is it an Innovation, and an Ufurpation, and to dif obey it, is no culpable Difobedience, but our Duty. And if fo, then is the whole Nerve of your Argument broken. But you are fo deeply poffeft with an Imagination, that those whom you fo revere, and expect all your Ecclefiaftical Preferments and Dignities from, must have an Arbitrary Power in all these things which you call Indifferent, that they can at their pleasure, and by their meer Commands, make them Neceffary; than which there is nothing more contrary to the Rules and Practice of the Apostles, nor more deftructive of the Simplicity and Free State of the Gospel, or of the Peace and Quiet of the Church. So that the unwarrantable Interpofition of an Impofing Authority,is fo far from turning an Indifferent and Unneceffary thing into matter of Duty, that it makes it to be Sin. 'Tis true, tho' the Gospel grants us a Liberty of using Indifferent things Indifferently, yet if this Liberty be abus'd to Licencioufnefs, or us'd Disorderly, or Scandaloufly, fuch Disorder and Scandal, being Morally Evil, ought to be reftrain'd by the Ecclefiaftical Authority, but to use them as of Neceffity, meerly on the account of Human Authority, is Superftition, which ought to be protested against. Tell us no more then of Difobeying Charch-Rulers in those things, wherein they abufe their Authority, and enflave the Confciences of Men.

2. For one and the fame thing to be Lawful, yea perhaps Neceffary at one time, and under fome Circumftances, and yet very Unlawful at another time and under other Circumftances, methink fhould not feem fo unintelligible an Inconfiftency to a Man of your Senfe in other matters. Is it not the Nature and true Definition of all Indifferent things, confider'd as fuch, that they are (Morally taken) a Medium, or fort of Middle things equally plac'd between Two Extreams of Good, and the oppofite

Evil, in Themselves neither Good, nor Evil; but, as a Ballance in aquilibrio, equally in

Vid. Bradh. clin'd to either Extream; fo that acTreatife of cording to incidental Circumstances, things Indiff. they are fometimes Good and fometimes Evil? Is it hard then to understand how an Indifferent thing, (fuch as you fay your Ceremonies are) and Confequently a Compliance, with them, may be Lawful at one time, and yet Sinful at another, according as the Circumftances of Cafes do vary; As to the Rationale of this, I might eafily here enlarge, but for brevity fake, which I defign, fhall refer you to Mr. Bradshaw's Treatifes of Worship and Ceremonies: And to Mr. Corbet's Remains, &c. Yet you make the Sense of this Cafe obvious enough to meaner Understandings than your's, there is a plenty of Inftances, both Sacred and Common, that readily offer themfelves. The Shew-bread under the Law was in it felf a Thing Indifferent; but by the Ordinance of God about it, was Sacred, and not

Lawful to be eaten but by the Priests Mat. 12.3,4 only; yet David and his Men, when they were hungry, and had no other Bread ready, did eat it, and not Sin in fo doing, which had they done at another time, and under other Circumstances, they had been guilty. The Apostles Themselves, while among the Jewish Converts, at least in the Infancy of their Gofpel-Conftitution, did obferve (by a Divinely allowed Indulgence to them) very many of the old Jewish Rites and Ceremonies, as the Circumftances of the Times made Lawful and Neceffary to do; but to have done these things among the Gentiles, yea, or among the Jews, after their City and Temple were destroy'd, would have been Sin. So that the Lawfulness or Unlawfulness of fuch things as thefe depends not on their Indifferency, nor on any Human Impofitions, but on thofe Circumstances that do at

tend

tend them, with relation to the Neceffities of Life, or the Churches Edification and Peace. How many Thousand Inftances might there be taken from Men's common Practice and Conversation, of things that are very Lawfully, Honestly, and Neceffarily done at fome times,and under fome Circumstances, which would be very Evil, Unjuft, Ridiculous, or Scandalous at fome other times, which the meanest Capacity may be Artist enough to comprehend.

3. In things purely Indifferent, that stand equally determinable to Lawful or Unlawful, the leaft fupervening Circumftance of a necessary Good, or a Good neceffarily depending on it, makes it to be no more Indifferent, but Good and Neceffary, according to the Nature and Degree of that Good that fo depends upon it; and on the contrary, the leaft Kind or Degree of Evil makes it to be Evil: So that in determining the Lawfulness or Unlawfulness of things Indifferent, we must strictly and faithfully examine what that Good or Evil is, that neceffarily depends on them, or will be the Confequents of them. Hence it is that the Rites and Ceremonies now in Controverfy, being in Themfelves things Indifferent, tho' in fome refpects Evil in their Ufe, yet as far as they are over-ballanc'd by a preponderating Good, to which, under prefent Circumftances they neceffarily conduce, they are Lawfully fubmitted to; but farther than that neceffary Good End is attainable by them, they are justly rejected as Evil. But here, as an evident indication of your Envy, you fuggeft,that the Good that at any time preponderates with us, to a Paffive Conformity to fome of your Ceremonies, is only the ferving of a Turn in fome Worldly Intereft, wherein you do but declare to the World how you gnash your teeth to fee any of us in the Interefts of the Civil Government, tho' but in any of it's meanest Offices. But how far the Duty of Publick Service

ableness

ablenefs, and Self-prefervation is a Good that preponderates the Evil of them, I fhall not here any farther enquire, nor add any more to what I have already faid to it, but do affure you,that there are Confiderations of a higher and more Catholick Nature, that have been the more prevalent Arguments with us, to conform, fo far as we have at any time. done, to your Impofitions; As partly, the neceffity we have been under of Worshiping God with you, or not at all, judging your Ceremonious Worship more elegible than an utter deprival; and partly to avoid the Violence of your Perfecutions, when they have been hottest against us, and wherein we have confulted not only, and perhaps not fo much, our own Perfonal Quiet and Safety, (tho' that might justify us, as well as it did Paul once at Jerufalem) as to prevent the more deftructive breaches that your Flames might elfe make in the Church, and your running your felves, and the whole Kingdom into the deeper both Perfonal and National guilt of Perfecution: But when there are not these, or the like great Ends to overballance the Evil of them, we take it as part of our Duty to refufe Conformity to them.

.

4. We must Diftinguish too, between an Occafional, and a Stated; and between a Laick, and a Clerical Conforming.

1. Between an Occafional, and a Stated Conforming. Thefe Two are vaftly different; proceed from different Principles; and must be rul'd by different Measures. A Man may very Lawfully do ⚫ fome things Occafionally, according to prefent Reafons and Exigencies, which to do Statedly would be Sinful. For this we have the Example of the Apoftle Paul for our Direction and Warrant, and which is agreeable to the Common Reafon of Mankind, if either of thefe be of any Authority with you. As great as the Objections were which the Apostle

Apostle had against the Jewish Ceremonies, as in feveral places of his Epiftles he declares, yet he could Occafionally Conform to them, as I told you more particularly in my First Letter to you; yet notwithstanding his Occafional Conforming to them, he declares that he will not be brought under the Power of them, 1 Cor. 6. 12. My fhort Glofs upon this Text you were pleas'd to ridi

cule, and to call it grofly Ignorant. In- Page 55. deed I did not then think it neceffary

to give a full Expofition of the Text, but only took notice of it as far as it confirm'd my Hypothefis, and was agreeable to the Apoftles common Practice. The words are, All things are Lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient; all things are Lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. I confefs this is a Text, about which Interpreters are not well agreed. The Senfe which you make of it is only this; That he fpeaks of Meats and Drinks, or Things of that Nature; His meaning (fay you) is that how ever be bad Liberty to use them, he would not be under their Dominion, as the Epicures were; he would not be a Servant to his Appetite, &c. And this you fuppofe is all that is to be made of this Text. But had it been for your turn, you would have examin'd it a little more ftrictly. All things are Lawful unto me, but all things are not Expedient. What can the Apoftle here mean by Lawful things, which are not always Expedient, but fuch things as are of an Indifferent Nature, that are Lawful in Themselves, but not always fo in their Ufe, and of which he fpeaks Univerfally and Indefinitely, laying down this as a General Rufe about Things Indifferent, the Lawfulnefs of whofe Ufe muft always be determined by their Circumstances..

Then he inftances particularly in Two things, viz. Meats and Fornication: Meats, that is, fuch Meats, the Lawfulness of whofe ufe might be con

fcientiously