Gen. ii. 7.

ly a Confutation. But this is too like a Digreffi, on to be farther infifted on in this Place. However, we may obferve here, how agreeable this Immateriality of Human Souls is to the Sacred History of their first Original; where after the Lord God had formed Man out of the duft of the Ground, the material Body, perhaps with its fenfitive Soul alfo ; He diftinctly, from above, infus'd the Rational: He breathed into his Noftrils the Breath of Life, and Man became a living Soul.

(3.) We hence learn not only the Immateriality, but the Immortality alfo of Human Souls; or that the Destruction and Diffolution of the Body, with its Senfations, will not destroy or diffolve the Rational Soul united thereto; but will leave it ftill capable, not only of exifting, but of acting in another State; if it please God fo to difpofe of it, that it may have proper Opportunities for doing fo. So far, as I take it, true Philofophy carries us here; I mean, it obliges us to put fuch a difference between the rational Soul, and the brute Body, that the Ruin of the one will no way infer the Ruin of the other; and that therefore, fince Divine Revelation affures us of the living and acting of the Soul in the intermediate State,and alfo ofits Return to the Body, and acting therein again after the Refurrection, this is all agreeable to found Reason and Philofophy, to good Senfe and the Laws of Nature: Tho' ftill all this, without afferting fuch a neceffary Immortality, or Eternal Duration in Happiness or Mifery, as is independent on the Power, and Will, and Laws of the Author of Nature; to which all the Enjoyments, and Faculties, and Perceptions of a Human Soul

may

may still be owing hereafter, altho' the Subftance it felf of that Soul fhould, of it felf, when once created, continue to exift, as all real Beings feem to do, without any particular Interpofition of Providence for fuch their Continuance. Philofophy, Mathematical and Experimental Philofophy, obliges us to fuppofe, that the Soul will continue to exift after Death, and will therefore be still capable of Action and Enjoyment, of Happiness and Mifery. Divine Revelation affures us this feparate Soul Shall Act and Enjoy, fhall partake of Happiness and Mifery in a lower State and inferior Degree before, and in an higher State and fuperior Degree after the Refurrection: So that Reafon and Religion fupply, and fupport, and confirm each other, and, upon the whole, affure us of the Truth of this grand Principle of all Religion, efpecially of the Chriftian, That this Life is not the only, or the principal Stage on which we are to Act; that this World is not the only or the principal Time for our Happiness, or Mifery; but that, after this frail and mortal Life is ended, which is only a fhort State of Tryal and Probation, we must live a longer one of Enjoyment hereafter. Which Truth is of that Importance for us to be fatisfy'd in, that nothing of either Natural or Supernatural Knowledge, which tends thereto, ought to be neglected by us. Nor may we here omit the exact Agreement of this Natural Truth of the Immortality of Human Souls with Divine Revelation, particularly with our Saviour's own important Words upon this Head: Fear not them which kill the Body, but are not Mat.x.28. able to kill the Soul: but rather fear him, who is able to destroy both Scul and Body in Hell. (4.) We

(4.) We hence learn the Being of God, the firft Intelligent Caufe and Author, the juft Owner and Poffeffor, the Supreme Lord and Governor, the constant Preferver and Difpofer of all Things. This Foundation of all Religion, the Belief of a Supreme Deity, is the first, the most natural and obvious Deduction of Human Reason, even from the Contemplation of the most common and ordinary Appearances of Nature; from the Growth of every Plant, and the Succeffion of every Seafon, and the general View of every Heavenly Body, and every Creature about us. And there have certainly been no Nations or People, of the ufual Capacities of Mankind, but have ever drawn this Confequence in all Ages of the World. So that if this Inference be not the Voice of Nature it felf, we shall be at a great lofs to find other Truths, requiring any Reafoning at all that can deferve to be fo ftiled. And no wonder, fince the Argument is the very fame by which, from the Contemplation of a Building, we infer a Builder; and from the Elegancy and Ufefulness of each Part, we gather he was a skilful. Architect; or by which from the View of a Piece of Clockwork, we conclude the Being of the Clockmaker; and from the many regular Motions therein, we believe that he was a curious Artificer. Which Deductions he who is not Able to make, has not the Reason; and he that will not allow them to be fuft, has not the Honesty of the meaneft Countryman. "Tis true, that if this fort of arguing were confin'd to Childhood or Folly; to the Age of Ignorance, or the Temper of Ideots; if the more nicely we viewed the World, the lefs Reafon we

found

found to admire its Contrivance; and when we were come to the top of Enquiry and Examination, we loft all the Occafions of our Wonder and Adoration: If, I fay, this were the Cafe, a fober Perfon might think fit to fufpend his Affent, and to cast about for some other Solution of the Phænomena of Nature. But in case the wife and examining Man ftill finds vaftly ftronger and more numerous Reafons for the Acknowledgment of the Divine Existence, than the Fool, or the careless Enquirer does; so that if he spends his whole Life in the pursuit of this fort of Knowledge, he perceives new Arguments every where crowd upon him to the fame purpofe; which is the known Cafe, as to Experimental Philofophy, at this Day; He who is ftill refolv'd to fufpend his Affent, and either to wrap himfelf up in wilful Scepticism, as if he knew nothing; or to try how far he can be abfurd enough to believe, that the World is it felf the only God, the only Eternal, Omnipotent,Allwife Being; or, which is yet more abfurd, that all the Wonders in its Contrivance came meerly by Chance and Accident; and will continue by Chance and Accident, till by the like Chance and Accident they all come to nothing again: He, I fay, who acts thus, does certainly, if ever Man did, dare operam ut cum ratione infaniat; takes great pains to skew himself, with great Learning, the most egregious Fool in the World. While true Wisdom or Philofophy would teach him to affent to the Apostle Paul, when he juftly affirms, That the Invisible Things of God Rom. i. are clearly feen from the Creation of the World; 29. being understood by the things that are made; even bis Eternal Power and Godhead. So that

Men

Pag. 88,

89, 90, prius.

Men are without Excufe for Atheism. But this general Reasoning is fo obvious, and fo common, that I shall not here enlarge upon it; but rather apply my felf to demonftrate the particular Attributes and Operations of God from the particular Phænomena of the World already fet down; as being a thing lefs common, and of greater Advantage. Accordingly from what has been before advanc'd, we learn,

(5.) That the World has not been from all Eternity, but that God was the Creator of it, and that He, and He alone, at first Disposed and Ordered the feveral Parts of the Univerfe, into that wife and wonderful Structure in which we now fee them. I do not here mean to intermeddle with that more intricate Problem of the proper Creation of the Matter of the Univerfe out of Nothing; because the Phænomena of Nature give us no Indications either way: nor, as I understand it, does Divine Revelation ever directly concern it felf with it. Only, that I may not be mistaken, I declare my own Opinion to be ftill, as it has ever been, against the Eternity of Matter, and for its Original Creation out of nothing by the Almighty Power of God. But then, I am not only of Opinion, but am fully Satisfy'd from the plain Phænomena of Nature, that the World was, in the more ordinary Senfe, originally Created, and at first put into that State in which, for the main, we still find it, by the Divine Power, Wifdom and Goodnefs. I have already fhewed, that the prefent System of things, acting according to those Laws of Motion and Nature which are now fixed in the World, cannot poffibly have been a parte ante, and cannot poffibly be a parte poft Eternal; Much less is it poffible, that

one