the tutelar deities of Athens; Bacchus and Hercules of the Boeotian Thebes; Juno of Carthage, Samos, Sparta, Argos, and Mycené; Venus of Cyprus; Apollo of Rhodes and of Delphos ; Vulcan of Lemnos; Bacchus of Naxus; Neptune of Tenedos, &c. The poets teftify, that even individuals had tutelar deities: Mulciber in Trojam, pro Troja ftabat Apollo: Though the North-American favages recognife a fupreme Being, wife and benevolent, and alfo fubordinate benevolent beings who are intrufted with the government of the world; yet as the great diftance of thefe fubordinate beings and the full occupation they have in general go *The rage of Vulcan, and the martial maid, "Purfu'd old Troy; but Phœbus' love repay'd. "Æneas fafe, defy'd great Juno's hate, "For Venus guards her favour'd offspring's fate a "In vain Ulyffes Neptune's wrath affails, "O'er winds and waves Minerva's power pre"vails." (a) Ovid. Trift. lib. 1. eleg. 2. vernment, vernment, are fuppofed to make them overlook individuals, every man has a tutelar deity of his own, termed Manitou, who is conftantly invoked during war to give him victory over his enemies. The Natches, bordering on the Miffifippi, offer up the fkulls of their enemies to their god, and depofite them in his temple. They confider that being as their tutelar deity who affifts them against their enemies, and to whom therefore the skull of an enemy must be an acceptable offering. Tho' they worship the fun, who impartially fhines on all mankind; yet such is their partiality, that they confider themselves as his chosen people, and that their enemies are his enemies. A belief fo abfurd fhows woful imbecillity in human nature. Is it not obvious, that the great God of heaven and earth governs the world by inflexible laws, from which he never can fwerve in any cafe, because they are the beft poffible in every cafe? To fuppofe any family or nation to be an object of his peculiar love, is no lefs impious, than to fuppofe any family or nation to be an object of his peculiar hatred: they equally arraign Providence of partiality, 1 partiality. Even the Goths had more just notions of the Deity. Totila, recommending to his people justice and humanity, fays, "Quare fic habete, ea quæ amari ab "hominibus folent ita vobis falva fore, fi jufticiæ reverentiam fervaveritis. Si "tranfitis in mores alios, etiam Deum ad "hoftes tranfiturum. Neque enim ille, 66 aut omnibus omnino hominibus, aut uni alicui genti, addicit se focium *” That God was once the tutelar deity of the Jews, is true; but not in the vulgar acceptation of that term, importing a deity chofen by a people to be their patron and protector. The orthodox faith is, "That "God chofe the Jews as his peculiar people, not from any partiality to them, "but that there might be one nation to keep alive the knowledge of one fupreme Be affured of this, that while ye preferve your reverence for juftice, ye will enjoy all the bleffings which are estimable among mankind. If 66 ye refuse to obey her dictates, and your morals "become corrupted, God himfelf will abandon 46 you, and take the part of your enemies. For al"though the benevolence of that power is not par"tially confined to tribe or people, yet in the eye "of his juftice all men are not equally the objects "of his approbation." "Deity; "Deity; which fhould be profperous "while they adhered to him, and unprofperous when they declined to idolatry; not only in order to make them perse66 vere in the true faith, but alfo in order 66 to exemplify to all nations the conduct "of his Providence." It is certain, however, that the perverfe Jews claimed God Almighty as their tutelar deity in the vul→ gar acceptation of the term. And this er ror throws light upon an incident related in the Acts of the Apoftles. There was a prophecy firmly believed by the Jews, that the Meffiah would come among them in perfon to restore their kingdom. The Chriftians gave a different fenfe to the ргоphecy, namely, that the kingdom promised was not of this world. And they faid, that Chrift was fent to pave the way to their heavenly kingdom, by obtaining forgiveness of their fins. At the fame time, as the Jews held all other nations in abhorrence, it was natural for them to conclude, that the Meffiah would be fent to them only, God's chofen people: for which reafon, even the apoftles were at first doubtful about preaching the gospel I to to any but to the Jews (a). But the apostles reflecting, that it was one great purpose of the miffion, to banish from the Jews their grovelling and impure notion of a tutelar deity, and to proclaim a state of future happiness to all who believe in Christ, they proceeded to preach the gospel to all men': "Then Peter opened his "mouth, and faid, Of a truth I perceive, "that God is no refpecter of perfons: but "in every nation, he that feareth him, "and worketh righteousness, is accepted "with him (b)." The foregoing reafoning, however, did not fatisfy the Jews: they could not digeft the opinion, that God fent his Meffiah to fave all nations, and that he was the God of the Gentiles as well as of the Jews. They stormed against Paul in particular, for inculcating that doctrine (c). Confidering that religion in its purity was established by the gospel, is it not amazing, that even Chriftians fell back to (a) See the 10th and 11th chapters of the Acts of the Apostles. (b) Acts of the Apoftles, x. 34. VOL. IV. H h the |