DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.3689#0101
a Devout and Holy Life. 99
God, as his servant, as his rational creature, that has received
reason and knowledge from him ; all that you can perform con-
formably to a rational nature, and the will of God, all this is
allowed by the laws of piety. And will you think that your life
will be uncomfortable, unless you may displease God, be a fool,
and mad, and act contrary to that reason and wisdom which he
has implanted in you ?
And as for those satisfactions, which we dare not offer to a
holy God, which are only invented by the folly and corruption
of the world, which inflame our passions, and sink our souls into
grossness and sensuality, and render us incapable of the divine
favour, either here or hereafter; surely it can be no uncomfort-
able state of life, to be rescued by religion from such self-murder,
and to be rendered capable of eternal happiness.
Let us suppose a person, destitute of that knowledge which
we have from our senses, placed somewhere alone by himself,
in the midst of a variety of things which he did not know how
to use ; that he has by him bread, wine, water, golden dust, iron,
chains, gravel, garments, fire, &c. Let it be supposed, that he
has no knowledge of the right use of these things, nor any direc-
tion from his senses how to quench his thirst, or satisfy his hunger,
or make any use of the things about him. Let it be supposed,
that in his drought he puts golden dust into his eyes; when his
eyes smart, he puts wine into his ears ; that in his hunger, he
puts gravel in his mouth ; that in pain, he loads himself with the
iron chains; that feeling cold, he puts his feet in the water; that
being frightened at the fire,he runs away from it; that beingweary,
he makes a seat of his bread. Let it be supposed, that through
his ignorance of the right use of the things that are about him,
he will vainly torment himself whilst he lives ; and at last die,
blinded with dust, choked with gravel, and loaded with irons.
Let it be supposed, that some good Being came to him, and
showed him the nature and use of all the things that were about
him, and gave him such strict rules of using them, as would
certainly, if observed, make him the happier for all that he had,
and deliver him from the pains of hunger, and thirst, and cold.
Now could you with any reason affirm, that those strict rules
of using those things that were about him, had rendered that
poor man's life dull and uncomfortable ?
Now this is in some measure, a representation of the strict
rides of religion ; they only relieve our ignorance, save us from
tormenting ourselves, and teach us to use everything about us to
our proper advantage.
Man is placed in a world full of variety of things; his
ignorance makes him use many of them as absurdly, as the man
7—2
God, as his servant, as his rational creature, that has received
reason and knowledge from him ; all that you can perform con-
formably to a rational nature, and the will of God, all this is
allowed by the laws of piety. And will you think that your life
will be uncomfortable, unless you may displease God, be a fool,
and mad, and act contrary to that reason and wisdom which he
has implanted in you ?
And as for those satisfactions, which we dare not offer to a
holy God, which are only invented by the folly and corruption
of the world, which inflame our passions, and sink our souls into
grossness and sensuality, and render us incapable of the divine
favour, either here or hereafter; surely it can be no uncomfort-
able state of life, to be rescued by religion from such self-murder,
and to be rendered capable of eternal happiness.
Let us suppose a person, destitute of that knowledge which
we have from our senses, placed somewhere alone by himself,
in the midst of a variety of things which he did not know how
to use ; that he has by him bread, wine, water, golden dust, iron,
chains, gravel, garments, fire, &c. Let it be supposed, that he
has no knowledge of the right use of these things, nor any direc-
tion from his senses how to quench his thirst, or satisfy his hunger,
or make any use of the things about him. Let it be supposed,
that in his drought he puts golden dust into his eyes; when his
eyes smart, he puts wine into his ears ; that in his hunger, he
puts gravel in his mouth ; that in pain, he loads himself with the
iron chains; that feeling cold, he puts his feet in the water; that
being frightened at the fire,he runs away from it; that beingweary,
he makes a seat of his bread. Let it be supposed, that through
his ignorance of the right use of the things that are about him,
he will vainly torment himself whilst he lives ; and at last die,
blinded with dust, choked with gravel, and loaded with irons.
Let it be supposed, that some good Being came to him, and
showed him the nature and use of all the things that were about
him, and gave him such strict rules of using them, as would
certainly, if observed, make him the happier for all that he had,
and deliver him from the pains of hunger, and thirst, and cold.
Now could you with any reason affirm, that those strict rules
of using those things that were about him, had rendered that
poor man's life dull and uncomfortable ?
Now this is in some measure, a representation of the strict
rides of religion ; they only relieve our ignorance, save us from
tormenting ourselves, and teach us to use everything about us to
our proper advantage.
Man is placed in a world full of variety of things; his
ignorance makes him use many of them as absurdly, as the man
7—2