Three Practical Essays, Essay 2 · Chapter 2
CHAP. II. What is to be done before Confirmation. Of Faith; of the Necessity of Religion; of the Necessity of Revelation; of the Evidence of the Christian Religion; and of Consideration.
1. FIrst then, in order to receive Confirmation, or to begin the great Work of Religion, with due preparation of Mind, Endeavour before all things to attain a real and firm Belief of the great Doctrines of the Christian Religion. This is the only Foundation, that will be able to support the Design of a truly Religious Life. If we do really and firmly believe, the Being and the Providence of God; if we be indeed convinced, that the Christian Religion is a Revelation of the Divine Will; if we be in earnest persuaded, that there will certainly come a Day of Retribution, wherein every Man shall receive according to that he has done, whether it be Good or Evil; this is a Faith, which will assuredly overcome the World; this is a Belief, which will certainly baffle all the Temptations of Sin and Satan; this will make all the Glories of the World seem mean, and all the Pleasures of Sense insipid; in a word, this will inspire Men with such a vigorous Zeal▪ as will make them not only with Ease and Contentment, but with a mighty Pleasure sacrifice all earthly Enjoyments, to the doing the greatest Good here, and obtaining the greatest Happiness hereafter. But if we enter upon the Profession of Religion rashly and inconsiderately, more for Form and Custom than upon any mature Deliberation and Conviction of Mind, it is not possible we should persevere in well-doing with Resolution and Patience: The Cares of the World and the Deceitfulness of Riches, the Solicitations of Pleasure and the Lusts of other things, will certainly prevail over us and seduce us into Sin. Nothing but a firm Faith, grounded upon an impartial View and a deep Consideration of things, can possibly carry a Man through the Difficulties and Discouragements of a Religious Life: But he that begins to build upon this Foundation, and lays down his first Principles of Faith immovable as a Rock, will be able to surmount all Difficulties with Bravery and Constancy, and will attain the end of his Hopes with Triumph and Joy.
2. The true Reason why so great a number of those who make Profession of Christianity, are either wicked and licentious, or at least cold and indifferent in Matters of Religion, is plainly this, That they do not in earnest believe, as they pretend and profess to do, the great Articles of Religion: They in course profess themselves to be Christians, without having ever considered what Christianity is, and therefore it has little or no Influence upon their Lives and Actions. For did Men indeed as firmly believe the Doctrines of the Christian Religion, as the Character they are willing to bear in the World obliges them to pretend they do, it would be in a manner as strange to find a Man whose Actions should give his Words the Lye, and his Life be unsuitable to his Profession, as to hear one disputing whether there were a Hell or no, while he were actually tormented in the Flames thereof. For though Faith has not the Evidence of Sense, as indeed it is impossible it should, yet if it be well grounded, it could not but have in good measure the same effect upon the Lives of Men, as the Evidence of Sense would have. When a Temporal Prince declares, that whoever be found guilty of such or such Crimes, shall certainly undergo this or that particular Punishment, such a Declaration has generally the same Influence upon all the Subjects concerned, as if they saw the Punishment already actually inflicted upon the Criminals: When therefore the Supreme Governour of the World declares to Mankind his Will, which is their Law and Rule of Life, and inforces the Obligation of that Law by such Threats and Promises, as the Scripture, which is that Declaration of his Will, contains; If these Threats and Promises of the Almighty have not the same influence upon the Hearts and Lives of Men, as those of an earthly Prince in other Cases generally have, is it not evident either that Men do not in earnest believe that these Threats and Promises are indeed the Declaration of his Will, or else that they imagine that though he now so earnestly presses, and seems so severely to exact Obedience to his Laws, yet at last he will not punish the Contempt of them? If this be not the case, how comes the Christian Religion to have lost that Efficacy in reforming the Lives and Manners of Men, for which it was once so eminent even amongst its Enemies themselves? If We do indeed believe the same Gospel, and live under the power of the same Religion, that the Primitive Christians did; how comes that Religion not to have the same Influence upon our Lives and Actions, that it had upon theirs? Can we hear Men daily profane the Sacred Name of God with impious and horrid Oaths; and yet think they believe there is a God, jealous of his Honour, and that will avenge himself on such a Nation as this? Can we see Men cheat and cozen, destroy and prey upon one another, without the least scruple or appearance of remorse; and yet think they believe the Truth of the Christian Religion, and the Severity thereof? In a word, can we see Men dally with Eternity, and for the sake of a few empty and momentany Gratifications, hazard their everlasting Welfare? Can we think it possible, I say, that rational Creatures should act with so prodigious a Carelesness, who yet believe not that the Scene of this World shall be shut up in everlasting Oblivion, but that there will come a Day wherein they must give Account for their Works, and be accordingly happy or miserable for ever? No certainly; whatever Pretences Men may make to deceive others, and perhaps in some measure themselves too, there must lurk some secret Seeds of Infidelity in the Heart of every wicked Man; and the true Reason why this World has so much the Ascendant over the Lives of Christians, must be their not having a firm Belief of the Glories of the other. Whoever therefore will so enter into a religious course of Life, as to be able to persevere in well-doing to the end; whoever will so lay the Foundation, as to be able to finish; must before all things attain a firm and settled Belief of the great Truths of Religion: And as without this Ground-work, it is not possible he should ever be resolute enough, to overcome the Enemies of his Religion and Happiness; so with it, it is not possible he should ever be overcome by them. He that has a firm and steady Belief of the Greatness and Excellency of those Riches, which neither Moth nor Rust doth corrupt, and to which Thieves cannot break through to steal, will never be so dazled with the glittering of Gold, as to let it steal away his Heart and Affections: He that has a great and noble Idea of the Glory which shall be revealed hereafter, will never be enticed to squander away those Talents which God has given him, only in appearing splendid and great here: He that hath a strong and vigorous expectation of those Pleasures which God hath prepared for them that love him, which Eye hath not seen, nor Ear heard, neither have they entered into the 1 Cor. 2. 9.Heart of Man to conceive, will never be persuaded to give himself up to the voluptuousness and sensuality of a Beast: In a word, he that is full of Faith, and can look with assurance beyond things Temporal to those which are Eternal, has left *Sicut enim homo, cùm implet amphoras bono vino, & inter il…as paucas amphoras semiplenas posuit, & venit ut tentet & gustet, &c. Sic Diabolus venit ad homines servos Dei, ut tentet illos. Quicunque pleni sunt fide, resistunt ei fortiter, & ille recedit ab illis, quia non habet locum intrandi: Tunc vadit ad eos qui non sunt in side pleni, & quoniam habet locum, intrat, &c. Hermas 2. ult.no room in himself where the Devil can enter with his Suggestions, but is fortified on all sides against all Temptations.
3. Now to attain such a Faith as this, not slight and superficial, but firm and well-grounded, and immovable against all Assaults, a Man ought to proceed by these steps. First he must by serious Consideration work in his own Mind a full and perfect Conviction of the Being of God, and of the Excellency of his Attributes: From thence he must collect the certainty of God's Providence over Men, and the Obligation of Mens Duty towards God: From hence will follow the necessity of Religion here, and the certainty of the Reward of Vertue hereafter: After this he must consider the necessity of a Divine Revelation to establish true Religion, and the Proofs which evidence the Christian Institution to be such a Revelation: And above all, he must fix these Things strongly, and imprint them on his Mind, by deep and constant Meditation.
4. He that cometh to God, must in the first place believe that he Is; i. e. he must not only by a slight and careless assent go along inconsiderately with the common Opinion, but he must form in his Mind a considerate and rational, a strong and vigorous Persuasion of the Being of God. Take a view of this great and glorious Fabrick of the World; consider the stupendous Magnitude and the exquisite Order of its Parts; consider the numberless Instances of Infinite Power and unfathomable Wisdom, which appear in this our Spot of Earth; consider the exquisite Artifice which discovers it self in the Structure of the Body of Man, and the inconceivable Subtilty of the Operations of his Mind; consider at the same time how frail, and depending, and corruptible all these things are; how weak and unable even Man, the noblest Part of the visible World, is, to be the Cause, or so much as the Preserver either of himself or any thing else: And this will raise in the Mind such a powerful Conviction of the Being of God, as will be a lasting and immovable Foundation, on which to build a rational and considerate Design of Religion.
5. To one that is thus persuaded of the Being of God, it will be easie to conclude, That as that Supreme Being, from whom all other Things received their Original, must himself be Eternal; as he, from whom all the Powers of all Things that exist, are derived, must himself be Allpowerful; and as he, by whose Establishment all Things in all Places were made to move in such wise and wonderful Order, as far exceeds the Capacity of the wisest of Men to comprehend, must himself be All-knowing and All-wise: So it cannot be, but that he who is All-knowing, All-powerful and All-wise; who sees through all things at one view, and can effect all things with the same ease that he can will them; must govern, direct and manage all things by an Over-ruling Providence: And because his Power is so great as not possibly to be compelled, and his Wisdom so perfect as not possibly to be seduced, to do any thing contrary to those Eternal Rules, which the immutable Law of the Divine Nature, and the unalterable Constitution and Relation of Things has fixed; that therefore this his Government of the World must be Just and Equitable, according to the nicest and exactest Measures, of Infinite Goodness, Righteousness and Truth.
6. From this Notion of the Being, of the Attributes, and of the Providence of God, most evidently follows the Necessity of Religion. For if God be a Being of Infinite Power, Knowledge and Wisdom; 'tis manifest he is to be Reverenced, to be Honoured, and to be Feared: If he concerns himself with the Government of his Creatures, and imploys these infinite Perfections in Ruling and Ordering the World; 'tis manifest he is to be Worshipped, Prayed to, and Adored: And if this his Government of the World be regulated by the exactest Measures of infinite Goodness, Righteousness and Truth; 'tis manifest he is to be Loved, to be Praised, and to be Imitated.
7. And because it cannot be, but that a just, and true and good Being, whose Nature and whose Happiness consists in the Perfection and in the Exercise of these Attributes, must be pleased with those Creatures, who love to imitate his Justice, his Goodness and his Truth; therefore there must of necessity be a Reward, laid up in store for Vertue; and those whose delight it has been to conform themselves to the likeness of the Divine Nature, shall certainly be admitted to partake in some degree of the Divine Happiness. Wherefore if this Reward be not given to Vertue in this present Life; if the good things of this World be distributed not only promiscuously, but even generally to the disadvantage of the Vertuous, and to the advantage of those who are Enemies of God and Haters of his Religion; it follows, that if a righteous and good God has any regard to Righteousness and Goodness, there must be a future State, wherein Rewards and Punishments shall be dispenced impartially to Vertue and Vice.
8. Thus as certain as is our Knowledge of the Being of God and of the Constitution of Things, so certain may we be of the Obligation of Religion, and of the Reward of Vertue. Yet by Experience it hath been found, that these Considerations, however in themselves strong and concluding, have notwithstanding been insufficient so to convince Mens Judgments and Over-rule their Passions, as to keep them constant in the Knowledge and in the Practice of their Duty. The greatest Part of the Gentile World, before the appearance of the Glorious Light of the Gospel, were an amazing Instance of this. They quickly fell from the worship of the true God, to the worship of Idols and impure Spirits; and were thereupon given up to a reprobate Mind, to work all Uncleanness with greediness: Ephes. 4. 19.They were by degrees intangled in all manner of wicked Practices, till their very Mind and Conscience was defiled; andTit. 1. 15. so accustomed themselves to run into all excess of Riot, that even their most sacred and religious Performances became at length the very extremest Abominations. And though there always were among them some Philosophers, who stood up for the Cause of Vertue and true Religion; yet they never were able to keep together any considerable number of Men, who could agree among themselves about the Notion of the Truth, and persevere in the practice of it. Even that Happiness it self, which was to be the ultimate end of all humane Actions, they were so little settled in their Apprehensions about, that St. Austin somewhere out of Varro reckons up no less than 280 Opinions concerning the chief Good. The means to attain this Happiness, namely the great Rules of Morality, they agreed indeed pretty well in; but their Understandings they complained were so dark and cloudy, their Wills so biassed and inclined to Evil, their Passions so outragious and rebelling against Reason, that those Rules were looked upon as hardly practicable: In a word, they confessed that humane Nature was strangely corrupted; and they complained of this Corruption as a Disease whereof they knew not the Cause, and could not find out a sufficient Remedy; so that the great Duties of Religion were laid down by them as Matters of speculation and dispute rather than practice, and not so much urged upon the Hearts and Lives of Men, as proposed to the admiration of those, who thought them scarce possible to be effectually attained to by the generality of Men. Lastly, The Method, by which those who have erred from the right way and have offended God, may yet again restore themselves to the Favour of God and to the Hopes of Happiness, the Philosophers were in a manner absolutely ignorant of. From the Consideration of the Goodness and Mercifulness of God, they did indeed reasonably hope, that God would shew himself placable to Sinners, and might be some way reconciled: But what Propitiation he will accept, and in what manner this Reconciliation must be made, here Nature stops and expects with impatience the aid of some particular Revelation. That God will receive returning Sinners, and accept of Repentance instead of perfect Obedience, they cannot certainly know, to whom he has not declared that he will do so; for though this be the most probable and only means of Reconciliation that Nature suggests, yet whether this will be alone sufficient, or whether he requires something further before he will restore Men to the Privileges they have forfeited, they cannot be satisfactorily assured. There arises therefore from Nature no sufficient Comfort to Sinners, but an endless and anxious solicitude about the means of appeasing the Deity. Hence those diverse ways of Sacrificing and numberless Superstitions, which overspread the face of the Heathen World, but were so little satisfactory to the wiser part of Mankind, even in those times of Darkness, that the Philosophers could not sometimes forbear declaring, That they thought those Rites could avail little or nothing towards appeasing the Wrath of a provoked God, or making their Prayers acceptable in his sight; insomuch that *foreign. Plato Alcibiad. 2. prope fin.Plato in the Person of Socrates speaks out, that since they knew not in what manner to apply themselves acceptably unto God, he expected and did assure himself, that in due time some Person would be sent from God, who should declare to them his Will in that particular.
9. And now if these wisest of Philosophers were thus puzled about that which was their highest Concern, how are the Disputers of our Age certain, that if themselves had lived without the Light of the Gospel, they should have made such a right use of their Reason, as to have discovered the Truth exactly, without being any way led aside by Prejudice or Interest? If their Lot had been among the Vulgar, how are they sure they should have been so happy, or so considerate, as not to have been involved in that Idolatry and Superstition, which over-spread the whole World? If they had joyned themselves to the Philosophers, which Sect would they have chosen to have followed, and what Book would they have resolved upon to be the adaequate Rule of their Lives and Conversations? Or if they would have set up for themselves, how are they certain they should have been skilful and unprejudiced enough, to have deduced the several Branches of their Duty, and applied them to the several Cases of Life, by Argumentation and dint of Reason? 'Tis one thing to see that those Rules of Life, which are before-hand plainly and particularly laid before us, are perfectly agreeable to Reason; and another thing to find out those Rules meerly by the Light of Reason, without their having first been any otherwise made known. We see that even many of those, who profess to govern their Lives by the plain written Rule of an instituted and revealed Religion, are yet most miserably ignorant of their Duty; and how can any Man be sure he should have made so good Improvement of his Reason, as to have understood it perfectly in all its parts, without any such help? We see that many of those, who profess to believe firmly that great and everlasting Happiness, which Christ has promised to Obedience, and that great and eternal Misery which Christ has threatned to Disobedience, are yet hurried away by their Lusts and Passions to transgress the Conditions of that Covenant, to which these Promises and these Threatnings are annexed; and how can any Man be sure he should be able to overcome those great Temptations, if these mighty Motives were less distinctly known, or less powerfully enforced? But suppose he could, and that by strength of Reason he could demonstrate to himself these things with all clearness and distinctness; yet could all Men do so? Assuredly all Men are not equally capable of being Philosophers, tho' all Men are equally obliged to be Religious. At least thus much is certain, that the Rewards and Punishments of another World, the great Motives of Religion cannot be so powerfully inforced to the influencing the Lives and Practice of all sorts of Men, by one who shall undertake to demonstrate the reality of them by force of Reason and Arguments, as by one who showing sufficient Credentials of his having been himself there, shall assure them of the truth and certainty of these things.
10. Though therefore nothing be more evident to Reason, than the Necessity of Religion in general, and the Certainty of the Reward of Virtue; yet because 'tis too nice and laborious a work in the matter of such vast Importance, for Men of all Capacities to discover by the Light of Nature all the particular Branches of their Duty; and because in the discovery of such matters, as are the great Motives of Religion, Men are apt to be more easily wrought upon, and more strongly affected, by Testimony than by Arguments; and because some things necessary in our present corrupt State, such as for instance the means by which a sinner may appease God after he has offended him, cannot certainly be discovered by the Light of Nature and Reason at all; therefore there is evidently a necessity of some particular Revelation, which may supply these defects. And this the Heathens themselves were so sensible of, that there never was any Principal Law-giver among them, who did not pretend to receive his Laws, or at least his Instructions for making those Laws, by some Divine Revelation; and Plato in that most remarkable Passage before-cited, acknowledges so plainly the want of such a Revelation, as even to question whether it would not be better that Men should forbear sacrificing wholly, till such times as God should discover to them in what manner he would have it done. 'Tis therefore agreeable to the Natural Expectations of Men, that God should make some particular Revelation of his Will, which may supply the Defects of the Light of Nature: And that it is not unworthy of the Wisdom of God to make such a Revelation, is also evident; For can any Man say that it is an unwise thing, for the Creator of the World to reveal to his Creatures more fully the way to Happiness, and the means of becoming like himself? Can any Man say, that it is an unwise thing, for God to declare what Satisfaction he will accept for sin, and upon what conditions he will receive returning Sinners? Can any Man say, that it is a thing unworthy of the Wisdom of God, to make particular Discoveries of his Will to his Creatures, and to set before them in a clearer light the rewards and punishments of a future State? This is so manifest, that nothing needs further be said about it.
11. Now that the Christian Religion is such a particular Revelation, actually made by God: That the peculiar Duties, which it injoyns, are indeed the express Commands of God; and the peculiar Motives, by which it inforces those Duties, things true and in reality established by God: Of this we have all the proof that the nature of the thing will bear, and that is agreeable either to the Wisdom of God to give, or the Reason of Men to expect. To represent the Motives, which are to inforce the practice of any thing, more evidently and strongly, than is consistent with the nature of the thing designed to be inforced, is inconsistent with the Wisdom of an All-wise God; and to expect other proof of any thing, than what the nature of the thing to be proved is capable of, is unreasonable in the Judgment of understanding Men. The design then of Religion, being to make Men Happy by making them Religious, that is, to make Happiness not the Fate of Mens Nature, but the Reward of their Virtue; 'tis plain the Motives of Religion ought of necessity to be such, as might abundantly encourage all wise Men to cleave inseparably to their Duty as to their Life, and yet leave room for Men desperately wicked and incorrigible, to avoid being forced into the Injoyment of that Happiness, which they are not willing to purchase at the rate of being Religious The Reward of everlasting Life promised to Obedience, and the Punishment of Eternal Misery threatned to Disobedience, are Motives in themselves infinitely and irresistably strong: For were the Happiness of Heaven, and the Torments of Hell openly exposed to view, and proposed as the immediate and unavoidable Consequence of a Mans chusing or refusing his Duty, 'twould be as impossible for a Man in actual view of these two different states not to choose his Duty and refuse the contrary, as for a heavy Body not to fall downward to the Ground. Though therefore the infinitely gracious and merciful God has indeed proposed to us these great and most powerful Motives, that Men by choosing their Duty might choose their Life, and become Happy in consequence of their becoming Religious; yet hath he so proposed them, invisible at present and at a distance, that good Men might have some exercise of their Virtue by choosing their Duty in order to their Happiness, and that Men obstinately impenitent might not partake of the Happiness, without choosing the Duty to which that Happiness is annexed. Again, the Nature of a revealed Institution of Religion being such, that excepting the agreeableness of its Doctrines to the eternal Rule of Reason, the chief evidence of its being from God must of necessity depend upon the credible Testimonies of Matter of Fact: 'tis manifest that that evidence, of which such Matters of Fact are capable, ought to be accounted sufficient in the present case; and to require greater proof, than the nature of the thing will bear, is absurd and unreasonable.
12. That the Christian Religion therefore is indeed a Revelation, sufficiently demonstrated to be from God, may be satisfactorily evidenced to a Man's own Mind by These Considerations: That the Duties, which it injoyns, are all such, as are most agreeable to our Natural Notions of God, and most conducive to the happiness and wellbeing of Men: That the Motives by which it enforces those Duties, are such as are most suitable to the excellent Wisdom of God, and most answerable to the natural expectations of Men: That the peculiar Circumstances, with which it injoyns these Duties, and urges these Motives, are such as are most exactly consonant to the Light of Nature, and most wisely perfective of it: and, That all these things, are proved moreover to be taught and confirmed of God, by the most credible and convincing Testimony, that ever was given to any matter of fact in the World.
13. In the first place, the Duties which the Christian Religion injoyns, are all such, as are most agreeable to our natural notions of God, and most conducive to the happiness and well-being of Men. This is a proof, which were alone sufficient to convince a wise man of a Religion's being from God: For that Institution of Religion, which requires no other Duties, than what are perfectly agreeable to the eternal and unchangeable Law of God, and manifestly perfective of the Moral Virtue and the Happiness of Men, has already the Mark of God upon it, and cannot possibly but come from him. The Nature and Life of God are unchangeable, and the Constitution of his Laws is also unchangeable: Whoever therefore Preaches and Institutes such a Religion, as leads men to nothing else, but to the Obedience of the Laws, and to the Imitation of the Nature and Life of God, may without any other Testimonials be admitted as a Preacher of Divine Truth; and that Religion, which stands on such a Foundation, is of it self sufficiently recommended, to the Belief, and to the Practice of all Wise Men. Now that the Christian Religion is such an Institution, is so plain and evident, that its greatest Adversaries have hardly been able to deny it: The Duties of Love, Fear and Adoration, which it obliges us to render unto God, are so manifestly incumbent upon us on consideration of the excellent Attributes of the Divine Nature, and our relation to him as our Creator and Preserver, that no man who considers, can break loose from the Obligations which our Religion lays upon him to practise these Duties, without denying the very Being of God, and acting contrary to the reason and all the Natural Notions of his own Mind: The Duties of Justice, Righteousness and Truth, which the Christian Religion commands us to exercise towards Men, are so apparently reasonable, and so directly conducive to the Happiness of Mankind, that even those Men who have broken through all the Bonds of Religion, and the Obligations of Virtue, have yet thought it necessary to the preservation of Society, and the well-being of Mankind, that the observation of these Duties should be inforced by the Penalties of Humane Laws: The Duties of Sobriety, Temperance and Contentment, which our Religion injoyns us to practise in our selves, are so undeniably agreeable to the inward Constitution of Humane Nature, and so perfective of it, that the principal design of all true Philosophy was to recommend and set off these Duties to the best advantage; though, as the Philosophers themselves confessed, it never was able to work men up to that pitch of cheerful and generous Obedience to the Rules of these Duties, which the Christian Religion in its primitive and purest State was acknowledged to have done, and which, if it were now believed and practised as it then was, it must still do: Lastly, Even those positive and external Observances, (such as the Sacraments, &c.) which are Instituted in the Christian Religion as means and assistances to keep men stedfast in the practice of those great and moral Duties which are the weightier matters of the Law, are so free from all appearance of Superstition and Vanity, and so wisely fitted to the end for which they were designed; that many of the Adversaries of our Religion have yet been forced to admire, the Wisdom and the Excellency of their Institution.
14. Again, The Principal Motives of the Christian Religion, I mean the Discovery of a Future State, and the Rewards and Punishments therein to be dispenced; are things so suitable to the excellent Wisdom of God, and so agreeable to the unprejudiced Reason, to the Natural Apprehensions and Expectations of Men, that were their truth and reality confirmed by no other Argument or external proof, yet were they sufficient to influence the practice, and regulate the Actions of wise and considerate men. That the Soul of Man is immortal, and shall survive after the dissolution of this corruptible Body, is a truth which has always been thought demonstrable from Principles of Reason, and from the consideration of the nature of the thing: That Man is a Creature capable of doing good or evil, and consequently of giving account of his Actions, and being judged for them, is also evident: That therefore in a future State there shall be a time of Retribution, wherein every Man shall receive of God according to what he has done in this Life, whether it be good or evil, has been collected by the wiser and more considerate part of Men among the Heathens themselves. The Resurrection of the Body, has indeed been looked upon by most of the Philosophers, as a thing utterly absurd and impossible: But there is nothing impossible in the nature of the thing; And the Jews, who had no express Revelation of that matter, did yet believe it upon a constant Tradition; as appears from all their Writings, and particularly from the Translation of the last verse of the Book of Job, which according to the Seventy runs thus; So Job died being old and full of days *foreign Job 42. ult., but 'tis written, that he shall rise again with those whom the Lord raises up.
15. Further, the peculiar Circumstances, with which the Duties and the Motives of the Christian Religion are inlarged and inforced are such as are most exactly agreeable to the Light of Nature, and most wisely perfective of it. For what can be more perfective of the Light of Nature, than to have those Duties, which Nature hints at only in general, explained fully and largely, and urged in particular, and inculcated upon the meanest Capacities, and exemplified in the Lives of Holy Persons proposed as Patterns for Men's imitation? What can be more perfective of the Light of Nature, than to have those great Motives of Religion, the Rewards and Punishments of a future State, which Nature only obscurely points at, described to us most plainly, affectionately and lively? What can be more perfective of the Light of Nature, than to have the means of attoning for sin, which Nature discovers only the want of, plainly declared and exhibited to us? What can be more perfective of the Light of Nature, than such a Discovery of the heinousness of Sin and the necessity of Holiness, as the Death of Christ and the Purity of the Gospel, does make unto us? In fine, what can more effectually perfect the Religion of Nature, than the gatbering the Worshippers of God into one Body, the uniting them by certain positive Rites in one common Communion for mutual assistance and improvement, and the establishing a certain Order of Men, whose Business may be to promote the Interest of Religion, by instructing the Ignorant and by admonishing the Wicked.
16. Lastly, Besides all these Proofs of the Truth of the Christian Revelation, drawn from the Consideration of the Nature of the Thing, God has moreover confirmed it by the most undeniable external evidence, that ever was given to any Matter of Fact in the World. The Great Motives of the Christian Religion, are things not only most probable and most credible in themselves, but God has moreover confirmed the certainty of them by most clear Testimony, (which is a proof suited to all Capacities,) and has most strongly urged upon Men the Rewards and Punishments of a future State by the Preaching and Exhortations of one, who by that convincing Proof of his Resurrection from the Dead did undeniably demonstrate that he had himself been there, and was able to give Men a satisfactory Account of the Nature of that State: The great Duties of the Christian Religion, are things not only most reasonable and most excellent in themselves, but they are moreover taught and inculcated by one, who has given the most credible and convincing Evidence that could possibly be desired, of his being sent immediately from God. The Miracles which our Saviour wrought, were to his first Disciples, who were Eye-witnesses of them, a most perfect demonstration of the Truth of his Doctrine: And the History of his Life, Death and Resurrection, delivered down to us upon the Testimony of those Disciples, are to Us also a sufficient Evidence of the same Truth. Their having conversed from the beginning with our Saviour himself; their having heard, and having seen with their Eyes; their having looked upon, and having handled with their Hands of the Word of Life, (as St. John expresses it, 1 John 1. 1.) made it impossible that they should be deceived themselves: And their whole Life and Conversation, their Sufferings and Deaths, were invincible proofs against the Adversaries of Christianity, that they had no design of imposing upon others They saw all the Prophecies of the Old Testament precisely fulfilled in the Life and Doctrine, the Sufferings and Death of our Blessed Saviour; they saw him confirm what he taught with such mighty works, as his bitterest and most malicious Enemies could not but confess to be above the Power of Nature, even while they were blaspheming that Holy Spirit which wrought them; they saw the whole course of his Life to be such, as to all unprejudiced beholders loudly proclaimed his Divine Commission; they saw him so constantly despise all worldly greatness, as once when the People would have made him a King, even to work a Miracle to avoid that, which was the only thing that was possible to be the aim and design of an Impostor: In fine, they saw him alive after Act. 1. 3▪his Passion by many infallible proofs, conversing with him for forty days together, and at last beholding him ascend visibly into Heaven. These were such demonstrations of his being a Teacher sent from Heaven, and consequently that his Doctrine was nothing less than an immediate and express Revelation of the Will of God, that nothing but the extremest Malice and Obstinacy could withstand them: And the same reason that these Disciples of our Saviour had to believe his Doctrine, the same reason the rest of the World had to believe theirs: They confirmed what they taught, by Signs and Miracles; they lived according to the Doctrine they Preached, though manifestly contrary to all the Interests and Pleasures of this present World; and, which no Deceiver could ever do, they died with all imaginable cheerfulness and joy of mind, for the Testimony of their Doctrine, and the Confirmation of their Religion. So that unless God should work upon Men by such Methods, as are wholly inconsistent with the Design of Religion, and the Nature of Virtue and Vice; which we are sure he will not do; nothing can be done more than has already been done, to convince Men of Religion, and to perswade them to Happiness. 'Tis true, the Resurrection of Christ is not such an ocular demonstration to after Generations, as it was to those Men who then lived and saw him, and conversed with him: But since the matter of fact is as clearly proved to us, as 'tis possible for any matter of fact at that distance of time to be; since the Evidence of this is as great and greater, than of most of those things on which Men venture the whole of their Secular Affairs; and on which they are willing to spend all their time and pains; since I say the Case is thus, he that will rather venture all that he can possibly injoy or suffer; he that will run the hazard of losing Eternal Happiness, and falling into Eternal Misery, rather than believe the most credible and rational thing in the World, meerly because he does not see it with his Eyes; 'tis plain that that Man does not dis-believe the thing, because he thinks the Evidence of it not sufficiently strong, but because 'tis contrary to some particular Interest of his that it should be true; and for that reason he might also have disbelieved it, though he had seen it himself.
17. This is in brief the Evidence which we have, of the Necessity of Religion in general, and of the Truth of the Christian Institution in particular: And he that would so lay the Foundation of a Religious Life, as to be able to Conquer all the Temptations of the World, and persevere in Well-doing to the end, must at least so far consider this evidence, as before all things to work in his own Mind a Firm, Settled and Well-grounded Belief of the great Truths of Religion. To produce which Effect, this Evidence is most abundantly sufficient. For if in other Cases, we assent to those things as certain and demonstrated, which if our Faculties of Judging and Reasoning do not necessarily deceive us, do upon the most impartial view appear clearly and plainly to be true; there is the same Reason, why in Moral and Religious Matters, we should look upon those things likewise to be certain and demonstrated, which upon the exactest and most deliberate Judgment that we are capable or making, do appear to us to be as clearly and as certainly true, as 'tis certain that our Faculties do not necessarily and unavoidably deceive us, in all our Judgments concerning the Nature of God, concerning the proper Happiness of Man, and concerning the difference of Good and Evil. And if in other Cases, we always act without the least hesitation upon the Credit of good and sufficient Testimony, and look upon that Man as foolish and ridiculous, who sustains great Losses, or lets slip great Opportunities and Advantages in Business, only by distrusting the most credible and well-attested things in the World; 'tis plain there is the same reason, why we should do so also in Matters of Religion. So that unless our Actions be determined by some other thing, than by Reason and Judgment; the Evidence which we have of the great Truths of Religion, ought to have the same effect upon our Lives and Actions, as if they were proved to us by any other sort of Evidence that could be desired.
18. There are indeed some Men, who being conscious to themselves that they act contrary to all the reasonable Evidence and Convictions of Religion, are yet apt to imagine, that if the great Truths of Religion were proved to them by some stronger Evidence, they should by that means be wrought upon to act otherwise than they do. But if the true reason why these Men act thus foolishly, is not because the Doctrines of Religion are not sufficiently evidenced, but because they themselves are hurried away by some unruly Passions to act directly contrary to all Reason and Evidence; 'tis plain (unless God should irresistibly compel them) they might well continue to act as they do, though the Evidence of these things were really greater than it is. They are willing to imagine, that if they had lived in our Saviour's time; if they had heard his Preaching, and seen his Miracles; if they had had the advantage of beholding those mighty Works, which he wrought for the proof of his Divine Commission; as the Jews then had; they should not like them have rejected the counsel of God against Luke 7. 30.themselves, but with all cheerfulness have believed his Doctrine, and embraced his Religion. They fansie they should immediately have become Disciples of Christ, and that the Truths which he taught, would have had a most powerful Influence upon the whole course of their Lives. And if their Hearts and Affections were not set upon this World, more than upon the next; if they valued not the present enjoyments of Sense, above the expectation of the Glory that shall be revealed; most certainly they would do the same now. But if their Hearts be set upon earthly things, and their Passions be stronger than all the Arguments of Reason; if they do indeed so love the Pleasures of Sin now, as that they cannot persuade themselves by all the Motives of Religion to live like Christians; we need not question to affirm, that they might very well have been in the same case, though they had lived in our Saviour's time. The Jews are a notorious and standing Instance, how far Prejudice and Affection are able to prevail over the strongest Convictions: When our Saviour began to preach that he was sent from God to instruct them in their Duty, they required a Sign of him, and they would believe him; but when he had wrought so many Miracles, that even the World it self could not contain Joh. 21. 25.the Books if they should all be written, they persisted still in their Infidelity: When they saw him hanging upon the Cross, and thought themselves secure of him, they said, Let him now come down from the Mat. 27. 42,Cross, and we will believe him; but when he arose out of the Grave wherein he had lien three Days, which was a much greater and more convincing Miracle, they grew more hardned and obstinate in their Unbelief.
19. Others there are who imagine, that if they could but be convinced of the Truth of another World by the appearance of one sent directly from that unknown State, they would immediately become new Creatures; but if God should satisfie their unreasonable Demands, by sending one on purpose from the Dead to convince them, I doubt not but as they listened not to Moses and the Prophets, so neither would they be persuaded by one rising Luk. 16. 31.from the dead. They might indeed at first be surprized and terrified, at the appearance of so unusual and unexpected a Messenger: But as wicked Men upon a Bed of Sickness, at the amazing approach of Death and Eternity, resolve in the utmost anguish of Horror and Despair to amend their Lives and forsake their Sins, but as soon as the Terror is over and the danger of Death past, return to their old habits of Sin and Folly; so it is more than probable it would be in the present Case: Should God send a Messenger from the Dead, to assure Men of the certainty of a future state, and the danger of their present Wickedness, as soon as the Fright were over and their present terrible Apprehensions ceased, 'tis by no means impossible that their old vicious Habits and beloved Sins should again by degrees prevail over them. Many there are in our present Age, who pretend to be convinced of the being of Spirits by the powerful demonstration of their own Senses; and yet we do not observe, that their Lives are more remarkably eminent for exemplary Piety, than theirs, who being convinced by the less violent, but more rational Evidence of the Gospel, go on in a sober, constant, and regular exercise of Virtue and Righteousness.
20. In summ therefore, Consider that the Evidence of Religion is such, as upon the fullest view of things, and the exactest and most deliberate Judgment that we can possibly make, ought infinitely to determine the Actions of a wise Man; Consider that the great Doctrines of Religion are of such a nature, that upon the final upshot of things, if all our Knowledge be not Deceit, if all our Hopes and Fears be not Vain, if there be any Good, if there be any Evil, if there be any Excellency, if there be any Happiness, these things must be true: Consider this, I say, throughly; and then Resolve, deliberately and with full persuasion of Mind, to act always suitably to this Consideration, and to put all upon this one Issue. And when Temptation and Melancholy shall succeed; when vain Scruples and unreasonable Suspitions, shall cloud the Understanding and perplex the Mind; be sure to stick immovably to that Resolution, which has once been founded upon the wisest Judgment and the fullest Conviction possible; and when the present Indisposition of Mind shall be over, things will again appear in their true Light, and the first Resolution will grow continually stronger.
21. Only in the last place and above all, be sure to fix these things deeply upon the Mind, by frequent and serious Meditation. The Passions and Affections of Men are strong; and unless these also can by some means be interested, the bare Conviction of a Man's Judgment will hardly be able to govern constantly all the Actions of his Life. 'Tis not enough that we be convinced in our Judgments, of the Truth of the great Doctrines of Religion; *Quaecunque salutaria sunt, saepe agitari debent, saepe versari, ut non tantum nota sint nobis, sed etiam parata. Seneca Ep. 95.but we must by constant Meditation fix and inculcate them upon the Mind, that they may move our Passions and excite our Affections. Be not content to believe slightly the Being of God, but represent him frequently in your Mind with the most lively Characters of Glory and Majesty; consider him as that Supreme Being, who hath measured the Waters in the hollow of his hand, and Isai. 40. 12.meted out Heaven with the span, and comprehended the Dust of the Earth in a measure, and weighed the Mountains in scales, and the Hills in a balance; to whom all Nations are as a drop of the bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance; Consider him as that All-powerful Being, before whom the Pillars of Heaven tremble, Job 26. 11.and are astonished at his reproof; before whom all Nations are as nothing, and they are counted to him less than nothing and vanity. Isai. 40. 17.Be not content to believe in general the Providence of God, but think of him always as actually present, observing all our Words and Actions, and understanding even our Thoughts afar off. Be not contentPsal. 139. 2. to believe in general a Judgment to come, but frequently represent to your self the Solemnity and the Terrour of that great Day; imagine our Saviour sitting in Judgment, as in that Prophetical Allusion, with his Throne like the fiery flame, Dan. 7. 9.and his Wheels as burning fire; A fiery stream issuing, and coming forth from before him; Thousand thousands ministring unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand standing before him; the Judgment set, and the Books opened. Lastly, be not content to believe slightly and in general a state of Reward or Punishment for Virtue or Vice; but meditate frequently on the Happiness of those, who shall be admitted to the heavenly Jerusalem, to the general Assembly Heb. 12 23.of the first-born, to an innumerable company of Angels, and to God the Judge of all, and to Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant: Consider the Happiness of those, who shallRev. 5. 10. be made Kings and Priests unto God, and shall reign with him for ever; who shall shine as the brightness of the Firmament, and as the Stars for ever and ever: And on theDan. 12. 3. other hand meditate seriously on the Misery of those, who shall be cast into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone, where the Worm dieth not, and the Fire is not Mark 9. 44.quenched; and where they shall be tormented Day and Night for ever and Rev. 20. 10.ever.
22. I have been the longer upon this Head, because it is the first and most necessary Foundation of all Religion; and because that *Quae à sapientibus viris reperta sunt, non satis credimus, nec apertis pectoribus haurimus, leviterque tam magnae rei insistimus. Seneca, Ep. 60.slight, careless and only customary Assent to the great Truths of Religion, which is the Summ of most Mens Faith, seems to be the chief reason why things of the utmost importance have so so small an effect upon the Lives and Actions of Men. There is no need that every Man should proceed just by those steps, which I have set down; but whoever will indeed make Religion the Business of his Life, must by some like Method work in his Mind a firm and well-grounded Belief of all its great Doctrines, and a deep and vigorous Sense of them.