way to reconciliation and forgiveness, when he had failed of his duty; though, if he used not his reason this way, if he put out, or neglected this light, he might, perhaps, fee neither. The law is the eternal, immutable standard of right. And a part of that law is, that a man should forgive, not only his children, but his enemies, upon their repentance, afking pardon, and amendment. And therefore he could not doubt that the author of this law, and God of patience and confolation, who is rich in mercy, would forgive his frail offfpring, if they acknowledged their faults, disapproved the iniquity of their tranfgreffions, begged his pardon, and refolved in earnest for the future to conform their actions to this rule, which they owned to be just and right. This way of reconciliation, this hope of atonement, the light of nature revealed to them. And the revelation of the gofpel having faid nothing to the contrary, leaves them to ftand and fall to their own father and 'mafter, whofe goodness and mercy is over all his works. I know fome are forward to urge that place of the Acts, chap. iv. as contrary to this. The words, ver. 1o. and 12. ftand thus: "Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Ifrael, that "by the name of Jefus Chrift of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, "whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man" [i. e. the lame man reftored by Peter] "ftand here before you whole. This is the ftone which is fet at nought by you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there falva"tion in any other for there is none other name under heaven "given among men, in which we must be faved." Which, in fhort, is, that Jefus is the only true Meffiah; neither is there any other perfon but he, given to be a mediator between God and man, in whofe name we may afk and hope for falvation. It will here poffibly be asked, "Quorfum perditio hæc? What need was there of a Saviour? What advantage have we by Jefus Chrift? It is enough to juftify the fitness of any thing to be done, by refolving it into "the wifdom of God," who has done it, though our fhort views, and narrow understandings, may utterly incapacitate us to fee that wisdom, and to judge rightly of it. We know little of this vifible, and nothing at all of the state of that intellectual world, wherein are infinite numbers and degrees of spirits out of the reach of our ken or guefs; and therefore know not what tranfactions there were between God and our Saviour, in reference to his kingdom. We know not what need there was to fet up a head and a chieftain, in oppofition to "the prince of this world, "the prince of the power of the air," &c. whereof there are more than obfcure intimations in fcripture. And we fhall take too much upon us, if we fhall call God's wifdom or providence to account, and pertly condemn for needlefs, all that our weak, and, perhaps, biaffed "understandings," cannot account for. Though this general anfwer be reply enough to the forementioned demand, and fuch as a rational man, or fair fearcher after truth, will acquiefce in; yet in this particular cafe, the wisdom and goodnefs of God has fhewn itfelf fo vifibly to common apprehenfions, that it hath furnished us abundantly wherewithal to fatisfy the curious and inquifitive; who will not take a bleffing, unless they be inftructed what need they had of it, and why it was bestowed upon them. The great and many advantages we receive by the coming of Jefus the Meffiah, will fhew, that it was not without need that he was fent into the world. The evidence of our Saviour's miffion from heaven is fo great, in the multitude of miracles he did before all forts of people, that what he delivered cannot but be received as the oracles of God, and unqueftionable verity; for the miracles he did were fo ordered by the divine providence and wisdom, that they never were, nor could be, denied by any of the enemies or oppofers of Christianity. Though the works of nature, in every part of them, fufficiently evidence a deity, yet the world made fo little use of their reafon, that they faw him not, where even by the impreffions of himself he was eafy to be found. Senfe and luft blinded their minds in fome, and a careless inadvertency in others, and fearful apprehenfions in moft (who either believed there were, or could not but suspect there might be, fuperior unknown beings), gave them up into the hands of their pricfts, to fill their heads with falfe notions of the deity, and their worship with foolish rites, as they pleafed; and what dread or craft once began, devotion foon made facred, and religion immutable. In this ftate of darkness and ignorance of the true God, vice and fuperftition held the world; nor could any help be had or hoped for from "reafon," which could not be heard, and was judged to have nothing to do in the cafe, the priests every where, to fecure their empire, having excluded" reafon" from having any thing to do in religion. And in the crowd of wrong notions, and invented rites, the world had almost loft the fight of the one only true God. The rational and thinking part of mankind, it is true, when they fought after him, found the one, fupreme, invifible God; but, if they acknowledged and worshiped him, it was only in their own minds. They kept this truth locked up in their own breafts as a fecret, nor ever durft venture it amongst the people, much lefs the priests, thofe wary guardians of their own creeds and profitable inventions: hence we fee that" reafon," fpeaking never fo clearly to the wife and virtuous, had never authority enough to prevail on the multitude, and to perfuade the focieties of men, that there was but one God, that alone was to be owned and worshiped. The belief and worship of one God was the national religion of the Ifraelites alone; and, if we will confider it, it was introduced and supported amongst that people by Revelation. They were in Gofhen, and had light; whilft the rest of the world were in almost Egyptian darknefs," without God in the "world." There was no part of mankind, who had quicker parts, or improved them more; that had a greater light of reafon, or followed it farther in all forts of fpeculations, than the Athenians; and yet yet we find but one Socrates amongst them, that oppofed and laughed at their polytheisms, and wrong opinions of the deity; and we see how they rewarded him for it. Whatsoever Plato, and the fobereft of the philofophers, thought of the nature and being of the one God, they were fain, in their outward worship, to go with the herd, and keep to the religion established by law; which what it was, and how it had difpofed the mind of these knowing and quick-fighted Grecians, St. Paul tells us, Acts xvii. 22—29. "Ye -46 men of Athens," fays he, "I perceive that in all things ye are "too fuperftitious. For as I paffed by, and beheld your devotions, "I found an altar with this infcription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. "Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. "God that made the world, and all things therein, seeing that he 66 is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in Temples made "with hands: neither is worshiped with men's hands, as though "he needed any thing, feeing he giveth unto all life, and breath, " and all things; and hath made of one blood all the nations of men, for to dwell on the face of the earth; and hath determined "the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitations; "that they should feek the Lord, if haply they might feel him out, “and find him, though he be not far from every one of us." Here he tells the Athenians, that they, and the reft of the world (given up to fuperftition), whatever light there was in the works of creation and providence, to lead them to the true God, yet they few of them found him. He was every where near them; yet they were but like people groping and feeling for fomething in the dark, and did not fee him with a full clear day-light; "but thought the God"head like to gold, and filver, and ftone, graven by art and man's "device." In this ftate of darkness and error, in reference to "the true "God," our Saviour found the world. But the clear revelation he brought with him diffipated this darkness; made "the one in"vifible true God" known to the world; and that with fuch evidence and energy, that " polytheifm" and "idolatry" hath no where been able to withstand it. But where-ever the preaching of the truth he delivered, and the light of the gofpel hath come, thofe mifts have been difpelled. And, in effect, we fee, that fince our Saviour's time, "the belief of one God" has prevailed and spread itself over the face of the earth. For even to the light that the Meffiah brought into the world with him, we muft afcribe the owning -and profeffion of " one God," which the Mahometan religion hath derived and borrowed from it. So that, in this fenfe, it is certainly and manifeftly true of our Saviour, what St. John fays of him, 1 John iii. 8. "For this purpose the fon of God was mani"fefted, that he might deftroy the works of the devil." This light the world needed, and this light it received from him, That there is but " one God," and he "eternal, invisible;" not like to any vifible objects, nor to be reprefented by them. If If it be asked, whether the revelation to the Patriarchs by Mofes did not teach this, and why that was not enough; the answer isobvious, that however clearly the knowledge of one invifible God, maker of heaven and earth, was revealed to them, yet that revelation was shut up in a little corner of the world, amongst a people, by that very law which they received with it, excluded from a commerce and communication with the reft of mankind. The Gentile world, in our Saviour's time, and feveral ages before, could have no atteftation of the miracles on which the Hebrews built their faith, but from the Jews themselves, a people not known to the greatest part of mankind, contemned and thought vilely of by thofe nations that did know them; and therefore very unfit and unable to propagate the doctrine of "one God" in the world, and diffufe it through the nations of the earth, by the ftrength and force of that ancient revelation upon which they had received it. But our Saviour, when he came, threw down this wall of partition, and did not confine his miracles or meffage to the land of Canaan, or the worshipers at Jerufalem; but he himself preached at Samaria, and did miracles in the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and before multitudes of people gathered from all quarters; and after his refurrection fent his apoftles amongst the nations, accompanied with miracles, which were done in all parts fo frequently, and before fo many witnesses of all forts, in broad day-light, that, as I have before obferved, the enemies of Chriftianity have never dared to deny them; no, not Julian himself, who neither wanted skill nor power to enquire into the truth, nor would have failed to have proclaimed and expofed it, if he could have detected any falfhood in the hiftory of the gospel, or found the leaft ground to question the matter of fact published of Chrift and his apoftles. The number and evidence of the miracles done by our Saviour and his followers, by the power and force of truth, bore down this mighty and accomplifhed emperor, and all his parts, in his own dominions. He durft not deny fo plain matter of fact; which being granted, the truth of our Saviour's doctrine and miffion unavoidably follows, notwithftanding whatsoever artful fuggeftions his wit could invent, or malice fhould offer, to the contrary. 2. Next to the knowledge of one God, maker of all things, a clear" knowledge of their duty" was wanting to mankind. This part of knowledge, though cultivated with fome care by fome of the heathen philofophers, yet got little footing among the people. All men indeed, under pain of difpleafing the gods, were to frequent the temples, every one went to their facrifices and fervices; but the priests made it not their business to teach them “virtue.” If they were diligent in their obfervations and ceremonies, punctual in their feafts and folemnities, and the tricks of religion, the holy tribe affured them, the gods were pleased; and they looked no farther. Few went to the fchools of the philofophers, to be inftructed in their duties, and to know what was good and evil in their action. The priests fold the better penny-worths, and there fore fore had all their cuftom. Luftrations and proceffions were much cafier than a clean confcience, and a fteady courfe of virtue; and an expiatory facrifice, that atoned for the want of it, was much more convenient, than a strict and holy life. No wonder then, that religion was every where diftinguifhed from, and preferred to "virtue," and that it was dangerous herefy and prophaneness to think the contrary. So much "virtue" as was necessary to hold focieties together, and to contribute to the quiet of governments, the civil laws of commonwealths taught, and forced upon men that lived under magiftrates. But thefe laws, being for the most part made by fuch who had no other aims but their own power, reached no farther than those things that would ferve to tie men together in subjection, or, at moft, were directly to conduce to the prosperity and temporal happiness of any people. But "natural religion,' in its full extent, was no where, that I know, taken care of by the force of natural reafon. It should feem, by the little that has hitherto been done in it, that it is too hard a task for unaffifted reason to establish morality, in all its parts, upon its true foundations, with a clear and convincing light. And it is at least a furer and shorter way, to the apprehenfions of the vulgar, and mass of mankind, that one manifeftly fent from God, and coming with visible authority from him, should, as a king and lawmaker, tell them their duties, and require their obedience, than leave it to the long, and fometimes intricate deductions of reason, to be made out to them: such ftrains of reasonings the greatest part of mankind have neither leifure to weigh, nor, for want of education and ufe, fkill to judge of. We fee how unsuccessful in this the attempts of philofophers were before our Saviour's time. How fhort their several systems came of the perfection of a true and complete" morality," is very vifible. And if, fince that, the Chriftian philofophers have much outdone them, yet we may obferve, that the firft knowledge of the truths they have added are owing to revelation; though, as foon as they are heard and confidered, they are found to be agreeable to reafon, and fuch as can by no means be contradicted. Every one may observe a great many truths which he receives at first from others, and readily affents to, as confonant to reafon, which he would have found it hard, and perhaps beyond his ftrength, to have difcovered himself. Native and original truth is not fo eafily wrought out of the mine, as we who have it delivered, ready dug and fashioned into our hands are apt to imagine. And how often, at fifty or threefcore years old are thinking men told what they wonder how they could mifs thinking of, which yet their own contemplations did not, and poffibly never would have helped them to! Experience thews that the knowledge of morality, by mere natural light (how agreeable foever it be to it), makes but a flow progrefs, and little advance in the world. And the reafon of it is not hard to be found, in men's neceffities, paffions, vices, and mistaken interefts, which turn their thoughts another way. And the defigning leaders, as well as the following herd, find it not to their purpofe to employ much |