SERM. II. Impoffibility in the Nature of the Thing, then there is no abfolute Impoffibility but fome rational Solution of them may be given but it is abfolutely impoffible in the Nature of the Thing, and contradictory to our Ideas of God, that he fhould miflead us, or, which is the fame Thing, neceffitate us to be governed by fuch Evidence, as must mislead us, in Points of the last Importance. If a Faith, which is built upon moral and indubitable Proofs, fhould be erroneous, then he who has made it our bounden Duty, by the Exigences of human Af. fairs and by the Laws of our Nature, to clofe with fuch Proofs, defigned it should be fo; and confequently muft be, in the laft Refort, the Author of Error; to affert which is Blafphemy. We are reduced to no Abfurdity in embracing feveral Things as true, upon juft and legitimate Proofs; which, antecedently to fuch Proofs, we fhould have rejected as highly incredible and improbable: for fuch an Affent is warranted by the fame Procedure in every Branch of Literature, and even in that Branch which requires the strictest Certainty, as is plain from the Cafe of Infinites of all Sorts. But we are reduced to a Train of Abfurdities of the worst Sort, by with-holding our Affent from what is founded upon moral Certainty; fince if that Opinion were univerfal, it would cause an intire Cef

fation of Bufinefs, and introduce Diforder SERM. II. and Mifery into the Creation, contrary to the Intention of our great Creator, and therefore contrary to Truth. Whatever Weight fome People may think the Objections against Christianity have; they can have little or no Weight comparatively with the Force of this Argument, which is an indirect Demonftration in Favour of it: viz. Chriftianity must be true, because the Suppofition of its not being fo, carries along with it grofs and palpable Abfurdities; it implies a Difbelief of every Thing of which we were not Eye-witneffes; it puts an End to the Credibility of all human Teftimony, and plunges us into a State of Scepticism in Matters of Practice; far more to be avoided than that which relates to Matters of mere Theory. It fuppofes, that several thousands of early Chriftians, who could not have been deceived, as to the Reality of thofe Miracles which fell under the immediate Cognizance of their Senses, entered into a Combination to make the reft of the World believe they were thoroughly perfuaded of the Truth of them and of Chriftianity, by perfifting in it to the laft, without any Intereft and even against their Intereft.

Farther, we muft diftinguish between the Proofs of a Thing, and the Thing faid to be proved. All Objections which relate merely

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SERM. II. merely to the Nature of the Thing proved, but do not affect the Proofs themselves, ought not to invalidate our Affent. For our Affent is built upon the Proofs; and, while they continue firm and unshaken, ought to be fo too; and nothing but what deftroys the Force of the Arguments, by which a Thing is proved to be true, can prove it to be falfe. It is thus in Natural Philofophy when once the annual Motion of the Earth round the Sun is proved, we do not alter our Opinion, because it seems highly improbable and to fhock our common natural Notions, that fo cumberfome and unwieldy a Body as the Earth fhould move fome hundreds of Miles in a Minute, and fome thousands in an Hour, with a Velocity unperceived by us, and yet more rapid than that of a Cannon Ball. Thus again, when it is proved that Light comes from the Sun; we do not suspect the Proof to be ill-grounded, because it is inconceiv able how any Body (and Light is a Body). fhould travel feveral Millions of Miles in feven or eight Minutes; that the Sun should emit every Minute as many Corpufcles, as have been fufficient to diffuse themselves throughout the whole Expanfe of the vifible Creation for almoft fix thousand Years, without any fenfible Diminution of its Bulk, without impoverishing itself by fuch a long continued Expence of Rays. Thus feveral

Things relating to the Spring of the Air, SERM. II. the Reflexion and Refraction of the Rays of Light, Magnetifm, &c. are admitted to be true upon the Teftimony of Experimental Philofophers, without their own perfonal Knowledge, by those who would have thought them not a little abfurd, independently of fuch Teftimony. In a Word, let a Man have never fo romantic an Imagination, it could not enter into his Heart to believe, or into his Head to conceive those astonishing and incredible Things, which are done in the Universe by him who only is wonderful and only doth wonderful Things; unless his Eye had feen them, or his Reafon demonftrated them, or his Ear had heard them from feveral Perfons of great Abilities and unfufpected Credit. Whatever Abfurdities fome imagine they fee in the Scriptures; it is the greatest Abfurdity of all, that they who do not know any Thing in the Course of Nature, no not fo much as the Falling of a Stone, but what baffles, confounds, and furpaffes all their reasoning Powers, fhould refufe to believe any Thing in God's Revelation and extraordinary Difpenfations, that does fo. It appears then that an Improbability arifing from the Nature of the Thing may be overcome and over-ruled by direct pofitive Proofs. The Reafon is obvious: Nature of Things is in a great Measure in D 2 the

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SERM. H. the Dark, their internal Conftitution and Effence in a great Degree unknown, and because unknown, befet with a great many Difficulties, which, though not irreconcileable in themselves, may feem to us to be fo. But the Proofs for the Reality of the Things whofe internal Nature baffles the Underftanding, may lie fo open to our Apprehenfions; may be fo clear and fubftantial, as justly to demand the Affent of every intelligent Perfon. Exceptions against the Proofs of revealed Religion ought to be feriously confidered, and have been, I think, fully answered. But as long as the Proofs are unexceptionable, all other Exceptions against it are of little Force; provided they do not imply any Impoffibility or any Immorality. For it is demonftrable, that we cannot fully comprehend every Thing that God may reveal, nor the whole Scheme of the Chriflian Dispensation; it is demonftrable, that we must be infufficient Judges of what we cannot fully comprehend; and it is demonftrable, that no great Strefs is to be laid upon the Exceptions of an insufficient Judgment. But our Infufficiency, which takes off the Force of the Objections, does not annul or make void the Proofs; because the Proofs for Chriftianity being external are what they are, extrinfecally and independently of the Nature of the Thing proved.

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