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are no better than the World, and the Ungodly and Reprobates, who tho they may have more Moral Virtues than fome others, yet have no Grace.

And the mischief of this increases, when men are fainted after death: Had it not been for this Trick, the Church of Rome had had very few Saints to worship, none but the Virgin Mary and the Apoftles, whom they might certainly conclude to be in Heaven; but as for their other Saints, who were the great Founders and Examples of their Superftition, they are Saints of their own making, juft as the Heathens made their Gods; and it is the Stories and Legends of these Saints, which fupport the Superftition of the Church of Rome; for who dares question the Examples of those who are canonized Saints in Heaven? Hac arte Pollux, & vagus Hercules innixus, arces attigit igneas.

And there are another fort of men, who are not behind-hand with them in this, who have a great many more Saints than the Church of Rome, though they don't pray to them; who fend great fhoals to Heaven, especially if they have been zealous for promoting a Party, which hides all other Faults, and fanctifies very doubtful Actions; and how powerful muft the Example of fuch Saints be to excite others to an imitation of their Virtues ?

In a word, when we pretend to fend men to Heaven, we make them our Rules and Examples; we hope to go to Heaven with all the Faults they had; and those who knew them, poffibly knew a great many; and what they were eminent for, we conclude were great Virtues, and fit for our imi

tation, tho otherwise of a doubtful and suspici

ous nature.

There is not a more dangerous thing than to make any man our Rule and Example, and yet that we neceffarily do,when we fend him to Heaven? for who would not think himself fafe in imitating those whom he believes to be in Heaven? and if we consider, at what rate both the Church of Rome, and others make Saints, we muft needs be fenfible how infinitely dangerous this is to mens Souls.

To conclude this Head: Let us judge charitábly of all men, and hope well according to the different reafons we have to hope; but let us, leave their final State to God, neither peremptorily damn or fave them. It is to be feared, that Human Judgment has fent many men to Heaven, who will never get thither; and to be hoped, that many men fhail meet with a more favourable Sentence in the next World, than they do in this. God is the Judge of the Worid, and he will certainly judge us, and there is no inconvenience in staying till the Day of Judgment, to see what mens final Sentence fhall be, but very great Mifchief in pronouncing a rafh and hafty Judgment our felves.

SECT.

SECT. VIII.

Fourth Inference: To refer all Difficulties to the Day of Judgment.

IV. F God will Judge the World, let us refer all Difficulties to the Day of Judgment. It must be confeffed, that there are very great Difficulties in Providence, fuch as the Wifeft Men cannot understand; and I can by no means fay it is a Fault for Men to fearch into Providence, and to be very inquifitive into the Reasons of it; for what can more become a reasonable Creature, than to ftudy the Works of God?. And what Works more worth our Study than the Divine Providence, and the wonderful Mysteries of God's governing the World?

But the Difficulty is to fet Bounds to the Curiofity of Mankind, to teach them to ftudy Providence with the Modefty of Creatures, and with the juft Reverence which we owe to God,whofe Wifdom is infinite and unfearchable; to be contented to discover what we can, to admire and adore the Wisdom, and Goodness, and Justice of Providence in what is plain; and there is enough plain to exercise our devout Meditations, to be matter of our Praise and Thanksgivings, and a fure Foundation of our Truft in God.

And this wife and good Menare contented with; but most Men take leaft notice of what is plain, as if that were of no use, and not worth notice, but puzzle their Thoughts, and lose themselves in thofe vaft Depths and Abyffes which no Human Understanding can fathom: To correct this Mif

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carriage would do great Service to Religion, would give great Peace and Satisfaction to Mens Minds, and prevent a great many fcandalous Difputes about the Divine Providence; and therefore if I discourse this a little more at large than my present Argument requires, I hope it will be no great Fault. Now to fet bounds to our Curiofity, and to make us modeft in our Enquiries into Providence, I fhall fhew you,

I. How dangerous it is to fearch too narrowly into the Secrets of Providence.

II. How unreasonable it is to difturb our Minds with fuch Difficulties as we cannot anfwer.

III. That what cannot be known in this World, it is time enough for us to know in the World to come.

IV. That we have all the reason in the World to believe, that what we cannot know in this World, will be made very plain and easie at the Day of Judgment.

I. As for the firft, How dangerous fuch curious Enquiries into Providence are, this is plain in the evil Effects of it.

1. For first, this either makes Men Atheists, or at leaft is made a Pretence to juftifie Atheism. The Natural Notion all Men have of God is, That he is an infinitely Wife, and Good, and Just, and Powerful Being: Now when Men obferve fuch things, either in the Make or Frame of the World, or in the Conduct and Government of it, as they

cannot

cannot reconcile with the Notions they have of Wifdom,and Juftice,and Goodness,they presently conclude, that there is no God, or that he is nothing to them, that he neither made nor governs the World.

This indeed is a very rafh and hafty Conclufion,to deny the Being of God, because we cannot find out God to Perfection; when we must confefs, that it is impoffible for a finite Underftanding to comprehend all the Reasons of an Infinite Mind: but thus it must be, when Men won't be contented to be ignorant of any thing, nor permit God to do what they can't understand, but will have a Reafon ofevery thing God does, or will not allow him to be God: A modeft Enquirer fees enough in the Works of Creation and Providence to fatisfy him that the World was made, and is governed by a wife Being; but those who think themselves wife enough to make and govern a World a great deal better than this World is made and governed, or are upon other Accounts averfe to the Belief of a God,and have a mind to quarrel with him, take no notice of what is wife and good, and proves God to be infinitely Wife and infinitely Good, tho' they cannot open their Eyes without seeing a thousand fuch Inftances of Wisdom and Goodnefs; but imploy the little Wit they have to find Faults, and account every thing they can't understand a Fault. This is fuch Irreverence to God, fuch Prefumption and Arrogance, and fuch Impiety, that they feem to be Atheists firft, and then to quarrel with God's Works to find out fcme Pretence to deny his Being: it is certain, whoever indulges himself in this, has in a great measure loft his Reverence for God, and Atheism is a na

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