Let me, before I conclude, give you one found piece of advice. Be always fufpicious of great promises, and of the man who pretends too high a zeal and concern in your caufe, when it is not his caúfe, and where there is no natural call on him fo to do. That man, depend upon it, has fecret and interefted ends of his own to drive; for it is not in human nature that one man fhould take great trouble, and run great risks, and make great facrifices, for perfons he is a ftranger to, and with whom he has no connection. Take my word for it, all this fupport from people above you all this printing, and meeting, and speaking, all this proffer of fupport with heart, hand, property, and perfon, neither are nor can be without fome profpect of profit to themfelves, from a commotion and difturbance. And what the motives are, you can be at no great lofs to fee, if you but look at the men. If they were in general men of property and fubftance, holders of place and employment in the land, or having profpect of preferment in that way; and if you faw them laying down thefe places and employments, or putting that property to hazard, for your fake, it would then be fome earneft of their fincerity and good intentions. But you know, or ought to know, that this is not the cafe. That fome fincere and well-intentioned, but deluded, perfons are amongst them, I am indeed, in charity, bound to believe; but for the greater part of thefe pretended patriots, is it not public, that they are either needy men, who have no poffeffions to venture, or men who have been mortified in their ambitious or greedy projects, and who having thus forfeited all title to favour or advancement, are defirous of change or commotion, in the hope that things may be turned upside down, and fo themselves brought to the top. What is moft material, and the best touchstone of any-Of what principles are they in matters of religion? Freethinkers, Unitarians, Socinians, and the a poftles - postles of I know not how many new creeds, made after their own conceit and fancy. Some of them, indeed, go a step farther, and have freed themselves from what they call the shackles of religion altogether. This is a part of their admiration and imitation of the French, In the French Affemblies, you cannot but have remarked, even the pretence of belief in a God or a future ftate is ridiculed and laid afide. The abufes of their religion may be fome excufe for their errors and extravagancies. But what shall be our excufe who profefs the true and the reformed religion, if we take these wild and wan, dering lights as our guides upon our way. Let me here conclude. You know these things to be true. Make the right ufe of them before it be too late. You know how you are; how ill you may make yourselves no man can tell you. A FRIEND OF ORDER, |