of the faith, nor alters or makes void any one duty of our religion. And I may safely affirm to those who of themselves cannot find out these particulars, or, if pointed out, are not able readily to judge of them; that although I would not prevent any from endeavouring to add knowledge to their faith, in whatever points they are able; being fully satisfied, that no freedom of enquiry, justly conducted, can be of disservice to the truth, provided we do not give ourselves up to be carried to and fro, with every wind of what seems new to us, beyond what we understand-: I say, even the lowest of our people, who can only read, mark, learn and digest our scriptures as our English version offers them to us, to gather from them, that doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness, which they plainly afford us, will find, that they can want nothing more to make them wise unto salvation: and consequently, how obvious to them will be the answer long ago returned to such a surmise, as is offered by Lord Bolingbroke? That" if the scriptures were entirely the word

of God, all of them absolutely given by inspiration, they would have been as absolutely preserved from all variations of copies, and mistakes of transcribers."

The answer is: What a scheme would these men make? What worthy rules would they prescribe to providence? That in millions of copies transcribed in so many ages and nations, all the scribes or notaries, many of whom, perhaps, made it their trade and livelihood to transcribe, should, whenever they wrote out scripture, be infallible and impeccable; that their pens should spontaneously write true, or be supernaturally guided, though the scribes were nodding and dreaming. Now, to what purpose should we require this miracle? To keep clear and indubious the articles of our faith, or the necessary rules for our moral lives? No: in all these we are safe, notwithstanding any imperfections of copies; but merely to silence every doubt and whim, which no man truly religious, drawn by the cords of a man, by rational, ingenuous, and moral motives, will have, but

may be captiously taken up by the impiety and folly of such as will be pleased with any thing, which only seems to be an objection against the scriptures."

Upon the whole, variations of Evangelists in their accounts of the same facts, the conduct of this or that particular apostle, and likewise some little difference in copies of the scriptures, are topics, which designing men, with very little examination and knowledge of what they confidently affirm, are extremely apt to take up; one saying just what another had said before him, only perhaps with a little more freedom and false assurance; not considering how fully all they say, or can say upon these topics, has been answered over and over. To writers thus determined, of saying the same things there is no end. All we can do, is to remind the candid and sincere, that the points so industriously propagated, have been fully, freely, and impartially considered by the

See Phil. Lips. p. 112, 113.

ablest writers, not only of that profession, which it is become a fashion, with some, most unmercifully to speak against; but by gentlemen also of enquiry and impartiality; of ability and character, which no approbation of mine can add to. And, both from what they have particularly written," and from what others have more in general considered upon these subjects; it may be sufficiently known, even by the plainest reader, that the providence of God has permitted the scriptures to have the lot of all other writings which have passed through the hands of men. Even the writers of these books have sometimes been permitted to differ, both in conduct and in matters related by them, so as to make it evident, that

w No reader, that would judge of these subjects, should omit to consider and examine carefully Mr. West's Observations on the Resurrection of Christ: and another treatise entitled, Observations on the Conversion and Apostleship of St. Paul.-To which should be added, the Bishop of Landaff's Apology for the Bible; and above all, Paley's Evidences of the Christian Religion. EDIT.

But

there has been no confederacy of men to make the scriptures what they are. there is in the sacred pages, in the New Testament, a morality so perfect, that it cannot be conceived, humanly speaking, that the first preachers of the gospel, men of such low parts and education as they were, could in all points, without any one error, have thus taught the way of God in

x

x

* It would have weight with any serious examiner to consider, that although the wise heathens endeavoured by the light of reason, to trace out the lines of moral duty, and many excellent rules were given by many of them, and perhaps a careful collector might form a good system from them all; yet, as they were but men, so every one of them had their mistakes. But herein there is a difference; there are no defects, no one error in the morality of the gospel. The first publishers of it, were mean, illiterate, unlearned men; and yet they gave us moral precepts, all pure, all unmixed: no conceits, or false rules; nothing tending to the by-ends of any man, or any party; no tang of fancy or superstition; no footsteps of pride or vanity; no touch of ostentation and ambition; but all sincere. Nothing too much, nothing wanting; but the whole is so perfect and complete; and tends so absolutely to the good of mankind, that all would be happy, even in this world, if all would sincerely believe and practise it.