ç3i and not oppofe it; and to fee, that whichLe faketh to be no better than deliberate Lying, or Juftifying fin, and Perjury it felt, and covenanting never to obeyGod in lawful and neceflary Church-reformation, tobe all called ; Things indifferent. 6. Nature and Scripture teach us to have a due and moderate regard of our own reputationas men ; but much more as Miniftersof Chrift ; Peeing the dottrine of Chrift which we preach or write, is ulbaily dithonoured in the Miniftersdifnonour, and the edification of the fouls of them that hear us or read our writings, isgreatly hindered by it. 7. While Noblemen, Knights, Gentlemen, conformableClergy-then, andmanyothers of all Ranks, are pofleffed with thefe thoughts ofus,that we are petfons whohypocritically pretend toGodlinefs, while indeed we are fo humourfome, that we will forbear our Miniftry, and our Mainte- nance, and fuller any thing, and divide the Church, rather than yield to 'indifferent things ; this is a fcandal, a grievous fcandal, either given or taken, and tendeth to wrong their fouls that are fcandalized : And if we give them this fcandal, it is our heinous fin : But if they take it by mifinformation, we are obliged to do our part to heal it: Souls are pre- cious ; and fcandal doth endanger them, even to diftaft Religion it feif, for the fakes of fuch as they take us to be : And we mutt not hand by and fee men perifh, if we can do any thing to fave them. 8. The fufferings of many of the Minifters are very great, that have not bread for their children, nor cloaths to cover them, and are afha- med to make known their wants: And if with all this, we fuller the burdenof unreproved calumny to lie on them, and keep them not tothe neceflary comfort which confcience fhould find in fufferings with inno- cency, we hallbe guilty of nncharitablenefs our felves. q. It is part of our Honouring the King and Parliament and other Magiftrates, not to defpife or flight their cenfures : And the judgment which they have publicklypalled onus, inanAct of 'Confinement, which impofeth the Oath for Prelacy, is fo hard and grievous, that if we are guilty, it is fit we fhould be made the common repróach of men; And . if we are not, (as Non-conformifts) it is our duty to reaifie the judg- ment of our fuperiours where they are mifinformed. And as Augul ine faith, that no good Chriftian ihould be patient under an imputation of Heretiic; fo I may fay that no good Subjéft fhould be fenflefly patient under an imputation of difloyalty and fedition : That better befeemetfi the anarchical and truly difloyal and feditious, who take it for no crime. zo. And we know how pleafantly the Papifts infult to hear us ftig- matized for Villains and feditious Perlons by our brethren, and what ufe they will make of it at prefent and in furure Hiftory to the Ser- vice of their malice, and injury to the truth : whichwe ought not filent- ly hill to fuller; while we fee how hereby they do already multi- ply. Bz ir,And
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