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are weak, ignorant, and frail Beings; but that an honeft integrity of Mind tho' it does not always fucceed equally in discovering Truth, will yet certainly be accepted. But this is all Abfurdity and Contradiction in the mouths of those, who affert that the Reason of every Man, in all States and Circumftances, is a more fure Guide in Matters of Religion, than Sense is, or can be, in the Things of this Life: In that Cafe Sincerity must always produce equal Knowledge, and uniform Effects. But this Term does not fuit with this new System. For who ever talked of equal, or unequal Degrees of Sincerity, or any Sincerity at all, in discovering the Brightness of the Sun, or that Snow is white.

In fhort, the plain Truth and matter of Fact is this, that Men confider'd apart by themselves, in their meer perfonal Sufficiency, are very

VOL. I.

C

weak

weak and imperfect Creatures in every View, and were intended to be fuch; That whatsoever Perfections they may attain to, they arife chiefly from their focial Relation, from their collective or corporate State, in which, Things are fo ordered, that these separately weak Creatures do form one ftrong and beautiful Body, fitly joined together and compacted, by that which every Joint Supplieth. We are in a very ftrict Senle Members one of another, and no Member has in it felf any fuch Sufficiency, as to fay to any other, I have no need of thee. All have their feveral Talents, and Abilities, Opportunities and Circumftances, Stations and Offices; some are designed to govern, others to obey; fome to teach, others to learn. The different Orders of Mankind require, that different Provinces of Labour and Knowledge should be affigned to them.

Had

Had Mankind from the Beginning made all poffible improvements of their Powers, we cannot fay to what high Degrees of Virtue and Knowledge, they might by this time have arrived: But God knew that this would not be the Cafe. One of the three Sons of Noah (by whom the whole Earth was overspread) was curfed foon after his coming out of the Ark. We have the History of the Wickedness, and Idolatry, and Punishment of his Pofterity. We are told in plain Terms, that Men did not like to retain God in their Knowledge; the Caufe of their Ignorance was wilful obftinacy and Perverseness. The Pofterity of fuch Men, bred up in, and prepoffeffed by Error, and hardened by the continual Influence of bad Examples, must be under the greatest Disadvantages: The Truth wholly neglected, and almost cancelled from among them; their Understandings darkened, and their C 2

Minds

Minds reprobate; and themselves given up to all Uncleanness thro' the Lufts of their own Hearts, having a real Esteem, and deliberate Preference of what was Evil. In this Cafe, can we fuppofe these Men as capable of discovering all moral and religious Obligations, as their Senfes were to discover fenfible Objects? Nothing could have been more provoking or unpardonable, than this Sufficiency so abused. These had not been Times of Ignorance, as the Apostle represents them; and therefore God could not have been faid to have winked at them upon that Account. The abusing of fuch an abfolute Sufficiency must have been every way inexcufable, and by this means, the Iniquity of these People had been immediately filled up.

But it is objected, that if Reafon be not a fufficient Guide in matters of Religion, then five Parts in fix of Mankind at this present, have no fufficient Guide at all in matters of Religion,

ligion, and for 4000 Years together, 999 Parts of a 1000 had no fufficient Guide to direct them in their Duty. That is, if the Reason of Mankind was not fufficient to dif cover all religious and moral Obligations, they could not be accepted of God; as if every Man that has not ten Talents cannot have one. Is it not enough, that God is not a hard Mafter, that he does not reap where he has not fown, nor gather where he has not ftrewed, that Allowances will be made for different Attainments, and different Rewards affigned to them?

Again, it is objected, that if Reason was thus infufficient, and Revelation neceffary to inform Mankind of their moral and religious Duties, why was not Revelation vouchfafed fooner; and when it was given forth, why was it not granted equally to all? Can this

Anfwer to the Poftfcript of the Second Part of Scripture vindicated. Pag. 10,

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any

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