'to God, in behalf of his Machine, first in the Mind, as appears Job xxxvi. 24. Remember that thou magnify his Work [in creating and forming this Machine] which Men bebold.-Pf. xxviii. 5. They regard not the Works of Jehovah, nor the Operation of bis Hands. Ibid. Ixxiii. 28. That I may declare all ]מלאכותיך[ thy Works, the Word used Gen. ii. 2. for the Mechanical Powers of the Machine then completed.-And Jer. vii. 18. for the Operations of the Heavens - Ps. cxliii. 5. I remember the Days of old, I meditate on all thy Works, I muse on the Work of thy Hands. Ifa. v. 12. They regard not the Work of Jehovah, neither confider the Operation of his Hands. Secondly, outwardly by proper Emblems, Actions, or Words, as (though in some Things oppofite) those without God perform'd them to each Branch of Power in the Machine; and that this Service of the Mind in every Branch, is prior to Chriftianity, and fo to be confefs'd before a Man can be of the first natural Religion, or a Jew, Deist, or Christian; and that the Bible needed no Paraphrafe in the Time of the first Jews, their Emblems, Services, &c. explain'd it: That when they were carried into Captivity and loft their

Emblems, and durst not perform the Ser

vices, as Pfal. cxxxvii. 2. We hang'd our Harps upon the Willows in the midst thereof, (of the Rivers of Babylon.) Ver. 3. For there they that carried us away captive, requir'd of us a Song, (Heb. the Words of a Song) and they that wasted us, (Heb. laid us on Heaps) requir'd of us Mirth, Saying, Sing us one of the Songs of Sion. Ver. 4. How shall we fing the Lord's Song in a strange Land? (Heb. a Land of Strangers.) They lost the Knowledge of the Service of their Religion, and so in a great Measure of their Philofophy; that the Jews after their Return from their Captivity had imperfect Emblems, and perform'd not proper Services; that when Christ came, his Disciples preached to the Heathens, who understood these Powers in general, to leave them and render their Service to the living God. That this will explain the Scriptures, and all the Actions in this Machine, and the Origin, and lead us to the Descents and Names of the Gods of the latter Heathens in other Languages, and of the Creatures and Things which were facred, or Representatives or Idols to each of them; and of all those which we have call'd the Games of the Heathens, which were both philosophical, and in their Way religious. Hence we shall be able

able to shew to the Heathens, and the Turks by Revelation and Demonftration, that every Power they worship is material and mechanical, and so by its felf unalterable; hence all the Pofitions of Properties in Matter will drop, and their Worshippers with them: And if there remain any thing about the latter Heathens of other Languages which those do not perfectly clear, we must be forc'd to take the Accounts of those who wrote in those Countries, where they had those Objects for their Gods, and such Accounts as they were in no Danger of being punish'd for; and next these, the Accounts of those who had been Heathens, and were converted to the Christian Religion, who were the most able and the most likely to give true Accounts of what it was then; tho' indeed it was varied from what it was at first, and darken'd with additional Fooleries; and lastly, their Figures of their Symbols, Inscriptions, &c. which have been preserved.

In Things relating to Scripture, or Things contain'd in Scripture, the private Opinion of this, or that Man, or Self is nothing, except it be shew'd that there are latent Meanings of the Words, which have always been allow'd, though VOL. II.

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not us'd in the Places, which will make the Descriptions Sense and Truth; I bring not in any one's Opinion to confirm the Scripture, nor do I value any one's Opinion which opposes it; 'tis below me to make any fuch Comparison: I had made a vast Collection concerning Things of this Nature from human Writings, and thought I should have had great Service from them, but am pleasingly disappointed in finding that the Scripture will explain the antient human Writings, but needs not them to explain it. I mention a few of them who confirm it, to shew that many antiently, as they call it, either understood the Scripture, or understood the Things by Tradition; and a few of the latter, who oppose it, to shew that these Meanings of the Scripture, by being • mention'd, demolish those who have fet up other Schemes; tho' the Signification of a Word in the Tranflation of the Scripture be not to be chang'd for making it Sense without the Authority of Ufage; yet the true Sense of the Words in the Tranflation about these material Things, when changed by the Authority of Usage, must also appear, by the Descriptions agreeing with the Things defcrib'd, and by the Connection of the History: For be

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fides Verbs of Action already mention'd the Name of an Agent may have several Significations arifing from the several forts of Actions it performs, or the several Manners of performing them, or where it is ministerial of its several Offices or Operations, upon several forts of Beings, or several forts of Matter, or by the Effects or Consequences of its several Actions, or Ministries to its self, to other Beings, or to Matter; so the fame Agent, for the Reasons aforesaid, may have a different Name for each or several of those Actions or Offices, and the fame Word has different Senfes, as 'tis join'd; for Example: A Word of Action, when 'tis join'd with God, with an Angel, with the Soul of Man, with the Body of Man, with a Beast, with the Heavens or Agents in Nature, it must have comparative Significations; when Words are us'd in the Sense of the Heathens about their Religion, tho' what they took for a God, or an Attribute be expressively nam'd; yet the Images, Figures, Beasts, Birds, Trees, Flowers, Stones, or &c. which they made Representatives of it, and the Service or Form of Worship, are each call'd by the fame Name, and so one; for Example: A Beast which is made Representative of feveral

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