of readers. In some places the style is capable of improvement, and here and there an orthographical and grammatical mistake occurs. But these are trivial blemishes, which admit of easy correction. On the whole, though we regret that it should have been reserved to our times

to furnish a life of our immortal Reformer, we do rejoice that it has fallen into the hands of one whom, though we have examined his work with critical impartiality, we rejoice to recognise as a friend and honour as a brother.

DISCOURSE THE SECOND. October 22, 1699.

"Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."---Rom. x. 17. Doct. 1. That the word of God is given to the children of men. God has been graciously pleased to speak to us, and is still speaking.

2. That divine revelation is necessary to true religion.

This is plainly taught us by the Apostle's argument here: that faith comes by hearing the word of God, and therefore without the word of God there could be no faith-no religion.

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I. FOR EXPLICATION. religion, we mean that regard of the rational soul to God, which is its great duty and felicity. Religion is our due observance of God, and our well grounded expectations from him. To be religious, is to pay our homage to our Sovereign Lord, so as to secure his favour. It is a bond upon the soul by which it is obliged to God.

Upon the first intimation, that there is a God that made us, there cannot but arise an awe of him, and the sense of an obligation we lie under to him: that light of nature cannot but carry with it this law of nature.

2. By divine revelation, we mean the supernatural discovery which God makes of himself, and his will to the children of menthe word of God, as it has been spoken at sundry times and in divers manners to the children of men since the fall. That which was immediate by voice, vision, dreams, or inspiration. That which was mediate by tradition, or Scripture. I distinguish it from the mere light of nature which men are born with, and those conclusions and deductions which are bolted out purely by our own reason, upon the view of what we see, without any such divine assistance-if indeed there be any such in some. That which a thinking and considerate man may infer from the observation of himself, and the rest of the visible creation, is that which I call the light of nature; and that which he is otherwise taught, and which comes by hearing, not by seeing, I reckon to be divine revelation, for that hearing comes by the word of God, some way or other transmitted to us.

3. This divine revelation I take to be necessary to true religion, so necessary that I see not how there can be any true religion without it. It is necessary as its fountain and foundation,

(1.) It is the fountain of religion, from whence it must first take its rise. So that, if God had never made any such discoveries of himself and his will to us, there never had been any religion. Man, when he was revolted from God, would never have found the way to him again -would never have done any acceptable duty to him; nor have obtained any happiness in him, if God had not been pleased to give him direction. Wisdom could not have been found any where else, Job xxviii. 12; xxiii. 27, 28.

(2.) It is the foundation of religion, by which it is supported, and without which it would either be quite lost, and fall to the ground, or be so miserably corrupted and vitiated, as to become utterly incapable to answer its ends, and to be as bad as no religion at all.

It is so the foundation of it, that without divine revelation man would infallibly sink either into atheism, or polytheism, A specimen of which our own day and land gives us. They that set up the authority of reason to confront the Scriptures, I fear are little better than downright Atheists. And they that set up the authority of the church to confront it, I fear are little better than downright idolaters.

For the further explication of this doctrine, and to anticipate an objection against it, I shall premise,

1. That we do not deny the usefulness, but only the sufficiency of natural light.

1.) The light of nature is certainly of great use in religionit is the candle of the Lord. The light of reason is, that which lighteth every man, and that comes from the Son of God, the eternal word, as Creator, John N. S. No. 48.

i. 9; compare ver. 3, 4, the light of men, i. e. the light of reason. Reason is of use to help us to read, and understand, and improve the book of the creatures. Those do no real service to religion and revelation, that run down and descry reason and natural light, as if these were contrary the one to the other, as if an irrational soul were the subject of faith. The Apostle appeals to natural light, 1 Cor. xi. 14, compare ver. 13, Judge in yourselves. The influence that God by it has upon, and the hold he has of, the consciences of men, is much for his honour, and for the honour of religion in many instances, and of great use in God's government of the world.

2.) But it is not sufficient in man's fallen state. It is of use as far as it goes; but it comes short. It is not enough, it will not serve to recover man from his lapsed state, nor to restore him to the favour of his Maker. There is need of something further.

(1.) To rectify its mistakes; the original light of nature is true and certain; but by the fall of man, the lantern it is put in, is so defaced, that under the umbrage of its authority a great deal of false light is cast. As there is need of reason and judgment to correct the of imagination, so there is of revelation to correct those of reason. To set these things in a true light, which by reason of the darkness of the understanding, and the bias of the affections, had had false colours put upon them.

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(2.) To make up its deficiency. To help us out, and help us on there, where the light of nature leaves us, and can give us no assistance. Revelation shows us

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that which the natural man understands not, and opens the way which the vulture's eye has not seen. As in the course of God's providence miracles were wrought for deliverance and supply there, where ordinary means failed, and not till then : as the manna, when they had eaten all their bread: so revelation is given to direct us there, where the light of nature leaves us at a loss.

2. That we do not hereby condemn those as in a hopeless condition, who have not the advantage of external revelation as we have.

1.) What have we to do to judge another man's servant? We condemn not any as in a hopeless condition. To their own master they stand or fall, Rom. xiv. 4. The question concerning the salvation of the heathens I think not proper to be put. Their case is confessedly so bad, that we have all the reason imaginable to be thankful that it is not our case. But that it is desperate, is than we can say. That is a matter to be left as the word of God has left it, undetermined. That there is not salvation for any but by Christ is certain; but whether they may not possibly be saved by Christ, who have not the explicit revelation of him, is not certain. Who are we that we should limit the mercy of God?

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2.) It is certain that the heathen that perish will be judged by no other law than that which was revealed to them. This is plain, Rom. ii. 12. That which condemns them is because they know not that which might be known, Rom. i. 19; and when they knew God, verse 21, and they liked not to retain, verse 28. God is not that hard master who reaps where he has not sown. They that never

had the Scripture, shall never be judged for sinning against the Scripture; but for rebelling against the light they had. This will make the condition of those that enjoy the Gospel more intolerable than theirs, because they have not so much to account for, Matt. xi. 21, &c.

3.) Those who have had no Scriptures, yet might have benefit by Divine Revelation. Many excellent good things were known, and done among the heathen, which, doubtless, owed their original at first to Divine Revelation, transmitted to them by tradition. What virtue and devotion was among them, no question, was from God. The seven precepts of the sons of Noah might convey something; and it has been abundantly proved that the wisest of the philosophers borrowed their best thoughts surreptitiously from the divine oracles. See Gale's Court of the Gentiles.

And besides what secret ways God might have of communicating himself and his grace to some among them, we know not. Cyrus was God's anointed, though he did not know it, Isa. xlv. 1.4. Light shining in darkness, John i. 4. Though a letter comes to our hands from an unknown writer, and by an unknown messenger, yet we may take instruction from the letter.

It follows here, have they not heard? Yes, so that we may allow it possible that there might be some true religion even among the heathen, and yet maintain that divine revelation is necessary to true religion.

II. FOR THE PROOF of this, our controversy lies with the deists. Those men of corrupt minds, who, because they are baffled in their attempts against the divine being, and beaten out of their strong holds of Atheism,

1. Consider the secrecy and sovereignty of the divine will. There cannot be any acceptable obedience to God but what is according to his mind; and who has known, or could pretend to know, the mind of the Lord? Rom. xi. 34. We cannot by searching find out God, Job xi. 7. It must be by hearing. How can we please another if we do not know his mind, and how can we know his mind but by his word?

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1 Cor. ii. 10, 11. Those have very low thoughts of God and religion who think a speculative head, and a fruitful fancy sufficient to furnish out an acceptable religion. Surely; see Isa. lv. 8, 9; 1 Cor. i. 25. How wide from the mark did they take their aim, who made the proposals, Mic. vi. 6, 7.

2. Consider the pravity and corruption of the human nature. Man by nature is infinitely below God, and so needs to have direction from him. But by sin he is estranged from God. Fallen man can never find out the way to happiness without divine revelation; for we find we labour under darkness, so that we cannot order our speech; h; see Psalm xiv. 2. 4; Rom. iii. 11; are liable to many errors and mistakes. The leprosy of sin is in the head. In other diseases, a man may be his own physician, but not in a phrenzy; see Eph. iv. 18. The natural man (the Greek,) the mere animal man,

that is destitute of the spirit of wisdom, he understandeth not these things, 1 Cor. ii. 14. See how man is born, and then tell me, Job xi. 12.

3. Consider the experience of all those that have not had the light of divine revelation, or but few and feeble rays of it. Look into the case of those nations of the earth that had no other guide but that of natural light. How vain they became in their imaginations; how absurd in their worship; how vile in their morals. Those that had not the word of God, soon lost God himself, and wandered in endless mazes. The Jews that had the benefit of revelation, though sometimes they became idolatrous, yet, by that help, recovered from it again; but the best philosophy of the heathen could never cure their idolatry, nor rectify their mistakes. What a posture did the gospel find the Gentile world in their religion brutish, devilish, unnatural. And is not revelation necessary?

4. Consider how many things there are which are necessary to religion, which cannot be attained to without revelation. See the apostle's argument here, verse 14, how shall they call?

1.) There are things to be known, which, without divine revelation, we cannot come to the knowledge of, and which yet we are concerned to know. Blind religion can never please a seeing God, and yet the religion of those who have no other guide but that of their own blind understanding can be no better. Where divine revelation is not, what can there be but ignorance and error? Revelation is necessary to other knowledge.

(1.) Of the nature of God; and there can be no true religion where that is not. The light of nature doth, indeed, tell us that there is a God. Something or other that is the best of beings, and the first of causes, but without revelation who can tell what is his name, or what is his son's name? Ps. xxx. 4. Those that wanted revelation ran into the most wild and extravagant notions that could be concerning God, and by a wretched train of errors, at last levelled their gods with the meanest of creatures, and the vilest of men. How could we have known God by his name Jehovah, or by that name, Exod. xxxiv. 6,7; if he himself had not proclaimed it? It is easy to say that the light of nature shows us that God is wise, and powerful, and good, but it is easy to see that there were many who had the light of nature, that yet thought otherwise concerning him. No man has seen God at any time, and therefore, John i. 18.

(2.) Of the original of the world. It is very requisite that we know the God we serve as the creator of heaven and earth, Heb. xi. 3. Much of our religion will be built upon this. Now how can we know this but by revelation? The heathen philosophers, with all their reasonings, could not discover it. Some attributing it to a casual hit of atoms; others make the world eternal, as Aristotle. Endless disputes there were about this, which made it useless in practical religion. By divine revelation we are led to the knowledge of it. He that made the world has told us how he made it, Gen. i., which one chapter doth more service to true religion than all the writings of the philosophers.

(3.) Of the corruption of the human nature. It is necessary to know this in order to that humiliation and mortification which is essential to religion. But with out revelation, we know little of our disease, its causes, or symp

toms; which are necessary to be inquired into in order to a cure. We know the streams, but could never have traced them to the corrupt fountain without the assistance of revelation. Who but God could give an account of mankind, as the Ps. xiv. 2. and Gen. vi. 5.? Who but he could lay open the deceitfulness of the heart? Jer. xvii. 9, 10.

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(4.) Of the way of reconciliation between God and men. knowledge of this is necessary to religion. We find ourselves obnoxious to divine wrath-natural conscience chargeth us with guilt -our own thoughts accuse us. Now, we could never find out how we might be reconciled, if it were not revealed to us. could ever have thought of the interposal of the Son of God; and yet, without some treaty of peace, there could be no amicable communion between God and man: and so no religion, 2 Cor. v. 19. Those that wanted revelation were here at a perfect loss. The original of sacrifices, I doubt not, lay in divine revelation, else there had never been any such thing; but, for want of revelation, how absurd and impious were they in their atonements and expiations. Witness their human, or, rather, inhuman sacrifices. Divine revelation shows us a broken Christ, the great sacrifice of atonement, and broken heart, the great sacrifice of acknowledgment - two paradoxes to them that had only natural light.

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(5.) Of the invisible world, and the state of separate souls. The knowledge of this is highly necessary to religion, since all religion is a preparation for this: but how did the heathen talk of this, as blind men do of colours. Plato and Socrates hesitated. When Paul, at Athens, spoke of