SERM. II. of the Battle, and were sure to fall the first, and the Bishop generally ended in the Martyr. An Imposture in which there could be no State-craft: For all the States of the World for three hundred Years were combined against it.

So strong, in short, if we take the Arguments from Prophecy, the internal Excellency of Christianity, and the Neceffity of a Revelation into the Account, is the Evidence for Chriftianity; that it is the laft Thing I should believe, that an inquifitive unprejudiced Man, of a sound Head, and an upright Heart, could be a determined Infidel. Nothing ought to be admitted in Bar to such pregnant Proofs, but fome absolute Impoffibility in the Nature of the Thing: Mere Difficulties weigh Nothing: For at that Rate we must disbelieve every Thing in Nature; every Thing in Nature being attended with great, nay infuperable Difficulties.

Could we suppose a Being in some other Part of the wide Creation, of the fame Size of Understanding with ourselves, but an intire Stranger to the natural History of the World; should any one inform him of

the amazing Properties of the Loadstone,

the

i

the Phanomena of Light and Colours, the SERM. II. Circulation of the Blood contrary to all the known Laws of Motion, the Revolutions of the Planets, the Cohesion of Matter, the infinite Divisibility of finite Matter, nay, of the leaft Grain of that finite Matter, the surprizing Effects of Chemistry; he would think the History of Nature far more unaccountable, than any Deift can the Book of Grace, and the History of the Bible:

Poor fhort-fighted Creatures! the least Grain of Sand is able to baffle the finest Understanding: And yet we would pretend to found the Depths of the divine Nature and Counsels; never confidering, what has been often observed, that, " if what was re"vealed concerning God, were always adapted "to our Comprehenfion; how could it with a

ny Fitness represent that Nature, which "we allow to be incomprehenfible?" We need not to ransack the Scriptures for Difficulties: Every Thing about us and within us, above us and beneath us, convinces us, that we are very ignorant; and, if once we come to a Resolution to quit what is clear (such are the Proofs for Chriftianity) upon the Account of what is obfcure; we shall

run

SERM. II. run into universal Scepticism. We will not believe, that the Deity does or discovers any thing marvellous and unaccountable in an unusual and fupernatural Manner, though every Thing, that he does in the common Road of his Providence, be marvellous and unaccountable to us.

Though Men may disagree about Matters of pure abstract Reasoning; yet every reasonable Man is determined by the Evidences for Matters of Fact, when they amount to a moral Certainty; unless it be in Cafes, where the Paffions interest themselves, and indispose the Mind for the Reception of Truth. Every intelligent Person, after Examination, must judge alike in these Matters; except his Judgment be overruled, and his Assent obstructed by fome wrong Affection, by fome strong Biafs, and fome infuperable Prejudice, perhaps unsuspected by himself: Otherwise a Man might seriously dispute, whether Julius Cafar made a Descent upon England, conquered Pompey, and was stabbed in the Senate House; which no Man in his Senfes ever did, or ever will do. Either then it must be maintained, contrary to what I have already proved, that the Evidences of Chriftianity

Christianity do not amount to a moral Cer. SERM. II, tainty, or, if they do, it will be difficult to affign a Reason, why clear, strong, and indubitable Proofs should not have as much Force and Weight in the Affair of Religion, as they have in all others; unless we may suppose there is something amiss within, some latent Difingenuity of Temper, which here, though not in other Cafes, shuts up all the Avenues, by which Light can find an Entrance.

Though we have not a scientifical infallible Certainty of the Truth of Chriftianity; yet we have an infallible Certainty, that we ought to be determined by such Evidences, as Chriftianity is furrounded with: Because either we must act upon fuch Evidence in the daily Course of Life, or remain in a State of utter Inaction. He, that will not admit moral Certainty to be a sufficient Principle of Action; if his Practice be conformable to his Perfuafion, must neither eat nor drink, till he has a mathematical Demonstration, that what he eats and drinks will prove wholesom; he will be fure of nothing in this World, but that he must, by acting up to such a Notion, depart speedily out of it. If we have a moral VOL. II.

U

Cer

SERM. II. Certainty of the Truth of Chriftianity; if every unprejudiced Mind is determined by moral Certainty, we may argue thus. It is demonftrably certain, that there is a Being of infinite Goodness, Truth, and Veracity. It is demonftrably certain, that a Being of infinite Goodness, Truth, and Veracity will not mislead his Creatures into unavoidable Errors, nor fuffer an Imposture to pass upon the World, in his Name, in a Matter of the last Importance, with such manifest Tokens of Credibility, and moral Certainty, as must, and do in every other Case, determine an unprejudiced Mindtherefore it is demonftrably certain, that Christianity is no Imposture. Thus the Christian Faith, in the last Refort, resolves itself into, and terminates in, the divine Veracity: It is as sure as that God cannot lie, that he who has laid his Creatures under an Obligation to act upon moral Evidence, would not have done so, if such strong Evidence could ever inevitably deceive them in an Affair of infinite Concernment.

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