49.~ Obforvat. Irai. ). :.o, va as.u. Word, not to everyfancy. There is a doable Superftition, Pofitive and Negative; the one when men count that holy which God ne– ver made holy, the other when men condemA that which God ne– ver condem~ed : they are botfu alike faulty ; we are not in the place of Ged; 'cis not in oar powe\' t~ make .fi1uor duties: Touch not, tafle not, h~ndlc not, were the Ordinances and Precepts of falfe Teachers, Col. 2. I !11• There are three things exempted from mans Judicatory; Gods Co'tm[e!s, the holy Scriptures, and the heart1 of men : We fhould not dogmflti~e and fubject men to Ordinances of our own making , prefs our own aufierities and rigorous obfer– vanees as duties. !uftice andwifdom is geed; but to be jufl over– mttch, or Wife over-much, is fiark naught, Ecclef.7· I 5, t 6. that is, to be jufi or wife beyond the Rule. Man is aproud creature, and would fain make-bismoroficy a Law to others, and obtrude his own private fenfe for Doctrine : 'fis ufual tocondemn every thing that doth not pleafe us, as if our magifferial ditlates were Articles of Faith: We-mull: not come in our own name,but judgas the Word judgeth, or elfe we judg the Word. The Lord grant we may confi– der it in this dogmati~ing ~tge, wherein every one cryeth up hi~ private conceit for Law , and men m~tk._e fins rather then finde them. , Thirdly, You may conceive it thus : They might difcommend and cenlure others for that which the Word approved and allowed, and fo did not fo mud~ condemn private perfons as the Law it felf. Ifyou take in this Confideration, the Note will be,Th~tt to pleadfor jim, or toa(j;erfe graces, is to judg th~ Word it felf. Thus you fet the pride ofcorrupted wit againfi the Wifdomof God in the Scrip– tures: Wo .be 'to thnn that call good evtl, tmd evil good, thlflt put light for dar/Qgrfs, ~tnddark_Hefs for light, that put bitterfor{weet, andfweetfor bitter. Ufually thus ~cis in the world,grace-meeteth with calumny, and Jiil with flattery: Op~n and grofs fins are the more gently firoked, becaufe they have the hap to go away under a geod name; DruHf<!nn-efo isgoO'dfcliowjhip-, Cenfure is confermce and good dift:ourf~, E'rt<or is N ewlight-, Rebellitm is,Zeal' ofpub– lique Welfare; but Gtace bath the hap to fu:fer under fome m re– femblance. As they were wont te deal with Chrifiiansin the pri– miti-ve times, to put tllem ir: ~ars skins, arnf then topait them: Se graces-are-miful1ed1 and. mifreprefented, :md dwm hooted at. The– taw fai~h,'Be :t::.ellloHtJ, !Je- per~ceable~-&c. but in tbe'W()rlds reck~- mg
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=