VIII.

SERM. want any Correction, or Amendment. As to the first part of the Objection, that Reason is a plain simple thing, calculated for the Benefit of all Mankind, I do not know any one, who denies the Benefit of it, as far as it goes; but that it is calculated for fo univerfal a Benefit as Revelation, is falfe. For the Bulk of Mankind are not provided for in the way of Reason, whatever fome particular People may be, or rather fancy themselves to be; whereas in the way of Faith, where People find Employment for their Eyes and Ears, and the Faculties together, they are all equally provided for; all are capable of the Grounds of Faith, tho' they are not capable of abstracted Reason. As to the Purity and Simplicity of it, I think I have faid enough already, and I will only add further, that whenever they talk of this, they must mean not Human Reafon, but Right Reafon, or the Reason of God, which is nothing at all to the Purpose.

Then as to the other Part of the Objection, that Reason is always univerfally

the

the fame, whereas Revelation is a change- SERM able thing, it is readily granted, that VIII. Right Reason is fo, but the Reafon of Man is not: For the Reafon of one Age and Nature is very different from the Reason of another Age and Nature; nay, the Reafon of one Man is not the fame at different Times. Now where is this Difference in Revelation? How does that alter, or vary? It is the fame now, as it ever has been ; only there are different Manifestations of it at different Times. The Faith of a Christian is not a different thing from the Faith of a Jew, or any other Faith, only as it comprehends, and fwallows up all the reft; i. e. juft as different as the Whole is from its Parts; which Differnce is only this, that the Whole is not any one Part more than another, but all the Parts united: So that God did not mend his own Work by making Faith to shine out more at one time than another, for He perfected, and compleated it at once; but the Alteration is in Ourfelves, and in our way of apprehending Things: For, being only Creatures of Time in this present State,

Z 2

SERM. State, we fee every thing by Succeffion, VIII. and can fee no more of any thing, than the Portion of Time we take up will ad

mit of.

The whole of the Matter in short is this: Liberty confifts in a Power of thinking and acting right; and we are then most free, when nothing hinders us from it: But now Man, as he is an imperfect Creature, muft of course, as far as he is imperfect, want fo much Liberty; i. e. he must be in Proportion a Slave; and the greater this Imperfection is, the greater will be the Slavery of fuch a Being. The Scripture gives us an Account of the Original of this Imperfection, that it was brought into the World by Sin; which the Deift defpifes and ridicules: But then it is easier to laugh at Things than to dif prove them; and this Account must be allow'd to ftand good, till we have a better in the room of it. "Tis plain, Man could not be made incapable of Error without being made a God at the fame Time; and if he was capable of Error, who can take upon him to prove that he

'did

did not err? But however, be that as it SERM. will, Defects there are, and confequently VIII. a Want of Liberty: The Introduction of Evil, come which way it will into the World, being an Introduction of Slavery, the next Question then is, where shall we find a Remedy for it? What fays Human Reason to this? Why, nothing at all; but, conscious of her own Weakness, fends us to feek a Remedy from Faith: Accordingly, in all Ages and Countries of the World, Faith, of one kind or other, has ever subsisted, there being always a Ground and Foundation for it, arifing from the Defects of Reason, excepting only among a few Advocates for Human Reason, who, carrying the Matter too far, would needs make it every thing, infinitely perfect, an abfolute Guide in all things, &c. But in the mean time it is not fo, it is not an abfolute Guide in Philofophy, any more than in Religion. This Reasoning of theirs goes all along upor the Suppofition that Men are otherwife than they are, like the Stoic Philofophy, which, mistaking the Nature of Man, was level'd against

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more

SERM. more than one half of the Human ComVIII. pofition, and calculated to perfwade Men

out of their Senfes, by directing them to regard nothing but Reason: But yet, notwithstanding this, we find that this was only thwarting Nature all the while; for the Stoics wenton believing, hoping, fearing, loving, &c. as thefe Gentlemen, and all the rest of the World do: Thus, at the fame time that they pretend to have disbanded all the Forces that come from any other Quarter but Reason, they are forc'd to call the Paffions to their Affistance fill; therefore it matters not how it pears in Speculation, fince the Fact is otherwife.

ap

They talk great things indeed of Uniformity, and Immutability of Reason, but the Fact wants to be prov'd, fince it has not yet been able with all these Advantages to produce any one confiftent Scheme. Morality and Virtue too are much talk'd of, as if they were to be found no where but in Deifm, but they have there no folid Foundation to reft upon : For no Man has ever had Authority enough to

fettle