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religion, I mean the holy Bible, by which they pro fess to regulate and govern their lives, were full of plain and strict precepts of love and kindness, of charity and peace, and did a hundred times with all imaginable severity, and under pain of forfeiting the kingdom of God, forbid malice, and envy, and revenge, and evil speaking, and rash and uncharitable cenfures, and tell us so plainly that the Christian religion obligeth men to put off all these; and that if any man seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, that man's religion is vain ? Do men read and hear these things every day, and profess to believe them to be the truths of God, and yet live as if they were verily persuaded they were false? What can we conclude from hence, but either that this is not Christianity, or the greatest part of us are no Christians.

So that if one of the Apostles or primitive Christians should rise from the dead, and converse among us, how would he wonder to fee the face and complexion of Christianity altered from what it was in their days; and, were it not for the name and title which we bear, would sooner guess us to be any thing than Christians.

So that upon the whole matter, there is no way to quit ourselves of this objection, and to wash away the reproach of it, but to mend and reform our lives. Till this be done, it is unavoidable, but the vicious manners of men will affect our religion with obloquy and reproach, and derive an ill conceit and opinion of it into the minds of men. And I cannot see how Christianity can ever gain much ground in the world, till it be better adorned and recommended by the profeffors of it. Nay, we have just cause to fear, that if God do not raise up some great and eminent instruments to awaken the world out of this stupid lethargy, that Christianity will every day decline, and the world will in a short space be over-run with atheism and infidelity. For vice, and fuperftition, and enthusiasm, which are the reigning diseases of Christendom, when they have run their course, and finished their circle, do all naturally end, and meer in atheism. And then it will be time for the great Judge Judge of the world to appear, and effectually to convince men of that, which they would not be perfuaded to believe by any other means. And of this our Saviour hath given us a terrible and fearful intimation, in that question of his; When the Son of man comes, shall he find faith upon earth? Our Saviour hath not positively affirmed it, and God grant that we may not make it, and find it true.

And thus I have, by God's assistance, given the best fatisfaction I could, to the most material exceptions I have met with against our blessed Saviour and his religion. The

II. Thing remains briefly to be spoken to, viz. How happy a thing it is to escape the common prejudices which men are apt to entertain against religion. Bleffed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me. And this will appear if we confider these three or four things:

First, That prejudice does many times fway and bias men against the plainest and clearest truths. We see in daily experience, what a false bias prejudice puts upon mens understandings. Men that are educated in the grossest errors and superstitions, how hard it is to convince them that they are in a wrong way! and with what difficulty are they perfuaded of their mistake! Nay, they have hardly the patience to be told they are in an error, much less to confider what may be offered against it. How do the pafsions and lufts of men blind them and lead them afide from the truth, and incline them to that side of the question which is most favourable to their lufts and interests! How partially do men lean to that part which makes most for their advantage, though all the reason in the world ly on the other side !

Now ignorance and mistake are a great flavery of the understanding, if there were no worse consequences of our errors: and therefore our Saviour says excellently, that the truth makes men free; Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Secondly, Prejudice does not only bias men againft the plainest truths, but in matters of greatest concernment, in things that concern the honour of God, and

and the good of others, and our own welfare and happiness. Prejudices against religion occasion miftakes of the highest nature, and may lead men to superstition and idolatry, and to all manner of impiety, nay many times to atheism and infidelity. The prejudices against the doctrine of our Saviour are of another concernment than the prejudices which men have against the writers of natural philosophy or eloquence, or any other human art or science. If a man's prejudice make him err in these matters, the thing is of no great moment: But the business of religion is a matter of the greatest and weightieft concernment to mankind.

Thirdly, The consequences of mens prejudices in these things prove many times fatal and destructive to them. Men may upon unreasonable prejudices reject the counsel of God against themselves, as it is faid of the chief Priests and Pharifees among the Jews. Men may oppose the truth so obstinately and perverfly, as to be fighters against God, and to bring certain ruin and swift destruction upon themselves, both in this world and the other; as the Jews did, who by opposing the doctrine of the gospel, and perfecuting our Saviour and his disciples, filled up the measure of their fins, till wrath came upon them to the uttermost. It is easy to entertain prejudices against religion, and by confidering only the wrong fide of things, to fortify our prejudices to such a degree, and entrench ourselves so strongly in our errors, that the plainest and most convincing truths shall not be able to have any access to us, or make any impreffion upon us: but all this while we do in truth undermine our own happiness, and are secretly working our own ruin; and while we think we are opposing an enemy, we are destroying ourselves; for who hath hardened himself against God, and his truth, and prospered? The principles of religion are a firm and immoveable rock, against which the more violently we dash ourselves, the more miferably we shall be split and shattered. Our blessed Saviour and his religion have been to many, and are to this day, a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence;

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fence; but he himself hath told us what shall be the fate of those who are offended at him; Whosoever shall fall on this stone, shall be broken; but upon whomsoever it shall fall, it shall grind him to powder. And therefore well might he say here in the text, Bleffed is he whosoever shall not be offended in

me.

Fourthly, There are but few in comparison, who have the happiness to escape and overcome the common prejudices which men are apt to entertain against religion. Thus to be fure it was when Christianity first appeared in the world: And though among us the great prejudice of education be removed; yet there are still many, who, upon one account or other, are prejudiced against religion, at least so far, as not to yield to the power of it in their lives. Few men are so impartial in considering things, as not to be swayed by the interest of their lufts and passions; as to keep the balance of their judgments even, and to fuffer nothing but truth and reason to weigh with them. We generally pretend to be pilgrims and strangers in the world, and to be all travelling towards heaven: but few of us have the indifferency of travellers; who are not concerned to find out the fairest and the easiest way, but to know which is the right way, and to go in it. Thus it should be with us, our end should always be in our eye, and we should choose our way only with respect to that; not confidering our inclination so much as our design; nor choofing those principles for the government of our lives, which are most agreeable to our present desires, but those which will most certainly bring us to happiness at the last; and that I am sure the principles of the Christian religion, firmly believed and practised by us, will do.

Let us then be perfuaded by all that hath been faid upon this argument, to a firm belief of the Christian doctrine. I hope you are in some measure satisfied, that the objections against it are not such, as ought much to move a wife and confiderate man. If we believe that God hath taken so much care of mankind, as to make any certain revelation of his will to them, and of the way to eternal happiness; let us next consider, whether any religion in the world can come in competition with the Christian, and with half that reason pretend to be from God, that Christianity is able to produce for itself, whether we confider the things to be believed, or the duties to be practised, or the motives and arguments to the practice of those duties, or the divine confirmation that is given to the whole. And if we be thus perfuaded concerning it, let us resolve to live up to the laws and rules of this holy religion. Our belief of it signifies nothing without the fruits and effects of a good life. And if this were once refolved upon, the difficulty of believing would cease; for the true reason why men are unwilling to believe the truths of the gospel, is, because they are loth to put them in practice. Every one that doth evil, hateth the light. The true ground of most mens prejudice against the Chriftian doctrine, is because they have no mind to obey it; and when all is done, the great objection that lies at the bottom of mens minds against it, is, that it is an enemy to their lufts, and they cannot profess to believe it without condemning themselves, for not complying with it in their lives and practice.

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