can fave us from our Sins, can fubdue our fenfual Lufts and Paffions, and bestow the Holy Spirit on us, as an abiding Principle of Sanctification and Newness of Life. Were no more required to make Men good but to inftruct them in their Duty, and in the Motives and Arguments of Obedience, and to give them all poffible Affurance of the Rewards and Punishments of the next Life, which are the most forcible Arguments of all; an extraordinary Prophet would have served for this purpose, and there had been no need of a Saviour. But mere Reason and Arguments, how powerful foever they be, cannot make a lame Man walk, nor a blind Man fee, nor give a new fpiritual Life to one dead in Trefpafles and Sins. There is a diviner Power neceffary to give Life and Energy to all the Arguments of Religion, a lightning, ftrengthning quickning, fanctifying Power; and this is the Work of a Saviour, not a Prophet. This is what Mankind have no natural Right to; for fupernatural Grace is not due to Nature, and therefore we cannot challenge it from our Maker, but must owe it to our Saviour. What is not due is Grace, and all Grace must be obtained for us, difpenfed and adminiftred by a Saviour.

This is another mighty Advantage, and glorious Privilege, which the Chriftian has above a Deift, by believing in a Saviour, that he has the Affiftances of the divine Grace and Holy Spirit to fanctify his Nature, to confirm his Faith, and ftrengthen his Refolutions, and to refift all the Temptations of the World, the Flesh, and the Devil: And if he beg thefe divine Affiftances, and comply with all Holy Motions, he fhall in all things be more than Conqueror through Christ who Strengthens bim.

But

But now fhould we fuppofe that a Deift could be faved in his own way, without a Saviour, by repenting fincerely of all his Sins, and obeying the Commandments of God, and living a holy and virtuous Life; yet how fhall he be able to do all this? Is his Nature lefs corrupt than the rest of Mankind, or his Reafon ftronger to refift all the Affaults of Temptations, and to preferve his Innocence and Virtue? For, by rejecting a Saviour, he rejects all fupernatural Affiftance, and muft trust to the mere Powers of Nature ; and how unable they are to make good Men, the Experience of the whole Heathen World witneffes, not excepting moft of the Philofophers themselves, that when any Example of Virtue appeared, and a very little Appearance in fo corrupt a State of the World was thought very confiderable, they prefently concluded that it was Selle, had fomething Divine and Supernatu ral in it. Or, whatever low Attainments fuch Men may make in fome moral and political Virtues, which yet few of them make any great Shew of, the divine Graces of the Chriftian Life, Poverty of Spirit, Purity of Heart, an univerfal Love and Charity, Piety and Devotion, and a Conversation in Heaven, are as much above their Attainments, as above their Philofophy: Indeed they never pretend to them, but reject Chriftianity for the Sake of fuch divine Virtues, which they have nothing to object againft, but that they are above their natural Powers, and natural Inclinations; and this I grant they are; fuch as mere Nature, in this corrupt State, will neither teach, nor practife; but yet are true divine Perfections, fitted to the pure and fpiritual State of the next Life, and which Chriftians, thro' the Sancti

2

Sanctification of the Spirit, and the Affiftances of the divine Grace attain unto.

3. There is another Notion of a Saviour, to fave us from our Enemies, and from the Hands of all that hate us that we being delivered out of the Hands of our Enemies, might ferve him without Fear, in Holiness and Righteousness all the Days of our Life, as it is in Zachary's Hymn. This Joshua was a Type of, who fought the Battels of Ifrael, drove out the Inhabitants of Canaan, and gave them Poffeffion of that good Land. And a little Confideration of the miferable State of the Heathen World, will fatisfy us how much we wanted fuch a Saviour and Deliverer as this.

The great Enemy of Mankind is the Devil, with all his Retinue of evil Angels and feducing Spirits, who had fet up his Kingdom in the World, and was worshipped for a God with im. pure and barbarous Rites and Ceremomies: For when Mankind had forfaken God, they fell under the Government of wicked Spirits, who used them like Slaves, and would have kept them fo to this Day, had not this mighty Saviour and Deliverer appeared to fave us out of the Hands of our Enemies, to deftroy the Works, the Kingdom, and the Power of the Devil. And a Saviour was abfolutely neceffary to this Purpose alfo, as we may eafily conclude, if we believe, that for this Purpose the Son of God was manifefted to destroy the Works of the Devil. Tho' we must acknow ledge that the Devil, and all wicked Spirits, are abfolutely under the Power of God, as all wicked Men are, yet God does no more fubdue and conquer wicked Spirits by an immediate Power, than he does wicked Men. No doubt but he could have destroyed the Canaanites by an immediate Vengeance; but he fent Joshua to fight the Lord's Battels,

Battels, and to drive them out; and he was a Type and Figure of the true Jefus, that mighty Saviour, who fhould appear to destroy the Devil's Kingdom, and to fet up the Kingdom of God in the World; and therefore this is his Character, that he is God's King; I have fet my King upon my holy Hill of Sion.

But tho' Chrift has now deftroyed the visible Kingdom of the Devil in the Chriftian World, fo that he is no longer publickly worshipped with Temples, and Altars, and Priefts, and Sacrifices; yet we ftand in need of the daily Defence and Protection of our Saviour against his Wiles and Stratagems; for he is a very fubtile, reftlefs Spirit, who can transform himself into all Shapes, and make fuch dextrous Applications, and lay fuch invifible Snares for us, that we fhall neither fee, nor fufpect any Danger, till it is too late; fo that we have Reafon every Day to pray, lead us not into Temptation, but deliver us from the evil one; for the best of us all have reason to fear what the Succefs of the Combat would be, fhould God deliver us up to be tempted by the Devil. But our Security is in the watchful Providence of our Saviour, who has the Devil under Command, and will not suffer him to tempt us above what we are able, and prays for us, as he did for Peter, that our Faith fail not.

And this is another inestimable Advantage, which Chriftianity gives us above Deifm, for Chrift defends none but his own Difciples from the In-. fults of wicked Spirits; and therefore those who reject Chrift, have no right to his Protection, but are exposed to all their Arts and Infinuations, who can fuit all Tempers, and lead them on by gentle Steps, till they have them fafe; and I con

fefs

fefs Deifts themselves seem to me to be fad Examples of fuch Practices as these.

There cannot be a more plaufible Pretence, especially to Men of a Philofophical Genius, than to be very cautious of believing, to adhere to Reafon as the fafeft Guide, and to require ftrict Demonstration for every thing. No Man would fufpect any hurt in this; and yet it is an infallible way to make Men Atheists. The Devil cannot deal with the Authority of God; It is written, anfwers all his Temptations, and makes him fly; but if he can bring you out of Conceit with Revelation, and perfuade you to fling away your Bibles, he will reafon with you as long as you will, and furnish you with fuch Reasons as you like beft, as he finds you most inclined to, whether to Atheism, Infidelity, or Herefy. Is there any thing in the World that appears in more different Shapes, than what Men call human Reason, when it intermeddles in Religion? And can the Devil have a better Game to play, than to teach Men Reafon and Philofophy? And indeed, whoever confiders what kind of Principles are cried up as folid Reason, by our modern Atheists, Deifts, and Hereticks, fo contrary to the common Notions and Sentiments of Mankind, can hardly think that there is any lefs in it than a preternatural Infatuation, all the perplex'd Turnings and Windings of the old Serpent are fo visible in them. But I cannot infift on this now. This Men get by rejecting a Saviour, who alone can deliver us out of the Hands of our spiritual Enemies, that they fall into the Snares of that old Deceiver, the great Enemy of Souls.

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