preached to them, or difhonour their Profeffion after they have embraced it, by a wicked unholy Life; neither of which can be faid of those we are now fpeaking of. We ought therefore, as I faid, to determine nothing about them either way, but to leave them to the uncovenanted Mercies of God, if I may fo fpeak. For what have we to do to judge another Man's Servant, as St. Paul expreffeth it. They are God's Servants, and to him their Mafter they ftand or fall; and if it pleafeth him, he is able to make them stand. This we are certain of, that the Judge of all the World will do right. Nor will he demand the Tale of Bricks where he hath allow'd no Straw to make them. And this we are likewife certain of, that when the great Day of Retribution fhall come, the Day when all Accounts fhall be caft up, and Rewards and Punishments. diftributed to every one according to their Works, God Almighty will then vindicate not only his Juftice and his Truth, but his Goodness and his Mercy alfo, to the Satiffaction of all the World; and a thousand Ways he may have of adjusting those Matters, and fuch like intricate Foints, which we now cannot conceive.

But in the Seventh Place: The laft Reflection I make upon thefe Words, is this; That what is bere promifed to all Chriftians in my Text, and what is here denounced againit

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against all Unbelievers, was defign'd by our Saviour to extend to all Ages of the World. As those that then believed and were baptized upon the Apoftles preaching were put into a Condition of Salvation, fo are all People put into the fame Condition that at this Day among us do enter themselves into the Chriftian Covenant. And as thofe that continued Infidels and Unbelievers when the Gospel was preached to them then, were doom'd to Damnation; fo fhall it fare likewife with all thofe that now-adays deny or reject that Gospel that is taught among us. There is the fame Neceffity of believing in Chrift now that there was then; and there is the fame Guilt and Punishment of refufing him; for there is no other Name under Heaven given unto Man, either then or now, by which we can be faved. There is indeed this Difference between the Perfons that were preach'd to then, and those that are preach'd to now; that in thofe Days. People firft believed, and afterwards were baptized; but now (as it must be in Countries where Chriftianity is the National Religion) People are firft baptized, and afterwards they believe; or, to speak a fad Truth, fome of them afterwards do not believe. But let not any think that their Baptifm without Faith in Chrift, and owning their Relation to him in all the Inftances that he hath commanded, will fignify any thing: Notwithstanding their Baptifm,

we

we still declare, and we have Authority fo to do, that whofoever believeth not the Gospel fhall be damned.

I would to God all Men, that go by the Name of Chriftians among us, but yet in their Hearts do not own Chrift for their Lord and Mafter, would ferioufly confider this. They have put on Chrift's Livery, as I may speak, for they are baptized, and they call themselves by his Name, and they do not refufe to be prefent where his Worship is celebrated, and fometimes where his Sacraments are adminiftred, especially when they have a Turn to ferve; but yet, if there be any Regard to be given to what paffes in their Converfation, and that in fuch Humours too, when one would be apt to think they muft fpeak their Minds, they have no more true Belief of Christianity, nor real Veneration for Jefus Chrift and his Gospel, than they have for Mahomet and his Alcoran. It is a melancholy Confideration that there fhould be any fuch Men in a Christian Country, especially in fuch a Country as ours, where the Gofpel is taught in its native Truth and Simplicity, without those Mixtures of Foppery which in other Countries might alienate the Minds of fagacious Perfons from it. But it is the Pleasure of God that his Religion and his Church fhould always be exercised by Ene-. mies from one Quarter or other. When Superlition on one hand, and Enthufiafm

on the other, could not, after their utmost Efforts, do us any Mifchief, Lo! Atheifm and Infidelity start up and feem to threaten us with Ruin. But this is our Comfort, that as the Principles that lead to those Things are impious and hated of God, fo we are fure they can never serve any Interefts of Man; but, on the contrary, are the moft deftructive to human Society of any thing in the World: And therefore we cannot doubt but the Government will do all that is poffible for the difcouraging and putting out of Countenance all this fort of Principles. And that very Thing alone, with this kind of People, will do more tɔward the effectual fuppreffing of them, than all the Arguments in the World.

But in the mean time they call for Arguments from us; and God forbid we should refuse them. They plead that it is against all Reason and Juftice, that a Man should be damned for that which he cannot help: Our Text here faith, that Whofoever believeth not the Goffel fhall be damned. They anfwer to this, "That they would believe "the Gospel if they could, but they can"not; " and they urge that a Man cannot believe more than he hath Evidence for; for it is no more in our Power to believe what we have a mind to, than it is to add a Cubit to our Stature, if we have a mind to be taller; and therefore, fay they, what Senfe is there in faying that a Man shall

be

be damned for not believing the Gospel, when it is not in his Power to believe it if he would?

This is the greatest Objection that is made againft our Text. I beg therefore your Leave to give an Answer to it, and then I have done. And here we do readily allow them all that they ask. We grant that a Man cannot believe what he will, any more than he can love or hate what he knows nothing of When any thing is proposed to a Man's Belief, his Understanding must first be convinced of the Truth of it before he can believe it. The Thing muft either be plain to him at the first fight, or it must be proved by Deduction from plain Principles that he doth already acknowledge; or laftly, he must believe it upon the Credit or Authority of the Perfon that propofeth it to him, who is fuch a one as he hath Reafon to think cannot, or will not impofe upon him: In a word, every one who believes a thing, must have fome Reafon, or at leaft muft think he hath fome Reafon, for the Belief of it.

But then, after we have granted all this, it muft likewife be acknowledged on the other hand, that there a great many Things which a Man cannot, or doth not believe, tho' there be Reafon and Evidence enough to be given for the Truth of them: As for Inftance; I dare fay you will all allow, that there is Reafon and Evidence enough

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