V.

SERM. all participating in their worship, (at least the more intelligent pretended fo,) but only to make a more fenfible impreffion on their minds, and thereby help their devotion. Befides, fome of the Pagans did, and fome do at this day, pay a kind of religious respect to evil dæmons, from no principle but that of fervile fear, intending to appeafe, at least mitigate their malice, and escape the harm which otherwise they might and are inclined to do; or else, men, having themselves mischievous defigns, implore the affiftance of wicked fpirits in accomplishing them. But many others utterly disclaim this, as impious and altogether unworthy of men, who acknowledge the fupreme dominion of a good God over the world, whose providence directs the whole series of events; and tho' it may permit malevolent creatures to exert their power and execute malicious defigns in fome instances, yet always permits them only for wife reasons, and over-rules the iffue for good.

What I have faid concerning the Pagan theology and worship, is not at all intended to excuse the errors and corruption of it. It is impoffible to vindicate idolatry, or giving divine honour to others befides the Almighty Maker of heaven and earth; as the fcripture speaks, worshipping the creature be

6

fides

fides the Creator who is blessed for evermore. For SER M. that is certainly to rebel against the clear light V. of reason, whereby he discovers himself to us, requiring that we should glorify him as God; that is, that we should dutifully recognise his peerless Majefty, and pay him an homage which cannot poffibly be due to other beings in any degree, on account of his not only unequall'd but incommunicable excellency, as the fole felf-originated fountain of all being, power, wisdom and goodness. To adore the Deity as the Soul of the universe, is to confound him with his creatures, and to disparage his abfolute perfection by jumbling it into one compofition with the most imperfect of all things. To worship him under the partial confideration of particular benefits communicated to us, as by the fun, the earth, corn and wine, is to lead unthoughtful men, (as in fact it probably did lead many of the vulgar Heathen,) into that most stupid notion, that thefe creatures themselves are original Deities; which is rather Atheism than any kind of religion: And to ferve angels or the departed spirits of good men religiously, as it is liable to the fame inconvenience with the particular laft mentioned, namely, enfnaring weak minds into that most pernicious error of attributing indepen

dent

SERM.dent Divinity to them; it has no foundation V. in reason, fince we know not what commu

nication thofe feparate fpirits have with us, or what knowledge of our affairs, nor have we any ground to believe it is acceptable to them; rather on the contrary, that they are displeas'd with it, as an affront to the God whofe fervants they are, and before whom they proftrate themselves with the humbleft reverence. Befides, the Gentile worship, wrong in its foundation, as contrary to plain reason, was ftill more deprav'd by the craft of priests and politicians, who fram'd it to their own felfish purposes, not without the secret concurrence of evil fpirits, intending mischief to mankind, by enfnaring them into vice and unhappiness under the fpecious pretence of religion. By these means the devotion of the greatest part of mankind grew to a monftrous abfurdity, fome of it at least fo irrational, fo foul, barbarous and obfcene, as to be a difgrace to the human nature; and in confequence of it, as St. Paul very well observes in the first Chapter of his Epistle to the Romans, they were wretchedly debafed in their morals, running into the most enormous and unnatural crimes. But however inexcufable the Heathen idolatry was, from the observations which have been made, I

think it evidently appears, that amidst all SER M. the corruptions which prevail'd, and notV. withstanding the ftrong appearances of Polytheism, ftill that grand principle of natural religion was maintain'd by the most understanding and thoughtful men, that there is one only living and eternal God, and they endeavour'd to explain their worship in a consistency with it.

It is not to be diffembled however, that there has been a real difference upon this head among profeffed Theifts, nay, among profesfed Chriftians; fome have afferted that there are two eternal, unmade, independent Principles, one good and the other evil; which opinion others have rejected as a very great error. The philofopher of greatest note who maintained the being of an eternal evil dæmon, the author of all the mischief and diforder that is in the world, was Plutarch the celebrated moralift. He pretends indeed, that he was not fingular in this notion, but that some of the most learned among the Perfians and Egyptians, as well as Greeks, especially Plato, went before him in it; which in all probability is a mistake, at least with refpect to Plato, and the other eminent Grecians. For the fentiments of the Perfian Magi, it is more doubtful, whether ArimaVOL. I. L

nius,

SERM.nius, whom their theology reprefented as V. the head of the oppofition to goodness, were understood by them to be a substantial, unmade, independent principle or not. Among the fects of profefs'd Chriftians, almost every one knows that Manes and his followers were charg'd with this error, (and from him it bears the name of Manicheifm to this day ;) how justly, it is hard to determine, for it is certain that the hiftory of ancient herefies is involv'd in great darkness. However that be, the grounds of the opinion are of much greater importance, and more neceffary to be confidered than the hiftory of its rife and progrefs. Now what gave the principal, I may say, the only occafion to it, was the difficulty, and, as the abettors of it alledge, the impoffibility of accounting otherwife for the origin of evil. Shall we, fay they, attribute all the good that is in the world to a good author, and from his works infer his being and his moral character, which is allow'd to be a just way of reasoning; and fhall we not, in like manner, impute the evil that is in the world, to an evil caufe? Or is it to be imagined, that a Being effentially good, would have produc'd or even permitted, when it was in his power to have prevented, fo much wickednefs and fo much unhappiness as we fee among mankind? It is