in Contriving Man's Redemption. :213 . find in the remaining Principles of the Natural Law, full and [ullicient Direflions for~ the whole Duty of Man, either as to the performing Good, or avoiding Evil. The Mind li' P 1 7 if dari{ned and defiled with Error, that indifpofes it for its Office, Eph. 4· 17, 18. ~ I will now proceed to !hew how infullicient Philofophy is to direct us in our Duty to God, our fel ves and others. Fir[/, In refpell: of Piety, which is the chiefeft Duty of the reafonable Creature, Philofophy is very defective, nay, in many things contrary to it: 1. By delivering unworthy Notions and Conceptions of the Deity. Not only the vulgar Heathens changed the Truth of God into a Lie, whe? they ~nea_fured his Incomprehenfible Perlections by the narrow Compafs of thm lmagmatiOns , or when looking on him through the appearing Diforders of the World, they thought him unjuft and cruel; as the moft beautiful Face feem• deformed and monlhous in a difturbed ftream: But the moft renowned Philofophers difhonoured Him by their bafe Apprehenfions. For the true Notior>of God, fignilies a being Infin ite, Independent, the univerfal Creator, who prefen•es Heaven and Earth, the abfolute director of all Events; That his Providence takes notice of all Actionj, that he is a liberal Rewarder of thofe that feek Him, and a juft Revenger of thofe that viol ate his Laws: Now all this was contradicted by them. (u) Some alferted th;,-;,;;;;·,;j',;~iv;;;;1 ~;;;1;: theWorld to be eternal, others that Matter was; and in that denied him to be the Jirf/ Caufe of all things. Some limited his Being, confining Him to one of the Potu of Heaven: Others extended it only to the Amplitude of the World. The (x) Epicureans totally denied his governing Providence, and made Him an idle Specta.tor of things below. They alferted, That God was contented With hiS own ,;,,.,'" ill.>d ,,k,,)d <fi Majefly and Glory: That whatever was without him, was neither in his thoughts nor care; as if to be employed in ordering the various Accidents of the World, were incompatible with his Blelfednefs, and He needed their Impi ety to relieve Him. Thus by confining his Power who is Infinite, they deni ed Him in confeffing Him. (y) Others allowed him to regard the great ~J A"" Lih. Affairs of Kingd?ms and ~ations, to manage Crowns a~d Scepte.rs.; but to froop fo Jow ~~~n::;n;ri ,1(. as to regard parucular thtngs. they judged as unbecommg the Dtvtne Nature, as for the rnnt.> PM'tlst ~~~P~~/~~~e~f/{~:;.', ~:~~~na~~ 1;e~~tpaa7~~~~ f~~d ~~;';XO~~:~~\~a~~'rpoJ.h~r aW0~utt~: ~J~';;';,,~;. ble things. Sencca himfelf reprefents Forlttlle ( Vid. Epift. 74·) as not difcerning the Worthy from the Unworthy, and fcatteri ng its Gifts without refpect to Venue. (z) Some ( 0)Adim·t A. ~~~et~i: ~;~f~~i~~!~~clf~;: ;rh;;~eh~o~~~~~~~~~u~~·~r r~~ ~~~%~ ... ~~1~~5 r~~b{~~=~ EJ~:~1"";:;i. of t?e Ht;ather;ts di~onoured the_Deity by their f~lfe Imaginations, and infread of repre# ~~:~,~~/!:,:;,: femmg h•m with hiS proper Attnbutes, drew a P11l:ure of themfelves, Befides, their im- ttm, & " ~:~;r~!rJ!~sc~~d/of:~~:~~~~ !~v~~e~~~ ~~~~fr ~i~~!i~~ ~fnc~r~~;~i~~~~e~ dt1,~it;~T!/£:~1 of future Judgment. For humane Laws do not punHh fecret Crimes that are innumera- c11i _in agtnd; ~;:,a n~;aa~l I~her~'m~~l~~~f~~!fe;~~oF:n1~c;~c:~~dwv~~~u:.re ~~?Y~~~tf~~f~e1h~ff~r~Jh~~ ~JJi~::i~:ir:~ whom every Hea,rt is manifef\:, every Afrion aTef\:imony, and every great Per[on a Sub- ~upke_meGod, jeCt, is of equal force to give check to Sin in all: in the Darkne[s of the Night, and the ~u~~~ ~~~n Light of the Day ; in the Works of the Hand, and the Thoughts of the Heart. '"· <hoi• c. .J,. 'l. Philofophy is very defec:tive as to Piety, in not enjoyning the Love of God . The ~~r1;.!"ur~:1•1 fir(\ and great Command in the Law of Nature, (the order of the Precepts being accor- w•ifli•f•h<i•· ding to theirDignity)is this, Tboufoalt love tbe Lord withaU thy Heart, Soul, and Strength. ctrt! ad~~r~{ . 'Tis moft reafonable that our Love !hould firft afcend to Him, and in its full vigour : For """ ' ' · our Obligations to him are infinite, and all inferiour Objects are incomparably beneath him. Yet Philofophers fpeak little or nothing of this, which is the principal part of Natural Religion. Arij/otle who was fo clear-fighted in other things, when he dircourres of God, is not only affectedly obfcure to conceal his Ignorance, as the Fifh which troubl~s the Water for fear of being catch'd; but 'tis on the occafion of fpeculative Sciences, as m his Phyficf<!, when he confiders him as the firft Caure of all the Motions in the :World; or in his MetaphJJicks, as the fupreme Being, the Knowledge of whom, he rairh, IS moft nobl e in it felf, but of no ufe to Men. But in his Morals, where he had reafon !o con_fide~ the Deity as an Object mo(\ worthy of our Love, Rerpect, and Obedience m an mfintte Degree, he totally omits fuch a Reprefentation of him, although the Love of God is that alone which gives Price to all Moral Vertues. And from hence it is that Philofophy is fo defective as to Rules for the preparing Men for an intimate and delig~~~
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