I declare here that in difcourfing upon thefe fources, I do not mean to tax all Christians without exception: fo when I fpeak of ignorance, and of prejudice commonly received; knowing and learned men are excepted and when I observe certain defects in the ftate of the church and of religion, in difcipline, in clergy-men, or in Chriftian magiftrates; I suppose those faults obtain more in fome places than in others. In fhort, whoever should apply what is faid in this Treatife, to all forts of perfons and churches, would certainly mistake my design.

And now I must defire those who may chance to fee this Book, to examine seriously what I propofe in it. No lover of truth or religion, can refuse his attention to a fubject of this nature. But I hope it will be more particularly welcome to church-men and divines; who are called by their function, to fet themfelves against corruption, and to endeavour all they can to promote piety and the glory of God.

To conclude; I heartily implore his Bleffing upon this Work, who put it into my head to fet about it, and who is my witness with what defign and intention I publish it..

PART I.

WH

CAUSE I.

Ignorance.

HEN a man thinks of the Caufes of that Corruption which over-runs the Christian world; the firft which offers itself to his mind, is Ignorance, and therefore I fhall begin with that.

Our notions and knowledge, are the firft principles of our actions. We can never love a thing, or adhere to it, when it is not at all, or when it is but imperfectly known to us: fuppofing then that men are ignorant, or very little inftructed in religion, there is no wonder that they fhould be corrupt: for they muft of neceffity be fo. On the other hand, when they appear to be extremely corrupt, we may conclude, that they want inftruction. I do not deny, but that corruption proceeds fometimes from the wickednefs of the heart, which refifts the light of the understanding; and that men frequently act againft their knowledge. But it may fafely be faid, That if Chriftians were well inftructed, they would not be fo corrupt, and that wherever an extraordinary corruption is vifible, there is likewife a great deal of ignorance.

This is confirm'd by the Scripture, and by God's conduct in the eftablishing the Chriftian religion. When the Apoftles fpeak of those dif

orders,

orders, wherein the Heathens lived before their converfion, they afcribe them to the darkness of their minds. The Gentiles (fays St. Paul) hove their understanding darkned, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart. The fame Apoftle calls the times which preceded the coming of Chrift, the times of Ignorance. And the firft thing which God did to change the face of the world, and to rescue it from Corruption; was to difpel the clouds of their ignorance, and to enlighten them with the knowledge of himfelf, by the preaching of the Gofpel.

Although Chriftians cannot be charged with fo grofs an Ignorance as that of the Heathens; yet they fall very short of that knowledge they ought to have, and it must be confeffed, that for the moft part, they live in fhameful and deplorable Ignorance. This is the reafon why piety is fo much wanting among them, and why they are fo depraved and vicious; which is the thing I will endeavour to make appear.

In order to this; as the Chriftian religion may be reduced to thefe two heads,

First, The Knowledge of the Truth.'

Secondly, The Practice of Holiness.

It is fit to enquire, Whether with refpect to thefe, Chriftians are furnifhed with neceffary information? I fhall make it appear that they are very little inftructed.

I. In that which concerns the truths of religion. And

II. In what relates to manners, and to the duties of Christianity. The reflections I fhall beftow upon both thefe heads; will I hope, clearly prove, That among those vaft multitudes of men, who profess themfelves Chriftians, there are very few, who are well acquainted with their religion. From whence it will be natural to conclude, That they muft needs be very corrupt.

I. To begin with the Knowledge of the Truths of Chriftianity; we' muft diftinguish two forts of truths in religion: the general, and the particular truths. The General Truths, are thofe, upon which the whole of religion is founded; fuch as thefe, That there is a God, That the Bible is a divine book, and That the Chriftian religion is true. By Particular Truths, I mean the various doctrines which religion contains, and which are the parts of it; but which at the fame time, depend upon the General Truths, as upon their principle. The doctrine of the facraments, of juftification, and many others, are of this number. Now let us confider the Ignorance of Chriftians in reference to thefe two forts of truths:

I. Every man who makes ufe of his reafon, may eafily apprehend, That the General Truths are the most important; that they are those of which one ought chiefly to be perfuaded; and that without thefe General Truths, the Particular ones would be ufelefs, nay, would not be fo much as Truths. To enquire, Whether there be any facraments, or how a man can be justified; one must believe first, That there is a God and a religion: for if I am not convinc'd of the existence of God, and of the truth of religion, it would fignifie little to me, whether or not there

* Eph. iv. 18.

there were any facraments, and all the time I should employ in the profecution of this enquiry would be loft.

This first reflection does already difcover to us an effential and capital defect. A great many Chriftians want inftruction concerning the principles and foundations of Chriftianity; they do not fufficiently confider the certainty and importance of it. Their knowledge of religion, does feldom go further than the particular truths of it, and does not reach the general. This is fo common a fault, that it may be observed even in those whose profeffion it is to ftudy religion and to teach it to others. Some have spent the best part of their lives in the ftudy of divinity, or in expounding the Scripture, who never seriously examined the arguments for the truth of Chriftianity, or the divinity of the Scripture. Some are masters of the principal controverfies which divide Chriftians, whe would stand mute if they were called back to the first elements of religion, and if they were to maintain against an Infidel, that there is a religion, or that the Chriftian religion is true. The people enter yet less than the divines into the examination of the general truths; and there are very few who either attend to them, or indeed believe them as they ought.

And yet the whole of religion depends upon a firm perfuafion concerning the principles of faith; it is that which renders the particular truths effectual to falvation, and which begets piety and the love of virtue. When a man is perfuaded that religion proposes nothing but what is certain, he immediately receives with reverence whatsoever it teaches; he feels an inclination in himself to obferve its precepts, and he believes a judgment and another life, as if he faw them before his eyes. Such is the efficacy of a true faith, and of a steady perfuafion about fundamental truths. But without this perfuafion it is very hard, not to fay impoffible, to adhere fincerely to religion, and to perform the duties of it. And this is the constant source of the Corruption of Chriftians.

It may perhaps be objected, that all Chriftians receive the general truths of their Creeds, and that these are not queftioned but by Pagans and Atheists. Upon which I fhall make two reflections.

1. It is but too true, that in the point of religion, there is at this day a great number of perfons who entertain very loose opinions, and that do at leaft border upon Atheism. These pernicious tenets are spread wider than fome people think. Not only the Libertines are infected with them, but even the common people. All the prophane men and Deifts are not to be found at courts, in armies, or among the learned; there are some in towns, among the vulgar, and even among country clowns. If we examine a little the difcourfes and apprehenfions of men, efpecially of those whofe life is irregular, if we do but begin to reason with them and press them, we may foon perceive the principles of incredulity and Atheism in many of them. It will be found that they are not thoroughly perfuaded that there is a God, and another life; or that if they do not proceed to that degree of impiety which attacks directly the very foundations of religion, they harbour at least this fancy, that God doth not narrowly obferve men's deportment; that he will not be fo fevere as to damn them for fome fins they have committed, and that there is no fuch great harm in gratifying one's paffions, and living at the ufual rate of the world.

These

These and the like fentiments are general enough, and yet they lead the ftraight way to Deifm, and tend plainly to the fubverfion of religion. It would be therefore highly neceffary, in order to root out fuch dangerous errours, carefully to eftablish thefe great truths; That there is a God, that this God fpeaks to us in his word, and that whatever the Gospel tells us of another life, is moft certain. This I fay would be altogether needful, if it were but for the inftruction of those I have now mentioned, and their number is greater than is commonly imagined.

2ly, We may take notice, that tho' Chriftians profefs to believe the truths of their religion, yet that belief is not lively and ftrong enough in them all. It is beyond all queftion, that moft Chriftians are fo only because they were engaged by their birth in the profeffion of Chriftianity; but that after all, they know very little of the truth and divinity of it. They would in like manner have been Jews or Pagans, if they had been born in Judaism or Paganism; fo that properly speaking they cannot be faid to have faith; for faith is a perfuafion; to believe, is to be perfuaded; and 'tis impoffible to believe a thing right without reafon or examination. That which is called faith is commonly nothing else but a confufed and general opinion, which makes but very flight impreffions upon the heart and mind; but true faith is a greater rarity among Chriftians, than we are aware of. Now as faith is the only principle of piety, fo a bad life does chiefly fpring from want of faith and from incredulity. And there are two forts of Infidels; fome deny and reject Divine truths; others do not quite deny them, but they doubt and believe but weakly. The Infidels who deny the fundamentals of religion, are not many, but the number of those who doubt, and are not well perfuaded, is very great.

This discovers to us the reason why men who are acquainted with the Divine truths and profefs to believe them, do yet act quite contrary to the dictates of faith and religion. There feems to be in their proceeding a manifeft contradiction: it is a thing wondered at; that people who believe a God, and a religion, should live as if there was neither God nor religion; upon this we are apt to fay, that finners are not confiftent with themselves; and as if it were impoffible to reconcile their practice with their belief, we cry out, that the depth of man's heart is unfearchable. But there is no fuch wonder in the cafe, and the proceeding of bad Chriftians, is not always fo contradictory, as it feems to be. I confefs that men fin fometimes against the convictions of their own confciences, and that fome who want not knowledge, do yet live very ill.

This may proceed from inconfideration, from the violence of their paffions, from too great a regard to their temporal intereft, from the flattering hope of pardon, or fome fuch principle. But for the moft part, men act confonantly and fuitably to their belief, and it is but feldom, that in the conduct of their lives, they behave themselves contrary to the fentiments and principles that poffefs them. We fuppose that bad Chriftians believe the truths of religion, and in that we are miftaken. Many of them want faith, and are not fully convinced of thofe truths. Is it to be imagined, that fo many perfons who live in fin, who make confcience of nothing, and who violate every minute the rules of their du

ty; should be thoroughly perfuaded, that there is a God who fees them, and to whom they are to give an account? From all this, I conclude, That the Ignorance of the General Truths of religion, is one of the principal fources of Corruption.

Some will fay, That thefe truths need not be proved, and that they are of the number of those first principles, which are taken for granted, because they are imprinted on the hearts of all men. But this objection is easily answered by what has been faid just now. I own that the ideas and principles of religion, carry in them a natural evidence, inafmuch as they are demonftrable from reafon and confcience; and becaufe there are principles in men by the help of which, they may arrive at the knowledge of the truths of religion. But thefe principles and ideas have been in fome measure ftifled in many, either thro' ill education, or worldly bufinefs, or vice, or fome other caufe; fo that they feel the force and evidence of them but imperfectly; and fome have no sense at all of them.

Upon this account it is neceffary to excite and enlighten those ideas, to explain and establish those principles. I acknowledge further, That fome parts of those proofs upon which religion is built, lie open to all men's eyes; but yet the ignorant, and those who are taken up with other objects, do not obferve them: they fhould therefore be made to attend to them: juft as we make ftupid and heedlefs people take notice of the beauty of a palace, or the skill of an artist in fome curious workmanship, which would otherwife pafs unobferved by them. However the opinion of those who pretend that the General Truths ought not to be proved, is contrary to the Holy Scripture; which teaches us to reafon upon the principles of religion, and to fearch into the proofs of them; where in order to convince men that there is an Almighty and Infinitely good God, it propofes to them, the beauties and wonders which fhine in his works, and exhorts them to the confideration of them. This may be feen in the book of Job. In the XIX. and CIV. Pfal. Rom. i. 19, 20. and in many other places.

3ly, It may further be faid, That the proof of General Truths, is too difficult for the common people, and that the learned only are capable of fuch a difcuffion. I grant that all forts of perfons are not able to comprehend all that has been writ upon these matters. And therefore I do not pretend, that it is impoffible to have a true faith without entring into the detail of all thefe proofs, and without following with the utmost ftrictness, all the deep and abstracted reafonings, which have been used to prove the existence of God, or the truth of the Chriftian religion. I think rather thofe matters ought to be treated with great difcretion, efpecially in fermons. It would be a great piece of imprudence, to muster up in a publick difcourfe, all the objections of Atheists, or the fubtilties of Libertines; these ought to be referred to private conferences. Thofe who fpeak to the people, muft take heed, left by difputing and fpeculating too much, they render the fundamental truths problematical, and raife fcruples in men's minds. They ought to build upon this principle, That men are carried by a common and natural inclination to believe the exiftence of God, to acknowledge a difference betwixt good and evil, and to own Providence, and the other truths of religion; but for

all