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XVI.

FOR they were genuine Deifts according to Nature, living in the Fear of God, and therefore were Realifts in their Refpects to Virtue. But the modern Deifts, who erect their System upon the Principles of this Author, may entitle themselves to any Name fooner than true found Deifts. They make mighty high Pretences to the Love of Virtue, upon the old Stoical Principle of being its own Reward, exclufive of the Fear or Favour of God; and fo are mere Nominals in the Love of it, and are like to be left in the lurch, as Brutus was, with the Name Virtue. For this Author, more exalted in his own Opinion, than in Title, derides the Fear of God as ridiculous Cowardice, and any Regard to his Rewards as no less ridiculous Avarice *. The Stoicks ftood to their Principle in their acuteft Sufferings. But this Author fhews himself Mafter neither of their Courage, nor their Confiftency. For when his as nominal Virtue is put to the Pinch, then he calls in Rewards, Rewards to its Security and Support, at the fame time he profeffedly derides the Belief of them. Is not this a great Inconfiftency in his moral Architecture? He neither builds in the Stoick Order and Proportion, nor in the Socratick; but makes a Jumble of two Contrarieties to erect one Whole

Is that moral System beautiful, or deform'd, which is deftitute of an intelligent fuper-intend ing Power, whofe head Business is to reward, and punish according to the Agent's Deportment? Is that Building of that great Connoiffeur

*Charact. Vol. I. pag. 129.

in Beauty, or the Admirers of it most to be ad- CHAP. mired at? The Antinomian Principle of serving XVI. and pleafing God, after difcarding any Obligation to his Laws and Commandments, is not more abfurd or fantaftical. Besides, they who make their Duty their Intereft, and engage themselves to Virtue, as God would have them, for the Sake of the folid Reward he has annexed, have all the ideal Charms of the Beauty of Virtue, Honefty, moral Tafte, as entire to entertain them by the Way, as those Inamorato's or Don Quixot's of abftracted Charms, who fcorn their fupreme Intereft in the Purfuit. And therefore where fuch an Intereft joins in the Purfuit of Things lovely, the Scent must be stronger, and the Chase furer and brisker.

AND thus we rightly intend and pursue the Good and Happiness of Ourfelves, the Service of God, and the Benefit of our Neighbour, in one and the fame Action. For God has made our Duty and Intereft, his Glory and our own Good the fame Thing; they are but different Expreffions importing the fame Meaning. Man's Happiness was the certain End of God, in creating him; when that is intended, his Glory is effectually intended, tho' unmentioned: When an intended Work is accomplish'd, and the Work-Mafter attains the End propofed from it, he at the fame Time attains all the Glory refulting, or defired from it: And when the Glory of God is mention'd as the End of our Ac tions, what does that point to, but a due Care over them, not to disappoint him of his End in creating and preferving us? When mention'd as the End of our Praise, what is that but acknowledging to his Bounty the Receipt of our Happiness?

CHAP. Happiness? So that if God feeks his own GloXVI. ry, by communicating of his Goodness towards

our Happiness, we can never otherwise feek his Glory, but by making his Methods effectual to our own Happiness in his rewarding Favour; at the fame time we defign our own true Happiness in all that we do, we defign his Glory: We eat, and drink, and fhould act in all other Things to our own Happiness, therefore are we bid to do the fame to the Glory of God; and to glorify his Goodness by our Thanksgiving. Wherein does the Glory of a Governor confift but in confulting the general Happiness of the Governed? If that is the Scope of his Power, and the Aim of his Authority, and God is our fupreme Governor, Good, or God for that purpose, we can never think of our own, in concert with the general Happiness of Society here and hereafter, but we think of the Glory of God. The Deifts therefore, who neither intend his Glory, nor their own future Happiness from his Rewards, in any thing they do, do violently and unnaturally remove the moral Actions of Men from the Center God has appointed to them.

No well-meaning Chriftian, who duly de-. figns his own eternal Happiness, ought therefore to be difquieted; tho' I am afraid not a few have been put under falfe Fears, where no Fear was, left they fhould be Hypocrites, because they don't feel in themselves that they love God, and Virtue enough for their own Sake, but unluckily happen to think at the fame Time, of their own Advantage by it. That Expreffionfor their own Sake, tho' very common, when it comes to be examin'd, is doubtless nothing more than a Stricture of Piety, and an ex

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alted

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alted Commendation of God and Virtue, and CHA P. ought to be conftrued always, in this Life at leaft, with that Qualification. Tho' the Kingdom of Heaven confifts of Righteoufnefs, as being the Law of that Kingdom, yet that Law is admirable and amiable with refpect to its happy Confequences upon the Subjects.

FOR in a ftrict Intendment, exclusive of all Thoughts of our own Intereft therein, it is, 1. With respect of God; without Faith, the Scripture tells us, it is impoffible to please him; and what is that Faith, but as it follows, that he is, and is a Rewarder of those that diligently feek to please him? The true Notion therefore is not to pretend to love Virtue for its own Sake, but for God's Sake, i. e. to do good not for fecular Ends and Expectations, but with intuition on his Command, who fees in fecret whatever is intended to him, and will hereafter reward openly for it. 2. With refpect to ourfelves it is, in Fact, impracticable in this State of Things. But what is worse, a kind of fetting up for Independency, or a fcorning to be beholden, or acknowledge ourselves to be what we are, dependant needy Beings; an actual undervaluing of God's Rewards; prepofterous and inconfiderate Arrogance in fuch indigent Creatures as we are, it is a falfe ftating our own Cafe, and therefore must be a wrong Scheme.

Do we pretend to add any thing to God, by pretending to love him for his own Sake? Does he really ftand in any need of our Love, or can we think it is requir'd of us on his own Account? If not, let us make Sense of it, and love him as heartily as ever we can, by keeping

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CHAP his Commandments for our own Sake. For we indeed ftand in need of all the good Effects of thofe ardent Streamings and Inclinations of the Mind towards the Author of our Felicity, as they return upon the Mind with Intereft, add great Improvement to it, by refining it from the Love of this World, and fitting it for a better. The End of loving God is to be like him, and the End of that is our own Happiness.

OUR Love of God is not a giving, but an indigent receiving Love; we love him because he first loved us, a Love of Gratitude for his relative, munificent, and undeferved Kindneffes. What have we to give, but the little Nothing of our Thanks, which acknowledges our Dependance, his Fulness, and our Need of Receiving and is fo far acceptable to the generous Giver of all our Enjoyments, and of our Hopes of more? So that to pretend our Love of God in this Life ought to be fo fimple, pure, and unmix'd, as to have no other Object than merely the Excellency of that Being itself, in order to render it acceptable, or convince our own Minds of the Sincerity of our Love towards him, is indeed to make our Love unacceptable to him, to convict ourselves of Hypocrify before him, and of being Flatterers in Love, and Sycophants in Devotion.

BUT the more dependant we make ourselves on him in acknowledging the Receipts of all that we have in this Life, of the Means of Grace, and the Hope of Glory in the next, then our Love and Devotion refpecting him as what he is to us, our Benefactor in these Things, is truly

grateful

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