A history of the work of redemption. Containing the outlines of a body of…

Hence it is that all that part of the world which now does own one only true God, Christians, Jews, Mahometans, and even Deists too, originally came by the knowledge of him. It is owing to this that they are not in general at this day left in Heathenish darkness. They have it all, first of all, either immediately from the scriptures or by tradition from their fathers, who had it first from the scriptures. And doubtless those who now despise the scriptures, and boast of the strength of their own reason, as being sufficient to […] to the knowledge of the one true God, if the gospel had never come a broad in the world to enlighten their forefathers, would have been as sottish and brutish idolaters as the world in general was before the gospel came abroad. The Mahometans, who own but one true God, at first borrowed the notion from the scriptures: for the first Mahometans had been educated in the Christian religion, and apostatized from it. This is evidential, that the scriptures were designed of God to be the proper means to bring the world to the knowledge of himself▪ rather than human reason, or any thing else. For it is unreasonable to suppose, that the gospel, and that only, which God never designed as the proper means for obtaining this effect▪ should actually obtain it, and that after human reason, which he designed as the proper mean, had been tried for a great many ages without any effect. If the scriptures be not the word of God, then they are nothing but darkness and delusion, yea the greatest delusion that ever was. Now, is it reasonable to suppose, that God in his providence would make use of falsehood and delusion, and that only, to bring the world to the knowledge of himself, and that no part of it should be brought to the knowledge of him any other way?

Hence it is that all that part of the world which now does own one only true God, Christians, Jews, Mahometans, and even Deists too, originally came by the knowledge of him. It is owing to this that they are not in general at this day left in Heathenish darkness. They have it all, first of all, either immediately from the scriptures or by tradition from their fathers, who had it first from the scriptures. And doubtless those who now despise the scriptures, and boast of the strength of their own reason, as being sufficient to 〈…〉 to the knowledge of the one true God, if the gospel had never come a broad in the world to enlighten their forefathers, would have been as sottish and brutish idolaters as the world in general was before the gospel came abroad. The Mahometans, who own but one true God, at first borrowed the notion from the scriptures: for the first Mahometans had been educated in the Christian religion, and apostatized from it. This is evidential, that the scriptures were designed of God to be the proper means to bring the world to the knowledge of himself rather than human reason, or any thing else. For it is unreasonable to suppose, that the gospel, and that only, which God never deigned as the proper means for obtaining this effect should actually obtain it, and that after human reason, which he designed as the proper mean, had been tried for a great many ages without any effect. If the scriptures be not the word of God, then they are nothing but darkness and delusion, yea the greatest delusion that ever was. Now, is it reasonable to suppose, that God in his providence would make use of falsehood and delusion, and that only, to bring the world to the knowledge of himself, and that no part of it should be brought to the knowledge of him any other way?