ter the Ifraelites were carried captives into Affyria. At first they seemed defirous to know and fear the God of Ifrael: but when they came to be informed of his holy character, and what kind of worship he required, they presently discovered their diflike. They pretended to fear him; but it was mere pretence; for every nation. made gods of their own.† Now gods of their own making would doubtlefs be characterized according to their own mind; they would be patrons of fuch vices as their makers wished to indulge; gods whom they could approach without fear, and in addreffing them be "more at eafe," as Mr. Hume fays, than in addreffing the one living and true God; gods, in fine, the worship of whom might be accompanied with banquetings, revellings, drunkenness, and lewdnefs. Thefe, I conceive, were the exercises, rather than the mere falling down to an idol, that interested the paffions of the worshippers. These were the exercises that feduced the ungodly part of the Ifraelitish nation to an imitation of the heathens. They found it extremely difagreeable to be constantly employed in the worship of a holy God. Such worship would awe their spirits, damp their pleafures, and restrain their inclinations. It is not furprifing therefore that they fhould be continually departing from the worship of Jehovah, and leaning towards that which was more congenial with their propenfities. But the fituation of modern unbelievers is fingular. Things are fo circumftanced with them that they cannot worship the gods which they prefer. They never fail to difcover a ftrong partiality in favour of heathens; . but they have not the face to practife or defend their

2 Kings, xvii.

abfurd idolatries. true God has appeared in the world, by means of the preaching of the gofpel, with fuch a blaze of evidence, that it has forced itself into the minds of men, whatever has been the temper of their hearts. The ftupid idolatry of paft ages is exploded. Chrif tianity has driven it out of Europe. The confequence is, great numbers are obliged to acknowledge a God whom they cannot find in their hearts to worship.

The doctrine of one living and

If the light that is gone abroad in the earth would permit the rearing of temples to Venus or Bacchus, or any of the rabble of heathen deities, there is little doubt but that modern unbelievers would in great numbers become their devotees: but seeing they cannot have a god whofe worship fhall accord with their inclinations, they feem determined not to worship at all. And to come off with as good a grace as the affair will admit, they compliment the Deity out of his fovereign prerogatives; profeffing to "love him for his giving them exiftence, and all their properties, without Intereft, and without fubjecting them to any thing but their own nature."*

The introduction of fo large a portion of heathen mythology into the fongs, and other entertainments of the stage, sufficiently fhews the bias of people's hearts. The houfe of God gives them no pleasure : but the refurrection of the obfcenities, intrigues, and Bacchanalian revels of the old heathens affords them exquifite delight. In a country where Christian worfhip abounds, this is plainly faying, What a wearinefs is it! O that it were no more! Since however we cannot introduce the worship of the gods,

Ignor. Philos. No. XXIV.

D

we will neglect all worship, and celebrate the "praises of our favourite deities in another form.'In a country where deifm has gained the afcendency, this principle is carried ftill farther. Its language there is, 'Seeing we cannot, for fhame, wor< ship any other than the one living and true God, let us abolish the day of worship, and substitute ' in its place one day in ten, which fhall be devoted chiefly to theatrical entertainments, in which we can introduce as much heathenifin as we 'please.'

Mr. Hume acknowledges the juftice of confidering the Deity as infinitely superior to mankind; but he represents it at the fame time as very generally attended with unpleafant effects, and magnifies the advantages of having gods which are only a little fuperior to ourselves. "While the Deity, he fays, "is reprefented as infinitely fuperior to mankind, "this belief, though altogether juft, is apt when "joined with fuperftitious terrors, to fink the hu

man mind into the loweft fubmiflion and abafe"ment, and to reprefent the monkifh virtues of "mortification, penance, humility and paffive fuf"fering, as the only qualities which are accepta"ble to him. But where the gods are conceived "to be only a little fuperior to mankind, and to "have been many of them advanced from that in"ferior rank, we are more at our ease in our ad"dreffes to them, and may even without profane"nefs afpire fometimes to a rivalship and emulation "of them. Hence activity, fpirit, courage, mag

nanimity, love of liberty, and all the virtues "which aggrandize a people.""

* Difer, on the Nat. Hift. of R. § X.

It is eafy to perceive from this paffage, that though Mr. Hume acknowledges the juftice of conceiving of a God infinitely fuperior to us, yet his inclination is the other way. In a nation at least, the bulk of which will be fuppofed to be inclined to fuperftition, it is better, according to his reasoning, and more friendly to virtue, to promote the worship of a number of imaginary deities, than of the one only living and true God. Thus the fool faith in his heart, no God!

A

The fum of the whole is this, modern unbelievers are deifts in theory, pagans in inclination, and atheifts in practice.

If deifts loved the one only living and true God, they would delight in worshipping him for love cannot be inoperative; and the only poffible way for it to operate towards an infinitely glorious and all-perfect Being is by worshipping his name, and obeying his will. If Mr. Paine really felt for "The honour of his Creator," as he affects to do,* he would mourn in fecret for all the great wickedness which he has committed against him; he would lie in the duft before him, not merely as "an out-caft, a beggar, and a worm," but as a finner, deferving his eternal displeasure. He would be glad of a Mediator, through whom he might approach his offended Creator; and would confider Redemption by his blood not as "a fable," but a divine reality, including all his falvation, and all his defire. Yes, he himself would "turn devcut ;" and it would be faid of him as of Saul of Tarfus, Behold he prayeth! Nor would his prayers, though importunate, be "dictatorial," or his grief "affected." On the

Age of Reafon, Part I. p. 16.

contrary, he would look on Him whom he hath pierced, and mourn, as one mourneth for an only fon; and be in bitterness, as one that is in bitternefs for his firft-born. But thefe are things pertaining to godliness; things, alas for him, the mention of which is fufficient to inflame his mind with malignity, and provoke him to the most outrageous and abufive language.

CHA P. III.

The Chriftian Standard of morality is enlarged, and free from impurity: but deifm confines our obliga-. tions to thofe duties which refpect our own species, and greatly palliates vice with regard to a breach even of them.

PERSO

ERSONS who profefs the ftrictest regard to the rule of duty, and carry the extent of it to the highest pitch, may, it is allowed, be infincere, and contradict by their practice what they advance in their profeffions. But thofe whofe ideas of virtue are low and contracted, and who embrace every opportunity to reconcile the vices of the world with its facred precepts, cannot poffibly be accounted any other than its enemies.

That which the Scriptures call holiness, fpirituality, c. as much furpaffes every thing that goes under the names of morality and virtue amongft unbelievers, as a living man furpaffes a painting, or even a rude and imperfect daubing. If in this controverfy I have used these terms to exprefs the fcriptural ideas, it is not becaufe in their ordinary ac