t52. O1` SPYYtITYYAL MINDEI5NES8. have had thebenefit of divine revelation, where they have been educated in the principles of the Christian reli- gion, have had some knowledge, and some profession of them ; and have, through love of sin, and hatred of every thing that is truly good, rejected all convictions from them concerning the being, power, and rule of God, they will not be kept to a confession of them, by any considerations that the light of nature can sug- gest. There are, therefore, among others, three reasons why there are more atheists among them who live where the Christian religion is professed, and the power of it rejected, than among any other sort of men, even than there were among the heathens them- selves 1. Godhath designed to magnify his wordabove all his name, or all other ways of the revelation of himself to the children ofmen. Ps. cxxxviii. 2. Where, there- fore, this is rejected and despised, he will not give the honor to reason, or the light of nature, that they shall preserve the minds of men from any evil whatever. Reason shall not have the same power and efficacy on the minds of men who reject the light and power of di- vine revelation by the word, as it hath, or may have, on them whose best guide it is, who never enjoyed the light of the gospel; and, therefore, there is oft-times more common honesty among civilized heathens and Mahometans, than amongst degenerateChristians ; and from the same reason, the children of professors are sometimes irrecoverably profligate. It will be said, many are recovered to God by afflictions, who have despised the word; but it is otherwise ; never any were converted to God by afflictions who had rejected the word. Men may by afflictions be recalled to the
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