Nothing is plainer than the law and the gospel. Whoever says the contrary, does no less than accuse the great and good God, and justify wicked and wilful men, whom he has left without excuse, by telling them clearly what he expects from them. What does God require of thee, O man, but to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly? said one of his prophets out of his mouth. I am sure there is no difficulty in understanding this.

The obscure passages in scripture could not be intended for our instruction. Infinite wisdom has hid them from our eyes, to be brought to light in his own time, and then to answer the ends of his providence, or perhaps to baffle our vain pride and curiosity. Who art thou O man, who wouldst be wiser than the Omnicient; make those things necessary which he has not made so; discover what he has thought fit to conceal; and know his secrets whether he will or no? This would be to mend the scripture; to make it more useful than God has made it; to help the Holy Ghost, and to teach the Almighty how to express

himself.

How absurd would it be to send cook-maids and day-labourers to study Aristotle and Suarez; to rake into the jargon of the schools; to learn all languages, examine all systems; and to discover of themselves all errors, interpolations and mistakes; or to do what is much more ridiculous, that is, wholly throw themselves and their salvation, in most countries upon a confederacy of men, who have an interest to deceive and oppress them, and ever did so when they had an opportunity; who have always been at variance with one another, and with themselves; and have agreed in nothing but the misleading of those who trusted them! Aud yet one of these must be the unhappy circumstance of the greatest part of mankind, if what I have said before be not true; which we may be sure the Divine goodness cannot permit. Nothing is more evident from history, than that most, if not all, the improvements and reformations of religion have been made, not only without, but in opposition to these men. There have been near a million of them kept in constant pay for the best part of seventeen hundred years, to teach the world by their precepts, and reform it by their example; and yet I am persuaded they will not pretend that religion is plainer, the scriptures better understood, or that mankind are more wise or virtuous for all their instructions. So little have we been benefited by their labours and for all the money they have received! I wish I could not say the world has gradually decreased in piety and virtue, as these its teachers have advanced in riches and power. It is owned by the best of themselves.

It is the farthest from my thoughts, by any thing I have before said, to undervalue their true office, much less to make it useless. I sincerely think it absolutely necessary to the peace and happiness of society. The Roman consuls had an officer attending their triumphal chariots, whose business it was to cry out Memento mori.

I would have these too, answer the same end of their institution; to press the reading of the scriptures upon their hearers; to shew its excellency and advantages; to inculcate the plain precepts of faith and morality contained in it; and to demonstrate the goodness of God to men, by proving that he has laid down to us, in plain words, every duty which he requires of us, either to himself, our neighbour or our

selves. But let them not distract instead of instructing, and confound ignorant people with metaphysical subtilties, which the wisest cannot comprehend. Let them not strain ridiculous and selfish consequences from obscure parts of scripture, and make the Almighty mean what he never said. Let them give us God's will in God's words.

Another end of their office is to execute those duties of our most holy religion, which the word of God has left at large for every one to do, but which indeed are necessary to be performed by single persons in the several churches or societies of Christians; such as reading the scriptures and publick prayers aloud to the congregation, and administering the sacraments: what by the gospel liberty is the right of every one (as shall be unanswerably made out hereafter) is by the consent of voluntary and national churches become the duty and business of particular persons, who are set aside and paid for that purpose.

In what I have before said, I have the concurrence of the best and wisest of our own clergy, who acknowledge and contend that we are not to take the Almighty's meaning at second hand, nor receive that for his will which we ourselves do not find to be so; but that we are to enquire before we believe, and to be convinced before we asssent; every assertion or proposition, before it is examined, being alike to the understanding, as every colour is to the blind. They own that our judgment ought to be at no man's service, nor our minds controuled in religious matters, but by God alone; for as no man's soul can be saved by proxy, so no man ought to exercise his faith by proxy.

G.

NUMBER 5.

The unfitness of the Clergy to teach others.

As in my last paper, I hope, I have fully shewn that clergymen have no right to interpret the scriptures for other people: so I shall endeavour in this, to prove that they are, for the generality, the least qualified to do so, of any set or society of men, in their present state of learning and virtue. This I do with a sincere design to serve them, as well as the laity; hoping that when they see from what source the neglect and contempt, which they so much complain of, proceed, they will join heartily in their own reformation, in answering the ends of their institution, and in being hereafter as useful to their country, as many of them have been formerly mischievous.

Use makes every posture familiar to the body, and every opinion to the mind. We are told that the Brahmans, in India, do, by long habit, so distort their limbs, that they grow in the situation which they are put in. Every day's experience proves that we assimilate with the company we keep, as well in our sentiments, as in the air and mien of our bodies. Not only different nations, but often sects, professions, and trades, are to be known by their phiz and behaviour.

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A sailor, or a tailor, (to say nothing of their betters) may be found out, however they disguise themselves.

Nothing but keeping the best company can give a free and easy carriage; and an open and generous conversation alone can disengage our minds from the strong impressions of our early education. The habit of thinking freely, and of expressing freely those thoughts on all occasions, enables us to judge well of men and things. Our minds are polished by collision, and a liberal conversation not only starts all dif ficulties, but solves them, if they are to be solved.

Almighty God gives us faculties to use them; and it is ingratitude, as well as folly, to return the gift upon his hands. Truth can never suffer by an impartial examination, but on the contrary will receive strength and advantage from it. It is errour and imposture alone, which dread a fair enquiry, as being conscious of their own weakness.

I think I may therefore safely affirin, that whatever body or society of men are most restrained by themselves or others, from reasoning free ly on every subject, and especially on the most important of all, are the least qualified to be the guides and directors of mankind.

I will now examine how far this is the circumstance of the clergy in most countries. They are no sooner discharged from the nurse and the mother, but they are delivered over to spiritual pedagogues who have seldom the capacity, and never the honesty and courage, to venture at a free thought themselves and must consequently be im proper channels to convey any to their pupils.

From thence they are sent to the universities (very commonly upon charity) where they are hamstringed and manacled with early oaths and subscriptions, and obliged to swear to notions before they know Their business afterwards is not to find out what is what they are. truth, but to defend the received system, and to maintain those docNot only their present revenues trines which are to maintain them. and subsistence, but all their expectations are annexed to certain opinfons, established for the most part by Popes and Synods, in corrupt and ignorant ages; and even then often carried by faction and bribery, in concert with the designs and intrigues of statesmen; but become sanctified by time, and now to be received without enquiry. No one can fairly examine what is truth, who has an interest on eiWe are bribed by our inclinations, in spite ther side of the question. of our best resolutions. Who can be heartily angry at an opinion, which will keep a coach and six, or strenuously endeavour to find out any heresy in it? besides, all men are fond of respect and homage, and when they are in possession, will esteem it but an unprofitable study to find out that they do not deserve them.

As clergymen so educated cannot, for the reasons aforesaid, be fair and impartial judges themselves of what is truth, so their authority can give but little weight to such doctrines as they may think fit to teach to others. The first question asked of a suspected witness in every court of judicature is, whether he gets or loses by the success of the cause? and, if either appears, he is constantly set aside, and not trusted with an oath.

It is demonstrable in reason, that every man's pretences ought to be tried by the same test and rule; and where the evidence of a proposi tion cannot be clearly shewn by one who has an interest to advance it

nor proved by miracles, all other persons have reason to suspect it of imposture when what he offers will indisputably conduce to his own benefit, and I have only his word that it will conduce to mine, I cannot doubt but his kindness is greater for bimself than for me, and shall consequently believe that he is not doing my business, but his own.

The apostles, and some of the first Christians, did not so teach Christ. They not only convinced mankind of the truth of what they said by miracles; but made it apparent to all the world, that they sought no temporal benefit: on the contrary, they left their families, their professions, and all the comforts of life, to wander about the earth, and preach a doctrine infinitely advantageous to the present, as well as eternal state of others; and expected no reward to themselves in this life, but beggary, stripes, and even death itself.

It is not to be wondered that, in universities abroad, no such discourses, or even such distant hints, are countenanced or permitted, which have the least tendency to oppose the pride or temporal gran deur of the clergy; nor any speculations suffered to be vented there, which ever so little break in upon received opinions. It is not only a certain stop to all hopes of preferment, to question the truth of any of their darling notions; but you are in danger of being expelled, and are sure to be discountenanced and contemned.

The philosophy and learning there taught, and encouraged, are ex. actly calculated and adapted to this state of darkness and ignorance These are nothing but an unintelligible jargon of undefined words and bare sounds, which mean nothing, and yet can prove every thing. With this gibberish the pupils there are diverted from sound knowledge, by being put upon a wrong scent; and are hindered from attaining true wisdom, by believing that they have got it.

All attempts towards useful learning are neglected and discouraged; and nothing is found out to be true in philosophy, but is made false in religion; and the authors and discoverers are branded with heresy, if not atheism. Of this the examples are infinite.

Thus accoutred, and thus set out, our young ecclesiastick commences governour and director of mens consciences. He is impatient of the least contradiction, and is all in a flame at an opposition which he has not been used to. As he never questioned the truth of any of his own notions himself, he grows outrageous at any one else who does, and immediately cries out aloud for fire and faggot.

To this it is owing that the difference between the controversial writings of gentlemen, and those of divines, is so very remarkable. The first are carried on for the most part with humanity, and always with good manners, even when the matter is most poignant and sarcas→ tical. In the latter, at first sight, appears the odium theologorum ; and rage, ill-breeding, and revenge breath through every part of them. A proper disposition this to make converts, and govern the world!

This temper has (even in England) shewn itself visibly, in their treatment of a modern bishop, whom neither his great penetration. his pious life, nor the pretended regard to his pastoral function, could

• Dr. BENJAMIN HOADLEY, then bishop of Bangor, and now bishop of Salis bury

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protect from ecclesiastical hatred and fury, for his having dared to eugage in the interest of mankind.

As it is undeniably true, that what I have before described is the unhappy circumstance of the clergy, in most countries; so no man, who has the least desire to promote useful knowledge, true virtue, and sound it religion amongst mankind, but must endeavour to manumit them from this state of servitude and darkness, even though they should oppose themselves. Birds and beasts used to lodges or dens, are afraid to go out of them; and even men long shut up in dark dungeons, cannot for some time bear the light of the day. Galley-slaves not knowing what to do with liberty given them, have often, of their own accord, returned to their chains; nay, God's own people themselves longed again for Egyptian flesh-pots, and Egyptian slavery, when they were fed with food from Heaven; notwithstanding which, Moses would not gratify their brutish appetites, but made them happy in spite of themselves.

I would therefore have every clergyman enjoy the full liberty which every layman enjoys. We are not confined in our searches after truth; and why should the clergy be confined, in whose hands it is more powerful and advantageous than in ours? The granting of ecclesiastical freedom to churchinen is as equitable as that of civil freedom to laymen. I thank God, we possess a glorious portion of the fatter; and I heartily wish them an equal portion of the former.

T.

NUMBER 6.

Of Creeds and Confessions of Faith.

I have shown in my fourth paper, the boldness and absurdity of the exposition of Holy Scripture, when the exposition is maintained and imposed for canonical truth. I shall here prosecute the same subject merely as it relates to creeds and confessions of faith.

In our disputes with the church of Rome, we contend that the Scripture alone is a sufficient rule of faith and practice; and our divines bave proved it unanswerably. But when our high-church priests argue with dissenters, and those whom they are pleased to christen hereticks, holy writ is not so highly complemented: It is then very subIt is true, 'tis ject to lead us into mistakes, and hard to be understood. infallible, and was given us from Heaven to be a light unto onr feet, and a lamp unto our paths; but still it is dark and insufficient without human aid and explication. For, though it be exceeding plain to us of the established church of England, and proves us to be in the right in every article, ceremony and habit whatsoever; yet it is utterly hid from those who will not accept of our guidance, and submit to our authority. And therefore if they refuse to believe and obey our supplements and improvements of the Bible, and to acccept of the