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Ra. Barker, Rmo in Chrifto Patri ac Dno Do Jobanni Archiep. Cantuar. à Sacris Domeft.

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Acts XVII. 27.

That they fhould feek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him: though he be not far from every one of us; for in him we Live, and Move, and have our Being.

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N the former part of this Enquiry I have examin'd and refuted two Atheistical Notions opposed to the grand Doctrine of the Text, That we owe our Living and Being to the power of God: The one of the Ariftotelian Atheifts, who, to avoid the difficulties of the firft production of Mankind, without the intervention of Almighty Wifdom and Power, will have the Race to have thus continued without beginning by an eternal fucceffion of infinite paft Generations; which Affertion hath been detected to be mere nonfenfe, and contradictory to it felf: The other of the Aftrological undertakers, that would raise Men like Vegetables out of fome fat and flimy foil well digefted by the kindly heat of the Sun, and impregnated with the influence of the Stars upon fome remarkable and periodical conjunctions: Which opinion hath been vamp'd up of late by Cardan

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and Cefalpinus, and other News-mongers from the Skies; a Pretence as groundless andfilly, as the dreaming Oneirocriticks of Artemidorus and Aftrampfychus, or the modern Chiromancy and Divinations of Gypfies.

I proceed now to the two remaining Paradoxes of fuch Sects of Atheifts, as laying afide Aftrology and the unintelligible Influence of Heavenly Bodies more than by their Gravity, and Heat, and Light, do either produce Mankind mechanically and neceffarily from certain connexions of Natural Caufes, or more dully and fupinely, though altogether as reasonably, refolve the whole Bufinefs into the unaccountable fhuffles and tumults of Matter, which they call Chance and Accident. But at prefent I fhall only take an account of the fuppofed Producti on of Humane Bodies by Mechanism and Neceffity.

The Mechanical or Corpufcular Philofophy, though peradventure the oldeft, as well as the beft in the world, had lain buried for many Ages in contempt and oblivion; till it was hap pily restored and cultivated anew by fome excellent Wits of the prefent. But it principally owes its re-establishment and luftre, to that Honourable Perfon of ever Bleffed Memory, who

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hath not only shewn its usefulness in Physiology above the vulgar Doctrines of Real Qualities and Substantial Forms; but likewife its great serviceableness to Religion it felf. And I think it hath been competently proved in a former Difcourfe, how friendly it is to the Immateriality of Humane Souls, and confequently to the Existence of a Supreme Spiritual Being. And I may have occafion hereafter to fhew further, that all the Powers of Mechanism are intirely dependent on the Deity, and do afford a folid Argument for the Reality of his Nature. So far am I from the apprehenfion of any great. feats, that this Mechanical Atheist can do against Religion. For if we confider the Phænomena of that Material World with a due and serious attention, we shall plainly perceive, that its prefent frame and conftitution and the eftablished Laws of Nature are conftituted and preferved by Gravitation alone. That is the powerfull cement, which holds together this magnificent ftructure of the world; Which stretcheth. the North over the empty space, and hangeth the Earth upon Nothing; if we may transfer the words of Job from the first and real Caufe to the fecondary Agent. Without that the whole Univerfe, if we suppose an undermin'd power of Motion

Jo's 26.7.

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Motion infused into Matter, would have been a confused Chaos, without beauty or order, and never stable and permanent in any condition. Now it may be proved in its due place, that this Gravity, the great Bafis of all Mechanifm, is not it felf Mechanical; but the immediate Fiat and Finger of God, and the Execution of the Divine Law; and that Bodies have not the power of tending towards a Centre, either from other Bodies or from themselves: which at once, if it be proved, will undermine and ruine all the Towers and Batteries that the Atheists have raised against Heaven. For if no Compound Body in the vifible world can fubfift and continue without Gravity, and Gravity do immediately flow from a Divine Power and Energy; it will avail them nothing, though they fhould be able to explain all the particular Effects, even the Origination of Animals, by mechanical principles. But however at present I will forbear to urge this against the Atheist. For, though I should allow him, that this Catholick Principle of Gravitation is effential to Matter without introducing a God, yet I will defy him to fhew, how a Humane Body could be at first produced naturally, according to the prefent Syftem of things, and the mechanical affections of Matter.

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