country as the present hierarchy is now. According to this, it would be a fin to refift any government. But is not this strange doctrine? Would it not even shake not even shake your belief in the Bible itself, if you faw that this flavish and absurd tenet was really contained in it? It might do very well as a Bible for the Turks, but ought to be rejected with indignation by Englishmen. Another text that Mr. Madan quotes as an argument against all innovation, is Proverbs xxiv. 21. My son, fear thou the Lord and the king, and meddle not with them that are given to change. But would not this have been a much better text for cardinal Pole before the Reformation, than for Mr. Madan after it? He means by this quotation, and on the authority of Solomon, to give you a bad impreffion of us Diffenters, as a people that are continually reflefs, and given to change, whom nothing reasonable can fatisfy; whofe demands, therefore, are never to be regarded, but who are always to be kept under by proper authority. But what are all the changes that we propofe, compared to that great change in consequence of which Mr. Madan now enjoys the valuable livings of Ipstock and of St. Philip's, in Birmingham, and a prebend at Lichfield, befides being chaplain to the king, and having by that means, no doubt, fome much more confiderable preferment in profpect. If he really condemn all changes, he must condemn that of the reformation from popery; and then he ought to refign his livings, and become a catholic Diffenter, with a falary of twenty or thirty pounds a year. If he did not mean to condemn all changes, why did he quote this text without explanation or limitation; and if fome changes be proper and lawful, why may not others? If Mr. Madan expounds the fcriptures in the usual courfe of his Sermons no better than he has done in this, by putting together a number of texts in an arbitrary manner, without any regard to their connexion, he may lead you into many ftrange mistakes. He may tell you from the fcriptures, that there is no God, for that fentence is found there there (Pfal. xiv. 1.) and after giving an account of Judas hanging himself, he may add from the fcriptures, Go thou and do likewife (Luke x. 37.) Without fome comment, or at leaft the context (or what goes before and after any particular fentence) the mere words of Scripture give you no solid inftruction, or fafe direction. Though the apoftle does fay, as Mr. Madan quotes, p. 14, Let every foul be fubject unto the higher powers, for there is no power but of God, The powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore refifteth the power refifteth the ordinance of God, and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation, Mr. Madan himself, in another fituation, would no more preach obedience to all powers that be, than he would advise you to hang yourfelves. Do you think that he would approve of obedience to Oliver Cromwell; and would he say that it would have been unlawful to depofe him? And yet his power was at one time, to all appearance, as well established as that of the church of England at this day, of the permanency of which, I own, that I now begin to have some doubts. If Mr. Madan mean that we should explain the text above mentioned by what immediately follows, and which in this cafe he has honeftly fubjoined, For rulers are not a terror to good works but to the evil, and that this power is the minister of God for good, allowing us to judge for ourselves, whether it be good or not, his argument for fubmiffion is impertinent; because we shall then be required to fubmit to no government but what we ourselves are convinced is a good one, and therefore fhall be at full liberty to resist whatever we conceive to be a bad government, or such as we fee does not answer its proper end. This Mr. Madan could not but have seen; and therefore, if he have any meaning at all, that is to his own purpose, he must mean that all governments that we any where find actually eftablished are good ones. What extravagant things the advocates for establishments can say, we fee in Mr. Madan's Note from Wollafton's Religion of Nature, p. 25, "Were it not for that fenfe " of "of virtue, which is principally preferved, as far as it is pre"ferved, by national forms and habits of religion, men "would foon lofe it all, run wild, prey upon one another, "and do what else the worst of favages would do.” This was written many years ago, when every country had an established religion, and therefore a sense of public virtue might, with fome plaufibility, be afcribed to it. For since both existed together, one of them might appear to be the cause of the other. But Mr. Madan has feen more, and he ought to have reflected on what he had feen. He might fee that in America men do not lofe all fenfe of religion and public virtue, by lofing an establishment. The people of that country do not run wild, prey upon one another, and act like the worst of favages. Mr. Wollafton could not see much of this. At least he might fay, that, though there was no proper establishment of chriftianity in America, yet that the people of that country were more or less controlled by this, in which there is an establishment of religion. But Mr. Madan might have feen America independent of England, and though without an establishment, as virtuous as this; but he has turned his eyes another way. A man may as well fay that the rifing of the fun, or the falling of the rain, is owing to ecclefiaftical establishments, as that a general fenfe of religion, and of virtue in a country depends upon them. They are, I doubt not, great obstructions to true religion, and the cause of much of the infidelity of the Great at the present day. What is most confpicuous in religion, is, of courfe, that which is established, and what is established they fee to be abfurd, and therefore they make no farther inquiry about it. They conform to it in public, but laugh at it in private. For the fake, therefore, of religion, and public virtue, I wish to see an end of these corrupt enablishments; and I fhall not fail to do the little that may be in my power towards accomplishing this great and most defirable end. I am, &c. P. S. Having P. S. Having, in the two laft Letters, confidered establishments in general, I fhall in fome future Letters, take a view of that of the church of England, fo highly, and for such good reasons, admired by Mr. Madan, whofe Alma mater it is. After this I fhall proceed to give an account of those turbulent fectaries, and that dæmon of herefy, which feems to have terrified him fo much, and by which he prays, p. 24, that our unrivalled conftitution may not be contaminated. And perhaps, in his animadverfions on this part of my correfpondence, he may be pleafed to explain in what manner it is that dæmons do contaminate fuch things, as well as how they may be shaken by diffenfion. In the latter, I fuppofe he alludes to fome danger from within, and in the former to fomething from without. Perhaps, on a nearer view than Mr. Madan has yet had the courage to take, this damon may not appear quite fo hideous and frightful a thing as, from a distant view, it appears to him. However I will fhew you what this dæmon really is, and then you may judge for yourselves. The fight shall not coft you much, nor will the exhibition take up much of your time. As to myfelf, I fhall attend you with pleasure, and as I shall go very near it, you will fee that it does not actually devour all that come in its way. If you fear being contaminated by it, at first only look at it, and be careful not to touch it. But really you will find this same herefy, to be as gentle, clean, and harmless a thing, as a young lamb, and no frightful, contaminating, dæmon at all. You may fafely venture to approach and ftroke it. It has neither the fierceness of the tyger, nor the filthiness of the hog; if it was this unclean animal that gave Mr. Madan the idea of its contaminating property. If it was fuggested to him by the account of the unclean fpirits in the history of our Saviour and the apostles, let him, and let the rest of the clergy, prove their genuine fucceffion from the apostles by cafté ing them out. According to Mr. Madan, the number of perfons possessed is of late much increased, and therefore, if they can do any thing (Mark ix. 22.) in the business, they fhould should exert themselves, and that foon. As to myself, Mr. Madan, I imagine, will conclude that I have within me not lefs than a legion of thefe unclean fpirits, cum jufto equitatu (he will understand me, and in his next Sermon explain it to you.) But let him, and his brother exorcifts, take care left, by proceeding incautiously in this bufinefs, the poffeffed should cry out, as in Acts xix. 15, Jefus we know, and Paul we know, but who are ye; and thus fome mischief fhould arise to themselves, and their system, in consequence of the attempt. This day, I observe Mr. Madan is to publish one final reply to thefe Letters, including, no doubt, these which he has not yet feen, and those which I have not yet written, as well as the former. As I do not pretend, to fuch a gift of fecond fight, I must wait till I have an opportunity of feeing his performance; and as I find by his fecond advertisement, that it is to be a Letter addreffed to myself, you may depend upon my reading it, and giving you all the information I can concerning it. Having begun this correfpondence, I do not mean to close it very soon. I have been flow to fpeak, but having long forborne, now that I am urged to it, by Mr. Burn and Mr. Madan, I thall not stop till, as Pope fays, I've pour'd out all myself, as plain f I am, &c. LETTER |