نور time, heinously tranfgrefs his holy Laws; not yet being aware, that God requires Honour and Worship to be given him here on Earth for the furthering the end and intendment Gospel, in bringing Man to everlasting Beatitude, whereby he glorifies his Maker and Redeemer for ever; but yet not to require, gratifie and pleasure God thereby, who being eternally and essentially happy in his own tranfcendent Perfection, is incapable even to contradiction, as the Author faysandu fays and proves to acquire or receive any the least advantage either of Profit or PeaSure to himself, from the very beft Performances of his Creature. The Mistake or Oveflight of which Truth, often occafions many great Mischiefs both in Church and State, in that through an indifcreet fervor for the Almighty's Honour, fiery Zelots think they do God good Service, if they obstimately oppofe, or even destroy his fuppofed Enemies that dishonour, as they conceit, his holy Name, whenfoever any thing is enjoyned by Superiors, however innocent in it felf, which God himself has not commanded to be observed in his Worship. And as thefe are guilty of negative S perftition; fo are there others that are fo of pofitive, whilft in confcientioufly performing meer external acts of Adoration and Obedience they belive they honour God, as they ought to do, and thence really content and pleafe him, whereas nothing fulfils his Defign of giving Laws to Men, whereby he exacts the doing of their Duty, unless it be done for the defire they have to enjoy him everlastingly, the Fruition of his Prefence by lov ing the fame with all the might of the Soul, bet ing that Honour which God ultimately requires, and whereunto all other Acts of Worship and Adoration are of right to tend of which if they fall fhort, they are evermore perform'd in vain, as is demonstra tively fhewn in the fubfequent Difcourfe& where, good Reader, thou'll find how each fingular Virtue, and every diftinct Office of Christian Religion directly tends by divine Ordination to the begetting, augmenting or perfecting the love of God in the Soul, the whole Treatife almost being nothing cffe but an exemplifying in particulars what that pious Prelate the Bishop of Bath and Wells, in his Expofition on the Church Catechism, or the Practife of divine Love, writes in general, pag. 4. in these few words; As all particular Graces are but the love of God, varied by diffeferent ferent Inftances and Relations; fo all particular Sins are nothing, but Concupifcence, or the love of one Creature or other, in competition with, or oppofition to the love of God. Which remarkable Truth, if it were well imprinted in mens Hearts, would, as on the one fide, certainly destroy the Opinion of holding the ineer Opus operatum, or the external performance of the feemingly best Action or actions in the World, to be meritorious of Salvation, so would it, on the other hand, inevitably prevent the taking Offence at a decent Habit, a reverend Gesture, or a fignificant Ceremony, though not immediately enjoyn'd by God, but only by his Minifters, fince the former (Imean the Opus operatum) if it becomes not an effectual Means to excite, cherish or heighten divine love in the Soul, anfwers not at all the End for which it was commanded; and the latter (to wit, a decent Habit, a reverend Gesture, a fignifi cant Ceremony) if piously made ufe of for caufing internal Reverence to God, or Attention and Regard to the Duty in hand (as their Inftitution requires they should always be) will not fail to contribute fomething to fincere devotion, which is evermore acceptable to God; fo that there can be no place left left either for positive or negative Superftition, in any Man's Mind, who is fully perfwaded that to love God with all his heart, with all his Soul, and with all his ftrength, is as well Man's Felicity, as that honour, which ought ultimately to be aimed at in every Act of Worship required by God; both which the following Treatise makes out to be true, the perfect love of God, eternal Felicity, and the glorifying God for ever, being there manifeftly prov'd to be the very felf fame thing under different appellations and expreffions; fo that no endeavours of giving honour to God, either by doing any thing commanded, or by abstaining from any thing forbidden, is ever farther acceptable to him, then they promote in fome refpect or other, the Grace of Charity in the Soul of Man, and thereby further his Felicity; in the obtaining of which is accomplished the ultimate Intention of all divine Precepts, Statutes and Ordinances what foever given to Mankind to be obeyed, kept and obferved, our Goodness not extending unto God, but being only profitable to our felves.. I fhall now no longer, Courteous Reader, by ftaying thee in the Porch, detain thee from taking thy full view of the grateful fight fight of the compact Edifice I am introduce ing thee to; fave only while I make this fhort Apology for my Friend, That albeit he labours to fhew from the Principle of Reason, that there is One only felf existent infinitely perfect Being; a Trinity of Perfons in Unity of Effence that the World was created by God of nothing that Man was created in a State of Innocency that there was a necessity of the Incarnation of the Divine Word; and of the Graces of Faith, Hope and Charity, in refpect of Man's Salvation, not to be obtain'd without them; yet he has neverthe lefs well affured one, that if there had not been a Divine Revelation of the certainty of their Truth, it could never haye come into his Thoughts to have ever attempted the framing thofe Conceptions, which he has exprefs'd concerning them. But feeing, as he has often faid to me, it pleased the Almighty Goodness to reveal for the benefit of Mankind, the fublime Truths of Holy Writ, he humbly conceiv'd, that the Intent thereof was, that Man's Reafon fhould be illuminated therewith, and confequently, that the more ufe he made thereof, with due Reverence and Humility, to meditate and confider, how the Belief of divine Truths and Mysteries, becomes |