who shall repent and amend, and punishing all who continue in wickedness, both here and to eternity. To do or fay what may weaken the impreffions of fuch a doctrine, muft, on all fuppofitions, be the groffeft folly. And yet fome, who have the higheft opinion of their own underftandings, are perpetually guilty of it: and feem not to discern, how impoffible it is, that the world fhould never be influenced, to any good purpose, by what the daily converfation and example of those, who are likely to be reckoned the more knowing part of the world, encourage the reft to defpife.

But I dwell too long on the fuppofition that men can be abfolutely perfuaded, that religion and virtue are nothing. For though many have wished, and fome faid it, when the wickednes of their lives hath driven them to that refuge: and though others may have been led, by love of fingularity, or indignation against reigning fuperftitions, to advance the fame notion: yet neither their numbers, nor their abilities, have been comparatively at all confiderable: and befides, few of them appear to have thoroughly convinced themselves, at least for any time, of what they affirmed: nor is their pretence of ground for such conviction to rest on. Doubts indeed may be raised, such as they are. And therefore let us confider, in the fecond place, the obligations of those, who are doubtful about these matters. Now uncertainty, as it implies an apprehenfion, that they may not be true; implies alfo an apprehenfion, that they may. And the lowest degree of likelihood, the very poflibility, that God is and that virtue is his law, fhould in all reafon have a powerful influence on the minds and conduct of men. Perhaps they fluctuate, only because they have not taken due pains to inform themselves. They are ignorant; not religion and morals deflitute of proof; and instead of flighting, they fhould fudy them. Or fuppofing, after some inquiry, that they cannot determine: this happens in many cafes, where further inquiry affords full evidence; concerning the main point at least, if not every particular. But were we to remain ever so much at a lofs when we have done our beft: not knowing things to be true, is an exceedingly different ftate from knowing them to be falfe; how apt foever we are to confound the one with the other. In the affairs of this world, men may be quite in fufpence about matters, which yet are very important realities: and it may be of the utmoft confequence to them, whether,

during that fufpence, they act rightly or not: nay, while it is ever fo uncertain, what they are to think; it may be very clear how they are to behave: and, by following or trans greffing that rule, they may as truly deferve well or ill, as by any other part of their conduct. Why then may not the cafe be the fame, in refpect to thofe, who have not arrived at certainty concerning religious and moral obligations? why may not fuch doubts be one part of the trial of their behaviour; as well as other perplexities are of the behaviour of other perfons?

Being profane and vicious, because they do not fee clearly, is determining, instead of doubting and determining on the fide, that is not only prejudicial to all around them, but dangerous to themselves. For it is exceedingly little, were all things well confidered, that we can almost ever get by wickednefs: but what we may fuffer by it, is infinite. The fruits of it in this life are ufually found very bitter: nor is there any hadow of proof, but another may fucceed it. And if there fhould, innocence here cannot poffibly hurt us hereafter but guilt runs a double rifque; not only as uneafy reflections naturally follow it, but as farther punishment may be justly inflicted on it. The flighteft fenfe of duty, that we can experience, fhould have made us at least suspect, that so peculiar a feeling as that, is not to ftand for nothing in our compofition.

And if men will do, what they are told, by a fecret voice within, they ought not; it is fit they fhould take the confequences, in the next world, as well as the prefent. For it is knowing they did ill, not knowing they should be condemned for it, that makes their condemnation juft. And though acute and fubtle reafoners may eafily build up a fpecious system of doubts and questions, yet this is a poor defence to reft the whole of their beings upon efpecially as men have fo irresistible a conviction, that right and wrong are notions of great confequence, when their own rights are invaded; that they cannot in earnest think them idle words, or matters of indifference, when their neighbours are concerned, let them fay what they will.

And therefore we may now go on to a third supposition; that men acknowledge the obligation of morals, but not of religion; and let us confider, what they are to do. They almost univerfally take the liberty of doing one very bold and wrong thing, of most extenfive bad effect. They model their notions VOL. II.

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of morals, just according to their own fancy; and reduce them into as narrow a compafs, as they think convenient. So that, while they talk very highly of virtue, they practife little or nothing of it: or, if they obferve fome duties ftrictly, yet others, though, it may be, fcarce of lefs moment, but lefs agreeable to them, they neither regard, nor acknowledge, but hold them in utter contempt. Thus one part of the world tranfgreffes the rules of fobriety and chattity; another lives wholly to idle and expensive amufements; a third is wickedly felfish or illnatured in private affairs; a fourth unreasonably vehement in public ones; and yet all contrive to overlook their own faults in these points, and admire their own goodness in others: whereas to be truly good, we must be fo in every thing alike. But inclination eafily prevails over principle, where it hath not the fanction of religion to ftrengthen it. And they, who profefs nothing beyond morals, not only are deftitute of that higher aid; but, though their lives fully fhow how much they want it, very commonly affect a fcorn of it, no way to be ac counted for. Suppofe them doubtful even about natural religion; they must own, that, could it be proved, nothing in the world could influence men to virtue, like it. The fear of punishment, the hope of reward, from the King and Lord of all, the confcioufnefs of living continually in his prefence, reverence of his perfect holinefs, love of his infinite goodness, reliance on his infinite wifdom and power, are evidently the ftrongest motives to right behaviour in every ftation, that can be propofed. They must own too, that the moft thoughtful and able men in all ages, have held these motives to be well grounded; that the proofs in favour of them have confiderable appearances of being conclufive: and, had they none, it would furnish no cause of triumph, but of the deepest concern to every lover of virtue. Such a one therefore, however uncertain, will abhor the thought of treating fo beneficial, fo refpectable a doctrine with contempt and ridicule: a fhocking manner, which frivolous and wrong minds are ftrangely fond of, on many unfit occafions and indulging it, thoroughly misleads them from goed fenfe and difcreet conduct, in every other article of life, as well as this. On the contrary, the fighteft apprehenfion, that there only may be a juft Ruler and Judge of the world, will give every well difpofed perfon great feriousness of heart in thinking upon thefe fubjects, and great decency in fpeaking

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of them will incline him to feck for, and pay regard to, any degree of farther evidence concerning them, that is real, though perhaps it falls very fhort of what he could wish: and will engage him, in the mean time, to behave with all the caution, that becomes his prefent fituation. For, in a cafe of fuch importance, even fmall fufpicions ought to lay us under no finall reftraints. Therefore he will let nothing ever efcape him, which may induce others to throw off what he only doubts of: he will never folicit them to tranfgrefs the precepts of religion, while they acknowledge its authority; (things palpably wicked, and yet commonly done:) he will much more difcourage a groundlefs neglect, than a groundlefs belief and practice of it: and he will think himfelf bound to act thus, not in prudence only, as even men of no principle are, but in confcience alfo.

Thele then are the duties of fuch, if any fuch there be, as admit the reality of virtue, and are doubtful concerning any thing farther. But indeed the generality of men profefs to go fo much farther, as to believe in natural religion, whatever they may think of chriftianity. Let us therefore confider, in the fourth place, what their obligations are. And we shall find an addition of very confiderable ones incumbent on them, if they deferve the title they affume, that of deifts in which word, according to its original import, regard to the Deity is principally, if not folely, expreffed. But notwithstanding this, it hath now for a long time fignified much more determinately that men do not believe in Chrift, than that they do believe in God. At least, the belief of fome, who would take it exceedingly ill to be called by a worfe name, amounts to little more, than a general confufed perfuafion of fome fort of first cause; probably an intelligent, perhaps a beneficent one too: but with fcarce any distinct conception of his being the moral Governor of the world; much less any ferious conviction, that he expects from us a temper and conduct of piety and virtue, as the only condition and means of our obtaining happinefs and avoiding mifery. Now, if their faith comes fhort of this, they may very nearly as well have none at all: and if it comes up to this, it binds them indifpenfably to be very different in their practice, from what they too commonly are: to cultivate in their hearts that fear and love, which the greatness and the goodness of God require: to pay him outwardly that homage,

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and worship, which our compound frame and the interefts of fociety call for to beg of him both light to decern truth, and ftrength to practise it: to make diligent and upright inquiry, what rules he hath pointed out for the conduct of man: to obferve them all with the ftri&teft care, however contrary to favourite inclinations; and to endeavour, as far as their influence reaches, that others alfo may feel and exprefs the fame deep fense of what they owe their Maker. These are evident duties of real believers in him: do they perform them? They talk in the highest terms of the fufficiency of reason, and the clearness with which natural light teaches every thing needful: Doth it teach them to live foberly, righteoufly and godly*? It is but too eafy for them to excel, in this refpect, the generality of fuch, as claim the title of Chriftians. Why will they not take fo honourable a method of putting us, and our profeffion, out of countenance? They apprehend themselves perhaps to have been far more strict and careful than we, in forming their opinions: Why will they not manifest a proportionable strictness in regulating their practice too? That would be a powerful evidence, both to the world and their own hearts, that they are fincere in their pretenfions; that they do not reject the doctrines of the gospel, merely to be excufed from the duties of it: nor difown every other law of life, but one within them, that they may be tied to nothing. which they do not like, It would be uncharitable indeed to accuse them of this, without proof: but they would do well to examine, whether they are not guilty of it. For it is a dangerous temptation: and one thing looks peculiarly fufpicious in many of them; that they have fo little or no zeal for natural religion, and fo vehement a zeal against revealed. Surely every one, who inwardly honours God, must be affected quite otherwife: and think both his confcience and his character concerned in fhowing the warmeft attachment to the former, and the mildeft equity in relation to the latter. If he not only suspected, but imagined he knew the fcripture-scheme to be falfe, ftill he must own it to be a falfehood with the moft amazing quantity of truth in it, that ever was to give men, however it happens, beyond comparifon, the righteft notions, the jufteft precepts, the joyfulleft encouragement, both in piety and morals, that ever fyftem did: and to have been the

Tit. ii. 12.