4122 STRENGTH AND WEAI{NESS Op HUMAN REASON. that if he sees the heart of any poor savage breathing toward heaven, and exerting any feeble efforts towards virtue and reli- gion, he is not wanting to encourageit with all proper assistances of light and strength, till the creature refuses to proceed, and turns itselfaside from God and his grace. But whatever a mer- ciful God may do out of his abundant compassion, to enlighten and assist such poor perishing creatures, yet these savage nati- ons of whom we have been chiefly speaking, and indeed the greatest part of the heathen world, appear to have had, very little of this help, and they have no reason to expect it, or hope for it, since they do not make religion and virtue the matter of theirserious enquiry : they have no solicitude about the true God, or his service, or his favour, nor do they address themselves to God, in order to attain his aid. The Grecian philosophers bold- lydespised it, declaring, that "they need not ask the gods for virtue; for this was within their own power, and they could ac- quire it of themselves." The impious expressions of the stoics on this subjectare well known to the learned, that their wise man was superior to the gods in this, that their gods were wise or good by nature, but man by his own choice. Besides, those individual persons among the heathens who seeknot these aids from heaven, have no promise of encourage. ment that they shall have these divine favours bestowed upon them %, and they live indeed like persons abandoned to their own vices ; so that one may venture to pronounce partly in the lan- guage of scripture, concerning those nations in general, while they are without divine revelation, they are without God, with- out Christ, and without the Spirit too, and without hope in the world. My second reply is this, that if you allow, Logista, such influences or assistances from heaven to be necessary, or almost necessary, in the present corrupt and wretched state of the hea- then world, to guide and conduct them to happiness in a way of religion, why may not you be easily led to believe that God has actually given some divine influences, some special revelations and instructions to some of the ancient inhabitants of this mise- rable world, . to the patriarchs, to the Jewish prophets, to Christ, and his apostles, which have been committed to writing for the instruction of the world, on purpose to make the way to heaven snore evident and easy to wretched mankind labouring under such thick darkness, such huge prejudices, and such innumera- ble temptations? Lou. Why truly, I think I may allow of some divine influ- *There are general promises indeed in the Old Testament, that the gospel shall be given t0 some heathen nations; but there is no particular person, or age, or single family of heathens which can claim these aids of the Holy Spirit, while they do not pray for them, noruse thenatural advantages and powers which they have already in the pursuit of religion.
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