fcientioufly fcrupled by any, which were either fuch as God had forbidden the Jews by the Law of Mofes, or Meats offered to Idols by the Gentiles, of which he treats more particularly Chap. 8. and determines that the Meats are in themselves Lawful and Good; but if they be not used, without giving offence, either to a Man's own Confcience, or to a weak Brother, are fo far Inexpedient and become Unlawful. But why doth he here joyn Fornication with things Indifferent? Not becaufe it was really fo, but becaufe it was not fo. They had been taught in their Gentilifm, that tho' Adultery was a Sin, as being a Violation of the Marriage-bed, yet Fornication was none, but a matter Indifferent, and which had also been a part of the impure Doctrine of the Nicholaitans among the Christians: Therefore the Apostle joyns this with things Indifferent, to convince them of their grofs miftake, and to fhew them the Moral Evil of it; upon which Head he goes on to the end of the Chapter. But in this twelfth Verse he speaks only of things Indifferent in general, whofe Lawfulness or Unlawfulness depends upon preient Circumftances. All things (fays he) that is, all things of the truly Indifferent kind, are Lawful for me; here he afferts his Chriftian Liberty; but I will not be brought under the power of any is Exoradcoμs δκ ἐξεσιαπήσομαι UTÓ THO. of any, either Perfon or Thing. Super me nemo poteftatem habebit, fay fome, or Ego nulli rei mancipabor, as others. The Senfe is ftill the fame; I will not be brought under the Power, or Authority, of any One, for fo the word Shop properly fignifies. I will not have my Confcience bound nor impofed on, to the Violation of my Christian Liberty in these things. But according to your Interpretation, all that the Apostle here fays is, That he will not be brought under the Power of Meat and Drink, fo as to use them to Gluttony, Drunkennefs or Intemperance,to the pampering of the Flesh:

And

And indeed I believe the Holy Apoftie had never any mind to make fo ill a ufe of them, who made it fo much his care to keep under his Body, and to bring it into Subjection. But what then, were Gluttony, and Drunkenness, and Intemperance, fome of thofe Lawful things, which he says he will not be brought under the power of, as your Interpretation doth neceffarily imply? For 'tis undeniable, that they are the Lawful things he is here fpeaking of, and that confider'd as fimply Lawful, and that he fays he will not be brought under the Power of,and to this Senfe his conftant Doctrine and Practice was agreeable, Gal, 2. begin. begin. We have there a report of a Cafe full enough to this purpose, where he tells us, that when he went up to Jerufalem with Barnabas and Titus, be communicated to them the Gospel [i. e. that free and unceremonious way of the Gofpel] which he had preached among the Gentiles, but privately; to them which were of Reputation, that is, the Apofties, and fome others of the most eminent Chriftians, who underftood the Liberty of the Gofpel; to these he declar'd the Manner and Way of his Ministry among the Gentiles, that he might have their Suffrage and Approbation of it, and not feem to be fingular to the prejudice of his Miniftry; and yet he was conftrained to do it privately, to prevent an Uproar among the Bigots of the Jewish Converts. Yet notwithstanding this Privacy, there were fome unawares brought in, whom he calls Falfe Brethren, because Enemies to the Chriftian Liberty and Simplicity of the Gospel, who came in privily, to spy out this bis Liberty, and to have compell'd Titus, being a Greek, to be Circumcifed, and to bring the Gentiles into the fame Bondage of Ceremonies with the Jews; To whom, fays the Apoftle, we gave place by Subjection, no not for an hour, i. e. not in the leaft Point, nor for the leaft fpace of Time. Again, at Ver. 11. when Peter was come to him at Antioch,

and

and at first began to hold Communion with Paul and his Gentile-Church there, but after that certain Men of the Jewish Communion came from James, from Jerufalem, not only fell off from the Gentiles, and joyn'd with the Jews (which proves them to be then Two Diftin&t Communions) but would have compelled the Gentiles, as it were by an Ecclefiaftical Act of Uniformity, to Conform to the Ceremonies of the Jews, Paul ftoutly withstood him to the Face, becaufe he was therein to be blamed. And therefore he exhorted them, Chap.5.1. To stand faft in the Liberty wherewith Christ had made them free, and not be entangled again with that Yoke of Bondage. Now, Sir, this is what I have at prefent to fay, for the Senfe that I gave of 1 Cor. 6. 12. and whether my Interpretation of it, or yours, be the more Ridiculous, we muft leave to competent impartial Judges. And fo much for the first Distinction, of an Occafional, and a Stated Conforming.

2. There is a Laick and a Clerical Conforming. The Lay Conformity, being meerly Paffive, Occafional, and enforced by fuch Reafons and Circumftantial Confiderations, as did preponderate to render that to be Expedient, which was not in it felf abfolutely Sinful, was much more Tolerable than the required Clerical Conformity, therefore this was, tho' not of choice, yet patiently fubmitted to, as long and as far as thefe Reafons did make it Neceffary and Expedient, in order to a Publick, as well as a Private Good. So that you need not have made a Wonder to fee us do that at one time, which we cannot do at another, and you might have forborn your Uncharitable and Unjuft Reflexions upon it. But as for Clerical Conformity, which is Active, and implies a State of Communion with you, and which was burden'd at a much higher rate,with fuch Oaths, Subfcriptions, Abjurations,&c. as were never before heard of fince the Reformation, this could not be at

all

all fubmitted to, by fuch as did Confcientiously fcruple it; No Circumftance could relieve us in this cafe. And the Nature and Terms of this Conformity are fo much the fame ftill, that our Practice must be the fame. But as for those few Novices that have gone from us to the Church of England, who never duly confider'd the Grounds of their Nonconformity, we neither expect nor defire their Return to us, unless on better Principles. So then, here you cannot fay, That we thus Conform'd before the Toleration, and fince have forfaken you. This, I fuppofe, is fufficient to vindicate what I faid in my Letter on this Head, against all thofe Exceptions of Hours, that are worth the regarding. But,

5. Before I quite difmifs it, I must take a little notice of your Huffing Refentment of a certain Familiar Similitude, which in my Letter I gave you from 2 Kings 6. 25. of that Siege at Samaria, where the Famine was fo extream, that they began to eat their own Children, and an Affes bead was fold for Fourfcore pieces of Silver, and a fourth part of a Kab of Doves Dung for five pieces of Silver. This you call fo Impudent and Profane, that you cannot reflect on it without a juft Indignation, and (which is more to be regarded that a Learned Gentleman,who is a Diffenter, but otherwife a Perfon of great Senfe, declar'd to you bis Abborrence of it. And the truth is, the ufe that you have made of it, deferves every one's Abhorrence. You fay, That I herein compare the most Sacred Ordinances of God, adminifter'd by the Church of England, to Affes beads, and to filthy Excrements. Sir, I doubt your Paffion hath now put you a little befides your Reason. Who would not have thought that a Man of your Education and Figure, might have difcern'd fome little difference between Comparia and Similia and that you must needs have learnt long ago, that Omne Simile eft diffimile, & Similia non funt Quadripedia? Is it my Sin, and mine alone, to compare

E

Spiritual

Spiritual things with Temporal? Or was not this Similitude apt enough to the Cafe to which it was applied? The Defign whereof was but to mind you of what extream Neceffity will tempt Men to, and warrant them in, which was once our cafe in refpec of Church-Communion, when we could not (thro' the Violence of your Perfecutions) obtain what we would, and ought to have had, but were forced to make use of what we could get: Nor indeed was I aware that (in reverence to you) it was my duty to alter, or expunge any of the words of the Sacred Story. But it feems 'twas the Affes Head and the Doves Dung that gave you this great disguft, and turn'd your Stomach against me, to which you f I compar'd your Divine Services. But fure, a ver fmall Tantillum of your Spirit of Charity, if rightly drawn and applied, might have a little sweetned the Matter, and have perfwaded you to believe, that I could not be fo Profane, as to compare them to fuch things, as they were Divine Services, but only as far as they were of Humane Invention, and the Defilements of Divine Worship and Inftitutions, and Dead Carkaffes, that are fitter for the Grave than for God's Altar; which the Apostle calls Weak and Beggarly Elements, Gal. 4. 9. and God himself calls a Smoak in his Nofe, Ifa. 65. 5. and an Abomination to him, Chap. 1. 13. When we could have no pablick Worship, but what was blended with your Offensive Ceremonies; and inftead of Sound and Edifying Doctrine, must be ferv'd with the jejune Stuff, or the bitter Railings of an Ignorant or Debauch'd Prieft, as was the Cafe of very many Con gregations in the Land, was not our Cafe in Spirituals, too well like the Famine in Samaria,God himfelf having taught us to compare it to a Famine, Amos 8. 11. yet how unfchollar-like have you wrefted and stretch'd this Simile beyond what it was defign'd for, or would reasonably bear. Had I compar'd