Now the divine Government of the World, implied in the Notion of Religion in general and of Chriftianity, contains in it; That Mankind is appointed to live in a future State; That There, every one fhall be rewarded or punished'; rewarded or punished respectively for all that Behaviour Here, which we comprehend under the Words, Virtuous or Vitious, morally good or evil: That our prefent Life is a Probation, a State of Trial", and of Difcipline, for that future one; Notwithstanding the Objections which Men may fancy they have, from Notions of Neceffity, against there being any fuch moral Plan as this at all*; And whatever Objections may appear to lie against the Wisdom and Goodness of it, as it ftands fo imperfectly made known to us at prefent': That this World being in a State of Apoftacy and Wickedness, and confequently of Ruin, and the Sense both of their Condition and Duty being greatly corrupted amongst Men, this gave Occafion for an additional Difpenfation of Providence; of the utmost Importance"; proved by Miracles"; but containing in it many Things appearing to us strange and not to have been expected; a Difpenfation of Providence, which

e Ch. i. i Ch. v. a Ch. ii.

f Ch. ii.
* Ch. vi.
• Ch. iii.

g Ch. iii. 1 Ch. vii.

h Ch. iv. m Part II. Ch. i.

is a Scheme or Syftem of Things"; carried on by the Mediation of a divine Person, the Meffiah, in order to the Recovery of the World; yet not revealed to all Men, nor proved with the ftrongeft poffible Evidence to all those to whom it is revealed; but only to fuch a Part of Mankind, and with fuch particular Evidence as the Wisdom of God thought fit. The Design then of the following Treatise will be to fhew, that the several Parts principally objected against in this Moral and Christian Difpenfation, including its Scheme, its Publication, and the Proof which God has afforded us of its Truth; that the particular Parts principally objected against in this whole Difpenfation, are analagous to what is experienced in the Conftitution and Course of Nature, or Providence; that the chief Objections themselves which are alledged against the former, are no other, than what may be alledged with like Juftness against the latter, where they are found in Fact to be inconclufive; and that this Argument from Analogy is in general, unanswerable, and undoubtedly of Weight on the fide of Religion', notwithstanding the Objections which may seem to lie againft it, and the real Ground which there may be for Difference of Opinion, as to the particular Degree of Weight

♪ Ch. iv. 9 Ch. v.

Ch. vi, vii. $ Ch. viii.

which is to be laid upon it. This is a gene ral Account of what may be looked for in the following Treatife. And I fhall begin it with that which is the Foundation of all our Hopes and of all our Fears; all our Hopes and Fears, which are of any Confideration; I mean a future Life.

THE

THE

ANALOGY

OF

RELIGION

TO THE

Conftitution and Courfe of NATURE,

PART I.

Of NATURAL RELIGION,

S

CHAP. I.

Of a Future Life.

I.

TRANGE Difficulties have been rai- CHAP. fed by fome concerning perfonal Identity, or the Sameness of living Agents, implied in the Notion of our exifting Now and Hereafter, or in any two fucceffive Mo

C

ments;

PART ments; which whoever thinks it worth I. while, may fee confidered in the first Differtation at the End of This Treatife. But without Regard to any of them here, let us confider what the Analogy of Nature, and the feveral Changes which we have underand those which we know we may ungone, dergo without being deftroyed, fuggeft, as to the Effect which Death may, or may not, have upon us; and whether it be not from thence probable, that we may furvive this Change, and exift in a future State of Life and Perception.

I. From our being born into the present World in the helplefs imperfect State of Infancy, and having arrived from thence to mature Age, we find it to be a general Law of Nature in our own Species, that the fame Creatures, the fame Individuals, fhould exift in Degrees of Life and Perception, with Capacities of Action, of Enjoyment and Suffering, in one Period of their Being, greatly different from those appointed them in another Period of it. And in other Creatures the fame Law holds. For the Difference of their Capacities and States of Life at their Birth (to go no higher) and in Maturity; the Change of Worms into Flies, and the vast Enlargement of their locomotive Powers by fuch Change and Birds and Infects bursting the

Shell