Senn. CL.,Xi1I. 0/ a Re!igrous a-rd die t ad", He that believes that this Being is the Original of all good, that he made the World, and ah the Creatures in it, and prcferves and governs them, he will depen..l upon him, and leek to him for every good thing, and acknowledge him tor' tke Author of them 5 which brings in Prayer and Th;anlccfgiving. He that b. lieves that heowes his Being to -God, and all the B'.effings of his Life, will think it rea- fonatic that he fhould be at his difpofal, will bewilling to be goverri'd by his Laws, and ready to fubmit to his Pleafure ; which brings in Obedience and Suit- million to the Will of God. He that believes there is Another Lie alter thigi wherein Men shall be Rewarded cr Pnnilh'd, according as they have demeaned themfclves well or ill in this World, he will be encourag'd to Piety and Virtue, and afraid.to do any thing which his own Keaton tells him is difpleaung to the Deity, as he cannot but believe every thing is; that is contrary to the Nature of Cod, or the Pcrfc&ion of his own Nature, or the good Order and Happinefs of the World ; which brings in Temperance, and Juflice, and all other real Virtues. And that the belief of thefe Principles had this effort upon feverai of the Hea- thcos, to make them in a good dc,ree Religious and Virtuous, I doubt not; the Moral and Honefi Lives of many of them give real teftimony of this 5 whicli Natural Religion andMorality of theirs, how far it may avail them for their good', we are not corcern'd to determine. This we are foie of, th.r it will make their Condition -more tolerable in another World; and if they fall under Condemnation, it will mitigate and allay their Mifery. V. In what Senfe this Faith or Perfwafion of the Principles of Natural Religion say be faid to be Divine ? In thefe two Refpedts. I. In refpe& of the Obje&of it, or matters ro be believed, which are Divine, and do immediately concern Religion; in oppufition to that which I call a Civil and Human Faith, which is of fuch things as do not immediately concern God and Religion. 2. In refpe&of the Divine Effefts of it,- which are to make Men Religious, and like God. And a Faith may as properly be laid to be Divine in refpe& of the Objc& of it, as in refpcet of the Argument whereby it is wrought ; fo that a -Faith of thePrinciples of Natural Religion is as truly Divine, rho' it be nor wrought in us by the Arguments of Divine Tcftimony and Authority, as a Faith of the Matters of Divine Revelation contain'd in the Holy Scriptures : for why a Faith may not as well be faid to be Divine for itsrelation to God as the Obje& of ir, as for its relation to the Teftùnony ofGod as the Caufeof it, I cannot underhand. Secondly, The Second fort of Faith, which I call Divine or Religious, is a per- fwafion of things Supernaturally Rcveai'd, of things which are not known by Na- tural Light, but by force more immediate rnanifeflation and difcovery front God. Thus we find our Saviour, Matth. xvi, 55, tt, 17. oppofth Divine Revelation to the Difcovery of Natural Reafon and Light. He asks his Ddcip!cs whom they believed him to be, Whom fay ye that I am ? And Simon Peter afioer'd and faid, Tíau art the Cheijt, (that i:, the McUas) the Sen of the living God. And '- efus anfwered and faid unto him, Blefjeel art thou Simon Barjona 5 fir flefh and blood hail, not revraled this onto thee ; but ray Father which is in 1-leaven 5 where 'n Revelation or Ditcovery from Flefb and Blood, is oppofed to a Revelation from -God. Flelh and Bleed being Hebrew Phrafe or manner of fpeakin?; tiguifying a meet Man, or fowcrhing meetly human, Io we find the ìthrafe ufed;:EphIT vi tz, We wrefiie not againa hell,and Blood; but againft Principaleties,and Powers',andSpiri- tualWechedre/s; that is, the Enemies we are to contend with. are not only Men, but Devils 5 and wh ch is nearer to our purpofè. Gal, t: 16. where thePoptf le. would exprels to us, that he reeciv'd not his Comni:Gìon Stow Men ;- but immediately front the ford Jejìss Chrojt ; lie tells us, that when it plea/ea' Gad, oho fparated him from his Mothers tomb, and called him by his grace, to reveal his Son in hies, that he might Preach among the HHoa.lién, immediately he conferred not with Piefh and Blood 5 the word is'CPe vs rrne; 7 did not apply my felt to l+lefh. and Blood ; that is, I did not go to Mer, to receive my Commiffion from them : for fo he ext plains it in the next words, Neither wert I ,ap to Jeeufàlem, to them that were - Apoflles before me ; that-is, I did nor apn{y my félf to the Apoftlës, to derive any l k k 2 Authority
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