the light of the world, fo far as appears, from the very beginning of it. Our only knowledge of the existence of true religion in the earlieft times, is from the difcoveries recorded in the bible, as made to the Patriarchs. The Jewish difpenfation afterwards was for many ages the main bulwark of faith in one God, the Maker of heaven and earth: nor probably was it from any other fource, that the learned heathens derived their chief acquaintance with divine truths, after that they had forgotten the primitive tradition of them. Then laftiy, the chriftian revelation overturned, when every thing elfe had appeared incapable of doing it, polytheism and idolatry, immoral fuperftition and profligate vice, wherever it was preached: and though it was indeed perverted for a time to patronize, in fome degree, what it had deftroyed; yet, by the na tive goodness of its conftitution, it recovered again: and is now profeffed by the church, of which we are members, in greater purity, then elsewhere upon earth, infidels themselves being judges. If therefore they have in truth the affection, which they cannot deny but they ought to have, for genuine, moral, rational piety, they must honour this inftitution, as an infinitely beneficial one; whether they confefs it to be from heaven, or not and, before they even with it disregarded, should confider, with no little ferioufnefs, what effects muft naturally follow. Would men really believe the being and providence of God, the obligations of virtue, and recompences of another life, the more firmly, for difbelieving the gofpel? Would they understand their duty the better, for having no written rule of it? Would they judge about it the more impartially, for being left to make it out by their own fancies? Would they think of it the oftener, for never being inftructed in it? Or is there not the strongest appearance, that as from chriftianity all the true knowledge of religion came, which even the enemies of chriftianity have to boast of: fo with it, all true regard to religion would be loft again? We have been making in the prefent age fome trial of this: and the effects, in private life and public, have been fuch, that it is very hard to fay, why either a good or a wife man fhould ever want to fee, what a farther trial would end in. But, at leaft, fuch a one would have much more concern that men fhould believe and practise what reason and nature teach, than that they should not believe and practise what

• John viii. 12,

what revelation' teaches. And even if he could think himself obliged to declare against the latter, be the confequences bad as they will, for the fake of what he imagines truth; (which yet unbelievers are not apt to confider as a point of such indifpenfable obligation, in other cafes ;) he would however do it in a fair, and honourable, a decent manner: never misreprefent, through defign or negligence, the doctrines, the evidence, or the teachers, of the gofpel; never ftudy to expose them to the hatred of men by invectives, or to their contempt by ridicule but inform himfelf about them with care, judge of them with candour, and fpeak of them with good breeding and moderation. Widely different from this, is the conduct of our adverfaries; who take all methods without fcruple to engage on their fide, the refentments of fome, the avarice of others, the vanity of a third fort, the fenfuality of a fourth: and notwithstanding, are able, it feems, to pass themselves upon unwary minds for great lovers of free inquiry but, with a little attention, by their fruits ye fhall know them*. Would God they were cool and ferious enough to know themselves; and to remember, that neither doubt nor disbelief can ever excufe malice or dishonesty. Could they but bring their hearts into such a difpofition, their objections would foon diminish, and our anfwèrs and arguments appear juft and conclufive. To be fatisfied of this, let us take a short view of the cafe of chriftianity.

God may certainly inform men of most useful things, which they did not, and could not, elfe know. He may certainly beftow fuperior advantages on fome ages and nations, from mo tives of which we are ignorant, yet be fufficiently gracious to all. He may fee caufe to reveal fome things to us very imperfectly, and yet require us to believe what he hath revealed, though we are unable to comprehend what he hath not. He may give us commands, without adding the reafons of them, which yet we are bound to obey: for we ourselves do the fame thing. He may appoint various forms of religion, fuit ed to various places and times, full as properly as men appoint various forms of government. Farther ftill, he might as juftly permit us to become what we are, frail and mortal, by means of our first parents tranfgreffion, as create us what we are, independently upon it. He is no lefs merciful in pardoning our fins en account of the willing facrifice, which he hath provided for 1152

Matth. vii. 16.

us, than if he had pardoned them without any at all. He' is no lefs authorized to demand of us what he will give us power to perform if we ask it aright, than what we had power to perform of ourselves. And he can as easily form our bodies anew, fitted for the purposes of a better life, as he could form them originally, fitted for the purposes of this. If fome parts of his word appear hard to be understood, of fall ufe, or even hurtful; many parts of his works appear fo too. If the revelation which he hath given us, hath often done harm inftead of good: the reafon and the affections which he hath given us, have done fo likewife. Thefe few confiderations, (and there are many obvious ones befides, of the fame kind,) would remove out of every honeft mind most of the prejudices raised against the faith of chriftians: which indeed, for the greatest part, bear full as hard againft the univerfal providence of God, even against those proceedings of it, which we daily experience.

Then as to the evidence in favour of our religion: whatever difficulties may be ftarted concerning particular points of it, taken fingly; as there may, in the fame manner, concerning any evidence in the world; yet lay together, in one view, the fcripture-narration of things from the beginning; the confistency and connection of the scheme, though carried on for fo many thousands of years; the admirable temper and character of the author of chriftianity; the fublimity and reasonablenefs of its doctrines; the purity and benevolence of its precepts; the excellency of its means of improvement and grace; the eternal and true felicity of its rewards; the manifold atteftations of its history and miracles; the wonderful propagation of it through the world, and its primitive influence on the fouls and lives of men; the undeniable completion of many of its prophecies, and the evident room there is left for the fulfilling of the reft: all these notorious facts, thus united and combined, can furely never fail to convince every impartial examiner, that the fyftem, they fupport, muft be from God, and that the fupreme happiness of man is to fhare in its bleffings. Now the weakest degree of fuch a perfuafion, far from being unworthy of regard, because it is no ftronger, ought in all justice to produce a moft inquifitive attention to farther proof; and, in the mean time, a confcientious practice of what already appears credible. For, though any one's belief exceed his doubts but a little; yet, if it doth fo at all, what prevails

in

:

in his mind ought to regulate his conduct and, acting thus, he will foon experience his faith to increase. Setting himself to keep the commandments, will show him clearly his want of the mercies acknowledged in the creed and labouring to behave fuitably to his prefent light, will intitle him to that gracious promife of more, given by our bleffed Lord: If any man will do his will, be fball know of the doctrine, whether it be of God*.

The further and particular obligations of thofe, who have acquired this knowledge, and are established in the gospel-faith, must be the fubject of another difcourfe. But the general direction for fuch as are weak and lefs advanced, is undoubtedly that of the apoftle: Whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the fame rule, let us mind the fame thing; and, if in any thing ye be otherwife minded, God will reveal even this unto you.

• John vii. 17.

Phil. iii. 15, 16.

SER.

SERMON

XLV.

OF INOFFENSIVENESS AND INNOCENCE OF LIFE AND MAN

NERS.

I THESS. V. 21, 22.

Prove all things: hold faft that which is good: abfiain from all appearance of evil.

IN difcourfing on these words, I have laid before you the duty of carefully confidering our obligations, in respect of piety and morals and acting fuitably to our convictions, on those heads. According as our notions of either vary, whether from our different means of knowledge, or different ufe of them, it must be expected, that our conduc. fhould vary too. And yet I have shown you, that, were it poffible for men to difbelieve the authority both of religion and virtue, mere prudence and felf-intereft would put them under confiderable reftraints, in relation to each: that whoever only doubts concerning them, admits they may be true; and therefore fhould take the acknowledged fafer fide: that any degree of perfuafion, in favour of virtue only, much more of natural religion too, should excite a proportionably ferious regard to it and that the lowest apprehenfion of the truth of chriflianity, (which, I hope I proved to you, though briefly, hath the clearest marks of truth upon it) greatly ftrengthens every other tie; and farther binds men to inform themselves fully about it, as soon as poffible; and give it respectful treatment in the mean time.

If then even thefe perfons are to behave thus, how are we to behave? The doubter, nay the infidel, is oblidged to no fmall care of his heart and life: what is the believer obliged to? We pride ourselves on being fuch: pity or deteft those who are not and yet, all the while, chriftians who think and act otherwise than chriftians ought, may deserve full as ill, perhaps much worse, then they: indeed may be one chief cause, VOL. II.

D

that