144 ?He IMPRovEMEN1 or THE MIND. science is hound to this, because there are most evident commands for it to be found in scripture, as well as to be derived from rea- son. I believe also that I may pray to God, either by a written ,fórm, or without one, because neither reason nor revelation ex- pressly requires either of these modes of prayer at all times, or forbids the other. I cannot therefore bind my conscience to prac- tise the one, so as utterly to renounce the other ; but I would practise either of them, as my reason and other circumstances direct me. Again, I believe that Christians ought to remember the death of Christ by the symbols of bread andwine ; and I believe there ought to be pastors in a christian church, some way ordained or set apart to lead the worship, and to bless and distribute the ele- ments but the last of these practices is not so expressly directed, prescribed, and required in scripture as the former and there- fore I feel my conscience evidently bound to remember the death of Christ with some society of christians or other, since it is a most plain command, though their methodsof ordaining a pastor be very different from other men, or from my own opinion ; or whether the person who distributes these elements, be only an occasional or a settled administrator ; since noneof these things are plainly determined in scripture. I must not omit or neglect an express command, because some unnecessary circumstances are dubious. And I trust I shall receive approbation from the God of nature, and from Jesus my judge at the last day,if I have endea- voured in this manner to believe and practise every thing in pro- portion to the degree of evidence which God has given me about it, or which he has put me into a capacity to seek and obtain in, theage and nation wherein I live. Query, Whether the obstinate Deists and the Fatalists of Great Britain, will find sufficient apology from this principle ? But I leave them to venture the awful experiment. XXVI. We may observe these three rules, in judging of probabilities which are to be determined by reason, relating either to things past, or things tocome : 1. That which agrees most with the constitution of nature carries the greatest probability in it, where no other circumstance appears to counterpoise it ; as, if I let loose a greyhound within sight of a hare upon a large plain, there is great probability the greyhound will seize her ; that a thousand sparrows will fly away at the sight of a hawk among them. 2. That which is most conformable to the constant observa- tions of men, or to experiments frequently repeated, is most likely to be true ; as, that a winter will not pass away in Eng- land without some frost and snow ; that if you deal out great quantities of strong liquor to the mob, there will be many drunk ; that a large assembly of men will be of different opinions in any
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