That man has no principle within himself, by whatever name it may be called, which is adequate to all the purposes of his salvation, or a sufficient guide in matters of faith and practice.
_That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the Covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world._
The true character and state of mankind before savingly interested in the gospel are not generally acknowledged, or believed, in the world, to this day. Many thousand years have they had, to find out their own state and Character in respect to their Maker and things of a moral and religious nature; and they are now, as much as ever, divided in opinion, and are as far from an union of sentiment, on so important, and one would imagine, plain a point. An impartial inspection into the human heart and extensive view of the history of the world and moral things, we should conceive, would bring them all to one and the same conclusion, and to an exact uniformity of opinion concerning the state and character of mankind.
Whether man be fallen or not, is now, in reality, the dispute. Such as reject with scorn, all idea of a revealed Religion as an impossibility in its own nature, (and some are absurd enough to reject it on this ground) affirm that the light of reason is entirely sufficient for all the purposes of discovering to us, the whole of our duty as rational creatures and to ensure infallibly our happiness here and hereafter; if there be an hereafter. These say that we are now just as we always were: that man never fell or apostatized from his Maker; of course, that he is under no worse circumstances, nor labours under any evils, under which he did not labour when he came forth from the hands of creative wisdom, goodness, and power. And, therefore, that he has an INWARD LIGHT sufficient for all the purposes of his salvation--a sufficient guide in all things of a moral and religious nature. The consequence is, that a divine revelation is wholly unnecessary. If wholly unnecessary, we may be certain, that a wise and good Being, who perfectly knows all things, would not vouchsafe to give one.--For he does nothing in vain.--