To make way for directions how to exercise our thoughts on God himself, some thing must be premised concerning a sinful defect herein, with the causes of it.
First, It is the great character of a man presumptuously
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and flagitiously wicked, ' that God is not in all his thoughts ;' Psal. X. 4. That is, he is in none of them. And of this want of thoughts of God there are many degrees; for all wicked men are not equally so forgetful of him.
1. Some are under the power of atheistical thoughts: they deny, or question, or do not avowedly acknowledge the very being of God. This is the height of what the enmity of the carnal mind can rise unto. To acknowledge God, and yet to refuse to be subject to his law or will, a man would think were as bad, if not worse, than to deny the being of God. But it is not so. That is a rebellion against his authority, this an hatred unto the only fountain of all goodness, truth, and being ; and that because they cannot own it, but withal they must acknowledge it to be infinitely righteous, holy, and powerful, w^hich would destroy all their desires and security. Such may be the person in the psalm ; for the words may be read, 'All his thoughts are that there is no God.' Howbelt the context describes him as one who rather despiseth his providence, than denieth his being. But such there are whom the same psalmist elsewhere brands for fools, though themselves seem to sup- pose that wisdom was born and will die with them, Psal. xiv. 1. liii. 1.
It may be, never any age since the flood, did more abound with open atheism, among such as pretended unto the use and improvement of reason, than that wherein we live. Among the ancient civilized heathen, we hear ever and anon of a person branded for an atheist ; yet are not certain whether it was done justly or no. But in all nations of Europe at this day, cities, courts, towns, fields, armies, abound with persons, who, if any credit may be given unto what they say or do, believe not that there is a God. And the reason hereof may be a little enquired into.
Now this is no other in general, but that men have decocted and wasted the light and power of Christian reli- gion. It is the fullest revelation of God, that ever he made, it is the last that ever he will make in this world. If this be despised, if men rebel against the light of it, if they break the cords of it, and are senseless of its power, nothing can preserve them from the highest atheism that the nature of man is capable of. It is in vain to expect relief
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or preservation from inferior means, where the highest and most noble is rejected. Reason or the light ofnature gives evidences unto the being; of God: and arsfuments are still well pleaded from them to the confusion of atheists. And they were sufficient to retain men in an acknowledgment of the divine power and Godhead, who had no other, no higher evidences of them. But where men have had the benefit of divine revelation, where they have been educated in the principles of Christian religion, have had some know- ledge, and made some profession of them ; and have through the love of sin, and hatred of every thing that is truly good, rejected all convictions from them concerning the being, power and rule of God, they will not be kept unto a confession of them by any considerations that the light ofnature can suggest.
There are therefore among others, three reasons why there are more atheists among them who live where the Christian religion is professed, and the power of it rejected, than among any other sort of men, even than there were among the heathens themselves.
1. God hath designed to magnify his word above all his name, or all other ways of the revelation of himself unto the children of men, Psal. cxxxviii. 2. Where therefore this is rejected and despised, he will not give the honour unto reason or the light of nature, that they shall preserve the minds of men from any evil whatever. Reason shall not have the same power and efficacy on the minds of men, who reject the light and power of divine revelation by the word, as it hath, or may have, on them whose best guide it is, who never enjoyed the light of the gospel. And there- fore there is ofttimes more common honesty among ci- vilized heathens and Mahometans than amongst degene- rate Christians, And from the same reason the children of professors are sometimes irrecoverably profligate. It will be said, many are recovered unto God by afflictions, who have despised the word. But it is otherwise; never any were converted unto God by afflictions who had re- jected the word. Men may by afflictions be recalled unto the light of the word, but none are immediately turned unto God by them. As a good shepherd, when a sheep wanders from the flock, and will not hear his call, sends out his dog.
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which stops him and bites him. Hereon he looks about him, and hearing the call of the shepherd returns again to the flock; Job xxxiii. 19 — 25. But with this sort of persons it is the way of God, that where the principal means of the revelation of himself, and wherein he doth most glorify his wisdom and his goodness, is despised, he will not only take off the efficacy of inferior means, but judicially harden the hearts and blind the eyes of men, that such means shall be of no use unto them. See Isa. vi. 8 — 12. Acts xiii. 40, 41. Rom. i. 21. 28. 2 Thess. ii. 11, 12.