Word is apply'd to, or us'd for a Person, or Thing, or &c. the first in Dignity or Consequence which is vested with all the Perfections any inferior Persons or Things, or &c. of the same Sort in any Degree is poffefs'd of, 'tis as we may say then an original Word; and in how many Senses foever the Word is found in sacred Writ, those Attributes, or &c. will all be found in the Original. These are the Roots and Stems in the Hebrew Tongue, and the Branches will ascend or grow from the Thing, not from the Word; so when we find an Attribute apply'd to the Godhead, whether personal or borrow'd, suppose of Power, apply'd to the Author of Power, all Powers are in him, in others only derivatively, and in Branches, and these Branches still in smaller Degrees. צדק or שלה שלם &c. is an Attribute of Christ, each of them fignifies several feemingly different Things, all in Chrift; but when one of these Words is apply'd or us'd for one of the Things, which is but a Derivative, that has one, or perhaps more, but not all the Branches in it. When a Word for Power is applied to the Heavens, they have all material Force or Power in them, and all the material Force or Power, in other Things, is derivative

derivative from them; and when the fame Word is applied to a material Being or Thing, possess'd of a Degree or Branch of that Power or Force, it expresses only that Degree or Branch. We have retained the Use of Letters to form Sounds, but the Words of the modern Languages, which are either arbitrary, and not adapted to express the Condition of material Things, and thereby to convey to us Ideas of immaterial Things, convey the Conjectures of that Race of Men, who have set up Descriptions of the Conditions of Things, which they are not in, and attributed to them Powers they are not possess'd of, and so convey either no Ideas at all, or false ones; so we have loft the proper Use of Words for material Things, and the Benefit which arifes from the Comparisons between them and immaterial Things, by using Sounds without proper Significations, and hence arises the Confufion in modern Languages, and such Difficulty of understanding them, or conveying true Ideas of Things by Words used in them.

Tho' the Scriptures were writ to be understood, and for the Benefit of all, none can receive that but fuch as have Capacities to understand them, or such as are willing willing to be inform'd by those who understand them; and Things which are only demonftrable by Evidence, deduced from other Things, cannot be demonftrated to those, who do not examine the Evidence in those other Things, because without that they can form no Deduction. If there be any Points in the System of Religion, which are not evident to the Sense or Reason of Men, illiterate, of weak Capacity, and small Application, such Men may be directed in them by what Men call Reafon or Confcience; and such Points may be term'd common Cafes, or Cafes generally known in common Law. If there be other Points which will be evident to Men of human Learning, confiderable Capacity, and of great Application, such may be term'd Cafes in common Law; and yet Confcience or Reafon can know nothing of them, without Reading and Application to understand the State of the Cafe, and Reason of the Evidence which determines those Points. But if there be Points in Religion, which were necessary to be reveal'd, and that there is visible Evidence to support the Truth of fome of those Points in Religion, which has also been necessary to be revealed, and other Evidence which arifes by Search

in natural Things; I doubt Reason or Confcience has but a small Share till the Person who is to judge understands those Writings, which may be term'd Statute Law, till he sees the Reasons upon which those Laws were made, and till he also fees and understands the Evidence, which is to support those Points: And how willing foever the Laity may be to excuse the Clergy, and at the fame Time to believe the base Conjectures of Libertines, I doubt it lies upon the Clergy to explain those Points to Demonstration; and how near soever this may approach to the Manner of Decifion of such Points in the Roman Church, I doubt People who cannot understand, must have their Confcience or Reason directed by such whose Business it is to inform themselves and others; because they have no other Means to direct them in such Cafes. And any Order of Men, except that Order dignified by, and entrusted in the Affairs of State, or any one of the rest, except such a one as has employ'd his Time in illustrating some of the Points, next in Consequence to that of proving there has been Revelation or Communication between God and Man ; who take a Volume in their Hands and affirm, that an invisible, omnipotent, and omni

VOL. II.

D

omniscient Being has revealed it, and that every Sentence in it is true and facred; or that there is any Man, or Order of Men, who have an infallible Power of explaining it; and that the first Part contains an Account of his Creation, and Operations in the several Parts of Matter; and that each Description is intended for Evidence of the reft; and that he has, in Condefcention to our Capacities, given us comparative Descriptions to raise Ideas of his Power and other Attributes, by those Operations in Matter; and cannot shew there are any such Things, Situations, or Actions, and at the fame Time pretend to understand the invisible Actions, defcrib'd by Comparisons of them, will always, notwithstanding other Qualifications or Conditions, except those from the Civil Power, or &c. be contemptible; and more fo if they, instead of labouring by all Sorts of proper Methods to explain them, teach Schemes set up by Lucretius, Aristotle, and such who denied any fuch Being; or which, upon this Account is the fame Thing, denied the Truth of any such Revelation; and in the highest Degree so, if they continue to initiate Youth, fucceffively to spend their Time in studying Books, which, as they are taken,