an Eternal God without knowing how any thing is Eternal These are Disputes in Philosophy and such as none but vain Men will dispute about as being acknowledged above our Compreâ—…ension and therefore no reasonable â—…bjection against our Faith Thus as for the Doctrine of the Incarâ—…ation nothing can be plainer in Scripâ—…ure than that the Son of God was made â—…an That the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us That God was manifest in the flesh And all the Disputes about this Article are purely Philosophical Some men reject it because they cannot understand how God and Man can be united in one Person Others confound the Divine and Humane Nature as Eutyches did or divide the Persons as Nestoriâ—…us did both which indeed destroy the Article of the Incarnation for the Word is not made Flesh unless the same Person who is God is Man too and continues perfect God and perfect Man after this Union But all these Disputes concern the Philosophy of the Union of the Divine and Humane Nature in Christ and if we would separate between Faith and Philosophy such Disputes might soon be ended Thus most of the difficulties in the Pelagian and Quinquarticular Controversy are ultimately resolved into mere Philosophical Disputes about Fate and Prescience Liberty and Necessity and God's concourse with Creatures or the Powers of Nature and Grace And would time permit it were easy to shew this in most of the Controversies of Religion That it is not what God has revealed and what he requires us to believe but such nice Philosophical Questions as men raise about these matters which occasion all these Disputes It has often been proposed as a means of Union to silence all Disputes To confine our selves to Scripture-Words and Expressions without determining the signification of them But this would make only an Agreement in Words not a Consent in Opinions not could it secure the Peace of the Church while all men knew that under the same form of Words they had very different and contrary Meanings which would still make them as much Hereticks to each other as if their Words did as expresly contradict each other as their Faith But would men reduce all their Disputes to Scripture and make that the only Rule of their Faith without intermixing any Philosophical Disputes with it this would be an infallible means of Union for it is only this vain pretence to Philosophy which raises all â—…ese Disputes and then tempts men to â—…ervert the Scriptures to justify their â—…hilosophy In all these cases we are concerned to â—…quire what the true sense of the Article 〈◊〉 for this the Scripture teaches and â—…o far our Faith is concerned and these â—…re not only justifiable but necessary Disâ—…utes if the true Faith be necessary And â—…uch were the Disputes of the Cathoâ—…k Fathers with the Sabellian Arian and â—…hotinian Hereticks Whether Father â—…on and Holy Ghost were only three Names or three Appearances or Manifestations of the same one single Person or any other Three but three True Proper Coeternal and Coequal Persons Or whether He who is in Scripture called the Son of God be a Creature though the most Excellent Creature or a Son and God by Nature truly begotten of his Father's Substance Or whether Christ be God Incarnate or a meer Man And their ancient Creeds pretended to no more than to teach what the Catholick Faith was not to expound the Philosophy of the Trinity and Incarnation And thus far we must explain the Faith as to know and to let others know what it is we believe and if to assert the ancient Catholick Faith against old and New Heresies should be called new Explications we cannot help it for we must explain what the Scripture teaches about these Articles and how the Catholick Church always understood them But that which we are to beware of is Not to mix Philosophy with our Faith nor to admit of any meer Philosophical Objections against the Faith nor to attempt any Explications of these Mysteries beyond what the Scriptures and the Faith and Practice of the Catholick Church will justify Indeed the Importunity of Hereticks did very often engage the Catholick Fathers in Philosophical Disputes but this they did not to explain the Christian Mysteries by Philosophy but only to shew that as incomprehensible as these Mysteries are the Philosophy of Hereticks and their Objections against these Articles were very absurd And such Disputes as these may somtimes be absolutely necessary and of great use to shame these vain Pretences to Philosophy while we do not put the Trial of our Faith upon this Issue Secondly Let us now consider what â—…eat reason we have to reject all the â—…in Pretences to Reason and Philosophy â—…en opposed to a Divine Revelation â—…r that is all the Apostle intends in this â—…ution not to discourage the use of â—…eason or the study of Philosophy â—…hich are great Improvements and a â—…lightful Entertainment of Humane â—…inds and with a wise and prudent â—…onduct may be very serviceable to Reâ—…gion too but we must not set up any â—…onclusions in Philosophy against the â—…hristian Faith nor corrupt the Faith â—…ith a mixture of Philosophy nor reâ—…ct any revealed Truths for want of â—…atural Ideas to conceive them by To shorten this Discourse as much as 〈◊〉 can I shall at present only shew you â—…hat reason we have to believe those â—…octrines which are thought the most â—…ysterious and inconceivable notwithâ—…tanding any Objections from natural Reason and Philosophy against them And the account of this must be resolved â—…nto the Nature Use and Authority of Revelation that Revelation as to such matters as are knowable only by Revelation must serve instead of Sense Natural Ideas and Natural Reason that is That we must believe things whiâ—… we do not see things which we haâ—… no Natural Notion or Conception of things which are not evident to Naturâ—… Reason for without this there is littlâ—… use of Faith no Authority of pure Revelation It is true the General Corruption oâ—… Mankind made it very necessary for God to revive the Laws of Nature and to reinforce the observation of them by his own Authority and Command but the proper work of Revelation is to discover such things to us as Nature cannot teach of which we have no Natural Notion nor any Natural Evidence At least thus it may be if God knows more than Natural Reason teaches or can comprehend and thinks it fit to reveal such Supernatural Truths to us when he sees it useful for Mankind Now if God ever does reveal such things to us if we believe upon God's Authority which is the strickt Notion of a Divine Faith we must believe without any Natural Evidence meerly because God has revealed it and then we must believe such things as are not evident to Sense and Reason and then it can be no Objection against Revelation nor against the belief of any such â—…pernatural Truths that we have no Natural Notion nor Natural
Evidence â—…f them that they are what we cannot â—…onceive and comprehend To believe no farther than Natural â—…eason can conceive and comprehend is â—…o reject the Divine Authority of Reveâ—…tion and to destroy the distinction beâ—…ween Reason and Faith He who will â—…elieve no farther than Natural Reason â—…pproves believes his Reason not the Revelation and is in truth a Natural Philosopher not a Believer He believes â—…he Scriptures as he would believe Plato â—…nd Tully not as inspired Writings but â—…s agreeable to Reason and the result of wise and deep Thoughts and this puts an end to all the Disputes about Faith and Revelation at once For what use is there of Faith What matter whether the Scriptures be divinely inspired or not when we are no farther concerned with them than with other Humane Writings to believe what they teach agreeable to our own Reason Let these Men then either reject Faith and Scripture or confess that Revelation as to all supernatural Truths must serve us instead of Sense and Reason I would gladly know of them whether they would not believe such Supernatural Truths as are not evident to Reason were they sure that God had revealed them I guess they will not be so hardy as to say That they would not believe God himself should he reveal such things as their Reason cannot comprehend and if they would believe God in such matters why will they not believe a Revelation which they themselves acknowledge to be Divine in such matters For is there any difference between believing God and believing a Divine Revelation If God does know and can reveal such Mysteries and is to be believed when he does reveal them and such Doctrines are contained in an undoubted Revelation then the unconceivableness of them can be no Argument against the Truth of the Revelation or that sense of the words which contains such Mysteries Let us then consider the natural consequence of this which is of great moment in this dispute viz. That we must allow of no Objections against Revealed Mysteries which we will not allow to be good Objections against Sense and Reason which is a necessary and unavoidable consequence if Revelation with respect to supernatural Truths stand in the place of Sense and Reason Now no man questions the Truth of what he sees and feels or what he can prove to be true by plain and undeniable Reason meerly because there are unconceivable difficulties in it as there are in every thing even the most certain and familiar things in Nature And if Revealed Truths are not more unconceivable than many natural objects of Sense and Reason why should their being unconceivable be a greater objection against believing a Revelation than it is against believing our Sense and Reason in matters equally unconceivable When God has revealed to us That he has an Eternal and only begotten Son though we cannot comprehend the Mystery of the Eternal Generation why should we not as firmly believe it as we do that Man begets a Son in his own likeness the Philosophy of which we as little understand Nor can we any more conceive the Union of the Soul and Body than we do the Incarnation of the Son of God or the Union of the Divine and Humane Nature in one Person And if we own the Authority of Revelation why should we not as well believe what Revelation teaches how unconceivable soever it be as we do what Sense and Reason teaches though it be alike unconceivable All men are sensible that it is very absurd and foolish to deny the Being of any thing which they have certain evidence of because they cannot comprehend the Nature and Reasons of it The Man who rose up and walked before the Philosopher who was disputing subtilly against the possibility of Motion put a scorn upon all his Arguments by shewing him that he could move And therefore we see that all men believe their Senses and Reason against all the difficulties in Nature and will never be perswaded by the subtillest Disputant that that is not which they certainly see and know to be Now for the same reason if Men will allow the Authority of Revelation they must believe what is revealed how unconceivable and incomprehensible soever its nature be for when we know what a thing is and this may be known by Revelation as well as by Sense as those Men must confess who acknowledge a Divine Revelation no difficulties in conceiving it must perswade us to deny that it is This is very plain in it self though few men consider it That to disbelieve what is Revealed for the sake of any difficulties in understanding or conceiving it is to reject the certainty of Revelation For what other account can be given of that difference men make between the Evidence of Sense and Reason and of Revelation but that they allow Sense and Reason to be good and certain proofs of the Being of such things as are evident to Sense and Reason how Mysterious soever their natures are but that mere Revelation is no certain proof of the Being of any thing which is not evident also to Sense and Reason how plainly soever it be revealed that is that Revelation alone can prove nothing for if Revelation it self could prove the certainty of what is revealed the difficulties in Nature and Philosophy could no more disprove a Revelation than confute our Senses Now let any man judge whether this be not unequal usage to expect more from Revelation than they do from Sense and Reason and not to believe Revelation upon the same terms that they believe their Senses Should Men resolve to believe nothing which they see till they could give a Philosophical account of the Reasons and Causes and Natures of all they see as they refuse to believe a Revelation any farther than they can conceive and comprehend the thing revealed they must of necessity be as great-Scepticks as they are Infidels For as for Contradictions it is an easy matter to make or find seeming Contradictions in what we do not understand for when we know not the Philosophical Natures of things nor how they act and yet will be reasoning and guessing at them all our false guesses may be full of Contradictions and Impossibilities because we know not the true Mystery of Nature It is this vain humour of Criticizing upon Nature which makes so many Atheists They go upon the same Principle with Infidels and Hereticks To believe nothing which natural Reason cannot conceive and comprehend now they cannot comprehend the Notion and Idea of a God which they say is made up of Contradictions and Impossibilities and therefore they reject the Being of a God They cannot conceive a Creating Power which can give Being to that which had no Being before which they think a plain Contradiction to make Something of Nothing and therefore they reject the Creation of the World and either assert the Eternity of the World or at least the Eternity of Matter They can
spell out from the visible Creation And on the other hand though we must not urge the Authority of Revelation to prove a God which would â—…e to beg the Question yet the being of a Revelation we may for whatever proves a Divine Revelation proves a God The wisest and acutest Philosophers among the Heathens thought this the best and most sensible Proof of a God Balbus the Stoick having begun his Cicero de natura Deorum Proof of the Being of a God from â—…his visible Creation and the univerâ—…al Consent of Mankind in this Belief â—…e resolves the Firmness and Stability of this Perswasion into those visible Signs which their Gods oftentimes gave of their own Power and Presence Quòd presentiam soepe Divi suam declarant And the Argument is certainly a very good one though the Particular Instances he gives of it may be vain and fictitious and want sufficient attestation to gain belief But had Balbus instead of the Apparitions of Castor and Pollux and their ridiculous Rites of Divination seen the Miracles of Moses and of Christ the familiar Conversation of God with Abraham and Moses the terrible Appearance of Mount Sinai when God delivered the Law in an audible Voice and the infallible Accomplishment of Prophesies that is had his Proofs of a Divine Power and Presence been as undeniable as his reasoning from such Divine Appearances to the Being of a God is unanswerable all the Wit and Sophistry in the World could never have evaded this Argument for it would be impossible to perswade Men there is no God when they do little less than see him in such present and sensible Effects as can have no other Cause but a God However thus much we learn from this dispute that according to the Sense of the wisest Men such visible Effects of a Divine Power and Presence are the most irresistible Argument for the Being of God that the wisest Men did believe that if there is a God he would give some undeniable Proofs of his own Being in the Acts of Government and Providence as well as of Creation And that if there never had been any such sensible Appearances of such a Divine Power and Presence it would at least have rendred the Being of God very doubtfull This should make all those who heartily believe a God to think and speak more honourably of Revelation for the Belief of a God and of Revelation will stand and fall together that a Deist who ridicules all Revelation takes a very ill Course to perswade the World that he believes a God Secondly The unreasonableness of Deism will further appear if we consider that to acknowledge the Being of a God makes it highly reasonable to believe a Revelation I do not say that to believe a God obliges us to believe every pretended Revelation for the truth of any particular Revelation depends on those peculiar Marks of Divinity and Credibility which it bears on it but whoever beleives that there is a God cannot think it incredible that God should reveal himself and his Will to Mankind nay will see great reason to believe that he has done so as the State of the World in the different Ages and Dispensations of it did require and would admit For First No Man who believes that there is a God can question whether God can if he so pleases make a more perfect manifestation of himself and his Will to Mankind than he has done by the Works of Nature for what can't he do who made the World and is infinite in Wisdom and Power as to consider particularly some of those ways whereby God is supposed to reveal himself to Mankind God is a pure and infinite Mind who cannot be seen by Mortal Eyes and yet will any Man say that God cannot by some visible Appearances convince Men of his immediate Presence beyond all possibility of Doubt that he cannot either with or without such visible Appearances speak to them and talk as familiarly with them as one Man converses with another And then whatever Truth there be in the Story which is another Enquiry there is nothing in its own Nature incredible in those Relations we have of God's appearing to Adam and conversing with him in Paradise of his appearing to Abraham and Iacob who saw God face to face Gen. 32. 30. Of his speaking to Moses face to face as a Man talketh with his Friend Exod. 33. 11. Cannot God who formed our Minds and knows all the Springs of Thoughts draw such clear and bright Scenes and Pictures of things on our Fancy and Imagination whether sleeping or waking as shall need no other proof of their Divinity but themselves As Light is known by it self and the first Principles and Maxims of Reason by their own Evidence Cannot the Son of God who made the World and made Man if he so pleases cloath himself with Humane Nature and appear and converse in the World as a Man and familiarly instruct Mankind in the Will of God and the Way to Heaven There is no question then but God can if he pleases inspire Men with the Knowledge of his Will either by Dreams and Visions or by an audible Voice and a familiar Conversation oâ—… by an immediate Impression upon the higher Faculties of Reason and Understanding so that if there be a God there may be Prophets inspired by God to reveal his Will to Men And therefore the Pretences to Prophesie must not be laugh'd out of the World but examined The thing is not incredible because it is what God can do but the Prophet must be tried because there may be Cheats and Impostures Now the trial of a Prophet whether he come from God is by such Works as no Man can do except God be with him that is in short by what we call Miracles and foretelling things to come And here again he who believes that there is a God cannot think either Miracles or a Prediction of future Events impossible For what cannot that God do and know whose Power and Knowledge are infinite What cannot that God do who made the World Is it such a Difficulty to him who framed our Bodies out of the â—…ust to give Health to the Sick or Sight to the Blind to make the Deaf to Hear and the Lame to Walk and to â—…aise the Dead We all know this is above Humane Power and therefore if â—…uch things be done they must be done by the Power of God and we know â—…hat God can do them and therefore Miracles are not impossible or incredible to him who believes a God Thus far the Deist must agree with me unless he have a very mean Opinion of his God For a God who cannot reveal his Will to Mankind who cannot inspire Prophets nor work Miracles nor foretel things to come is no God has not the Wisdom and the Power of a God Now this is a great Point gained for if God can do all this then there is no Objection against the Nature of
conceive no Substance but Matter and Body and therefore reject the Notion of a Spirit as Nonsense and Contradiction They will allow nothing to be wisely made which they understand not the reason and uses of and therefore they fancy a great many botches and blunders in Nature which cannot be the designs and contrivance of Wisdom but the effects of Chance and then the consequence is plain That the World was made by Chance not by a Wise Author Now I confess if this way of Reasoning be allowed it will be impossible to defend either Sense or Reason or Revelation against the Cavils of Atheists and Infidels for there are unconceivable and incomprehensible Secrets and Mysteries in them all and if to conceive and comprehend the Natures of things must be made the measure and standard of true and false we must deny our Senses and Reason as well as our Faith and if we do and must believe our Sense and Reason beyond our Comprehension why must we believe nothing that is Revealed any farther than we can conceive and comprehend the Nature and Reasons of it The Sum is this Humane Knowledge whatever the means of knowing be whether Sense or Reason or Revelation does not reach to the Philosophical Causes and Natures of things but only to their Being and Natural Vertues and Powers and as a Wise man who knows the Measure of his understanding expects no more from Sense and Reason than to know what things there are in the World and what they are as far as they fall under the notice of Sense and Natural Reason so we must expect no more from Revelation than the knowledge of such things as Sense and Natural Reason cannot discover But we must no more expect the Philosophy of Supernatural Truths from Revelation than we do the Mysteries of Nature from Sense and Reason Now since Humane Knowledge is not a knowledge of the Mysterious Natures of things but only to know what things there are and what they are there can be no contradiction between Sense and Reason and Revelation unless one denies what the other affirms not that one teaches more than the other teaches or that one cannot comprehend what the other teaches Reason teaches more than Sense teaches or can comprehend and Revelation teaches more than either Sense or Natural Reason teaches or can comprehend but this is no contradiction but only a subordination between these different kinds and degrees of Knowledge but as for Unconceivableness and Incomprehensibility that is no argument against any thing for Sense and Natural Reason can no more comprehend their own Objects than they do what is revealed And it is manifest perverseness to make that an objection against Revelation which we will not allow to be an objection against Sense and Reason This is sufficient as to the reason of the thing but as far as it is possible to remove mens Prejudices also against believing Mysteries I shall briefly answer two very popular Objections 1. It is thought very unnatural that when God has made us reasonable Creatures and therefore made Natural Reason to us the measure of Truth and Falshood he should require us to believe without Reason as we must do if he reveals such things to us as we know not and cannot possibly know the reasons of If we must believe with our Understanding how can we believe things which we cannot understand This were a reasonable Objection were it true for we cannot believe what we have no knowledge nor understanding of for Faith is Knowledge though not Natural Knowledge But do we not understand what it is we believe Do we not know what we mean when we say we believe in Father Son and Holy Ghost Nay do not our Adversaries understand what we mean by it How then come they to charge us with believing Contradictions and Impossibilities For if they know not what we believe they cannot know whether we believe Contradictions or not And if we do understand what it is we believe then we do not believe without understanding which is absolutely impossible if we know what it is we believe And we know also why we believe Our Faith is founded in Sense and Reason and resolved into the Authority of God which is the highest and most infallible Reason The Miracles which Christ and his Apostles wrought were evident to Sense and owned by Reason to be the effects of a Divine Power and the Answer the Blind man gave to the Pharisees when Christ had opened his eyes speaks the true Sense of Nature Herein is a marvellous thing that ye know not from whence he is and yet he hath opened mine Eyes Now we know that God heareth not Sinners but if any man be a Worshipper of God and doth his will him he heareth Since the World began was it not heard that any man opened the Eyes of one that was born blind If this man were not of God he could do nothing 9 John 30 31 32 33. And all Mankind own that the most absolute Faith is due to God and to those who speake from God and this as I take it is to believe with Reason But still we believe such things whose Natures we do not understand and cannot account for by Natural Reason and this is to believe without Reason We believe that God the Father hath an Eternal Son and an Eternal Spirit and that Father Son and Holy Ghost are but one Eternal God but this is what Natural Reason cannot comprehend nor give us any notion or conception of how God can have an Eternal Son and an Eternal Spirit really distinct from himself and yet with himself One Eternal and Infinite God Reason can give no account of the Eternal Generation of the Son nor of the Eternal Procession of the Holy Spirit and is not this to believe without Reason which a reasonable Creature ought not to do and which we ought not to think that God who made us reasonable Creatures expects from us And this I grant would be a material Objection were Reason the Judge of the Nature and Philosophy of things and did Reason require us to believe nothing but what we understand and comprehend But then we must no more believe Sense and Reason than Revelation for we do not comprehend the Nature of any one thing in the World how evident soever it is to Sense and Reason that there are such things Nature is as great a Mystery as Revelation and it is no greater affront to our Understandings no more against Reason for God to reveal such things to us as our Reason cannot comprehend than 〈◊〉 is to make a whole World which â—…eason cannot comprehend When we make it an Objection against â—…ny thing that it is without Reason or â—…s we apprehend against Reason and contrary to Reason we must first conâ—…ider whether it be the proper object of Reason otherwise it is no Objection as it is no Objection against Sounds that we cannot see them nor against Colours
Bitter what gratifies their bodily Senses that is their Pleasure and Happiness without any regard to Vertue Modesty or Honour what lays Restraints upon their sensual Inclinations that is bitter uneasy and grievous and no wonder that there is a Woe denounced against these Men. 4ly Woe be to them that are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight Where the Prophâ—…t speaks of the same Men still those who call evil good and good evil who put darkness for light and light for darkness who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter and yet think themselves the only wise Men in the World though they contradict the Sense of all Mankind the natural uncorrupted Sense of their own Minds the Light of Nature and the Word of God This is the just Character of Atheists and Infidels who think themselves the only Wits the only Philosophers and laugh at all the rest of the World as easy credulous unthinking Fools who are under the Tyranny of Custom and popular Opinions which exposes them to all other Cheats They think it an Argument of Wit and profound Thought to contradict all Mankind for there are but few wise Men they say in the World and the most are usually in the wrong which may be allowed as to improved Knowledge which is gained by laborious study and observation but the Folly lies on the other side when Men advance Paradoxes which contradict the universal Sense of Nature for in such Cases the most are likely to be in the right because Natural Productions are more common than Monsters that a wise Man will rather think and judge with the Multitude when they think on Natures side than with the most famed Philosophers against Nature But those who affect to contradict the rest of the World must think themselves the only wise Men if they think at all that we have no more reason to wonder at their Pride and Insolence than at their Atheism and Infidelity 2dly Let us now inquire how these Men come to sink into so degenerate a State as one would think impossible to a reasonable Nature and that is intimated in that order which is observed in my Text that they first call Evil Good and then Good Evil first put Darkness for Light and then Light for Darkness c. As to consider this particularly 1st They begin with calling Evil Good for no Man can begin with calling Good Evil Nature will have the first word and pass the first Judgment on Things and Nature as corrupt as it is till it be depraved and vitiated by evil Customs will call Good good and Evil evil Atheists and Infidels must confess that as wise as they think themselves now there was a time when they were as very fools as the rest of the World that is when they had the same Opinions about Good and Evil which the rest of Mankind still have when they did own a moral difference between Good and Evil and called Good and Evil by their right Names and it is as certain that the only Reason for altering their Opinions and changing the Names of Good and Evil was changing their Manners that they grew very fond of what they themselves as well as the foolish Multitude thought and called Evil and then they began to think and to call it Good and the necessary Consequence of this is to call Good Evil and as unwilling as they are to own this it is demonstrable there can be no other Reason for it Though these Men could prove which they will never be able to do that there is no moral essential immutable difference between Good and Evil between Vertue and Vice yet this is no reason to call Evil Good or Good Evil for though they were neither Sins nor Vertues neither forbid nor commanded by a Divine Law yet they themselves confess as I observed before that what we call Vertues have so much Good in them that they are the best and wisest Rules of Society and Conversation necessary to secure every Mans private Interest and the Peace and good Government of the World and therefore fit to be encouraged and to be made Laws in all civiliz'd Nations and that what we call Sins have so much Evil in them that they are very destructive to Human Societies and deserve to be restrained and punished and then it is certain there never can be any reason to call Evil Good and Good Evil which by their own Confession is a direct contradiction to the Nature of Things it is to call that Evil which they themselves own to be a great and publick Good and that Good which they own to be a publick Mischief which there never can be any reason for So that the Case is plain it is not Reason but Lust which calls Evil Good and Good Evil till Lust prevails above Reason Vertue and Vice Good and Evil keep those Names which God and Nature has given them and such Men offer as much Force and Violence to their Natural Understanding when they call Evil Good and Good Evil as they do to Natural Conscience when they chuse the Evil and refuse the Good This is Answer enough to such Men who would reason or laugh away the distinction between Good and Evil and ought to be a Warning to us all how we engage in a Course of Wickedness for how much soever we despise and abhor these wicked Principles we shall soon think as these Men do if we grow as wicked as they are 2dly These Men first put Darkness for Light and then Light for Darkness Men are not born stark blind but have the Light of Reason to discern the natural differences of Things and to direct their Lives and as weak and defective as meer natural Reason is especially in Matters of Religion and another World it directs us to a safer Guide For Reason it self teaches us to believe God who cannot deceive us and can it self judge of the external and visible Marks of a Revelation that is can judge when God speaks and what we must receive as taught by God This is the Light of Mankind the Light of Reason or Revelation what Nature teaches or what God reveals And all Mankind at first both see and own this Light for no Man is born an Atheist or an Infidel But bad Men who have corrupted their Manners and cannot justifie their Vices nor quiet their Consciences if they attend either to the Light of Nature or Revelation must seek for other Remedies and this makes them espouse the Principles of Atheism and Infidelity and these they call Light which in Truth is a meer Aegyptian Darkness and then they must call Light Darkness reject and scorn both the natural Dictates of Reason and the supernatural Revelation of the Divine Will as Ignorance and Darkness Now whatever Opinion Men have of their Philosophy yet how they should learn what neither Nature nor God teaches them or how they should discover that what all the rest of the
is as easie and natural as of an Eternal Being and that natural Notion we have of the Relation and Dependance between Causes and Effects necessarily leads us to the Belief of a First Cause for if all things were Eternal without a Cause it is hard to conceive how there should ever after be any natural Relation between them of Causes and Effects and yet destroy the Doctrine of Causes and Effects and there is an end of all Reason and Discourse But then as we have no natural Notion of the Eternity of all things so all the Appearances of Nature contradict it and will not suffer it to lie easie in our Minds We see every day that all Individuals are made Men are born every day and die and one Generation succeeds another and thus it is with Beasts and Birds and all other Animals with Trees and Fruit and Corn and Herbs and is it possible for any Man to believe that any of these things were Eternal when we see that the Individuals of all these several kinds of Beings are daily made for the World consists of Individuals and if they are all made the World was made Necessary Existence is Essential to the Notion of an Eternal Being which has no Beginning nor any Cause and therefore must be always what it is without the least Change that to ascribe Eternity to a World which is subject to perpetual Changes is as great an Absurdity as to assert an Eternal Succession without a Beginning Thus it is very natural to think that the Effect can have nothing but what the Cause can give it and therefore we may learn what the invisible Cause is from visible Effects that if we see any thing wisely made we may conclude it had a wise Cause and therefore nothing can more contradict the natural Sense of our Minds than to ascribe such a World as we now live in which discovers such wonderful Art in its Contrivance to blind and undesigning Chance I do not dispute these Matters now but only consider how unnatural it is to think so and therefore how very difficult it is for any Man in good earnest to espouse these Atheistick Principles Thus as for the Principles of Infidelity how hard is it for any Man to perswade himself that God never revealed himself and his Will to the World any otherwise than by the Works of Creation when all Mankind have believed otherwise and are naturally inclined to believe so and there are great Reasons to think that God will do so and none to think that he will not especially when we have such evident Proof of this in Prophecy and Miracles which so strongly perswade the rest of Mankind For to deny Prophecy and Miracles when the Matter of Fact is plain that there have been true Prophecies or Miracles and no Man besides themselves who believes a God doubts whether he can foretel things to come or exercise a Sovereign Authority over Nature when he pleases can be called by no softer Names than Stupidity or Impudence and whatever they say it is not so easie for them to believe what they say for Prophecy and Miracles carry such a Conviction with them of a Divine Power and give such Authority to the Prophet as is not easily resisted as is evident from hence that some of the wisest of these Men dare not deny the Authority of Prophecy and Miracles could they be assured o the Truth of them but they hear no Prophecies nor see any Miracles now and may be imposed on by fabulous Relations should they be over credulous of such Matters This would have been a good Answer had they only some idle and uncertain Reports of such things but it can never satisfie themselves when they have such an Authentick History as the Bible the Old and New Testament for the Foundation of Faith Can any Man perswade himself to reject the Credit and Authority of all Histories If he can't whatever he may pretend he will find it a very hard matter after all his Criticisms to disbelieve the Gospel which is the best attested and most credible History in the World These are the Difficulties of being an Atheist or Infidel without which Men can never reject or confound the Differences of Good and Evil that all these Principles contradict the natural Ideas of our Minds and destroy all the natural Rules and Measures of Reason that we can no more distinguish between Truth and Falshood than between Good and Evil and if it be possible ever thus to efface the natural Notions of our Minds yet it must be a very uneasie and difficult Task 3dly And yet it is at least as difficult to put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter Men may bribe their Understandings but our natural Passions are not so easily stifled When the Frame and Constitution of our Natures has annexed Shame and Fear and Remorse to bad Actions which makes them very bitter and grievous in the Review whatever they were in the Act it is not laughing at these Fears as superstitious and owing to Education which will cure them no more than the Stoicks Brags that Pain was no Evil could prevent their feeling Pain What is painful will make us feel it and Atheists and Infidels themselves when they think they have reasoned and laught away all their Fears find that besides their frequent Misgivings and Jealousies when any great or surprizing Occasion sets them free these Passions return on them with such a Fury as all their Philosophy cannot resist Now this endangers all again for natural Shame and Fear and Remorse will make them own an Essential Difference between Good and Evil when they feel it 4thly But let us suppose all these Difficulties conquered they are sensible that there is one still remaining viz. That all the rest of Mankind are against them The Heathen World owned a God and as learned Men have proved one Supream God though they corrupted both the Notion and Worship of God by Polytheism and Idolatry but Atheism was so infamous among them that some Atheistick Philosophers such as Epicurus himself was forced to dissemble it They owned a moral Difference between Good and Evil they owned Revelation and instituted Religions and had them though not from God yet from those evil Spirits whom they worshipped for Gods The whole Iewish Nation own the Writings of Moses and the Prophets and the whole Christian World whom they are most at present concerned with own both the Old and New Testament These are great Authorities against them which one would think should make Men modest and put them a little out of countenance and incline them to suspect that they may be mistaken but they are sensible that Modesty would undo them that to suspect whether they are in the right is as fatal to them as to know that they are in the wrong and therefore they have no way left but to out-face all the World to laugh at all the rest of Mankind as superstitious