We know, that God can reveal nothing that either is inconfiftent with his own Attributes of Wisdom and Goodnefs, or is impoffible in itself, or implies a manifest Contradiction; and whoever therefore will act rationally in receiving or rejecting any pretended Revelation, must make this Maxim the Ground of his Enquiry. He must first examine whether there be any thing impoffible, contradictory, or unjust in it; and if there be, he may at once reject whatever bears any or all of these notorious Marks of Imposture. For he is as fure as he can be of any thing, that God cannot act inconfiftently, abfurdly, or foolishly; and no Evidence whatfoever can prove that what is fo could come from him. But if the contrary appear to be the Cafe, and there are none of these in the fuppofed Revelation, he may then so far admit it, and proceed in his Enquiry.

For it is not enough to know, that a Doctrine or Precept may come from God; it is neceffary before it be received as of Divine Authority, that a Man be affured that it actually has come from him. And of this he can be affured no other Way, than by examining the Characters and Credentials of those who teach it, and confidering whether their Integrity and Capacity, and the Powers with which they are endowed, are fufficient to warrant their Pretenfions, and to convince any unprejudiced and impartial Enquirer that God fent them.

Now

Now the proper, and perhaps the only proper Proof which fuch Perfons can give of that Miffion, is the being endowed with a Power to work Miracles, and alter the Courfe of Nature. We know that the God of Nature has given certain Powers to certain Beings, and plainly fee that certain Caufes produce certain Effects in a regular and uniform manner. We are fure, that no Perfon or Being can alter this Course of Things but God himfelf, or a Being permitted or impower'd by him. We likewife know, that God cannot impower or commiffion any Being or Person to cause these Changes, and perform these Wonders in his Name, and confirm Doctrines as coming from him, which did not come from him, unless he at the fame time enables those to whom they come to discover the Cheat, as in the Cafe of the Magicians he did; because that would be laying his Creatures under a Neceffity of believing a Lie. Whereas the God of Truth cannot lie; neither can he act fraudulently and deceitfully with us, and compel us to believe Falfhoods. We are as well affured of his Truth and Veracity, as of his Being; and may as juftly difavow his Existence as his Attributes. Whoever then comes with this Power of Miracles has a Right to demand to be received as the Meffenger of God; and the Difficulty of knowing whether he has this Power is not fo great as is pretended. Indeed, for any one to pretend to know

and

and determine how far the Powers of Nature can go, and ascertain what is and what is not a natural Effect, in all Cafes, and in relation to all Bodies, were the greatest Folly and Prefumption. But if he cannot determine this in all Cafes, he may in fome; and may be as well affured of the ordinary Powers of natural Agents, as he is of his own Life and Being. And it is fufficient to determine the Point in Question beyond Difpute, if he may be allowed to know, in his own Cafe only, how far the natural Powers of Men do, and do not, extend. If it be only granted, that he may know that it is not naturally in the Power of Man to cure Diseases by a Word, or raise the Dead, or understand and fpeak Languages which he never learnt; it will then follow, that he may know when Men are endowed with a miraculous Power in these Inftances; and if he may know when Men are endowed with miraculous Powers, he must likewife know that those Powers could not be given without the Permiffion of God, and confequently must think himself obliged to receive the Doctrines of those who come with those Powers, provided their Doctrines be fuch as are worthy of the Divine Nature, and fuch as do not contradict any former Revelation which God has given.

If God has made a former Revelation, the new one must not be contradictory to it, otherwise God would contradict himself, which

is

is impoffible; and it must therefore be incum bent on those who publish the new to fhew its Confistency with the old. And this indeed was the Defign of Saint Paul and the other Apostles in all their Sermons to the Jews. There being in the Old Teftament many Prophecies and Characters of the Meffias, and our bleffed Lord having declared himself to be the Meffias, it was incumbent on his Disciples to prove that thofe Prophecies and Characters were applicable to him, and might fairly be understood of him. And accordingly we find, that the chief Design of St. Stephen's Difcourfe juft before his Death, and of St. Paul's ReaJoning in the Text, and other Places, was to hew, that Jefus was the Chrift foretold by Mofes and the Prophets.

These are the several Steps by which we arrive at the Knowledge of the Truth of any pretended Revelation; its being worthy of God, who is fuppofed to fend it; its Evidence by Miracles, and its Confiftency with the other true Revelations. And the Application of these Rules to any particular Cafe, and the making Deductions from general to particular Truths, is properly the Business of that Power of the Mind which we call Reafon. The Ufe of Reason then in this Cafe is abfolutely neceffary; and it is obfervable, that they who moft deny it do and must in their pretended Converfions (abfurdly enough indeed, but fo it must be) I fay, do and muft apply them

felves to the Reason of Mankind, to perfuade them to give up their Reason in Matters of the highest Moment and Concern to them. But,

2dly. As it is neceffary thus to make use of our Reason to discover the Truth of a Revelation, fo likewise it is to understand the Meaning of it.

Whatever is fpoken or written in any one Language muft, without a Miracle, be unknown and unintelligible to Men of other Nations and Languages which have not learned it. This is felf-evident.

Whatever is written in any one Age may, and probably will, in Length of Time become difficult to be understood by the Defcendants of that very People in whofe Language it was written, through the Alterations and Changes to which all Languages are fubject. This common Experience daily proves.

In moft Writings there are frequent Allufions to the Customs and Practices of the Age and People, wherein and to whom they are written; and the Paffages that contain those Allufions are not to be understood without a Knowledge of thofe Practices and Cuftoms, which are not to be learned and applied without the Use of Reason.

All Languages have their peculiar Idioms and Forms of Speech, which are not to be tranflated into other Languages; and Books written in any Language are not to be underVOL. II.

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