Moderation a virtue, or, A vindication of the principles and practices of the moderate…Moderation a vertue, or, A vindication of the principles and practices of the moderate…

Object. But you say, they are unlawful Meetings. Then the honest moderate Christian thinks with himself; 1. I never heard either Treason or Sedition, as much as couched in any of their Sermons or Exercises. 2. It is not sinful to hold actual Communion with sound and pious Christians, antecedent to the temporal Law, therefore it is not sinful in it self. 3. He cannot think so hardly of his Christian Governors, as that they would make a Law, to forbid any pious Exercise, but only such as are evil in themselves, or have tendency to Destruction or harm to the Government. 4. He remembers the moderate Judgment of every part of the Legislative Power, concerning Dissenters for several Years last past. 5. He considers the Law is a Penal Law, and is ready to bear that Penalty with Peace and Quietness. And if you think them unlawful Assemblies, of that sort as are not safe to be tolerated, then he that now frequents the public Churches, will then frequent them, when those Meetings are dispersed, or suppressed. But then what becomes of your own Doctrine of misplacing Zeal about Circumstances, Rites, and Appendages of Religion? which a moderate Man should not do; Pag. 24. If you leave the Moderation of Penalties to Governors, it had been beseeming a moderate Divine, preaching of Moderation, to have forborne to give Magistrates ⟨p. 29⟩to whom you preached, Alarms to beware of Men that design against the Government, commonly called Moderate Men, the softer Phrase for Knaves, but in proper Language, Knaves and Vipers. If you know any such designing Men, inform against them, they are Strangers to us that are moderate indeed. I have staid Jong enough to view this Picture of a Lay-moderate Church-man; I will walk into the next Room, and view the moderate Church-Clergy Man, who as he is drawn by this Hand, stands out with his Legs as the more crooked Knave of the two, Pag. 40, 42.

Object. But you say, they are unlawful Meetings. Then the honest moderate Christian thinks with himself; 1. I never heard either Treason or Sedition, as much as couched in any of their Sermons or Exercises. 2. It is not sinful to hold actual Communion with sound and pious Christians, antecedent to the temporal Law, therefore it is not sinful in it self. 3. He cannot think so hardly of his Christian Governours, as that they would make a Law, to forbid any pious Exercise, but only such as are evil in themselves, or have tendency to Destruction or harm to the Government. 4. He remembers the moderate Judgment of every part of the Legislative Power, concerning Dissenters for several Years last past. 5. He considers the Law is a Penal Law, and is ready to bear that Penalty with Peace and Quietness. And if you think them unlawful Assemblies, of that sort as are not safe to be tolerated, then he that now frequents the publick Churches, will then frequent them, when those Meetings are disperst, or suppressed. But then what becomes of your own Doctrine of misplacing Zeal about Circumstances, Rites, and Appendages of Religion? which a moderate Man should not do; Pag. 24. If you leave the Moderation of Penalties to Governous, it had been beseeming a moderate Divine, preaching of Moderation, to have forborn to give Magistrates