text, so that the ori- ginal meaning which was One, is now split into several, by the wild and disordered fancies of useless hirelings. But i( the scriptures be the real word or will of God, it ougb.4, at least, to be capable of only one construction. Suppose that Jesus Christ had adapted (as be always did most admirably) one of his discourses to an audience of a particular character, profes- sion and temper, (say to the class of scribes) whatever he might say to this class of people in that age, and in those circumstances, must be very illy fitted to the present age, in which there are noiie of that class of people in existence. The same observation is true of nearly all the new testament, particularly of the epistles which were in most cases private. No one from reading those epistles, can say that the apostle* had the least idea of, or made the least provision for their trans- mission to the next generation. But still, since they by accident have come down to us, they are taken to make it up in full, a vol* ume, which is now made xhe only basis of happiness, true knowl* ledge and benevolence. There were but few in those days whe> could write at all, and those few must have been greatly burden- ed, if they carried many of their writings with them, being alto- gether written on parchment. Men certainly at that age of the world and for several hundred years after it did hot preach by note. And it is very doubtful whether many of them had access to the Bible. Had the Apo*tJes lived in an age after the inven- ion of paper and the art of printing, which have thrown the bi- ble into so much repute, it is possible, they might have transmitted *o us some of their sermons, which they called the preaching of the gospel, the word, the grace of God. But the circumstances in which they were placed, rendered them incapable of accom- plishing so great a task as that of transmitting information to other ~}ges, which would have access to the same fountain of truth. So that out of the innumerable multitude of their sermons, We have not a single one transmitted to us. Luke has given us a part of thvp^f as nearly a<= he could r^pollest them, though perhaps, he made 25 some supplements of his own, which was a very customary and par* donable thing among ancient historians. The scriptures we'are in possession of, ape said by divines to make up what they call a complete canon. But had the whole twenty-six histories of Christ, and all the rest of the epistles of the Apostles come down to Us* these divines then would have said that all these writings made no more than a complete canon. Or had only half of what we now have, reached us, the case would have been the same. The council which collected the new testament, canonized just such writings as they pleased, and rejected the rest. So that it must be forever unknown to us, whether we have the most correct ones, or not. There is great probability that if more of the writ- ings of the apostle, had come down to us, they would have con- tained information which would lead us to put a less estimate upon the scriptures themselves, but a much greater upon that spirit of truth, or pure conscience* which enabled them to conduct with so much propriety and holy boldness, in defence of the principles of their leader. My third argument against taking the scriptures as our only rule of faith and practice, is, that there is not a single command in all the new testament for us, or any before us, to believe in them as the very word of God. We find such commands as these, that men must believe in God, that he is, and that he is the rewarder of them that diligently seek him ; that they must believe in Christ, as the son of God, i. e. in his doctrines, which are partially reveal* ed to the minds of all men For to believe in Christ, is a figura- tive expression, put for a belief of what he taught ; in the same manner as people say that they believe in Calvin, in Hopkins and Edwards, when they only believe in their doctrines. What were the private characters of these men, or when, or where they lived, it is unimportant to know. The primitive Christians knew nothing, or but very little, about the scriptures. They were all guided by one simple principle, which they sometimes called a good conscience, and sometimes the holy spirit, the word and the gospel. To trust to the direc- tions of this was the whole sum and substance of their faith. This principle led them to branch out into many inferences, and courses of reasoning; but these inferences and reasonings were all ad- dressed to the people of their own age. But men are required, at the present day, to believe in the scriptures collectively, as the word of God, that the sin of Adam hay depraved all his posterity* 26 that Jesus is God, (hat God pardons men on account of a feV/ hours suffering of a mere man, that they must be miraculously con- verted, that men are naturally incapable of serving their Maker, and many other childish, yet savage opinions, which those who teach them, no more believe, than they do that the Goddess Diana fell down from heaven, into the city of Ephesus. Men's under- standings are too near alike, to pretend that one substantially be- lieves a thing, which to another is a paradox, when they have the same conveniences of investigation. My fourth argument is, that if all the exertion were made that lies in the power of men, the scriptures could not be translated into the major part of the languages on earth. But the bible can- not be a rule to all, until all have it in their own language. Some languages are so exceedingly scanty in their words* that it would be impossible to translate three chapters, of the bible into them ; and many others not being written must oppose a still greater ob- stacle. And even supposing it possible to translate the bible into all the languages on earth, how greatly it must suffer in a loss of its meaning. Were there only one language in existence, still there would be many who could not read it for themselves, but must trust to the reading and explanation of their bigoted and supersti- tious friends. AH these difficulties make up, in my mind, ab argument too powerful, easily to pass over. My fifth argument is taken from the manner in which the script- ures have been transmitted to us. After the death of the apostles,, when the embracers of Christianity had become very numerous, they gradually fell into disputes, which, daily growing warmer, and all the disputants, having a veneration for the opinions of the first leaders in the gospel, began to lay hold on every scrap of the first writings to settle their disputes. These writings, though scattered at great distances from each other, one part being at Rome, another at Corinth, and another at Ephesus, they collected and canonized, at least what of them they pleased. So we see that, in this in- stance, their transmission to us depended entirely upon the casual disputes of the early embracers of Christianity. These scriptures after being collected, were held in the hands of a very few, and it was not unfrequently the case, that even these few were incapable of reading them, so exceedingly ignorant, were the dark ages, of the art of writing. War was their element. They thought not, or but little, of the useful arts. In the further progress of the bible, down to us, there is a period 27 related in history, when there was but just one bible in the whole continent of Europe This was held fast in the hand of the pope. Here, then, according to the doctrine of the present divines, was the whole, the complete will of God, held in the hand of a single marv But with as much consistency might they contend, that, at some former period, the amazing splendour of the sun, which has for ages, warmed and vivified creation, had been compressed within the little compass of a pint measure, held in the hand of a .ingle man, the earth darkened, and all the labours of men suspended, as that the real will of God, has ever been so far withdraw from the hearts of men as to leave them entirely without a knowledge of it. Since the art of printing was invented, the scriptures have become more general, and from this circumstance many are of the opinion that at some future day they will lecome universal. But this pe- riod will not arrive, till the nations of the earth fall into ihe use of fewer languages. If we wish all mankind to become the real lovers of God, they must be taught in a much shorter and safer way, than by learning their duty from the bible. Ministers of the gos- pel must go forth, as Paul did to Rome, with revelation in their hearts, and teach men,-as he did the Romans, that *' that which may be known of God is manifested in men, for he hath showed it unto them. " by the things which he hath made." My sixth argument is, that, according to our divines 1 own sentiments, ministers cannot preach the gospel, without the same revelation which Christ and his apostles had. For doctors of di- vinity pretend to admit this text in Paul's epistle in its full extent, " If any man preach any other gospel, than this which I preach unto you, let him be accursed. '* But what gospel did Paul preach? and how did he receive it ? by reading a few of the epistles of his ancestors ?• No. He says, " I received it. by reve- lation from God." But who will have the presumption to say, thai he preaches the same gospel, which Paul did, while he is destitute of that immediate levelation which made it the gospel in the mind of this apostle, and of those who heard him ? What circumstance distinguished the gospel in the mind of Paul, but this, that it came by immediate revelation, to him, and that it always would come ii the same way to others. The gospel of Christ was the doctrine of an universal sonship, it taught that men must divest themselves of the desires of personal and family advantage, and consider our spc cies as the great household of God, having him only for their in- structor; that those who were obedient should enjoy him forever, but that those who were not should go to their own place. 28 But the divines of the present day, make no pretension to that revelation, which Christ and his apostles thought it necessary for 'hem to have, in order to preach the gospel ; but still they say, that 'hey preach the same gospel. They command their hearers to bring forth the same fruits, which, in the primitive Christians v sprang from a spirit of immediate revelation, and this they say ceased with the first churches. But if this spirit ceased with the apostles, all that peace, joy, long-suffering, gentleness and truth, which so immediately results from it ; must have ceased with it. The same causes must exist to produce the same effects. And how a man can hold up his face, and say that he preaches the same go*pel which Paul did, without the same spirit of revelation, I am unable to -say. If a certain quantity of water will move a wheel at a certain rate per day, a greater or less quantity of water, will alter the rate of the wheel, into a greater or less quantity of motion. Sc must a man's conduct alter, in proportion to the number and efficacy of the causes which affect his mind. Therefore, if the primitive christians had operations on their minds, more immediate and mir- aculous, than people can now have ; or if they had the will of God" revealed more clearly to their minds,' and impressed more powerfully upon them, than it may now be revealed to, and im- pressed upon men's minds ; ministers act just as consistently in requiring the same conduct in their hearers, which they find re- corded in the bible, as they would do in requiring a wheel to move as fast with tlnee feet of water, as it can with six. But all this contradiction is smoothed over in their preaching, with a sin- gle dogma ; and their hearers are taught to solve all their difficul- ties in a single word, called mystery, by which they are ready to challenge the understanding of anv man. Into this inferiour con- dition they say that Adam has thrown them. But with as much truth may they say, that the}' have been drawn into it by a person who shall live a thousand years hence. All these pitiable remains of popery, are yet to be torn up, and laid aside, out of the view of posterity, before we get to that solid bottom, on which is to be erected that temple of truth and peace, whose capacious walls, will embrace the whole human family. My last argument is, that no one, from reading the scriptures, can infer that they constitute the vary will of God. They are merely a collection of words and sentences,' whose meaning is brought to them and affixed to them by the reader himself. So that all the essentia) information supposed to be contained in the 29 scriptures, exists already in the minds of those who read tbera.— • And if so, why can they not attend to it as well in their ovvn minds, as they can after they have affixed it to the scriptures ? To be sure it may assist them in recollecting their information, by giving it a certain form and by expressing it in words. But met- aphysicians would tell us, that this is not the best method even for recollecting our information. A christian carries the precepts of the bible in his mind in the same manner as a mechanick carries the rules, for building a house or a ship, in his mind. The christ- ian knows his precepts none the better, nor the mechanick his rules, for having them written. A preparation to read the bible, undeniably implies a certain measure of knowledge of what it contains. Otherwise, men wonld be in the same predicament, in reading the scriptures, as a ploughman entirely ignorant of mathe- maticks, would be in solving problems in Algebra. And besides the very best labours of the clergy, go in every respect to prove my present position. All their endeavours to spread the scriptures among the ignorant people of our country, as well as among heathen nations, show that these people are in some measure prepared to read them ; and if they are prepared to read them, they are pre- pared to put a meaning to them, and if prepared to put a meaning to tbem, they have that meaning or information already in their minds. So that even the very heathens have a partial revelation of God's will already in their minds. Every thing which is said and done about religion implies a foundation for it already laid. — So that the bible is only one of the means, which serve to carry up the building. The foundation, God himself has laid, and he has laid it in such a manner, that all the efforts of earthly power will never raze it from the human mind. This foundation for understanding the in- formation contained in the scriptures, is what moralists call natural religion, i. e. a partial revelation of the will of God. Says Bishop Butler, " For though natural religion is the foundation and prin- pal part of revelation, it is in no sense the whole oi it." Again, says the same author, " Christianity is only an extension of natural religion." But, if Christianity (by which is usually understood the doctrines contained in the new testament) be only an extension of natural religion, are not people at the present day, even heathens, capable of making this extension ? If we visit different parts of the earth, and peruse the histories of some ancient nations, on this subject, we shall find, that some of those, whom we called heathen, 30 have extended their natural religion to a considerable length, and even quite up to Christianity. The natural religion of Socrates, was extended well up towards Christianity. So was that of Melchis- adeck, and of that Cretian prophet, whose testimony Paul quotes in his epistle to Titus, " One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said " the Cretians are always liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. " This witness is true, says Paul. And what do we wish of any man, more, than to be a witness of the truth as it is in Jesus, or more properly, perhaps, as it was revealed in the mind of Paul ? Several other quotations are made from heathen authors, in the scriptures, which bear as good a testimony of the truth as this. It is, likewise, the opinion of moralists, that natural religion is revealed to the minds of men in a natural way. If this opinion be true, and also that Christianity is merely an extension of it, then the truths of Christianity, are revealed in the same natural way. — So that all the superiority, which the primitime Christians ever held over their heathen neighbours, was barely a greater improve- ment of that natural revelation, which is acknowledged to be com- mon to all mankind. And this opinion appears to gather strength when we reflect that all truth in the sciences of mathematicks, natural philosophy, chemistry, botany, astronomy and metaphys* icks, is revealed to the human mind, in a natural and very pleas- jng way. 1 will just give my opinion of the value of the scriptures, and yesign the subject to better hands. 1 believe that Paul had a pretty right idea of the value of them, when he told Timothy, that they were profitable for doctrine (or discipline, as it may be translated) for reproof, for correction, and instruction in righteousness. To say, that they are the principal source ot doctrine, of reproof, of correction, and of instruction in righteousness, is something which no one believes. It is an honest history of the progress of a revelation to God's children. And the man who says, that he believes every word of the bible to be tiie very word ot God, knows neither what he says nor whereof he affirms. In a word, the bible is a book which serves greatly to strengthen the faith of the lovers of God, as it teaches them that he always was a tender, loving and benevolent Parent, ever ready to answer their petitions. It likewise refers to a state of future rewards and punishments ; not a state, however, intended merely to reward or minish, far what we do here, though the actions 31 here performed may be taken into the account. It affords us a variety of instruction, which is to be found in but few other books ; though the journals of Brainard, Scott, Taylor and Howard are, in my opinion, much more worthy of perusal, and their conduct sxpressiveof much more devotion, and immediate revelation than that of many of the personages mentioned in the eld testament THE CELESTIAL MAGNET, NUMBER IL BY DAVID B. SLACK. u Conscience * * # # * The sly informer minutes every fault. A watchful foe ! the formidable spy, Listening, o'erbears the whispers of our camp : Our dawning purposes of heart explores, And steals our embryos of iniquity. Young's Night Thoughts. N. B. — His in contemplation to publish several subsequent numbers, already in preparation, avaraging about 24 pages each. PROVIDENCE I printed by Miller & Hutchens No. 1, Market- Square, op 8tairj$ 1831. PREFACE. I choose to inform the reader of the following sheets, that the opinions, which some have pretended to entertain of the first part of the Celestial Magnet, are far from giving me the least discouragement in my quest of truth. When pure con- viction wafts the understanding down the peaceful cur- rent of truth; or in scripture metaphor, when the soul is moved along solely by the light of evidence (the only light, says Locke, ever known to the mind*) it can fear no evil. The sentiments, which I have advanced, are by no means new, though every individual may not, without some reflec- tion, recognise them as having often passed his mind. The careful reader, however, will find them, like solitary spires of wheat, amid fields of tares, scattered through the writings of Jews, Gentiles, and Christians. To clear away the rubbish, which has, in some measure, concealed them from the major- ity of people, and to give them a collected form, is all I ever thought of accomplishing. I have, from the commencement of my writing, felt equally as ready, and thought it equally as much a duty and pleasure to acknowledge an error as to publish a truth. I do not offer this type of my sentiments, this mere shadow of what I think, to be the truth, as a rule of faith and action to any man. The Deity has furnished every man with an understanding competent to the investiga- tion of truth, and it would be impious in me to attempt to rob him of the pleasure of exercising that understanding. Nothing but the pure light of evidence, can reveal real truth to the human understanding. And so far am I from wishing any man, to make any of mj writings, a measure of his faith, that had 1 lungs of brass, an iron tongue, and a voice of thunder, \ would say, lean not on man, a mere arm of flesh. To my own master, I must stand or fall. The evidence, which has been let into my mind, upon the truths which I have merely transcribed, is sufficient to convince me, that they are not errors. * Volume 2d. chapter on enthusiasm, section 13, "Light, true light in the mind, is, or can be, nothing else but the evidence of the truth of any proposi- tion. To talk of anv other light in the understanding is to put ourselves in dark- oeis." CELESTIAL MAGNET. Many serious attempts have been made, todevelepe and to illustrate some one universal principle, in which all mankind have been and are found to agree, in which they all have an involuntary belief, and which they all receive as a rule of action. But these attempts have, in general, failed of their object, inasmuch as they have developed no principle of suf- ficient universality to satisfy the minds of all denominations and sects of men. Some parls of the scriptures describe the true principle Thus has a large part of mankind, been troubled and per- plexed, from time immemorial, to find something in every in- dividual of our species, which may justly be regarded as a foundation for divine complacency, and which may render man a candidate for salvation from sin. What stumbles most people, is the wonderful variety and often complete opposi- tion of the opinions, customs, and disciplines, which different ages and nations have and do now receive as sacred, and re- gard as essential to their present happiness and future wel- fare. But the moment man is made to take his proper grade in the scale of being, and to hold his just relation to his God, this long day of dreariness and perplexity to the human mind clears away, and the great luminary of truth pours in, its di- vine rays, to the full satisfaction of every individual. Although man forms the highest link of that vast chain of being, so indicative of infinite wisdom and omnipotent power, he nevertheless possesses many properties, instincts, pas- sions, and performs many actions in common with those an- imals which are inferior to him, in his capacities to im- prove, to enjoy, and to communicate. And so far as man possesses a nature in common with the lower species of ani- mals, just so far does the Deity treat him as a member of the animal race. For if a part of our species be thrown without their consent into such a combination of circumstances and kind of education, that they are without compunction bred up to possess the blind ferocity of the lion, the rapacity of the tiger, or the venom of the asp, they are no more accountable for the possession of this nature, than the lion is for his feroci- ty, the tiger for his rapacity, or the asp for his venom. Such men are as well pleased with their natures, as though they had been as harmless and as pure as those of the highest beings on earth. This idea serves to illustrate that profound saying of Jesus Christ, when he said to the Jews, that such and such practices and dispositions were, by the Deity, permitted to exist for the hardness of their hearts. The Deity permits wars and all other kinds of misery to exist now, for the same reasons and precisely in the same way, among other nations. Could men choose the places of their birth, their instructors, iheir models for imitation, and the opinions to be instilled intotheir minds, and still posess such brutish natures, they might then possibly and even probably be guil'y of great iniquity. But in these respects, they have no more choice, nor is it pos- sible for them to have any more, than in the order and variety of the seasons. All that the Deity requires of men, is to act according to that kind and that measure of knowledge, which they have given them. If they have not advanced beyond the instinc- tive knowledge of the mere animal, if they have not as yet ar- rived to that point of improvement, where moral sentiment be- gins, they are in each of these degrees of knowledge, if they perfectly improve them, as perfect as he who has arriven to the summit of moral perception, and has improved every par- ticle of his knowledge. Or if they never pass the boundary of instinct, but live and die like the lamb or the lion, they will be treated by divine wisdom as subjects of the same famdy. Let no man think, that by these comparisons. I am endeav- ouring to prove that the souls of the lower orders of the hu- man species, are to be annihilated. The whole scope of what I have said goes to prove the reverse. And 1 must have more reasons and stronger reasoning than 1 have ever yet seen, to convince me that the spirits oftbe brute creation are annihilated at the dissolution of their houses of clay. Nor is this a peculiar opinion,* it is one congenial with the tender- ness of the human soul, and is the belief of many christians and philosophers. But it is a matter of fact, as well as a sentiment flowing from our persuasion of the benevolence of ihe Deity, that He treats and provides for the different mental states of the same spe- cies, on the same principle that He does the different states if individuals of different species, i. e. according to their obe- dience or disobedience to that kind and measure of knowl- edge, which He has given them. This principle was recog- nised and most beautifully illustrated by Jesus Christ, in his parable of the talents given to the ten servants. The first was apparently in a state of infancy, just arriving to the ex- ercise of his understanding, and to him was entrusted only one. * It may be found in Bishop Butler's Analogy of Nature. talent. The second had made a farther advancement, which was estimated at two talents, and so on to the tenth, who pro- bably had reached the highest degree of Divine knowledge. The Deity does not treat his creatures according to the merits of those classes and sects into which men have divided themselves, but according to their individual deserts. — - This was the idea of Jesus, when he said to the Jews, M had 1 not come to you, ye should not have sinned, but now ye have no cloak for your sins. Had those jews, to whom, he then spoke, been deprived of his instruction, they would have remained in their old practices without a conviction of their sinfulness, and would have been permitted, by God, to go uncondemned. 1 see no reason, why a variety in the conduct and disposi- tions of the same species, should be any more a matter of won- der, or unaccountableness, than a perfect uniformity would be. For a variety is created by causes equally beyond the con- trol of the individual, and which are equally as much the ap- pointment of the Deity. We should think him very unwise, who should ask why all the animal tribes, were not made of one and the same species. But the same power, which makes one animal a lion, another a tiger, another a lamb, makes one man a Hindoo, another a Chinese, another an Indian, and an- other a Christian, but makes no man a liar, a thief, or a rob- ber, these characters must bear the burthen of their own in- iquities. When Christ taught this doctrine to the narrow, big- otted Jews, he was reviled by them, and they said " this man is a sinner, who can hear him." If the holy Jesus was called a sinful man, for publishing this doctrine, how much more shall I be. But let men throw off their narrow, measured systems of salvation from sin. and come down to the plain, simple truth, or unqestionable matters of fact, and they will find, that this doctrine has a foundation more solid and im- moveable than the mountains. What meaning is there in asking, how the Indian or the Bramin can be saved from his sins ? Perhaps, such has been his oppressed situation and low condition, that he has not yet a rived to the period of understanding, or to a knowledge of good and evil, or is not capable of being governed by any higher rule of action, than is his dog, his cow, or his infant child. There is nothing very repulsive in the idea, that a human being may, through the whole course of a long life, act from mere instinct, like idiots and children. This kind of action as evidently supposes the immediate direction and con- trol of the Deity, as the highest degree of inspiration, and in my mind is much of the same nature. Jesus commanded his 8 disciples to return to the innocence and simplicity of little children, who seem to have nothing but pure feeling to act by, a feeling created by the immediate power of God. But the moment the creature arrives to a knowledge of evil, and has actually committed it, the only way given or known under heaveti to be saved from it, is to confess it, and to turn from it. This is the way, that Christ insisted on as the only true way. And this way is unavoidably known to every one who has committed sin. We read in ancient history of a certain description of hu- man beings (or as some have called them, inhuman beings) denominated cannibals or eaters of human flesh. T his class of beings, at first view, have the appearance of being destitute of the least possible degree of moral perception (that is, a per- ception between good and evil) and it is not impossible, but that this might have been the case, though, in my mind, it is not at all probable. How to dispose of these and the like characters among our numerous species, so as to justify them in any degree, in the sight of Deity, has been a puzzling- chain with many, nearly ever since the good news of Jesus were promulgated in the towns and cities of Judea. But this simple and benevolent principle, viz. that the Deity treats his creatures according to their obedience or disobedience to that kind and measure of knowledge, which He has given them, is broad enough to admit the faithful even among these wild, carniverous infants of our species into a full participation of all that Divine favour, which those experience, who leaving all that's earthly, have entered into the more pure and unsullied kingdom of God. As many of these cannibals as have improv- ed that talent of knowledge, which they have received (no matter through what instruments or manner of education) " are good and faithful servants, and have entered into the joy of their Lord." But the moment that the magnet of Divine truth began to tremble in the breast of any of these seemingly cruel beings, and to stand strongly for the harbour of integrity , justice and mercy, they that moment became answerable and pun- ishable for their iniquities. Those beings most certainly had no more sins to be saved from, than they had actually com- mitted, and were actually sensible of. For a salvation from sin, supposes a conviction of sin. else the brute creation stand in need of salvation as well as men. It must be recollected, that the distinction of species and genera into which the vast chain of beings has been divided, is the work of men ; and that the Deity does not deal with his creatures according to the divisions and subdivisions of men, but individually and according to the good, or bad use, which they have made of that talent, which he has given them. Men do not shorter, the work ol the I)eii\ bj iheir division* and subdivisions of his creatures, however philosophical or ingenious. He acts in reference to none of their doings, but according to his own good will and pleasure. Undoubtedly, many of our day would be almost confounded, should they be informed that something like the cannibalism of which I have been speaking, existed, or was in danger of ex- isting, under all the light of the covenant ol Moses, and of the instruction of the Jewish priesthood. The 27th, 28th, and 29th verses of the twenty-sixth chapter of Leviticus, reads thus — s * And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me ; then will 1 walk contrary unto you also, in my fury, and I, (God,) even I, will chastise }ou seven times for your sins, and ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye oat." li this state of things could exist among individuals of the Jewish nation ; and if these individuals could still be in a salvable state, it should be no kind of marvel, that the same state of things can exist at other periods, and in other parts of the world, upon the same principle. The verses above quoted represent rather a degenerate state of the Israelites, than an uncultivated state : and the degeneracy here implied, is represented as preparing them for this lamentable act ofmUery. Had they been bred up to this conduct, like those animals, which instinct impels to prey upon each other, they would have been* like those carmverous tribes, justified in the mind of Deity. For in the Words of the pious Young, they " Who do the best their circumstance allow, 4 * Do well, act nobly ; angels could no more." But the Jews having departed from their integrity, grew gradually in iniquity, till the misery of their degeneracy was but a just, and an equitable punishment for their wickedness. How insufficient is any one rode of human laws, or even any one thousand, or one million of codes, to reach the men- tal slates and the various degrees of the improvements of the human species. Mm as an individual is continually passing out of one state of existence into another, somewhat new and untried; and if he resigns himself, unreservedly, to the light of evidence, even day, every moment, seems to give hirn a new birth; and like our noble ancestor, Columbus, he, ingen- uous, sing* his jojous Te Deum at his entry into every new world. Not so he who is confined to the circular marches of an idolised theory : his faculties seem rather to wither and de- cay at every step, aud far from progressing, they ignobly and selfishly remain in the womb of everlasting immaturity .^ Who, but Thou, O mighty God, art able to govern, to reward, and to punish (his vast chain of being, which from Thee began. It has been an inexplicable mystery with many, how man can be capable of inheriting, receiving, or contracting such a state of mind, as to punish, torture and even to slay his fellow- men and himself, and still feel justified and innocent in his doings. But perhaps, to these very persons, it is no myste- ry, how animals of a lower order, impelled by an instinct from God, can prey upon each other, or how a man can lose his- sight, and in consequence of it fail from a precipice, and end his existence, or how the Deity Can send a pestilence, a fam» ine, or an earthquake, and destroy thousands of beings at once. The truth of the matter is, that men try to solve these things upon a wrong principle, and get perplexed and bewildered like the young arithmetician, who attempts to divide his shil- lings to get them into pence. Men grow up like trees, according to the soil in which they are planted ; they differ in colour, in features and in stature ; and in most of the opinions, and sentiments, which they imbibe, they have no more choice and agency, than they have in the growth of their bodies, or in the proportion and consistency of their features. The Hindoo walks up to the flames of death with the same composure, and from the same principle, that he walks up to the table of refreshment. The Chinese puts the fatal knife to the neck of his aged sire, with the same composure, and from the ^ame principle, that he puts the foot of his infant into an iron shoe, or bathes himself in the re- freshing river. The Christian warriour who is sincere, marches up in the front of death, and sheathes his bayonet in the bosom of his brother, with the same composure, and from the same principle, that he seats himself at the table of his Lord. All happy, all without a compunction. O mysterious Deity, how unbounded is. thy mercy, how marvellous is thy wisdom. O may I ever receive the rod from thy hand, with as much love as 1 do thy greatest blessings. It appears to matter not what our natures are, provided they are innocent, happy, and the gifts of God. On the principle, that mer are dealt with according to their obedience, or disobedience to that kind and measure of knowledge, which they possess, and on no other principle, can the covenant, the conduct, and the dispositions of Moses and the Israelites, be justified and regarded as divine. This system of religious policy, and its subjects have been the common mark, at which the shafts of malignant and shallow philosophy, have for ages, been hurled. No doubt, but that n in many respects, it was a bloody system, but no more so than many now in existence. It was the best that Moses and the Israelites were capable of receiving, and consequently, was founded upon philosophical and divine principles. But stiil the person, who reads many of the laus and commands of the old covenant, however divine in their origin, will be ready to say that the new and better covenant, of which Jesus Christ was the mediator, was seasonably introduced. This covenant, (instead of binding whole nations, like the former, which was but a shadow of the new) binds every individual immediately to his God, makes him a king over the province of his own heart, and a priest to get his knowledge immediately from his God. It is not in writing. But according to that palpable and unwarranted assump- tion of many Calvinists, " that the Deity judges all mankind by the same identical rule,"* which some of our species never knew, and many never were capable of knowing, the whole system of Moses, must be considered as impious. No wonder that they tremble so much at infidelity, when the brittle, silken thread upon which they hang, is of their own spinning, and perhaps will break of itself, even under the soundest slumbers of infidelity* How can the Calvinist reconcile with his scholas- tick rule of salvation, this statuie which Moses delivered in the name of Go J. Levit. chap. xxi. 9(b. verse. '* And the daughter of any pile st. if she profane herself by playing; the harlot, she profanetk her father : she shall be burnt with fir eS** A funeral pile prepared for the daughter of a clergyman, or a layman, would at this day, let her be ever so great a prostitute, be in- supportable. The dullest sympathies of the pirate, would be so roused at such a spectacle, that he would involuntarily drag the victim trom the angry flames. That this Mosaic statute was of divine authority, 1 have no doubt, but it originated in a time, and was applicable to a people, which do not now exist, in Christendom, though they may in other parts of the world. A class of men called Christians, long ago threw off the burdensome garb of the Mosaic covenant, as they did their woollen garments ai the arrival of the vernal season, and left nothing remaining, but that divine principle of truth, which convinces every man of his sins and justifies him in his integ- rity. John the Baptist planted the seeds of righteousness, Jesus of Nazereth watered and nurtured the scions, and his disciples prepared them for the garner of God Thus, step after step, one dispensation preparing for another, did hu- man forms, and rules, and disciplines recede, till the subjects * I mean the bible. 12 of the gospel triumphantly sang "the kingdom of God is truly come on eartn." But soon the scene changed ; the veil of sVloses began again gradually to be let down, and form after form, rule after rule, and creed after creed, was gradu- ally enforced ; the slumber of- death soon commenced ; chains of slavery Were forged amid the general slumber, and men shrouded in a lethargy, fatal to their improvement, knew hut little of their condition till Fenelon, Molinos and Fox announc- ed again the rising of the sun of righteousness. In my father's house, said the Divine Jesus, are many man- sions : had it not been so 1 would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you i. e. by my going away, your de- pendance on my personal instruction will be cut off, and placed on God, who alone can admit you into his kingdom. In other places, it is said that the heart of man is the house or temple of God. consequently, by many mansions, he must have meant that there were many different states of the human soul equally acceptable to the divine being, and that by his goin^ away their acceptability would be perfected. God is represented as coming into this world in the form of a servant, but this must be a fieure, for where could He come from? Is He any more present in any other world, than in this? He comes in the form of a servant to every heart that will hear, and receive what he brings, viz : a robe of righteousness. By the phrase, coming, &c. nothing more could have been meant, than a new perception of his power in consequence of the abolition of the veil of prejudice in the human mind. The kingdom of God is represented as being withm those, who obey him in heart. These scriptures clearly show the dif- ference between the Christian's heaven and the Mahometan's, which is a place of locality, and consequently at a certain dis- tance, and in a certain direction from the earth. But to con- clude ; let no man think, that God will justify him in his sins: No, Pe commands all who know what sin is, to flee from it a6 from a deadly thing. He never will let the ftithful go unre- warded, nor the guilty escape the punishment of their iniqui- ,4ie&. mm? the CELESTIAL MAGNET, Dumber m, JSY DAVID F. SLACK* Proud men, suppress your scorn, forget my youth, Weigh well my reasons, and then judge their truth j If these you find scholastick, or unsound. Point out their weakness, and I'll yield the ground, PROVIDENCE I Printed by Miller & Hutchens, No. 1, Market- Square, up stairs, 1821. \ PREFACE. 1 have chosen the celebrated John Locke to preface this number of the Magnet. Speaking of a particular class of men whose understandings had been cast into a mould and fashioned just to the size of a received hypothesis, he makes the following admirable remarks. " Would it not be an in- sufferable thing for a learned professor, and that which his scarlet would blush at, to have his authority of forty years standing, wrought out of hard Greek and Latin, with no small expense of time and candle, and confirmed by general tradi- tion and a reverend beard, in an instant overturned by an upstart novelist ! Can any one expect that ne should be made to confess, that what he taught his scholars forty years ago was all error and mistake ; and that he sold them hard words and ignorance at a very dear rate ? What probabilities I say, are sufficient to prevail in such a case. And who ever, by the most cogent arguments, will be prevailed with, to disrobe himself at once of all his old opinions and pretences to knowl- edge and learning, which, with hard study, he hath been la- bouring for, and turn himself out stark naked in quest of fresh or new notions ? All the arguments that can be used, will be as little able to prevail, as the wind did with the traveller to p3rt with his cloak, which he held only the faster." " Earthly minds, like mud walls, resist the strongest batte- ries ; and though, perhaps, sometimes the force of a clear ar- gument may make some impression, yet they nevertheless stand firm, and keep out the enemy truth, that would captivate or disturb them." To the above, I shall make no addition. INTRODUCTION. As the subsequent dissertation is rather intended to expose the .aise opinions of others than to establish a new system, some candid persons may think, that it does away all their religion, and that they have nothing in it offered them, as a rule of faith and duty. But if such is the nature of your re- ligion, whoever you are, that it can be done away by the power of human invention and reason, the sooner you realize its destruction the better and the safer it will be for you. If you harbour such fearful apprehensions as these, is it not a clear indication, that you look not for the kingdom of heaven where only it is to be found ; that is, in your own hearts, the true and only temple and throne of Almighty God. And if you are looking for any other kingdom of God than that with- in you, your hopes and fears are of your own fabrication, and will assuredly fail you. But if, in scripture metaphor, you suffer your old heaven and earth to be done away, and regard the kingdom of God as a grain of mustard seed placed in the heart of man (however unfashionable this glorious kingdom may appear, thus re- duced) you are on that rock, where the frightful surges of calumny and falsehood may beat, but cannot remove you. — On the other hand, if the temple of your hearts is not so far swept of its wickedness, fraud, injustice and deceit, and gar- nished with confession, restitution and repentance, as to ad- mit that little seed of divine power and counsel, called con- science, to discharge its office, unimpeded by your obstinacy and self-importance, you have closed the door of God's kingdom against yourselves. 1 believe that all our knowledge of the Deity and of religion amounts in the commencement of it to no more than this, there is a powerful something in the human mind which makes a distinction among our thoughts, affections and actions, into what is called right and wrong. This powerful something which makes this distinction is no less and no other, than the God whom all men obey or disobey, by whom all men are tor- mented or made happy, a power over which we have no con- trol. We have power to remember or not to remember, to rea- son or not to reason, to reflect or not to reflect. But in spite of all our power, we are convicted if we do some things, and approved if we do others. Some attribute these convictions and approbations to conscience, by which, they say, they mean no more than a faculty of the mind. But if conscience is no more than a capacity of the mind, and at the same time the origin of conviction and approbation, why have not men power to use and govern this capacity, to convict and approve themselves at their pleasure ? Nothing is more evident, than that, when men speak of the stings, the convictions, and the ap- probations of conscience, they include in this term, besides a capacity of the mind, an omnipotent, omnipresent, uncon- trolable power, which is as distinct from the mind as light is from the eye, and which, by acting upon a capacity of the mind, produces the sense of right and wrong, in like manner as the light of the sun, acting upon the eye, produces the phe- nomena of vision ; whence the foundation and propriety of that figurative expression in scripture, *" God is light." To confirm and more clearly illustrate w r hat I have already said upon this important subject, 1 am happy in being able to bring the testimony of one of the most profoundly erudite and apostolic men that ever lived, the Abbe Fenelon. Says this truly divine personage, in enumerating the self evident propo- sitions of religion (Guyon, vol. 2.) " it is easy to perceive that our feeble reason is continually set to rights by another superior reason, which we consult within ourselves, and which corrects us. This reason we cannot change, because it is immutable ; but it changes us, because we have need of it. All consult this, every where. It answers in China as in France and America. It does not divide itself in communi- cating itself. The light it gives me takes nothing from those who were before filled with it. It communicates itself, at all times, immeasurably, and is never exhausted. It is the Sun, which enlightens minds, as the outward sun does bodies. This light is eternal and immense. It comprehends all time as well as all space. It is not myself* it reproves and cor- rects me, against my will. It is then above me, and above all weak and imperfect men as I am. This supreme reason, which is the rule of mine, this wisdom from which every wise man receives his, this supreme spring of light is the God whom we seek." This admirable illustration of the rule of life, from the mas- terly pen of Fenelon, is worthy of the most candid and scru- pulous attention. It at once gives a line by. which to deci pher the mystical and hyperbolical phraseology of scripture. and an imperishable rule to measure every sentiment and opinion, which has ever been spoken or written by man. This divine principle being all that we feel and know of the Deity, we may safely pronounce ail other opinions and conjectures, the visionary fondlings of a vain and idle curios- ity. For since all our knowledge of matter is confined to its qualities, and of mind 10 its actual effects, how can we move one step in safety from our actual experience of the operation of this su-preme reason, without substituting conjecture for true knowledge. How idle and impertinent do all those reasonings, or rather wranglings appear, which have been employed to determine, when or how the earth and the planets were created, or whether they were created at all : as though by admitting or proving the creation of the universe, we could obtain a bet- ter comprehension of the nature of the Deity. All that is required of man, is to acquaint himself with, and to believe what does actually exist ; and to obey no other power, than that which actually torments him if he disobeys, and rewards his obedience with felicity. Those gods and deities, whose existence men prove, by a course of reasoning, and whose be- ing is doubtful or probable according to the number ©f the testimonies and the nature of the evidence upon which they found their conclusions, or the fertility and vivacity of his genius who manages the evidences, are such brittle and deli- cate creatures as to require the vigilance of an empire of Priests to keep them in any tolerable shape and consistency. They have no resemblance to that God, whose throne is the heart of man ; and consequently those who serve them being like unto them, have no resemblance to the true God. it is by following the counsel of that supreme reason alone, which anchored the soul of the Abbe Fenelon, that man can receive the impress of the Deity, or be qualified to discharge his minutest duties. Under the conduct of this principle, water baptisms, the washing of feet, sprinklings, traditionary suppers, tritheism, and sanguinary atonements, will appear but the melancholy vestiges of the Romish harlot. And though the time was, when some of these traditions were the badges of apostolic purity and simplicity ; yet when they are used by those, who deny the power, the efficiency and the en- tire guidance of that supreme reason, obedience to which constituted the worth and essence of the apostolic life, they become signs, more ridiculous and melancholy, than those of the merchant, whose extravagance and dissipation has ruined his fortune, drained his stores and left him nothing to distin- guish him from the beggar or the vagabond, but his signs and advertisements. CELESTIAL MAGNET. When articles of religion are proposed to our consideration, it is very desirable to know the precise reasons on which they are founded. For the pleasure we take in the contemplation of such articles, must ever consist in the full understanding of them. The reasons, by virtue of which, the Christian Church has for the space of seventeen hundred years, called certain books and epistles of the Bible, the New Testament, are to me wholly unknown, and consequently, this article of religion is, to me, rather the occasion of disgust, than of pleasure. For neither the persons who composed those writings, the nature of the writings themselves, nor any thing which they contain, afford us the least idea, that they were intended for any thing like a testament or covenant.* If those writings had been designed for a testament, why were they not put in the form, of one ? Why do we not see some one person standing forth, as the mediator of this covenant ; the people acknowledging its validity, and the Deity swearing by himself, to keep it from generation to generation ? All this should have been done, had those writings so denominated been a real testament. But so far are those writings from exhibiting anything of this kind, that they explicitly and unequivocally condemn the very act (viz. an oath) by which written covenants could, among the fsraelites. be rendered valid. It is true, that the scriptures speak of a new testament in a very unequivocal manner. But where do they intimate that they., or any part of them, are designed for such a purpose ? Now, as it must be evident to the mind of every considerate person, that those writings styled the new testament, bear no such character, it is incumbent on us to show from scripture * It may be proper to apprise the reader that these two terms, testament i and covenant, are used in a synonymous sense, for in the original Greek, the word which is sometimes translated testament, and at others, covenant, is the same, viz. Dialhekb. In the Evangelists, this word is translated testament % and in the eighth chapter of Hebrews, covenant, which clearly shows the lurk- ing prejudice of the translators.. 10 and experience, what is the true nature of that, which the scriptures style the new testament or covenant. In the thirty-first chapter of the prophet Jeremiah, we have so complete and unequivocal a definition of it, that it seems almost incredible that the Christian Church should have been so grossly mistaken about the nature of it. The prophet com- mences in this very explicit manner : " I will make a new cov- enant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah r y not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers, in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt ; because they continued not in ny cove- nant, and 1 regarded them not, saith the Lord. , For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord -, I will put my law in their hearts and write it in their minds. And I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, saying, know ye the Lord, for all shaH know him, from the least of them to the greatest." Now can any man be so wofully deluded, as to suppose that those writings styled the new testament, answer in any manner to this definition of the prophet ! Mark, that it was not to be according to the old one, which was in writing ; bu£ this is to be its nature, its glory and its advantage ; that it is to be imprinted immediately on the heart, and in the mind. This is the idea that Paul had of the new testament. In the eighth chapter of Hebrews he quotes the whole definition of the prophet, word for word, and then adds, u In that he saith a new covenant he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxelh .old is ready to vanish away." Paul here quotes this definition of the prophet to shew the Hebrews that the old testament of Moses, with all its appendages, must be entirely abolished, before the new one could come into full operation, with all its advantages. According to the sense of these two scripture writers, the new testament stood not merely in opposition to what are call- ed the ceremonials of the law of Moses, to a particular order of priests, and a few other trifling things, which, christian de- nominations have omitted, but to the whole written covenant of Moses. The main beauty, utility and Mm of the new cov- enant was to consist in its entire freedom from the words, the "writings and the definitions of men. This being its nature, it places all mankind equally in a condition to obtain a knowledge of God. Its whole scope and tendency is to draw the attention of men away from all written laws and creeds, and to fix it on that law which has been ob- S. 11 soured, perverted, and almost buried under an insupportable load of statutes, ceremonies and prescriptions. it was for the introduction and establishment of this testa- ment, that Christ endured such contradiction of sinners, and not (as the church has so long erroneously held) to introduce and establish certain books, which were written, some ten, some twenty, and some sixty years after his death. For if the four histories of Christ, the acts of the apostles, the epis- tles, and the apocalypse, constitute the real new testament, in what sense can it be called betUr than the old one ? Or how does it throw down the middle wall of partition between the Jew and Gentile ? How does it do away the difference be- tween the learned and the unlearned, the bond and the free, the rich and the poor 1 If the JNew Testament be in writing, the bond, the unlearned, and the gentile, find in it the same insuperable wall of distinction, as they did in the old one. They find the same necessity for education, for translators, interpreters and priests, as in the days of Moses and Aaron. The unlearned must still remain a slave, a dupe, and a listen- er to the learned. The poverty of the poor still constitutes an insuperable barri-er to his acquiring education enough to read the Bible. He must still hang upon the tongue, the caprice and the hypocrisy of a particular order of men, educated, dis- ciplined, and shaped in every respect to a particular creed. But according to the definition of Paul and Jeremiah, the basis of the new testament is so broad, that no combination of circumstance*, however fraught with poverty, wretchedness or distress, can place a single individual of our species, be-. yond its saving influence. Of this testament Chiist was to be the Mediator. But if those writings before mentioned are the new testament, there must have been no less than eight mediators ; for they were written by no less than eight different persons, two of whom never had the least personal acquaintance with Christ. Those writings are, at best, but a very brief history of some of the most important events, which transpired during the introduc- tion, of the new testament. And the moment they were col- lected, and proposed as a rule of faith and manners, the new testament, as defined by the prophet, and as confirmed and introduced by Christ, began to lose its influence, and to be buried again under a load of written laws, rules, and articles of faith. And the whole ahurch gradually fell into the adop- tion of that strange and unnatural medley of Judaism and Christianity, which has ever since been a stumbling block t<5 mankind. 12 Prom the nature of the new testament, and from the ideas Which the prophet had of it, it is very probable, that many attempts were made to establish it, before the time of John and Christ; and that the innocent blood, the shedding of which was to be laid to the charge of the Jews, was a testi- mony of the holy endeavours, made to abolish the burdensome and oppressive system of Moses. But it is no marvel, that the old testament stood unshaken for such a length of time, when we consider the amazing weight of authority, which its priests must have gained, over the minds of the people, and the still greater difficulty of disengaging their minds from those trifling ordinances, when once inured to them, by the force of habit, and the almost indelible marks of early edu- cation. But although the abolition of such a system (more oppressive than popery) required the greatest prudence, the profoundest wisdom, and the most unabating magnanimity, the prophet Jeremiah saw that mankind could never be per- fect, and that universal benevolence could never be exercised so long as they continued to be governed by written laws. The old testament he saw was but a very imperfect transcript of the pure and imperishable law of nature,* For although Moses, its mediator, inculcated the great law of love, yet many of his laws were in direct opposition to it And there- fore, when Christ said, he came not to destroy the law-, but to fulfil it, he must have reierred to the great law of love. For he extracted several laws from the covenant of Moses, and condemned them, as not being true or not perfect from the beginning, though the Deity (to leave entire the agency and accountability of man) had hitherto permitted them to exist. The whole conduct of Christ, together with the manner in which he treated many of the laws of Moses, clearly evince, that he meant not to do away those law r s only, which stand condemned in the histories of the evangelists ; but that he was equally averse to the whole covenant ; as it not only obscured the law upon the heart, but made religion a mere theological grocery, in which the number, the hypocrisy and the extor- tion of its retailers, became a heavier burden, than mankind were able to bear. It may not be improper to enumerate some of those laws, which made a very considerable part of the old testament, but which Christ condemned as inconsistent with the welfare of man. In the fifth chapter of Matthew he says : " Again ye have heard that it hath been said, by them of old time, thou * By the Law of Nature, I mean the law of pure, uncontaminated nature, or the law of God. 13 shalt not forswear thyself, but shait perform unlo the Lord thine oaths. But I sa) unto you, swear not at all, neither by heaven, for it is God's throne, &c." Here then was a bold attack, upon one of the most important laws contained in the civil policy of the Jews. For such was the authority of an oath, among the people of that nation, that no written instru- ment could be of force without its sanction. Another law, which Christ condemned, was the enforce- ment of the law of revenge, which was a prominent feature in the character of all the writers of the first part of the Bible. " Ye have heard that it hath been said, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, but I say unto you, resist not evil, but whomever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also." Again he says : 4< Ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, love thy neighbour and hate thine enemy.* But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them who curse you, do good to them who hate you, and pray for them who despitefully use you and persecute you." This opposition of Christ to these several laws of Moses, serves to show in a very plain and satisfactory manner, that however divine the origin of this covenant, and however well adapted to the age in which it was promulgated, it was too confining and oppressive for an age of greater light. As ) further illustration of Christ's persuasion of the im- perfection of the rules of the old testament, we may remark his uniform and unconquerable aversion to an established or- der of priests. To confine the office of instruction to a par- ticular order of men, to particular places and occasions, was in his view a great imposition, and piece of slavery. In con- tempt of it, he commenced a method of preaching, every way suited ro the i nprovement, the character, and the condition of his age He took upon him, none of their vows, ordinances, or ceremonies ; but still claimed the full authority of a pjpricher sent from God. No wonder that this noble personage had not where to lay his head in safety, while he so- boldly asserted the original prerogatives, and the primeval liberty of man. The doc- trine that the Deity was the only true, infallible and compe- tent legislator for his rational children ; that the human heart was the only adequate and imperishable table, on which he could inscribe his laws ; that an impartial attention to these inward laws, would enable every one, so to learn his duty as not to be dependant upon the capricious instruction of his neighbour ; that national policy, and every modification of it, * These laws that were condemned by Christ, may be found in the book of Leviticus, with a •* thus saith the Lord." 14 was only a perverted, partial transcript, an imperfect shadow or type of the pure law of nature; and that written creeds and ceremonies, and ordinances, only tended to abridge and impair the pure law on the mind — struck too fatal a blow at the interest, the ambition, and the pride of the Jewish clergy, not to induce a return of their revenge. Agreeably to the spirit and genius of this doctrine, we behold him in every place, and on every occasion, regulating his conduct. As another instance in which he showed the unequal na- ture of the laws of Moses. J will relate the following, from the second chapter of Mark. " And it came to pass, that he went through the cornfields on the Sabbath day ; and his disciples, as they went, began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. And the Pharisees said unto him, why do thy disciples on the Sabbath day, that which is not lawful ?" In reply to his hyp- ocritical accusers, he showed them that man was not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath, like all other days, for the conveniency of man. This conduct of Christ and his disci- ples is a fair and indubitable example, wherein a written law of Moses abridged the law of natuie, whose authority, when felt, must never be sacrificed to the limitations and imagina- tions of men. So incapable of definition is the pure law of nature, or the will of God, by the human understanding, that men must ever despair of furnishing the world with a written code of laws, which shall not impair the true liberty and strict equality of the human race. As the last instance in which Christ disapproved of the covenant laws of Moses, I shall repeat a few verses from the 8th chapter of John. " And the Scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman, taken in adultery, in the very act. And when they had set her in the midst, they said unto him, Mas- ter, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded, that such should be stoned : but what sayest thou ? This they said tempting him, that they might have wherewith to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down and with his finger wrote upon the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said, he that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it being convicted by their own Consciences, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last ; and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Je- sus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, woman, where are those thine accusers ? hath no man condemned thee ? She said, no man, Lord. And Je- 15 sus said unto her, neither do I condemn thee : go, and sin no more." So far was Christ, in this instance, from complying with the rigid law of Moses, that he was the first to excuse a trans- gression of it. And notwithstanding the amazing authority, which the laws of Moses had among the Scribes and Phari- sees, the inward law here arose in such power, that they were unable to suppress its convictions; or, according to the words of scripture, '* they were convicted by their own con- sciences." Christ saw, and perhaps explained to them, the unreasonableness and great inequality of this law. as also the gross inhumanity of bruising this woman to death for commit- ting a deed, which many or all of them might have been guilty of, though they might not have had the misfortune to be detected. They must likewise have seen that bare detec- tion, would be the sole occasion of her unhappy fate. How much more of the old testament Christ condemned as it was proposed to him by the Scribes and Pharisees, we are unable to say. But if, as he says, his blood was the blood of the new testament, and he had the same idea ot the new- testament as is expressed by the prophet Jeremiah, he ac- complished, what Paul says of him, viz. he took away the first testament, that he might establish the second or the new one. From these quotations, which I have made from the four histories of Christ, it must, I think, be evident to the mind of every candid reader, that he thought the whole system of Moses had now become an evil to the human species. And as he never offered any system of government to the world, nor gave the least intimation, as we know of, that a perfect, or even a profitable one could be prescribed in writing, we must conclude that Christ thought men had much better follow that system of legislation, which eternal wisdom and goodness has imprinted on the heart. He did tfot, as some perhaps would contend, endeavour to bring this new covenant into operation, barely because it was predicted by some one before him, but because it is a mat- ter of eternal right, and its nature and tendency is to produce the greatest sum of happiness. It is a dispensation, which needs not be enforced upon mankind by dint of authority. It discovers at once the greatest reason, propriety and utility, by placing every individual in a condition of knowing his duty in a much more perfect manner, than he could be placed in by all the invention, the learning, and wealth, of Christen- dom. To be satisfied of this, we need only look into the books of human legislation, and taere behold how wofully the 16 pure law of nature has been mangled, abridged and obscured by the busy invention of ambitious men. The new covenant of which the prophet spoke is as inca- pable of definition, as the beauties of nature are of just and accurate description. And the real difference between the new covenant and the old, is no less than that between real- ity and mere description, which only touches here and there a beauty without giving a view of the whole scene. The rewards and punishments annexed to the new covenant, or pure law of nature, are as well fitted to encourage mankind in virtue and to restrain them from vice, as the beauties and deformities of nature are to inspire them with emotions of pleasure or disgust. And since national policy and every modification of it, is only a partial transcript of the pure law or light of nature, would it not be much the safest way for mankind to follow the pure original ? By doing which they would be able to exemplify, by actual experiment, what they now endeavour to produce by force, fine, imprisonment and death. That savage violence, which is made the present defence of na- tions and the wretched guardian of private property and civil privileges, is but the miserable offspring of avarice, ambition and pride. It is an enemy to every virtuous principle of the human heart. Its tendency is to degrade mankind and to keep them from the attainment of that perfection which heaven has designed for the completion of their happiness. What are the systems of national policy n@w in existence, "but a kind of half-way mimickry of that inward and imperish- able law, which binds men together, and instinctively impels them to discharge offices of humanity and love to each other.*" .But to return : VVe have seen, by what has been said, the true estimate which Jesus Christ put upon the systems, which were current in his day ; and the firm persuasion which he had in the propriety, the utility, and the importance of the universal introduction of the new covenant, as defined by Jeremiah and Paul. As a further specimen of the incalculable benefits, which Paul conceived the establishment of the new testament to have, we may review his own words. In the eighth chap- ter of Hebrews, he says, " For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place should have been sought for the sec- one?." And then quoting what Jeremiah says of the new covenant, begins to reason with the Hebrews upon it, as * Although such, in my view, is the character of most, or all of the present codes of law; .yet the present condition of mankind will not admit of their being hastily dispensed with. Positive icnocen'ce and purity 01 soul can alone supply their place. 17 tho* he understood, that its operations commenced with the ministry of Christ ; and that while they, the Hebrews, held to the veil of the old testament, and regulated their conduct by that, they could not expect the new one to have any salu- tary effect. He considered the old testament a thick veil, which prevented the Jews from taking a just and accurate view of the new one. But enough has been brought from the Bible to show, that Jeremiah, Christ and Paul, considered the old testament, but a very imperfect type of the new one, for the introduction and establishment of which there was shed such a sea of innocent blood j and that they all considered the new testament, to be a dispensation, in which men were to turn their whole atten* tion to the convictions and approbations of the inward law. We see none ot Christ's disciples holding up the history of Matthew or Mark, as a part of the new testament, com- manding people every where to believe in that, as the true word of God ; none of them spreading abroad and translat- ing the epistles of Paul and Peter with a zeal indicating that mankind were going to perish without them, none saying, ye must believe in the acts of the apostles, that your sins may be forgiven you. But all this should have been said, if we are to take their writings for the new testament. Those who say that the old testament is a type of those writings, which at present pass under the name of the new testament, use a phraseology no less absurd, than the person who should say that one man was the type of another, or that the book of Genesis was a figure of the book of Matthew, or that the de- scription of Solomon's temple was the temple itself. But notwithstanding this veil of deception has been fasten- ed upon the mind of the church visible, for such a length of time, it must be evident, that the conduct and doctrines of Christ and his apostles, were a complete verification of that period, which the prophet Jeremiah disclosed as the consum- mation of earthly happiness. If the other disciples were of like mind with Paul, the question seems to be placed beyond a doubt, that they all believed the prophecy of Jeremiah to be then fulfilling under the power which attended their min- istry. And besides, if the old testament began to wax so old in the days of Paul, as to be ready to vanish, by the in- troduction of the new one, those who revived the authority of the former after the days of the first apostles, must have fallen into a gross error. For as long as the old testament continued in existence, it undoubtedly would prevent the benign influence and saving effects of the new one. For my own part I am able to gee but very little difference 18 between the Christian who takes the bible for the rule of hi^ life, and the Jew, though the latter appears the more consis- tent, inasmuch as he acknowledges the full authority of every part of the old testament, while the Christian neither ac- knowledges the full authority of the old, nor the reality of the new, as it was understood by the prophet, by Jesus Christ and his immediate disciples. The method of educating, set- tling and paying priests, is nearly the same, as under the dis- pensation of Moses and Aaron. Those writings denominated the new testament, are so far from supplanting the old testa- ment writings, that they are only made an addition to them ; in the same manner as the books of Job, Daniel and Jonah are added. So that, according to the popular idea of the new testament, it is just the reverse of what the prophet Jere- miah defined it to be. For according to the popular idea of ft, God has made it, in almost every respect according to the covenant, which he made with the Israelites, when he led them out of the land of Egypt. Instead of writing his law in the heart, as he promised to do. he has again written it on paper in the form of biographies and epistles ; and instead of that equality of condition, wherein no one should teach his neighbour, we find the world burthened with a set of men r whose whole employment it is to instruct others in their duty to God and their fellow men. Now, I have no hesitancy in saying, that the popular idea of the new testament is completely the opposite of what the scriptures testify respecting it. Instead of following the great principle of truth, or that convicting and approving power, which is manifest in the heart of every human being, most Christian denominations are idolizing a book, the authority of which was once done away, but has been revived by the intrigue of blind, enthusiastic councils. When people measure the prosperity of religion by an un- common multiplication of priests, by a growing fondness for embodying wealth, grandeur and magnificence in buildings for stated worship, or by a violent attachment to a particular book, or any other work of men's hands, they manifest a rapid re- turn toward that melancholy goal of Judasism at which the ©rder of Aaron had arrived, when Christ announced the com- mencement of ihe new testament : and told the Jews to throw off their shadows, and to embrace the substance. But as the Jews clung to their temple and its ceremonies, the building and establishment of which were dictated by inspiration, so do men cling to the scriptures, the building or composing of which was' in part also the effect of inspiration. When that monument of inspiration became an idol, it was destroyed, and 1S> its votaries dispersed. In like manner may God annihilate that impious attachment, which men hold, or pretend to hold for the scriptures. Are not those, who hold themselves in ex- pectation of a period, when every one shall be able to know his duty without the assistance of his fellow, evidently stand- ing in their own light, while they are unwilling to let go the veil of the old testament, which keeps them from the realiza- tion of that happy period ? Those who are wishing and praying for the universal spread •f the gospel, but still keep on spreading books, which have once been fulfilled, or which were written for the instruction, and edification of a former age, without the least reference to the present, appear to be very much in the condition of ad- venturers, who after reaching the shore should expect to get on land without leaving the old leaky vessel in which they had been induced to embark and to endure every species of hardships by the imaginary rewards of blind, unskilful com- manders. Notwithstanding all its inconveniences, they have become so inured to the old bark, they think themselves un- able to dispense with it even upon a land of perfect safety. Perhaps some may be in doubt about the manner of writing this law upon the heart, or rather what is meant by writing it. It is the opinion of many, that it is to be accomplished by giving all mankind a thorough acquaintance with the scriptures. But God says / will write this law upon their heart. He dont say the priests shall write it (in their head.) This their opin- ion is completely the reverse of what Paul has expressed upon the subject, and what would appear the most expeditious and the safest way from the nature of the subject. When the Prophet Jeremiah spoke of a law, that should be written in men's minds, he could not have meant that this law was not already in the mind ; but by the writing of it, he must have meant such a recognition of it, such an attention and obedience to it, as would enable them clearly to see its divine origin, the perfect safety of trusting to its authority, and the inesti- mable rewards of keeping it. But while men are guided by the obscure meaning, or fanciful interpretations of the written laws of Moses, and of the local and temporary writings of the first apostles, their attention must be drawn away from that inward law, and consequently its effect upon their conduct must be exceedingly partial. The removal of those written laws and those burdensome ordinances, which men have so long idolized, will give their minds the same advantage in perceiving the reality and vhe efficiency of Nature's laws as the rending of the veil which 20 concealed " the holy of holies," gave the eye of the Israel- ite in examining its consecrated furniture. The attention being turned from the mere transcript of Nature's laws, the mind will thereby be prepared to catch their dictates living as they rise. Attention, says the great Robert Boyle, is to the mind, what a magnifying glass is to the eye- If this idea be true, how wonderfully intelligible will be the inward law, when men shall pay so much attention to it as to detect every mote, which may obscure its glorious light. In the scriptures we see much of the pure law of Nature put into propositions and conclusions, and these propositions and conclusions are re- ceived, or rejected according as they are found to agree or disagree with what men have seen and experienced of the in- ward law of God. So that Nature's inward law becomes a judge and a standard by which men unavoidably pronounce every verbal and written proposition true, or false. This is so obvious a matter of fact, that there can be no question about it. If the contents of the scripture are above reason and com- mon experience, how comes it to pass that all the religious denominations, without exception, are continually reasoning about them, as though they saw every step of reasoning upon which, the different conclusions are founded ? Do not men assent to and embrace the propositions of Paul, from the same evidence, that he received them upon ? And does not this evidence belong in nature to these propositions — as much as the evidence of any proposition, in Euclid, belongs to that proposition ? Did Euclid have any more evidence of, or any stronger faith in the truth of his propositions, than men now have. But men employ the same faculties of mind in demon- strating the various propositions of Paul, that they do in de- monstrating the propositions of Euclid. What do men mean by what they call the study of theology, or the ransacking of ancient history, if it be not to reflect as they think, meaning, or light upon the words of the scriptures ! "Why do men spend so much time in deciphering from the re- " i. e. among the Grecians, for Luke Wrote in Greek, and addressed his account to Theophi- Jus, a man bearing a Grecian name. But if the Grecians and Hebrews had even then been of one mind about the char- acter of Jesus, one honest history would have been sufficient. The very reason, therefore, of their having been so many histories written, seems to have been a diversity of opinions about some parts of the subject of their writing. But the plain truth of- the matter seems to be about as follows : The Hebrews who were the countrymen and acquaintances of Jesus, believed him to be the natural son of Joseph and Mary. But as their religion began to advance towards the west among the Grecians and Romans, who were full of credulity and wonderfully given to the habit of making their heroes and great ones, the descendants and progeny of the gods, Jesus of Nazareth, was gradually, and, perhaps, innocently, transform- ed into a God. When Jesus had become so far analogous to the Grecian deities, as to be enrolled among their number, his doctrine would go down with all imaginable ease; and would soon multiply advocates to an uncommon degree. With. this set out, the Roman and Grecian converts soon become the finest numerous, and consequently engrossed full power to transmit to posterity whatever accounts best suited the philos* 2^ ophy of their age. The histories ascribed to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were selected, and the rest thrown aside. As the Nazarenes, or the first disciples of Jesus began to die away, their gospel, gradually sunk into oblivion with them. And in order, for the history of the Hebrews to come down to us, it must have passed through the hands of the Grecians and Romans, who were enemies to it, and consequently would have every inducement to prevent its transmission to posterity. Mosheim says [vol. I. page 65th] " that the fame of Jesus, had grown so illustrious in the first century, that the emperor Tiberius, proposed his being enrolled among the Gods of Rome, which the opposition of the senate hindered from ta- king effect." This testimony of Eusebius and Irenius from whom Mosheim takes it, shows that Jesus was not in the first century, made a God, though the minds of some, were already prepared to give him a transformation. It is very probable that Jesus was soon after this made a God ; and that this was the origin of Arianism which in time grew up into trinitarian- ism. Thus we see, in some measure, the steps by which the humble carpenter of Nazareth has in the minds of men be- come a Deity. Errata.— Page 3d, 16tb line from the top, for that read than. — Page 5th, *7th line from the top, for expressed read described. — Page 10th, 15th line from the bottom, read we must certainly, C-c— Page 12th, 7th line from the bot- tom, for every read ever. Box Ho.. / Tim <®mMmiA% MA cleansing or the reverse, a river or a pond; provided they 2 come to what may be called water, A few years ago, tliei fe was, hi the town of AHleborough, an immersion by a baptist priest, which, for vulgarity and scandal to all religion, equals any thing related in the annals of Hindostan. The place selected for the display of this fancied representation of the new birth, was a nauseous, filthy goose pond, in circumference about four rods, in depth, perhaps, three or four feet, environ- ed with mud about ankle deep. About this pond was gather- ed a multitude of people, some shocked at the indecorum and gross extravagance of the tragedy, some almost exhausted with excess of laughter at this climax of incongruity, while the rest and more sedate were employed in singing a most clamorous canto of promiscuous ascription to the Deity, in order to preserve any tolerable equilibrium between positive lewdness and a decent sobriety. Meanwhile the priest was labouring to convince his audience, of the analogy between* the transaction in which he was then engaged, and the bap- tism of Jesus in the river Jordan. But the best that can be said of this farcical, squalid scene, is, that the nauseous, filthy- goose pond, was a pretty just emblem of the head and heart of the priest, if not of the conversion of his disciples. When relig* ion comes in such clothing as this, men of sense and candour, will be apt to suspect it. Men naturally expect to see a truly righteous man in the possession of a • t mouth of wisdom, which the world cannot gainsay." He that hath not such a mouthy had better be silent, in religion, till fee has it given him. Without this, whatever a man may say in defence of religion, will only tend to undermine it in his own breast, and prevent it from taking root in the breast of others. I have not given the above narrative to sport with the sincerity, or to shock the innocent prejudices of any one, hut to show that such conduct has nothing to do with the kingdom of wisdom and holiness. But to return : What, in this climate serves to heighten the dissimilitude between immersion in water, and the temper of the truly reformed man. is, that plunging is fre- quently an injury to the health of the subject. It is perfect folly to pretend that a delicate female is not exposed to the most imminent danger in going into a cold frosty river; and after it, walking the distance of a quarter, or half mile. The common maxims of prudence, which nature inspires us with, rise up, in our minds, and involuntarily condemn such an un- natural practice. The advocates for plunging, ought to close their mouths, and seriously to question the consistency of their compassion towards the heathen, before they proceed to pre- 11 scribe a remedy, for those who are only infected with a com- mon malady. I have hitherto considered water baptism under the idea of immersion, or plunging, which, without controversy, was the only mode in which it was practised by the disciples of John, its reputed author. But some sects of christians, for the sake of keeping up at least the semblance of prudence, decency and propriety, have instituted sprinkling and pouring instead of plunging. But there is such an idea of smallness and disproportion even in, this mode, that I believe its advocates think it quite a cross to practice it before men of sense. Ac- tions which are at variance with good sense, will always meet with crosses, without ever obtaining the crown, or even the title of wisdom. When Jesus says, V be ye wise as serpents, and harmless as doves," I understand him to mean real wis- dom and harmlessness, which are superiour to scorn, sneers and ridicule ; such wisdom as will approve itself to every man's understanding; and such harmlessness as will be loved and admired among all classes of people. But whether the practice of water baptism makes any part of this wisdom, I shall leave to the consideration and judgment of the reader. THE SUPPER. This institution, or ordinance as it is sometimes called, though trifling, in its nature, has been made the most impor- tant, nay dreadful, in its consequences of any thing of the kind recorded in the gloomiest annals of man. And the single consideration, that it has become a continual evil, is sufficient of itself to show, that it can be no longer divine, or, in other words, that its celebration can no longer meet the approbation of Deity. The Jewish passover which was celebrated very much in the same manner, in which the sup- per now is, was probably an institution of sobriety in the commencement of it, but in time it became a scene of idleness and dissipation. The lapse of time, had worn away from the minds of the Israelites, the impressions made by that event, for the celebration of which the passover was institut- ed. To turn away the minds of his disciples from the ob- serving of this feast, as ihe Jews did, Jesus proposed to them a remembrance of himself, or rather the principle of truth as their object, when, in compliance with the Jewish law, they should meet to celebrate it. 12 fSutsnch is the nature of the mind and bod}' of man, and such the constitution of the world, which we inhabit, that not only institutions of this kind, but of every kind, in time, ex- pire : or they become subjects of dispute, contention and fre> cjuently scenes of vice, and are consequently laid aside for the sake of truth and harmony. The supper, like the passover of the Jews, is the occasion of division, animosity and hatred among different denominations. True wisdom, therefore, should lead people out of the practice of it. A progress, in wisdom and virtue, necessarily supposes a continual change, in all the exterior means, by which wear- rive at happiness. An institution affording the happiest enter- tainment to man in one degree of virtue, becomes burdensome and disgusting when he has reached a higher degree. Upon this point, any tolerable knowledge of the nature and history of man will be sufficient to satisfy us. The institutions of the Jews, however wise and appropriate in their origin, flourished but for a season, and in a great measure, expired. The histo- ries of Persia, Greece and Rome, exhibit a similar rise of a multitude of literary, political, and religious institutions, all ■of which had their season of utility, of indifference, and of evil, and then were laid aside. No reasoning, however pow- erful, no exertions, however great, can long prevent such changes from taking place. First comes the blossom^ then the fruit, then the falling of the leaves* The young reptile knows not that it shall ever shed its coat, but feels contented with it, and defends it till it begins to loosen and become tat- tered, then the little creature perceives the propriety of throw- ing it off. It is something so with people who are bred up in the practice of a multitude of ceremonies and rites. They choose to continue in them, and to defend (hem, till an unexpect- ed growth in wisdom and virtue, has prepared them for ex- change. The celebration of the American independence, once to many almost inexpressibly interesting, has become nearly indiffer- ent, and probably in time, will become such a scene of idle- ness and dissipation, as to be reprobated by every man of virtue and wisdom* The celebration of the supper by the papists, was a continual occasion of animosity and hatred among the different orders of them, and so it is now 7 among the protestants. These evils ought to be regarded as faith- ful messengers sent to announce its fulfilment and entire abo- lition. Wherever there has been the greatest prevalence of this kind of institutions, there has invariably been the least virtue, equanimity and charity. The first celebration of the 13 American independence was attended with a great deal of gratitude and mutual good will, but now it is regarded merely as a season for the display of talents and parade. Every one must see that nature herself works this change, and that too for the best interest of the human kind. One pretty uniform evil attending these institutions, is, that people get into the habit of confining almost their whole pleas- ure to the celebration of them. The intervals between the seasons of celebrating them, become painful, and, with the youthful part of a community, are often sources of extreme anxiety. They take the minds of young people away from their daily concerns in which they should learn to be happy, and dispose them to contemplate distant pleasures ; against that admirable maxim of scripture "be not solicitous for the morrow." And, although the supper is an aged institution, and the object of its celebration so far concealed by the rav- age of ages, that, with most of its advocates, it has become tasteless and indifferent ; yet, when young people first com- mence a celebration of it, its novelty affords them not a little entertainment. But its novelty soon wears off, and they are surprised to find themselves so indifferent to what once afford- ed thern entertainment, and to which they looked for a perpet- ual source of pleasure ; little thinking that Nature had wrought this change for some useful purpose ; for the purpose of let- ting them" pass on, to some greater and more useful attain- ments. And although the bitterest weed may become sweet, by frequent and uniform use, the celebration of the supper, has not even this advantage. It is one of those lifeless, dead- ning kind of works for which Paul so frequently reproved the Jews. To celebrate it according to the supposed design of the institution, requires a stretch of the imagination, which but few are capable of, and those few must be unable to en- dure so bold a flight for any length of time. The papists who painted Jesus of Nazareth upon a can- vass, with his pierced side and transfixed hands and feet, exercised much more judgment, in the celebration of his death, than protestants do, who only use so faint a symbol of his death and sufferings, as a small slice of bread and a cup of wine. Meat would be a much livelier symbol than bread, and would be found to be an article much more general among the different inhabitants of the globe. Bread and wine are not the growth of every climate ; so that when the protestant, or catholick religion, is intro- duced into a climate destitute of these articles, something >lse must be substituted. This consideration proves that 14 ifels institution, like water baptism, is the creature of a ulav climate. But the ordinance of the supper never was a positive in don. It naturally grew out of a certain occasK which Jesus met with his disciples. I will give the a origin of this institution, in the words of the Ik I to Matthew. " Now the first day of unleavened bi disciples came to Jesus, saying to him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover. And he said, go ye into the city,- to such a man, and say unte him. the mas- ter saith, my time is at hand, I will eat the passover at thy house with my disciples. And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them ; and they made ready the passover. Now when even was come he sat down with the twelve. And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, 'and gave it to the disciples, and said, take, eat, this is my bod). And tie took the cup and gave thanks, and gave it to them saying, Drink ye all of it, for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." From this description, J ask in what did this supper differ from any sup- per, among the Jews ? Jesus broke the bread and gave it to them, and told them to eat it." At the same time, he signified by this, that his body was soon to be broken somewhat in the same manner. The analogy between the two things could bardiy help suggesting itself. He then pours out the wine, the common drink of the table, and told them to drink that. For his blood was soon to be poured out in like manner In the history of Luke, Jesus is reported to have said, on that occasion, " This do in remembrance of me." But nei- ther this clause, nor any other part of the account, conveys the least idea, that the disciples were ever after that, to do it in remembrance of him. When the supper is mentioned in Paul's epistle to the Corinthians, the words, " as oft as ye do it, do it in remembrance of me," are added. Jesus at a cer- tain time, told two of his disciples to go into a village over against them, and bring a colt which was tied there. Now because Jesus gave his first disciples this command, is it there- fore obligatory upon us? But if one command given to his first disciples is obligatory upon us, I see not why all even the most local and particular. Since all those commands were given to the first disciples, what rule shall we have to inform us what ones are obligatory upon us, and what void oi •obligation ? In all the positive institutions of the scriptures there is a penalty annexed to the neglect of them* Those who did not 13 keep the passorer were to be punished with death. But we see nothing of this kind, annexed to the neglect of celebrating the supper. In all the institutions of Moses the time of their being kept was specified ; they were to be kept forever. But Je?us said nothing to future generations ; his commands were confined to his immediate disciples. But what shows the greatest inconsistency of papists and protestants, is, their neglect of an ordinance which, according to the scripture account of it, stands upon a much firmer ground, than either baptism or the supper. I refer to the washing of feet. According to the history ascribed to John, it was after this same supper of bread and wine had ended, that Jesus gave his disciples an example of washing each others' feet. The account reads thtis : " Jesus riseth from supper and laid aside his garments, and took a towel and girded himself. AfLer that he poured water into a basin, and began to wash his disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he -was girded. When he had done washing their feet he says to them, " / have given you an example, that ye should do, even as I have done to you. n And when Peter objected to having Jesus wash his feet, Je- sus said unto hita, " except I wCtsh thy feet thou hast no part with me," From this account, it will be seen that the wash- ing of feet, is much more explicitly commanded, than either of the other ordinances. And certainly the washing of feet, is fully as much an emblem of a clean heart, as plunging or sprinkling is; and it is capable of a much more general piactice. The argument, that baptism and the supper are mentioned as having been practised after the death of Jesus, is much stronger in favour of the washing of feet. The supper is men- tioned but once after the death of Jesus ; and the washing of feet once. In Paul's instructions to Timothy (f. Tim. chap. 5) the washing of feet is made one condition of a wid- ow's being taken into the society of christians. •' Let not a widow be taken into the number under three score years old, having been the wife of one man, well reported of for good works ; if she have brought up children, it' she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the disciples' feet ; if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work," she may be taken into the number. Now I ask what kind of deference to the authority of Jesus,, that is, which says to him, We acknowledge all thy institu- tions and commandments to be obligatory upon us, and that k is impious and even blasphemous to disobey them, but still 16 We wiM practice just such ones as we have a mind to. It is true, that the practice of washing feet, in the present state of society, would be rather too indelicate for that class of men, who wish to be thought eminently modest and reserved. But wine is a very fashionable drink ; and bread a very fashiona- ble article of food Sprinkling too is quite a modest and del- icate manner of baptizing,. These inconsistencies show great insincerity, and have become a matter of note among the greatest and best of men. The more these ordinances and institutions are varied to suit the fashions of the times, the more ridiculous do their votaries appear, and the more dis- gusting will their religion be, in the eyes of candid and vir- tuous men. Says the poet ** Fit means and euds make wisdom." Aiad I would add ; that inconsistences make folly, mmwmmmmem :': ■ (UP STAIRS) WO. 1, MARKET-SQUARE. wewM- m m BOOKS, PAPER, -4fC. . ■ J KEEP CONSTANTLY FOR SALE, AIden*s Speaker, Grammar, Reader, and Spel- ling-Books ; Murray's Grammar, Reader, Introduc- ion, Exercises, Key and Sequel; Morse's, Cum- ^(mings' and Mann's Geographies ; Daboll's, Adams', H White's, and Stamford's Arithmeticks ; Columbian, New-York, Perry's and Webster's Spelling-Books ; -^ Art of Reading; American Freceptor; Columbian ^ and Christian Orators ; Walker's and Webster's |l Dictionaries i Blair's Lectures on Rhetorick; School ^Bibles and Testaments; Scott's Lessons, Butlers ompendium and General History ; Tytler's I ; v; with almost every School Book used in this ^vicinity, which will be sold. by the dozen or single. Watts', Benedict's, Rippon's, and Smith aes' Hymns ; Quarto Bibles, &c. &c. ALSO— - "'Blank Books of every description.. 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