xxviii 2''he flifle faints fojourn, and are militant here on earth, the in- telleEtuals of all of them will be of the fame faze, or caft into the fame mould; that their light will be of the fame clearnefs, and that they will be all of equal mortification, felf- denyednefs, tendernefs, unbiaffednefs, finglenefs, holy zeal, refolution, courage and boldnefs; which, as it Pays, that there will be more clearnefs, and more darknefs, and doubting amongft them, at leaft as to fome remote things ; fo it fpeaks the neceffity of mutual Chri- $ían forbearance, compaffion and fympathy. And it hath been a very generally received maxim in matters of confcience, that in dubiis tutius eft abftinere, In things that are doubtful (at leaft as to their very fubflance (to fay fo) and not only as to fomewliat extrmfick to them) is Pfeil to ab /lain. Eighthly, We would in the cafe of indifferent things, wherein we are clear ourfelves, and fully perfwaded of our own Chriftian liberty, be very tender of the confci- ences of others, who may in that refpe& be more weak, and not fo fully clear and perfwaded about them ; left we offend and wound their confcience, and fo indire&ly, confequently and by the rebound, offend and wound our ' own confcience : Here the apoflle's dire &ions, of ertions, precepts and practice, Rom. 14. i Cos^. S, 9, and io. Chap. are fingularly ufeful, admirably appofite and ex- cellent ; O that the apoflolick primitive Chriflian ami- able tendernefs in the matter of offence, in the ufe of things indifferent, were brought back to, and revived in this much declined and degenerated generation, where- in offences abound, and the love of many waxeth cold ; and wherein there is a great propenfion and readinefs, untenderly and uncharitably to give and to take offence ! I do not by this in the leaft inlinuate, that for preventing the offence (or rather difpleafure) of any, we may warrantably do or forbear any thing that God bath com- manded or prohibited the doing of ; or that we lhould or may run crofs to the dictates of our own confciences, or do any thing with an unbar and doubting confcience ; which is always fin, and therefore never to be adven- tured on, offend and be difpleafed who will ; though, even in that cafe, their offence fh.ould be a grief to us, as it.
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