prophet, and the fweet fongfter of If rael) or ever the earth and the world were made, I am God from everlasting. Whilft as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the duft of the world; when he prepared the heavens, I was there; when he fet a compass upon the face of the deep, when he established the clouds above, when he ftrengthened the fountains of the deep, when he gave the fea his decree, that the waters fhould not pafs his commandments, when he appointed the foundation of the earth: Then was I by him as one brought up, and was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him. If then wifdom always rejoices before God-why need a wife man be fad or penfive? Away from her all melancholy and enthufiafm, fuch contrary tempers cannot dwell together, wifdom having no place for you! Of wildom, Solomon concludes thus: therefore hearken unto me, O ye children!-for bleffed are they that keep my ways! hear inftruction and be wife, and refufe it not. Bleffed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the pofts of my doors. For whofo findeth me findeth life (life everlasting) and fhall obtain the favour of the Lord-(he fhall live and reign with Chrift, God bleffed for evermore in his kingdom in heaven.) But he that finneth against me (that will not obey as well as believe the gofpel of Chrift) wrongeth his own foul. All that hate me love death.

May we not all then justly exclaim with St. Paul, on this occafion and fay: Oh the depth and height, the length and breadth, of the wifdom (as well as of the love) of Chrift, which furpaffeth knowledge?

A. B.

fions to an exalted worth; but are unfortunately loft to all fentiments of piety. If they difbelieve a future state, then to think, that they fhall fhortly be, as if they never had been, that they muft foon be fwallowed up in annihilation, that bottomlefs gulph, where all diftinctions are loft, as rivers in the ocean; is enough to pall each exalted and noble thought, and to beget in them a fullennefs, fournefs, and difcontent. A fretfulnefs and impatience, that will grow upon them, will make them fo far from fulfilling the law by bearing one another's burthens, that they will be incapable of bearing their own. They must defpife themselves and their fellow creatures as a fet of infignificant reptiles, that are to crawl for a while upon the face of the earth, and then to mix with the common mafs of things. And as they, who expect no other life, ought to make the most of this, they must contract a narrow-fpirited and illiberal caft of thought.

But if they believe a future ftate, how can they have any taste or relish for benevolence; and yet have no love for that Being, who has en.. dowed morality and benevolence with an exceeding and eternal reward? On the other hand, what delightful perceptions muft it give them to reflect, that at the fame time, that they are wifhing, contriving, and promoting the happinefs of their fellow-creatures, they are fellow-workers with that great and good Being, who is able and willing to give them as great a happinefs, as their most unbounded good-will can wish; and far greater than their narrow understanding can conceive? How muft their hearts burn within them, who have fo fervent a zeal for Charity, to find, that this Charity fhall never fail; and thefe fhort-lived inftances of friendship and good-will, which we fhew to one another here, will be fucceeded by an uninterrupted intercourfe

tercourfe of mutual endearments for ever and ever? And, what will moft heighten their humanity will be to confider, that we fhall be all partakers of the fame common happinefs from him, with whom is the fulness of joy, and from whom continual rivers of pleafure are ever ftreaming. It is then abfurd to pretend love for benevolence; and yet to be regardlefs of the most benevolent Being that is. And it is likewife abfurd to pretend to love him, without a ferious examination into his will; never difmiffing. what bears that venerable ftamp, without a fair and impartial hearing of the evidences for the truth of it. For, on whomfoever the world may beltow the title of moral men; yet an indifferent careleffnefs, and a wilful neglect to examine into his will and pleasure is no part of morality. Nay, his will, whofe pleasure we muft either do, or whofe difpleasure we muft unavoidably fuffer, ought to be the uppermost confideration of every man. Can he deserve the name of a good man, who does not fhew the leaft regard to that Being, to whom he owes every thing? the Deity being the fountain-head even

of thofe bleffings, which are conveyed to him by his fellow-creatures, as through fo many channels?

But if it not true, in fact, that there are several of ftrict probity, generofity, and worth, without the leaft tincture of piety? To which I anfwer, feveral have, from their infancy, affociated the ideas of happinefs and esteem, of mifery and difgrace. This makes them decline thofe actions which may entail infamy and difgrace upon them; and purfue thofe which may beget an esteem for them: efteem being to them an effential ingredient of happiness. They have been taught to fet an high value upon themselves; which high value of themselves is always, more or less, accompanied by a

fufpicion or miftruft, that they over-value themfelves. For which reafon they are impatient to have the favourable verdict, which they pass upon themfelves, feconded and confirmed by the approbation of others, and unwilling to do any thing, that may leffen them in the opinion of their fellow-creatures. It is then the defire of fame, not the love of virtue, which is their incentive to good actions. And if we look abroad into the world, we find it thus in fact: Perfons of this ftamp will fcorn to do a little thing. thro' the abhorrence of any thing, that may make them cheap and contemptible in the eye of the world: but they will not fcruple to commit a fin, upon which the fashionable world has ftamped a credit, and given a fanétion to. A perfon who is ungrateful, much more ungrateful to his fovereign Benefactor, must be void of every thing, which is great, glorious, and beautiful in the foul. He may, indeed, be actuated by the love of applause, by caprice, by the prevailing mode and fafhion of the age in which he lives; but his mind is too narrow. contracted, and ungenerous, to be fwayed by any fixed and determined principle of goodness.

CANDIDE.

firmities of our nature, which the ftoic pride denied to it, but which the imperfections of it requires."

If a man be really virtuous and honeft, and is defirous to commend himself to the Deity by a rational and ferious conduct, it feems impoffible to fuppofe, that he fhould have any objection to that system, which gives to virtue its fwee:elt hopes;" which places the duties of morality upon the firmest and most extenfive foundation; and which elevates the foul to the nobleft and molt confiftent ideas of God, and of the fervices which are acceptable to him.

If a man be engaged in vicious purfuits, and dedicated to criminal gratifications, there feems again no folid reafon why he fhould reject and oppofe the Christian religion," and fhroud himself beneath the dark banner of deifm or infidelity; fince it is agreed, on every hand, that if there is a Deity, (and that there is, no man even attempts to doubt in thefe enlightened days) that Deity must take a pleasure only in the deeds of the pure and deferving; can find no complacence in the acts or the offers of the finful and polluted. So that while a man continues in the practice of vice, deifm, and every other religion, if it be confiftent, muft difapprove his proceedings; can fupport him with no fatisfactory hopes.

If, therefore, defirous to obtain the divine attention, he refolves to alter his life, and to abandon the path of guilt, what religion fhould he embrace fo foon, fo gladly as that, which gives to true penitence its beft confolation " nay, which alone can give any folid confolation to penitence, and affure it undoubtedly of the pardon for which it fo anxioufly wishes? Human reafon, it is plain, could never perfectly fatisfy itfelf, refpecting the willingness of the Deity to admit to pardon on repentance only:

the heathens abundantly teftified their perfuafion of the contrary, by not trufting only to penitence; fuperadding, as was univerfally the cuftom, facrifices and offerings, libations, gifts, and atonements of different forts; by which they conceived their gods were to be pla-cated; a notion which most probably they derived from tradition; as unenlightened reafon feems perfectly to difclaim, or at least to be an utter ftranger to the idea-But, to the exquifite comfort of the returning penitent, the Chriftian religion leaves not this moft important of all concerns to the fluctuation of uneafy conjecture; while it establishes his hopes upon the fureft bafis, and fupports his repentance with the most unexceptionable affurance of its prevalence,: through an atonement all-fufficient and well-pleafing. The vicious man, therefore, if he hath any real understanding, can never, with propriety, reject Christianity. Since, if ever he intends to repent,-and no man living intends to die im penitent; no religion, but the Chriftian, can afford him a folid, a rational ground of hope.

If indeed there be an eternity awaiting us, if the foul of man be immortal, and muft, in confequence, partake of the due reward of its deeds; (and if the cafe be otherwife, to contend about religion is just as idle, as to contend about men's different complections) if man be immortal, and that he is, the univerfal voice of nature declares, in every place, and in every age. Then, let who will be wrong, the Chriftian must be right; let whatever religion be true, the fincere profeffor of Christianity can. not fail of his recompence; cannot be unacceptable to the Deity, let that Deity be found hereafter; agreeable to the reprefentations of what fyftem or perfuafion foever. Cicero's fine argument against

Atheism

ARGUMENTS

AGAINST MURMURING AT THE DISPENSATIONS OF PROVIDENCE. Let no prefuming impious railer tax Creative wifdom, as if ought was form'd In vain, or not for admirable ends.

T

Thompfon's Seafons.

HE whole life of man is tinged with the mortifying evil of difcontent; he is feldom fatisfied with his condition be it what it will; he is continually tormenting and disturbing his own quiet; if all external circumftances confpire to render his life tranquil and eafy, yet he often deprives him felf of the enjoyment; for if real evils are wanting, he frequently fubliitutes those that are imaginary; whether his affairs be profperous or adverse, he is in fome degree miferable; when adverfe, he murmurs againft the difpenfations of Providence; when profperous, he frets and repines after fome enjoyment, that is, perhaps, wifely withheld; or, if he is permitted to obtain his with, he is ftill unhappy; every new attainment creates a new defire. On wishes, wishes grow; therefore, if once we give way to our vain defires, we fhall never be fatiated ; but if we would enjoy the bleflings of this life, we must be content with fuch things as we have." For fuch enjoyment confifteth not in the multiplication of our wants, but the reduction of our defires; we' muft not torment ourfelves with fearful expectations of calamities, that in all probability may never happen; we must not murmur or complain of the hardships of our real or imaginary evils, and be very cautious not to repine at the dif penfations of Providence, for that is highly offenfive to our heavenly Father who hath created us, and at prefent fuftains us under all our infirmities. We, and every thing we enjoy are his, and he has a right "to do what he will with his own: 3

His tender mercies are over all his works. He diftributes his bleffings, as appears to his unerring wisdom moft conducive e to our prefent and future intereft; it is true, that many of his difpenfations appear partial and offenfive to human nature i but notwithflanding this, we may be fatisficd, they are all in fome meafure intended for our good. Many dangerous evils attend our existence in the world, unobferved by our fhort-fighted nature, which are generoufly difperfed by the gracious interference of unerring wifdom. Hence we should be anxious not to offend our Creator and Preferver, by our unreasonable mur, murs and complaints, left he ceafe to "direct our steps, and fuffer us to follow our vain imaginations."* The children of Ifrael murmured in their tents, and hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord, therefore he lifted up his hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness." Hence it is evident that God is difpleafed with fuch conduc; and certainly it is a moft horrid prefumption for finful man to difpute with the moft High God, about the wifdom or righteoufness of his own ways: "Who art thou, O man! that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed fay to him that formed it, why haft thou made me thus? Is it not lawful for God to do what he will with his own?

But though mankind are too apt to be diffatisfied with many of the difpenfations of Providence, yet there is none fo commonly found fault with as that of the weather: Every individual has fome project in view, which he is anxious to put in execution; in order to do it effectually, either rain or fair weather is occafionally requifite; therefore, if the feafon is not conformable to his wihes, he is difgufted, and prefumes to cenfure the difpenfations thereof; nay, fome are even fo horridly prefumptuous as to curfe the feafon when it falls out contrary to their

wishes