Of Natural; Moral, and Civil Liberty. 8 Thew that they have always flourifhed and S e R nr; fallen together. III. This liberty, Taft mentioned, is not in- `v- -j tended in the text, nor is to be accounted any part of that liberty wherewith Chrifi bath made his followers free. The gofpel was not defigned to defl:roy, or in the leafs to abridge any valuable privilege of man- kind ; on the contrary, to reflore and pro - mote that which is the nobleft and mofi important deliverance from the fervitude of fin, that they may freely follow the direc- tion of reafon and confcience ; but it loth not meddle with their liberty, as they are rational and focial creatures in this world, leaving that to Rand, as it always flood, on the foot of plain reafon, only placing the meafiires of our conduct with refpeEt to it, as it loth our whole converfation, under the influence of the nobleft religious principles, which are the belt improvements of reafon, whereby it is not impaired, but rendered more fafe and more ufeful to all the good pur- poles it is capable of ferving. It is true, the apoftles, amongft other relative duties of hu- man life, teach chriftians that they, a's well as other men, ought to be in fubjeEtion to the higher civil powers, and that not only for wrath but for co fcience fake ; which V o a,. IV. G was
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