as call in question all their lives after; so also in our religious concernments every wise and good Christian will fix upon some plain and fundumental articles of faith, which he will never after recede from, nor so much as think himself obliged to hear debated and canvassed a second time. There are some things so clear and evident upon the first examining, that it will not be necessary to give them a new hearing: all pretended objections against them may be reasonably rejected in the lump, as not worth the notice, nor deserving a wise man's care, after he is once fully enlightened with a clear perception of the contrary truth. For example: after a man has been but tolerably instructed in the grounds of the Christian religion, which carries so much force and evidence in it, it will not be necessary to allow Paganism, Judaism, or Mahometanism so much as a hearing, except it be for the sake of others only, who may want to have those pretences exposed or confuted. The like may be said of Atheists or Deists: the proofs of a God, and of the Christian revelation, are so full, clear, and strong, that after a man has once seen into them, he need not stay to deliberate, or wait till he has examined the contrary pretences; well knowing beforehand, that they can have no real weight or solidity in them. As to other cases, this procedure is justifiable more or less, in proportion to the greater or smaller evi

dence upon which any doctrine is founded. And some

allowance must be made for such doctrines as have been often and fully debated by wise, great, and good men, and constantly determined the same way. There is a strong presumption in their favour, that they are most certainly true, or at least that there neither is nor can be any sufficient reason for rejecting them as false; and that therefore they may very safely and justly be received as true, without more particular examination; unless there should. be some appearance of new light and additional evidence, such as our predecessors had been strangers to. In a word then, there may be cases so plain and clear, either in faith or morality, that it may be sufficient to examine

the proofs upon which they stand, without attending to the objections on the other side, which may be known beforehand to be nothing else but cavil and trifling. And in these cases it may be our duty to "hold fast that "which is good," without so much as giving the least ear to any contrary pretences. But then, as there are many other cases of a more doubtful nature, our obligations to hold fast what we have once received must admit of this restriction or limitation, that we be nevertheless ready and willing to submit the cause to debate, and to give it a new hearing. In such a case our ears must be always open to reason, when offered in due manner and form, with sobriety, and in the fear of God: and there we are to take care to suffer ourselves to be influenced by reasons, and reasons only: not by humour or caprice, or fickleness of temper; like some who, for the sake of one pressing difficulty, will give up what was founded on many plain and convincing reasons: not by vanity or self-conceit; like some who are desirous of giving up old truths, only because they have prevailed, to become the leaders of a sect and the heads of a party: not by ambition, avarice, or vile affections; like many who make shipwreck of their faith, to serve a present turn, or to gratify their lusts and passions: not by fear or by complaisance; like those who have no principles of their own, but are blindly led or overawed by others; who can flit from church to church, from party to party, as they are directed; prepared to be of this or that, or of all religions; and to be sincere and constant in none. In a word, nothing but reasons, and good reasons, will ever move an honest and a wise man to change his belief or persuasion. And then indeed to change is the truest constancy; as the parting with an error is in reality the "holding fast that which is good." Only this we may say, that after a man has once deliberately made his choice, and formed his persuasion, he ought then to lean to that side with some degree of assurance and confidence, and not to be apt to take up scruples, or to entertain suspicions of it. Perfect indif

ference may be the proper temper of mind to begin with, and to continue in, during the time of the examination; but no longer afterwards, it will be no fault, but a commendation rather, to lean to one side more than to another; and to expect very clear and strong reasons, before we are prevailed with to recede from it. As I before instanced in the choice of friends; great caution, diffidence, suspicion, and distrust, are very proper and necessary in the choice: but when the choice has been made, it would be very unreasonable to be still full of scruple and doubt, or not to confide with great assurance in those whom we had so cautiously and deliberately chosen. It would be great injustice towards them to be still prone to suspect them, or not to be partial in some measure in their favour, requiring very full and clear reasons against them before we entertain any doubts of them.

Such is the case also in relation to matters of faith, or principles of religion once deliberately received. They ought, from that time forwards, to be allowed all favourable presumption and equity of construction: and now all the jealousy, diffidence, and distrust is to be thrown upon the other side, till very plain and cogent reasons can be brought to overturn or overrule that which we have espoused.

This appears to be the true and right method of avoiding both the extremes; that of implicit and uncautious credulity on one hand, or of fickleness and desultorious levity on the other.

Now to apply very briefly what hath been here said to our own particular case and circumstances. As many of us as are here present may be presumed to have fixed our choice, first, of the Christian religion, in opposition to Pagan, Jewish, or Mahometan: and, secondly, of a reformed religion, in opposition to Popish novelty and superstition and, thirdly, of the religion of the Church of England, in opposition to all other sects, parties, or denominations of reformed Christians. They who have examined into these three things know them to be good:

:

and they who have not, ought to examine so far as they are able, that they also may know: and then nothing remains but to hold them fast, and to make suitable improvements of them in our lives and conversations. "Let "us," then, "hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) and let us "consider one another to provoke unto love and to good "works a."

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Heb. x. 23, 24.

SERMON XXIV.

The precise Nature and Force of Christ's Argument, founded on Exod. iii. 6. against the Sadducees.

LUKE XX. 37, 38.

Now that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him3.

THESE words are the concluding part of our Lord's reply to the Sadducees, a libertine sect of the Jews, who, (like the Epicureans before, and other infidels since,) for the sake only of indulging their lusts, and to remove the dread of an after-reckoning, thought proper to reject the belief of a resurrection and a life to come. But yet, to save appearances, and to keep up an outward show of religion among their countrymen, they professed a great regard to the same common Scriptures, as the oracles of God, and sought out colours from those very Scriptures, whereby to countenance, or seemingly to authorize, their wanton and wicked opinions. They came to our blessed Lord, and propounded a captious question to him, grounded upon Moses's Law, artfully insinuating, as if Moses himself must have been in their sentiments; for he had ordered that several brothers in succession should take the same surviving wife: a law which seemed to preclude any future resurrection; since, upon that supposition,

a Conf. Matt. xxii. 31. Mark xii. 26.