Serm. LVIII. the Light ofNature and Revelation. 405 Secondly, His next Argument is, becaufe the fame Apoftle concludes Enoch to have believedGod, becaufe he pleafed God, and without Faith it is impogible to pleafe him. From whence he fays it is certain that Men may be without this Be- lief, which if it be Natural they cannot. Indeed if the Apoftle had faid, that whoever believes a God, muff of neceffity obey and pleafe him, then the Infe- rence hadbeen good, that all Men do not Naturally believe aGod, becaufe it is certain they d6 not pleafe him : but it is not good the other way, no more than if a Man fhould argue thus, that becaufe whoever adsreafonable, mutt be endow- ed with Reafon, therefore Men are not Natural endowed with Reafon. For as Men may Naturally be endowed with Reafon, and yet not always make ufe of it ; fo Men may Naturally know andbelieve a God, and yet not be careful to pleafe him. His Third Argument is, that the Scripture fays that there are Come that do not believe a God, for which he cites that of David, The Fool bath faid in his heart there is no God ; which certainly proves, that bad Men live fo, as if they believed there wereno God ; nay, it may farther import, that theyendeavour as much as they can, to Rifle and extinguifh the belief of a God in their Minds, and would gladly perfwade themfelves there is no God, becaufe it is convenient for them there fhould be none ; and whether David meant fo or net, it is very probable that force may arrive to that height of Impiety, as for a time at leaft, and in force moods, to disbelieve aGod, andto be very confident of the Arguments on that fide. But what then ? Is the Knowledge and Belief of a God therefore not Na- tural to Mankind ? Nature it Pelf, as confiant and uniform as it is, admits of force irregularities and Exceptions, in Effects that are meetly Natural, much more in thofe which have fomething in them that is voluntary, and depends upon the good orbad ufe of our Reafon and Underhanding 5 and there is no arguing from what is Monflrone, againft what is Natural. It is Natural for Men to have five Fingers upon a Hand, and yet Come are born otherwife : but in voluntary Agents, that which is Natural may be perverted, and in a great meafureextinguifht in force particular inftances; fo that there is no force at all in this Objection. His Fourthand laff Argument is, that there have not only been particular Per - fons, but whole Nations who havehad no fenfe, nor fo much as fufpicion of a Deity. This I confefs were of great force, if it weretrue ; and for the proof of this, he produceth the inftance of Brafil inAmerica. But I utterly deny the mat- ter of fait and Hiftory, and challenge anyMan to bring good teffimony, not on- lyof any Nation, but of any City in the World, that ever were profefed Atheifi.r. I know this was affirmed of tome part of Bra/il, by force of the tint Dilcoverers, who yet at the fame time owned, thatthefe very People did molt e*prefly believe the immortality ofthe Soul, and the Rewards and Punifhments of another Life; Opinions which no Man can well reconcile with the denial and disbelief of a De- ity. But to put an end to this Argument, later and more perfect difcoveries have found this not to be true, and do affure us uponbetter acquaintance with thofe barbarous People, that they are deeply poffeft with the belief of One fupream God, who made and governs the World. Having thus given a particular Anfwer toSocinus his Arguments againft the Na- tural Knowledge of a God, I will now briefly offer force Arguments for it. And to prove that the knowledge and beliefof a God is natural to Mankind : My Firfi Argument (hall be from the Univerfal Content in this matter, of all Na- tions in all Ages. And this is an Argument of great force, there being no bet- ter way to prove any thing tobe natural to any kind of Being, than if it be ge- nerally found in the whole Kind. Omnium confenfus naturat vox efi, " the Con- " fent of all is the voice of Nature, faith Tully. And indeed by what other Argumentcan weprove that Reafon, and Speech, and an Inclination to Society are Natural to Men ; but that thefe belong to the whole Kind ? Secondly, Unlefs the Knowledge of God and his Effential Perfections be Na- tural, I do not fee what fuf£tcient andcertain foundation there can beof Revealed Religion. For unlefs we naturally know God to be a Being of all perfe&ion, and confequently that whatever he fays is true, I cannot fee what Divine Revela- tion
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