SERM. II.

A benevolent Man that is at Ease in himfelf would not defignedly let a Line appear in Print, or a Word fall in Converfation, that should stagger the Good in their Way to Heaven, or confirm the Bad in a Courfe of Wickedness: he would not for all the World write or fay any Thing, that should tend to weaken the Motives to Honesty and Virtue, by ftriking at the Authority of that Book, from which alone a full Affurance of unallayed, exceeding, and endless Happiness (the ftrongest Support of Virtue and Honefty) can be derived, Can a Man that is a Friend to Natural Religion, endeavour to fubvert a Revelation, which contains all the Motives to Goodnefs which Natural Religion has, and adds fome diftinguishing ones of great Weight peculiar to itself? Or can he really think that Natural Religion would fucceed in its Room? No, There would be as many Schemes of Religion, as there are opinionated Men, who wanted to form a Party. And that Propofition would have very uncommon bad Fortune, which could meet with no Friends to countenance and ftand up for it. Men are very well agreed that feveral Duties are enjoined by Chriftianity, who would have endlefs Difputes, whether they were Parts of Natural Religion or not. Reafon, abftractedly from Revela

tion, does not prove many certain Points; SERM. II. and the Mind of Man finds itself difpofed to believe a great many more, provided it could prove them. There will be, Chriftianity once fet afide, a mighty Void left in it, which Reason of itself cannot fill up. Paganism, Enthufiafm, and Superfition on the one Hand; a formlefs undetermined Thing that calls itfelf perfonal Religion, Manichaifm, Atheism, and Fatalifm on the other; would be striving to erect themselves upon it's Ruins, till at laft the Populace ran into Superftition in Variety of Forms, and the Gentry into no Religion at all. What has been faid of the Diffolution of a well-conftituted Government, is as applicable to the Diffolution of Chriftianity it would resemble the Putrefaction of a dead Animal, when, inftead of one noble Creature, as it was while Life held it together, there would be a thoufand little naufeous Reptiles preying upon it, cach crawling in a Path of its own.

An humane Person cannot reflect without deep Concern on the Impreffions which are made upon an honest undefigning but weak Man, when he lights upon the Books, or falls into the Company of artful Infidels: Where there is a good Difpofition at the Bottom, they hall ferve his Faith, juft as the Robbers E 3

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SERM. II. did the Traveller in the Parable of the Samaritan; they fhall not kill and destroy it entirely, which would be almost a Kindnefs in Comparifon, but they hall leave it wounded and half-dead. He fhall have afterwards feveral uneafy Senfations, and ungrateful Feelings within, before he can recover an established Health of Soul. He fhall go on drooping and diffident without that chearful Affurance which he had before, in his Journey through this World to a better.

But, whatever others do, let us unite 'our vigorous and animated Endeavours in efpoufing the Cause and promoting `the Interefts of Chriftianity. Let us not be indolent, or, like the Difciples of old, afleep while they are going to crucify our Lord and Mafter, or, which is one Kind of crucifying him, to root out his Religion from off the Face of the Earth. But let us hold fast the Profeffion of our Faith without wavering, and confirm the Faith, that is wavering, of others, by our Difcourfe, by our Pens, and by (what is fometimes the moft effectual Confirmation of all) our Lives fuitable to our Holy Faith: then faithful will be be, who has promifed to his faithful Servants eternal Happiness: Which God of his infinite Mercy grant, &c.

SERMON III.

The ufual Objections against Revelation, founded in Ignorance.

In two Sermons preached before the Univerfity of Oxford.

I COR. i. 25.

The Foolishness of God is wiser than Men; and the Weakness of God is ftronger than Men.

III.

T was no unusual Thing among the SER M. Ancients, as might be fhewn by Inftances brought from approved Authors, to call Things, not as they were in themfelves, but as they appeared, or were esteemed to be by others. Agreeably to this Cuftom St. Paul, in the 28th Verfe of this Chapter, calls Things accounted as nothing, Things that are not. And here he styles that Foolishness and Weakness, which was deemed to be fo by the Greeks, though it was far otherwise in Reality.

The Deifts have never offered any rational Scheme, or tolerable Hypothefis, to

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SER M. account for all the ftrong Marks of CrediIII. bility and Appearances of Truth and Di

vinity in Chriftianity, fuppofing nothing more than human concerned in the Publication and Propagation of it; any more than the Atheists have advanced any plaufible Scheme to folve all the Appearances of Goodnefs, Wisdom, and Defign in the Creation, without fuppofing an infinitely wife and good God the Author and Preferver of it. What the Deifts object to Christianity, is juft what the Atheists do in Regard to the Creation; instead of producing any confiftent Theory to take off thefe Appearances of its Divinity, they endeavour to balance them by counter Appearances; Appearances of fomething wrong, irregular, or amifs in the Contexture of it. They tell us, it contains feveral Things which could not have been in it, if it had come from God. It will not be improper therefore,

It, To fhew, that it is owing to Ignorance, that feveral Things in Revelation feem liable to the Charge of Foolishness.

IIdly, To advance a Step farther, and prove, that God has ftamped the brightest Characters of Divinity on those Parts of Revelation, which are thought moft exceptionable.