Serra. CLXVII. 00 a Religious and Divine Faith. 443 of Man, which is naturally prepoffeft with contrary Notions, lhould; whilft it tee tains its own Nature, admit of fuch as do clearly and immediately contradi& them. For if there be natural Notions, that there is a God, that he muft be Wife and Juft, and Good and Powerful; and ought to be honoured and loved by his Crea. tuts.- the Mind of Man cannot poffibly admit of any contrary Perfwafions and Imïions : for the former Perfwsfions being natural to us, will always remain whilèour Nature remains, and if any Perfwafions contrary to there could be wrought upon our Minds, they would fignifie nothing, but would mutually dèftroy one another. For if any Man that is perfwaded that God is Good, (as every Man is, that is perfwaded he is at all) could, during the Perfwafion, be likewife of a contrary Perfwafion, that he is not Good ; this latter Perfwafion would lignifie nothing : for he is not perfwaded that God is not Good, whilft he retains this Per- fwafion that he is Good. Thirdly, Suppofing the thing revealed do not contradi& theeffential Notions of our Minds, no good and holy Man hath reafon to doubt of any thing, whether it be a Revelation fromGod or not, of which he hash a clear and vigorous percep. than, and full fatisfa&ion in his own Mind that it is fuch. For if a Man may have reafon to doubt of any thing, whereof he hath a clear Perception, then no Man can be certain of any thing. Now that there is fuch a thing as Certainty, is now fuppofed, and not to be proved. I fay, a good and holy Man can have no reafon to doubt : for a wicked Man (i grant) may, by a finful rejection of, and difobedience to the Truth, fo far provoke God, as to give him up to /bong Delrs- ftons to believe Lief 5 and he may be as confident of a Lie, as any good Man is of the Truth. And as this is not unjuft from God in reference to wickedMcn, fo is it no pre- judice to the affurance which good Men may have concerning a Divine Revelation. Fourthly, A good and holy Klan retie&ing upon this Affurance and Perfwafion that he hath, may be able to give himfelf a reafonable account of it, and fatisfie himfelf that it is not a/billow belief and an ob(linate conceit of things without any ground or reafon. A good Man is fecretly and withinhimfelf perfwaded, that God hath revealed to him fuch a thing g refle&ing upon this Perfwafion, he finds thatit is a Foreign Imprefì'ion, and cloth not fpring from his own Mind : Now he believing that there is a God, who can, and probably Both communicate and re- veal himfelf to the Minds of good Meng and being withal fatisfied that his Good- nefs is fuch, that he will not fuffer good Men, who do heartily and fincerely de- fire to know his Will, tobe under a neceffity of Delufion, (which they unavoid- ably are, if they may then be deceived, when they have the greateft affurance, and cleareft fatisfa&ion that fuch a thing is revealed to them of God ; ) from hence he reafonably concludes, That he ought not to queflion the matter any farther. I might inftance in the Revelation made to Abraham, concerning the facrificing his Son, which hath the greateft difficulty in it of any Cafe I know of : But of that I have elfewheredifcourfed at large*. Thus much for the Fief!. *gee See: Secondly, What afTurance can other Perlons, who have not the Revelation im- Tt. of chit mediately made to them, have of a Divine Revelation ? To this 1 (hall Anfwer by vOlunie. thefe Propofitions. t. That thereare force Means whereby a Mart may be allured of another's lee- velation that it is Divine. For, (r.) Otherwife it would fignifie nothing, but only to the Perfon that immedi- ately had it ; which would make void the chiefend of molt Revelations, which are feldom made to particular Perlons for their own fakes only, but for the molt part, on purpofe that theymay be made known to others, which could not effeau- allybe done, unlefs there be Tome means whereby Men may be allured of Reve- lations made to another. (a.) None could be guilty of Unbeliefbut thofe whohad immediate Revelation made to them. For no Man isguilty of Unbelief that is not obliged to believe but no Man can be under an Obligation to believe any thing, who hack not fufficient Means whereby he may beallured that fuch a thing is true. L112 a. The
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