arguings of our Saviour Thus Mat. 7. 11. If ye being evil know how to give good gifts to your children how much more shall your Father which is in Heaven give good things to those that ask him The ground of the Consequence is this Principle of Reason That God is more benigne and gracious than the tenderest and most affectionate of our earthly Parents So Luke 12. 24. He argues that God will provide for Us because he doth for the Ravens since we are better than they How much more are ye better than the sowls Which arguing supposeth this Principle of Reason that that wisdom and goodness which are indulgent to the viler Creatures will not neglect the more excellent He proceeds surther in the same Argument by the consideration of Gods cloathing the Lillies and makes the like inference from it Vers. 28. If God so cloath the grass how much more will he cloath you And Mat. 12. He reasons that it was lawful for him to heal on the Sabbath day from the consideration of the general mercy that is due even to brute Creatures What man shall there be among you that shall have one sheep and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath day will he not lay hold of it to lift it out How much more then is a man better than a sheep Vers. 12. Thus our Saviour used Arguments of Reason And the APOSTLES did so very frequently S. Paul disproves Idolatry this way Acts 17. 29. Forasmuch then as we are the Off-spring of God we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold or silver or stone graven by Art And the same Apostle proves the Resurrection of the Dead by the mention of seven gross absurdities that would follow the denial of it 1 Cor. 1. 15. viz. If the dead rise not Then 1. Christ is not risen And then 2. our Preaching is vain and we false Apostles And if so 3. your Faith is vain And then 4. you are not justified but are in your sins And hence it will follow 5. That those that are departed in the same Faith are perished And then 6. Faith in Christ profits only in this life And if so 7. we are of all men the most miserable Because we suffer all things for this Faith From Vers. 14. to vers 19 And the whole Chapter contains Philosophical Reasoning either to prove or illustrate the Resurrection or to shew the difference of glorified bodies from these And S. Peter in his second Epistle Chap. 2. shews that sinful men must expect to be punished because God spared not the Angels that fell Instances in this case are endless these may suffice And thus of the Second thing also which I proposed to make good viz. That Religion is friendly to Reason and that appears in that God himself our Saviour and his Apostles owne it and use Arguments from it even in aâ—…fairs of Faith and Religion BUT Scripture the Rule of Faith is pretended against it and other Considerations also These therefore come next to be considered and the dealing with those pretensions was the III. General I proposed to discuss AS for Arguments from Scripture against the use of Reason 'T is alledged 1. From 1 Cor. 1. where 't is said That God will destroy the wisdom of the wise vers 19. And the world by wisdom knew not God vers 21. And not many wise men after the flesh are called vers 26. And God chose the foolish things of this world to confound the wise vers 27. By which Expressions of wisdom and wise 't is presumed that Humane Reason and rational men are meant But these Interpreters mistake the matter much and as they are wont to do put arbitrary Interpretations upon Scripture without ground For by Wisdom here there is no cause to understand the Reason of men but rather the Traditions of the Jews the Philosophy of the disputing â—…reeks and the worldly Polrey of the Romans who were the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Rulers of that World That the Jewish learning in their Law is meant the Apostle intimates when he aâ—…ks in a way of Challenge vers 20. Where is the Scribe And the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies one that was skill'd in their Laws and Customs And that the Philosophy of the Greeks is to be understood likewise we have ground to believe from the other question in the same verse Where is the Disputer of this World Which though some refer to the Doctors among the Jews also yet I humbly think it may more properly be understood of the Philosophers among the Grecians For the Apostle writes to Greeks and their Philosophy was notoriously contentious And lastly that the worldly Policies oâ—… the Romans are included also in this Wisdom of this World which the Apostle vilisies there is cause to think from the sixth verse of the second Chapter where he saith He spake not in the Wisdom of the Princes of this World And 't is well known that Policy was their most valued Wisdom 〈◊〉 regere imperio To govern the Nations and promote the grandeur of their Empire was the great design and study of those Princes of this World Now all these the Apoâ—…le sets at nought in the beginning of this Epistle Because they were very opposite to the simplicity and holiness selfdeâ—…al and meekness of the Gospel But what is this to the disadvantage of Reason to which indeed those sorts of Wisdom are as contrary as they are to Religion And by this I am enabled 2. To meet another Objection urged from 1 Cor. 2. 14. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness unto him neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned Hence the Enthusiast argues the Universal inability of Reason in things of Religion and its Antipathy to them Whereas I can apprehend no more to be meant by the words than this viz. That such kind of natural men as those Scribes and Disputers and Politicians having their minds depraved and prepossess'd with their own wisdom were indisposed to receive this that was so contrary unto it And they could not know those things of God because they were spiritual and so would require a mind that was of a pure and spiritual frame viz. free from that earthly Wisdom of all sorts which counts those thingâ—… foolishness and which by God is counted so it self 1 Cor. 3. 19. which place 3. Is used as another 〈◊〉 against Reason The Wisdom of this World is foolishness with God But it can signiâ—…e nothing to that purpose to one that understands and considers the Apostles meaning What is meant by the Wisdom of this World here I have declared already And by the former part of my Discourse it appears that whatever is to be understood by it our Reason cannot since that either proves or defends all the Articles of Religion 4. And when the same Apostle elsewhere viz. 2 Cor. 1. 12. saith that
Gnosticks the Genealogies of the Jews or the disputing â—…earning of the Greeks and perhaps he might have a respect to all of them That the disputing Philosophy of the Greeks is concerned in the caution will appear very probable if we consider That much of it was built on meer notion that occasioned division into manifold Sects which managed their matters by Sophistry and Disputations full of nicety and mazes of wit and aimed at little but the pride of mysterious talk of things that were not really understood Such a Philosophy the Apostle might justly condemn and all wise men do the same because 't is very injurious to Religion real Knowledge and the Peace of men But what is this to that which modestly inquires into the Creatures of God as they are That collects the History of his Works raising observations from them for the discovery of Causes and invention of Arts and helps for the benefit of Mankind What vanity what prejudice to Religion can be supposed in this Is this think we that Philosophy that wisdom of this world which the great Apostle censures and condemns He is bold that saith it speaks a thing he knows not and might if he pleased know the contrary Since the Method of Philosophy I vindicate which proceeds by observation and experiment to works and uses of life was not if at all the way of those times in which the Apostles lived nor did it begin to shew it self in many Ages after and therefore cannot be concerned in S. Paul's Caution to his Colossians nor in his smartness against worldly wisdom elsewhere for by that we are to understand the Fetches of Policy the Niceties of Wit and Strains of Rhetorick that were then engaged against the progress of the Gospel But what is all this to the Philosophy of Gods Works which illustrates the Divine glory and comments upon his Perfections and promotes the great design of Christianity which is doing good and in its proper nature tends to the disposing oâ—… mens minds to Vertue and Religion SECT III. BUT III. If Philosophy be so excellent an Instrument to Religion it may be 〈◊〉 and the Question will have the force of an Objection why the Disciples and first Preachers of the Gospel were not instructed in it â—…ey were plain illiterate men altogether unacquainted with those sublimities God chose the foolish things of this world to confound the wise So that it seems he did not value this kind of wisdom so much as our discourse seems to imply But this choice that the Divine Wisdom made of the Publishers of the glad Tydings of Salvation is no more prejudice or discredit to Philosophy than it is to any other sort of Learning and indeed 't is none at all to either For the special reasons of Gods making this choice seem such as these viz. That his power might more evidently appear in the wonderful propagation of the Religion of Christ Jesus by such seemingly unqualified instruments That the World might not suspect it to be the contrivance of wit subtilty and Art when there was so much plainness and simplicity in its first Promotâ—…rs And perhaps too it was done in contempt of the vain and pretended knowledge of the Jews and Greeks over which the plainness of the Gospel was made gloriously to triumph And to these I adde that it might be to shew That God values simplicity and integrity above all natural perfections how excellent soever So that there being such special Reasons for the â—…using plain men to set this grand aâ—…air on foot in the world it can be no disparagement to the knowledge of Nature that it was not begun by Philosophers And to counter-argue this Topick we may consider That The Patriarchs and Holy men of ancient times that were most in the Divine favour were well instructed in the knowledge of Gods Works and contributed to the good of men by their useful discoveries and inventions Adam was acquainted with the Nature of the Creatures Noah a Planter of Vineyards Abraham as Grotius collects from ancient History a great Mystes in the knowledge of the Stars Isaac prosperous in Georgicks Jacob blessed in his Philosophical Stratagem of the speckled Rods. Moses a great man in all kinds of natural knowledge Bezaliel and Aholiab inspired in Architecture Solomon a deep Naturalist and a Composer of a voluminous History of Plants Daniel Hananiah Mishael and Azariah skilled in all Learning and Wisdom Ten times better saith the Text than the Magicians and Astrologers in Nebuchadnezzar's Realm And to accumulate no more instances the Philosophers of the East made the first addresses to the Infant Saviour CONCLUSION THus we see upon the whole That there is no shadow of Reason why we should discourage or oppose modest inquiries into the Works of Nature and whatsoever ignorant zeal may prompt the common sort to methinks those of generous education should not be of so perverse a frame Especially it becomes not any that minister at the Altar to do so great a disservice to Religion as to promote so unjust a conceit as that of Philosophy's being an enemy unto it The Philosophers were the Priests among the Aegyptians and several other Nations in ancient times and there was never more need that the Priests should be Philosophers than in ours For we are liable every day to be called out to make good our Foundations against the Atheist the Sadduce and Enthusiast and 't is the knowledge of God in his Works that must furnish us with some of the most proper Weapons of Defence Hard names and damning sentences the arrows of bitter words and raging passions will not defeat those Sons of Anâ—…k These are not sit Weapons for our warfare No they must be met by a Reason instructed in the knowledge of things and sought in their own Quarters and their Arms must be turned upon themselves This may be done and the advantage is all ours We have steel and brass for our defence and they have little else than twigs and bull-rushes for the assault we have light and firm ground and they are lost in smoak and mists They tread among Bogs and dangerous Fens and reel near the Rocks and Steeps And shall we despise our advantages and forsake them Shall we relinquish our ground and our light and muâ—…e our selves up in darkness Shall we give our enemies the Weapons and all the odds and so endeavour to insure their Triumphs over us This is sottishly to betray Religion and our selves If this Discourse chance to meet with any that are guilty of these dangerous follies it will I hope convince them That they have no reason to be afraid of Philosophy or to despise its aids in the concerns of Religion And for those who never yet thought of this part of Religion to glorifie God for his Works I wish it may awaken them to more attentive consideration of the wisdom and goodness that is in them and so excite their pious acclamations And to
remoter way It demonstrates all the Mysteries of Faith which the Divine Oracles immediately discover And it is no more disparagement to our Reasons that they cannot evince those Sacred Articles by their own unaided force than it is a disgrace unto them that they cannot know that there are such things as Colours without the help of our eyes or that there are Sounds without the faculty of hearing And if Reason must be called blind upon this account because it cannot know of it self such things as belong to Testimony to discover the best eyes in the world may be so accounted also because they are not sagacious enough to see sounds and the best Palate dull and dead because it cannot taste the Sun-beams But though I have said that Reason cannot of it self immediately prove the truths of pure Revelation Yet 1. it demonstrates the divine Authority of the Testimony that declares them and that way proves even these Articles If this be not enough I add the second Assertion II. That Reason defends all the Mysteries of Faith and Religion and for this I must desire you to take notice that there are two ways whereby any thing may be defended viz. Either 1 By shewing the manner how the thing is or if that cannot be done by shewing 2 That it ought to be believed though the manner of it be not known For instance if any one denies all sorts of Creatures were in the Ark under pretence that it is impossible they should be contained within such a space He that can shew how this might be by a distinct enumeration of the kinds of Animals with due allowance for the unknown Species and a computation of the particular capacity of the Ark he defends the Sacred History the first way But if another denies the conversion of Aaron's Rod into a Serpent upon the same account of the unconceivableness of the manner how it was done this cannot indeed be defended the former way But then it may by representing that the power of God is infinite and can easily do what we cannot comprehend how it is effected and that we ought to believe upon the credit of the Testimony that being well proved to us though the manner of this miraculous performance and such others as it relates be unknown And aâ—… it is in this last case so it is in all the mysteries of Faith and Religion Reason cannot defend them indeed the first way But then it doth the second by shewing that the Divine Nature is insinite and our Concepâ—…ions very shallow and sinite that 't is therefore very unreasonable in us to indeavour to pry into the secrets of his Being actions and to think that we can measure and comprehend them That we know not the Essence and ways of acting of the most ordinary and obvious things of Nature therefore must not expect throughly to understand the deeper things of God That God hath revealed those holy Mysteries unto us and that 't is the highest reason in the world to believe That what He saith is true though we do not know how these things are These are all considerations of Reason and by the proposal of them it sufficiently defends all the Mysteries that can be proved to be contained in the Sacred Volume and shews that they ought to be received by us though they cannot be comprehended Thus if any one should ask me How the Divine Nature is united to the Humane and declare himself unwilling to believe the Article till he could be satisfied how My answer would be in short That I cannot tell and yet I believe it is so and he ought to believe the same upon the credit of the Testimony though we are both ignorant of the manner And I would suggest that we believe innumerable things upon the evidence of our senses whose nature and properties we do not know How the parts of matter cohere and how the soul is united to the body are questions we cannot answer and yet that such things are we do not doubt And why saith Reason should we not believe Gods revelation of things we cannot comprehend as well as we do our senses about matters as little understood by us 'T is no doubt reasonable that we should and by proving it is so Reason defends all the Propositions of Faith and Religion And when some of These are said to be Above Reason no more is meant than that Reason cannot conceive how those things are and in that sense many of the affairs of nature are above it too Thus I have shewn how serviceable Reason is to Religion I am next to prove II. That Religion befriends it and here I offer some Testimonies from the holy Oracles to make that good and in them we shall see how GOD himself and CHRIST and his APOSTLES do owne and acknowledge Reason 〈◊〉 consider then that GOD Isa. 1. 18. calls the rebellious Israelites to reason with him Come now and let us reason together saith the Lord and by Reason he convinceth the people of the vanity of Idols Isa. 44. 9. And he exposâ—…ulates with their Reasons Ezâ—…k 18. 31. Why will ye die ye house of Israel And Mich. 6. 3. O my people what have I done unto thee And wherein have I wearied thee Testisie against me He appeals unto their Reasons to judge of his proceedings Isa. 5. 3. And now O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah judge I pray you beâ—…ween me and my vineyard are not my ways equal and are not your ways unequal In this he intimates the competency of their Reasons to judge of the equity of his ways and the iniquity of their own And OUR SAVIOUR commands the Disciples of the Pharisees to give unto Caesar the things that are Caesars and to God the the things that are Gods implying the ability of their Reasons to distinguish between the things that belonged to God and those that appertained to Caesar. And he in divers places argues from the Principles and Topicks of Reason From that which we call à majori ad minus from the greater to the less John 13. 14 He shews it to be the duty of his Disciples to serve their brethren in the meanest Offices and to wash one anothers feet because he had washed theirs Vers. 14. inâ—…cing it by this consideration of Reason for the Servant is not greater than his Lord Vers. 16. and useth the same John 15. 20. to shew that they must expect persecution because He their Lord was persecuted And Luke 12. 23. He endeavours to take them off from carking care and solicitude about meat and raiment by this consideration from Reason that the life is more than meat and the body than raiment intimating that God having given them the greater there was no doubt but he would bestow the less which was necessary for the preservation of that To these instances I add some few from the Topick à minori ad majus from the less to the greater in the
They had not their conversation in fleshly wisdom we cannot think he meant humane Reason by that Reason directs us to live in simplicity and godly sincerity which he opposeth to a life in fleshly wisdom By this therefore no doubt he means the Reason of our Appetites and Passions which is but sense and imagination for these blind guides are the directors of the Wicked but not the Reason of our minds which is one of those lights that illuminate the Consciences of good men and help to guide their actions And whereas 't is objected 5. From Col. 2. 8. Beware lest any spoil you through Philosophy I answer there is nothing can be made of that neither for the disgrace of Reason for the Philosophy the Apostle cautions against is the same which he warns Timothy of 1 Tim. 1. 4. Neither give heed to Fables and endless Genealogies that minister Questions calling these prophane and vain bablings and oppositions of Science falsely so called 1 Tim. 6. 20. By all which learned Interpreters understand the pretended knowledge of which the Gnosticks boasted which consisted in the fabulous pedigrees of the Gods under the name of Aeones and it may be the Genealogies of which the Jews were so fond and the disputing Philosophy among the Greeks which was properly Science falsely so called and did minister Questions and endless strife I say 't is very probable these might be comprehended also But Reason is no otherwise concerned in all this but as condemning and reproving these dangerous follies THUS we see the pretensions from Scripture against Reason are vain But there are Other Considerations by which it useth to be impugned as 1. OUR Reason is corrupted and therefore is not sit to meddle in spiritual matters To this I say That Reason aâ—… it is taken for the faculty of understanding is very much weakened and impaired It sees but little and that very dully through a glass darkly as the Apostle saith 1 Cor. 13. And it is very liable to be misled by our senses and affections and interests and imaginations so that we many times mingle errors and false conceits with the genuine dictates of our minds and appeal to them as the Principles of Truth and Reason whâ—…n they are but the vain Images of our Phansies or the false Conclusions of ignorance and mistake If this bâ—… meant by the corruption of Reason I grant it and all that can be inferred from it will be That we ought not to be too bold and peremptory in defining speculative and difficult matters especially not those that relate to Religion nor set our Reasonings against the Doctrines of Faith and Revelation But this is nothing to the disreputation of Reason in the object viz. Those Principles of Truth which are written upon our Souls or any Conclusions that are deduced from them These are the same that they ever were though we discern them not so clearly as the Innocent state did They may be mistaken but cannot be corrupted And as our understandings by reason of their weakness and liableness to error may take falsâ—…oods for some of those or infer falsely from those that are truly such so we know they do the same by the Scriptures themselves viz. they very often mis-interpret and very often draw perverse conclusions from them And yet we say not That the Word of God is corrupted nor is the use of Scripture decryed because of those abuses But here advantage will be taken to object again 2. That since our natural understandings are so weak and so liable to mistake they ought not to be used in the affairs of Religion and 't will signifie little to us that there are certain Principles of eternal Reason if we either perceive them not or cannot use them To this I answer That if on this account we must renounce the use of our natural understandings Scripture will be useless to us also For how can we know the meaning of the words that express Gods mind unto us How can we compare one Scripture with another How can we draw any Consequence from it How apply General Propositions to our own particular cases How tell what is to be â—…aken in the Letter what in the Mystery what plainly what in a Figure What according to strict and rigorous truth What by way of accommodation to our apprehensions I say without the exercise of our understandings using the Principles of Reason none of these can be done and without them Scripture will signifie either nothing at all or very liâ—…tle to us And what can Religion get this way This inference therefore is absurd and impious All that can justly be concluded from the weakness of our understandings will be what I intimated before that we ought to use them with modesty and caution not that we should renounce them He is a mad-man who because his eyes are dim will therefore put them out But it may be objected further 3. That which men call Reason is infinitely various and that is reasonable to one which is very irrational to another Therefore Reason is not to be heard And I say Interpretations of Scripture are infinitely various and one calls that Scriptural which another calls Heretical Shall we conclude therefore That Scripture is not to be heard Reason in it self is the same all the World over though mens apprehensions of it are various as the light of the Sun is one though colours its reflexes are infinite And where this is it ought not to be denied because follies and falshoods pretend relation to it or call themselves by that name If so farewel Religion too But 4. ' T is Socinianism to plead for Reason in the affairs of Faith and Religion And I answer 'T is gross â—…ticism to plead against it This â—…me is properly applicable to the enemies of Reason But the other of Socinianism is groundlesly applied to those that undertake for it and it absurdly supposeth that Socinians are the only rational men when as divers of their Doctrines such as The Sleep and natural mortality of the Soul and utter extinction and anniâ—…ilation of the wicked after the day of Judgment are very obâ—…oxious to Philosophy and Reason And the Socinians can never be confuted in their other opinions without using Reason to maintain the sense and interpretation of those Scriptures that are alledged against them 'T is an easie thing we know to give an ugly name to any thing we dislike and by this way the most excellent and sacred things have been made contemptible and vile I wish such hasty Censurers would consider before they call names No truth is the worse because rash ignorance hath thrown dirt upon it I need say no more to these frivolous Objections Those that alledge Atheism and tendency to Infidelity against the reverence and use of Reason are disproved by my whole Discourse Which shews that the enemies of Reason most usually serve the ends of the Infidel and the Atheist when as a due use