Religion & morality > Human nature in its four-fold state ... in several practical discourses

Head I. the Underflanding. 71
But do natural Men believe it indeed ? No, they
do not; for be that behevetb not on the Son of God,
lelieveth not God, as is plain from, i John v. 10.
They believe not the Promifes of the Word : They
look on them, in Efted, only as fair Words ; for
thefe that receive them, are thereby made Partakers
of the Divine Nature, 2 Pet. i. 4. The Promifes are
as (liver Cords let down from Heaven, to draw Sin¬
ners unto God, and to waft them over into the
promifed Land ; but they call them from them.
They believe not the tthreatnings of the Word. As
Men travelling in Defarts carry Fire about with
them, to fright away wild Beads; fo God has made
his Law a fiery Law, Deut. xxxiii. 2. hedging it
about with Threats of Wrath: But Men naturally
are more brutifh than Beads themfelves ; and will
needs touch the fiery fmoaking Mountain, tho* they
Ihould be tbrufi through with a Dart. I doubt not
but mod, if not all of you, who are yet in the
black State of Nature, will here plead, Not guilty :
But remember the carnal Jews in Chrid’s Time,
were as confident, as you are, that they believed
Mofes, John ix. 28, 29. But he confutes their Con¬
fidence, roundly telling them, John v. 46. Had ye
believed Mofes, ye would have believed me. Did
ye believe the Truths of God, ye durd not reje&, as
ye do, him who is Truth itfelf. The very Difficulty
you find in aflenting to this Truth, bewrays that
Unbelief I am charging you with. Has it not pro¬
ceeded fo far with fome at this Day, that it has
deel’d their Fore-heads with the Impudence and
Impiety,^ openly to rejeft all reveal’d Religion?
Surely ’tis out of the Abundance of the Heart their
Mouth fpeaketh. But, tho’ ye fet not your Mouths
againd the Heavens, as they do; the fame bitter
E 4 Root