righteousness and virtue lie prostrate, and are trampled on : this surely the King of Glory, the great Patron of Goodness, will not permit to be; sooner rather may we conceive that, to remove these indecencies and these mischiefs, he would presently turn the world into a desert and solitude, or pour a deluge of water over the face of the earth, or with flames of vengeance consume it into ashes.

We cannot indeed judge or determine concerning the special circumstances or limits of God's dealing toward man in this particular; concerning the time when, the manner how, the measure according to which, God will dispense those revelations of himself: those depend on mysteries of counsel and wisdom surpassing our comprehension. That God should for a while connive at men's ignorance, and suffer them to grope after divine truth; to try them, as he did the Israelites in the wilderness, how they would behave themselves in that state; to prove how they would use their talent of natural light, to make them sensible of their own infirmity, to show them whence all their welfare must proceed, on whom all their happiness depends, to make them more able to value, more desirous to embrace, the redress vouchsafed them; as also, to demonstrate his own great clemency, longsuffering, and patience; that, I say, for such purposes, and others unsearchable by our shallow understanding, God should for some time forbear with a full evidence to declare all his mind to men, is not so strange or unlikely; but that for ever, through all courses of time, he should leave men in so forlorn a condition, in such a depth of ignorance, such perplexity of doubt, such captivity under sin, such subjection to misery, seems not probable, much less can it seem unprobable that he hath done it: it cannot, I say, in any reason seem misbecoming the goodness, wisdom, or justice of God, clearly to discover to us what he requires us to do, what good he intends for us, what way leads to our happiness, how we may avoid misery. This consideration, if it do not prove peremptorily that God cannot but sometime make such a revelation, nor that he yet hath actually done it, (forasmuch as we cannot reach the utmost possibilities of things, nor are fit judges of what God must necessarily do; although to my apprehension this sort of reasoning, with due caution used, sub

sisting in general terms, and not over precisely applying it to particular cases, (implicated by circumstances and specialties not falling under our judgment) hath great force ;) yet it removes all obstruction to our belief, and disposes us with more readiness to admit the reasons which follow: for it being not unprobable, yea, according to the reason of the thing, very probable that he should do it, we have cause with attention and expectation of success on this hand to regard the arguments that pretend to prove he hath done it.

This is the first step of our discourse, at which we shall stop for the present.

SUMMARY OF SERMON XIV.

EPHESIANS, CHAP. I.-VERSE 13.

THAT the Christian doctrine is what St. Paul here calls it, the word of truth, is our proposition to be verified: to which purpose it has been already shown how very probable it is that God should sometime clearly and fully reveal his mind

to men.

II. We now proceed another step, and assert that no other 1evelation of that kind and importance hath been made; that no other religion can with good probability pretend to have thus proceeded from God. There have appeared but three pretences to it: that of ancient Paganism; that of Mahometanism; and that of Judaism. These briefly discussed.

For the first, ancient Paganism, it did indeed, (in the parcels thereof, or by retail) pretend to a kind of divine revelation: this shown but put the whole body of that religion together, and you have nothing but a lump of confusion, deformity, filthiness, and folly, as little tending to the glory of God as to the good of man: the texture and state of it fully dilated on. If any good did appear in the conversation of some men who followed its doctrines, this is not to be imputed to the influence of that religion, but to some better cause, to the relics of a good nature; to the glimmerings of natural light breaking forth, &c. No really wise men among the heathen believed in the divine inspiration of such a religion: opinions of philosophers on this head quoted. Moreover it may be added, that all the Pagan religions vanished together with the countenance

of secular power sustaining them. And this much may suffice to show that Paganism did not proceed from divine authority.

The consideration of this case of the heathens may be of good use in confirming, what has before been urged, the great need of some full and plain revelation to the world of God's mind, &c.; and may serve to discover our great obligations to him.

The pretence just considered was ancient in standing; but there hath, even since Christianity, started up another, (Mahometanism,) which demands notice; for it hath continued a long time, and hath greatly overspread the earth: neither is it more formidable in its looks than peremptory in its words; vaunting itself to be a complete and ultimate declaration of God's will and pleasure, &c. But examining the substance and circumstances thereof, we shall not find it stamped with the genuine characters of divine authority.

In times of great disturbance, confusion, and impiety, in a very obscure corner of the earth, among a crew of wild robbers, &c. this doctrine had its birth and growth; into this sort of people it was insinuated by juggling tricks, or driven by seditious violence: the first author of it had all the marks of an impostor; he was rebellious, perfidious, cruel, lascivious, pretending to enthusiasm and the working of wonders: by him it was proposed to barbarous people, with all the incitements of sensual pleasures.

Afterwards, being furnished with such champions, it diffused itself by rage and terror of arms, convincing men's minds by the sword instead of argument. On the same ground of ignorance and force it still exists; neither offering any reason, nor admitting any examination, &c.

Now that divine wisdom should choose those black and boisterous times to publish his will, is as if a king should purposely order his proclamation to be made in a tempestuous night, when scarcely a man could stir out, or see what was

done, and hear what was said: much fitter surely to that purpose were serene and calm days, a time of general civility and peace, like that of Augustus Cæsar: similar illustration applied to the place, and to the people. Thus even the exterior circumstances of Mahometanism, belonging to its rise, growth, and continuance, ground strong presumptions against its divinity.

But farther, if we look into the matter and inward frame thereof, we shall find it a mass of absurd opinions, odd stories, and uncouth ceremonies. From Christian heresies it seems to have derived its negative doctrines, opposite to Christianity : this explained. The Jew contributed his ceremonies of circumcision, frequent worships, abstinence from swine's flesh, allowance of polygamy and divorce; together perhaps with that proud, inhuman trait of monopolising to itself divine favor and good-will; of despising and hating all the world besides its own disciples, &c. In its notion of God, his nature and attributes, Mahometanism is shown to be very peccant. Also in its description of the state of men after death; both in matter of rewards and punishments.

Farther, how Mahomet was inspired, his stories alone will evince these dilated on: the same may be said regarding the silly ceremonies which he prescribed. Two more considerations may be added; 1. that whatever is good or plausible in this religion, may reasonably be supposed taken from Christianity, which is the older. 2. This religion, by its own concessions, destroys itself; for it admits Christianity once to have been a true doctrine proceeding from God: but Christianity did ever declare itself to be a general, perpetual, and immutable rule of faith and practice, to the exclusion of all others: this enlarged on. Conclusion.