fuppofes, that faith is not as much in a man's power, as a good life is.

To believe without any reafon or evidence, is not indeed, properly speaking, in a man's power: but to believe, when fufficient evidence is offered, is what all men, who are not ftrongly prejudiced, are naturally difpofed to.

For by a Christian's faith we do not mean credulity, or blind fubmiffion of the understanding to the arbitrary dictates of men: no, nor a belief against reafon in matters, which lie within the compafs of human enquiry, even though they be faid to have been revealed from heaven, But we mean a being perfuaded and convinced of the truth of things abfent and invisible by their being either diftant in place or future in time, as far as those things are revealed to us; and this, upon the authority of God who revealed them, and gave weight to the first teachers of them by the miracles, which he enabled them to perform.

In fuch a cafe a fincere man's mind as readily receives the object revealed, as his eyes do the objects which are placed before him. I will not fay, that it is out of his power not to believe, because it is in his power to be unreafonable

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fonable; to afk for fuch proofs, as in the nature of things cannot be had; to throw prejudice, like a thick veil, over his mind, that he may fee, what is taught, either darkly or not at all. While we are creatures of free-will, and withal have our corruptions, this is not to be helped, but by ourselves. Let us not then call our darkness our light, or our prejudices our reafon. Much less let us say, that that is not in our power, which is only not in our will. To fuch men as thefe even a good life is not in their power; for, while they refolve to continue fervants to fin, they cannot become fervants to righteousness. They have a moral incapacity to be good: but this is their fault, not their excufe. And therefore no question ought to be made, but that to believe, as far as is revealed, and as far as is reasonably proved, is in every fenfe as much matter of human power, as to do what we know to be our duty.

Upon the whole therefore of this objection, I can fee nothing in it, which ought to leffen any wife man's opinion concerning the gospel's being a difpenfation of grace and truth: For this is the fubftance of what has been faid on

this point, that, wherever there is religion, there must be some articles of faith; and where there is revealed religion, there must be more articles of it, than belong to meer natural religion. The articles of faith, which Christianity teaches, are discoveries of fuch things most commonly, as are in themselves reasonable to be believed in the most mysterious branches the truth of them cannot be difproved; and therefore they ought to be credited upon the authority of God, who gave testimony to Christ and his apoftles by the prophefies fulfilled in them, and the miracles wrought by them. Nor are any of thofe matters of faith recommended in the New Teftament, to the prejudice of the moral duties, which men are every where in the facred writings called upon to put in practice.

They have moft of them, a direct and vifible influence to improve and purify men's behaviour; and even in the points, where that is not fo clearly feen, yet they have this good tendency, to teach us humility, a virtue which fome are more wanting in, than any article of our faith is wanting in evidence.

I proceed now to the second objection, which

I mentioned as having been made by fome against the divine authority of our holy religion, viz. that eternal punishments are in the New Teftament represented as the wages of fin: whereas the objectors think, that there would have been more of grace and of truth too in the Christian scheme, if these had been wholly left out of it.

But it hath been usual with the enemies of Christianity to deny, that an eternity of punishments is revealed in the New Teftament. They would explain the word eternal to mean only a long space of time; and they will not allow, that it is ever to be neceffarily underftood in the strict and proper fenfe of the word, when applied to punishments in the fcriptures. Why then should they make this objection, which they affirm to have no foundation in the word of God? The objection might be made more confiftently, though not more truly by a profeffed Christian, who, though he would be miftaken in this point, would yet go upon a right fuppofal, that the fcriptures contain a divine revelation. But the doctrine of eternal punishments, to be inflicted upon impenitent. finners, cannot be at the fame time no part of

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the gospel, and yet an objection against thegrace and benefit of the gospel.

may

But the objection ought to be answered more directly, as it is of great importance to religion, that the matter fhould be rightly understood; for in proportion as men's fears of what befall them hereafter are leffened, their vices and corruptions will improve and when we fee, that a full belief of an eternity of punishments is not able to restrain fome men, we may be fure, that the world would be infinitely worse if this bridle was taken off from their paffions and appetites. I hope therefore to be able to fhew you in the clearest manner, that, (fuppofing this doctrine to be true, as I am perfuaded it is,) the revelation of the gofpel through our bleffed Saviour ought not to be thought, on this account, deficient in kindnefs and advantage to mankind. For,

This, if true at all, was true before the gofpel revealed it; and therefore is not to be laid to the charge of the gofpel. The New Tefta

a Itaque ut aliqua in vitâ formido improbis effet pofita, apud inferos ejufmodi quædam illi antiqui fupplicia impiis conftituta effe voluerant; quòd videlicet intelligebant, his remotis, non effe mortem ipfam pertimefcendam, Cir. Or, in Catal. iv. 4.

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