produce! How fitly might the whole Body thus knit together and compacted, by that which every Joint Supplieth, increase with the Increase of God, would Man but enter into the fame great Plan of exciting Industry and Labour, and do what lies in his Power to promote it; viz. entail Benefits and Succeffes as the natural confequence of these; endeavour to fuit every one's Station to his refpective Merit and Abilities; i. e. deal with each perfon clined, both by them and its own courfe of Operation, and will become daily more and more conformed to them, by due regular exercife; which we likewife experience; -its Operations will become as much the Objects of Foreknowledge; nor will it be much lefs eafy to account for either the Formation, or Increafe of any particular Turn of Mind, in any given fituation, than if all were performed in us neceffarily, and at once. This Plan of Human Nature, which derives every thing from a few Principles, and yet makes room for that endless Variety confpicuous in it, might, I am fenfible, and will fhortly, I believe, be fet in a good light, and fhewn to be free from fome of the greatest Difficulties that must clog all others. In this view a juft Uniformity is, by the Deity, fo far as his immediate acts reach, always, and might be by us, preferved among all its conftituent parts; our Talents suited to our Capacity of ufing them; our Sphere enlarged, as that increases; and regularly keeping pace with our Improvements; each Difpenfation put upon a reasonable foot; and all Difcoveries made in due proportion to our Qualifications for judging of them, and our Difpofitions to apply them. Whereas the contrary Scheme, of bringing all things to an original, equal, and immediate Intuition; or of fixing every Man to certain Impulfes, or Inftincts, independent on his Station and Endeavours, and intirely unimprovable by them; this must be quite arbitrary, and in a great meafure ufelefs; and attended with all the inconfiftencies and inconveniencies already mentioned. Such would the Confequences be of that pretended Univerfal Equability, in Natural Religion; nor is the levelling Scheme, fo much contended for in Revelation, lefs abfurd, as will appear below. ac according to what he is, and observe those Rules which the great God of Nature has established! What Emulation must this raise, join'd with the utmost care and caution, when each finds it in his power fo much to improve and advance, as well as to impair and debase his Nature; and thereby alfo change his State! what eagerness to excell fome! what dread of falling below others! what provocation for all, to make the best use of their Faculties and Opportunities! This amicable Contest, this perpetual Struggle, must certainly make more for the good of the whole, than if all had been paffive, and absolutely fix'd in any degree of Knowledge and Perfection; or limited unalterably to any State. Upon this Plan only could there be place for Hope or Fear, Reward or Punishment, the only proper means of governing free, rational Agents; and of conducting them to their fupreme and trueft Happiness, which feems entirely to confift in Agency; and which can only this way be excited. This therefore is the method most agree See King's Origin of Evil, Note 19. p. 121, &c. and Note Y. p. 449, &c. We may add that the fuppofition of any fuch fixed, unimprovable State of natural Good implies, ftrictly speaking, no lefs than the Subverfion of all Virtue, or Moral Good; which is nothing but the chufing to communicate the former: [See King, R. 1. p. 84, 85. 3d Ed.] for which Communication there could be no place in fuch a State, nor confequently any room for any of those Ideas which are founded on it. Nor does this Scheme any better confult the Intereft of our Intellectual accomplishments; which while it feems to be exalting them, is at the bottom taking away their Ufe and Exercife: while it pretends to conftitute an equality among Rational Agents, is really deftructive of both Rationality, and Agency. able able to Wisdom and Goodness, and in confequence moft worthy of God. Having thus far confidered the partial Distribution of the Gifts of Nature, and confequent Diversity of Natural Religion, and offered fome Hints towards explaining the Reasonableness and Neceffity thereof; I proceed to fhew the fame concerning Revelation. If a Revelation were to be made at all (and I must here take it for granted that fuch a thing is neither impoffible nor altogether unreasonable in itself, which I think may be fairly done, after what has been wrote upon the fubject, both by Dr. Jenkin, vol. 1. c. I. and the ingenious Author of an Enquiry into the Evidence of the Chriftian Religion, $8.) it must be conveyed in the method we are told it was, namely, at first communicated to fome few felect Perfons, and by them divulg'd, and gradually propagated to the rest of the world; or fecondly, every particular man must have it by immediate Inspiration, and be at all times, and in all cafes, influenced and directed b See King, p. 241, 338, 350, 368, 379, 393, &c. with the following Note. See this defcribed more at large in Bp. Butler's Analogy, P. 93, &c. 2d Edit. Mr. Chubb (on Miracles, p. 68, &c.) objects to this first method, that hereby it would be in the power of a few men to deprive the rest of all the benefits of this Revelation. But is not that really the cafe in all the other Benefits of Nature, and the ordinary Gifts of Providence? Are not most of the Bleffings of Life communicated to us by the mediation and inftrumentality of other men, who may be juft and faithful in communicating them, or otherwife? and is it not oft in the power of a fingle perfon to deprive Multitudes of Life itfelf, or any of its comforts; of Liberty, Peace, Plenty, Arts, Improvements, &c. and is not all this unavoidable while men to it internally; or thirdly, it must be published again and again, and fresh Miracles worked for the Conviction of each Unbeliever in every Age. In the Second of these methods the Inconveniences are very obvious: for First, This Influence, of what kind foever it be, must either be absolutely efficacious and irrefiftable, i. e. fo ftrong as to fubvert the natural Powers of Man, and take away his Freedom of thinking and acting; and confequently destroy all Virtue, Merit, Praife, Reward; i. e. all that is good and valuable in Religion:-or else it would not be sufficient to anfwer the ends propofed; nor could it certainly and effectually fecure the Intereft and Salvation of men are allowed the free ufe of their natural Powers, which Mr. Chubb contends for? Men, he fays, are not to be over-ruled in either the Publication or Reception of Religion; and if fo, he has yet to explain how that is to be given so as not to leave it in the power and pleasure of a few, fooner or later, to reftrain and fupprefs, to difguife and corrupt it; and confequently to prevent thousands and millions of others from sharing in the benefits thereof. ib. p. 63. On a little farther confideration Mr. Chubb may probably find that in this Scheme [of Human Liberty] it must be impoffible for any thing relating either to the Minds, or outward Circumftances of Mankind, to remain in a ftate of perfect Uniformity; and then he may be fenfible too that the fame Caufes, which among other things that concern Mankind, make their Religion unavoidably continue in this partial and unequal way, will hold as ftrongly for its being originally given in the fame way. Chubb's fecond Objection, that if Men could be fupposed to be honeft and faithful in the publication of a Syftem of Revealed Religion, then there would be no occafion for fuch Syftem, ib. feems to be worfe founded than the other; fince this Revelation, notwithstanding all the Imperfections that attend its communication, may ftill be the means of conveying fuch fuperior Benefits to thofe who do come to the knowledge of it, of making fuch Difcoveries in the Nature both of God and Man, and of affording Motives for Man's attaining to fuch a degree of Virtue, and true rational Happiness, as Mankind. As an Illumination it muft either be diftinguishable from the prefent Effects of Reafon and the ordinary Operations of the Divine Spirit, or not; if the former, this must be by ftriking us more forcibly, and working a more affured, infallible Conviction in the Mind: but fo much as is added to that, above what may arise from the prefent Conftitution of things, just so much must be taken from the prefent Choice, and Merit of believing; and the concomitant Delight and Satisfaction which we feel, and ought to feel, in giving our Affent to Truth. Such evidence must either fuperfede all Action and Enquiry of our own, and overbear the Judgement beyond poffias all their Honesty, without fuch helps, could never raise the generality of them to. And whether the fole end of Revelation be to bring men to a higher pitch of happiness than they could otherwife attain, or not: ib. p. 49. this Author never can prove but that this may be one of its great ends, and that this End is in fact obtained, to as high a Degree as is confiftent with his own Scheme of perfect Liberty: fo that, in the laft place, allowing God to forefee all the Confequences, and Events attending fuch an Establishment, ib. p. 62. yet this Establishment fo circumstanced may, notwithstanding any thing this Author has made out to the contrary, come from him. And indeed Mr. Chubb feems at length to be fenfible of that fame boafted Objection against the Divinity of a Revelation from its non-univerfality being fo very much weakened, that he is grown rather weary of it, and willing to get rid of it as handfomely as he can, by pretending that he has not even lean'd to that fide of the Question in all his Debates upon it, and will take it unkindly to have fuch a thing fo much as infinuated of him. The Author's Farewell, p. 219. Note. See ABp. King's Origin. N. 19. p. 128, &c. 3d Ed. compared with N. 58. p. 349. Whence it appears that though in fome cafes and refpects the Affent be unavoidable, and we merely paffive in the Attainment of many ufeful parts of Knowledge; and which must be attended with fome fatisfaction in degree proportioned to the apprehenfion of that use ful |