to be omnifcient, might talk of having what the Devil fuggefted to Eve in him; but fuch Talk will not bear hearing from the Mouth of, or to a Chriftian.

If what I have obferv'd, be all Man can do; he cannot poffibly, by his own Faculties, or any thing in Nature, much lefs as understood, come at Evidence for any of the Propofitions afferted: and ftill much lefs at a ftate of his own Cafe; of the Ideas of the feveral Parties that are concern'd; of what relation he ftands in to each of them; of what is confiftent with all the Attributes of the Aleim of what each of them have, confiftent with those Attributes, refolv'd to do; without which, if he had perfect Scales; he cannot weigh them.

The Mind may do its beft to weigh the Ideas which come in by the Senfes of his Body, or by the Report of others, and what can be deduced from thence; the Ideas or Results recorded in his Memory or human Records; the Ideas convey'd from the Records of things which were tranfacted before there were any Senfes; and of things which were feen, &c. but before recording by Words was us'd; and of things which have been feen and recorded fince; the Ideas of

the

the Supporters of thefe Records, the Numbers and Qualifications of the Witneffes, the Manner how the Records have been preferved; but cannot come at the Ideas of any Facts otherwife.

Man can aim at forming Ideas about fuch things, but that is only Imagination. Ideas of fuch things are to be given by thofe who understand them, by the Aleim; and taken by us, not to be form'd by us by guefs: fuch are convey'd by Hieroglyphicks, Emblems, Types, fubftituted Things, Parts or Actions, animate or inanimate by Writing, &c. were reveal'd and inftituted to fupply Man with Ideas of what relates to the fpiritual Part: So Man can neither come at the Knowledge of them, nor weight them fairly without the help of Revelation; nor come at the Knowledge of it till he has acquir'd fome competent Skill how to ufe his Scales; because the Ideas in the Tranflations were alter'd long ago, fer. viii, 8. How do ye fay we are wife, and the Law of Jehovah is with us? lo certainly the falle Pen of the Scribes worketh for Falfhood. The wife Men are afhamed; they are difmay'd and taken: lo they have rejec

ted

ted the Word of Jehovah, and the Wisdom of what thing is in them.

As the Eye takes in fenfible Objects, and the Ear Sounds, and compares them; fo the Eye or Ear of the Mind takes in and compares Ideas, not only of those Objects feen, or those which come in by Sounds; but Ideas of th Objects which neither the Organs of the Body, nor thofe of the Mind can now come at, but by Ideas taken from those seen or heard in form, given by Revelation, but magnified in degree, &c. by Epithets joined; and weighs and compares them with fenfible Ideas, with each other, &c. and without thofe has nothing to weigh. For till Rules be laid down and understood, and Data given; though the Mind is capable of being taught to weigh, there is nothing inherent, any more than there is for any other Science; any more than there is to act without Data and Rules in Mathematicks, in Algebra, or &c.

Does any one pretend to compare Quantities, Dimenfions, Weights in different Fluids, Lines, Numbers, Angles, Sides; fo Distances, Powers, Motions, or &c. which come within his Senfes, till he has acquired each Science, and has the proper Data in each to work with

Yet

Yet his Mind properly inform'd, and with proper Data, is capable of performing any of these Operations. Does not even a Free-thinker, applaud one who takes thefe Methods, and fo arrives at Perfection in these Sciences? And fhould he not be ashamed of pretending to compare and weigh Ideas which come not within his Senfes, but by borrowed Ideas only conveyed by Revelation; and knows he never offered to acquire them.

A Man who has not thoroughly confidered Revelation, could never poffibly know that there were three Perfons, that there had been a prior State of Creatures, of their Defection, of the Motives the Aleim had to create this Syftem and Man; of the State he put him in, what induced him to fall; fo has not a ftate of the Cafe; fo could not fo much as ima→ gine what State himself is in, nor how he could retrieve himself; ftill lefs what was fit for the Aleim to do to retrieve him. So had Ideas to put into one end of the Scales which weighed him down; but had not fo much as imaginary Ideas, much lefs real ones, to put into the other end to overweigh his Load of Crimes.

As i plural fignifies the Ears, and a Ballance with Scales, as DD plural VOL. VIII. Scales;

D

Scales; fo Job fays xii. 11. Doth not the Ear try Words? So Eliku, who perhaps reafoned as well about God's Conduct as ever one did, who did not understand one fide of the Cafe, as he did not that of Job's Cafe, as Job did; and who had not the whole of the Cafe revealed to him, fays as fob had faid, fob xxxiv. 3.--and adds, Let us choose to us Fudgment; let us know within ourselves what is good. But Job fhews the Dif ference, xxxiii. 23. If there be a Meffenger with him, One fent, an Ambaffador to the Court of another King to fpy his Weakness, conquer him, and make him contemptible, as Chrift was to the Court of Satan; and made him fo.- I have found an Atonement &c. So upon Jehovah's Manifeftation to Job xliii. 5. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the Ear; but now mine Eye feeth thee &c. Man had not loft his Scales, but he had lost that which was of equal Weight to Immortality; and he wanted fomething to put in that Scale to ballance, and caft it. And when he has it offered, 'tis to be weighed by comparative Ideas; a Method which few underftand, fewer teach, and scarce any study, fo few chufe. For want of un

der