not only been particular perfons, but whole nations, who have had no fenfe, nor fo much as fufpicion of a Deity. This I confefs were of great force, if it were true; and for the proof of this, he produceth the inftance of Brafil in America. But I utterly deny the matter of fact and history, and challenge any man to bring good teftimony, not only of any nation, but of any city in the world, that ever were profeffed Atheists.

I know this was affirmed of fome part of Brafil, by fome of the first discoverers, who yet at the fame time owned, that thefe very people did moft exprefsly: believe the immortality of the foul, and the rewards and punishments of another life; opinions which no man can well reconcile with the denial and difbelief of a Deity. But to put an end to this argument, later and more perfect difcoveries have found this not to be true, and do affure us upon better acquaintance with those barbarous people, that they are deeply poffeffed with the belief of one fupreme God, who made and governs the world..

Having thus given a particular anfwer to Socinus his arguments against the natural knowledge of a God, I will now briefly offer fome arguments for it. And to prove that the knowledge and belief of a Gob is natural to mankind, my

And

1. First argument fhall be from the univerfal confent, in this matter, of all nations in all ages. this is an argument of great force, there being no better way to prove any thing to be natural to any kind of being, than if it be generally found in the whole kind: Omnium confenfus nature vox eft;"The "confent of all is the voice of nature," faith Tully. And indeed by what other argument can we prove that reafon, and speech, and an inclination to fociety,. are natural to men; but that these belong to the whole kind?

2. Unless the knowledge of God and his effential perfections be natural, I do not fee what fufficient and certain foundation there can be of revealed religion. For unless we naturally know God to be a being of all perfection, and confequently that what-Hb 3.

eve

ever he fays is true, I cannot fee what divine revela tion can fignify. For God's revealing or declaring fuch a thing to us, is no neceffary argument that it is fo, unless antecedently to this revelation we be poffeffed firmly with this principle, that whatever God fays is true. And whatever is known antecedently to revelation, muft be known by natural light, and by reafonings and deductions from natural principles: I might further add to this argument, that the only standard and measure to judge of divine revelations, and to distinguish between what are true, and what are counterfeit, are the natural notions which men have of God, and of his effential perfections.

3. If the notion of a God be not natural, I do not fee how men can have any natural notion of the dif ference of moral good and evil, juft and unjuft. For if I do not naturally know there is a God, how can I naturally know that there is any law obliging to the one, and forbidding the other? all law and obligation to obedience, neceffarily fuppofing the authority of a fuperior being. But the Apostle exprefsly afferts that the Gentiles who were deftitute of a revealed law, were a law unto themselves; but there cannot be a natural law obliging mankind, unless God be naturally known to them.

And this Socinus himfelf, in his difcourfe upon this very argument, is forced to acknowledge. "In "all men (fays he) there is naturally a difference of juft and unjust, or at least there is planted in all "men an acknowledgement, that juft ought to be

preferred before unjuft, and that which is honeft "before the contrary; and this is nothing else but "the word of God within a man, which whofoever "obeys, in fo doing obeys God, though otherwife "he neither know nor think there is a God; and "there is no doubt but he that thus obeys God is

accepted of him." So that here is an acknowledgement of a natural obligation to a law, without any natural knowledge of a fuperior authority; which I think cannot be; and which is worfe, that a man may obey God acceptably, without knowing and

believing

believing there is a God; which directly thwarts the ground of his first argument; from those words of the Apostle, Without faith it is impoffible to pleafe God; for he that cometh to God that is, he that will be religious and pléafe God, must believe that he is. So hard is it for any man to contradict nature, without contradicting himself.

4. My laft argument I ground upon the words of the Apostle in my text, That which may be known of God is manifeft in them; for God hath fhewed it unto them. Is manifeft in them, in aulois, among them. God hath fufficiently manifefted it to mankind. And which way hath God done this? by revelation? or by the natural light of reason? he tells us at the 20th verfe, For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly feen; that is, God who in himself is invifible, ever fince he hath created the world, hath given a visible demonstration of himself, that is, of his eternal power and Godhead, being underftood by the things which are made. The plain fenfe of the whole is, that this wife and wonderful frame of the world, which cannot reasonably be afcribed to any other caufe but God, is a fenfible demonstration to all mankind of an eternal and powerful Being that was the author and framer of it. The only question now is, whether this text speaks of the knowledge of God by particular revelation, or by natural light and reafon, from the contemplation of the works of God? Socinus having no other way to avoid the force of this text, will needs understand it of the knowledge of God by the revelation of the gofpel. His words are thefe: "The Apostle there"fore fays in this place, that the eternal Godhead "of God, that is, that which God would always "have us to do, (for the Godhead is fometimes ta"ken in this fenfe), and his eternal power, that is, "his promife which never fails, (in which fenfe he "faid a little before, that the gospel is the power of

God); these I fay, which were never feen by men, "that is, were never known to them fince the cre"ation of the world, are known by his works, that

is, by the wonderful operation of God, and divine "men,

men, efpecially of Chrift and his Apoftles." Thefe are his very words; and now I refer it to any indifferent judgement, whether this be not a very forced and constrained interpretation of this text; and whether that which I have before given, be not infinitely more free and natural, and every way more agreeable to the obvious fenfe of the words, and the fcope of the Apoftle's argument. For he plainly speaks of the heathen, and proves them to be inexcufable, becaufe they held the truth in unrighteoufnefs, and having a natural knowledge of God, from the contemplation of his works, and the things which are made, they did not glorify him as God. And therefore I fhall not trouble myself to give any other anfwer to it; for by the abfurd violence of it in every part, it confutes itfelf more effectually than any discourse about it can do.

I have been the larger upon this, because it is a matter of fo great confequence, and lies at the bottom of all religion. For the natural knowledge which men have of God, is, when all is done, the surest and fastest hold that religion hath on human nature. Befides, how should God judge that part of the world. who are wholly deftitute of divine revelation, if they had no natural knowledge of him, and confequently could not be under the direction and government of any law? For where there is no law, there is no tranf greffion; and where men are guilty of the breach of no law, they cannot be judged and condemned for it; for the judgement of God is according to truth.

And now this being eftablished, that men have a natural knowledge of God; if they contradict it by their life and practice, they are guilty of detaining the truth of God in unrighteousness; for by this argument the Apoftle proves the heathen to be guilty of holding. the truth in unrighteoufnefs, becaufe, notwithstanding the natural knowledge which they had of God by the things which are made, they lived in the practice of grois idolatry, and the most abominable fins and vices.

And this concerns us much more, who have the glorious light of the gospel added to the light of nature. For if they who offended against the light of

nature

nature, were liable to the judgement of God, of how much forer punishment fhall we be thought worthy, if we neglect thofe infinite advantages which the re velation of the gospel hath fuperadded to natural light? He hath now fet our duty in the cleareft and ftrongest light that ever was afforded to mankind; fo that if.. we will not now believe and repent, there is no remedy for us, but we must die in our fins; if we fin wilfully, after fo much knowledge of the truth, there remains no more facrifice for fin, but a fearful looking for of judgement, and fiery indignation to confume us.

The fum of what hath been faid on this argument is briefly this, That men have a natural knowledge. of God, and of those great duties which result from the knowledge of him; fo that whatever men say and pretend, as to the main things of religion, the worship of God, and juftice and righteousness towards men, fetting afide divine revelation, we are all naturally convinced of our duty, and of what we ought to do, and thofe who live in a bad courfe, need only be put in mind of what they naturally know better than any body elfe can tell them, that they are in a bad courfe fo that I may appeal to all wicked men, from themfelves rafh and heated, and intoxicated with pleasure and vanity, tranfported and hurried away by luft and paffion; to themselves ferious and compofed, and in a cool and confiderate temper. And can any fober man forbear to follow the convictions of his own mind, and to refolve to do what he inwardly confents to as beft? Let us but be true to ourselves, and obey the dictates of our own minds,. and give leave to our own confcience to counsel us and tell us what we ought to do, and we shall be a law to ourselves. I proceed to the

VI. Sixth and last observation, namely, That the clear revelation of the wrath of God in the gospel, against the impiety and unrighteoufnefs of men, is one.. principal thing, which renders it fo very powerful and likely a means for the falvation of mankind. For the Apostle inftanceth in two things, which give the gofpel fo great an advantage to this purpofe, the

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