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building his church upon a rock, and that the gates of hell fhould not prevail against it. That Christianity hath uninterruptedly continued for above fixteen hundred years, is an additional evidence of the divinity of this doctrine, which the first ages of the world could not have only this is fadly to be bewailed, that this religion, which hath all imaginable confirmation given to the truth of it, fhould have no greater effect upon the lives of men; that when we have fo much reafon to affent to it, yet fo few can be perfuaded to practise it; that when we make fo many folemn profeffions of our belief of the truth of it, yet by the actions of our lives we should fo vifibly contradict the articles of our belief.

go.

Thus I have gone through the first thing I propo fed to be confidered in my text, viz. The full and clear evidence which we have of the truth of the fpel, and particularly of the divine authority of that. perfon who declared the Chriftian religion to the world. There are two other general heads which the text would lead us to confider, which I fhall but briefly treat of, and fo conclude this fubject.

The fecond thing confiderable in the words is, the caufe of the infidelity of men, notwithstanding all the evidence which the gofpel carries along with it; which the Apostle expreffeth in thefe words, But if our gofpel be hid, it is hid to them that are loft; in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, left the light of the glorious gospel of Chrift, who is the image of God, should Shine unto them.

In fpeaking to this, I fhall do these four things: Firft, Shew why the infidelity of men is attributed to the Devil, as the cause of it.

Secondly, Shew more particularly what influence the Devil hath upon the minds of men, to keep them in unbelief.

Thirdly, That this does not excufe the infidelity of

men.

Fourthly, Shew the wickedness and unreasonablenefs of infidelity.

First,

First, Why the infidelity of men is attributed to the Devil, as the cause of it. There are two principles that bear fway in the world, and have a more immediate influence upon the mind of man; the Holy Spirit of God, and the Devil. The former of these is continually moving and inclining them to good: the latter fwaying and tempting them to evil; and thefe two principles fhare mankind between them. Hence it is that in fcripture, the Spirit of God is faid to dwell in good men; and the wicked and vicious part of mankind (whom the fcripture frequently. calls the world) are faid to be in the poffeffion of the Devil, and to belong to his fhare and lot. Upon this account the Devil is called in the text the God of this world. Accordingly St. John frequently rangeth mankind under these two heads; thofe that belong to God, and thofe that belong to the Devil, John iii. 9. He that committeth fin is of the Devil: but he that committeth not fin, is born of God. In the next verfe he calleth them the children of God, and the children of the Devil: in this the children of God are manifeft, and the children of the Devil. So likewife chap. v. 19. And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. Or as the words may be rendered more fuitably to the oppofition which the Apostle aims at, the whole world is fubject to the wicked one; we are of God, but the reft of the world is fubject to the Devil.

Upon this account it is, that in the conftant phrase of fcripture, all good motions and inclinations, and all good graces and virtues are afcribed to the Spirit of God, as the author and worker of them and all wicked and vicious inclinations, all the fins and vices of men are attributed to the Devil, as in fome fort the author and worker of them: and becaufe faith is the root of all other graces and virtues, as infidelity is of fin and wickedness, therefore faith is in a peculiar manner faid to be the work of the Holy Ghoft; and infidelity the work of the Devil. And as the Spirit of God is faid to enlighten the underStandings of men, and to open their hearts that they may believe: fo the Devil is faid to blind the minds

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of them that believe not. As the Spirit of God is faid to work in them that believe; fo the Devil is faid to work in the children of unbelief. Eph. ii. 2. he is called the spirit that worketh in the children of difobedience, dédeas, of unbelief. This is one of the principal defigns which the Devil hath always carried on in the world, to bring men to unbelief, and to keep them in it. As it is the great work of the Spirit of truth to lead men into truth, and bring them to the belief of it: fo the great bufinefs of the Devil is to feduce men from the truth. Upon this account he is faid, John viii. 44. to be a murderer from the beginning, because he abode not in the truth; which refers to the firft temptation, whereby he ruined and deftroyed our firft parents, by feducing them to unbelief; Hath God faid, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And because he found this attempt fo fuccessful, he still purfues mankind with the fame temptation of unbelief. This for the firft; why infidelity is attributed to the Devil, as the caufe of it.

I come, in the fecond place, to fhew more particularly what influence the Devil hath upon the minds of men, to keep them in unbelief; how, and in what manner he blinds the minds of them that believe not. These two ways chiefly; by falfe principles, and by vicious and corrupt habits.

I. By falfe principles, which when they have once got poffeffion of the understanding, like fo many enemies they defend it, and hold out against the truth. By this means the Devil kept a great part of the Jews, and of the heathen world in unbelief: and their minds were fo blinded by thefe falfe principles which they had entertained, that they could not fee the light of the glorious gospel of Chrift. As for the Jews, he had with a great deal of art conveyed falfe principles into them, whereby they were extremely prejudiced against Chrift and his doctrine ; fo that when he, who was the defire of all nations, and whom the Jews had looked for, with fo longing an expectation, was come, they could fee no beauty in him, wherefore he should be defired. The Devil no doubt understood very well by the prophecies of VOL. X.

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the Old Teftament, that the Meffias was to come, who would give a terrible blow to his kingdom; and therefore, to provide against this ftorm which he faw coming upon him, he poffeft the Jews a great while before with falfe apprehenfions of the Meffias, that he was to be a great temporal Prince, and to V deliver Ifrael from all their enemies, and to fubdue all nations to them ; and he plaid his game fo well, that the most learned among the Jews were generally poffeft with this apprehenfion, under the notion of a divine doctrine, which had been brought down to them by tradition from Mofes and the Prophets So that when the Meffias came, and they faw nothing of the outward glory and fplendor which they expected, they would not know him, but defpifed and rejected him as a counterfeit and impoftor.

As for the idolatrous gentiles, he had for many ages together blinded them with falfe notions of God and his worship, and with principles of a falfe philofophy, by which when they came to meafure the doctrine of Chrift, the plain truths of the Chriftian religion feemed foolish and ridiculous to them; and by these prejudices the Devil kept many of them, efpecially of the Philofophers, from believing the gofpel.

And proportionably in every age, fuitably to the temper of it, he endeavours to poffefs men with falfe principles, either to keep them in unbelief, or to drive them to it.

II. The fecond way whereby the Devil blinds the minds of them that believe not, is by vicious and corrupt habits; which though they do not poffefs the understanding, yet they have a bad influence upon it; as fumes and vapours from the lower parts of the body affect the head. The vices and lufts of men darken the understanding, and fill the mind with grofs and fenfual apprehenfions of things, and render men unfit to difcern thofe truths that are of a fpiritual nature and tendency, and indifpofed to receive them. When mens deeds are evil, they do not love the light, left it should reprove their vices, and

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make them manifeft. Truth is offenfive and grievous to a corrupt mind, as the light of the fun is to fore eyes. A vicious man is not free to entertain thofe truths which would check and crofs him in his way; he looks upon them as enemies, and therefore thinks himself concerned to oppose them. Every luft makes a man partial in his judgment, and lays a falfe bias upon his understanding, which carries it off from truth, and makes it lean towards that fide of the question which is moft agreeable to the intereft of his lufts.

And by this means the Devil kept many, both of the Jews and Gentiles, in unbelief; he had tempted them to thofe fins which did indifpofe them for the receiving of that doctrine which enjoins the denying of ungodliness and worldly lusts, and chargeth men fo ftrictly with all manner of holiness and purity. The Pharifees under a mask of religion, were guilty of great wickedness and impiety; and the Heathen were monftroufly degenerated into all manner of vice. So that it was not only the falfe principles, but likewise the vicious lives of men, which were oppofite to the doctrine of the gofpel, and blinded their minds, that the light of the glorious gospel of Chrift did not fhine into them.

And the Devil ftill makes ufe of this means to bring men to infidelity, and keep them in it; as knowing that the fhorteft way to atheism and infidelity, is to debauch them in their lives. Therefore the Apostle feems to give this as the reafon of the infidelity of fome in his time, 2 Theff. ii. 12. That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. When men once take pleasure in wickednefs, then infidelity becomes their intereft; for they cannot otherwise defend and excufe a wicked life, but in denying the truth which oppofeth it; that man only ftands fair for the entertaining of truth, who is under the power of no luft, becaufe he hath nothing to feduce him, and draw him afide in his enquiry after truth; he hath no intereft but to find truth: he hath the indifference of a traveller, who is not inclined to one way more than

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