guided by it in our belief and actions: If it receive no testimony nor evidence from either of these rules, we cannot take it for a Revelation, or so much as for true, till we have some other mark that it is a Revelation, besides our believing that it is so. Thus we see the holy men of old, who had Revelations from God had something else besides that internal light of assurance in their own minds, to testify to them that it was from God. They were not left to their own persuasions alone, that those persuasions were from God, but had outward signs to convince them of the author of those revelations. And when they were to convince others, they had a power given them to justify the truth of their commission from heaven; and by visible signs to assert the divine authority of a message they were sent with. Moses saw the bush burn without being consumed, and heard a voice out of it. This was something besides finding an impulse on his mind to go to Pharaoh, that he might bring his brethren out of Egypt; and yet he thought not this enough to authorize him to go with that message, till God by another miracle of his rod turned into a serpent, had assured him of a power to testify his mission by the same miracle repeated before them whom he was sent to. Gideon was sent by an angel to deliver Israel from the Midianites, and yet he desired a sign to convince him that this commission was from God. These,

and several the like instances to be found among the prophets of old, are enough to shew that they thought not an inward seeing or persuasion of their own minds, without any other proof, a sufficient evidence that it was from God, though the Scripture does not every where mention their demanding or having such proofs.

"In what I have said, I am far from denying that God can, or doth sometimes enlighten men's minds in the apprehending of certain truths, or excite them to good actions, by the immediate influence and assistance of his holy spirit, without any extraordinary signs accompanying it. But in such cases too we have Reason and the Scripture, unerring rules to know whether it be from God or no. Where the truth embraced is consonant to the Revelation in the written word of God, or the action conformable to the dictates of right reason, or holy writ, we may be assured that we run no risk in entertaining it as such; because though perhaps it be not an immediate revelation from God, extraordinarily operating on our minds, yet we are sure it is warranted by that Revelation which he has given us of Truth. But it is not the strength of our private persuasion within ourselves, that can warrant it to be a light or motion from heaven; nothing can do that but the written word of God without us, or that standard of Reason which is common to us with all men.

Where Reason or Scripture is express for any opinion or action, we may receive it as of divine authority; but 'tis not the strength of our own persuasions which can by itself give it that stamp. The bent of our own minds may favour it as much as we please; that may shew it to be a fondling of our own, but will by no means prove it to be an offspring of Heaven, and of Divine Original."

CHAP. XX.

OF WRONG ASSENT, OR ERROR.

ERROR is not a fault of our knowledge, but a mistake of our judgment, giving assent to that which is not true. But if assent be grounded on probability, it will be asked, how men come to give their assent contrary to probability: for nothing is more obvious than that one man wholly discredits what another only doubts of, and what a third firmly believes.

The various reasons of this may be reduced to these four: 1st, Want of proofs. 2d, Want of ability to use them. 3d, Want of will to use them. 4th, Wrong measures of probability.

By want of proofs, I mean not only of those

which are not to be obtained, but of those which might be procured. The greatest part of mankind, enslaved to the necessity of their mean and laborious condition, have no opportunity to make experiments themselves, or to collect the testimonies of others. By the natural and unalterable state of things in this world,. and the constitution of human affairs, they are unavoidably given over to invincible ignorance of those proofs which are necessary to establish most of the propositions that are judged of the greatest moment. They have much to do to get the means of living, and are not in a condition to make learned and laborious enquiries.

"What shall we say then? are the greatest part of mankind, by the necessity of their condition, subjected to unavoidable ignorance in those things which are of greatest importance to them? (for of those 'tis obvious to enquire.) Have the bulk of mankind no other guide but accident and blind chance to conduct them to their happiness or misery? Are the current opinions, and licensed guides of every country, sufficient evidence and security to every man to venture his greatest concernments on; nay, his everlasting happiness or misery? or can those be the certain and infallible oracles and standards of Truth, which teach one thing in Christendom, and another in Turkey? or shall a poor countryman be eternally happy, for having the chance to be born in Italy; or

a day-labourer be unavoidably lost, because he had the ill luck to be born in England? How ready some men may be to say some of these things, I will not here examine; but this I am sure, that men must allow one or other of these to be true, (let them chuse which they please) or else grant, that God has furnished men with faculties sufficient to direct them in the way they should take, if they will seriously employ them that way, when their ordinary vocations allow them the leisure. No man is so wholly taken up with the attendance on the means of living, as to have no spare time at all to think of his soul, and inform himself in matters of religion. Were men as intent upon this, as they are upon things of lower concernment, there are none so enslaved to the necessities of life, who might not find many vacancies that might be husbanded to this advantage of their Knowledge.

Besides those whose improvements and informations are straitened by the narrowness of their fortunes, there are others whose largeness of fortune would plentifully enough supply books, and other requisites for clearing of doubts, and discovering of Truth; but they are cooped in close by the Laws of their countries, and the strict guards of those whose interest it is to keep them ignorant, lest, knowing more, they should believe the less in them. These are as far, nay, farther from the liberty and opportunities