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of Egypt, to enflave the nation to the king, and put their whole property into his hands, from having married into the family of one of them. Equally uncandid and groundless were his accufations of Mofes on fimilar suspicions and furmifes: for had he met with fuch characters in Grecian story he would not have ceased to applaud and admire them; the hebrew youth, as a most amiable pattern of filial piety, generous fraternal affection, and purity of manners; and the hebrew legiflator, for his confummate wisdom, and for devoting himself and all his powers, without any felf-seeking, to the good of others.

Such hafty condemnation, in these and fome other inftances, he would not have fuffered himself to pass, if, without undue bias, he had calmly confidered; that men chosen of God for important purposes, and therefore extraordinarily favoured by him, were not, nor was it neceffary they should be, faultless perfons; that in the infancy of a commonwealth, of a nature so peculiar as that of the hebrews, a harfher difcipline might at first be needed: as for inftance, in adjudging the man (Numb. xv.) that gathered fticks on the fabbath

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fabbath to be stoned to death, to restrain and deter others from the violation of its laws in future, and in things of greater moment.

And with regard to the extermination of the idolatrous nations of Canaan, and the feverities and deftruction accompanying it, which have been much exaggerated, and may hereafter be noted; may it not deferve to beconfidered, whether in the inftance of a general deftruction injoined of innocent children with perfons grown up, fuch proceedings might not be authorized by the righteous moral governor of the world, in mercy to the unfortunate fufferers themselves; whilft in putting an end to the lives of his creatures, he put an end to the most horrid vice, (in which the young would have been trained, and others grown worfe) by continuing in which they would only have been more and more removed from, and with more difficulty recovered and brought back to virtue and to true happiness.

Add to this, a moft important confideration, that fuch temporary feverity tended immediately to deter and prevent the Ifraelites,

ites, and the nations around from becoming infected with and going on in fuch practices, for which these people were doomed to suffer; I mean, the practices of a beftiality not to be named; of the most defiling, promifcuous commerce between the fexes; and of that dreadful fuperftition which led them to make their children pafs through the fire to be confumed in it, in honour of their falfe gods.

Had the pure, well-difpofed mind of Lord Shaftsbury, been fufficiently unwarped to behold these things in their true light, he would have been far from imputing blame here; he who was penetrated with a full perfuafion of the perfect unlimited goodness of the univerfal parent; and of the prefent, being only a beginning progreffive state of his rational offspring, for their improvement in virtue and happiness for ever*.

However he might fometimes affect to fpeak lightly of the argument from miracles,

* See Lord Shaftsbury's Letters, p. 20. Mr. Martin's edition.

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the only one that can fully prove to us a divine revelation, he fometimes fhewed that he understood and valued it, and would by no means be thought to reject it. In the Characteristicks, Vol. II. p. 332, 333, 334, there is a fine paffage to this purpose, the whole of which deferves perufal. The noble writer begins with establishing, as he styles it, " a just and rational foundation for our faith, on which we may give credit to a divine revelation; namely, when it comes recommended to us by the testimony of those whofe characters and lives might answer for them as to the truth of what they reported to us from God." And he then very properly remarks, that miracles of themfelves are proofs only of fuperior power; and that we must be perfuaded that the power is under the direction of fupreme wisdom and goodnefs; in fhort, that there is a God, who by his wife and good providence appoints and governs all things, before we can rely on any miraculous communications from him; and then concludes in these words; "To whom therefore the Laws of this Univerfe and its Government appear juft and uniform; to him they fpeak the Government of one JUST

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ONE; to him they reveal and witnefs a God: and laying in him the foundation of this first Faith, they fit him for a fubfequent one. He can then hearken to Hiftorical Revelation and is then fitted (and not till then) for the reception of any Meffage or miraculous Notice from above; where he knows beforehand all is just and true. But this no power of Miracles, nor any Power befides his Reason, can make him know or apprehend." He who writes in this fort cannot justly be pronounced a rejector of all miracles, or difbeliever of divine revelation.

It must not be omitted, that in the year 1710, Lord Shaftsbury having been informed by the young man whom he had educated for the ministry, at the university of Oxford, that he had been very lately ordained by Dr. Burnet, Bishop of Salisbury; on receiving this letter, his patron, thus, among other things, writes back to him. July 10th, 1710. I hope whatever advice the great and good bithop gave you, will fink deeply into your mind: and that your receiving orders from the hands of fo worthy a prelate will be one of the circumstances, D3

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