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Natures as to believe and love a Lye, or become Enemies to the Truth.

A known Falfhood can indeed be no more affented to by the Understanding, than a fenfible Evil can be embraced by the Will. The latter is not more naturally attach'd to what it efteems Happiness, than the former is to what appears to be Truth; to these they refpectively incline, like the Needle to the Pole, by a neceffary Inftinct and Direction. 'Tis inconfiftent with the Divine Nature to form any Being for Mifery, or to give it Appetites after Evil and Falfhood; but yet we can fo change our Natures, and mifguide our Faculties, as to put Darkness for Light and Evil for Good; infomuch, that what is the real Mifery of our upright Nature, may be the only Good it is capable of enjoying in its Depravity; a fatal Liberty this, but not peculiar to Man. The Devils are reprefented as fuch Beings; and those Men

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are not improperly ftyl'd their Children, who are Enemies to all Righteoufnefs, full of Subtilty and Mifchief, and Perverters of the Right Ways of the Lord. That Mankind fhould have a Power over their Faculties, of exerting and applying them variously, is neceffary to conftitute them Free Agents; that there fhould be some Difficulty, fome Industry and Application requir'd in the right Ufe of them is further neceffary to make them virtuous, and Creatures capable of Rewards. But that the Byafs should draw fo forcibly the wrong Way, that the Balance fhould be fo unequally pois'd, that many, very many, should almost totally abuse their Powers, destroy their Happiness, and defeat the End of their Creation, and but few (very few indeed of fo numerous and fruitful a Species) fhould feek the goodly Pearls, and fo trade with their Talents as to enter into the Joy of their Lord; this is a Cafe hard to refolve!

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The wifer Heathens imagin'd that Human Nature had undergone and fuffer'd fome great Change for the worse, and hoped for a Time when it should be reinftated in its original Power and Perfection. But the great Misfortune is, that we who have the History of this great Revolution, and the Means provided by Revelation to balance against it, feem only to have better Notions of Things, and the empty Privilege of boafting of a fuperior Knowledge and Information; but all this while our Virtue, our Manners and Behaviour, do not rise in a due Proportion; the Light which is in us is Darkness, and how great therefore is that Darkness! The Degeneracy of the Heathen World is furprifing enough, but how much more Jo muft that of the Chriftians be? 'Tis very certain, that either Revelation has not provided Means fufficient to enable Mankind to discover

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and discharge their Duty; or, if it has, that Men do generally either neglect or misunderstand those Means. Without any further Enlargement or Aggravations of this Matter, I fhall proceed to enquire

Secondly, Into the Reason of it, which our Lord here affigns.

This Behaviour of the Jews, this their Enmity to Truth, our Lord afcribes to their being Children of the Devil, to thofe Evil-habits they had contracted, and were govern'd by; for in this the Children of God are manifeft, and the Children of the Devil; whofoever doth not Righteouf nefs is not of God, neither he that loveth not his Brother, 1 Joh. iii. 10.--

'Tis evident and obvious enough, that Happiness is the fupreme View of Mankind; and further, that according to the Happiness we propose to ourselves, muft our Faculties be employ'd; every particular kind of Happines

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Happiness requiring particular Means; forming in us a particular Sett of Manners; drawing after them a fuitable Train of Actions. Now when Men seek their Happiness in the Indulgence of one or more particular Appetites, thofe Appetites must become the governing Powers, dictating to the reft, and forcing them all into their Service. Hence the Understanding is not suffer'd to contemplate or propose any thing, but in Subordination to the Will; or if it fhould at times fuggeft any thing difagreeable to our Inclinations and Paffions, they fupprefs and filence it as foon as poffible.

The Knowledge of Truth is the Discovery of the Natures of Things, and of their Relations to each other; Moral Truth is the Relation of Things to the Happiness of Mankind. As Men alter their Natures, fo all things around them muft ftand in different

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