exception who are in their Wits have naturally a most earnest desire to preserve their Lives as long as they can and to keep themselves free from Pain and Trouble I think I may reasonably conclude that there must have been some extraordinary strong and even irresistable Motive which could prevail upon such Multitudes of People to forsake theirs and their Ancestors old Religion and to embrace Christianity which then had but newly appeared in the World and which in those Days did seldom fail to involve its Proselytes in most grievous Troubles and Persecutions XVII That this Motive could not be the Hopes of any Profit or Advantage in this Life is most evident Because Christianity was in those Days most commonly persecuted even unto death It must therefore of necessity be the hopes of some Benefit or Happiness which should accrue to them after this Life was at an end And this Benefit or Happiness could not seem small and inconsiderable to them nor could the Hope which they conceived of it be weak or doubtful For there is scarce any Man or ever was in the World who would run himself into certain Misery and Persecution even to the losing of his Life only upon a weak and doubtful Hope of some small and inconsiderable Benefit or Happiness to be enjoyed in a Life to come I conclude therefore That the Primitive Christians were undoubtingly possessed with a strong Belief and most firm Persuasion That whosoever should truly embrace profess and live according to the Christian Religion in this Life was certainly to be made Partaker of some great and inestimable Happiness in the Life to come XVIII That this Belief and Persuasion did not proceed from any Frenzy or Madness which sometimes possesses Man with very strong Imaginations is very evident both because there was such a Multitude of them who exactly agreed in the same Sentiments and also because it appears both from the Writings and Actions of the Primitive Christians that they were Men of Reason and Sobriety and some of them Persons of great Learning As evident also it is that it could not proceed from the Force of any Argument drawn from the Principles of bare Natural Reason without Revelation For What Man in his Wits without pretending some Revelation from Heaven could ever be persuaded that the Embracing of the Religion taught by such a particular Person more than another would make him happy in the Life to come I conclude therefore That the Disciples of Jesus who preached Christianity abroad in the World did convince and satisfie their Proselytes that it was revealed by God from Heaven that whosoever would believe on Jesus and receive and live according to his Religion should be made very happy in the next Life XIX The main Argument which the first Preachers of Christianity made use of to convince the World that this was a Divine Revelation was this viz. Because that Jesus in his Life time did perform such and so many Miracles and wonderful Works as sufficiently shewed that he had his Commission and Power from God and because his Disciples whom he had appointed to teach his Religion to the World for many Years after his Death did likewise continue to work many Miracles in the Name of Jesus Which shewed that God was with them in what they did and taught The things by them alledged to have been performed by Jesus were such as these That he healed all manner of Diseases and Distempers with a Touch or barely with a Word speaking That he gave Sight to the Blind Hearing to the Deaf Speech to the Dumb and Strengh and Agility to the Lame and Maimed That he raised several Persons from the Dead and that he himself arose from the Dead after he had been Crucified and a Spear thrust into his Vitals and had lay'n dead in a Sepulchre unto the Third Day And lastly That after his Resurrection having several times appeared to his Disciples and conversed with them for the space of Forty Days he was at last openly and in their sight taken up alive into Heaven The things alledged to have been done by his Disciples were The Healing the Sick the Lame the Maimed c. and in a particular manner their Speaking all Languages although they never had learned them That all these things were pretended by the first Preachers of Christianity is confessed on all Hands And undoubtedly they must needs at least pretend something that was very extraordinary or else they never could have converted such vast Multitudes under so many Disadvantages as they and their Religion laboured That these things were not only pretended but really and actually performed is to my Opinion uncontrollably evinced from the Testimony of the Disciples themselves Who declared these things for Truth unto the World Who could not themselves be deceived in those Matters of Fact of which they pretended to have been Eye-Witnesses Who never would go about to impose a Lye upon the World by which they could propose to themselves no manner of Advantage in this Life nor if it were a Lye in the Life to come Who never would have exposed themselves to Poverty to Racks to Gibbets to Fire and Faggot in a Word to all sorts of Torments and Deaths only for the sake of a fruitless and unprofitable Fable Who being Men of unblameable Lives for their Morality had doubtless more Honesty and Integrity than to affirm those things for certain Truths which they must needs know to be meer Inventions Who were too many in Number and too void of Craft and Guile to combine together in framing a false Story and none of them ever to betray or discover the Cheat Who could never hope to impose the Belief of such a Story upon a curious and inquisitive Age such as that was wherein they lived if it had been false and therefore would certainly never have attempted it if they had not known it to have been true And Lastly who instead of convincing such Multitudes as they did must needs have been palpably discovered and exposed to the World for a Company of lewd Cheats and Impostors in pretending that such and such things were done in the Land of Judea and Jerusalem and done openly too in the Face of the World when it was so easie a matter to go or send to the place to make Enquiry and so to find out the Cheat if a Cheat it had been But that these same Miracles and wonderful Works did far surpass both the Course of Nature and the Power of Art is very evident That they were not perform'd by the Assistance of any wicked Spirit does sufficiently appear because the very Intent and Design of them was to propagate a Doctrine in the World which by all must be allowed to teach the purest and most strict Morality to which it cannot be imagined that any Impure and Evil Spirit would contribute any help It remains therefore that these things must needs have been performed either by the immediate
a Token of his Work stamped and engraved this his Mark and Character upon them X. There is no Man of common Sense who builds a convenient and goodly Structure but he takes care likewise to keep it in good Order and Repair after it is built And there is no Fabrick but in Tract of Time will visibly decay if constant care be not taken of it Since thefore God has erected and framed this goodly Structure of the World and since in so long a time there is no Manner of decay to be found in it as is abundantly proved by Hackwell in his Apology on this Subject I conclude That God not only made this World by his Power but also governs it by his Providence And for the only Objection which seems to be of any Force against God's Providence namely that wicked Men do often thrive and prosper whilst good and Vertuous Men are oppressed with Misery it is most easily and naturally solved by supposing what shall anon be proved That there are abundant Rewards for good Men and sufficient punishments for the wicked to be distributed in a Life which is to come which will bring all things to be equal at the last XI Every Parent who begets and brings up a Child every Master who feeds and pays a Servant every Prince who governs and protects his Subjects and every Benefactor who does any act of Kindness for another may very reasonably and do always expect a Return of Love Obedience and Gratitude in due Proportion to the Benefits received from them Since then God is more than a Parent to us for he made us and our Parents too since he is so kind a Master who gives us our Food and all the Conveniences of Life since he governs and protects us by his over-ruling Providence more effectually than any earthly Prince does his Subjects And lastly since he is our greatest and supreme Benefactor who has given us all the good which we possess and enjoy I cannot but conclude that he expects a return of Love Obedience and Gratitude from us I will not say proportionable to the Benefits received from him for that perhaps may exceed our Ability but proportionable unto our Ability or Capacity XII That God is wise and powerful I gather from his Work which I contemplate in the Visible World And from thence I conclude That he will sufficiently punish those Persons who despise him so far as not to love thank and obey him according as he expects and requires from them That he is also good and gracious I gather from those good things which he has bestowed upon us relating both to our Bodies and Minds And from thence I conclude That he will abundantly reward all those persons who take care to pay him that Love Gratitude and Obedience which he expects XIII That these Rewards and Punishments are not finally distributed in this Life is very evident Because we often see Men that are notoriously wicked enjoy all the pleasures and others that are conspicuously vertuous undergo almost all the Calamities of this World even unto their very Graves I conclude therefore That there is another Life after this in which these Rewards and Punishments shall be duly distributed XIV When a Man is once convinced that there is a God to whom there is a Service due and that there are Rewards and Punishments to be dispensed to all Men according as they have performed or neglecting that Service the grand Enquiry that every Man is concerned to make is What he must do to avoid these Punishments and to be made Partaker of these Rewards And here I think I may most easily and naturally make these following Conclusions viz. 1. He who does what God requires from him shall not be punished but rewarded 2. God requires from every Man that he should use his honest Endeavour by all means to know and understand his Will as perfectly as he can For this is but Reason for every Master to expect from his Servant much more for such a Master as God 3. If a Man does his heartiest and best Endeavour first to know and then to perform the Will of God God will require no more from him For to me it seems utterly inconsistent with the Wisdom of God to expect and with his Goodness to require any more from a Man than what he is able to perform i. e. any more than his best and most hearty Endeavours XV. There are in the general but two ways of finding out knowing the Will of God The one is by the use of our natural Reason and Understanding the other is by attending to that Revelation which God has made of his Will to the World Here then I conclude I must make it my Business sirst to enquire into the Truth and Reality of this Revelation and then to make use of that and my Reason together in order to find out what is God's Will XVI That there was such a Person as Jesus of Nazareth in Galilee in the time of Tiberius Caesar the Roman Empetor That he had a Company of poor Men for his Disciples That He and his Disciples went about the Country of Judea Teaching and Preaching That he was put to death upon the Cross after the Roman manner under Pontius Pilate the Roman Governor of Judea That after his Death his Disciples went about into all or most Parts of the then known World Teaching and Preaching that this Jesus was the Christ the Son of God and Saviour of the World and that he was risen from the Dead and gone into Heaven That in a few Years they converted a very great Number of People in all places to this Belief That the Professors of this Belief were called Christians That they were most cruelly persecuted and many Thousands of them put to death and that with most exquisite Torments for no other Reason but because they were Christians That these Persecutions were several times renewed againg them for the space of about Three Hundred Years And yet for all this that the Number of Christians daily increased and that not only Ideots and Unlearned Men but great Scholars and Philosophers were converted to Christianity even in the Times of Persecution All this being merely Matter of Fact was never yet denied by the greatest Enemies of Christian Religion And indeed these things are so abundantly testified by the Histories and other Writings of those Times and have been so generally receiv'd for Truth as well by the Opposers as Believers of Christianity by a constant universal and uninterrupted Tradition from those Days even unto this Time that a Man may as well deny the Truth of any or of all the Histories of the World as of this Now since all Men generally have a strong Inclination to retain and stick to that Religion whatever it be in which both they and their Fathers have been brought up and no less an Aversion to all causeless Innovations in Matters of Religion Moreover since all Men without
Power and Assistance of God who is both the Framer and Controller of Nature or which is the same thing in effect by the Mediation and Ministry of good Spirits who always act obediently to his Will So that whether mediately or immediately it is God who is to be looked upon as the Original and Author of all those wonderful Things which were done by Jesus and his Disciples Now then Since God did interpose his Power to work such strange and stupenduous things for the Propagation and Confirmation of that Doctrine which was taught by Jesus and his Disciples This I think is a sufficient Demonstration that their Doctrine was certainly true For Who can imagine that God should make use of his extraordinary Power only to cheat and deceive the World into the Belief of a Lye I conclude therefore That the Primitive Christians had sufficient Reason to believe that it was revealed by God from Heaven that whosoever would believe on Jesus and receive and live according to his Religion should be made very happy in thenext Life this very thing being the grand Point of Doctrine which Jesus and his Disciples taught and preached to the World And if we are sure that the Primitive Christians had Reason sufficient to believe this from hence it follows That we have sufficient Reason to believe it also XX. But Jesus himself being long since ascended into Heaven and his Disciples who first preached the Gospel departed out of the World here I think it is necessary to enquire to whom or to what I must apply my self that amidst the several Parties in the World who all call themselves True and Orthodox Christians each condemning all others but themselves I may be truly and surely informed what is the true and genuine Religion or Doctrine of Jesus which I ought to receive and live according to in order to my future Happiness For if I do not this I must either reject the Doctrine of Jesus and so lose my future Happiness or else take it altogether upon Trust and by chance and then 't is odds but I light upon the wrong and must needs run a very great hazard And though he who is in a Mistake and cannot tell how to help it will doubtless find an easie Pardon from God yet he who falls into Errour for want of moderate Care and Diligence to find out the Truth has I think no pretence either to Pardon or so much as to Pity XXI The Roman Catholicks do tell me that I must apply my self to the Church This Church they define to be that Society of Persons who prosess Faith in Jesus Christ and live in Subjection to and Communion with the Pope or Bishop of Rome This Church they say is infallible and not only does not but cannot err in any Doctrine of Religion Go then say they to this Church and receive the Doctrine which she teaches and there you have certainly and infallibly the true and pure Doctrine of Jesus Christ But I cannot give my Assent to follow this their Direction because I find such great Difficulties in my way as I think are insuparable at least I am sure such as I am not able to overcome For First Although it may be a certain Truth that there shall always be a Church that is to say a Company of People some where or other professing the true Christian Religion as long as the World shall last yet what solid Proof can be brought that this particular Society of Men who live in Communion with the Pope or Bishop of Rome are alone the true Church and shall always keep and maintain amongst them the true and uncorrupt Doctrine of Jesus Christ This Matter being a Question of Revelation and positive Institution is uncapable of being proved by any Argument drawn from Natural Reason And as for the Texts of Scripture which they alledge it is even ridiculous to think that any sober and unprejudiced Person should be convinced by them as will evidently appear to any one who impartially reads what the Romish and Protestant Divines have written on this Controversie For there are none of those Texts but are fairly and naturally capable of another Interpretation and must be very much strained and wrested to make them countenance the Romish Doctrine Besides that the Divines of the Church of Rome do generally teach That no Man can be sure of the Authority or Sense of any Text of Scripture especially if it appear to be any way doubtful except he receives the Proposal and Interpretation thereof from this their Church which they say is infallible So that a Man must of necessity believe the Infallibility of their Church before he can any way be sure of the Credit or even of the Sense of those Texts of Scripture which they bring to prove it And then What need is there of Scripture-Arguments to prove a thing which must be acknowledged before the Arguments can have any force or even be as much as certainly understood And if they tell me that the Fathers and ancient Christian Writers do testifie thus much of the Church of Rome I can only say that the Protestant Divines who seem to me to be Men of as much Learning and Integrity as the Romish do declare that it is far otherwise Nor have I Skill enough in Language and Antiquity to take upon me to judge of this Dispute Neither do I understand by what Authority the Writings of those Persons who are acknowledged to have been subject to Errours should be obtruded on me as a Rule of my Faith or as a sufficient Argument to determine my Assent in so weighty a Matter Secondly Supposing but not granting that in the Church of Rome the true and pure Doctrine of Jesus Christ was preserved yet still it is granted that particular and private Men who live in the visible Communion of that Church may teach false and corrupt Doctrine Here then I demand How shall I certainly distinguish the Doctrine of the Church from the Opinions of private Men And how shall I certainly know what is the true Meaning of the Church's Doctrine They of the Church of Rome are not agreed who it is that has Authority to declare and expound the Doctrine of their Church whether it be the Pope or a General Council or neither alone but both together Or if they were unanimous in this Point yet how shall I know whether such a particular Person who possesses the Chair be a true and lawful Pope or such a particular Assembly a true and lawful General Council Or Suppose they could satisfie me in this Demand yet there is no Council now sitting nor if there were could I go to them or to the Pope to receive Instruction nor can the Pope or a Council be at leisure to satisfie the Demands of every private Enquirer How then can I be sure that this or that particular Person does both rightly understand and faithfully propose the Doctrine of the Church to me Especially since
and no way contradictory to the Principles of plain and sound Reason And if in many other Points of Speculation which by some are adopted into Religion I am either wholly ignorant or perhaps doubtful and undetermined or it may be mistaken Yet if to the Belief which I have here professed I do superadd a virtuous and Christian course of life I hope there is no moderate Christian who does not in effect make it a part of his Religion to be uncharitable but will allow that I may be saved But wherein this virtuous and Christian life consists and what are the Duties which the Gospel obliges us all to perform whether they are the Duties of pure Morality as to love God and our Neighbour or those of positive institution as to be Baptized to receive the Holy Communion c. is to be the subject of the Third and last part of this small Work to which therefore I now proceed A Gentleman's Religion PART III. 1. ALL the Commands of God and consequently all the Duties of a Christian are reducible to these Two viz. To abstain from that which is evil and to do that which is good according to his ability Those actions I call good which either are eternally agreeable unto the nature circumstances and mutual relations of Persons and Things and therefore for ever to be approved of by every impartial rational Being as I have said Part 2. § 18. for which we must appeal to every mans Reason as we do to his Eyes without any other Demonstration to prove that the Sun shines or else are expresly commanded by God of his own positive will and pleasure to whom as being his Creatures we all owe an intire Obedience for which we must have our recourse to the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament only all the positive Institutions and Ordinances of the Mosaick Law which were given by God to the People of Israel being abrogated and the Obligation of them annulled by our Saviour Christ Altho the moral part of it which contains the Precepts and Rules of eternal good and evil and wherein the very life and soul of that Law consisted be not only abetted and confirmed but also very much improved by him And such actions as are contrary to good that is to say either disagreeable to the nature and circumstances of Things and Persons or else positively forbidden by God I call evil I am indeed of opinion that in the Holy Scriptures we have not only the positive Commands of God whereby some things which otherwise would have been indifferent are enjoyned or forbidden but also either in particular or at least in general a sufficient account of all those actions which are eternally good or evil and therefore to be done or avoided by us And this designed by Almighty God for the direction and instruction of those Men who have not ability to dive into and discover those things by the strength of their Reason And therefore in order to describe the whole Duty of a Christian it might be enough for me to collect the Precepts and Prohibitions which God has given us in his Word and to vouch no other Authority or reason but his Will for them But because every mans Duty will probably make the greater impression upon his mind when he is satisfied as to the reasonableness of it as well as convinced of its obligation I shall endeavour as I proceed first to infer as much of our Duty as I can from the nature and circumstances of Things and Persons and then to superadd where there is occasion what God has positively ordained and commanded as to any point And this with the same conciseness that I have observed in my Second Part neither enlarging upon those Arguments nor reciting those Texts of Scripture which I suppose my Reader to be able to call to mind upon the least hint of them 2. To begin then Since God is the most perfect and excellent Being in Himself and so loving and beneficent to Us It follows that we ought to love him in the highest degree that possibly we can And true and compleat Love as it is an act of one person exerted towards another as its object consists in an unseigned desire First of always doing what may be truly grateful and acceptable to the person beloved and Secondly of enjoying and being with him as much as may be The more ardent and zealous we are in our love to God the better undoubtedly it is And we should strive to engage our Affections as well as our Reason and our Will unto him from whom we have received all things But yet this Love is not to be measured or judged of by the earnestness of those suddain motions which sometimes may arise within us upon the contemplation of God's Excellency and Goodness because to be thus Passionately affected is not wholly in our Power and somtimes least so when we most earnestly desire it But the true and certain way of judging whether we love God or not is by examining whether we are stedfast in our Resolutions and accordingly diligent in our Endeavours constantly to obey him and keep all his Commandments which is the only way to please and consequently to enjoy and for ever be with him And where the Love of God is thus firmly rooted in the Will and brings forth plenty of Fruit in the life and actions it is certainly nevertheless acceptable to him altho it does not so passionately move our Affections as we could wish or desire And as all the Duties which we owe unto Almighty God are derived from and do depend upon that of loving of him or rather indeed are contained in it so is it very evident that they are all to be judged of by the same forementioned Rule that is to say not so much by the strength of an inward Impulse upon the Mind which is a thing not under our Command as by the steady agreeableness of our Will and Actions unto all such Principles as are right and good 3. Since God is the most excellent and perfect and consequently the most worthy of all Beings that are or can be from hence it will follow that we ought to honour him with the greatest Honour that may be Now to honour any person is in other words inwardly to esteem and outwardly to shew our Respect to him Our inward Esteem of God consists in a due Acknowledgment of his Being and Attributes and our outward Respect to him is to be shewn as well by abstaining from all actions which may savour of any Neglect or Irreverence towards him as by performing all such as may appear to be suitable both to his own Excellency and our Dependence upon him 4. Since God is present in all places and knows all even the most secret things and therefore cannot possibly be deceived or imposed on We should on this consideration be very watchful and careful upon all occasions how we behave our selves in his Presence And
that way which he thinks to be the truest from hence it will follow That two Men who are contrary one to another in the Point of Religion may yet both be in the right Way to Heaven and a Turk or a Heathen may be saved as well as a Christian if they are but strongly persuaded that they are in the right I answer First That if the Objection means that I leave every Man to his own Reason and Understanding without any other help to find out the Trut of Religion it is a mistake For I have asserted That every Man according to the Measure of his Learning ought to make use of all the Means and Helps he can to understand the Scriptures and the Will of God See § 14. and § 25. But if the Meaning be That I leave every Man to chuse that Religion which after a serious Enquiry appears to him to be the best which is all that I contend for In this I say no more than what all Men must and do say as well as I. For either a Man must never enquire into the Truth of his Religion at all and then he chuses his Religion by mere chance and since there are many false Religions and but one true 't is great odds but he lights upon a wrong one Or if he does enquire either he must chuse that which he thinks not to be the best and then he acts against his Conscience or that which he thinks is the best Which is what I assert and what every Man of Sense professes himself to do Secondly As there are many Differences in the Notions and Sentiments of Men concerning those things which are in some measure abstruse and obscure so on the other side there are many things so apparent and evident that Men who are sincere and unbyassed if they have but common Sense can never differ about them Amongst which I think I may reckon all those things which God requires of necessity to any Man's Salvaton § 3. And whereas the World has for these many Years found that compelling Men to this or that Religion contrary to their own Sentiments has been so far from begetting Unity of any sort that on the contrary it has even distracted Mankind not only with Variety of Opinions each Party taking a delight to thwart other but also with War and Confusion If every Man were left to himself to follow what Religion he pleases as he shall answer to God for his Sincerity it is very probable that most Men having no Worldly Interest to serve by this or that Religion would in time be brought to agree in all the great and necessary Truths of Religion which are plain and evident to every sober and inquisitive Person And as for things not absolutely necessary and of an inferiour sort as I have said § 26. if Men would be but peaceable their Mistakes and consequently their Differences about them could do no great harm But if Men will still differ even about the essential and necessary Parts of Religion I know no Remedy for it upon Earth but must refer the Matter wholly to the Judgment of God in Heaven Thirdly I do not maintain That he who is in an Errour that is a Turk or an Heathen whatsoever the strength and sincerity of his Persuasion may be is in as sure a Way to Heaven and Salvation as he who is an Orthodox-Man and a Christian How God will deal with those that are mistaken and cannot help it I do not determine All that I would insinuate § 14. is That he will not punish any Man for any Errour or Mistake which he falls into through a pure Desect of his Understanding and not through any Fault or Neglect of his Will But how far he will reward such a Person for his good Meaning is more than I can tell XXXV Fourthly It may be objected That this Doctrine does in effect undermine and enervate the Force and Power of all Civil Government by opening a Way for all Malefactors to escape Punishment how great soever their Crimes may be If such a Person should plead thus for himself That he was fully persuaded in his Mind and Conscience that it was the Will of God that he should commit such a Thest or Murther of which he is accused and that therefore according to this Doctrine it was his Duty in the sight of God to act according to this Persuasion The Magistrate who knows not the Hearts of Men can never be able certainly to discover but that this is a real Truth that he was so persuaded And if every Man in all the Duties of Religion is bound to act according to his own Sense and Persuasion of Things with what Conscience can a Magistrate punish such a Person for that Fact which for ought he knows it was his Duty to commit I will not say but that it may so fall out that a Man may think it to be his Duty to commit the most horrid Villanies since Jesus Christ himself assures his Disciples That the Time would come that whoso killed them would think he did God Service Joh. 16. 2. And how far God Almighty will be merciful unto such Persons who commit such Facts out of pure Ignorance and not out of Malice I had rather St. Paul should determine than I. See 1 Tim. 1. 13. But to the Objection I think it sufficient to answer That the Civil Magistrate as well as other Men is bound to act according to the clearest Conviction and strongest Persuasion of his own Mind If therefore upon the Examination of all Circumstances he be well satisfied and really believes that such a Plea from a Malefactor is no real Truth but only a mese Trick and Pretence in hopes to escape Punishment he ought to take no notice of it but to pronounce his Sentence according to the Law But that which comes up close to the Objection and which I think is the fullest and truest Answer is this viz. That the Civil Magistrate has nothing to do to enquire or regard how the Matter stands between God and the Conscience of the Transgressor of the Law of the Land so as to be thereby any way influenced in the Passing his Judgment It is enough to him if he be well and throughly convinced that the Laws by which he acts are no way contrary to the known Law of God There are many Cases wherein a Man offends highly against the Law of God in which the Civil Magistrate has no Power to inflict any Punishment on the Offender because the Fault which he may have committed does not it may be any way tend to the damage or disturbance of the Civil Society Which and which only is committed to the Care of the Magistrate Such for Example are many Acts of Covetousness or of Prodigality and other Sins against which it is not possible to provide by any Humane Laws And on the other side There are some Cases wherein a Man may stand absolved before the
Tribunal of God and yet be very justly condemned by the Magistrate Thus for instance If a Man has committed Theft or Murther and upon a sincere and hearty Repentance has obtained the Pardon of his Sins from God yet nevertheless if such a Person be accused and legally convicted of such Crimes before the Civil Magistrate He not only may but ought to put the Law of the Land in Execution agninst him though he believes him to be ever so penitent That it may be a Terrour unto others For if this ought not to be done every Malefactor by a pretence of Repentance which cannot certainly be discovered by any but God might escape the Lash of the Law By which Means all wicked Men would be encouraged to commit all sorts of Crimes Thus also when the Children of Israel were commanded by God to conquer the Land of Canaan we read how they sent Spies to make a Discovery of the Land that they might the more easily invade it Now it is most certain that these Spies did nothing but what they had God Almighty's Warrant for and yet if they had been taken by any of the Canaanitish Magistrates and legally convicted of their Design Who doubts but that it had been lawful for them to have punished them according to the Law of War and the Law of Nations For it is none of the Magistrates Business to enquire who keeps or transgresses the Laws of God for the Law of God extends to many Cases where the Magistrate's Authority has nothing to do but they who transgress the Laws of the Land and thereby disturb the Peace of the Common-wealth are upon a due Conviction to be punished by the Magistrate without any farther Enquiry it being his Business to do every thing which appears to be necessary for the Preservation of the Weal-Publick provided that he does nothing which is contrary to the known Laws of God who is the supreme King and Lord of all XXXVI But Fifthly it will be objected That whatever becomes of the civil Magistrate's Power yet this Doctrine which here is taught must certainly defeat and cancel all that Authority with which the Church is endowed and invested For though the civil Magistrate has no more to look after but only the Peace and Preservation of the Common-Wealth yet surely it is the Duty of the Church to take Cognizance of those things which are committed merely against the Law of God But how can the Church call any Man to an Account for any Sin or Transgression when a Man may plead for himself That he thought it was his Duty which Plea if really true and who but God can disprove it is sufficient according to this Doctrine to justifie him before God and consequently to indemnifie him from all Censures of the Church To this I answer That the Authority of the Church i. e. of a Christian Society is twofold viz. Either that Authority wherewith it is invested immediately by God or that which is conferred on it by the civil Laws and Constitutions of the Kingdom or Commonwealth The latter of these is a civil Authority though exercised by Ecclesiastical Persons because it is derived altogether from the civil Power And therefore the Consideration of it must be referred to what is but now said touching the civil Magistrate But as for that Authority which is given to the Church immediately by God it is evidently no more than this viz. An Authority to preach the Gospel and to perswade Men every where to receive it and an Authority to exclude those Men out of the Society that is out of the visible Communion of it who do not profess the true Christian Faith and live according to the Christian Law Other Authority than this does not appear to be given to the Church by God And nothing that I have said does in the least tend to abridge them any way as to the Exercise of this Power The Church may and ought to preach the Gospel and perswade men to embrace it And however any Man may be excused before God by invincible Ignorance yet he is not to be suffered in the visible Communion of the Church if he does not believe and live as a Christian XXXVII Sixthly it may be objected that I have several times in this Discourse made use of a Distinction which Distinction is nevertheless render'd altogether useless and impertinent by the main Design of the Discourse it self The Distinction is between necessary Matters of Religion and such as are not necessary which is referred to ◠26. and elsewhere But if no Man can be obliged in any Matter of Religion any farther than to do his best Endeavour from thence it must follow That all things are alike necessary in Religion For whatsoever is within a Man's Power according to this Doctrine is necessary for him and whatsoever is not within his Power is not necessary so that the very same thing may be necessary in Respect of one Man and not necessary in Respect of another which confounds the Distinction and renders it useless To this I answer That by things necessary I mean all such as it is a Sin for a Man to be ignorant of if the Knowledge of them be within his Power Such as are That Jesus is the Son of God That God is to be worshipped c. By things not necessary I mean Such as a Man is not obliged so much as to search after the lgnorance whereof shall not be accounted sinful before God although it might have been in a Man's Power to have known them Such are a great many curious Speculations which Divines do trouble themselves and the World with which they themselves do yet confess are not necessary to any Man's Salvation and consequently which a Man is no more obliged to trouble his Head with than with any Problems either in Geometry or Natural Philosophy XXXVIII Seventhly It may be objected That this Doctrine must needs encourage Men to continue in their Ignorance and not to take any Care or Pains to inform themselves concerning the Truth of Religion or any of the Duties of it For Why should a Man take any Pains to get more Knowledge which will it may be bring Trouble in the Practice of it when Ignorance is no manner of Bar to his Salvation For let him but live according to the Knowledge which he already has and God it seems requires no more from him To this I answer That for a Man to act according to the best of his Knowledge will not serve his turn except he has used his best Endeavour by all Means to know and understand the Will of God as perfectly as He can as I have shewn all Men are bound to do § 14. Which though it is a Comfort to those who are ignorant and cannot help it yet is no manner of Encouragement or Excuse for those whose Ignorance is their own Fault or Neglect XXXIX My Reason having thus brought me to embrace the Christian Religion and
directed me where and how to seek for the particular Doctrines of it it follows now that I should put this Speculation into Practice that I would search the Scriptures with all the diligence I can and set my Mind with all its Faculties on work to find out as much as I am able of the Will of God that I may the better conform my self unto it This with God's help I design speedily to do And the Result of my Thoughts shall be published to the World if what I here write prove acceptable But in the mean time I think it not improper here to add some general Considerations which may serve as Rules and Guides to me or to any other Person who shall set himself upon such an Enquiry to direct our Judgments aright to the true Doctrine of Christianity and to keep us from all Mistakes about it XL. First Then I take it for granted That the Christian Religion is calculated for Men of Reason and Understanding that is That it is fit to satisfie and convince every sober Man who seriously considers the Arguments on which it relies and is not led astray by Passion by Prejudice or Worldly Interest That this is so appears very evidently from hence Because both Jesus and his Appostles do appeal to the common Reason and Understandings of Men to judge of what they taught Yea and why even of your selves judge ye not what is right says Jesus Luk. 12. 57. Prove all things hold fast that which is good says St. Paul 1 Thes 5. 21. Be ready always to give an Answer to every one that asketh you a Reason of the Hope that is in you says St. Peter 1 Pet. 3. 15. Believe not every Spirit but try the Spirits whether they are of God says St. John 1 Joh. 4. 1. Hence then I conclude That there can be nothing in Christian Religion which contradicts the clear and evident Principles of Natural Reason For otherwise a Rational Man could not be a Christian See § 33. XLI Secondly It appears plain to me that Christian Religion was calculated not only nor chiefly for Men of great and deep Learning But also for those of ordinary plain and mean Capacities That is to say That there is nothing necessary in Christianity but what may be as well understood by every ordinary illiterate Man as by the greatest Schollars If this were not so it would not be possible for an unlearned Man to be as good a Christian as one that is learned Whereas the contrary is most apparently declared in the New Testament I thank thee O Father because thou hast hid these things from the Wise and Prudent and hast revealed them unto Babes says Jesus Matth. 11. 25. To which the Words of St. Paul do exactly agree 1 Cor. 1. 19. to Vers 7. of the Second Chapter And the same St. Paul gives us a Caution That Philosophy should not corrupt our Christianity Col. 2. 8. And warns Timothy against Science falsely so called 2 Tim. 6. 20. But there is nothing so much as intimated throughout the whole Bible that Philosophy or any other Humane Learning will qualifie a Man ever the better to become a Christian I confess indeed That as things stand at this time in the World it is highly convenient that the Teachers and Preachers of Christianity should be competently skilled in Humane Learning that they may be the better able to defend their Religion and the Purity of it against those who use so much Art and Skill either to corrupt or oppose it But where a Man sets up not for a Teacher but only for a true Believer it is evident from what has been said that he has no need of Scholarship but only of a plain and sober Understanding to make him capable of all necessary Instruction for a good Christian Or else Why should the Gospel be preached so particularly to the Poor Matth. 11. 5. who are commonly illiterate And how should the Poor in this World become so rich of Faith as St. James tells us Jam. 2. 5. From whence I think I may conclude That all such Doctrines the Vnderstanding and Proof whereof depend either on the subtile Spcculations of Humane Philosophy or the Niceties and Criticisms of Grammatical Learning or the curious Knowledge of History and Antiquity are not to be esteemed as necessary Parts of Christianity XLII Thirdly It is no less evident to me that the main Design of Jesus and of his Disciples whom he sent to preach the Gospel was to make Men not wiser as to Matters of Speculation but better and more vertuous as to their Lives and Actions Knowledge puffeth up but Charity edisieth saith St. Paul 1 Cor. 8. 1. Thus also Chap. 13. of the same Epistle he gives us to understand that the Gift of Tongues and of Prophecy the Understanding of all Mysteries and all Knowledge and Faith are of no value before God without Charity And that by Charity he means a Life led in the Practice of Vertue and Piety susficiently appears by the Sequel of that Chapter The same St. Paul tells us Tit. 2. 13. That the Grace of God that bringeth Salvation hath appeared unto all Men For what End To make them more wise more learned or more losty in their Speculations No such thing But teaching us That denying Vngodliness and Worldly Lusts we should live soberly righteously and Godly in this present World And to omit a multitude of Texts which might be alledged in so plain a Matter I shall only add what we are told Rom. 2. 6 c. That God will render unto every Man according to his Deeds c. Which is a plain Demonstration that it is our Deeds that is our Practices our Live and Conversations that we are chiefly obliged to take care of I grant indeed that God may if he pleases command things that are purely Ceremonial and such as have no manner of Influence upon Vertue and Morality As undoubtedly he did unto the Children of Israel And if he does command any such things 't is certain that we owe Obedience to them by virtue of that Authority which God has over us He may also reveal such Truths as are merely speculative and have nothing practical in them And whosoever is convinced of any such Revelation is undoubtedly bound to give his Assent to the things so revealed although they are beyond the Reach of his Understanding as I have said § 33. But from what I have here said I think I may conclude That since Vertue and Morality are undoubtedly the chief Design of Christianity they ought to be chiefly regarded and attended to by all Christians Nor ought any thing which is purely Ceremonial or Speculative to be reckoned as a necessary Part of Christian Religion except it appears very evidently that God has revealed or commanded it Very evidently I say For when a thing is conceived in dark and doubtful Expressions it is very liable to be mistaken and he that is
guilty of such a Mistake can very hardly be charged with a Fault XLIII Fourthly That the Knowledge of God Almighty his Attributes and his Law may in part be gathered from the Light of Nature antecedent to any Revelation is evident from Reason and acknowledged by St. Paul For the invisible things of him from the Creation of the World are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made even his Eternal Power and Godhead Rom. 1. 20. See Psal 19. 1. And when the Gentiles which have not the Law do by Nature the thiugs contained in the Law these having not the Law are a Law unto themselves which shew the Work of the Law written in their Hearts their Conscience also bearing Witness and their Thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another Rom. 2. 14 15. Now although all things relating to Religion which may be known by the Light of Nature are I think again repeated and farther explained by the Holy Scripture Yet because it may be that this will not appear so plainly to every one I think it necessary here to Note That we are obliged to give our Assent to those Truths and our Obedience to those Laws of of Religion which we are able to discover by our Natural Reason although the same should not appear to us to be again repeated in Scripture For for this very reason St. Paul pronounces the ancient Gentiles to be without Excuse because that when they knew God that is had some Knowledge of him by their natural Understanding they glorified him not as God by owning and obeying him Rom. 1. 20 21 c. And what is it else but an Appeal to the natural Notions of Mankind when he exhorts us That whatsoever things are true whatsoever things are honest whatsoever things are just whatsoever things are pure whatsoever things are Lovely whatsoever things are of good Report if there be any Vertue and if there be any Praise we should think on these things Phil. 4. 8. XLIV Fifthly He that writes a Treatise upon any Subject whatsoever he has a Mind that his Reader should particularly observe and be convinced of he will be sure to lay it down plainly as a main Conclusion nor will he fail if he be discreet as often as Occasion requires to repeat and referr to it that the more Notice may be taken of his Meaning and Design Such things as are mentioned only occasionally and collaterally and not as any part of the main Subject of the Discourse are not always expressed with so much Care and Exactness but that often even the meaning of them may be misunderstood Nor can we be always certain what is the true Sense and Opinion of a Writer from such accidental Expressions which sometimes may be used figuratively sometimes by way of Allusion or Accommodation sometimes with Reference to the Capacity of People without any Regard to the litteral Truth of them except he gives us fome farther Explication of his Mind From whence I think I may conclude That the necessary Doctrines and Precepts of Christian Religion are not to be gachered from those collateral and occasional Expressions which are scattered up and down in the Scriptures but from the main Scope and Design of the whole Bible in general and of each Book of it in particular XLV I have thus briefly and plainly given I hope a rational Account of Religion and of Christianity in general If I find that what I have here writ is likely to do any good in the World I shall proceed with God's Assistance to draw out and publish a particular Account of the Doctrines to be believed and Duties to be practised by a Christian FINIS Errata to the 2d and 3d. Part. PAge 48. l. 16. read my own p. 59. l. 12. for of r. and. p. 82. l. 11. for Love r. live p. 110. l. 3. dele it p. 113. l. 12. for every r. very p. 254. for that r. than p. 260. l. 16. r. Office in a settled Church Books Printed for and Sold by A. and J. Churchil at the Black Swan in Pater-Noster-Row TItus Livius's Roman History Boccacio's Novels and Tales Sir Paul Ricaut's Lives of the Popes of Rome Rushworth's Historical Collections Lloyd Dictionarium Histor Poeticum Geographicum Statutes of Ireland Bolton Justice of Ireland Leybourn's Dyalling Buchanan's Chronicle and History of the Kings of Scotland Machiavil's Works Sir Simon D' Ewe's Journal of Paliament Queen Elizabeth Dr. Brady's Introduction to the History of England Milton's Paradise Regain'd Leybourn's Cursus Mathematicus Sir Roger L'Estrange's Aesop's Fables Clark's Praxis Cur. Ecclesiasticis Dr. Gibson's Anatomy Monsieur Le Clerc's Logica c. Drelincourt of Death Leybourn's Arithmetick Protestant-Reconciler Compleat Homer's Iliads Poetae Minores Royal Grammar Gibbon's Heraldry Patridge's Treasury of Physick Opus Reformatum Bishop Wilkins of Prayer and Preaching Thibault's Chymistry Glasier's Chymistry Valerius Maximus English Two Treatises of Government The Three Letters for Toleration Some Considerations of the Consequences of Lowering Interest and Raising the Value of Money Sir William Temple's Observations on Holland Miscellanea Dr. Burnet's Travels Plato Redevivus Selden's Table-Talk Debates of Oxon and Westminster-Parliaments Livill Orationes selectae 12o. Sleidan de Quatuor fummis Imperiis Aristotle's Rhetorick English Dr. Whitby's several Pieces Patridge's Astrology Isoratis Oration Large 12o. Guide to Heaven 24o. Latin-Testament the Cambridge-Edition 12o. Boyl's General History of the Air A Gentlemans Religion Two Treatises of Rationa Religion 8o. Common Prayer in Greek Salmon's Dispensatory Dorn Synopsis Medicinae Salustii Historia Weekly Preparation II. Part Bunnian's Sighs from Hell Archbishop Layton's Sermons Gunter's Line Ciceronis Epistol Familiar Mr. Talent's Chron. Tables A GENTLEMAN'S Religion Part II. III. In which the Nature of the Christian Religion is particularly enquired into and Explained LONDON Printed for Richard Sare at Grays-Inn-gate in Holborn 1697. A Short PREFACE To the whole SOme Men slight Religion whilst others corru and perplex it with things either false or unnecessary the later of which I look upon to be much the cause of the former Many will not take the pains to read much and many do not throughly consider nor will digest what they read which renders their Notions confused and themselves uncertain what to conclude I have theresore endeavoured to make such a short and easy Draught of Christianity and the Grounds of it as every Man of a moderate Capacity may read without Tediousness and understand without Difficulty And which if it does not wholly satisfie him may yet serve to put his Thoughts into a Method and himself upon seeking for farther Satisfaction The first Part of this small Work I put forth some time since and finding that it has not proved altogether unacceptable to Men of Judgment and Moderation I have been encouraged to finish and publish the Second and Third Parts also My Design is certainly good and if I have not well performed what I have undertaken I hope at
least that what I have here done may move some more able and Judicious Person to take the Work in hand and supply those Defects of which I have been guilty THE CONTINUATION OF A Gentleman's Religion Being the Second PART 1. THE Holy Scriptures being the only authentick Record that I am able to find of the Christian Religion I take it for granted that they do express Divine Matters really and truly as the things are in themselves And therefore I cannot but believe that all the Doctrin therein delivered is most-certainly true altho many times I am not able to understand the Design and. Meaning of some Expressions and Passages which do occur therein I think it indeed to be very proper that Men of any reasonable Learning and Prudence should modestly offer their Thoughts to the World in order to the explaining of such Places of the Scriptures as appear to be abstruse and difficult But he who speaks his own Words and not those of Scripture can therein only offer his own Apprehensions to which no Man can be obliged to subscribe any farther than as he is in his own Reason convinced of the Truth of them and their Consonancy with the Scriptures 2. I do not apprehend that an implicit Faith is due to the Church of Rome which challenges it Part 1. § 21. much less sure to any other Church which does not require it When therefore any Church much more when any private Men do offer me any Doctrin of Religion in their own Words I think I ought to consider First Whether what they say is intelligible For tho we may be obliged to believe such things as are above our Understanding to comprehend Part 1. § 33. yet it is impossible for any Man to give an explicit Assent to any Form of Words if he does not Know the meaning of them Secondly Whether it is agreeable to the self-evident Principles of Reason for If I apprehend it to be otherwise it is impossible for me to believe it Part 1. § 33. Nor must any Text of Scripture be interpreted above the Level of plain and self-evident Reason whatever the literal Sense may seem to be And Thirdly whether the Truth of it can be proved by any solid Argument either from Reason or Scripture for tho a Doctrin be both intelligible and possible yet still it may be false and therefore is not to be believed except it can be proved These Rules I have endeavoured strictly to observe in the Trial of those Doctrins which I am now about to propose and I desire my Reader carefully to make use of the same in the Examination of all that I shall offer unto him But here I must desire him to take notice that I do fuppose him to be well acquainted with the Holy Scriptures and also with the common Arguments upon which the several Parties of Christians do ground and maintain their Opinions And therefore for his Ease as well as my own I shall save my self the Labour of mentioning such Arguments and Places of Scripture as are usually brought to prove those Points which are generally acknowledged by all Christians and even in those Points which are controverted between different Parties I shall ordinarily think it enough to hint at some of those Texts and Arguments which are used on either side of which I can scarce suppose any Man to be ignorant that is but moderately acquainted with the Principles of Christianity and the several Parties that profess it 3. To believe what God makes known and to do what he commands is what all Men call Religion But things that are impossible 't is certain that God requires from no Man Part 1. § 14. When therefore Damnation is denounced in Scripture against those who receive not the Gospel it must needs be understood only of them in whose Power it was to have received it and not of such who are invincibly ignorant either for want of Capacity John 9. 41. or of the means of Knowledge Joh. 15. 22. But for a Man who has both the Capacity and Means of Knowledge through Negligence to continue in Ignorance of God's Will my Reason tells me is a very great Sin besides all those Places of Scripture which do require us diligently to seek after Knowledge 4. That there is a God is sufficiently to be proved from our own Reason and Observation But fully to comprehend his Nature or declare in all Points what he is is by all allowed to be impossible to us 5. That God never had a Beginning I think I have sufficiently concluded Part 1. § 6. And if the holy Scripture had not told me that he is from Everlasting to Everlasting yet my own Reason would have inferred that he is subject to no Decay nor ever shall have an Ending 6. The Nature of every Material Being seems necessarily to imply a Possibility of having its Parts disjoyned and separated one from another and consequently of being dissolved and destroyed And theresore I conclude that the eternal God does not consist of Matter and that Being which is intelligent and does not consist of any material Parts I call a Spirit And this is what I mean when I say that God is a Spirit As for those Expressions the Eyes of the Lord the Arm of the Lord and such like which do occur sometimes in Scripture and seem to imply Bodily Parts it is manifestly obvious that they must be purely metaphorical 7. Our Experience does sufficiently testifie that whatsoever is visible to us is ever material Since therefore God does not consist of Matter I conclude that he is invisible to Mortal Eyes as the Scripture positively declares him to be And all those Texts which seem to say that he has been seen by Man I think must of necessity be interpreted some other way viz. either 1. Of an Angel appearing in a glorious and majestatick manner Or 2. Of the eternal Son of God assuming a Bodily Appearance as after he took our Nature upon him Or 3. Of some visible and extraordinary Signs and Tokens that the invisible God was there present in an extraordinary Manner Or 4. Of those mystical and Hieroglyphical Representations which God has sometimes been pleased to make of himself not to the Senses but to the Imagination and Understanding of his Prophets in their extatick Dreams and Visions 8. Amongst all those things which I can conceive possible to be done i. e. to imply no Contradiction I can find nothing which to me appears more difficult than what God has already done in the Structure of the Universe And therefore I conclude that God can do whatsoever in its self is possible to be done which is what I mean when I say that he is Almighty Nor is there any one sure who will venture to say that God can do such things as imply a Contradiction either in themselves or to his own Nature and Attributes 9. That God who made all things should be ignorant of any thing appears to
to be a person wonderful a Counsellour the mighty God the Prince of Peace of the increase of whose Government there should be no end and unto whom the gathering of the Nations should be Now altho there may some Difficulties be started as to the Interpretation of some of those and such like Prophecies which do occurr in the Old Testament which is no great wonder considering how the Jews who are enemies to Christianity have endeavoured to obscure and perplex them yet if we do consider that there is evidently a fair consonant and reasonable Application of all these Predictions to be made unto Jesus of Nazareth and that there is not nor ever was any other person to whom they could be applied besides himself and since it is not possible for any one but God to foretell a thing with so many circumstances so long before it comes to pass I think I may very well from hence conclude not only against the Jews who acknowledge but also against all others who may perhaps at first deny the Authority of the Old Testament that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ or Messiah whom God had promised to send into the World And if to this we add the greatness of his Miracles and the transcendent Goodness of his Doctrine of which see Part 1. § 19 I think the Argument will have the force of a Demonstration 37. In the Holy Scriptures I find such things spoken of Christ as do plainly shew him to have been a true and real Man in all things like unto us sin only excepted Other Expressions also I find frequently applyed to him which cannot possibly agree to any Man or created Being whatsoever but only unto God as I have already said § 22. And altho there is a plain Distinction made between his Divine and Humane Nature yet is he always spoken of but as one person Here then I know not better how to express my Sentiments than by saying that in the one and single Person of Christ there is a Conjunction of both the Divine and Humane Nature and consequently that Christ is really and truly both God and Man And if the same Objection be made against this Doctrine as is against that of the Trinity viz. that it is very obscure and difficult to be apprehended I shall also return the same Answer as I have already done to that in the latter end of § 23. to which I refer my Reader 38. He who acknowledges Christ to be God to be sure will allow of his eternal Existence as to his Divine Nature And as to what concerns his Humane Nature that he was Conceived by the Power of the Holy Ghost Born of the Virgin Mary and that after some years spent in preaching and doing good he was thro the Malice of the Jews and at their vehement desire condemned by Pilate the Roman Governour to be crucified which was accordingly done and a Spear thrust into his Side That being dead he was buried and lay in the Sepulcher unto the third day upon which he rose from the dead and aster several times conversing with his Disciples for the space of Forty days that he was visibly taken up from them and received into Heaven unto infinite and eternal Glory where he is our perpetual Mediatour and Intercessour at the Throne of God All this I say is so evidently and without Controversy testified by his Disciples whose Veracity I have asserted Part 1. § 19 and recorded in the Scriptures of the New Testament whose Authority I have proved Part 1. § 23. c that no reasonable Man I think can now deny or so much as doubt of any part of it And altho there are one or two passages of Scripture from whence it is inferred that Christ before his Resurrection did descend into Hell yet will I not venture nor do I think it necessary to determine whether by the word Hell is meant the state of the dead only or the place of the damned or if the latter signification be to be chosen for what end and purpose it was that he descended thither Only I conclude certainly that it was not to suffer any thing there because I do not find the least intimation throughout the Scripture of any suffering of Christ which he did or was to endure beyond the shedding of his Blood and yielding up his life upon the Cross 39. What God might have done had he so pleased without any other consideration but only by virture of his own absolute Authority if he has rather chosen to do it for the sake of Jesus Christ and in consideration of that Obedience which he performed and those Sufferings which he underwent who shall dare to find fault with him or pretend to be wiser than he Now that it is for the sake of Christ and of his Obedience and Sufferings that God vouchsafes to us the Pardon of our Sins and makes us the offer of everlasting Happiness is so plainly declared in many places of the Holy Scriptures that nothing can be more And since I find God's sending of Christ to be set forth as an instance of his Love not to some few particular persons only but even to the whole World and since Christ is said to have died for all and to have been a Propitiation for the sins of the World without any exception I cannot but conclude that all men who ever were or are or shall be might have been or may be the better for Christ and his Sufferings if through their own default they have not or shall not forfeit that Benefit which was designed them And as it is not disputed but that the ancient Patriarchs who by Faith foresaw the coming of Christ had a share in that Redemption which he wrought altho they died before he came into the World so to me it seems to stand with a great deal of reason that even those persons who never heard any thing of Christ may yet for his sake find Mercy from God because God who perfectly knows the most secret Inclinations of all Hearts may clearly foresee that if the knowledge of Christ had been proposed and offered unto them they would have owned him and submitted unto his Gospel which our Saviour tells us was the very case of Tyre and Sidon and for which reason he declares that they should receive a milder Doom than Chorazin and Bethsaida in the day of Judgment Mat. 11. 21 22. And how far this may extend to all such as labour under very strong Prejudices altho not strictly invincible I think that God is the only proper Judge 40. But however God may think fit to deal with those who are either ignorant of or strongly prejudiced against the Christian Religion yet the manner of his proceeding with true Believers is plainly enough declared All those who receive and own the Christian Faith are not to be looked upon as so many separate persons each of them believing such and such Doctrines but are always represented
in Scripture as Joyned together in one Society or Body which is called the Church of which Christ Jesus is the chief or Head and under an obligation to live in communion and fellowship one with another under those Laws and Constitutions which Christ has given them but not that I can find in Scripture obliged to joyn with or submit to any one person as the Vicar of Christ and the visible Head of the Church upon Earth For if Christ had appointed any such person as his Deputy upon Earth he must either have declared a matter of such consequence with great plainness and evidence or else it would be very hard to find fault with any man for being mistaken in it Whereas the Arguments which those of the Church of Rome bring to prove either that such a Vicar there must be or that St. Peter the Apostle was the Man or that the Pope or Bishop of Rome and not the Bishop of Antioch is the Successour of St. Peter both in his Bishoprick and Authority are all so weak and precarious so forced and perplexed and so fully confuted by the Protestant Divines that nothing in my Opinion but Blindness of Understanding or worldly Interest can prevail with the Members of that Church still to insist upon them Now that Christ instituted but one Church in which all true Believers and good livers are for ever to be comprised is very plain And altho through the Mistakes and Perverseness of Man this Church is rent and divided into opposite and contending parts and parties yet this does not hinder but that according to its true and primitive Constitution it is or ought to be one as a Kingdom or Common-wealth by its Laws and Constitutions is but one Society altho there may arise Factions and different Interests in it nor shall any Man be esteemed as a Member of the Church before God who is not ready and willing according to the best of his power and knowledge to maintain the Unity of it and that upon those very Terms and none other which Christ has appointed as near as possibly he can find and apprehend them Moreover that all the Laws and Constitutions on which Christ has founded the Church and by which he would have it regulated are exactly agreeable unto the Rules of sound Morality and the Will of God cannot be so much as doubted and therefore it is truly said that the Church is Holy altho every particular Member thereof has both his frailties and his sins which yet he must repent of and so become holy as the Church is holy or else he violates one of the main and fundamental Laws and so becomes as it were an Out-law of the Church and forfeits his part in all the Privileges that belong unto that Society And whereas before the coming of Christ the People of Israel did enjoy more of the Favour of God and had greater privileges and advantages on the score of their being God's chosen and peculiar People than any or all other Nations of the World The Gospel of Christ on the contrary now looks upon all as equally entitled unto God's Favour and the advantages thereon depending who take care duly to qualifie themselves for it So that whereas formerly the Church that is the chosen People of God might have been said to be particular as being in a manner limited to one Nation or People now on the contrary it is Catholick that is to say universal as being no way confined to one place or Nation all People being equally chosen by God in Christ who will receive and love according to the Gospel 41. In those several Revelations which God was pleased to make of himself after the Fall of Man unto Adam to Abraham and to the People of Israel there was still a plain intimation given them that in the time to come there should an extraordinary Person arise in the World who should yet more clearly make known the Will of God to Mankind But when Christ who was That Person did accordingly come and send his Apostles to preach the Gospel over all the Earth he neither suggested to them nor they unto the World that any other Revelation was ever after to be expected But always gave them to understand that God had in the Gospel compleated and finished all that declaration which he intended to make of Himself or his Will unto Mankind until the general Judgment and Dissolution of the World If therefore the Holy Scripture had given me no manner of assurance of the perpetuity of the Church my own Reason would have been enough to make me conclude that God in his Providence will so order the matter as that the Christian Religion being the only known and ordinary means of eternal Salvation shall never be wholly extinguished while the World lasts so as to stand in need of any new Revelation to revive and restore it But that there shall always be a certain Company of Men evidently conspicuous to the World teaching and professing the true Christian Religion without any Errour or Corruption in Doctrine or Worship is what I can no where find promised or foretold either by Christ or any of his Apostles On the contrary there are several passages in the New Testament which do plainly seem to foretell that in process of time most pernicious Doctrines and practices should prevail and take place even amongst the generality of those who should profess themselves to be Disciples of Christ And whosoever shall but lightly compare the state of Christianity for several Centuries before the Reformation with that Draught of it which is left us by Christ and his Apostles in the Holy Scriptures must if he be impartial I think be fully convinced of the truth of those Predictions 42. Whether or no God has or does at any time communicate or bestow any extraordinary Grace or Assistance upon those who are no visible Members of the Church but altogether strangers unto that Revelation which he has made of himself is a question which the virtuous lives and heroick actions of some brave Heathens make it hard positively to determine in the negative But that he will give so much Grace and strength to every one who shall become a Member of Christ's Church as that thereby they may if the fault be not their own sufficiently qualifie themselves for eternal Happiness by the performance of those things which he requires on their part to be done is what I think no man can doubt of who does but in general consider the Mercy and Love which God designed even unto all men but more especially unto the Church in sending our Saviour Christ Jesus into the world altho there were not any particular Promises of this nature in the Gospel And that this Grace and ability to do good is in Scripture ascribed unto the Ministry and Influence of the Holy Ghost upon the hearts and minds of true Believers is plain and generally owned by all Christians But that this
seem but a slight and inconsiderable thing yet since our Saviour Christ has expressly appointed and commanded it and since his Apostles were always most careful to perform it insomuch that even they who had received the extraordinary Gift of the Holy Ghost from Heaven were yet required to be Baptized in order to become visible Members of the Church This Ceremony I think ought not to be left off or discontinued Altho whether it be performed by dipping the Body under the Water or by sprinkling the Water upon it to me seems to be altogether indifferent and to be regulated only by Prudence or the Custom of particular places For neither does the word Baptize signifie any more than to Wash which may be done either way nor does it appear that the Apostles dipped all those whom they baptized Moreover since sprinkling as well as dipping may sufficiently denote the washing and cleansing of the Soul from sin and since Baptism is not expressly in the Holy Scripture determined to either of these ways to the exclusion of the other I conclude that God has left the matter so far indifferent to us and to be ordered according to Prudence as the Circumstances of things and persons shall at any time direct And as long as the Substance and Design of his Command is carefully retained I see no necessity of being so very solicitous about a Circumstance of it except it could evidently be made appear that he had appointed and determined it 53. Since then Baptism is as the Entrance or Door of Admittance into the Church of Christ it will follow that all they and they only who are duly qualified to be Members of his Church are fit to have Baptism administred to them If any person has been brought up out of the Chucrh until he comes to years of understanding and knowledge he is then and only then qualified to be a Member of the Church when having repented of all his former sins he believes and owns that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and consequently receives and professes that Faith and Doctrine which he has taught and authorized and obliges himself to live according to all those Laws and Rules which he has prescribed to us this being the very Condition which our Saviour indespensably requires from his Church and every Member of it according as they are capable of performing it But if a Child be born of Christian Parents or is so in the hands of Christian Guardians as that it is in their power to bring him up in the true Religion and they do promise and engage so to educate him such a Child as this even before he comes to any knowledge of things is yet qualified to be a Member of the Church of Christ upon the presumption that he will perform what God requires from him when he comes to be capable of it and so to continue if by Apostacy or wickedness he does not in process of time separate himself again from it For this beyond dispute was the case of In sants before the coming of Christ who at eight days old if Males were to be Circumcised and thereby admitted into the Church of God and within his Covenant if they were either the Sons or Servants born in the House of believing persons and who as well as their Parents are expressly said to enter into Covenant with God which is but another expression for becoming of his Church And no one surely will offer to say that the Case of Infants is made worse than it was by our Saviours coming into the World especially since he has expressly commanded that little Children should come unto him and not be forbidden for that of such is the Kingdom that is the Church of God I conclude therefore that not only adult persons who make a due profession of their Faith and Repentance but also such Infants as are in a way of being brought up in the Christian Religion are without any Obstacle to be admitted to Baptism 54. There are some passages in the New Testament which seem plainly to suggest to us that it was a constant Custom with the Apostles of Christ to lay their Hands upon all such as had been Baptized which laying on of Hands was undoubtedly accompanied with Prayer to God in order to their receiving the Gifts and Graces of the Holy Spirit of God But that this was a thing positively prescribed and commanded I do not find clearly proved And therefore altho I dare not hastily condemn those particular Churches where this same Custom is disused or intermitted yet since the Grace and Assistance of the Holy Ghost in order to the leading of a good life and obtaining eternal Happiness is for ever continued unto the Church as I have said Part 2. § 42. and therefore ought ever to be sought for altho the working of Miracles and speaking of all Languages without learning them be ceased from amongst us I cannot but conclude that the laying on of Hands upon persons that have been baptized together with Prayer to God for their growth and continuance in Grace which is commonly called Confirmation is a prudent and godly Custom and ever fit to be continued in the Church 55. As every particular Man whatsoever is obliged in his own private person to honour and worship God so the Church being a Society incorporated for the better serving of God is under an Obligation to do the same in her associated capacity that is to say to assemble together for his worship And because the whole Number of Christians which are dispersed over the Face of the Earth are not capable of meeting together in one place the Universal Church therefore lies under a necessity of subdividing it self into particular Churches and those again into particular Congregations according as they find to be most convenient for the pursuing that same end for which they are so incorporated Moreover since all these particular Churches and Congregations are still or ought to be but Parts and Members of that One Catholick Church which our Saviour Christ has appointed and founded it follows that none of them ought to constitute or act any thing amongst themselves which may give a just occasiou for the breaking of that Union and Concord which he designed and has commanded always to be maintained amongst them But on the contrary Matters ought every where so to be ordered as that if a Member of any one particular Church should travel into any other part of the World he may meet with nothing in any Christian Congregation where he comes which justly should be a hinderance to him from assembling or communicating with it 56. The particular acts to be performed in these Christian Assemblies are all such as tend to the Edification of the People in Virtue and Godliness which is the design of their Incorporation and consequently to the promoting of each mans eternal Salvation which is the end that every Christian is supposed to pursue All which are