fumed all the builder's tools. You might have. feen mallets, irons, to smooth and polish stones, with faws, hatches, axes, in fhort, all things the workmen had, which were used about that work, deftroyed by the flames. The fire preyed upon these things for a whole day, the Jews being in the greateft fear imaginable, acknowledged (though unwillingly) that Chrift was God. But they obeyed not his will, but were prepoffeffed with an opinion of their own religion, and continued firm and hardened. For neither did a third miracle, which happened after, induce them to a belief of the truth. For, the night following, the impreffion of a Crofs, which caft forth beams of brightness, appeared printed on their garments, which impreffions, when they faw the next day, they endeavoured to wash and rub them out, but could not. Their blindness and flinty hearts remained unabated, and the temple, inftead of being rebuilt, was totally demolished. There are the words of Socrates, and feveral hiftorians of that age give us much stronger and forcible proofs of the fecond covenant, and ceafing of the first, as you are a witnefs this day.

Boy. Eternity admits neither beginning nor end, but is eternal now. The adorable Trinity who folely inhabit eternity from everlasting, is one God; the Deity being one only most fimple infinite perfection, and in that perfection one only moft fole and moft pure act, which being no other thing than the proper divine effence, it is confequently ever permanent and eternal. From the Father iffues his offspring, the Son,

who

who is ftiled in fcripture, His Breath or Word, the Holy Spirit who is produced, and is the effect of the mutual act of infinite love, reciprocal from the Father and Son, is called in fcripture, The Spirit of God; for tho' the Godhead be one fole Deity, yet not folitary, being three perfons; and this prime and first principle of religion is illuftrated throughout the fcriptures. Your legiflator, Mofes, at the head of his Pentateuch, or five books, confirms this infinite mystery, unfearchable, boundless, and unfathomable Truth.

Genefis ift chapter. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth; and the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep: and the fpirit of God moved upon the face of the waters: and God faid, let there be light, and there was light. The univerfal creation vifible and invifible, was eternally prefent to the Deity; and when the divine will, for bringing it into being and granting it exiftence, was arrived, the whole received its creation as the divine decree had eternally been fettled. God fpoke, and the word created. Alfo God's fpirit is particularly diftinguifhed; and God faid let us make man in our Image, after our Likenefs: and let them have dominion. Nothing can be more clear, and abfolute, which prove one God, but diftinct perfons. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth, which declare, and proclaim God one fole Deity. The after part of the chapter (which

relates

relates in order, the creation) the distinction of perfons.

Mofes. St. John 1ft chapter. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. The fame was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him and without him was made nothing that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men and the light fhineth in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. In this infinite mystery, on which the two covenants are grounded, and folely depend; the two legiflators, Mofes, and Chrift, are perfectly confonant, and the two fcriptures throughout one uninterrupted unifon.

Mordecai, Abfalom. We cannot comprehend in what, fpeech can be competently termed effence, as we live in the age of wifdom, when things are proved by effects. Let us make the experiment, by which we will decide the matter in question, let us fhut the windows, you are, are you not, without light? if fo, you cannot deny, but that you are blinded with darkness. Now, my dear firs, do not deceive yourselves, neither be decived by others. Note well, and improve yourfelves in the science of wisdom and knowledge, that your understanding may be enlightened, and experimental truths may dawn and ripen as fummer fruits, enlarging your interior man. You are all prepared, are you not? our words fhall be like the found of a trumpet thundering in each one's ear; hark with diteful expectation the laft trump. Let there be light, hufh, five

n.inutes,

minutes, equal to five years, are elapfed, as you all are witneffes to this great truth, that no light is created; but we are still in as great darknefs, as if we had been filent. We are happy, as we purposed, to obtain the victory, dear Rabbi Mofes, and convict you of folly, in bewitching yourself, with the art magic of the chriftian feduction. And you, dear brethren, Joshua and Nehemiah, who feem to fuck in the delufion of feigned miracles from the dead body of your poor christian beggar.

Jofua, Nehemiah. Thefe men blafpheme, feating themselves in the throne of the Living God.

Aaron, Eleazar. Mordecai and Abfalom do not blafpheme, we will grant them guilty of an error in judgment, which we must impute to the inherent quality of the erroneous fect they adhere to, who are ftiled Sadducees, and difclaim fpiritual fubftances; a refinement latterly of this fect has fhewn itself among the Gentiles, who form the polite circles, and have afpired to the title of the New Philofophers. They. would wish to live in their prefent ftate, having neither hope nor religion but what is grateful to the prefent or mortal state. This is the fubftance of what Mordecai or Abfalom spoke, teftifying their defire for the Messiah, that their paffions might be feasted, and through the virtue of the Tree of Life, they may Ipin out a perpetual fenfuality. But the fpiritual Ifraelites or Pharifaical Jews believe both ftates, corporal and fpiritual; yet, we firmly adhere to the firft and great commandment. Hear, O Ifrael, the

Lord

Lord your God is one God, and cenfure novelty.

Boy. What, pray, are we to understand by Novelty?

Mordecai, Abfalom. In religion, that is, the topic we are upon, Innovation; which is the novelty Aaron and Eleazar would deem in us, is founded erroneously; it being truly nothing more than this one fimple act commanded our great progenitor, father Abraham, which has come down to us by the title of the covenant of our fathers, and confifts in a clip, or circumcifing the forefkin. These are the words of the covenant betwixt God and our father Abraham. Genefis 17th chapter. "He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, muft needs be circumcifed; and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlalting covenant; and the uncircumcifed man child, whofe flesh of his forefkin is not circumcifed, that foul fhall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant." The covenant was given to our founder fix hundred years before Mofes was born, and fhall a pale-face fet of conceited novellifts affociate, if we may fo fay, with Mofes, and bring in a multiplicity of ceremonies and commandments, making a fool's cap of Abraham?

Aaron, Eleazar. Your tenets, from the creation of your fect, are from beneath, earthly, rude, and base-born. To convince you that circumcifing the flesh, with the law, is a dead I act. Core, Dathen, and Abiram, with their whole company, were all circumcifed; yet,

when