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of any evil spirit to convey to us, concerning a delufi- SER M. on; or if it be in his power, he is not permitted to do it to any who have not highly provoked God, by rejecting the truth, "to give them up to ftrong de"lufions, to believe lies:" and that such persons fhould be obnoxious to fuch delufions, as it is not unjuft in reference to them, fo neither is it any prejudice to the affurance which good men may have of fuch revelations, which are truly and really divine.

But for the other ways of difcerning true revelati-> on from falfe, which the Jews mention; as that the Spirit of God always works upon the understanding, as well as the imagination, and in confequence with the use of reafon and understanding, and gives fome fenfible notice of it's feizing upon men, I think all thefe to be uncertain, if they be examined. And if the last which they mention, viz. this that I have infifted upon, be true, all the other are fuperfluous. For what need any other fign to affure a man that that is a divine revelation, which carries along with it a clear fatisfaction and full affurance that it is fuch?

So that it remains now, that we fix upon fome particular ways, whereby the perfon, that hath a divine revelation, may be affured of it; and this I shall do by these propofitions.

First, that GoD can work in the mind of a man a firm perfuafion of a thing, by giving him a clear and vigorous perception of it; and if fo, then GOD can accompany his own revelations with fuch a clear and overpowering light as shall discover to us the divinity of them, and fatisfy us thereof beyond all doubt and fcruple. And this no man can doubt of, that confi-' ders the vaft power and influence which God, who made the foul of man, and perfectly knows the frame of it, muft needs have upon the mind and understanding of man. Secondly,

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SERM. Secondly, God never perfuades a man of any thing that contradicts the natural and effential notions of. his mind and understanding. For this would be to deftroy his own workmanship, and to impofe that upon the understanding of a man, which whilft it retains it's own nature, and remains what it is, it cannot poffibly admit. For inftance, we cannot imagine that God can perfuade any man that there is no God: for he that believes any thing as from God, must neceffarily believe there is a God; therefore it is impoffible that he can be perfuaded of this as from GOD, that there is no GOD; and that he is not wife and just, and good and powerful; and that he is not to be honoured and loved by all reasonable creatures: because thefe do clearly and immediately contradict the most effential and fundamental notions of our minds concerning GOD, and the refpect which is due to him: not only because it is unworthy of GOD to go about to perfuade a man of a falfhood; but because it is impoffible in the nature of the thing, that the mind of man, which is naturally prepoffeft with contrary notions, fhould, whilft it retains it's own nature, admit of fuch as do clearly and immediately contradict them. For if thefe be natural notions, that there is a GOD, that he must be wife and juft, and good and powerful, and ought to be honoured and loved by his creatures; the mind of man cannot poffibly admit of any contrary perfuafions and impreffions: for the former perfuafions being natural to us, will always remain while our nature remains; and if any perfuafions contrary to thefe could be wrought upon our minds, they would fignify nothing, but would mutually deftroy one another. For if any man, that is perfuaded that God is good (as every man is, that is perfuaded he is at all) could during the perfuafion

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be likewife of a contrary perfuafion, that he is not SERM. good; this latter perfuafion would fignify nothing: for he is not perfuaded that God is not good, whilst he retains this perfuafion that he is good.

Thirdly, fuppofing the thing revealed do not contradict the effential notions of our minds, no good and holy man hath reason to doubt of any thing, whether it be a revelation from GoD or not, of which he hath a clear and vigorous perception, and full fatiffaction in his own mind that it is fuch. For if a man may have reason to doubt of any thing, whereof he hath a clear perception, then no man can be certain of any thing. Now that there is fuch a thing as certainty, is now fuppofed, and not to be proved. I fay, a good and holy man can have no reason to doubt: for a wicked man (I grant) may, by a finful rejection of, and disobedience to the truth, fo far provoke GOD, as "to give him up to ftrong delufions, to believe "lies ;" and he may be as confident of a lie, as any good man is of the truth.

And as this is not unjust from God in reference to wicked men, so it is not prejudice to the affurance which good men may have concerning a divine revelation.

Fourthly, a good and holy man reflecting upon. this affurance and perfuafion that he hath, may be able to give himself a reasonable account of it, and fatisfy himself that it is not a stubborn belief and an obftinate conceit of things without any ground or reafon. A good man is fecretly and within himself perfuaded, that God hath revealed to him fuch a thing; reflecting upon this perfuafion, he finds that it is a foreign impreffion, and doth not fpring from his own mind now he believing that there is a GOD, who can, and probably doth communicate and reveal himVOL XI.

felf

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SER M. felf to the minds of good men; and being withal fatisfied that his goodness is fuch, that he will not fuffer good men, who do heartily and fincerely defire to know his will, to be under a neceffity of delufion (which they unavoidably are, if they then may be deceived, when they have the greateft affurance and clearest fatisfaction, that fuch a thing is revealed to them of God;) from hence he reasonably concludes, that he ought not to queftion the matter any farther. I might instance in the revelation made to Abraham, concerning the facrificing of his fon, which hath the greatest difficulty in it of any cafe I know of: but of that I have elsewhere difcourfed at large. Thus much for the first.

Secondly, what affurance can other perfons, who have not the revelation immediately made to them, have of a divine revelation? To this I fhall answer by these propofitions :

1. That there are fome means whereby a man may be affured of another's revelation that it is divine. For,

(1.) Otherwife it would fignify nothing, but only to the perfon that immediately had it; which would make void the chief end of moft revelations, which are seldom made to particular perfons for their own fakes only, but for the most part, on purpose that they may be made known to others, which could not effectually be done, unless there be fome means whereby men may be affured of revelations made to another.

(2.) None could be guilty of unbelief but thofe who .had immediate revelation made to them. For no man is guilty of unbelief that is not obliged to believe: but no man can be under an obligation to believe any thing, who hath not fufficient means whereby he may be affured that fuch a thing is true.

* See vol, IX, ferm. CLX.

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be

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2. The private affurance and fatisfaction of ano- SER M. ther concerning a revelation made to him, can fignify nothing at all to me, to affure me of it. For what fatisfaction is it to me, that another may say, he hath a revelation, unless I have fome means to be affured that what he fays is true? For if I must believe every spirit, that is, every man that fays he is infpired, I lie open to all poffible impoftures and delufions, and must believe every one that either foolishly conceits, or falfely pretends that he hath a revelation for both the conceited and pretended enthufiaft will fay they have revelations, with as much confidence as those who are truly and divinely inspired: and to take every man's word in matters of fuch huge confequence and importance, as revelation from GoD ought to be prefumed to be, would not be faith, but credulity, that is, an ungrounded perfuafion; which how feverely GoD punifhed, you may fee in that famous inftance, 1 Kings xiii. where the prophet that was sent to Bethel, is upon his return torn in pieces by a lion, because of his credulity and eafy belief of a pretended revelation. I confefs this cafe is somewhat different from theirs who fimply believe a pretended revelation, as being complicated with fome other aggravating circumftances. For he had had an immediate revelation from GOD, "not to eat, nor "drink at Bethel; nor to return the fame way that "he came:" upon his return an old prophet meets him, and tells him that an angel had appeared to him, and had bid him bring him back, and to caufe him to eat and drink; he believes him, and turns in with him. Now this was the aggravation of his credulity, that when he himself had had an express revalation from GOD, concerning which he was fatisfied, he hearkned to the pretended revelation of another, conO 2

cerning