VII. External Worship of God.
The External Worship of God is chiefly shewn in these Instances:
1. WE must render Thanks to God for all those manifold Blessings he has so bountifully bestow’d upon us.
2. WE must conform, as far as we possibly can, all our Actions to his Will; that is, we must obey all his Commands.
3. WE must Admire and Adore his infinite Greatness.
4. WE must Offer up to him our Prayers and Supplications, to obtain from him those Benefits we stand in need of, and to be delivered from those Evils we are in fear of. Indeed our Prayers are Proofs of our Trust and Hope in Him, and our Hope is a plain Acknowledgment of the Power and Goodness of him in whom it is placed.
5. WHEN we find it necessary to take an Oath, we must swear by no other Name than the Name of God; and then we must most religiously observe what we have engaged our selves to in calling GOD to witness; and this we are indispensably obliged to, from the Consideration of God’s infinite Knowledge and his Almighty Power.
6. WE must never speak of GOD but with the highest Respect and utmost Reverence. Such a Behaviour is a Proof of our Fear of GOD; and Fear is an Acknowledgment of his Power over us, whom we dread. Hence then it follows, that the Holy Name of GOD is not to be mention’d in our Discourse upon unnecessary and trifling Occasions, since this would be great Disrespect; That we ought not to swear at all but upon great and solemn Occasions; for calling GOD to witness upon Matters of small Weight and Moment, is a great Abuse of his Holy Name. That we engage not our selves in overnice and curious Enquiries and Disputes about the Nature of GOD, and the Methods of his Providence: This would be to magnify and exalt our own Capacities, and vainly to imagine, that the unsearchable Nature and Providence of GOD could be comprehended within the narrow Limits of our shallow Reason.
7. Whatsoever is done for the Sake of GOD, or in Obedience to his Will, ought to be the most excellent in its Kind, and done after such a Manner, and with such Circumstances, as are most proper to express the profound Honour and Veneration we have for Him.
8. WE must serve and worship him, not only in private, but also in publick, in the sight of Men; for to do any thing in secret only, seems to hint as if we were ashamed to act it openly; but Worship publickly paid, not only gives Testimony of our own Devotion, but excites others by our Example to do the like.
9. AND Lastly, We are to use our utmost Endeavour to observe the Laws of Nature; for as it is the greatest Affront to slight the Commands of God, so, on the contrary, Obedience to his Laws is more acceptable than any Sacrifice; and we have proved, that the Law of Nature is the Law of God.
VIII. Eternal Salvation not acquired by Natural Religion alone.16
And yet, after all, it must be confest, that the Effects of this Natural Religion, nicely consider’d, and with regard to the present State of Mankind, are concluded within the Prospect of this Life; but that it is of no Avail towards procuring eternal Salvation.17 For Human Reason, left alone to it self, knows not that the Pravity, which is so discernable in our Faculties and Inclinations, proceeded from Man’s own Fault, and that, hereby he becomes obnoxious to the Wrath of God, and to eternal Damnation: So that with the Guidance of this only, we are altogether ignorant of the Necessity of a Saviour, and of his Office and Merit; as well as of the Promises made by God to Mankind, and of the several other Matters thereupon depending, by which alone, it is plain from the holy Scriptures, that everlasting Salvation is procured to mortal Men.
IX. Religion the firmest Bond of Society.
It may be worth the while, yet a little more distinctly to consider the Benefits which through Religion accrue to Mankind; from whence it may appear, that *It is in truth the utmost and firmest Bond of Human Society.18 For in the Natural Liberty, if you take away the Fear of a Divine Power, any Man who shall have confidence in his own Strength, may do what Violences he pleases to others who are weaker than himself, and will account Honesty, Modesty, and Truth but as empty Words; nor will he be persuaded to do that which is right by any Arguments, but from a Sense of his own Inability to act the contrary. Moreover, lay aside Religion, and the Internal Bonds of Communities will be always slack and feeble; the Fear of a temporal Punishment, the Allegiance sworn to Superiours, and the Honour of observing the same, together with a grateful Consideration that by the Favour of the supreme Government they are defended from the Miseries attending a State of Nature; all these, I say, will be utterly insufficient to contain unruly Men within the Bounds of their Duty. For in this case that Saying would indeed have place, †He that values not Death, can never be compell’d; because to those who fear not God nothing can be more formidable than Death. He that can once bring himself to despise this, may attempt what he pleases upon those that are set over him; and to tempt him so to do, he can hardly want some Cause or Pretence; as, either to free himself of the Uneasiness he seems to lie under by being subject to another’s Command, or that himself may enjoy those Advantages which belong to him that possesses the Government; especially when he may easily persuade himself, that his Enterprise is just, either because He that at present sits at the Helm of Government is guilty of Mal-Administration, or that himself thinks he could manage it by many degrees to better purpose. An Occasion too cannot long be wanting for such Attempts, either from the Prince’s Want of Circumspection in the care of his Person, (and indeed in such a State of Things *who shall guard even the Guards themselves?) or from a powerful Conspiracy, or, in time of foreign War, from a Defection to the Enemy. Beside private Men would be very prone to wrong one another; for the Proceedings in human Courts of Judicature being govern’d by Proofs of Matter of Fact, all those Wickednesses and Villanies which could be secretly acted and without Witnesses, if any thing were to be gain’d by them, would be accounted Dexterities of Wit, in the practice of which a Man might enjoy some Self-satisfaction. Again, no Man would be found that would do Works of Charity or of Friendship, except with probable Expectation of Glory or Profit. From whence it would follow, that, supposing no Punishment from above, one Man not being able to place any solid Confidence in the Troth of another, they must every one always live anxiously in a mutual Fear and Jealousy, lest they be cheated or harm’d each by his Neighbour. The Governours also would have as little Inclination, as the Governed, to Actions that are brave and honourable; for those that govern not being obliged by any Tie of Conscience, would put all Offices, and even Justice itself to sale; and in every thing seek their own private Profit by the Oppression of their Subjects; from whom they being always fearful of a Rebellion, they must needs know, there can be no surer Means to preserve themselves, than by rendring them as heartless and as weak as possible. The Subjects also, on the other side, standing in fear of the Violences of their Rulers, would always be seeking Opportunities to rebel, tho’ at the same time they must be mutually distrustful and fearful of each other. The same would be the Case of married Persons; upon any slight Quarrel, they would be suspicious lest one should make away the other by Poison or some such clandestine Way; and the whole Family would be liable to the like Danger. For it being plain, that without Religion there could be no Conscience; it would not be easy to discover such secret Villanies; they being such as mostly are brought to light by the incessant pricking of the Conscience, and internal Horrors breaking forth into outward Indications. From all which it appears, how much it is the Interest of Mankind, that all Means be used to check the spreading of Atheism in the World; and with what vain Folly those Men are possess’d, who think to get the Reputation of being notable Politicians, by being seemingly inclin’d to Looseness and Irreligion.