what will please God better than he himself does, revelation must be the best rule to ferve and please God by, that is, it must be the best religion.

From hence then, I fay, it is incumbent on every man of sense and reafon, upon every one who judges for himself in the choice of his religion, first to inquire whether there be a revelation, or no: nor can the precepts of natural religion fingly be drawn into question, till it is firft certain that there is no revelation to direct us: and therefore there can be no comparison stated generally between natural and revealed religion, in order to determine our choice between them; because the revelation must be first rejected before natural religion can pretend to the fole direction.

And yet this is the beaten path that unbelievers tread: they confider in general, that revelation is fubject to many uncertainties; it may be a cheat at first, or it may be corrupted afterwards, and not faithfully handed down to them; but in natural religion there can be no cheat, because in that every man judges for himself, and is bound to nothing but what is agreeable to the dictates of reafon and his own mind: and upon these general views they reject all revelations whatever, and adhere to natural religion as the fafer guide. But attend to the confequence of this reasoning, which is this; that, because there may be a falfe revelation, therefore there cannot be a true one: for, unless this confequence be juft, they are inexcufable in rejecting all revelations, because of the uncertainties which may attend them.

But now to apply what has been faid to the

Christian revelation: it has fuch pretences, at least, as may make it worthy of a particular confideration it pretends to come from heaven; to have been delivered by the Son of God; to have been confirmed by undeniable miracles and prophecies; to have been ratified by the blood of Chrift and his Apoftles, who died in afferting its truth. It can fhew likewife an innumerable company of martyrs and confeffors: its doctrines are pure and holy, its precepts juft and righteous; its worship is a reasonable fervice, refined from the errors of idolatry and fuperftition, and fpiritual like the God. who is the object of it: it offers the aid and affistance of heaven to the weakness of nature; which makes the religion of the Gospel to be as practicable as it is reasonable: it promifes infinite rewards to obedience, and threatens eternal punishment to obftinate offenders; which makes it of the utmost consequence to us foberly to confider it, fince every one who rejects it ftakes his own foul against the truth of it.

Are these fuch pretences as are to be turned off with general and loose objections? Because miracles may be pretended, fhall not the miracles of Christ be confidered, which were not fo much as queftioned by the adverfaries of the Gospel in the firft ages? Because there may be impoftors, shall Christ be rejected, whose life was innocence, and free from any fufpicion of private defign, and who died to feal the truths he had delivered? Because there have been cheats introduced by worldly men, endeavouring to make a gain of godliness, fhall the Gospel be fufpected, that in every page declares

against the world, against the pleasures, the riches, the glories of it; that labours no one thing more than to draw off the affections from things below, and to raise them to the enjoyment of heavenly and spiritual delights?

But, whether you will confider it, or no; yet there is fuch a call to you to confider it, as muft render your neglect inexcufable. You cannot fay you want inducement to confider it, when you fee it entertained by men of all degrees. The Gofpel does not make fo mean a figure in the world as to justify your contempt of it: the light shines forth in the world, whether you will receive it, or no; if you receive it not, the confequence is upon your own foul, and you must answer it.

Were men fincere in their profeffions of religion, or even in their defires of falvation and immortality, the controverfies in religion would foon take a new turn: the only queftion would be, whether the Gospel were true, or no. We should have no reafoning against revelation in general; for it is impoffible that a fincerely religious man should not wifh for a revelation of God's will, if there be not one already: we should then fee another kind of induftry used in searching the truths of God, which are now overlooked, because men have loft their regard for the things which make for their falvation. Were the Gospel but a title to an estate, there is not an infidel of them all who would fit down contented with his own general reasonings against it it would then be thought worth looking into; its proofs would be confidered, and a juft weight allowed them and yet the Gofpel is our

title, our only title, to a much nobler inheritance than this world knows; it is the patent by which we claim life and immortality, and all the joys and bleffings of the heavenly Canaan. Had any man but a pedigree as ancient as the Gospel, what a noise should we have about it! and yet the Gospel is despised, which fets forth to us a nobler pedigree than the kings of the earth can boaft; a defcent from Chrift, who is head over the whole family; by which we claim as heirs of God, and coheirs with Chrift: and, did we not defpife our relation with Chrift, and fecretly abhor and dread the thoughts of immortality, we could not be fo cold in our regard to the Gospel of God.

I wish every man, who argues against the Chriftian religion, would take this one ferious thought along with him; that he must one day, if he believes that God will judge the world, argue the cafe once more at the judgment-feat of God: and let him try his reasons accordingly. Do you reject the Gospel because you will admit nothing that pretends to be a revelation? Confider well; is it a reason that you will justify to the face of God? Will you tell him, that you had refolved to receive no pofitive commands from him, nor to admit any of his declarations for law? If it will not be a good reason then, it is not a good reason now; and the ftouteft heart will tremble to give fuch an impious reason to the Almighty, which is a plain defiance to his wifdom and authority.

DISCOURSE I.

PART III.

A FAIRER iffue there cannot be for the trial of any religion: for, fince eternal life is the end that all men aim at by religion, that muft neceffarily be the best religion, which most certainly leads us to this great and defirable bleffing. But the difficulty is, how to apply this rule, fo as to form our judgments upon it, and direct our choice, fince all religions pretend to have the words of eternal life; which makes it neceffary for us first to enable ourfelves to determine which are, and which are not, words of eternal life, before this rule can be of any service to us in distinguishing true and genuine religion from the fpecious pretences of counterfeits and impoftors. In order to this, we muft confider, that there are fome principles which in all religions are allowed, and from the confideration of which we may poffibly come to fome fixed determination in this matter: fuch are these; that life eternal can be had only from God, who is the author and fountain of all being: that from him the only way to obtain it, is, by living and converfing in this world agreeably to his holy will from