Wisedom himself has pronounced them to be so: men, upon thod we have evinced the fufficient Authority of Holy Scripture. But however there are other Books extant, which they muft needs allow of as proper Evidence; even the mighty Volumes of vifible Nature, and the everlasting Tables of Right Reason; wherein, if they do not wilfully fhut their eyes, they may read their own Folly written by the Finger of God in a much plainer and more terrible Sentence, Dan. 5. 5. than Belfhazzar's was by the Hand upon the Wall. And as the impious Principles of thefe perfons do preclude any argumentation from the revealed Word of God: fo they prevent us alfo from speaking at present to the second part of the Text. The whole verse hath apparently two propofitions; the one denoting the Folly of Atheism, The Fool hath faid in his Heart, There is no God: the second declaring the Corruption and Flagitiousness of Life that natu rally attend it, They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doth good. Now this latter part to a genuine Atheist is mere fargon, as they love to call \it; an empty found of words without any fignification. He allows no Natural Morality, nor any other diftinction of Good and Evil, Juft and Unjuft; than as Human Institution and and the modes and fafhions of various Countries do denominate them. The moft Heroical Actions or deteftable Villanies are in the nature of the things indifferent to his approbation; if by fecrecy they are alike conceal'd from Rewards or Punishments, from Ignominy or Applaufe. So that till we have proved in its proper place the eternal and effential Difference between Vertue and Vice, we must forbear to urge Atheifts with the Corruption and Abominableneß of their Principles. But I prefume, the first part of the Text, the Folly and fottishness of Atheism (which fhall be the fubject of this Difcourfe) will be allowed to come home to their cafe; fince they make fuch a noifie pretence to Wit and Sagacity: and I believe feveral of them firft engage in that Labyrinth of Nonsence and Folly out of an abfurd and preposterous affectation of seeming Wiser than their Neighbours. But before I proceed any farther, it will be neceffary to clear and vindicate this expreffion of the Pfalmift, The Fool bath faid in his Heart, There is no God. For I know not any Interpreters, that will allow it to be fpoken of fuch, as flatly deny the Being of God; but of them that believing his Existence, do yet feclude him from directing the Affairs of the World, from obferving and judging the Actions of Men. I fuppofe they might be induced to this, from from the commonly received notion of an Innate Idea of God, imprinted upon every Soul of Man at their Creation, in Characters that can never be de faced. Whence it will follow, that Speculative Atheifm doth fubfift only in our Speculation; whereas really Human Nature cannot be guilty of the crime: that indeed a few fenfual and voluptuous Perfons may for a season eclipfe this native Light of the Soul; but can never fo wholly fmother and extinguish it, but that at fome lucid intervals it will recover it felf again, and shine forth to the conviction of their Confcience. And therefore they believed, that the words would not admit of a ftrict and rigorous interpretation; but ought to be fo temper'd and accommodated to the nature of things, as that they may describe those profane perfons; who though they do not, nor cannot really doubt in their hearts of the Being of God, yet do openly deny his Providence in the course of their Lives. Now if this be all that is meant by the Text, I do not fee how we can defend not only the fitness and propriety, but the very truth of the expreffion. As to that natural and indelible fignature of God, which Human Souls in their firft Origin are supposed to be ftamp'd with, I fhall fhew at a fitter opportunity, that it is a mistake, and that we have no need of it in our Difputes against Atheifm. So that being free from that prejudice, I ins terpret terpret the words of the Text in the literal acceptation, which will likewife take in the Expofitions of others. For I believe that the Royal Pfalmist in this comprehenfive brevity of speech, There is no God, hath concluded all the various Forms of Impiety; whether of fuch as excludes the Deity from governing the World by his Providence, or judging it by his Righteousness, or creating it by his Wisdom and Power. Because the confequence and result of all these Opinions is terminated in down-right Atheifm. For the Divine inspection into the affairs of the World doth neceffarily follow from the Nature and Being of God. And he that denies this, doth implicitly deny his Existence: he may acknowledge what he will with his mouth, but in his heart he hath faid, There is no God. A God, therefore a Providence ; was a general argument of vertuous men, and not peculiar to the Stoicks alone. And again, No Providence, therefore no God; was the moft plausible reafon, and the most frequent in the mouths of Atheiftical men. So that it seems to be agreed on all hands, that the Exiftence of God and his Government of the World do mutually suppose and imply one another.or There are fome Infidels among us, that not only disbelieve the Chriftian Religion, but impugn the affertion of a Providence, of the Immortality of the : apud Cice ron. Plutarch. &c. e Soul, of an Universal Judgment to come, and of ainy Incorporeal Effence: and yet to avoid the odious name of Atheists, would fhelter and skreen themfelves under a new one of Deifts, which is not quite fo obnoxious. But I think the Text hath cut them fhort, and precluded this fubterfuge; in as much as vid hath declared, that all fuch wicked Principles are Ecoincident and all one in the iffue with the rankest Atheism: The Fool, that doth exempt the affairs of the World from the ordination and difpofal of God, hath faid in his heart, There is no God at all. It was Pofidon. the opinion of many of the Ancients, that Epicurus introduced a Deity into his Philofophy, not because he was perfuaded of his Existence, (for when he had brought him upon the Stage of Nature, he made him only Muta perfona, and interdicted him from bearing any Part in it,) but purely that he might not incurr the offence of the Government. Wherefore he was generally suspected Verbis reliquiffe Deum, re fuftuliffe; to have framed on purpose such a contemptible paultry Hypothefis about him, as indeed left the Name and Title of God in the World; but nothing of his Nature and Power. Juft as a Philofopher of our own age gave a ludicrous and fictitious notion about the Rest of the Earth, to evade the hard cenfure and usage, which Galileo had lately met with. For my own part, as I do not Mr. Des Cartes. ex |