that God governs the World, and takes care of all the Creatures that are in it, because he made it; For in him we live, move, and have our being, as certain of your own Poets have faid; for we are alfo his off fpring Which is very improperly alledged by St. Paul, if we may be the Off-fpring of God, and yet not live, and move, and have our Being in him; that is, if God's making the World does not neceffarily prove his conftant Care and Government of it. But the Apostle knew in thofe days, that no Man, who confef fed that God made the World, qucftioned his Providence, and therefore makes no fcruple to prove, that we live and fubfift in God, because he made us

This is a noble Argument, to prove both the Being and Providence of God (which cannot be feparated) from the Works of Nature, and the Wife Government of the World: It would give us a very delightful Entertainment, to view all the Curiofities and furprizing Wonders of Nature; with what beauty, art and contrivance, particular Creatures are made, and how the feveral Parts of this great Machine are fitted to each other, and make a regular and uniform World: How all particular Creatures are fitted to the use and purposes of their feveral Natures, and yet are made ferviceable to one another, and have as mutual a Connection and Dependance, as the Wheels of a Clock. What an equal and fteady Hand governs the World, when its Motions feem moft excentrick and exorbitant, and brings Good out of Evil, and Order out of Confufion, when things are fo. perplex'd, that it is impoffible for any one, but a God, to disentangle them.

There

There is no need of the fubtilty of Reason and Argument in this Caufe, would but Meri attentively ftudy the Works of God, and dwell in the Contemplation of Nature and Providence; for God is as.vifible in his Works, as the Sun is by its Light; when all the Wonders of Nature are unfolded, and expofed particularly to our view, it fo overpowers the Mind with fuch infinite varieties of that most Divine Art and Wisdom, that modeft Men are afhamed to afcribe fuch things to a blind Chance, which has no Defign or Counsel.

Indeed to say that a World full of infinite Marks and Characters of the most admirable Art, a World fo made, that no Art could make it better, was not made by a wife Mind, but by Chance, by a fortuitous Concourfe of Atoms, which without any Design, after infinite fruitless Trials, happened into this exact, useful, beautiful Order, that now they are in, know when they are well, and in defpite of Chance, move as conftantly, regularly, artificially, in all new Productions, as the divineft and most uniform Wifdom could direct: I fay, to affirm this, is to put an end to all Difputes, by leaving no Principles of Reason and Argumentation to dif pute with.

An Atheist is the moft vain Pretender to Reason in the World: The whole ftrength of Atheism confifts in contradicting the univerfal Reason of Mankind. They have no Principles, nor can have any, and therefore they can never reason, but only confidently deny or affirm. They can affign no Principles of Reason, which the reft of Mankind allow to be Principles, from whence they can prove that there is no God, and no Providence; but they only reject those

Principles which all other Men agree in, and from whence it muft neceffarily follow, that there is a God and a Providence.

It will be of great ufe briefly to explain this, which will teach you to reject Atheism and Atheists, without troubling your felves to dispute with them; for they have no common Principles with the reft of Mankind to reafon upon, nor indeed any Principles of Reafon at all.

A few Words will fuffice for this Purpose. Mankind, who have been used to thinking and reasoning, have univerfally agreed, That there muft be fomething that had no Beginning, and no Caufe; for nothing can produce nothing: That had there ever been a time when there was nothing, there never could have been any thing, unless there can be an effect without a caufe, which is too abfurd for Atheists themfelves to fay in exprefs words, who do not boggle much at Abfurdities; and therefore they make their Atoms, and their Vacuum, to be Eternal. It is agreed alfo, That whatever had a beginning, had a caufe; and the most easy and natural Progrefs of Human Understandings, is to reafon from one Cause to another, till we afcend to, and center in a firft Caufe. For it is as easy and natural to believe one firft Eternal Cause, as to believe an Eternal Being; but tho' it is natural to believe fomething Eternal, it is as unnatural to believe all things to be fo; we have no notion of all things being Eternal, tho' we have of an Eternal Caufe; for the very Reason why we are forced to confefs fomething Eternal,is, because there must be an Eternal Caufe of all other things; that is, becaufe all things are not Eternal: But if any thing, which has not an Eternal and unchangeable Nature, but

is

is capable of being made and unmade, changed and altered, as all the things of this World are, might be without a Caufe, then every thing may be without a Caufe; and if the Eternity of all Things be a natural Notion, it cannot be a natural Notion that there is a firft Caufe. For that very Notion fuppofes, that fomething had a Beginning, and was originally made, when it was not before, and therefore, that all Things are not Eternal. For to be made in this Axiom, primarily relates to the Being of Things, and is fo understood by all Men: And how can fuch a Notion of the making and giving Being to any Thing, be natural, if it be a natural Notion, that all Things are Eternal, and that nothing was made?

Hence it is, that Seen and Visible Effects, which have no Vifible Caufe adequate to the producing fuch Effects, are allowed by all Mankind to be a fufficient Proof of fome Invisible Caufe, as St. Paul tells us: And he spoke the Language of Human Nature in it; That the invifible things of God from the Creation of the world, are clearly feen, being understood by the things that are made, 1. Rom. 20. For if that which is made, muft have a Caufe; if there be no visible Cause, there must be an invisible Maker: And therefore this World, which has no visible, muft have an invifible Cause.

And as it is natural to the Reafon of Mankind to conclude the Cause from the Effect, fo is it to learn the Nature of the Caufe from the Nature of the Effect: For whatever is in the Effect, must be either fpecifically or virtually in the Cause; for whatever is in the Effect, which is not in the Caufe, that has no Caufe: For nothing can be a Caufe of that, which it is not it

Telf. And therefore whatever has Life and Understanding, must be made by a living and understanding Caufe; whatever has Art and Skill, and wife Contrivance in its Frame, (as every Worm and Fly has) must have a wife designing Caufe for its Maker: And then it is certain, that this whole World was not made by Chance, or the fortuitous Concourfe of Atoms, but by an infinitely wife Mind. This way of Reasoning is easy and natural to our Minds: All Men understand it; all Men feel it. Atheists themfelves allow of this Kind of Proof in all other Cafes, excepting the Proof of a God, or a Providence: And therefore it is no abfurd, foolish way of Reasoning, for then it must not be allowed of in any Cafe; and they have no Reason to reject it in this Cafe, but that they are refolved not to believe a God and a Providence. And yet this way of Reasoning from Effects to Causes, muft be good in all Cafes, or in none: For the Principle is univerfal, That nothing can be made without a Caufe: And if any Thing can be made without a Caufe, this Principle is false, and can prove nothing. And I challenge the wifeft and fubtileft Atheist of them all, to prove, from any Principle of Reafon, that the most beautiful and regular House that ever he faw, which he did not fee built, (for that is a Proof from Senfe, not from Reafon,) was built by Men, and is a Work of Art; and that it did not either grow out of the Earth, nor was made by the accidental Meeting of the feveral Materials, which, without Knowledge, Art, or Design, fell into a regular and uniform Building. Had thefe Men never seen a House built, I would defire to know how they would prove, That it is a Work of Art, built by a