Tully's 214. The Confent of mankind 216. Chap. 11. God's Perfections demonftrated by his Chap. Ill. God's Relation to us, and our Duty refulting thence 222. The inferences of Heathens. 273 Chap. IV. Lactantius his argument against the divinity of the Heathen Gods. 227. Some of the Heavenly Bodies, on the contrary, are taken to be Hell 228. Chap. V. That we must not overvalue the World 230. The Dignity of the Planets 231. Pliny's Defcant 232. Seneca's 233. Chap. VI. That we should afpire after the Hea venly State 237 2.T A SURVEY OF THE HEAVENS The Introduction, HE Pfalmift faith, (1) leth forth, or preacheth his Handy Work, as the Hebrew Word fignifies (1): that Day unto Day uttereth Speech, and Night unto Night fheweth, or tells forth, Knowledge. Which Language of the Heavens is fo plain, and their Characters fo legible, that all, even the most barbarous Nations, that have no Skill either in Languages or Letters, are able to understand and read what they proclaim. There is no Speech nor Language where their Voice is not heard: their Line is gone out through all the Earth, and their Words to the End of the World. THAT this Obfervation of the Pfalmift is agreeable to Experience, is manifeft from the Deductions which all Nations have made from God's Works, particularly from thofe of the Heavens; namely, that there is a GOD; and that fuch as (1) 711 fignificat aliquid verbis efferre, coràm nuntiare, annunciare, Conrad.Kircher.Concord. Col. 226. Vol 2. It is derived from Goram, Ante. 2 have 3 have pretended to Atheism, and have deduced God's Works from Chance, c. are fingular and monftrous in their Opinions. Thus faith Elian (1), There never was any Barbarian that contemned the Deity, nor called in queftion whether there be any Gods or no? or whether they take care of human Affairs? No Man, neither Indian, nor Celt, nor Ægyptian ever entertained any fuch Thought as Eumerus the Meffenian, or Dionyfius the Phrygian, or Hippo, or Diagoras, or Socias or Epicurus. So one of Plato's Arguments for the Proof of a God, is (2) The unanimous Confent of all, both Greeks and Barbarians, who confefs there are Gods. And Plutarch (3) agreeable to what our Pfalmift affirms, tells us whence they collected this Knowledge of a Deity. Men, faith he, began to ac (1) De var. Hift. L. 2. cap. 31. (2) De Legibus. L. 10. (3) De Placit. Philof. L. 1. c. 6. B 2 know knowledge a God, when they faw the Stars maintain fo great a Harmony, and the Days and Nights through all the Year, both in Summer and Winter to obferve their ftated Rifings and Settings. And to pass over a great deal of this kind, that I could cite from divers Heathen Authors, What, faith the Stoick in Tully, (1) can be fo plain and clear, as when we behold the Heavens, and view the Heavenly Bodies, that we fhould conclude there is fome Deity of a most excellent Mind, by which these things are governed ?--------A Present and Almighty God. Which he that doubts of, I do not understand, faith he, why he fhould not as well doubt whether there be. a Sun or no that fhines. And then he goes on to prove that this can be no idle Fancy depending on the Caprice (1) Quid enim poteft effe tam apertum, tamque perfpicuum, cum Calum fufpeximus, &c. De Nat. Deor. L. 2 c. 2. of |