S opinion, he fays, that whoever affirms this, must suppose, that Fire, and Water, and Earth, and Air, were the first of all Beings, and must call thefe by the Name of NATURE, and Jay that SOUL (or the principle of Life and Thought) arofe from them and was fubfequent to them. And then going on to confute this Opinion, by fhewing, that the operations of Mind, Thinking, Understanding, Willing, &c. are antecedent to being Hard or Soft, Light or Heavy, and the like properties of matter: He obferves, that they make a wrong ufe of the word NATURE, who apply it to the first Original production of things, when they put MATTER or BODY in the first place. But that if they would allow SOUL or MIND to be older than MATTER or BODY, they might then be allowed to fay, that fuch things are so or fo by Nature, but otherwife it is wrong to Say fo. t Thus, ς κινδιωσει η ὁ λέγων ταῦτα, πὺς καὶ ὕδωρ καὶ γι και αέρας, πρῶτα ἡγεῖς ἢ πάντων εἶναι, καὶ τὰ φύσιν ὀνομάζειν ταῦτα αὐτὰ, ψυχίω ἢ ἐκ τέτων ὕτερον. pag. 891. * Οὐκ ὀρθῶς φύσιν βόλον λέγειν αύεσιν πεὶ τὰ πρῶτα· (τὰ ἢ σώματα τιθέασι τὰ πρῶτα) εἰ ἢ φανήσει ψυχὴ πρῶτον, κ τοὺς ἐδὲ αής, ψυχὴ δ' εν πρώτοις γελυημθύη, χεδόν ὀρθότατα λέγοιτ ̓ ἂν εἶναι Διαφερόντως, ὅτι φύσει ταῦτ ̓ ἔσθ ̓ ὕτως ἔχοντα, ἂν ψυχώ τις ἐπιδείξῃ πρεσβυτέραν ἦσαν σώματος, ἄλλως 3 εδα mas. ib. pag. 892. Thus, when an intelligent and active Providence, antecedent and fuperior to matter and motion is excluded, Nature can fignify nothing but the state in which things are, without any confideration of what causes them to be; fo that it is only the name of a train of Effects following one another, and not of any real Agent. And to this fenfe all the Atheistical Hypotheses of Nature, will at laft be reduced. Sometimes by Nature, is meant an active principle, and then it either fignifies the supreme Being, and first Cause of all things, described by another name, intimating, not only his power, but his method of acting; or else it fignifies an inferior Agent, made by the Supreme, to actuate the world under him in a stated method; which is what fome understand by the Anima mundi. And in either of these fenfes, it implies, either immediately or ultimately, a wife and intelligent Providence ordering all things. But when any thing elfe is meant by it, 'tis only puzzling the Cause to afcribe any real power to it. Now fetting afide the use of this ambiguous word, from which men are apt to confound caufes and effects without diftinction; they who deny a free, active, wife and good Providence governing the world, as the first Cause of of all these effects of which we have been fpeaking, muft, in the conclufion, be reduced to affert, either, that there is really no fuch thing, as wisdom, power or goodness in the world; or that what we esteem fuch, is the mere, cafual or neceffary refult of matter and motion; or elfe, that all things were from eternity, in the very way they now are: The Abfurdity of all which will be very briefly shewn, in my next Difcourfe; when I fhall likewise confider the Inference, which the Apostle here makes, from mens having such natural means of knowing God, which is, That they are without excufe, because that when they knew God, or had fufficient means of knowing him, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful. Now to the King Eternal, Immortal, Invifible, the only wife God, be afcribed all Power, and Glory, and Honour, for ever more. Amen. S SERMON SERMON IX. Preached January the 6th 17%. Rom. i. --20, 21- So that they are without excufe: Because that when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, &c. IN thefe Words, and in the two Verfes going before, which have been the Subject of fome of my former Discourses, the Apostle af ferts two things: |