"which He has made." By the beauty and conve nience which we observe in the world, we discover the wisdom and power of Him that made it. From açknowleging the wisdom and power of God, we are, partly, led to the knowlege of His worship, and those religious duties which we owe unto Him: and by the different manner of men's discharging their duty in this life, we are persuaded that there will be a resurrection of the dead, and very different rewards in the life to And all these are discoveries which we owe, principally, to the workings of our own reason, whose office it is to make way for Faith.

come.

Though sense and reason must be allowed to judge of those things which lie within their sphere, yet there are some things which are above their reach, and do not lie within their compass; and for those truths which do not come, distinctly, within our view, we must be beholden to Revelation. And such are the prime objects and articles of our Faith. As for instance:

What shall be the condition of men after death, is a consideration so dark, and remote, that our sense and reason can never reach it. That either we shall be, or shall not be, is very certain: but whether we shall be, or shall not be, or what we are like to be, on the other side of the grave, is all but blind conjecture; till we are told by one of better eyes than ours, who sces things past, present, and to come.

There is a black thick cloud between the living and the dead, through which we cannot see; and a gulph which we cannot pass. We have no intercourse, no correspondence there, and no man ever came from thence to give us information. None but Christ, who is both God and man, He only has discovered to us

the

the secrets of the other world; and yet there are those who reject His evidence, and will believe nothing but what they see themselves.

Again. We know that we did not make ourselves, and that He who did, deserves to be obeyed, and worshipped for it, but what sort of worship He will accept, or what sort of commands we must obey, we have no means to know, but by His directions. For this reason, God, frequently, shewed himself to the Patriarchs, and Prophets, and holy men of old; and at last He came down from Heaven, and dwelt among men, and went before them in the paths of life. And yet there are those who refuse to follow His directions, and rejecting the Faith, resolve still to walk only by their own sight, and will not believe what has been, actually, seen by other men.

II. I now proceed to shew, that when Faith and sight stand in this opposition to one another, it is necessary that we should give the preference unto Faith.

What can be more absurd, than for a traveller to stop short in the midst of a journey, and refuse to stir one step more, unless he can walk by sight, instead of Faith, and see his journey's end? And yet it is more absurd to stop the progress of our piety, and stand still in our way to Heaven, unless we can see the end of our hopes, and have a demonstration of the Salvation of our souls.

What strange perverseness is it in man, to refuse to be informed of those things which he has no other possible means to know? And when that information comes from a credible authentic hand, what madness is it in us to disbelieve it, upon no other account, but because it is more than we knew before? What is this

but suppressing our own reason, and hindering all the improvements of our soul, and resolving to carry no more wisdom out of the world, than we brought into it ?

Sense and reason can only set a man to work, but it is Faith that procures him his reward. The style of the old law was, "Do this, and live." Then was Faith a commendable excellence, but not a positive .express command. And, accordingly, God governed His ancient Jewish Church by visible signs, and His immediate presence; and led it by sight, and not by Faith. But now, under the improvements of Christianity, instead of dead works, God requires a lively Faith; and the style of the Gospel runs, "He that "believeth in Me, hath eternal life." And it is but fit, that since this eternal life, which is promised us in the Gospel, is infinitely above all our deserts, we should give credit to His Word, whose gift it is, and not forfeit His promise, by the suspecting of His truth.

"The times of ignorance God winked at." Under the dark dispensation of the Law, explicit Faith was "not of such absolute necessity to Salvation. But, since our Saviour has taken the veil off, explained the Law, and fulfilled the prophecies, and given us a perfect Revelation of the Will of God, what can be more unreasonable in us, than to turn over those Divine truths to be tried at the bench of sense and reason, and to stand or fall by the verdict of mere flesh and blood?

The time was, when it was thought as impossible that this habitable world should be round, and men should live, directly, under our feet, as the atheist, or heretic, pretends any article of our Faith to be: and the case of Religion is the very same with respect to

the

the world above us, as that was then with regard to the world below us. "Flesh and blood has not revealed "these things unto us; but our Father, which is in "Heaven," has sent His Son from thence, to give us an unquestionable information.

Some may call this credulity, and upbraid the easiness of our belief; but the truth is, that which makes most men unwilling, and averse, in point of Revelation, is not because it is contrary to their sense and reason for there are few men of so little sense, as to reject it upon that score--but, because it contradicts their inclinations, and teaches them to deny, not their natural faculties, but "their ungodliness, and "worldly lusts;" and introduces a new sort of life, with which they do not desire to be acquainted. They haye no heart to spiritual duties, no relish of spiritual rewards; and, therefore, they cannot comply with a Revelation which runs counter to flesh and blood. But had the Revelation complied with them, had it gratified their sensual humor, and spoke pleasing things, then they would have been as credulous as we.

It is, indeed, the greatest commendation of Religion, and the strongest argument of its truth, that it does not build its reputation upon fawning principles, upon soothing hopes, but deals fairly, and plainly, with us: crosses our unreasonable lusts, and tells us the danger of following our own devices, and studies to preserve the health of our souls, by wholesome medicines, more than by delicious food.

Such a faithful discipline as this differs as much from the easy, pleasing methods of false religion, as a true friendship does from flattery. And by these different methods, we may, easily, discover which is true, and which

C3

which is false. It is a great sign that "the prophets prophesy falsely," when they speak as "the people "love to have it."

But, what design could any lawgiver have, in thwart ing the inclinations of his people, and tying them up to rigid rules, but only this, that he sees it necessary for their good? What advantage can a prophet prapose to himself, in laying burdens upon men, and imposing upon them a morose, severe command, if it were not out of pure necessity, and sacred truth?

Why then should we debar men from the freedom of their will, and the guidance of their own understanding, and persuade them to walk by Faith," but that "walking by the sight of their eyes, and in "the ways of their heart," will bring them to a dreadful judgment?

Were it not for the prevention of that evil, who would not choose to run along with the stream, and enjoy a safe, easy course of life, rather than oppose a whole current of unruly vices, and restless passions, and be run down himself for his pains?

Thus we have seen, that men ought to prefer the judgment of Faith before that of sight; and that it is an argument of pure Religion to do so.

But it is not only judging, but walking by Faith, which the text requires; and what that means, is the last thing to be spoken of

III. And, certainly, to "walk by Faith, and not by sight," is, in plain terms, to live up to the rules of our profession; and to be so firmly established in the Faith, that no temptation of the flesh shall be able to over-rule it, no allurements of sense shall take us off from the duties of our Religion. Then it is that we

walk