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and the like. For how the bodily part of our Saviour was generated in the womb of the Virgin, by the power of the Holy Ghoft, without the concurrence of a man, and how our fcattered duft fhall be gather'd and united to compose the same body, are mysteries which we are not able to fee thorough; and yet the conception of our Saviour, and the resurrection of the body, are articles of our common creed, and fuch as we all profefs to give our affent to; and confequently a myftery, properly fo called, is the object of faith, I anfwer, that there are many things related, which contain in them what is above the reach of human understanding, and which we do not actually apprehend, and fo are mysteries in a proper fenfe, I readily grant; but that the mysterious parts of thofe truths are the object of faith, to this I deny. Faith, as I faid before, is the affenting to any thing as truth, barely upon the credit of the revealer. Now we can never be faid to affent to that which we have no idea of. To affent to we understand not what is abfurd. Therefore when any thing is declar'd to us which hath a mystery contain'd in it, or that which is not, or cannot be apprehended by us; it is not the mysterious part, but the reveal'd part which we are required to give our affent to. Thus, that the bodily part of our Saviour was conceived in the womb of the Virgin, by the power of the holy Ghoft; this is what is reveal'd, and what we apprehend, and fo is not a mystery, properly fo call'd, and this is what we are requir'd to give our affent to. But the myfterious part, viz. how, or in what manner the Holy Ghoft did perform this operation, this is not reveal'd, and this we cannot conceive or apprehend, and this we are required to give our affent to. So again, that there will be a refurrection of the dead, this is reveal'd, and this we apprehend

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or have an idea of, and this we are requir'd, and can give our affent to; but the mysterious part, viz. how God, by his almighty power, will gather our scatter'd, duft, and unite it in the fame body, this is not reveal'd, and this we cannot conceive or apprehend, and this we are not requir'd, nor can we give our affent to it. Befides, knowledge and faith ftands upon the fame foot in this matter, fo that we may, as properly, be faid to know mysteries as to beleive them. Thus, that one grain of feed is encreas'd into many, this is what we know, that is, we know that the feed is caft into the earth, and that takes root downward, and bears fruit upward, first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear; this we know, that is, our understandings by obfervati on are inform'd of this truth, by the external fenfe of seeing; and yet how nature, does perform its. office; in this matter, is a mystery, at least it is fo to the greatest part of mankind. For as it is not visible to their fight, and as it is not reported unto them, so also they do not difcover it by reflection, and confequently cannot properly be faid to know it; and yet they do as truly, and as properly, know this mystery, as they do beleive the mysterious part of the refurrection. From all which it appears, that myfteries, properly fo call'd, are not the object of faith; and that 'tis a moft unjuft mifreprefentation, when men, who cannot perceive that fuch or fuch a particular doctrine is at all revealed in holy fcripture, are charged with denying their affent to fuch a doctrine, merely because they cannot, by their reason, comprehend how it can be.

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Concerning the Ufe of Reafon in Matters of Revelation.

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Y reafon, or the reafoning faculty, I understand that reflecting power of the mind, by which we are enabled to difcern and judge of the fitness or unfitness, of the agreement or difagreement, of the good or evil, and of the truth or falfhood of things. This being premifed, I fay, that reafon and faith are always to be exercifed in their proper places, and never to interfere one with another, or to be fet up one above, or one against the other; fo that we are always to render to reason the things that are reafon's, and unto faith the things that are faith's. There are fome truths which are in reafons province, and faith has nothing to do with them; fuch as the first propofition in religion, viz. that there is a God. When we would fatisfy our minds of the truth of this propofition, we confult our reflecting reafoning faculty, as the only means to obtain that fatisfaction by; because to pretend to feek fatisfaction, from the written word of God, is to take the thing for granted which we feek for, viz. that there is a God. We muft first be perfwaded that God is, before we can be perfwaded that he has any revelation for us to feek fatisfaction from, in any cafe whatever. Now this is not a fetting up reafon above, or in oppofition to faith, but only an exercifing of reason in

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its proper place: and it appears, from what as been already obferved, that faith hath nothing to do in this matter. Again, there are fome truths which are in faith's province, and reafon have nothing to do with them, that is, reafon is not emyloy'd in fatisfying our understandings of the truth of them fuch as that the bodily part of our Saviour was not produced into being by the agency of a man, in the ordinary courfe of generation; but by the power of the Holy Ghoft, in an extraordinary way. Now if we would fatisfy our minds of this truth, we must have recourfe to revelation, as the only means to obtain fatisfaction; it being utterly impoffible for our reflecting powers to fatisfy our minds of the truth of fuch matters of fact as this is. And this is not fetting up faith above, or in oppofition to reafon; but the only an exercifing of faith in its own province. And it is plain, that reafon is unconcern'd in this matter.

But tho there are fome truths, the certainty of which depends wholly upon revelation, and reafon is unconcern'd in perfwading our minds of the truth of them, yet ftill reafon is of a two-fold ufe in all matters of revelation. First, To difcern and judge of the Evidence that is given to prove any revelation to be from God; for if our reafon is not to be exercifed in this cafe, then we are laid open to every impofer; and it would be our dyty to receive every thing for divine truth, that the reporter has the impudence to affirm is the word of God. Secondly, Our reafoning powers are to be exercis'd in difcerning and judging what is the mind of God, contained in that revelation which we own to be his word; for otherways we hall be obliged to contrary practices, and to beleive contradictions, and the like. Thus, Proverbs xxvi. 4. Solomon forbids, saying, Answer not a fool according to his folly, left thou be like unto

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kim; and then in the next verse he commands faying, Anfwer a fool according to bis folly, left be be wife in his own conceit. Here we fee, according to the ftrict letter of the text, we are forbidden and commanded the fame practice; and if we may not exercife our reafon, to difcern and judge of Solomon's meaning in this place, we are a neceffity of trangreffing. Thus again, in Mark xiv. 22. it is written. Jefus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to them (the disciples) Saying, take, eat; this is my body which is given for you, when at the fame time his body was actually vifibly prefent with them in the performance of this very action. Here we fee, if our Lord's Difciples were not to exercise their feafon in difcerning and judging what our Lord meant by thefe words, but where to beleive them in the literal fenfe; then they were obliged to beleive that it was his body, when at the fame time they faw it was not, which would have been a contradiction. From which it appears, that is a neceffity for us to make ufe of our reason, in order to know the mind of God contain’d in his revelation.

Farther, That we ought to exercise our reason in difcerning and judging what is the mind of God contain'd in his revelation, appears from this, viz becaufe reafon is planted in us for this end, and because we have no other means to difcern the mind of God by; fo that, without this, the written word of God is but as of fo many words or empty founds which to us are of no fignification, And if we fhould admit the Pope, or any other man, or body of men, to be the infalliable interpreters of fcripture, which we deny, yet still the cafe is the fame; because we must exercife our reafon to discern and judge what is the fenfe and meaning of their interpretation. Or, if we should

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