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&óó

CHRISTIAN MORALITY,

VIZ.

[SERM.

&XTB.

brought, but

will

carry

on

contention

and dispute,

let

him

remember

this

decisive

argument,

that

we

have no

such custom,

nor

the churches of God,"

we

the

preach-

ers

of

the

gospel,

and

the apostles

of

Christ, have

neither

found

nor approved

such

sort of

customs among

the christians

where

we

have

lived,

nor are

they

prac-

tised

in

any

of

the churches

of

God,

which we

have

heard

of.

I

will

readily

allow,.

that the

strict

professors

of

reli-

gion

in some

particular

ages.

of

the church, may

have

ge-

nerally indulged

either

some

unreasonable

scruples,

or

Some

unreasonable

liberties.

There

are

some

practices

of

evident and undoubted

lawfulness, which have

been

forbidden

in severe

and dreadful

language

by

some

or

other

of

our

religious

ancestors;

such

as

wearing bor-

rowed hair, or

suffering

our

own

to

reach the

shoulders;

using

any thine that

borders upon lot

or chance,

except

in matters

of

sacred or

solemn

concernment

:

wishing

a

friend's health

when

we

drink

;

practising

any

part of

our

civil

calling

after

sun

-set

on Saturdays, or even calling

the

months,

or

the days

of

the

week

by

names

borrowed

from the heathens,

such as

Monday

or Tuesday,

Janu-

ary

or

February

:

Yet

in

such cases as these, had

I

lived

amongst

them,

I

would have conformed to

their

customs,

and

have

given no

offence; but

I would have

taken every

proper

occasion to

shew

that

these were unnecessary

scru

pies.

This

was

the

conduct

of

St.

Paul,

in the

controversy

about

eating

meats

offered

to

idols

; 1'

Cor.

viii.

8.

Meat

commendeth

us

not

to

God;

for

neither

if.

we

eat,

are

we

the

better;

neither

if

we

eat

not,

are

we

the

worse.

There

he declares

how

needless these scruples were;

and

1

Cor.

x.

25. to shew

their christian

liberty, where

no

scrupulous person

was

present and

opposed

it,

he

bids

them,

eat

whatsoever

is

sold in

the

shambles, ask

-

ing

no

questions for conscience sake." But

in

both these

places he

cautions

then

against

offending the

weaker

brethren, and

shews

also how

afraid he

was

of

giving

offence,

or acting

in

their presence contrary to their

practices,

even

though they

were

built

on.

needless scru-

ples..

1

Cor.

viii.

13.

"I

will

eat

no

flesh

while

the

world

standeth,

if

it

maketh

my

brother

to

offend

;

that

is,

if

it

tempt

him to grow bold,

and venture

upon the same