A GENTLEMAN's RELIGION In THREE PARTS The 1st contains the Principles of Natural Religion The 2d and 3d. The Doctrins of Christianity both as to Faith and Practice With an Appendix wherein it is proved That nothing contrary to our Reason can possibly be the Object of our Belief But that it is no just Exception against some of the Doctrins of Christianity that they are above our Reason London Printed for A. J. Churchill in Pater noster Row and R Sare at Grays-Inn gate in Holborn 1698. A GENTLEMAN's RELIGION WITH THE Grounds and Reasons of It. IN WHICH The Truth of Christianity in general is vindicated Its Simplicity asserted And some Introductory Rules for the discovering of its particular Doctrines and Precepts are proposed By a Private Gentleman LONDON Printed for A. and J. Churchil at the Black Swan in Pater-noster-Row 1698. A GENTLEMAN'S RELIGION WITH THE Grounds and Reasons Of It. PART I. I. SInce almost all Men however different in other Opinions and Interests have ever agreed in this That there is a God to whose Power all Things are subject That the true Service and Worship of God which is called Religion shall be rewarded with Future Happiness and That the Neglect and Contempt of Religion shall be punished with Future Misery Every Man surely has reason to believe thus much at least That what is so generally and firmly believed may be possibly nay and is probably a Truth And wheresoever there is a possibility and much more where there is a probability of a great Good on the one hand and a great Evil on the other there certainly every Man is contented to enquire into the reality of the thing that he may not miss of the one if it be attainable nor fall into the other if it be avoidable I conclude therefore That it is a very great folly for any Man to give over searching after the True Religion untill he has found it Except he were able to demonstrate either that there is no God or else that there is no Worship or Service due to him II. In all Matters of great and serious Consequence no Man that is wise will act by chance and at random without being able to give some Reason for what he does For he that does any thing and knows not why is more likely to do himself Hurt than Good because there are more Ways to the former than to the latter Since therefore Religion is a thing of the greatest Moment and Importance that can be I conclude that no Man ought to chuse his Religion blindly and by chance but that every Man ought to have some Reason for what he professes Whatever Religion therefore a Man is bred up in from his Youth it certainly is very fit for him when he comes to Years of Discretion to enquire into the Grounds and Reasons of it For otherwise it is not possible for him to know whether he be in the Right or the Wrong in the way to Heaven or Hell III. If there be a God and if he requires any service or worship i. e. any Religion from us it is undoubtedly for this End that it may be a Trial of our Faithfulness and Obedience to him Now whosoever has a mind to prove his Servant whether he will be faithful and obedient he will not give him such dark and intricate Commands as shall puzzle him to find out the meaning of them For how can a Servant approve himself faithful and obedient if he be uncertain what it is that his Master requires from him But he will surely give him such Commands and Directions as are easie enough to be understood however difficult they may be to be enterprized or accomplished I conclude therefore That all the Duties of Religion which God requires of any Man must needs be easie enongh for him to understand however hard they may be to be practised For otherwise Religion would be a Trial rather of a Man's Wit and Cunning than of his Faithfulness and Obedience And therefore also I cannot but conclude That most if not all the Controversies about Religion which at this Day distract the World do not proceed from any Difficulty in or about the Determination of all things necessary in Religion it self but partly from the Pride of some Learned Men who have loved to strat new and difficult Questions and to impose their private Sentiments upon the World that they might be admired for their Wit and Subtilty partly from the Covetousness and Ambition of some whether Learned or Unlearned who have found that their Worldly Interest will be better served by some Doctrins no matter how false and precarious than by others and partly from the Prejudice of most Men who are apt with great Zeal and Eagerness to contend for all those things which from their Childhood they have been taught to have a Reverence for And I farther conclude That whosoever has a sincere desire to embrace True Religion must lay aside Pride Ambition Covetousness and Prejudice which would mis-guide him and follow his sober and unprejudicate Reason which will ever lead him in the right Way IV. There are different sorts or rather degrees of Assurance which Men have concerning Things Some things are evident of themselves without any Proof some things we are assured of by the Testimony of our senses some things we receive as Truths because we find them to follow from other Truths already received and some things we believe only upon the Testimony of others Moreover some things we are persuaded of without any Doubt or Diffidence whereas other things do seem at best to be but likely or probable and that too in a different degree according as their Evidence is stronger or weaker Now every sober Man where he has certain Evidence of a thing there he acts with Assurance where the Matter is but probable there he proceeds with Caution But where a Man is under a Necessity of doing one way or other and where the Matter appears doubtful on both sides there it becomes him to weigh the Reasons on both parts with due Consideration and according as he finds the greater Probability to be on the one hand rather than the other so to square his Actions accordingly Since therefore every Man must necessarily either live religiously or not live religiously I conclude that if upon a serious Consideration of the matter there appear to be more probable Reasons and Arguments for Religion than against it every wise and sober Man must embrace Religion This I say not but that I think there are even demonstrative Arguments for Religion and not so much as one probable one against it But because that which to me seems demonstrative to another may appear but probable I thought it fit to note That every Man in point of common Prudence is obliged to follow Religion if it does but appear more likely and probable to him than Irreligion V. Whether it is possible for any Agent to produce a new
therefore ought always to pursue But he who in eating designs no more than to gratifie his sensual Appetite or to pamper his Body that he may have the greater enjoyment of the rest of the Pleasures of this World acts below or rather contrary to the End he is designed for and may justly be compared to the Beasts that perish Thus also a Man may innocently be pleased to have the Garment he wears decent and comely because the Eye is naturally gratified with the beauty of any Object But if a Man wears Cloths which are more fine and costly than some others his reason ought to be that he may not according to the humour of the world be contemned for the Meaness or Sordidness of his Apparel but endeavour by all fair ways to preserve such a Respect among Men who are very apt to judge by the outward appearance as may enable him to do the more good in the world But he who cloths himself like the Lillies of the Field or Solomon in all his Glory only that he may admire himself or be taken notice of by others for his remarkable Finery is a vain person and acts as foolishly as the Crow in the Fable who clad himself in the Peacocks Feathers And what I have here said concerning Food and Raiment may also be applyed to Riches and Honour and to all Pleasures which are not absolutely unlawful and to every thing which Men aim at or value in this World which they may lawfully seek after and take delight in as far as they may be Instruments of doing Good or are consistent with their Christian Duty but they must not place their Happiness or any part of it in them for that would make them forgetful of Heaven and necessarily involve them in the sins of Ambition Covetousness Voluptuousness c. 21. As we are obliged to do whatsoever God commands and patiently to suffer whatsoever he in his Providence shall think fit to lay or inflict upon us so for the same reasons are we certainly bound to continue in this both doing and patiently suffering until such time as he shall be pleased of his own Will to free and dismiss us from it From whence it follows that no man ought upon any account to lay violent hands upon himself or voluntarily contribute to the shortning of his own Life because he knows not but that God might be willing to exercise him yet farther with Sufferings or other tryals to his Glory and the good of his own Soul Nor ought any Servant without leave or licence to withdraw himself from the Service of his Master And the same reason which forbids us to destroy our Lives should also keep us from putting them to any unreasonable or unnecessary hazard 22. He who in Duty is obliged to any thing lies also of nedessity under an Obligation to qualifie himself as well as he can and to seek after and make use of all such Means and Instruments as are necessary for the better exceuting and compassing that same thing to which he is so obliged Since then Health of Body Knowledge and Vnderstanding and a competency of Riches Power and Authority are necessary Qualifications and Instruments for the better performance of many of those Duties to which we stand obliged by God's Law it follows that these are things which every man according to his capacity ought to seek and endeavour after But we must not strive nor seek for any of these things by Ways or Means that are unlawful and wicked for that would be beforehand to destroy and frustrate the very End and Design for which alone they are to be sought and desired namely Virtue Piety and the Service of God 23. On the other side Whatsoever is an impediment or obstacle to the performance of any necessary Duty we are bound as far as we are able to suppress or remove it out of the way Now our Reason being that which first leads us to the Knowledg of Religion and always enables us rightly to understand and judge of our Duty And since all violent Passions and over-eager Affections do disturb our Reason and very much hinder the free use and exercise of it It follows that we ought always so to govern our Passions and restrain all our Affections as that they may be wholly subservient to and never over-rule or mis-lead our Reason 24. Since God is the Creatour and therefore also the absolute Lord of all things every thing certainly ought by us to be always put and applyed to that very same end and use and no other for which it was intended by him as far as we have any intimation of his design either from Reason or Revelation Hence then it will follow that those Creatures which God has given us to feed sustain and keep us in health that we may be the better able to do our Duty and labour in our several Callings ought not at any time much less ordinarily to be used to Excess so as to impair our Health or discompose our Reason or any way hinder us in the performance of any Duty And that Faculty of Generation which God has endowed us with in order to the propagation of Mankind ought not to be abused for the sake of filthy sensual Pleasure Nor ought that plenty of Creatures which God has bestowed upon us for the service of all Men without exception to be engrossed into the hands of any certain Men so as that others should want the Necessaries of Life whilst they abound in Superfluity By which it appears that Gluttony and Drunkenness Lust and Covetousness are sins and always to be avoided and therefore on the contrary that Temperance Chastity Charity and Liberality are Duties and always to be practised 25. Experience assures us that the Spirit of Man is of an active nature and rather than be altogether idle will be apt to employ its self in that which is evil Nor does a man ever lie more open to Temptation than when he has nothing at all to do He therefore that would keep himself innocent must be careful always to avoid Idleness For besides that Idleness would prove a Snare to us It is a shame and a sin When there is so much of God's work to be done in the world for the promoting of his Glory and the Publick good of Mankind that any man who pretends to be his Servant should stand still and not put his helping hand to the carrying of it on But as we cannot say that a Man is idle when he lies down to sleep that being thereby refreshed he may be the better able again to labour so must we by no means pass that Censure on him who now and then spends some small portion of his Time in some pleasant and innocent Recreation that having his Thoughts hereby a little relaxed and diverted he may be the fitter to return to Business of moment and consequence But as for those persons whose whole life almost is nothing else
Society have not certain Laws and Rules to proceed by in all such cases and some certain persons to put those Laws in execution every Man would take upon him to be his own Judge and what might feem fit and reasonable to one might appear otherwise to another of a contrary interest from whence perpetual Factions and Confusion must needs follow But there is no reason that any one or more of such a Society without the consent of the rest should take upon them to make Laws for or exercise Authority over the whole Community For if it were in every Mans power to make himself a Magistrate all might set up to be Rulers and few or none would be Subjects which would bring in Confusion and destroy the Society But when the whole Society do agree and consent that such certain persons shall have the exercising of such certain Powers which originally are in the Body of the Society it self it is then lawful for those persons to act accordingly and they who have consented to their Authority are by virtue of that Consent obliged to pay Obedience to them I conclude therefore that the Original of Magistrates is from the Consent of the People since there is no other solid ground that I can find upon which to establish them And when once a legislative and executive Power is thus setled and established by the consent of a People who acquiesce in it and upon all occasions take shelter under its Protection it is to be looked upon as ratified and confirmed by God's own appointment and Subjection and Obedience is accordingly to be paid to it by every particular person who abides within the precincts of its Juridiction For this was the very case of the Roman Government which was in St. Paul's time and there is exactly the same reason for it in all other Kingdoms and Common-wealths whatsoever 47. Since then Magistracy derives it self wholly from the Consent of the People from hence it will follow that the Original Rule of the Magistrates Power and the Subjects obedience is that Consent which the People has given or in other terms those Laws and Constitutions of the place in which the Body of the Nation have acquiesced Beyond which neither any Magistrate ought to command nor is any Subject bound to obey For where there is no Law there can be no Transgression nor any Obligation to Obedience nor consequently any Right to Command 48. But if the legislative Power of any Nation do enact any thing which is contrary to the express Law of God or the eternal Laws of good and evil No particular Man can be bound to obey such a Constitution For the Authority of God ought to weigh more with us than that of any Community whatsoever And it is expressly ruled in Scripture that we ought to obey God rather than Man 49. And the same Reason viz. Self-preservation which allows a Society thus setled into a Government to punish Malefactors within themselves must also justifie them it by force of Arms they defend themselves against any foreign Enemy which would wrong or oppress them or endeavour to recover their Right from those who have taken it from them and refuse to restore it For otherwise it were in vain for a Community to hope to subsist by maintaining good Order and Discipline at home if all the while they must without remedy lye continually exposed to the Wrongs and Insults of every Enemy which may assault them from abroad I conclude therefore that War whether defensive or offensive may in many cases be very just and lawful Nor is there the least word throughout the Holy Scriptures which may represent the Profession of a Soldier who fights under a lawful Authority as any way contrary to Religion and a good Conscience Tho such a Man certainly ought not only to exercise his calling with as much Mildness and Humanity as can be consistent with the service of his Country but also ever to satisfie himself first of the lawfulness of the Cause in which he engages before he draws his Sword in the Quarrel For as we are obliged to do no hurt to any Man whatsoever if we can avoid it so for the very same reason ought we not to become instrumental in any Wrong or Injustice which another Man let him be who he will intends to do 50. That an humble Demeanour together with a reasonable Diligence and an honest Fidelity to his Master is the Duty of every Servant is most apparent because if a Servant be either haughty negligent or unfaithful he ceases in effect to be a Servant And on the other side that Justice and Humanity are no less the Duty of a Master towards his Servant is altogether as clear because where these are not observed the Condition of a Servant must be intolerable and contrary to that comfortable state which we suppose God to design for all Men and therefore for Servants who are as much Men and as much valued by God and for whom Christ died as well as for their Masters 51. That all Christians are or according to Christs Institution ought to be combined together into one Society which is called the Church I have already said Part 2. § 40. Now in all such incorporated Societies these three things are ever to be considered 1. What is the Design of the person or persons who first gather and institute them 2. What Advantage accrues to those who become Members of them And 3dly what are the Laws and Rules to be observed by the whole Body and every Member of it The Design of our Saviour Jesus Christ who at the Will of his heavenly Father instituted and embodied the Christian Church was to purifie unto himself a peculiar People zealous of good works or in other terms by this Incorporation so made more effectually to promote the practice of Virtue and Godliness in the World The benefit and advantage which every true Member of this Church may propose to himself is the participation of God's Grace and assistance here for the better performance of his Duty and the enjoyment of everlasting Happiness hereafter both which are promised to us by God in and through Christ Jesus our Saviour And lastly the Laws of the Christian Church are either 1. The general Laws of Piety and Morality of which I have hitherto been giving an account or 2. Such particular Constitutions as are proper to it considered as a congregated and incorporated Body of Men which I have reserved to be treated of in the last place of all 52. The first thing which is incumbent on every Man as or rather in order to become a Member of the Christian Church is to be baptized in the Name of the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost Which Ceremony is intended to put us in mind of that Purity and Cleanness from sin to which we ought to bring our Souls by a virtuous and holy life And altho to wet or wash the Body with Water may
methinks it is a most shameful and deplorable thing that Men commonly scruple not to do those things in the sight of God which they would be afraid or ashamed it should be known or even suspected of them by Men like themselves 5. Since God is most true from hence it will follow that we ought to believe what soever he says or makes known how improbable soever otherwise it might seem to us But the true estimate of such belief is not to be made by the clearness and strength of our speculative Assent unto those Truths which he has proposed to our Understanding for to receive a Truth without any Doubts or Scruples which sometimes do unaccountably force themselves upon us even in the clearest cases is not always in our power But rather by the constant suitableness of ourlives unto the profession of such Doctrines as we receive and own And he who has but a weak Faith and yet leads a good life altho he is not qualified for doubtful Disputations is nevertheless a true Believer because his Belief answers the main end and design of the Gospel which I have shewn to be Virtue and Morality Part 1. § 42. Nor can there for example be a better Evidence that a man does really and sufficiently Believe the Truth of a life to come than when he is industrious and diligent in preparing for it whatever Doubts or Scruples he may have in point of Speculation about it 6. Since God's Power is infinite and his Authority uncontrolable it follows that we ought to fear him and so much the more because of our natural propensity to sin because he has it always in his Power to make us miserable here and eternally so hereafter But he cannot be said to fear God most that is most truly who is possessed with the greatest dread and terrour at the thoughts of his Wrath or Judgments for then the Devils who tremble or wicked Wretches who despair of God's Mercy would be the best performers of this Duty But he is the truest Fearer of God who always takes the greatest care not to offend him the Fear of him being never originally designed to torment and disquiet our Minds but only to be such a Check upon us as to keep us in due Awe and Obedience 7. Since every sin is an Offence both against a gracious and a powerful God and of every dangerous consequence to the person who commits it And since nothing can possibly be concealed from God it follows that we ought to be deeply concerned and truly sorrowful for every sin which we commit and by no means to palliate or frame Excuses for them but freely to own and confess them to him But the truth of this Sorrow is not to be measured by the Passionateness of it or the Tears which it produces which tho sometimes good signs yet too often produce but little effect but by the hearty reformation of life that follows And he only can be said to any purpose either to be sorry for his sins or to confess them to God who is careful for the time to come to forsake them 8. Since God is Almighty he is certainly able and since he loves us he cannot but be willing to do every thing that is best and fittest for us if we by our own faults do not provoke him to the contrary From whence it follows that as long as we serve him faithfully we ought in all our wants and exigencies to trust and relie upon him And if he does not relieve or help us in such a manner as we desire we ought to bear whatever Afflictions we lie under patiently and contentedly as well knowing that God takes no delight in grieving us but only corrects and keeps us under in order to our eternal good And to demonstrate our Trust in God and submission to his chastising hand we must never attempt by any unlawful means to supply any of our Wants or free our selves from any even the most grievous pressures Altho at the same time honest labour and industry yet still with submission to God's Will for the compassing of any thing which is lawlful and good is not only allowed but commended and required 9. But since God is a free Agent and since all the good which we have or are capable of comes from him and depends altogether on his Power and over-ruling Providence we ought to pray to him for whatsoever we stand in need of and that he would bless all our honest Labours with success But because often if we had the very things which we desire they would at the last tend to our hurt and because he knows what is fit for us much better than we our selves therefore we ought always to pray that his Will should ever take place rather than our own And since we can have no reason to doubt of his Love we ought to assure our selves that we shall receive either the very things we pray for or else that which is altogether as good for us if our sins obstruct it not 10. And the very same considerations which prompt us to make our Prayers to God in all our wants do sufficiently demonstrate that we ought to return Thanks unto him for all the Blessings which we have received Amongst which those Afflictions which have at any time reclaimed us from sin and brought us to a sense of our Duty ought I think to be placed in the chiefest rank And the only Demonstration of a truly thankful Heart to God is the making a pious and honest use to his Glory of all those Blessings which we daily receive from him Nor can there be any thing more absurd than for a man to pretend to give God Thanks with his Lips who does not also do it more to the purpose in his Life 11. As God's Justice and Veracity are a reason beyond exception why we should without Anxiety depend on all his Promises so the great Promise which he has made us being that of everlasting Happiness for our more effectual attaining unto which he has sent his Son our Saviour Christ Jesus to suffer for us It is therefore accordingly our Duty to hope for eternal Salvation that is to say to expect the performance of what God has promised and the enjoyment of what Christ has purchased for us But this hope is to be shewn not by the strength of our Confidence that we shall be saved in which it is very possible that a man may deceive himself but by our constant care in duly performing what God requires on our parts in order to Salvation For he only who is diligent in doing the work does with any reason expect or hope for the promised Reward 12. As we are obliged to pray unto God for all that we want and to hope for eternal Salvation from him so the Holy Scripture directs us to ground all our hopes of Happiness upon the Sufferings of Jesus Christ and to offer up all our Prayers in his Name
Beneficence preserved and kept up amongst Mankind Now in order to discover these same Laws of Right and Property whereby every man is to know what is truly his own I lay down this general Rule as a thing most reasonable That Whereas originally every Mans Right and Title to every thing may be esteemed equal God having given us all the Creatures in common and not by any act of his divided to each Man his several Property If there be any apparent or but probable ground why such or such a particular thing should be the Property of one Man rather than of another that ought so to determine the matter as to oblige all other Men quietly to yield and suffer him to enjoy and use that same thing whatever it be as his own For where the Ballance stands exactly even a small matter is enough to turn the Scale to one side Now in these following Cases there seems to be great Reason for determining a Property in a thing to particular persons viz. 1. When a Man is the first that takes actual Possession of a thing and converts it to his own use For such a Possession is an addition to his general Right beyond what any other Man who never was in Possession can pretend And why should I part with my Possession to any other or he demand it from me except he were able to make out a better Title than I to the thing in dispute 2. When a Man takes Possession of a thing which is actually rejected and deserted by him who last had the Right to and Possession of it For his Case seems to be much the same with his who first takes Possession of a thing 3. When a thing is given or in Exchange made over to another by him who had before a just Right thereto for it is highly reasonable that every Man should have liberty to dispose of his own 4. When a Company of People do by an Agreement make a Partition of what was before in Common amongst them all it is reasonable that every Man should acquiesce in that share which upon such a Division shall fall to his Lot 5. When a Man takes care and pains to produce and rear any thing for his own use or profit it is reasonable that he and not another Man against his Consent should enjoy the benefit of his own Labour And lastly where a Society of People do submit their Properties unto a legislative Power which is erected amongst them it is reasonable that herein they should always be concluded and determined by the Laws of that Community of which they are Members And if there be any other Rules for determining the Rights of Men to particular things it is most evident that due care must be taken to keep and observe them or else farewel all Order and Society 30. Where Fidelity is wanting Society cannot be truly kept and preserved I therefore conclude that every man is obliged faithfully to perform whatever he Promises except the person to whom the Promise is made do freely acquit and discharge him from it But if a Man promises to do a thing which is sinful he ought not to keep such a Promise as that as I have already shewn in the Case of an Oath 31. And the same Reasons which oblige us to hurt no Man to yield to every Man his Right and to keep our Promises do plainly shew that he who wrong fully hurts another or deprives him of his Right or breaks his Promise made to him ought as far as he is able to make full Restitution and Satisfaction to the person whom he has thus injured For he that makes a Breach in humane Society is doubtless obliged as far as he can to repair it 32. Where a Proposition is literally false and yet spoken with no manner of intention to deceive another it is not to be called a Lye But he who asserts any thing for a Truth with an intent to make another believe it which is or for ought he knows may be false he only is to be esteemed a Lyar. Now some have doubted whether the sin of a Lye consists in the bare Untruth or only in the Injustice of it and from thence have been inclined to believe that such a Lye as does no hurt to any one not draws any manner of evil consequence after it is not to be looked on as a sin and so much the less if it be told with a real design only to do Good or prevent Mischief The Niceties of this Controversy I leave to be discussed by others But since humane Society cannot be upheld without in many cases a dependence upon one anothers Veracity I may surely venture thus far to conolude viz. That not only such a Lye as tends to the damage of another but also such a Lye however otherwise innocent as gives occasion to render a Mans Truth suspected in other cases is to be reputed unlawful if for no other Reason yet at least fore this because it is injurious to humane Society And the same Reason will hold as strongly against all mental Reservations and equivocal Expressions For what is humane Society at any time the better for the literal Truth of what a Man says if others who are therein concerned do not understand his true meaning by the words which he speaks to them 33. It is highly reasonable that every Man should have such an Esteem and Respect shewed him as may be proportionable to his Virtues and good Qualities And as it is proper enough for a Man by lawful ways to assert his own Reputation whenever it is unjustly aspersed so he ought to take especial care in the management of all his Words and Actions that he may not seem to exalt or magnifie himself or to despise or undervalue others beyond what is not only just and true but also necessary either for the bringing about something that is good or the preventing something that is evil For there is scarce any thing that gives greater disgust or helps to render a Man more odious to the World than an over-forwardness to praise and magnifie himself and to undervalue others if he be not necessitated thereto by some very just Reason And on the contrary there is scarce any thing which reconciles a Man more to the Favour and Good Will of People than when he is not over apt to ascribe much to himself but is ready to give the utmost Honour and Respect to all others that in reason can be thought due I conclude therefore that Pride is a Sin and Humility a Duty because the former tends to disturb but the latter strengthens and confirms humane Society 34. What is incumbent upon him to do who has done wrong to another I have just now shewn But if another Man wrongs or any way endeavours to Injure me As it is lawful for me so for every Man to stand upon my defence and use my utmost endeavours to save my self from Wrong or recover that
which is my Right for otherwise all the good and honest Men in the World would continually lie exposed to the Wrongs and Insults of any evil Man who might have a mind to destroy them so I and every Man ought to be ready at any time to be reconciled to an Adversary or Enemy provided it may be upon such terms as are consistent with our own Safety Nor ought any Man upon any occasion to do any greater harm to his keenest Enemy than what he apprehends to be absolutely necessary to his own preservation For since Society and Peace among Mankind is the Will and design of Almighty God If a breach be made therein by another I ought for my part to do nothing which may make it wider but ever to be ready to give a helping hand to the closing and making up of it 35. Hitherto I have endeavoured to lay down the main and fundamental Rules of that Duty which every Man is obliged to pay and perform to God to Himself and to all other Men. Now to deduce all the particular branches of Virtue and Piety from these main Principles and to shew how Morality is improved and refined by the Gospel to the highest degree of perfection is a thing not dificult to be done but yet inconsistent with my designed Brevity For which therefore I must refer my Reader to some of those Books of Christian Piety wherein each Particular of our Duty is at large described and pressed But in the mean time if we would have a shorter Abstract of our Duty than what I have now been giving The Holy Scripture furnishes us with three Rules two exprest and one implied from which every thing that we can be obliged to do is easily dedueed And they are 1. That we should love God with all our Heart Soul and Strength 2. That we should truly love our Selves that is to say so as always to aim at and pursue our true and chief Happiness And 3. That we should love others as we do our Selves Not with the same degree of Love for that is not only unreasonable but impossible but with the same Reality and Sincerity or in other terms that we should ever do unto all other Men what we would think reasonable that they should do unto us if we were in their Circumstances and they in ours But besides these general Duties which are indiscriminately incumbent upon all Men there are divers particular ones which do arise from those several Relations which Men may contract and bear to others of which it is fit that I give some brief Account 36. That God would have the Generation of Men continued and increased upon the Earth is very evident as well from the natural inclination which he has implanted in them as in all other living Creatures to propagate their Kind as from that Love and Affection which is common to them with other Creatures towards those who spring from them But if Mankind were propagated only by the exercise of wild and wandering Lust without confinement to any setled Rules or Laws this would bring in such a Deluge of Confusion and disturbance as would unavoidably deprive them of the greatest part of those satisfactions which at the present they do or may enjoy For if there were no such thing as setled Marriages we can hardly suppose that ever there would be any sort of setled Families which are the first beginnings of Society and regularity amongst Men Fathers would not know which were their own Children and consequently would take no care to bring them up or provide for them and not only the pain of bearing but the whole trouble of nourishing reating and providing for Children would lie wholly upon the Female Sex who by themselves could but very imperfectly perform that work as it should be done Since therefore God intends the Comfort and satisfaction of Men even whilst they are here upon Earth I conclude that it is his Will that Mankind should be propagated no other way but by setled Marriages that is by a Compact and Agreement between the Male and Female and that under such Rules as are fit and proper to promote the general Happiness of Mankind which being his great design ought ever also to be ours 37. That a Woman should have more than one Husband at a time is notoriously contrary to the design of Marriage and therefore directly unlawful And that a Man should have more than one Wife at a time the experience of many in former Ages and at this time in the Eastern Countries does sufficiently testifie to be contrary to that peace and quietness which is necessary to the Comfort and Happiness of every Family and therefore not so agreeable to that universal Friendship which ought ever to be preserved amongst Men but especially among those who are so nearly allyed together Moreover if Men and their Wives should have liberty to part one from the other whenever they please besides the Confusion and disturbance which this also must breed in Families especially where there are Children in the case Marriage would hardly differ from that wild and wandering Lust against which I have spoken in the preceding Paragraph I conclude therefore that altho before the coming of Christ if a Man took more Wives than one not for Lust which is unlawful § 24. but meerly for Propagation it might in some cases be dispensed with yet it ever was most pleasing to God that a Man should have but one Wife at a time and that nothing but Death should ever part a Man and his Wife except the evil Behaviour of one party should make the continuance of the Marriage Compact and Cohabitation not only something uneasy for that for peace and quietness sake should be born patiently but down-right intolerable But these things which Reason may perhaps but imperfectly suggest the Gospel has passed and established into Laws viz. that as every Woman is to have but one Husband fo no Man must have more than one Wife at a time nor must any thing part Man and Wife but Death except it be the case of Adultery And better much it is that particular persons should sometimes be forced to labour under some Inconvenience than that any such Liberty should be allowed as tends to disturb and distract the World 38. We generally find that all Men even Heathens as well as Jews and Christians have conceived a more than ordinary abhorrence against the Marriage of such persons as were very nearly Allyed together within some certain Degrees of Relation And since the World is wide enough for a Man to chuse a Wife or a Woman a Husband those general Rules which are given to us in Scripture of providing for things honest not only in the sight of God but of Men also and of taking care not only about such things as are just and honest but also about such as are lovely and of good report should teach us that no person should engage in such a