3trtr. XVI. À RATIONAL DEF'ENCt OF THE GOSrE7,.,. 279 seldom heard or known among christians: The apostle describes them in 'Rom. i. 26. and that in such a manner, as leads us to believe, that they were practised by those who professed wisdom among them. It must be acknowledged also, that these nations were gross idolators, and worshipped many gods, and that even in the times when their social virtues were most conspicuous. Now this is Most highly criminal in the sight of the great and sovereign God, the Creator of all things: And the warmer and the more zealous were their dovotions which they paid to these idols, with the neg- lect or contempt of the true God, the greater was their guilt and abomination. But, 3. The chief answer I give is this, that when whole kingdoms are made christians merely by birth, education, arid custom, it is not to be supposed that a twentieth part of them believe the gospel upon any just and reasonable principles of knowledge and choice. When whole cities and nations areworshippers of Christ, no Otherwise than the Ephesians were worshippers of Diana, or theTurks of Mahomet, it is not' reasonable to expect that there should be much difference in the virtues of such a national sort of christians, rnahome- tans, 'or heathens; for the principle from which all their religion springs is the same, namely, their education, custom, and fashion of their country; and therefore their vices are much the same as they would' be according to the present reigning humour,'; disposition, or political temper of the nation, whatsoever were their form of re- ligion and their established worship. The true way therefore to put these things to the test, is to consider -those Christians only whobelieve and pro- fess the gospel from knowledge, and choice, and inward conviction, and who make their religion a matter of sow lemnity and importance, and not of mere form and cus- tom. Now if you separate these from the rest of man- kind, I am well assured, that as bad as the christian world is, you will find all the human and divine virtues more gloriously practised among such christians as these, than among an equal number óf the professors of any other religion under the sun:' For inward Christianity, and the faith of the gospel, when it is built Upon' just foundations, will necessarily draw alongwith it such a T4
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