and endeavour after the repentance and amendment of those who caufelefly use us ill, because by their bad behaviour they render themselves the proper objects of God's difpleasure, and expose themselves to future punishment; yet it is not our duty, at all times, to do them good, as to their temporal affairs, but only when their diftreffes or other circumstances require it, and render it reasonable that we fhould. And as to the loving or taking complacency in those who caufelefly are our enemies, under that confideration, and upon that account, this can never be our duty, because they are the proper objects of the oppofite paffion, viz. our batred or averfion. We may love what is lovely in an enemy, and fo far as he is the fuitable object of that affection; but then, his being an enemy cannot poffibly be a reasonable excitement to that love. To love or take complacency in an enemy, under that confideration, which may feem to be required here, as it ftands opposed to the above mentioned precept, would be to reverfe the order of nature; and confequently, would not be virtuous but vicious; that is, the affection of love would be vitiated, by being placed upon an improper object.

be

object. And as to the reafon affigned for loving of enemies, &c. viz. that we may children of our father which is in heaven, who maketh his fun to rife, and his rain to fall, on the evil and on the good, on the juft, and on the unjust; this reafon must be applied with caution, otherwife it may be mifapplied. For though the fun and rain equally answer the purposes of good and bad men, because the present constitution of things do not admit it to be otherwife; yet were we to be affected to, and treat all men alike, both he who kindly relieves, and he who caufelefly afflicts his neighbour; both he who fweareth falfly, and he who feareth an oath; this would be running counter to the eternal rules of right and wrong, which require us to be affected to, and behave towards all men according as they have rendered themselves the proper objects of our approbation or dislike of our favour, or difpleafure, when we have made all proper allowances, and taken all circumftances into the cafe; and therefore, I think, the divine example,. as expreffed above, must be very cautiously applied. If it fhould be faid, that when Chrift required his difciples to love their enemies, he only intended that they fhould

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fhould pity them, and not that they should take pleasure in and be delighted with them; I fay, if this fhould be faid, then the question will be, how do we know this to be the cafe? feel g it cannot be collected from his words. If it should be answered, that the reason of the thing must be our guide in this particular, because it is not to be fuppofed that Chrift would require us to love what is in itself hateful and difagreeable. Upon this I obferve, that then the reafon of the thing must be our guide in all other cafes of a like kind; for otherwife the Chriftian revelation, or what Chrift hath delivered to the world, may greatly mislead us, and be highly injurious to us, whether it be confidered as a divine revelation, or not. So that the Chriftian revelation may be confidered as excellent and valuable in itself, and worthy of all acceptation; yet it is to be fo confidered, only when under the direction and guidance of reason; for if we rob it of this friend, then it may be the reverfe, and may greatly mislead the understandings, the affections, and the bebaviour of mankind.

BUT then, though Chriftianity may be confidered as being plain and intelligible, whilft under the guidance and direction of reafon, and thereby is made conformable to

it; and though it is a proper leffon of inftruction to mankind, as it naturally tends (when directed by reafon as aforefaid) to reform the vices, and rightly to direct the affections and behaviour of men; and tho' it was kindly intended to answer these purposes; yet it has been moft grofly corrupted, in being rendered dark and mysterious, by which means the worst of villanies, and the greatest barbarities and cruelties, have been perpetrated under the venerable name of it. For, what through the blind zeal of fome, and the grofs hypocrify and diffimulation of others, by which Christianity has been made a pretence for, and a cover to every thing that is base and vile, great injury hath been done to our fpecies; and that not in a few inftances, and in one age only, but it has been too generally fo. This has been a stone of ftumbling, and a rock of offence to many; because it may feem to follow, that if Christianity, or the chriftian revelation, upon which it is grounded, be of a divine original, which revelation is fuppofed to have been given purely out of pity and good will to mankind; and if God out of his abundant goodness did, by a particular and Special interpofition of his power and providence in a wonderful manner, at first spread, and has

fince preferved christianity down to this time, amidst all the oppofition that has been made to it, which is fuppofed to be the case; then it might well have been expected, that the fame kind providence would have interpofed and prevented the corruption of christianity, and likewife have prevented the many evils and mischiefs that have been brought upon mankind under the pretext of it, feeing there is the fame reason for both, as the good of mankind does as much require and call for the latter as the former; and as the goodness, of God is as much concerned, and would be equally fewn in the latter as in the former cafe. But as God has not, by a particular and special application of his power and providence, interpofed to prevent the latter; therefore, I fay, it may feem to follow, that he did not thus interpofe to perform the former. And if we refolve it all into fovereign pleasure, this is finding out a remedy that is worse than the difeafe; because it reduces the whole into a ftate of uncertainty, as I have elsewhere fhewn, viz. in my enquiry into the ground and foundation of religion.

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