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Declarations for Law? If it will not be a good Reason then, it is not a good Reason now; and the ftouteft Heart will tremble to give fuch an impious Reason to the Almighty, which is a plain Defiance to his Wisdom and Authority.

DISCOURSE

DISCOURSE I.

PART III.

Fairer Iffue there cannot be for the Trial of any Religion: För, fince eternal Life is the End that all Men aim at by Religion,

that must necessarily be the best Religion, which most certainly leads us to this great and defirable Bleffing. But the Difficulty is, how to apply this Rule, fo as to form our Judgments upon it, and direct our Choice, fince all Religions pretend to have the Words of eternal Life; which makes it neceffary for us firft to enable ourselves to determine which are, and which are not, Words of eternal Life, before this Rule can be of any Service to us in diftinguishing true and genuine

D 2

genuine Religion from the fpecious Pretences of Counterfeits and Impoftors. In order to this, we must confider, that there are fome Principles which in all Religions are allowed, and from the Confideration of which we may poffibly come to fome fixed Determination in this Matter: Such are thefe; That Life eternal can be had only from God, who is the Author and Fountain of all Being: That from him the only Way to obtain it, is, by living and converfing in this World agreeably to his holy Will: From whence it evidently follows, That, fince to do the Will of God is the only Way of obtaining eternal Life, the Words which instruct us in the Knowledge of God's Will, must needs. be the Words of eternal Life. Thus far we can go upon mere Principles of Reason.

From hence the Way lies open and plain to another Confequence of fome Importance in the present Question: For, fince it is the Perfection of Religion, confidered as a Rule or Inftitution, to direct us in all Things to act according to the Will of God, when we inquire from what Principle we ought to derive our Religion, we do in truth inquire from what Principle we may beft derive the Knowledge of God's Will; for the Knowledge of God's Will is univerfally acknow

ledged

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ledged to be the true and proper Rule and Measure of our religious Obedience in all Things.

There are but two Ways by which we can poffibly arrive at this Knowledge: One is, by following the Dictates of Reafon and. Nature; when from that Knowledge of God and his Attributes, which Reafon and Nature furnish us with, we infer his Right of governing, and our Duty of obeying; and when from the Holiness and Purity of God, and the neceffary Difference between Good and Evil, we infer wherein our Obedience must confift, namely, in ferving an holy God in holy Things, and in keeping ourselves pure and undefiled from Evil, even as he is pure : And this is called Natural Religion. The other Way by which we may poffibly arrive at the Knowledge of God's Will, is, by having it declared to us, either immediately by God himself, or by others fufficiently authorised and commiffioned by him to make fuch Declaration in his Name: And this is what we call Revelation. And, as Nature and Revelation are the only Ways by which we can come to the understanding of God's Will; fo, for that Reason, they are the only Principles from which Religion can derive

itself.

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Between these two, confidered purely as Principles of religious Knowledge, it is no hard Matter to judge, which is the safest and fecureft for us to rely on; it being a Matter that will bear no Difpute, whether our own Reason or God himself can best inftruct us in the Knowledge of his Will; upon which fingle Point the whole Controverfy between Nature and Revelation turns, as long as they are confidered only as Principles of Religion, without drawing into the Question the Merits of any particular Revelation, or of any particular Scheme or System of Natural Religion: The Confequence of which is plainly this; That, as Nature is a better Guide than any pretended Revelation, fo every true Revelation, as far as it goes, is a better Guide than Nature.

The last Confequence, and for the fake of which I have made this Deduction hitherto, is, That, when any particular Revelation is to be examined, when it lies before us to be received, or to be rejected, it is abfurd, in the very nature of the Thing, to put the Determination upon a Comparison between Natural Religion and Revelation, confidered in themselves; fince, if the Revelation be falfe, there want no Arguments to make it

yield

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