Trent-Councel and that under a curse taking it as I suppose in a wrong construction but not worthy of so heavy a censure if it be rightly understood according to the doctrine of our Church in the thirteenth Article of her Confession and according to the tenour of those Scriptures whereon that doctrine is grounded Viz. Mat. 12. 33. Rom. 8. 8. Tit. 1. 15. Heb. 11. 6. c. Howbeit I take it with â—ubjection of judgement that that Concluâ—ion what truth soever it may have in it selfe hath yet no direct foundation in this Text. The Verbe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to beleeve and the Nowne 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 faith or beleefe are both of them found sundry times in this Chapter yet seeme not to signifie in any place thereof either the Verbe the Act or the Nowne the Habit of this saving or justifying Faith of which wee now speake But being opposed every where and namely in this last verse unto doubtfulnesse of judgement concerning the lawfulnesse of some indifferent things must therefore needs be understood of such a perswasion of Judgement concerning such lawfulnesse as is opposite to such doubting Which kind of Faith may be found in a meere heathen man who never having heard the least syllable of the mystery of salvation by Christ may yet be assured out of cleare evidence of reason that many of the things hee doth are such as hee may and ought to doe And as it may be found in a meere heathen man so it may be wanting in a true beleever who stedfastly resting upon the blood of Christ for his eternall redemption may yet through the strength of temptation sway of passion or other distemper or subreption incident to humane frailty doe some particular act or acts of the lawfulnesse where of he is not sufficiently perâ—waded The Apostle then herâ— speaking of such a Faith as may be both sound in an unbeleever and also wanting in a true beleever it appeareth that by Faith hee meaneth not that justifying Faith which maketh a true beleever to differ from an unbeleever but the word must be understood in some other notion Yet thus much I may adde withall in the behalfe of those worthy men that have alleaged this Scripture for the purpose aforesaid to excuse them from the imputation of having at least wilfully handled the word of God deceitfully First that the thing it selfe being true and the words also sounding so much that way might easily induce them to conceive that to be the very meaning And common equity will not that men should be presently condemned if they shall sometimes confirme a point from a place of Scripture not altogether pertinent if yet they thinke it to be so especially so long as the substance of what they write is according to the analogy of Faith and Godlinesse Secondly that albeit these words in their most proper and immediate sence will not necessarily enforce that Conclusion yet it may seeme deducible therefrom with the helpe of some topicall arguments and by more remote inferences as some learned men have endeavoured to shew not altogether improbably And thirdly that they who interpret this Text as aforesaid are neither singular nor novel therein but walk in the same path which some of the ancient Fathers have trod before them The Rhemists themselves confesse it of S. Augustine to whom they might have added also S. Prosper and whose authority alone is enough to stop their mouthes for ever Leo Bishop of Rome who have all cited these words for the selfe-same purpose But we are content for the reasons already shewne to let it passe as a collection impertinent and that I suppose is the worst that can be made of it There is a second acception of the word Faith put either for the whole systeme of that truth which God hath been pleased to reveale to his Church in the Scriptures of the Old and New TestameÌ„t or some part therof or else 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for the assent of the minde thereunto In which signification some conceiving the words of this Text to bee meant doe hence inferre a false and dangerous conclusion which yet they would obtrude upon the Christian Church as an undoubted principle of truth that a men are bound for every particular action they doe to have direction and warrant from the written word of God or else they sinne in the doing of it For say they faith must be grounded upon the word of God Faith commeth by hearing and hearing by the word of God Rom. 10. Where there is no Word then there can be no Faith and then by the Apostles doctrine that which is done without the Word to warrant it must needes be sin for whatsoever is not of faith is sinne This is their opinion and thus they would inferre it I know not any pâ—ece of counterfeit doctrine that hath passed so currently in the world with so little suspition of falshood and so little open contradiction as this hath done One chiefe cause whereof I conjecture to be for that it seemeth to make very much for the honour and perfection of Gods sacred Law the fulnesse and sufficiency whereof none in the Christian Church but Papists or Atheists will deny In which respect the very questioning of it now will perhaps seeme a strange novelty to many and occasion their miscensures But as God himselfe so the holy word of God is so full of all requisite perfection that it needeth not to beg honour from an untruth Will you speake wickedly for God or talke deceitfully for him I hold it very needfull therefore both for the vindicating of my Text from a common abuse and for the arming of all my brethren as well of the Clergy as Laity against a common and plausible errour that neither they teach it nor these receive it briefely and clearely to shew that the aforesaid opinion in such sort as some have proposed it and many have understood it for it is capable of a good interpretation wherein it may be allowed first is utterly devoid of truth and secondly draweth after it many dangerous consequents and evill effects and thirdly hath no good warrant from my present Text. The Opinion is that to doe any thing at all without direction from the Scripture is unlawfull and sinfull Which if they would understand only of the substantials of Gods worship and of the exercises of Spirituall and supernaturall graces the assertion were true and sound but as they extend it to all the actions of common life whatsoever whether naturall or civill even so farre as to the taking up of a stram so it is altogether false and indefensible I marvell what warrant they that so teach have from the Scripture for that very doctrine or where they are commanded so to beleeve or teach One of their chiefest refuges is the Text we now have in hand but I shall anon drive them from
this shelter The other places usually alleaged speake onely either of divine and supernaturall truths to be beleeved or else of workes of grace or worship to be performed as of necessity unto salvation which is not to the point in issue For it is freely confessed that in things of such nature the holy Scripture is and so we are to account it a most absolute and sufficient direction Upon which ground we heartily reject all humane traditions devised and intended as supplements to the doctrine of faith contained in the Bible and annexed as Codicils to the holy Testament of Christ for to supply the defects thereof The Question is wholly about things in their nature indifferent such as are the use of our food raiment and the like about which the common actions of life are chiefely conversant Whether in the choice and use of such things we may not be sometimes sufficiently guided by the light of reason and the common rules of discretion but that we must be able and are so bound to doe or else we sinne for every thing wee doe in such matters to deduce our warrant from some place or other of Scripture Before the Scriptures were written it pleased God by visions and dreames and other like revelations immediately to make knowne his good pleasure to the Patriarches and Prophets and by them unto the people which kinde of Revelations served them to all the same intents and purposes whereto the sacred Scriptures now doe us viz. to instruct them what they should believe and doe for his better service and the furtherance of their owne salvations Now as it were unreasonable for any man to thinke that they either had or did expect an immediate revelation from God every time they ate or dranke or bought or sold or did any other of the common actions of life for the warranting of each of those particular actions to their consciences no lesse unreasonable it is to thinke thaâ— we should now expect the like warrant from the Scriptures for the doing of the like actions Without all doubt the Law of nature and the light of reason was the rule whereby they were guided for the most part in such matters which the wisdome of God would never have left in them or us as a principall relique of his decayed image in us if he had not meant that we should make use of it for the direction of our lives and actions thereby Certainely God never infused any power into any creature whereof he intended not some use Else what shall we say of the Indies and other barbarous nations to whom God never vouchsafed the lively oracles of his written word Must we thinke that they were left a lawlesse people without any Rule at all whereby to order their actions How then come they to be guilty of transgression for where there is no Law there can be no transgression Or how commâ—th it about that their consciences should at any time or in any case either accuse them or excuse them if they had no guide nor rule to walke by But if wee must grant they had a Rule and there is no way you see but grant it wee must then we must also of necessity grant that there is some other Rule for humane actions besides the written word for that we presupposed these nations to have wanted Which Rule what other could it be then the Law of Nature and of right reason imprinted in their hearts Which is as truely the Law and Word of God as is that which is printed in our Bibles So long as our actions are warranted either by the one or the other wee cannot be said to want the warrant of Gods word Nec differt Scripturâ an ratione consistat saith Tertullian it mattereth not much from whether of both wee have our direction so long as we have it from either You see then those men are in a great errour who make the holy Scriptures the sole rule of all humane actions whatsoever For the maintenance whereof there was never yet produced any piece of an argument either from reason or from authority of holy writ or from the testimony either of the ancient Fathers or of other classicall Divines of later times which may not be clearely and aboundantly answered to the satisfaction of any rationall man not extreamly fore-possessed with prejudice They who thinke to salve the matter by this mitigation that at leastwise our actions ought to be framed according to those generall rules of the Law of nature which are here and there in the Scriptures dispersedly conteyned as viz. That we should doe as we would be done to That all things be done decently and orderly and unto edification That nothing be done against Conscience and the like speake somewhat indeed to the truth but little to the purpose For they consider not First that these generall Rules are but occasionally and incidentally mentioned in Scripture rather to manifest unto us a former then to lay upon us a new obligation Secondly that those rules had beene of force for the ordering of mens actions though the Scripture had never expressed them and were of such force before those Scriptures were written where in they are now expressed For they bind not originally quà scripta but quà justa because they are righteous not because they are written Thirdly that an action conformable to these generall rules might not be condemned as sinfull although the doer thereof should looke at those rules meerely as they are the dictates of the Law of nature and should not be able to vouch his warrant for it from any place of Scripture neither should have at the time of the doing thereof any present thought or consideration of any such place The contrary whereunto I permit to any reasonable mans judgement if it be not desperately rash and uncharitable to affirme Lastly that if mens actions done agreeably to those rules are said to be of faith precisely for this reason because those rules are contained in the word then it will follow that before those particular Scriptures were written wherein any of those rules are first delivered every action done according to those rules had been done without faith there being as yet no Scripture for it and consequently had beene a sin So that by this doctrine it had beene a sinne before the writing of Saint Mathewes Gospell for any man to have done to others as he would they should doâ— to him and it had beene a sinne before the writing of the former Epistle to the Corinthians for any man to have done any thing decently and orderly supposing these two rules to be in those two places first mentioned because this supposed there could then have bin no warrant brought from the Scriptures for so doing Well then wee see the former Opinion will by no meanes hold neither in the rigour of it nor yet in the mitigation Wee are therefore to beware of it and that
so much the more heedfully because of the evil consequents and effects that issue from it to wit a world of superstitions uncharitable censures bitter contentions contempt of superiours perplexities of conscience First it filleth mens heads with many superstitions conceits making them to cast impurity upon sundry things which yet are lawfull to as many as use them lawfully For the taking away of the indifferency of any thing that is indifferent is in truth Superstition whether eyther of the two wayes it be done either by requiring it as necessary or by forbidding it as unlawfull Hee that condemneth a thing as utterly unlawfull which yet indeed is indifferent and so lawfull is guilty of superstition as well as he that enjoyneth a thing as absolutely necessary which yet indeed is but indifferent and so arbitrary They of the Church of Rome and some in our Church as they goe upon quite contrary grounds yet both false so they runne into quite contrary errours and both superstitious They decline too much on the left hand denying to the holy Scripture that perfection which of right it ought to have of containing all things appertaining to that supernaturall doctrine of faith and holinesse which God hath revealed to his Church for the attainement of everlasting salvation whereupon they would impose upon Christian people and that with an opinion of necessity many things which the Scriptures require not and that is a Superstition These wry too much on the right hand ascribing to the holy Scripture such a kind of perfection as it cannot have of being the sole directour of all humanâ— actions whatsoever whereupon they forbid unto Christian people and that under the name of sinno sundry things which the hoy Scripture condemneth not and that is a superstition too From which Superstition proceedeth in the second place uncharitable censuring as evermore they that are the most superstitious are the most supercilious No such severe censurers of our blessed Saviours person and actions as the superstitious Scribes and Pharisees were In this Chapter the speciall fault which the Apostle blameth in the weake ones who were somewhat superstitiously affected was their rash and uncharitable judging of their brethrâ—n And common and daily experience among our selves sheweth how freely some men spend their censures upon so many of their brethren as without seruple doe any of those things which they upon false grounds have superstitiously condemned as utterly unlawfull And then thirdly as unjust censures are commonly entertained with scorâ—e and contumely they that so liberally condemne their brethren of prophanâ—nesse are by them againe as freely flouted for their procesenesse and so whiles both parties please themselves in their owne wayes they cease not mutually to provoke and scandalize and exasperate the one the other pursuing their private spleenes so farre till they breake out into open contentions and oppositions Thus it stood in the Romane Church when this Epistle was written They judged one another and despised one another to the great disturbance of the Churches peace which gave occasion to our Apostles whole discourse in this Chapter And how farre the like censurings and despisings have embittered the spirits and whetted both the tongues and pens of learned men one against another in our owne Church the stirres that have been long since raised and are still upheld by the factious opposers against our Ecclesiasticall constitutions government and ceremonies will not suffer us to be ignorant Most of which stirres I verily perswade my selfe had beene long ere this either wholly buried in silence or at leastwise prettily well quieted if the weakenesse and danger of the error whereof we now speake had beene more timely discovered and more fully and frequently made knowen to the world then it hath been Fourthly let that doctrine be once admitted and all humane authority will soone bee despised The commands of Parents Masters and Princes which many times require both secrecy and expedition shall be taken into slow deliberation and the equity of them sifted by those that are bound to obey though they know no cause why so long as they know no cause to the contrary Delicata est obedientia quae transit in causae genus deliberativum It is a nice obedience in S. Bernards judgement yea rather troublesome and odious that is over-curious in discussing the commands of superiors boggling at every thing that is enjoyned requiring a why for every wherefore and unwilling to stirre untill the lawfulnesse and expediency of the thing commanded shall be demonstrated by some manifest reason or undoubted authority from the Scriptures Lastly the admitting of this doctrine would cast such a snare upon men of weake judgements but tender consciences as they should never bee able to unwinde themselves thereout againe Mens daily oceasions for themselves or friends and the necessities of common life require the doing of a thousand things within the compasse of a few dayes for which it would puzzle the best Textman that liveth readily to bethiâ—ke himselfe of a sentence in the Bible cleare enough to satisfie a scrupulous conscience of the lawfulnesse and expediency of what he is about to do for which by hearkening to the rules of reason and discretion he might receive easie and speedy resolution In which cases if he should be bound to suspend his resolution and delay to doe that which his owne reason would tell him were presently needfull to be done untill he could haply call to minde some precept or example of Scripture for his warrant what stops would it make in the course of his whole life what languishings in the duties of his calling how would it fill him with doubts and irresolutions lead him into a maze of uncertainties entangle him in a world of wofull perplexities and without the great mercy of God and better instruction plunge him irrecoverably into the gulfe of despaire Since the chiefe end of the publication of the Gospell is to comfort the hearts and to revive and refresh the spirits of Gods people with the glad tidings of liberty from the spirit of bondage and feare and of gracious acceptance with their God to annoint them with the oyle of gladnesse giving them beauty for ashes and instead of sackcloth girding them with joy we may well suspect that doctrine not to be Evangelicall which thus setteth the consciences of men upon the rack tortureth them with continuall feares and perplexities and prepareth them thereby unto hellish despaire These are the grievous effects and pernicious consequents that will follow upon their opinion who hold that we must have warrant from the Scripture for every thing whatsoever we doe not onely in spirituall things wherein alone it is absolutely true nor yet only in other matters of weight though they be not spirituall for which perhaps there might be some colour but also in the common affaires of life even in the most slight and
servant that is good at bit and nothing else one of those the olde riming verse describeth Sudant quando vorant frigescunt quando laborant such as can eatâ— till they sweate and worke till they â—â—â—eze O thou wicked and slothfull servant saith the master in the parable to him that napkined up his talent Mat. 25. they are rightly joyned wicked and slothfull for it is not possible a slothfull servant should be good The Poets therefore give unto Mercury who is interpres divûm the messenger as they faine of Iupiter and the other gods wings both at his hands and feet to intimate thereby what great speed and diligence was requisite to be used by those that should be imployed in the service of Princes for the managing of their waighty affaires of State Surely no lesse diligence is needful in the service of God but rather much more by how much both the Master is of greater majesty and the service of greater importance Not slothful in busines ferveÌ„t in spirit serving the Lord saith S. Paul Let all those that trifle away their precious time in unconcerning things or poast off the repentance of their sinnes and the reformation of their lives till another age or any other way slake their bounden service unto God either in the common duties of their generall or in the proper workes of their particular callings tremble to thinke what shall become of them when all they shall be cursed that have done the Lords worke in what kinde soever negligently We see now what we are to doe if we will approve our selves and our services unto the Lord our heavenly master What remaineth but that we be willing to doe it and for that end pray to the same our master who alone can worke in us both the will and the deed that he would be pleased of his great goodnesse to give to every one of us â—ourage to maintaine our Christian liberty inviolate as those thaâ— are free wisdome to use it aright and not for a cloake of maliciousnesse and grace at all times and in all placcs to behave our selves as the servants of God with such holy reverence of his majesty obedience to his will faithfulnesse in his imployments as may procure both for us and our services in the meane time gracious acceptance in his sight and in the end a glorious reward in his presence even for Jesus Christ his sake his onely son and our alone Saviour FINIS The Second Sermon Being the fourth ad Clerum Preached at the Metropoliticall Visitation holden for the most Reverend Father in God VVILLIAM Lord Archbishop of Canterbury at Grantham in the County and Diocesse of Lincolne 22. Aug. 1634. THE SECOND SERMON ROM 14. 23. For whatsoever is not of Faith is sin ONe remarkable difference among many other betweene Good and Evill is this that there must be a concurrence of all requisite conditions to make a thing good whereas to make a thing evill a single defect in any one condition alone will suffice Bonum ex causa integra malum ex partiali If wee propose not to our selves a right end or if we pitch not upon proper and convenient meanes for the attaining of that end or if we pursue not those means in a due maner or if we observe not exactly every materiall circumstance in the whole pursuit if we faile but in any one point the action though it should be in every other respect such as it ought to be by that one defect becommeth wholy sinfull Nay more not onâ—ly a true and reall but even a â—upposed and imaginary defect the bare opinion of unâ—â—wfulnesse is able to vitiate the most justifiable act and to turne iâ— into sinne I know there is nothing uncleane of iâ—selfe but to him that esteemeth any thing to bè uncleane to him it is unclean at the xiiij verse of this Chapter Nay yet more not onely a setled opinion that the thing wee doe is unlawfull but the very suspension of our judgements and the doubtfulnesse of our minds whether we may lawfully doe it or no maketh it sometimes unlawfull to be done of us and if we doe it sinfull He that but doubteth is damned if he eate because he eateth not of faith in the former part of this verse The ground whereof the Apostle delivereth in a short and full Aphorisme and concludeth the whole Chapter with it in the words of the Text For whatsoâ—ver is not of faith is sinne Many excellent instructions there are scattered throughout the whole Chapter most of them concerning the right use of that Liberty wee have unto things of indifferent nature well worthy our Christian consideration if we had time and leasure for them But this last Rule alone will find us work enough and therefore omitting the rest we will by Godâ— assistance and with your patience presently fall in hand with this and intend it wholy in the Explication first and then in the Application of it For by how much it is of more profitable and universall use for the regulating of the common offices of life by so much is the mischiefe greater if it be and accordingly our care ought to be so much the greater that it be not either mis-understood or mis-applyed Quod non ex fide peceatuÌ„ that is the Rule Whatsoever is not of Faith is Sinne. In the Explication of which words there would be little difficulty had not the ambiguity of the word Faith occasioned difference of interpretations and so left a way open to some mis-apprehensions Faith is vâ—rbum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as most other words are There be that have reckoned up more then twenty severall significations of it in the Scriptures But I find three especially looked at by those who either purposely or occasionally have had to doe with this Text each of which we shall examine in their Order First and most usually especially in the Apostolicall writings the word Faith is used to signifie that Theologicall vertue or gracious habit whereby wee embrace with our minds and affections the Lord Jesus Christ as the onely begotten Sonne of God and alone Saviour of the world casting our selves wholy upon the mercy of God through his merits for remission of sins and everlasting salvation It is that which is commonly called a lively or justifying Faith whereunto are ascribed in holy Writ those many gratious effects of purifying the heart adoption justification life joy peace salvation c. Not as to their proper and primary cause but as to the instrument whereby we apprehend and apply Christ whose merits and spirit are the true causes of all those blessed effects And in this notion many of our latter Divines seeme to understand it in our present Text whilst they alleage it for the confirmation of this Position that All the workes even the best workes of unbelâ—evers are sinnes A position condemned indeed by the
triviall things Yet for that the Patrons of this opinion build themselves as much upon the authority of this present Text as upon any other passage of Scripture whatsoever which is the reason why wee have stood thus long upon the examination of it we are therefore in the next place to cleare the Text from that their misinterpretation The force of their collection standeth thus as you heard already that saith is ever grounded upon the word of God and that therefore whatsoever action is not grounded upon the word being it is not of saith by the Apostles rule here must needes be a sinne Which collection could not be denied if the word Faith were here taken in that sense which they imagine and wherein it is very usually taken in the Scriptures viz. for the doctrine of supernaturall and divine revelation or for the beliefe thereof which doctrine wee willingly acknowledge to bee compleatly contained in the holy Scriptures alone and therefore dare not admit into our beliefe as a branch of divine supernaturall truth any thing not therein contained But there is a third signification of the word Faith nothing so frequently found in the Scriptures as the two former which yet appeareth both by the course of this whole Chapter and by the consent of the best and most approved interpreters as well ancient as modern to have been properly intended by our Apostle in this place namely that wherein it is put for a certaine perswasion of minde that what wee doe may lawfully bee done So that whatsoever action is done by us with reasonable assurance and perswasion of the lawfulnesse thereof in our owne consciences is in our Apostles purpose so farre forth an action of Faith without any enquiring into the meanes whereby that perswasion was wrought in us whether it were the light of our owne reason or the authority of some credible person or the declaration of Gods revâ—aled will in his written word And on the other side whatsoever action is done either directly contrary to the judgement and verdict of our owne consciences or at leastwise doubtingly and before we are in some competent measure assured that we may lawfully doe it that is it which S. Paul here denieth to be of faith and of which he pronounceth so peremptorily that it is and that eo nomine a sinne About which use and signification of the word Faith we need not to trouble our selves to fetch it from a trope eithor of Metonymie or Synecdoche as some doe For though as I say it doe not so often occurre in Scripture yet is it indeed the primary and native signification of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith derived from the roote 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to perswade Because all kindes of Faith whatsoever consist in a kinde of perswasion You shall therefore finde the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth properly to beleeve and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth properly not to be perswaded to be opposed as contrary either to other in Iohn 3. and Acts 14. and other places To omit the frequent use of the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Fides in Greeke and Latine authors in this signification observe but the passages of this very Chapter and you will be satisfied in it At the second verse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 one beleeveth that he may eate all things that is he is verily perswaded in his conscience that he may as lawfully eate flesh as herbes any one kinde of meate as any other he maketh no doubt of it Again at the fourteenth verse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I know and am perswaded that there is nothing uncleane of it selfe That is â— stedfastly beleeve it as a most certaine and undoubted truth Againe at the two and twentieth verse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hast thou faith have it to thy selfe before God that is art thou in thy conscience perswaded that thou maist lawfully partake any of the good creatures of God Let that perswasion suffice thee for the approving of thine owne heart in the sight of God but trouble not the Church nor offend thy weaker brother by a needlesse and unâ—easonable ostentation of that thy knowledge Lastly in this three and twentieth verse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He that doubteth is damned if he eat because he eateth not of faith that is he that is not yet fully perswaded in his owne minde that it is lawfull for him to eate some kindes of meates as namely swines-flesh or bloodings and yet is drawne against his owne judgement to eate thereof because he seeth others so to doe or because he would be loath to undergoe the taunts and jeares of scorners or out of any other poore respect such a man is cast and condemned by the judgement of his owne heart as a transgressour because hee adventureth to doe that which he doth not beleeve to be lawfull And then the Apostle proceeding ab hypothesi ad thesin immediately reduceth that particular case into a generall rule in these words For whatsoever is not of faith is sinne By the processe of which his discourse it may appeare that by Faith no other thing is here meant then such a perswasion of the minde and conscience as we have now declared and that the true purport and intent of these words is but thus much in effect Whosoever shall enterprise the doing of any thing which he verily beleeveth to bee unlawfull or at least-wise is not reasonably well perswaded of the lawfulnesse of it let the thing be otherwise and in it selfe what it can be lawfull or unlawfull indifferent or necessary convenient or inconvenient it mattereth not to him it is a Sinne howsoever Which being the plaine evident and undenyable purpose of these words I shall not need to spend any more breath either in the farther refutation of such conclusions as are mis-inferred hence which fall of themselves or in the farther Explication of the meaning of the Text which already appeareth but addresse my selfe rather to the application of it Wherein because upon this great principle may depend the resolution of very many Cases of Conscience which may trouble us in our Christian and holy walking it will not be unprofitable to proceed by resolving some of the most materiall doubts and questions among those which have occurred unto my thcughts by occasion of this Text in my meditations thereon First it may be demanded What power the Conscience hath to make a thing otherwise good and lawfull to become unlawfull and sinfull and whence it hath that power I answer First that it is not in the power of any mans judgement or conscience to alter the naturall condition of any thing whatsoever either in respect of quality or degree but that still every thing that was good remaineth good and every thing that was evill remaineth evill and that in the very same degree of good or evill as it was before neither