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of feveral Thousand hungry Perfons; and that the Fragments fhould be much more than the Bread was at first. So neither in a Word spoken, to raise the Dead, cure Difeafes, &c.

Therefore, tho' we know not the utmoft Extent of the Power of Nature, yet we can certainly know what is contrary to the Nature of feveral fuch Things as we do know.

And therefore, tho' we may be cheated and impofed upon in many feeming Miracles and Wonders, yet there are fome Things wherein we may be certain.

But further: The Deifts acknowlege a God, of an Almighty Power, who made all Things; yet they would put it out of his Power to make any Revelation of his Will to Mankind. For if we cannot be certain of any Miracle, how should we know when God fent any thing extraordinary to us? Nay how fhould we know the ordinary Power of Nature, if we knew not what exceeded it? If we know not what is natural, how do we know there is fuch a Thing 25 Nature? That all is not Supernatural? All Miracles? And fo difputable, till we come to downright Scepticism, and doubt the Certainty of our outward Senfes; defiring only this, that they would allow the Senfes of other Men to be as certain as their own: Which they cannot refufe, fince, without this, they can have no Certainty of their own.

XI. Therefore, from what has been faid, the Caufe is fummed up fhortly in this; That tho' we cannot fee what was done before our Time, yet, by the Marks which I have laid down concerning the Certainty of Matters of Fact done before our Time, we may be as much affured of the Truth of them, as if we saw them with our Eyes: Because whatever Matter of Fact has all the four Marks before-mentioned, could never have been invented or received, but upon the Conviction of the outward Senfes of all those who did receive it, as be ́ore is demonftrated. And therefore this Topick which I have chosen, does ftand upon the Conviction even of Mens outward Senfes. And fince you have confined me to one Topick,

I have not infifted upon the others, which I have only named.

XII. And now it lies upon the Deifts, if they would appear as Men of Reason, to fhew fome Matter of Fact of former Ages, which they allow to be true, that has greater Evidences of its Truth than the Matters of Fact of Mofes and of Chrift: Otherwife they cannot, with any Shew of Reafen, reject the one, and yet admit

of the other.

But I have given them greater Latitude than this; for I have fhewn fuch Marks of the Truth of the Matters of Fact of Mofes and of Chrift, as no other Matters of Fact of thofe Times, however true, have, but thefe only And I : put it upon them to fhew any Forgery that has all thefe Marks.

This is a fhort fue. Keep them close to this. This determines the Caufe all at once.

Let them take Aid from all the Legends in the Church of Rome, thofe pious Cheats, the foreft Difgraces of Chrifianity, and which have bid the fairest of any one Contrivance to overturn the Certainty of the Miracles of Chrift and his Apostles, and whole Truth of the Gospel, by putting them all upon the fame Foot; at lealt they are fo understood by the Generality of their Devotees, tho' difowned and laughed at by the Learned and Men of Senfe among them.

Let them pick and chufe the most probable of all the Fables of the Heathen Leities, and fee if they can find in any of these the four Marks before-mentioned.

Otherwise let them fubmit to the irrefragable Certainty of the Chriftian Religion.

XIII. But if, notwithstanding of all that is faid, the Deifts will ftill contend, that all this is but Prieft-craft, the Invention of Pricfts for their own Profit, &c. then they will give us an Idea of Priests far different from what they intend: For then we must look upon thefe Priefs not only as the cunningeft and wifeft of Mankind, but we fhall be tempted to adore them as Deities, who have fuch Power as to impose, at their Pleasure, upon the Senfes of Mankind; to make them believe

that

that they had practifed fuch publick Inftitutions, enacted them by Laws, taught them to their Children, &c. when they had never done any of thefe Things, or ever fo much as heard of them before: And then, upon the Credit of their believing that they had done fuch Things as they never did, to make them further believe, upon the fame Foundation, whatever they pleased to impofe upon them as to former Ages: I fay, fuch a Power as this must exceed all that is human; and confequently make us rank thefe Priefts far above the Condition of Mortals.

2. Nay, this were to make them outdo all that has ever been related of the infernal Powers; for tho' their Legerdemain has extended to deceive fome unwary Be holders, and their Power of working fome feeming Miracles has been great, yet it never reached, nor ever was fuppofed to reach, fo far as to deceive the Senfes of all Mankind, in Matters of fuch publick and notorious Nature as thofe of which we now speak; to make thei believe, that they had enacted Laws for fuch publick Obfervances, continually practifed them, taught them to their Children, and had been inftructed in them themselves from their Childhood, if they had never enacted, practifed, taught, or been taught, fuch Things.

3. And as this exceeds all the Power of Hell and Devils, fo it is more than ever God Almighty has done fince the Foundation of the World. None of the Mi. racles that he has fhewn, or Belief which he has required to any-thing that he has revealed, has ever contradicted the outward Senfes of any one Man in the World, much less of all Mankind together. For Miracles, being Appeals to our outward Senfes, must detroy with it all their own Certainty, as to us; fince we have no other Way to judge of a Miracle exhibited to our Senfes, than upon the Suppofition of the Certainty of our Senfes, upon which we give Credit to a Miracle that is fhewn to our Senfes.

4. This, by the way, is a yet unanswered Argument against the Miracle of Tranfubftantiation; and fhews the Weakness of the Defence which the Church

of Rome offers for it (from whom the Socinians have licked it up, and, of late, have gloried much in it amongst us), that the Doctrines of the Trinity, or Incartion, do contradict all of thefe. Therefore the Com· parifon is exceedingly short, and out of Purpose. But

to return.

If the Christian Re'igion be a Cheat, and nothing elfe but the Invention of Prifts, and carried on by their Craft, it makes their Power and Wisdom greater than that of Men, Angels, or Devils, (and more than God himfelf ever yet fhewed or expreffed) to deceive and impofe upon the Senfes of Mankind, in such publick and notorious Matters of Fact.

XIV. And this Miracle, which the Deifts must run into, to avoid thefe recorded of Mofes and Chrift, is much greater, and more astonishing, than all the Scriptures tell of them.

So that thefe Men, who laugh at all Miracles, are now obliged to account for the greatest of all, how the Senfes of Mankind can be impofed upon in fuch pub

lick Matters of Fact.

And how then can they make the Priefs the most contemptible of all Mankind; fince they make them. the fole Authors of this the greatest of Miracles?

XV. And fince the Deifts (thefe Men of Senfe and Reafon !) have fo vile and mean an Idea of the Priefts of all Religions, why do they not recover the World out of the Poffeffion and Government of fuch Blockheads? Why do they fuffer Kings and States to be led by them? To establish their Deceits by Laws, and inflict Penalties upon the Oppofers of them? Let the Deifts try their Hands: They have been trying, and are now very bufy about it, and free Liberty they have; yet have they not prevailed, nor ever yet did prevail, in any civilized or generous Nation. And tho' they have some Inroads among the Hottentots, and fome other the most brutal Part of Mankind, yet are they ftill exploded; and Priests have and do prevail against them, among not only the greateft, but beft Part of the World, and the most glorious for Arts, Learning and War.

XVI. For as the Devil does ape God, in his Inftitutions of Religion, his Feafts, Sacrifices, &c. folkewise in his Priests; without whom no Religion, whether true or false, can stand. False Religion is but a Corruption of the true: The true was before it, though it be followed close upon the Heels.

The Revelation made to Mofes is elder than Hiany fory extant in the Heathen World. The Heathens, in Imitation of him, pretended likewife to their Revelations; but I have given thofe Marks which diftinguish them from the true: None of them have these four Marks before-mentioned.

Now the Deifts think all Revelations to be equally pretended, and a Cheat; and the Priests of all Religions to be the fame Contrivers and Jugglers; and therefore they proclaim War equally againft all, and are equally engaged to bear the Brunt of all.

And if the Contest be only betwixt the Deifts, and the Priests, which of them are the Men of the greatest Parts and Senfe, let the Effects determine it; and let the Deifts yield the Victory to their Conquerors, who, by their own Confeffion, carry all the World before

them.

XVII. If the Deifts fay, that this is, because all the who World are Blockheads, as well as thefe Priefts govern them; that all are Blockheads except the Deifts, who vote themselves only to be Men of Senfe; this (befides the Modefty of it!) will spoil their great and beloved Topick, in Behalf of what they call Natural Religion against the Revealed, viz. Appealing to the common Reafon of Mankind: This they fet up against Revelation; think this to be fufficient for all the Ufes of Men, here or hereafter (if there be any After-State); and therefore that there is no Ufe of Revelation. This common Reason they advance as infallible, at least as the fureft Guide; yet now cry out upon it, when it turns against them: When this common Sense runs after Revelation (as it always has done), then common Reafon is a Beast; and we must look for Reason, not from the com

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