2. To holy, illuminated, prepared souls, belief is not so hard: it is blindness and vice that make it difficult.

3. God did not become man by any change of his Godhead, nor by confining his essence to the manhood of Christ: but, 1. by taking the human nature into a special aptitude for his operations. 2. And so relating it nearly to himself; and operating peculiarly in and on it, as he doth not on any other creature. And when all are agreed that God is essentially every where, and is as near us as we are ourselves, and more the cause of all good which we do than we ourselves are; it will be harder to show, that he is not hypostatically united to every man, than that he is so to Christ (though the aforesaid aptitude of Christ's human nature, and the relation and operation of the divine, indeed, make that vast difference). If God can so peculiarly operate in and by our human nature, where lieth the incredibility?

Q. 31. But is it so transcendently above all the works of nature, that such condescension of God is hard to be believed?

A. Great works best beseem the infinite God: is not the make of the whole world as wonderful, and yet certain? God's love and goodness must have wonderful products, as well as his power.

But is it not very congruous to nature and reason, that God should have mercy on lapsed man? And that he should restore depraved human nature? And that he should do this great work like his greatness and goodness, and above man's shallow reach? And that polluted souls should not have immediate access to the most Holy, but by a Holy Mediator? And that mankind should have one universal head and monarch in our own nature? And that when even heathens are conscious of the great need of some divine revelations, besides the light of nature, and therefore consult their oracles and augurs, that God should give us a certain messenger from heaven to teach us necessary truth? Many such congruities I have opened in the 'Reasons of the Christian Religion,' Part II. Chap. 5.

The sum of all that is said, is this: I. If any history in the world be sure, the history of the gospel is sure. II. And if the

III. The con

history be sure, the doctrine must needs be sure. tinued evidences: 1. In the holiness of the doctrine; and, 2. In the holiness of all true, serious believers, are a standing proof of both, as the miracles were to all the beholders, who did not blaspheme the Holy Ghost.

Q. 32. But how comes it to be so hard then to the most to

become serious believers and godly, when the evidence is so clear?

A. A blind, dead, worldly, fleshly heart doth undispose them, and they will not consider such things, nor use the means.

Yea, they so wilfully sin against knowledge and conscience, and will not obey that which they know, that they forfeit further grace. I will name you briefly many things, which every man's natural reason might know, and ask you whether you ever knew any unbeliever that was not false to this light of nature.

1. Doth not sense and reason tell men, how vile a thing that flesh is which they prefer before their souls? 2. Doth it not certify them that they must die, and so that fleshly pleasure is short? 3. Doth it not tell them of the vanity and vexation of this world? 4. And that greatest prosperity is usually parted with with greatest sorrow? 5. Doth it not tell them, that man's nature can hardly choose but fear what will follow after death? 6. Doth it not tell them, that there is a God that made them, and ruleth all? 7. And that he is infinitely great, and wise, and good, and therefore should be obeyed, loved, and trusted above all? 8. And that their lives, and souls, and all, are his, and at his will? 9. And that man hath faculties which can mind a God and life to come, which brutes have not; and that God doth not make such natures in vain ? 10. Doth not experience tell them, that human nature seeth a vast difference between moral good and evil, and that all government, laws, and converse show it; and no man would be counted false and bad? 11. And that good men are the blessing of the world, and bad men the plagues? 12. And that there is a conscience in man, that condemneth sin, and approveth goodness? 13. And that most men when they die, cry out against that which worldly, fleshly men prefer; and wish that they had lived the life of saints, and might die their death? Are not these easily knowable to all? And yet all the ungodly live as if they believed none of this and can you wonder, if all such men understand not, or believe not, the heavenly things: have no experience of the m sanctifying work and witness of the Holy Spirit, and have no delight in God and goodness, no strength against sin and temptations, no trust in God in their necessity, no suitableness to the gospel, nor the heavenly glory; but as they lived in sin, do die in a stupid or despairing state of soul?

m John iii. 7, 8; Rom. i. 19, 20; Acts xiv. 17.

CHAP. VII.

Of the Christian Religion, what it is, and of the Creed.

Q. 1. Now you have laid so good a foundation, by showing the certain truth of the gospel, I would better know what Christianity is? And what it is to be a true Christian.

A. First I must tell you what religion is in general, and then what the christian religion is. Religion is a word that signifieth either that which is without us, the rule of our religion, or that which is within us, our conformity to that rule.

The doctrinal, regulating religion, is the signification of God's will, concerning man's duty to God, and his hopes from God. The inward religion of our souls is our conformity to this revealed, regulating will of God, even our absolute resignation to God, as being his own; our absolute subjection to him, as our absolute sovereign Ruler; and our prevailing love to him, as our chief Benefactor, and as love and goodness itself. Thus religion is our duty to God, and hope from God.

Q. 2. Now what is the christian religion?

Obj. A. The christian religion, as doctrinal, is, the revelation of God's will concerning his kingdom, as our Redeemer; or the redeeming and saving sinful, miserable man by Jesus Christ.

Subj. And the christian religion as it is in us, is the true conformity of our understanding, will, and practice, to this doctrine, or the true belief of the mind, the thankful love and consent of the will, and the sincere obedience of our lives to God, as our reconciled Father in Christ, and to Jesus Christ, as our Saviour, and to the Holy Ghost, as our Sanctifier, to deliver us from the guilt and power of sin, from the flesh, the world, and the devil, from the revenging justice of God, and from everlasting damnation, giving us here a union with Christ, the pardon of our sins, and sanctifying grace, and hereafter everlasting, heavenly glory."

Q. 3. Is there any other religion besides the christian religion? A. There be many errors of men, which they call their religion.

Q. 4. Is there any true religion, besides Christianity?

A. There be divers that have some part of the truth, mixed

" John i. 11, 12, and iii. 16, 21; Acts xxvi. 18; Matt. xxviii. 19, 20; Jolin xiv. 5, and xv. 10; 1 John ii. 3, and v. 2, 3; Rev. xiv. 12.

with error. 1. The heathens acknowledge God, and most of his attributes and perfections, as we do; but they have no knowledge of his will, but what mere nature teacheth them; and they worship many idols, if not devils, as an under sort of Gods. 2. The Jews own only the law of nature and the Old Testament, but believe not in Jesus Christ our Redeemer.

3. The Sadducees, and all Brutists, worship God as the Governor of man in this world, but they believe not a life to come for man.

4. The Pythagorean heathens look for no reward or punishment after death, but by the passing of the soul into some other body on earth, in which it shall be rewarded or punished.

5. The Mahomedans acknowledge one God, as we do: but they believe not in Jesus Christ, as man's Redeemer, but only take him for an excellent, holy prophet; and they believe in Mahomet, a deceiver, as a prophet greater than he.

6. The mere deists believe in God, but not in Jesus Christ, and have only the natural knowledge of his will, as other heathens, but worship not idols, as they do.

Q. 5. Is there but one christian religion?

A. No: true Christianity is one certain thing.

Q. 6. How then are Christians said to be of divers religions? A. Sound Christians hold to christian religion alone, as Christ did institute it: but many others corrupt it; some by denying some parts of it, while they own the rest; and some by adding many corrupting inventions of man, and making those a part of their religion, as the papists do.

Q. 7. Where is the true christian religion, doctrinal, to be found, that we may certainly know which is it indeed?

A. The christian religion containeth, I. The light and law of nature, and that is common to them with others, and is to be found in the nature of all things, as the significations of God's will. II. Supernatural revelation, clearing the law of nature, and giving us the knowledge of the Redeemer, and his grace.°

And this is contained, 1. Most fully in the holy Bible. II. Briefly and summarily in the creed, Lord's prayer, and commandments. III. Most briefly of all in the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's supper, and the covenant made and sealed by them.

Q. 8. But are not the articles of our church, and the confessions of churches, their religion?

Matt. v. 17, and xxiii. 23; Rom. ii. 14; viii. 4, 7, and xiii. 8, 10.

A. Only God's word is our religion as the divine rule: but our confessions, and books, and words, and lives, show how we understand it.

Q. 9. What is the protestant religion?

A. The religion of protestants is mere Christianity: they are called protestants but accidentally, because they protest for mere Scripture Christianity, against the corruptions of popery.

Q. 10. What sorts of false religions are there among Christians?

A. There are more corruptions of religion than can easily be named. The chief of them are of these following sorts:

1. Some of them deny some essential article of faith or practice, as the immortality of the soul, the Godhead, or manhood, or offices, of Christ, or the Holy Ghost, or the Scripture, &c.

II. Some of them pretend new revelations falsely, and set their pretences of the Spirit's inspirations against the sealed word of God.

III. Some of them set up an usurped power of their own, against the office, authority, or sufficiency of the said sealed Scriptures, pretending that they are successors to the apostles, in the power and office of making laws for the universal church, and being the judges of the sense of Scripture; yea, and what is to be taken for God's word, and what not, and judges of all controversies about it. Of these, the papists pretend that the pope and a general council are supreme, visible governors under Christ of all the christian world, and that none may appeal from them to God, to Christ, to the Scripture, or to the day of judgment. Others pretend to such a power in every patriarchal, national, or provincial church. And all of them, instead of a humble, helping, guiding ministry, set up a church leviathan, a silencing Abaddon, and Apollyon, a destroying office, setting up their usurped power above, or equal in effect with, God's word. Q. 11. How come the Scriptures to be God's word, when the bishops' canons are not; and to be so far above their laws?

A. You must know, that God hath two different sort of works to do for the government of his church: the first is legislation, or giving new doctrines and laws: the other is the teaching and guiding the church by the explication and application of these same laws. God is not still making new laws for man, but he is still teaching and ruling them by his laws.P

p Isa. viii. 20; Isa. xxxiii. 22; Jam. iv. 12; Mal. ii. 7, 8; Matt. xxviii. 20.