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in a Power of doing Right, and in a Re- SERM. moval of every thing, that ftands in the VIII. n way of it, either in thinking, believing, acting, or exerting any Faculty within us. Perfect Liberty is the Property of God only: But as we are his Image in this, as well as other respects, we have a Ray of it likewise in ourselves; only, as we are imperfect Creatures, and a want of Perfection being a proportionable Want of Liberty, we have it but in an imperfect Degree; fuch a Degree, as Human Nature will admit of. Having thus fhewn what Liberty is, I come now to fhew,

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Secondly, That Christianity has the only Claim to it. Liberty thus understood is to be met with only in the Christian Scheme, because there only, (fuppofing Christianity to be a true Religion; and whether it is or not must be determin'd by other Arguments: However this is no unreasonable Suppofition, if we will but allow, that People had the fame Use of their Reafon and their Senses at the first Propagation of it, as they have now, and that Tradition has at least the fame Weight with

X

ever

SERM. with refpect to the facred Writings, as it VIII. has with refpect to profane;) I fay, be

cause there only is a Provifion made for the Imperfections of Human Nature; which, by the way, is a corroborating Argument of the Truth of it, no other Scheme of Religion in the World befides having ever propos'd fuch advantages to Humankind.

If we fuppofe Defects and Imperfections in Man, we muft fuppofe, at the fame time, a Want of fo much Liberty; and fo if we fuppofe a Remedy for these Defects, we of course fuppofe a proportionable Ad. dition of Liberty. Now, I believe, it will be readily enough agreed on all Hands, that there are fome defects in HumanNature. They who carry Human-Reafon ever fo high will, I fuppofe, acknowledge there are fome Bounds to it; that it is defective in some things: But how shall thefe Defects be remedied? Let us turn over the various Systems of Man's Wifdom, and fee whether any Affistance may be fetch'd from thence. Will any of the Gods of Human Imagination afford us any

Help?

Help? Will the Idols we fet up in our SERM.

own Hearts relieve us? No. Could we indeed fuppofe the Reafon of Man lengthen'd out to Infinity, we must then fuppose him perfect, and confequently free: But the Poffibility of this is not to be fuppofed of any Creature whatsoever; much less that it actually is the Cafe of Man, who we find is compafs'd about with Infirmities of every kind.

But now the Christian Religion supplies the Want of this; not, as fome think, by setting afide Reason, but, leaving to Reafon all its Advantages, by affifting it with the Reason of God. For if we believe Christianity to be a true Religion, we have by virtue of that Faith, befides the Advantage of our own Reason, the Benefit alfo of the Reafon of God. Thus a Christian, tho' of himself in no refpect. more excellent than another Man, yet by means of the Divine Reason, which is now by Faith become his own, is exalted to a fuperior Class of Beings, and fhines with the Divine Splendor of this Heavenly Light, while the rest of Mankind are funk

down

VIII.

SERM. down an amazing Depth below, groping VIII. in the thick Darkness and Obscurity of

their own Inventions. This Faith then is not any thing befides, or oppofite to Reafon, but is itself a Principle, that procures us the Benefit of the higheft, and moft perfect Reason.

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Italfo' improves every Spring and Move- . ment of Action within us to its utmost Perfection. The two great Springs of all Human Actions are generally thought to be Hopes and Fears. Now let us confider Christianity with respect to both these, as directing them to their proper Objects, to which they muft operate in exact Proportion. Now as every thing in this Life is cafual and uncertain, and confequently Good and Evil, Happiness and Mifery are fo too, the Hopes and Fears that belong to thefe muft and ought to be proportio nably fmall, languid, and feeble: For if they rife to any great Height, we lay out more upon these things than they deferve; but if we suppose Good and Evil, Happirefs and Mifery to be no longer cafual but certain, which we must fuppofe in the Chriftian

Christian Scheme; if we fuppofe them to SERM. be no longer temporal things, but car- VIII. ried out into all Futurity, our Hopes and Fears must and ought then to rise in Proportion, to receive new Life and Vigour, and be ftrong enough to influence a Set of good and virtuous Actions; and in a mind rightly difpos'd by Religion they will do fo.

In short, as eternal Happiness and Mifery is the Sum of all Happiness and Mifery, fo the Hope of the one, and Fear of the other is, or ought to be, the Sum of all Hopes and Fears. So that these Hopes and Fears, thus regulated by Religion, tho' they will still be employ'd about things in this Life, because Religion no way interferes in this matter, being not defigned to destroy and root them out, but to direct and perfect them; yet still, if a Man acts right, they will be in exact Proportion, as the Good and Evil, Happiness and Mifery, of this Life ftands to the Good and Evil, Happiness and Mifery of the next. We may indeed lay them out too much upon temporal things, but

then

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