impoftors attracted and drew away great multitudes, one of them (5) fix thousand, another (6) even thirty thoufand. With a pretence of divine infpiration, they taught the people, as (7) Jofephus expreffeth it, daong to grow enthufiaftically mad, as if they were poffeffed and actuated by some spirit or demon: and indeed no plague or epidemical diftemper is more catching and contagious than enthusiasm. It paffeth from man to man like wild-fire. The imagination is foon heated, and there is rarely judgment enough to cool it again. The very elect, even good Chriftians themselves, if they attend to enthufiafts, will be in danger of taking the infection; and be continually liable to be (Eph. IV. 14.) toffed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrin, if they have not (as all have not) a fufficient ballaft of difcretion to keep them fteddy. In reality enthufiafts know as little of the revelation given us by Chrift," as of the reason given us by God. They are blind leaders of the blind. Wherefore if they fhall fay unto you, Behold, he is in the defert, behold his power is experienced in field-preaching,

go not forth; behold, he is in the fecret chambers, behold his prefence is confpicuous in the conclaves or conventicles, believe it not. He is beft fought in his word, and in his works; and he will certainly be found by thofe, and those alone, who love him, not with fanaticifm and enthu fiasm, but in truth and foberness, so as to keep his commandments, which is the only infallible proof and legitimate iffue of love. For as our Saviour himself faith, (John XIV. 23.) If a man love me, be will keep my words; and Father my will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

6. Once more it is to be robferved, that we must not credit every one, who cometh to us with a pretence of working miracles. For the falfe Christs and falíe prophets pretended to show great figns and wonders; and yet notwithftanding all their miraculous pretenfions, our bleffed Lord cautions his difciples not to believe or follow them. But then the question will be naturally asked, If we must not believe thofe who work miracles, whom must we believe? how fhall we know whether a person doth or doth not act by commiffion from heaven? how fhall we diftinguish whether the doctrin is of God or of men? Indeed if miracles were not poffible to be wrought at all, as fome have

pres

pretended; or could be wrought only by God, or those who are commiffioned by him, as others have argued; the reply would be obvious and easy: but that miracles are poffible to be wrought is a truth agreeable to reason, and that they may be wrought by evil spirits is a fuppofition agreeable to scripture and therefore the best answer is, that reafon must judge in this case as in every other, and determin of the miracles by the doctrins which they are alleged to confirm. If a doctrin is evil, no miracles can be wrought by à divine power in its behalf; for God can never fet his hand and feal to a lie. If a doctrin is good, then we may be certain, that the miracles vouched for it were not wrought by the power of evil fpirits; for at that rate, according to our Saviour's argument, (Luke XI, 18.) Satan would be divided against himself, and bis kingdom could not ftand. Good fpirits can never confirm and establish what is evil, neither can evil fpirits be supposed to promote what is good. Suppofing that the miracles pretended in favor of Paganism were all real miracles, yet as they lead men to a corrupt religion and idolatrous worship, no reverence, no regard is to be paid to them, according to the command of Mofes, (Deut. XIII. 1, &c) If there arife among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth

thee

thee a fign or a wonder, And the sign or the won der come to pass, whereof be spake unto thee, faying, Let us go after other Gods (which thou haft not known) and let us ferve them: Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your foul. In like manner we must not admit any thing contrary to the doctrins of Christ and his apostles, whatever miracles are boafted to recommend and authorize it. For the doctrins of the Chriftian religion are not only perfectly agreeable to reafon, but moreover God hath confirmed it, amply confirmed it, by miracles, and hath injoined us strictly to adhere to it; and God can never be fuppofed to work miracles to confirm contradictions: and therefore allowing (what we cannot reasonably allow) that the miracles of Apollonius and other impoftors were true and well attefted, yet the foundation of Christ standeth› firm, and cannot at all be shaken by them. Should any man, or number of men, with ever fo grave and confident a pretence to infallibility affert that it is our duty implicitly to believe. and obey the church; when Chrift.com mands us (Matt. XXIII. 9.) to call no man father upon earth, for one is our Father which is

in heaven-that the fervice of God is to be pèrformed in an unknown tongue; when St. Paul in his first Epistle to the Corinthians hath written a whole chapter (XIV.) exprefly against it

that the facrament of the Lord's fupper is to be administered only in one kind; when Christ inftituted it, (Matt. XXVI.) and his apoftles ordered it (I Cor. XI.) to be celebrated in boththat the propitiatory facrifice of Christ is to be repeated in the mafs; when the divine author of the Epistle to the Hebrews teacheth us, (X. ro.) that the body of Jefus Christ was offered once for all, and (ver. 14.) that by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are fanctified that men may arrive at fuch highths of virtue as to perform works of merit and fupererogation; when our Saviour orders us, (Luke XVII. 10.) after we have done all those things which are commanded us, to fay, we are unprofitable fervants, we have done but that which was our duty to do that attrition and confeffion togetherwith the abfolution of the priest will put a dying finner into a ftate of grace and falvation; when the fcripture again and again declares, (Heb. XII. 14:) that with out boliness no man fhall fee the Lord, and (1 Cor. VI. 9) the unrighteous fhall not inherit the kingdom of God that the fouls of men, even of good men, immediately after death pafs into purgatory';

when