314 SERMON. 



refiners do by fire) to try and find out, from among y e gross 

 heap of dross and rubbish, good from evil, and truth from 

 falsehood. A talent, which tho' but one, is capable of heing 

 multiplyed into manifold, and innumerable treasures. When 

 reason is first sowed in infants, it is a very small seed indeed, 

 the least of all seeds, scarcely perceptible ; but wonderfully 

 vigorous and apt to encrease ; and by degrees, if rightly 

 cultivated, shoots up into a mighty tree, the tree of know- 

 ledge, blossoming into arts and sciences, and speculations ; 

 and fructifying, first into moral actions, and practices ; and 

 then, as it advances to maturity, into divine habits, and 

 graces. For " first is that which is natural, and afterwards 

 that which is spiritual." And he that is faithful in little will 

 be faithful in more : and, because he hath, shall have more 

 given him, and have abundance, and grow from natural (if he 

 be not wanting to make a due improvement with them) to 

 supernatural and spiritual attainments. 



This was the highest and brightest talent of natural light 

 and conscience (before y e coming of Xt) which God com- 

 mitted to y e world; except to the Jews, who alone of all 

 nations were acquainted with divine revelation, and some 

 degrees of spiritual light : and by a due use of this, viz. of 

 their rational faculties, and natural conscience might have 

 been happy, and known the eternal power and goodness of 

 God, and demeaned themselves acceptably towards him. But 

 while they neglected strictly to follow the direction of this 

 Heavenly Guide, and sought out to themselves many inven- 

 tions in their religious services, which they could not justifv 

 by reason; and thought themselves wise therein, they became 

 fools ; and by dishonouring God with their will-worship, that 

 is, with human inventions, instead of that which their own 

 light and judgment, if not perverted, would have led them to, 



became unprofitable servants : and, for darkening their 



own hearts, and acting against their own innate knowledge, 

 worthy to be delivered up to a reprobate mind, and cast into 

 praeternatural, and utter darkness. Rom. i. 20, 21, 22, & 28. 



The excellence, or highest improvement of this talent, reason, 

 is to attain thereby to true wisdom ; an ability to direct our- 



