The Grace and Duty of Being Spiritually Minded

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. 138.2. 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 therefore there is oft times more common Honesty among civilized Heathens and Mahometans than amongst degenerate 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 rejected 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, which stops him and bites him. Hereon ⟨p. 129⟩he looks about him, and hearing the call of the Shepherd returns again to the Flock, Job 33.19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 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