Not only among the heathen, but even in the most enlightened parts of the christian world, there ever have been, and still are, in many, very gross misapprehensions concerning the divine character, as well as concerning the nature of true religion.—How grossly ignorant the most enlightened of the heathen were with regard to God, and how much they were plunged into strange and absurd idolatries and pollutions, we read, in the following passage of inspired truth. Professing themselves wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and birds, and four-footed beasts and creeping things. Not only the common people, the vulgar, but their wisest men—their orators, philosophers, and legislators did this.—They were even worse, than the vulgar. Does this look like reason’s being a sufficient guide in matters of religion, or man’s having any principle within him by whatever name it may be called, which is able to lead him to the saving knowledge of God? In order to know God, so as to be saved, we must know him as he is; the one only living and true God. None but he himself can tell us what he is. This he hath most plainly done in his holy word. The scriptures, which were spoken and penned by the special influence and inspiration of the holy Ghost, declare to us what and who God is. We only know him, in a saving manner, when we know him, as glorious in holiness, wonderful in works, and fearful in praises:—as the greatest, the wisest and best of all beings;—as a sin-hating, and, at the same time, sin-pardoning God;—as infinitely gracious and merciful. We must see him as infinitely excellent and transcendantly glorious, as infinitely amiable and worthy of all possible praise and adoration. He is goodness and benevolence itself. He is possessed of all natural and moral perfections.—And, Jesus said, why callest thou me good? there is none good, but one that is God. He is a being of impartial, universal and infinite benevolence. Reason cannot tell us what the true moral character of God is.—This revelation alone teaches us. And we cannot be happy with, unless we know the true God—and how he will be worshipped—how he can, and will accept of us—how we may live to his divine approbation. The light of reason cannot lead us into this true and saving knowledge of God. It is above all that reason ever did, or can do. Says Paul to the learned Athenian philosophers and judges—for as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an Altar with this inscription to the unknown God, him therefore whom ye ignorantly worship declare I unto you. Christ, as the great teacher come from God, alone gives us the saving knowledge of the supreme Jehovah. Whosoever denieth the son, the same hath not the father: All things, says he, are delivered unto me of my father; and no man knoweth the son but the father, neither knoweth any man the father, save the son, and he to whomsoever the son will reveal him. The gospel or christianity alone gives us a saving knowledge of the only one living and true God.—The divine character is to be known only from a divine revelation. If it could be discovered without a divine revelation, or by the highest efforts of reason—how could a divine revelation be absolutely necessary?—The essential glories therefore, and perfections of the Deity cannot be discovered by natural reason:—those glories and perfections which make him what he is, or constitute his infinite moral amiableness and transcendant excellence, and worthiness to receive from all intelligent creatures all the services, which they are capable of rendering unto him. He is light, all beauty and glory, and in him is no darkness at all. But the human mind is darkened by sin. The depravity of the heart brings on blindness of mind to the spiritual beauty and glory of the divine character.—Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their hearts. What absurd and essentially erroneous apprehensions of the nature and perfections of the God of Israel had the Syrians, in the following proposal of theirs! And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, their Gods, are the Gods of the hills; therefore were they stronger than we: but let us fight against them in the plain and surely we shall be stronger than they. These heathen knew as much about the true God, as heathen in general. They supposed the God of Israel was only a local and tutelary divinity, who had taken the people of Israel under his peculiar patronage. But the Jehovah of the Jews was altogether different from any of the Idol-gods of the Gentiles.—And he must, by his own revelation, inform us of his real character and essential moral glories.
2. Our rational powers and conscience, under the highest cultivation, unassisted by a divine revelation, cannot inform us what kind of worship and obedience is to be paid to the true God. One of the disciples of Socrates, that great light of the pagan world, desired information from his Master concerning some difficulties attending prayer; and above all, particular requests made to God, which have proved injurious to the petitioners when granted. The philosopher owned himself utterly unable to satisfy the disciple upon this head, and concludes with these remarkable words, “We must continue in our ignorance, till it shall please God to send a person into the world to give us full information concerning our duty.” The light of mere reason, as proved in another part of this discourse, teaches all men, over the whole face of the globe, provided they duly hearkened to it, and cultivated it, that they ought to honour and worship the divine Being. But it cannot tell what sort of homage he will accept, or how we are to worship him. He alone can satisfy us, on this most material point—a point of supreme importance. He must tell us, in what way, we are to pay divine honours to his glorious Majesty. He dwells not in temples made with hands, neither is worshipped by men’s hands as though he needed any thing from us. For he can neither be inriched by our services, nor impoverished by the want of them.—With regard to the worship of the heathen, St. Paul has these remarkable words; Because that when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. All their rites and forms of worship were absurd, unworthy of the divine nature, and disgraceful to ours. It may be proper here, to mention some striking instances of strange and cruel methods of worship, as a specimen of man’s natural ignorance of the right way of honouring and serving God. The Idol Baal, in scripture mentioned so often, was worshipped by acts of cruelty, which the sottish worshippers inflicted upon themselves. So desirous of ease are mankind, and so averse to pain that we should rationally conclude, that no methods of tormenting themselves could be introduced into their religious worship of their Idols. But the deluded Idolaters, in paying their homage to Baal, cut and wounded their own flesh—gashed and mangled themselves to please their Idol. And they cried aloud, and cut themselves, after their manner, with knives and lancets till the blood gushed out upon them.—The Idol Moloch was worshipped by acts of the strangest and most unnatural cruelty.—Parents sacrificed their children to this Idol; and, it has been very common for parents to appease the anger of their fancied Gods, by sacrificing their tender offspring.—How contrary to reason—to nature! The image of Moloch was made of brass, in a hideous shape, and het red hot; and the devoted victim—the innocent child was brought by its own parents, and thrown naked into this burning brass, and burnt to death,—and no regard paid to its piteous cries. The Carthaginians were wont, as we are told in history, to sacrifice their children, when public calamities visited their state, to placate the resentments of their gods. And, their custom was to select, out of all, the fairest and most promising—such as were best beloved, and to offer them up in sacrifice: to give up the fruit of the body for the sin of the soul. Many nations have, and do to this day, worship their Idols, by acts of extreme cruelty—by consuming themselves in the fire. Modes of worship have been adopted, which are contrary to all the tender affections of human nature. And, no nation, people, or tribe ever yet could be found, in all the world, by voyages or travels, that ever had any rational or decent rites of worship, where the gospel never shined, whether in Europe, Asia, Africa or America. The most civilized and learned heathen nations were as absurd—as extravagant—as ridiculous, in their idolatries, as the rude and savage. And it is confidently affirmed by some modern travellers, that many tribes of men, in the interior parts of extensive countries, have no word in their language, for either a God, or any worship. Whether this be so or not, we cannot absolutely determine:—it rests upon the credibility of the reporters. What can, therefore, be more contrary to fact, than to pretend that man has any principle in himself, which can be a safe guide in matters of Religion?
DISCOURSE II.
That man has no principle within himself, by whatever name it may be called, which is adequate to all the purposes of his salvation, or a sufficient guide in matters of faith and practice.
EPHESIANS ii. 12.
That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the Covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.
The true character and state of mankind before savingly interested in the gospel are not generally acknowledged, or believed, in the world, to this day. Many thousand years have they had, to find out their own state and Character in respect to their Maker and things of a moral and religious nature; and they are now, as much as ever, divided in opinion, and are as far from an union of sentiment, on so important, and one would imagine, plain a point. An impartial inspection into the human heart and extensive view of the history of the world and moral things, we should conceive, would bring them all to one and the same conclusion, and to an exact uniformity of opinion concerning the state and character of mankind.
Whether man be fallen or not, is now, in reality, the dispute. Such as reject with scorn, all idea of a revealed Religion as an impossibility in its own nature, (and some are absurd enough to reject it on this ground) affirm that the light of reason is entirely sufficient for all the purposes of discovering to us, the whole of our duty as rational creatures and to ensure infallibly our happiness here and hereafter; if there be an hereafter. These say that we are now just as we always were: that man never fell or apostatized from his Maker; of course, that he is under no worse circumstances, nor labours under any evils, under which he did not labour when he came forth from the hands of creative wisdom, goodness, and power. And, therefore, that he has an Inward light sufficient for all the purposes of his salvation—a sufficient guide in all things of a moral and religious nature. The consequence is, that a divine revelation is wholly unnecessary. If wholly unnecessary, we may be certain, that a wise and good Being, who perfectly knows all things, would not vouchsafe to give one.—For he does nothing in vain.—
Others, who admit a divine Revelation, believe that man is not so fallen from God, but that he has a degree, though small, of real moral goodness or holiness, which being duly nourished and attended to, will issue in life eternal. But the Apostle, in the words now read, says that all men are, before the Gospel be preached unto and embraced by them, without hope and without God in the world.—And, what was intended, in discoursing upon those words, was to prove that mankind, merely, by their own reason and wisdom, cannot attain to a saving knowledge of God, or, in themselves, are in a helpless and hopeless state—Two things were proposed to be largely considered,