way to live without them? We are few of us fo mad as to put these things to the venture, upon a conceit of mere poffibilities or impoffibilities. None of us will ftand playing, or fit eating before a Cannon's mouth, when to be discharg'd, because we think it poffible it may not take fire, or that by fome accident or other, we may escape. Why then fhould we venture on eternal torments, notwithstanding all probable Arguments, only becaufe of an imaginary poffibility of escaping them? Might we not appeal to a fool to judge, how wife we are in taking such a courfe as this? And yet it is only Men's relying on a bare poffibility, against all the cleareft evidence that the cafe they are concern'd in will bear, that keeps them wicked, and encourageth them to account themselves the only Wits of the World, and to call them fools who think it wifdom to be religious.

Suppofe we, that God himself judgeth the holy Scripture to be Evidence fufficient of his Will concerning our duty and expectation; and that he is refolved not to give us any better evidence of either, for the ground of our Faith. Tho' fuch evidence be fuppofed not to be fo demonstrative, as to exclude all poffibility of the contrary; yet may it be, in all reafon, enough for us. Yea, when things are well confidered, it feems more reasonable, that it fhould be fo than otherwife; and very unreasonable in us to expect, that God fhould give us any other kind of Arguments, and motives of faith and obedience, than fuch as he hath given us in his Word. Unless he had opened Heaven and Hell, and laid all things therein naked to our bodily Eyes; and that not

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once, or twice; but in every Age, as often as Men would call for it; I know not, what more could be done to convince us, than hath been done already. If God fhould but do thus a few times, and fhould not repeat the fame in every Age and Generation of Men; the fucceeding Age would as little believe what the former Age had feen, upon the Teftimony of those who had feen it, as we are mens to believe the miracles at

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tefted to by them of former Ages. And yet again, fhould God fo far humour us, as to do this, this would be to force belief, and not to perfuade. Not, I fay, to give us reasons why we should believe, but to make it impoffible for us not to believe. For a Man cannot but believe, what he plainly fees with his eyes. Faith, in such a case, can be no Chriftian Grace or Vertue, but a natural thing; and a neceffity, fuch as rendered us uncapable of being rewarded for it. All Vertue is voluntary, and of choice, and our choosing and practising it in love to God and Goodneß, is that which makes it commendable, and through the mercy of God in Chrift JESUS rewardable. It is no vertue in any one to believe 'tis Light, when he fees it is fo, he cannot do otherwise if he have his fight, and be in his right Wits; and should be very unreasonable to expect a Reward for it. Faith is a Vertue which thall be rewarded with eternal Life, which, were it only the belief of things feen, or, which is all one, upon such evidence as excludes all poffibility, even in our imagination, of their being otherwife, it would not be. Our bleffed Saviour was pleased, in condefcenfion to the Infirmity of St. Thomas, to let him fee and feel his Hands and Side; but withal, faid enough

enough to make him fenfible, that fuch an evidence, tho' it ftrengthen'd his Faith, yet did it leffen the vertue of it, Joh. 20. 29. Thomas (faith he) because thou haft feen me, thou haft believed: hleffed are they that have not feen, and yet have believed. And what faith the Evangelift, v. 31? These things are written, that ye might believe, that JESUS is the Chrift, the Son of God, and that believing ye might have Life through bis Name. Faith then is a Grace whereby we believe what we fee not, and the things which cannot otherwife be understood, but by the teftimony of God, and of such as are fent by God; and this teftimony may not be fuch as (to our thoughts) excludes all poffibility of the contrary, and yet, enough to perfuade all Men that ufe their reafon right, or are wont in earneft to confult their own Intereft, and to feek out the fureft way they can to fecure themselves from Mifery.

It is plain from all the Methods of God's tranfacting with Men, that he would have us to be good and vertuous, and is refolv'd to bring all thofe that are fo to eternal Happiness by Chrift JESUS. To this end he hath reveal'd this his gracious purpofe for us by the fame his Son, our Lord, and by others Authoriz'd by him to declare it unto us. They have done this, and the fubftance of their Doctrine they have left in writing for the ufe of all pofterity, together, with a relation of the Miracles which they did to witnefs their Commiffion from God. God hath preferv'd thefe facred Records among us to this day, against all the endeavours us'd to deftroy or corrupt them, and hath given very great fuccefs

fuccefs to what they have done. This God accounts enough to perfuade us to Embrace a Doctrine fo Divine and Pure, and undeniably much for the benefit and happiness of the World, and promifing a reward incomprehenfibly great and glorious. For tho' the evidence be very confidetable, and altogether enough to convince Men of reafon, yet, God expects juftly, That the purity of the Doctrine, and the glory of the Reward, fhould much more affect us, and prevail more mightily with us to love and delight in him, and in the Religion which he hath Commanded; yea, more, than ten times more fuch evidences could do towards winning our belief. Furthermore, both the Duties and the Rewards are fo fuited to the Nature which he hath given us, and fo perfective of it; that 'tis very reasonable to think, we should, as foon as we are well acquainted with them, fall very much in love with them. To love knowledge and goodness, and to defire and labour for a glorious reward, that of being perfected in the presence and enjoyment of God, in the cleareft light of Knowledge, and fulleft measures of Goodness, is fo natural a thing to a reasonable Creature, that fuch an one being inform'd of the Grace and Goodness of God, in defiring to be no otherwife glorified by us, than by our endeavouring to be as like him as we can be, and fitting our felves to enjoy him eternally in Heaven, muft needs make us fet our hearts wholly, if poffible, on this one thing. And very ordinary evidences would perfuade one that confiders this, to believe the Holy Scriptures, when it informs us of all this more plainly, and particularly than any

thing else hath done, or can do. It is the love of God and Holiness which our Faith is to bring us to, or else it doth us no good; 'tis this alone that God will reward, and which will keep us out of Hell. If then for the love of God, and our natural Duty as we are Men, we be refolv'd to do God's Will fo far as we can learn it, in the Holy Scripture, we fhall quickly difcern, how every thing therein commended to our Faith, conduceth to our perfection, and God's glory, and therefore fhall eafily affent to the truth of it. The Holy Scripture fhews us moft plainly our Sin, and our Duty, and our Danger, and God's Mercy and Goodness, the beauty of Holiness, the means of it, and the Reward promis'd to it; and if this will not perfuade us to love God and Goodness, tho' we had all that evidence which we most unreasonably defire, and could not choose but believe every Syllable of the Scripture to be true; yet, would not fuch a Faith as this keep us out of Hell. 'Tis that faith only which adheres to God for the love of God, and of the things reveal'd by God; and makes us refolve, notwithstanding any Temptations to doubting, for the fame cause to persevere in it to the end, that will fave us.

O, that we would wifely confider this, That it is not for want of fufficient Evidence, that we do not believe the Scripture; but it is the want of Love to God, and the Holy Truths which the Scripture teacheth us, that makes any of us continue Infidels. That is, we cannot endure to be told, unto what our own Nature obligeth us, nor to live like Men govern'd by Reason; for that would fhew us that we ought to confider both God's Na

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