berm. CLXXX. of the Chriflian [teligion. 527. thing fhould be offer'd CO me as a Revelation fromGod, which plainly contradi &s thofe natural Notions which r have of him, I muft neceflarily reje& ir, yea tho' it Were back'd with a Miracle; becaufe no Man can at the fame time believe that there is a Godof fuch and fuch Perfections, and entertain any thing as from him, which evidently contradi &s thofe Perfe&ions. And as this is reafonable in it Pelf, fo 'tis clear from Scripture. Deut. 53. r, s, 3. If there arife among you a Prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a Sign, or a Wonder : and the Sign or the Wonder come to pats, whereof he fpake unto thee, frying, Let ut go after othergodo ("which thou hail not known) and let us firm them : Thou /halt not h :woken unto the words of that Prophet. Here is the very Cafeput, which I am fpeaking of ; a Pro- phet comes and preacheth the Worship of Idols, as the Sun, Moon, Stars, &c. and for the confirmation of this he is fuppofed to work a Miracle; and yet notwith- flanding this, we are forbid to hearken to him, becaufe the Do&rine that he brings.. does evidently contradi& the natural Notions which I have of God. From all which it appears, that there Two things muft concur, to give us full fa- tisfa&ion that any Religion is from God, namely, firfl, That the Perron that dc- clares this Religion, givesTeftimony of his Divine Authority, that he is lent and commifiìoned from God to that purpofe. And, Secondly, That the Religion which he declares contains nothing in it that is plainly repugnant to the Nature of God. Now to bring this to my prefent purpofe, I fhould Phew there Two things con- cerning the Chriflian Religion. Firft, As to the Divine Authority of the Perlon that declares this Religion to the World, that he was tent and commillioned by God to that purpofe. Secondly, As to the Religion it felt, that there is nothing. in it that is repug- nant to the Nature of God. I intend chiefly to fpeak of the firfl of thefe : for Í dare fay, any one that will freely, and without Prejudice confider the Chriflian Religion, as it is laid down in the Scriptures, and not as it hath been abufed by the wanton Wits of fome, and the Deigns of others, will find nothing in it but what is very fuitable to the Nature of God, and worthy of him ; he all find no- thing in the Propofitions of Faith, but what is fuitable to the Perfections of the Di- vine Nature, and bath a proper Influence upon a godly Pra&ice; nothing in the Precepts of Life, but what plainly tends to the Perfet`.}ion of human Nature, and the Advantage and Happinefs of Mankind ; nothing in the Arguments and Mo- tives toObedience, as, namely, the Love of Chrifl in dying for us, the Afftante ofGod's Holy Spirit, and the Rewards and Punifhments of another World, but 2vhat is very accommodate to our Nature, and fuitable to the Wifdom, and Goodnefs, and Juflice of God ; and thefe Three, the Propofitions of Faith, the Precepts of Life, the Arguments and Motives to Obedience, do conftiture the Chriflian Religion, and make up the whole Gofpel. Concerning moil of there, I have elfewhere treated at large; therefore I (hall now apply my felt chiefly to the ftrft thing, namely to Phew, that we have abundant fatisfaftion of the Divine Authority of the Perfon that declares this Religion to the World. Now becaufe we live at a great diflance from the Age wherein this Revelation of the Gofpel by yefus Chrift was made to the World, it will be requifite for our clearer proceeding in this matter, to confider diftìn&ly thefe Three things. Firft, What Evidence thofe, who heard this Do&rine of the Gofpel immediately from our Saviour, had for his Divine Authority. And this enquiry only refpe&s the Difciples of our Saviour, and the ref} of the yews towhom he preached. Secondly, What Evidence thofe had who received this Do&rine by the Preaching of the Apoftles. And this concerns thofe to whom the Gofpel was publifh'd by the Apoftles after our Saviour's Death. Thirdly, What Evidence after-Ages, until the prefent time, have of this. And this properly concerns us, who live at a great diflance from the times of the hat Publication of the Gofpel. And according to thefe Three differences of time, there are likewife but Three ways whereby we can come to the knowledgeof matter of Falb ; and they are all fuch as are capable of giving us fut&cient aflurance. The
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