SERMON VII.

Preached October the 7th 1717.

Rom. i. 19, 20, 21.

Because that which may be known of God is manifeft in them, for God bath fhewed it unto them:

For the invifible things of him, from the creation of the world, are clearly feen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal Power and Godhead; fo that they are without excufe.

Because that when they knew God, they glori

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glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, &c.

HERE are, as I hinted in my last Discourse, Two things evidently afferted by the Apostle, in these words, which are both of them

directly contrary to thofe pretences, with which Atheistical men endeavour to fkreen themfelves from the terrors of Religion:

One is, That God has, from the beginning of the world, given fufficient manifeftations of his own eternal Power and Godhead to mankind, by his works, or by what he has plainly done, and ftill continues to do, in the world:

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The other is, That men having fufficient means of knowing God, if they either difown, or take no notice of his Being; if they neither glorify him as God, nor fhew any grati tude towards him, they become thereby utterly inexcufable, and will therefore certainly fall under his just indignation, for their neglect of him.

The first of thefe Affertions is what I am now upon; and have, in fome part, before spoken to; in fhewing, upon what foundation the general belief or perfuafion of the Be

ing

ing of God is built, or from what original it proceeds.

Two grounds of this I have already confidered, viz.

I. Some common Inftruction at the first, conveyed down from one to another, from the very beginning of mankind, and by that means derived into the feveral ages and nations of men: And,

II. The natural Frame or make of every man's mind, difpofing him clearly to apprehend the truth and certainty of it, upon the firft propofing. And from these two, impartially confidered, I hope it will appear, that fo univerfal a confent of mankind, ought not to be defpifed, as a thing ill grounded; but that we may juftly reckon it, (as Tully calls it,)

a

A Law of nature: Not an uncertain opinion founded upon fiction, but one of those judgments or determinations of nature b which cannot be deftroyed, but confirmed, by length of time and obfervation of the nature of things. I proceed therefore to the

a Cic. Tufc. 1. cap. 13.

III. Third

Opinionum commenta delet dies, naturæ judicia confirmat. Balb. apud Cic. de N. D. l. 2. cap. 2.

III. Third ground of this universal persuafion of the Being of God, viz. The common principle of Reason deducing this, as a plain and neceffary confequence or conclufion, from the obfervation of those visible Effects of power, wisdom and goodnefs, which are obvious to every confiderate man, who will but attend to them. I do not suppose, that this is the way by which the generality of men first come to their notion of a Deity, for that is certainly to be attributed rather to the two foregoing grounds. But that which confirms and improves this notion, in those that are already prepoffeffed with it by tradition, or the na tural working of their own mind, that which gives them entire fatisfaction about the truth and certainty of it, when any doubts arise about those former impreffions, is the serious confideration of the mighty works of providence, which they cannot help obferving, when they turn their eyes towards the vifible world. To this purpofe, Tully, in the perfon of Balbus, commends an obfervation of Ariftotle's, which is to this effect: Suppofe, fays he, there were fome men who bad al

ways

e Præclarè ergo Ariftoteles, fi effent, inquit, qui fub terrâ femper habitaviffent, &c. Vide Cicer. de Nat. Deor. lib. 2. бар. 37