waiting for more. And so also every man, in his social capacity, for the same reason, is under obligation to perform acts of public or social religion; viz. prayer for public mercies wanted, such as good governors, peace, plenty, civil and religious liberty, &c. praise for public mercies received, and a profession of his hope of public blessings, which he expects at the hands of God. If there were no other reasons for social religion to be found, yet I think the obligation of it would stand firm upon these two pillars. But I add,

3. It is a necessary and most effectual means of maintaining religion in this our world. Several persons, with united zeal, counsel, and strength, can do much toward the encouragement and assistance of each other: The elder, and more knowing, may instruct the ignorant; and all may strengthen each other's hands in the things of God and godliness. They may defend each other against injuries, reproaches, and the shame of singularity, and join in all proper practices to keep a sense of divine things lively and warm at their own hearts, and to excite others to the same practices of piety and goodness. Thus social religion appears with evidence to be the duty of mankind.

II. There are but two ways whereby God teaches us religion; that is, by the light of nature, which he has planted in men, and the light of revelation, which, in various ways, and in different ages of the world, he has communicated to men. And accordingly, religion is distinguished into natural and revealed. By each of these methods of teaching, men may be instructed in social as well as personal godliness, and learn to perform the several parts and duties of it, according to their different extent of instruction. As revealed religion in general, acknowledges natural religion for its foundation, so all the parts of social as well as personal religion, whether doctrine or duty, worship or order, so far as they are revealed and prescribed in the word of God, are still founded on principles of natural light and reason. Whatsoever therefore revelation has added, is but some positive or supernatural structure upon that foundation, without the opposition or contrariety to any parts thereof; for it is God himself that teaches us by the light of nature and reason; and we can never suppose that, by revelation, he will give us instructions which are contrary to the very principles of reason, and to those fundamental lessons of religion which he has written in our natures. Human reason is the first ground and spring of all human religion. Man is obliged to religion because he is a reasonable creature. Reason directs and obliges us not only to search out and practise the will of God, as far as natural conscience will lead us, but also to examine, receive, and obey, all the revelations which come from God, where we are placed

within the reach of their proper evidences. Whereinsoever revelation gives us plain and certain rules for our conduct, reason itself obliges us to submit and follow them. Where the rules of duty are more obscure, we are to use our reason to find them out, as far as we can, by comparing one part of revelation with another, and making just and reasonable inferences from the various circumstances and connections of things. In those parts or circumstances of religion where revelation is silent, there we are called to betake ourselves to reason again as our best guide and conductor. And let it be observed, that there are many instances also, wherein we are instructed to pay the same honours to God, and fulfil the same duties to men, in the practice of public as well as private religion, both by the light of reason and the light of revelation: For God, who knows the weakness of our intellectual powers, has been graciously pleased to give us a shorter, plainer, and easier discovery of many rational and moral truths and duties by revelation, which would have been very tedious and tiresome, as well as much more difficult, for the bulk of mankind, to have ever found out and ascertained by their own reasonings.

HI. When we have received upon just evidence the New Testament, as a revelation sent us from heaven, then our own reason and conscience oblige us to search in these writings, what new doctrines God has there proposed to our faith, and, what new duties to our practice. And here, in our search after the things that relate to our personal religion, we shall find several sublime and glorious truths to be believed concerning "the blessed trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit ;' and almost all the economy of our salvation revealed to us, above and beyond what the light of reason can ever discover, or so much as surmise. We shall here find also the duties of faith, in the name, and blood, and righteousness of the Son of God, for the pardon of our sins, and the justification of our persons; hope in his resurrection; subjection to his government; offering up our addresses of prayer and thanksgiving to God the Father, in his name; secking the influences of the blessed Spirit, to sanctify our souls; waiting for the return of Christ from heaven, and for our own resurrection to eternal life. All these, I say, we shall find revealed and prescribed, over and above the duties discovered by reason. And besides these, we have the institution of the two sacraments, to be ever celebrated by christians, as memorials and pledges of some of those duties and blessings.

And it is not at all to be wondered at, that the gospel should require of us the additional belief and practice of such doctrines and duties in our personal religion, as the light of nature knows nothing of; because the very design of the gospel was to restore

sinful man to the favour and likeness of God, which the light of nature, or the law of natural religion, could not do: The nations of the earth, and the men of the brightest reason among them, in long successions of ages, had made sufficient experi ments of the practical insufficiency of human reason for that divine purpose. But when we come to enquire what rules Christ has laid down for our conduct in social religion, distinct from these evangelical doctrines and personal duties, here we shall find far the greatest numbers of the same things which are prescribed to us by the holy scripture, or at least represented as the practices of the apostles and primitive christians, to be also prescribed by the light of nature; we shall find them to be such practices, or rules of conduct, as upon the supposed revelation of the christian doctrine and sacraments, human reason and' prudence would, for the most part, lead us to perform. And we may take notice by the way, that the chief peculiarities of the gospel in faith and practice, so far as relates to our personal religion, are much more plainly and expressly dictated to us in scripture, by way of direct and explicit revelation and command; whereas the affairs that relate only to social religion, excepting the sacraments are, for the most part, hinted to us in a way of narrative, and are to be drawn out by inferences; wherein much more is left to the exercises of our own reasoning powers, than in the matters of personal faith and practice.

IV. I would ask leave to observe here, that it is a fashionable and modish thing now-a-days, to represent the whole religion of Christ, whether personal or social, as little more than the mere religion of nature, revised and reformed from the corruptions of the sinful and degenerate nations, both Jewish and Gentile; which opinion I can never assent to, so far as it regards t the peculiar evangelical and glorious truths and duties, which relate more immediately to our personal religion, to our salva-"" tion and eternal life in the world to come: Yet, in matters that relate to the constitution and government of christian churches, whose chief design is to hold forth and maintain our religion publicly and visibly in this world, I am not afraid to say, there is a most happy correspondency and similarity between the dictates of the light of nature, and the prescriptions of the New Testament almost all the way. In this affair revelation does not add a great deal of new duty beyond what reason would' teach us, as very proper to maintain natural religion in the public profession of it. This will sufficiently appear in the following particulars.

SECT. II.-Instances of the Agreement of Reason and Revelation in Social Religion.

I. Wheresoever public and social religion is to be main

tained, the light of reason teaches us, that several persons, who profess the same religion, must sometimes meet together, to celebrate the solemnities, rites, and ordinances thereof, and to worship God according to the rules of it. When this religion is professed by great multitudes, or by whole nations, it is not possible they should all be convened together in one place, so as to join frequently in the same acts of worship, to offer their united prayers or praises to God, in a regular and rational manner, and with conveniency and edification to such a vast assembly. In such a case therefore, it is necessary, that they should be separated into distinct societies, for the same purpose. And does not the New Testament sufficiently indicate these things to us, as relating to the social religion of christians? Do we not find them frequently met together in the history of the Acts of the Apostles; "that with one mind and one mouth they may glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ;" as in Rom. xv. 6. Are not such assemblies continually mentioned and encouraged in the epistles? And are not christians exhorted to maintain this custom, and "not to forsake the assembling of themselves together?" Heb. x. 25. Do we not find the christian converts of the same country divided into particular congregations, which are called churches, who meet together for this purpose? "The church at Corinth; the church at Phillippi; the churches of Galatia;" 1 Cor. xvi. 1. "The seven churches of Asia ;" Rev. i. 11. "All the churches of the saints;" 1 Cor. xiv. 33.

II. The light of nature and reason teaches, that where persons join together for any religious service, they must be agreed in the main and most important points that relate to it. "How can two walk together except they be agreed!" Amos iii. 3. For otherwise perpetual jarring and confusion of opinions and practices would arise in the very worship itself, which would destroy all the delight, the harmony, and decency of it. A worshipper of the true God cannot join in natural religion with a worshipper of idols. And yet, it is not every little difference in sentiment and opinion about the true God, or his worship, that is sufficient to exclude persons from the same religious society, where their agreement is so great, as that the chief ends of public worship may be happily maintained. Therefore Abraham and Melchisedec might join in the same worship of the one true God, though Abraham was taken into a peculiar covenant with special promises, and Melchisedec practised religion upon the ancient principle and dispensation of his father Noah. Gen. xiv. 18, 19, 20, 22. So Abraham worshipped God with Abimelech, the king of the Philistines, upon the same general principle, "and they made a covenant, and sware together by the true God;" Gen. xxi. 22–31.

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And does not the New Testament teach us the same practice, viz. that where persons would be united in christian worship and religious society, they must agree in their religion so far at least, as to make a credible profession of their being the sincere disciples of Christ, and must make known their agreement in all the necessary principles of christianity*. They must profess not only the one true God, but faith in Jesus Christ, the Lord, in his most important characters and offices, together with such repentance of sin, and such a visible practice of holiness, as may give reason to hope their profession is sincere. In the primitive times they confessed their faith, and then shewed their works; Acts xix. 18. and thereby proved their profession to be sincere, and their faith to be a true or living faith; James ii, 17, 18. It was commanded that the Jews should bring forth fruits meet for repentance; in order to be admitted to St. John's baptism; Mat. iii. 8. And surely then it must be required to the baptism of christianity, or an union with the disciples of Christt. They are generally described to be such as worship God, through Jesus Christ our Lord; and profess that faith which worketh by love; which is the substance of christianity in a very few words. And though there are, and will be, some lesser differences in sentiment among christians in all ages, and though they are as great as were between the Jewish and the Gentile converts in primitive times; yet the New Testament teaches, that they may all unite in the same christian society, and receive one another in the Lord; that is, to all the privileges of fellow-christians, and the fellowship of gospel-ordinauces, even upon as large a foot as Christ has received them; Rom. xiv. 3. and xv. 7. Whether they are strong or weak in the faith, they are to be thus received, without entangling their minds with more doubtful and disputable things; Rom. xiv. 1. that is, whether they eat herbs or flesh, or believe some days were holy, or every day alike; verses 3-5.

III. Again, The light of reason teacheth, that there must be a mutual consent, compact, or agreement, amongst such persons as profess the same religion, to walk according to the directions and dictates of it, and to assist and encourage, to join and support one another, in the profession and practice of it, as well as to meet and worship together at a certain season, and a certain place. This engagement for mutual assistance is very

* Here it is not proper to divert so far from my subject, as to enter into a debate how many of the christian doctrines are of absolute necessity to make a disciple of Christ, or a true christian: This is an endless controversy, according to the different opinions of men.

Let it be observed, that in this, and other parts of my discourse, I speak only of adult persons, who are capable of professing their faith; being not willing to embarrass this discourse with the controversy relating to infants, their discipleship, or their baptism.