I. An E:ipojition upon the Some perhaps may judge it altogether necdlefs to inlifi: upon fuch a SubjeCt a<> this, among chafe who all acknowledge and worfuip the only true God, and fcfi1s Chrift whom. he hath fent. I heartily .wifh it were both unneccfiUry and impertinent; but trn!Y 1f ~vc _confider that ufually the Prat!ices of Men are gu ided and influenced by their Pnnc1plcs, we Ihall find reafon enough to fufpect that there are fame 1'-\otiOns of Speculative Atheifm, that lie at the bottom of all that Practical Atheifm, which we may obferve fa generally to prevail in the World: For any confiderate Pcrfon would think it impoilible that Mt:n fhould fa daringly rufh into all thofe Prodigious Crimes and Villanies, that every-where rage and reign, were it not that they enter.. tain Joofe and wavering Apprehenfions ofthe Exiftcnce of a Deity, and inconragc themfel ves in the ir Vices by fame unform'd :1nd callow Thoughts, that pcrch:mcc all that Rclip;ion teacheth concerning God and a fUture State, are only politit:k Dcvic;:es and FiClions. Nay, indeed our Age bath too rn:my, Who, not only with the Fool, faY in their hearts, but are arrived to that heighth of defperate impudence, as to avow it in cxprefs words, yea, to difpute and argue it, that there is no God. llhall therefore confirm this great and primary Truth, upon which depends :1.ll our Re~igionJ and all our Hopes, by fame convincing and demonfrrative Arguments, whiCh 1 mtend to make as plain and obvious as the matter will permit. :~Jrft then, The univerfal confent of all Nations ftrongly proves the being of .:r. Delty: For that which all agree in, muft needs be accounted a DiClate of Nature;- and what is fitch rnuft needs be acknowledged to be a Maxim of Truth. Next to t~e Report of our Senfes, we may credit.thc Reports that Nature and all Mankind gn•e concerning the Tntth and Exiftence of Things. Now if we lbould impannel all the NatiOns of the World upon th is Tryal, not only the more ciYilized, where Cufrom, or the Authority of Laws might be fufpectcd to introduce this Belief, hut thofc that arc the moft Rude and Savage, they would all with one Confcnt retur~1 this Verdict, T hat there is a God. Nay, although one part of Mankind bath fo ftrangely diffented from another, about all other things, as concerning tl1eir Laws, Government, and Cl1ftoms, yea, and Manner ofWorfuip; yet thofe that difJ-Cr in all things clfe, fccm only to agree in thcfe two, Humane Nature and Null" gm1 efl, nr1ue t11m im· the Belief of a·Dcity. Never was there any Nation fo wild and '11!1111fi11~"· ntt t.tmjers, 1"4 t- barbarous that acknowledged no God· but their great Fault and ~;'t/ftn7:~;:~:'bt:;:,~ft~~- Folly was, that they acknowledged to~ many. And it is ftrange to Ciceru. ' · think, that the whole Race of Mankind in fo many Generations as have fitcceffively followed one another fincc the beginning of the \:Vorld, (yea and if there were no God from all Eternity) Ihould not they h.tve grow n wife enough to free themfclves from fo troublefomc an Opinion as that of the Exiftence of a God; an Opinion that crofii::th their worldly lnterefrs, contradi[ts their fcnfi1al Defires, damps their Joys, torments their natural Confcienccs, and which thofe who are wicked would give whatfoever iS de:zreft to them to h:l.Ve it n~ tcrly rooted Oltt of their minds: It is ftrange (I fay) that they lhould no~ all thts while be able to deliver themfelves from the Tyranny and Fetters of this Fancy, were it 011ly impofed upon them by f.1Ife Reports and Sunnifes. How could the World. be fo eafily drawn into fuch feveral Shapes and Forms of Religion (which among the Heathen were almoft infinite, and among others too va~ rious and diffCrcnt,) were there not a natural inclination in the Souls of Men to imbrace fame Rel igion or other, and. an indelible CharaCler of a Deity imprinted on their Minds? Infomuch, that in the Times of Dark~efs, when the ~ruth was not clearly revealed to the World, bccaufe they knew nett_hcr the tn1c OhJccr~ nor ~he ri_ght W"_ay for Worlhip, thi.s :eftlefs Nouon. ~fa Detty pnt th~~ upon mvcnt1!1g drvers VIle, uncouth and ndtculous Supcrfttt1ons. But yet thts IS fo far from m~ validating, that it ftr'ongly confirms to 11s their Belief of a Deity, in that they fubmittcd thcmfclves to Obfcrvanccs not only unreafonable1 but many times barbarous and inhumane, if they thought them acceptable to the Gods theyworlhipt; yea, rather than they would be without a Deity, they-would dig them Gods out of their Gardens; or confcPomtm & ecte r1t{RJ 'IJillRre autfrngtrtrr.arfu. Juven. crate Dogs, and Serpents, and any Virmin that firft.mct them in the morning, and had the good luck thereby to creep m to Honour. 0 fonBas gmfes! qui611sl~:11af· '"'1:ur ih h~rtir. What
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