apoftle fays, This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. It is our faith in him, who has promised danever to leave nor forfake his people, and not to forfake the work of his own hands, nor fuffer his people to be tempted above their ability; and that his grace fhall be fufficient for them, and that his ftrength fhail be made perfect in weaknefs, and that where he has begun a good work he will carry it on to the day of Chrift.

SECT. VI.

The Corruption of Man's Nature appears by its Tendency, in its prefent State, to an extreme Degree of Folly and Stupidity in Matters of Religion.

T appears, that man's nature is greatly depraved, by an apparent proneness to an exceeding fupidity and fottishness in those things wherein his duty and main intereft are chiefly concerned..

I fhall inftance in two things, viz. men's pronenefs to idolatry; and fo general and great a difre.. gard of eternal things, as appears in them that live under the light of the gofpel. The

It is manifeft, that man's nature in its prefent ftate is attended with a great propenfity to forfake the acknowledgment and worship of the true God, and to fall into the moft ftupid idolatry. This has been fufficiently proved by known fact, on abundant trial: in as much as the world of mankind in general (excepting one fmall people, miraculously delivered and preferved) through all nations, in all parts of the world, ages after ages, continued without the knowledge and worship of the true God, and overwhelmed in grofs idolatry, without the leaft appearance or profpect of its recovering

Idolatry of the World proves corrupt Nature. 55 covering itself from fo great blindnefs, or returning from its brutifh principles and customs, till delivered by divine grace.

In order to the most just arguing from fact concerning the tendency of man's nature, as that is in itself, it fhould be inquired what the event has been, where nature had been left to itself, to operate according to its own tendency, with leaft oppofition made to it by any thing fupernatural; rather than in exempt places, where the infinite power and grace of God have interpofed, and extraordinary means have been used to ftem the current, and bring men to true religion and virtue. As to the means by which God's people of old, in the line of Abraham, were delivered and preferved from idolatry, they were miraculous, and of mere grace: notwithstanding which, they were often relapfing into the notions and ways of the Heathen; and when they had backflidden, never were recovered, but by divine gracious interpofition. And as to the means by which many Gentile nations have been delivered, fince the days of the gospel, they are fuch as have been wholly ow ing to most wonderful, miraculous, and infinite grace. God was under no obligation to bestow on the Heathen world greater advantages than they had in the ages of their grofs darkness, as appears by the fact, that God actually did not, for fo long a time, beftow greater advantages.

Dr T. himfelf obferves, (Key, p. 1.) That in about 400 years after the flood, the generality of mankind were fallen into idolatry. And thus it was every where through the world, excepting among that people that was faved, and preferved by a conftant feries of miracles, through a variety of countries, nations, and climates, great enough,

and through fucceffive changes, revolutions, and agus, numerous enough, to be a fufficient trial of Ogbelwond »

what

what mankind are prone to, if there be any fuch thing as a fufficient trial.

That men fhould forfake the true God for idols, is an evidence of the most aftonishing folly and stupidity, by God's own teftimony. Jer. ii. 13. Be aftonifbed, O ye heavens, at this, and be ye horribly afraid, be ye very defolate, faith the Lord: for my people have committed two evils; they have forfa ken me the fountain of living waters, and have hewed out to themselves cifterns, broken cifterns, that can hold no water. And that mankind in general did thus, fo foon after the flood, was from the evil propensity of their hearts, and because they did not like to retain God in their knowledge; as is evident by Rom. i 28. And the univerfality of the effect fhews that the cause was univerfal, and not any thing belonging to the particular circumstances of one, or only fome nations or ages, but fomething belonging to that nature that is common to all nations, and that remains the fame through all ages. And what other caufe could this great effect poffibly arife from, but a depraved difpo fition, natural to all mankind? It could not arife from want of a fufficient capacity or means of knowledge. This is in effect confeffed on all hands. Dr Turnbull (Chrif. Phil. p. 21.) fays as follows: " The existence of one infinitely "powerful, wife, and good mind, the author, "creator, upholder, and governor of all things, " is a truth that lies plain and obvious to all that will but think." And (ibid. p. 245.) a Moral * knowledge, which is the most important of all knowledge, may eafily be acquired by all

お

men." And again, (ibid. p. 292.) " Every "man by himfelf, if he would duly employ his ❝ mind in the contemplation of the works of God "about him, or in the examination of his own

frame, might make very great progress in the

"knowledge

"knowledge of the wisdom and goodness of God, "This all men, generally fpeaking, might do, "with very little affiftance; for they have all fufficient abilities for thus employing their "minds, and have all fufficient time for it." Mr Locke fays, (Hum. Und. B. IV. ch. iv. p. 242. edit. 11.) "Our own existence, and the fenfible parts "of the univerfe, offer the proofs of a deity fo "clearly and cogently to our thoughts, that I "deem it impoffible for a confiderate man to "withstand them. For I judge it as certain and "clear a truth as can any where be delivered,

that the invifible things of God are clearly "feen from the creation of the world, being understood by the things that are made, even his "eternal power and godhead." And Dr T.

hunfelf (in p. 78.) fays, " The light given to "all ages and nations of the world, is fufficient "for the knowledge and practice of their duty." And in p. 111, 112. citing those words of the apostle, Rom. ii. 14, 15. fays, "This clearly "fuppofes that the Gentiles, who were then in

the world, might have done the things con"tained in the law by nature, or their natural "power." And in one of the next fentences, he fays, "The apoftle, in Rom. i. 19, 20, 21. affirms "that the Gentiles had light fufficient to have "feen God's eternal power and godhead, in the "works of creation; and that the reason why "they did not glorify him as God, was because "they became vain in their imaginations, and "had darkened their foolish heart; fo that they "were without excufe." And in his paraphrafe on those verses in the 1ft of Rom. he speaks of the "very Heathens, that were without a written "revelation, as having that clear and evident dif"covery of God's being and perfections, that "they are inexcufable in not glorifying him,

fuitably

"fuitably to his excellent nature, and as the au"thor of their being and enjoyments.' And in p. 422. he says, "God affords every man fufficient light to know his duty." If all ages and nations of the world have fufficient light for the knowledge of God, and their duty to him, then even fuch nations and ages, in which the moft brutish ignorance and barbarity prevailed, had fufficient light, if they had had but a difpofition to improve it; and then much more thofe of the Heathen, which were more knowing and polifhed, and in ages wherein arts and learning had made greatest advances. But even in fuch nations and ages, there was no advance made towards true religion; as Dr Winder obferves (Hift. of Knowl. Vol. II. p. 336.) in the following words: The Pagan religion degenerated into "greater abfurdity the further it proceeded; and "it prevailed in all its height of abfurdity, when "the Pagan nations were polished to the height. "Though they fet out with the talents of reafon, "and had folid foundations of information to "build upon, it in fact proved, that with all their "ftrengthened faculties, and growing powers of

reafon, the edifice of religion rofe in the most "abfurd deformities and difproportions, and gra"dually went on in the most irrational, difpro"portioned, incongruous fyftems, of which the "moft eafy dictates of reafon would have de"monftrated the abfurdity. They were contrary "to all just calculations in moral mathematics." He obferves, "That their groffest abominations firft began in Egypt, where was an oftentation, "of the greatest progrefs in learning and fci"ence and they never renounced clearly any of

their abominations, or openly returned to the "worship of the one true God, the Creator of all "things, and to the original, genuine fentiments

"of