not proceed from any Decree of God concerning them, but purely from their own voluntary Management of themselves. Those that are here pronounced unworthy of eternal Life, it is not faid of them, that God had made them fo, or that he had decreed them to be fo, but that they made themselves unworthy; and by Parity of Reason, we may fay the fame Thing of those that were prepared for eternal Life: They, by well improving that Grace which God had already given them, had made themselves fit and qualified for the receiving any further Discoveries of God to them, that should direct them to eternal Life. All our Fitness or Unfitnefs for the Kingdom of Heaven, as far as we can learn from the Scriptures, depends wholly upon this fingle Point, of our ufing, or not ufing, our natural Powers, and that further Grace and Opportunities he beftows upon us, to the right Purposes, that we are in our own Confciences convinced we ought to use them to. Whofoever doth heartily endeavour with an honest Mind to approve himself to God, by obferving all thofe Things which, by the prefent Light he hath, he judges to be his Duty, every fuch Man is fitted and prepared for the Kingdom of God. But whofoever efpoufeth any Interest contrary to his Confcience, or ingages himself in any Course of Vice or

Wicked

Wickedness contrary to his known Duty, every fuch Man doth put away the Grace of God from him, and renders himself unworthy of the Kingdom of God.

In the fecond Place, another Thing I obferve from thefe Words, is this; That all those that are fitted and prepared for eternal Life, will certainly embrace the Gospel and become Chriftians, whenever that Gofpel is fairly propofed to them; As many, faith the Text, as were fet in order for eternal Life, believed. God Almighty never meant to deliver fuch a Gopel to Mankind, as that all indifcriminately, both good and bad, fhould be equally capable of perceiving the Evidence of it, and being perfuaded by the Motives that it offered. This would have been to over-rule Mens Wills, and to have made Faith not to be a Virtue, but a Mathematical Science. But God fo ordered Things, that there should be fufficient Evidence for the Truth of his Gofpel to all good Men: But yet, not fuch Evidence as would convince those that were obftinately bad. And this is that which our Saviour hath often Occafion to mention in his Difcourfes. He tells us of fome that could not believe; and he gives us the Reason why they could not, because they were Slaves to Luft, and Paffion, and Intereft. But he delivers it as a general Propofition (Joba

vii. 17.) that whofoever will fincerely apply himself to do God's Will as far as he knows it, every fuch Man fhall certainly be convinced of the Truth of his Doctrine, that it is from God. And to this Purpose is that famous Parable of his, which is recorded by no lefs than three of the Evangelifts, concerning the Sower that went out to fow good Seed in his Ground. The Sum of that Parable is this, That tho' the good Seed of the Gofpel was fown upon all forts of Ground, yet it took Root in none but in the good Ground ; that That was prepared before-hand for the receiving of it: But where-ever the Seed was fown in that fort of Ground, there it brought forth in fome Twenty, in fome Thirty, in others an Hundred-fold.

And therefore, in the third Place, to obferve this further, we may be fairly enabled from hence to give a Reason, why there are fo many Unbelievers and Infidels among us at this Day. If we find feveral among us that make light of the Christian Religion, and talk contemptibly of our Saviour and his Doctrines, as, God knows, there are fuch as thefe to be met with, What are you to conclude from hence? that there is no Reafon, no Argument, no Evidence to be offered for Chriftianity, because these Men, who are acknowledged to be Men of Wit and Parts,

make

make it their Bufinefs to run it down? This is that indeed they bear you in hand with: But it is the falfeft Conclufion in the World. Alas! you are much mistaken in your Men; they never much applied their Heads to examine thefe Things. They have, perhaps, got out of fome lewd Books, and from their lewder Company, fome Common-place Heads, with which they think they can difparage Chriftianity; and it is likely they have Wit enough to fet off thofe Things to Advantage: But as for ferious Thinking and putting Things together, and making a folemn Judgment of what is true or falfe in thofe Matters, as in the Prefence of God, and as in a Business wherein their everlafting Salvation or Damnation doth depend; I fay, as for this, you may affure yourfelves, thefe Men never did it, nor are capable of doing it: It is not in their Natures to give themselves fo much Trouble (fuch a Fatigue, as they will call it) as fuch a Work will require; and therefore you may be fure that their Infidelity doth not proceed from any real Want of Evidence, or Arguments, for the Truth of the Chriftian Religion, but from this, that thefe Men have fo wretchedly abused their Faculties, by Debauchery and ill Practices, that they have made themfelves unworthy of eternal Life, as St. Luke here expreffeth it.

And

And the Truth of this I am so confident of, that I dare appeal to you all about it. Did any of you ever in your Lives know a Man amongft us that had the Confidence to affert, that he believed nothing of Christ's Religion, that you did in your Confciences

believe to be a ferious and virtuous Man? Have you ever known any Man that made it his Business to live virtuously, and foberly, and godly in all his Conversation, according to the Methods that the Light of Nature would teach him? I fay, Can you name that Man in all this Nation, that thus feared God, and made a Confcience of all his Actions, that was not a fincere Believer in Jefus Chrift? I dare fay such a Man is not within the Compafs of your Knowledge. And if it be fo (as I am confident it is) that Unbelief that is found among us, is not to be imputed either to the want of Proof of the Chriftian Religion among us, or to any Decree of God that hath paffed upon thofe Unbelievers, but merely to their ill-managing themfelves, and their being pre-ingaged in obftinate Habits of Vice and Wickedness.

In the fourth Place, from what I have delivered about this Text, we may be able to give a fair and rational Account of the quick spreading of the Gospel thro'out the World upon the Apoftles preaching of it. It may appear a Wonder, that the

Pagan