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true religion is fo introduced into the mind, as to work in the heart of man, and make him upright and honeft, the end and purpose of religion is anfwered.

To answer this end of religion were the preachers of the Gospel fent into the world: the errand was worthy of him who sent them; whofe goodness and mercy inclined him to teach men the way to happiness, but not to flatter their vanity and pride of knowledge. The doctrines of the Gospel are not the worse for being foolishness to the Greeks, and a Stumbling-block to the Jews; fince they are, and on experience appear to be, the power of God to falvation to all who believe.

DISCOURSE IV.

PART II.

IN treating on this fubject, I have already ob

served to you, that there are two propofitions or afsertions contained in the words of the text:

First, That the world by wisdom knew not God. Secondly, That it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to fave believers.

It being allowed in general, that the world was grofsly ignorant and fuperftitious, and unacquainted with the true notion of God, and the religion that was to be paid him; yet it will still be faid, that there were fome, fome few at least, who had extricated themselves from these popular errors; who saw and acknowledged one fupreme Being, the cause of all things; who had clear and distinct notions of morality, and of the duties owing from man to man. The writings of fome of these great men are still extant; and, if we confult only Plato, Ariftotle, and the Roman philofopher Tully, we may fee how far reafon and philofophy could and did carry thefe men in matters of religion and morality.

From these and fuch-like inftances we are apt to form a general notion of the powers of human rea

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fon; and the argument appears undeniable: thus far human reason did go without the help of the Gospel; thus far therefore it certainly can go.

It may be worth our while to confider this cafe, not with an intent to depreciate the worth of these, the best and greatest men of antiquity, but to ftate it clearly and fairly, as far as it does, or may be supposed to affect the argument for the neceffity of revelation.

Suppofing then, in the first place, all that is said of these wife men to be true, and that they did arrive at a clear and diftinct knowledge of God, and of the religion that was due to him; yet it will weigh but little in the prefent confideration, for this plain reafon; because religion, if it is of any ufe at all, is equally of ufe to all men: for, fince all men live under the impreffion of natural conscience, and the sense of being accountable for their actions, they all equally want direction; and, as the experience of the world fhews, all men will have some religion, either good or bad. To say therefore that reafon was fufficient for the purposes of religion before the publication of the Gofpel, and to prove it by fhewing that it ferved this purpose in four or five inftances in an age, whilft millions and millions had no help from it, is quite miftaking the point: we want fomething to be of use to all men, and which all men ftand in need of to their well-being: you have found fomething that will ferve perhaps one in a million, and think that you have difcovered an adequate fupply for the general want. But what must become of the many thousands who are incapable of being the better for your method? If the

whole nation were infected with the plague, it would be worth while to fend even to the Indies for a man who could cure them; but, if his remedy could cure only two or three in the kingdom, it would be of no great confequence whether he came, or ftaid away.

But it may be faid, that what reafon did for a few, it was capable of doing for all, if it had been duly attended to; and, confequently, that reason was a fufficient foundation for true religion, notwithstanding that true religion was loft in the world; which was not through a defect in reason, but through the abuse and misapplication of it by the generality of mankind.

I

agree the cafe to be fo; but we are ftill where we were before for this general abuse of reafon, or inattention to the voice of it, which had spread over the whole world, had certainly a root in fome general evil and corruption that had infected mankind and, whatever reason was in itfelf, yet it ftood in great want of a remedy for this evil, that had fo univerfally darkened and obfcured it. Suppose I should say such a man was blind; will it be a proper reply to say, No, his eyes are found and good, excepting only that there is a very thick film over them, which intercepts all fight? or would it be proper to infift that the man wanted no cure, because he had found eyes? What shall we do with this film then? for, till it is removed, the man might as well be without eyes. This was the very cafe of the heathen world. You fay they had reafon fufficient for all the purposes of religion: be it fo; yet, in fact, it is certain they were never able

to make this use of it for ages together. Since the coming of Chrift the world has been able to make this use of their reason: and now, at laft, it is become a great queftion, whether a cure has been wrought, or no.

But confider farther, when we talk of reason abftractedly as a principle of human actions, it is right to say that reafon can do whatever we fee any man perform by the help of his reafon; and therefore it is true that reason can measure the magnitude and distances of the heavenly bodies: but is it also true that every man's reason can do this? by no means; and therefore to confider all men as capable of doing what we see some great geniuses able to do, is abfolutely abfurd. Now, the few whom you suppose to have attained to a juft notion of God and of religion in the heathen world, what were they? Men brought up in retirement and study, of great induftry and application, who spent their lives in fearching into the causes of things: and, even of those many who followed this method of life and study, there are but few who can with any pretence be faid to have discovered the truth: the crowd of philofophers talked much more, but knew as little as the people. But the people themselves, what must become of them? they have no time for ftudy, and they must have true notions of religion at a cheaper rate, or not at all. As religion is a thing in which all men are concerned, it must be conveyed in a manner that suits men of all conditions. Suppofing therefore that you have found a way by which fome few thoughtful men obtained true notions of religion, you are far from having found a way of pro

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