ledge of God, and of Chrift, and of our duty, is of the greateft usefulness and neceffity to us in order to our happiness. It is of abfolute neceffity that we fhould. know God and Chrift, in order to our being happy : This is life eternal, (that is, the only way to it), to know thee, the only true God, and him whom thou haft fent, Jefus Chrift, John xvii. 3. It is neceffary also, in order to our happiness, to know our duty; because it is neceffary for us to do it, and it is impoffible to do it except we know it.

So that whatsoever other knowledge a man may be endued withal, he is but an ignorant perfon who doth not know God, the author of his being, the preferver and protector of his life, his fovereign and his judge, the giver of every good and perfect gift, his fureft refuge in trouble, his best friend or worst enemy, the prefent fupport of his life, his hopes in death, his future happinefs, and his portion for ever; who does not know his relation to God, the duty that he owes him, and the way to please him who can make him happy or miserable for ever; who doth not know the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life.

If a man, by a vast and imperious mind, and a heart large as the fand upon the fea-fhore, (as it is faid of Solomon), could command all the knowledge of nature and art, of words and things; could attain to a myftery in all languages, and found the depths of all arts and fciences; measure the earth and the heavens, and tell the stars, and declare their order and motions; could difcourfe of the interefts of all ftates, the intrigues of all courts, the reafon of all civil laws and conftitutions, and give an account of the hiftory of all ages; could fpeak of trees, from the cedar-tree that is in Lebanon, even unto the hyffop that springs out of the wall; and of beafts alfo, and of fowls, and of creeping things, and of fhes; and yet fhould, in the mean time, be destitute of the knowledge of God and Christ, and his duty; all this would be but an impertinent vanity, and a more glittering kind of ignorance; and fuch a man (like the philofopher, who, whilft he was gazing upon the stars, fell into the ditch) would but fapienter defcendere in infernum, be undone with all this knowledge, and with a great deal of wisdom go down to hell.

II. That

II. That to be religious is the truft wifdom; and that likewise upon two accounts,

1. Because it is to be wife for ourselves.

2. It is to be wife as to our main interest and concern

ment.

ift, It is to be wife for ourfelves. There is an expreffion, Job xxii. 2. He that is wife, is profitable to himfelf; and, Prov. ix. 12. If thou be wife, thou shalt be wife for thyself: intimating, that wildom regards a man's own intereft and advantage; and that he is not a wife man that doth not take care of himself and his own concernments; according to that of old Ennius, Nequicquam fapere fapientem, qui fibi ipfi prodeffe non quiret. "That man hath but an empty title of wif

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dom, and is not really wife, who is not wife for him"felf." As felf-prefervation is the first principle of nature, fo care of ourselves and our own interest is the first part of wisdom. He that is wife in the affairs and con cernments of other men, but careless and negligent of his own, that man may be faid to be bufy, but he is not wife he is employed indeed, but not fo as a wife man fhould be. Now, this is the wisdom of religion, that it directs a man to a care of his own proper inte reft and concernment.

Our

2dly, It is to be wife as to our main interest. chief end and highest interest is happiness and this is happiness, to be freed from all, if it may be, however from the greateft, evils, and to enjoy, if it may be, all good, however the chiefeft, To be happy, is not only to be freed from the pains and difeafes of the body, but from anxiety and vexation of fpirit; not only to enjoy the pleasures of fenfe, but peace of confcience, and tranquillity of mind. To be happy, is not only to be fo for a little while, but as long as may be, and, if it be poffible, for ever. Now, religion defigns our great. eft and longest happiness; it aims at a freedom from the greatest evils, and to bring us to the poffeffion and enjoyment of the greatest good: for religion wifely confi ders, that men have immortal fpirits; which, as they are fpirits, are capable of a pleasure and happiness diftinct from that of our bodies and our fenfes; and, be cause they are immortal, are capable of an everlasting happiness. Now, our fouls being the best part of our felves,

felves, and eternity being infinitely the moft confider. able duration, the greatest wisdom is, to secure the in tereft of our fouls and of eternity, though it be with lofs, and to the prejudice of our temporal and inferior interests. Therefore religion directs us rather to secure inward peace than outward ease; to be more careful to avoid everlasting and intolerable torment, than short and light afflictions which are but for a moment; to court the favour of God more than the friendship of the world; and not fo much to fear them that can kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do, as him who, after he hath killed, can deftroy both body and_foul in hell. In a word, our main intereft is, to be as happy as we can, and as long as is poffible; and if we be caft into fuch circumstances, that we must be either in part, and for a time, or else wholly and always miferable, the best wisdom is, to chufe the greatest and most lafting happiness, but the leaft and fhorteft misery. Upon this account religion prefers thofe pleasures which flow from the prefence of God for evermore, infinitely before the tranfitory pleasures of this world; and is much more careful to avoid eternal mifery than present fufferings. This is the wisdom of religion, that, upon confideration of the whole, and cafting up all things together, it does advise and lead us to our beft intereft.

Secondly, The fecond way of confirmation fhall be by endeavouring to fhew the ignorance and folly of irreli gion. Now, all that are irreligious are fo upon one of thefe two accounts: either, first, Because they do not believe the foundations and principles of religion, as the existence of God, the immortality of the foul, and future rewards: or elfe, fecondly, Because, though they do in fome fort believe these things, yet they live contrary to this their belief; and of this kind are the far greatest part of wicked men. The first fort are guilty of that which we call fpeculative; the other, of practical Atheism. I fhall endeavour to fhew the ignorance and folly of both these.

First, Speculative Atheism is unreasonable; and that upon these five accounts. 1. Because it gives no tolerable account of the exiftence of the world. 2. Nor does it give any reasonable account of the univerfal consent of mankind in this apprehenfion, that there is a

God.

God. 3. It requires more evidence for things than they are capable of. 4. The Atheist pretends to know that which no man can know. 5. Atheism contradicts itself.

I. Because it gives no tolerable account of the exiftence of the world. One of the greatest difficulties that lies in the Atheift's way is, upon his own fuppofition, that there is no God, to give a likely account of the existence of the world. We fee this vaft frame of the world, and an innumerable multitude of creatures in it; all which we who believe a God, attribute to him as the author of them. For a being fuppofed of infinite goodness, and wisdom, and power, is a very likely cause of these things. What more likely to make this vaft world, to stretch forth the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and to form these, and all things in them, of nothing, than infinite power? what more likely to communicate being, and fo many degrees of happiness, to so many several forts of creatures, than infinite goodness? what more likely to contrive this admirable frame of the universe, and all the creatures in it, each of them so perfect in their kind, and all of them fo fitted to each other, and to the whole, than infinite counsel and wisdom? This feems to be no un. reasonable account.

But let us fee now what account the Atheist gives of these things. If there be no God, there are but these two ways imaginable for the world to be. Either it must be faid, that not only the matter, but also the frame, of this world, is eternal; and that, as to the main, things always were as they are, without any first caufe of their being; which is the way of the Aristotelian Atheist, (those I mean who proceed upon Ariftotle's fuppofition of the eternity of the world, but yet deny it to be from God, which he exprefsly afferts): or else, the matter of the world being fuppofed to be eternal, and of itself, the original of this vaft and beautiful frame must be afcribed merely to chance, and the casual-concourfe of the parts of matter; which is the way of the Epicurean Atheist. But neither of thefe ways gives a tolerable account of the existence of the world.

I fhall firft confider the hypothefis of thofe whom, for distinction's fake, I call the Ariftotelian Atheists; which

felves, and eternity being infinitely the moft confiderable duration, the greatest wisdom is, to secure the intereft of our fouls and of eternity, though it be with lofs, and to the prejudice of our temporal and inferior interefts. Therefore religion directs us rather to fecure inward peace than outward eafe; to be more careful to avoid everlasting and intolerable torment, than short and light afflictions which are but for a moment; to court the favour of God more than the friendship of the world; and not fo much to fear them that can kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do, as him who, after he hath killed, can deftroy both body and foul in hell. In a word, our main intereft is, to be as happy as we can, and as long as is poffible; and if we be caft into fuch circumstances, that we must be either in part, and for a time, or elfe wholly and always miferable, the best wisdom is, to chufe the greatest and most lafting happiness, but the leaft and fhorteft misery. Upon this account religion prefers those pleasures which flow from the prefence of God for evermore, infinitely before the tranfitory pleasures of this world; and is much more careful to avoid eternal misery than present fufferings. This is the wisdom of religion, that, upon confideration of the whole, and cafting up all things together, it does advise and lead us to our beft intereft.

Secondly, The fecond way of confirmation fhall be by endeavouring to fhew the ignorance and folly of irreligion. Now, all that are irreligious are fo upon one of thefe two accounts: either, firft, Because they do not believe the foundations and principles of religion, as the existence of God, the immortality of the foul, and future rewards: or elfe, fecondly, Becaufe, though they do in fome fort believe these things, yet they live contrary to this their belief; and of this kind are the far greatest part of wicked men. The first fort are guilty of that which we call speculative; the other, of practical Atheifm. I fhall endeavour to fhew the ignorance and folly of both these.

First, Speculative Atheism is unreasonable; and that upon these five accounts. 1. Because it gives no tolerable account of the exiftence of the world. 2. Nor does it give any reasonable account of the univerfal confent of mankind in this apprehenfion, that there is a

God.