Ob;,£1. /lnfw, Firft, It ma1 alimatt their Heart! from the Weys of God. When notwirhfiandin all the Profeffion thou makeft of Holinefs, and of StriClnefs of Life and Co g verfa~ion; yet t~ey _fee chat which. they accoun~ loofe and finful, is genera{( praCbfed and mamtamed, whether lt be finful or not; yet feeing you generally .prad:if~ ~hat which is accounted evil,chis alienates their beans from the Ways Jr God, and from the Profeffion of Religion. Secondly' It brings s;n a/fo ; becaufe it may tnCOIIT4f.t them to do the fame things that you do a/fo. Now that may be Sin to themthatts to you lawful· becau(e as I told you, whatever is done contrary to the Ditlates and Perfwa'fions of ~ Man's own Confcience, that is Sin to him: Due now many weak Chriftians ma be induced eo ad: contrary to Confcience, only acl:ing according to the examptls of fironger Chriftians, that are bccter informed, and that have more Light ro direCl them, and fo by their unlimited doing what they think is lawful the bring a great deal ofguilt upon the Confciences of others that are weak a~d thfc fcruple the things they fee others do ; and yet becaufe they fee others do them will themfelves venture to do them alfo,though they fcruple it. It is not enough therefore that you yourfelves are fatisfied in your own Confciences that what you do Js lawful; but you muftweigh and confider how it will fuit with the Confcicnces of other Men alfo,elfe wJlat you think is lawful, may be a Sinborh umo you and unto...them ; to them, becaufe they are brought to fin by your example · and to you, becaufe you brought them to fin by d.oing that which wa-sro you l~wful. But here fome may fay, This is to bring us ttnder a moft intolerable yolu of Str· vitude, if we muff be bound to ob[ervt every ignorant humorom Mtm's Confcimct that wilt fcruple ttr;err thing; it is in tt;ain to t~ll m that fo.mt rhing'i are lawful and allowed to us, if yet we muft do nothmg to g1'Ve offence m tbat which appears e'Vil to others; for what one thing is tbtrl in the World that df!th not ,.ppear e'Vil to fome or other ? This is to bring m into an intoitrnble Bondnge and Slavery. To this I anfwer; There are feveral Cafes, wherein, though there be an Appearance of Evil unto ~thersinfQtri~ things, Y.et w: m.ay lawfully do them; as, Firj!, We are not obhged to abftatn fromthmgs mdtfferentthatmay have in them an .Appearance of Evil to others1 unlefs we have fome grounds to conje.. aure,that they take offence,and are fcandalized at them. We are not bound to ask every one that w~ meet with, whether they fcruple fuch and fuch a thing that we mufi do; this were endlefs and ridiculous. We are not obliged eo abftain, if there be only a remote poffibility of Scandal, unlefs there be alfo fome great probability of it; nor are we bound to divine whether or no it be not poffible that fuch an ACtion of ours may be offenfive to fome or others; butif there be no prefent probabilty to conjeClure that fuch a thing may be offenfive, ·we may then lawfully do whatever is lawful unto us. And therefore, Firft, If by comparing the Circumfiances of an Adion together, we can.. not probably guefs any ihould be offended at it, it is their Weaknefs, and not our Sin, if they be offended at it. Indeed, whenever we converfe with others, it becomes our Chriftian Prudence and Charity to weigh fuch Circumfiances exactly; to confider the Attion that we do, thoUgh lawful, yet whecheror no it be common or unufual; to confider the Perfons with whom we are, whether 'Yeak or ftrong, whether fcrupulous or refolved Chriftians; for that which may be lawful in fome ofthefe Circumfiances, may he unlawful. in others of them: An ACtion may be lawful if it be common, tho' it be done before a weak and fcrupulous Chriftian, and it may be lawful tho' uncommon, if it be done before a ftrongand are{oi'TledChri{lian; but if it be unufual, and if it be done before a [crupulous and a weak Chriftian, it may feem to have in it a great probability of giving of Offence, and being a Scandal to them; and therefore we muft forbear fuch uncommon, unufital actions before weak Chriftians, in which there may he anr, probable guefs that they will take offence, and be fcandalized at them; but 1£ upon examining thefe and the like Circumfiances,wecan find no fuch probability of giving of Oftence, we may then make ufe of our Cbrijlian Libtrty in them. Swmd/y, If after we have weighed thefe Circumftances, and can find no probability of Scatula/ in them, if others with whom we are, or who are liable to take exception, if they do not difcover their Exceptions, we are not bound to abftain from any thing that is indifferently lawful. We have a hint of this from
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