ch ordinances of men as take from us liberty
of practice in the use of things indifferent,(73) obedience (I say) for
conscience of their ordinances merely. What meaneth also that place, 1
Cor. vii. 23, "Be not ye the servants of men?" "It forbids us, (saith
Paybody) to be the servants of men, that is, in wicked or superstitious
actions, according to their perverse commandments or desires."(74) If he
mean of actions that are wicked or superstitious in themselves, then it
followeth, that to be subject unto those ordinances, "Touch not, taste
not, handle not," is not to be the servants of men, because these actions
are not wicked and superstitious in themselves. Not touching, not tasting,
not handling, are in themselves indifferent. But if he mean of actions
which are wicked and superstitious, in respect of circumstances, then is
his restrictive gloss senseless; for we can never be the servants of men,
but in such wicked and superstitious actions, if there were no more but
giving obedience to such ordinances as are imposed with a necessity upon
us, and that merely for conscience of the ordinance, it is enough to
infect the actions with superstition, _Sunt hominum servi_, saith
Bullinqer,(75) _qui aliquid in gratiam hominum faciunt_. This is nearer
the truth; for to tie ourselves to the doing of anything for the will or
pleasure of men, when our conscience can find no other reason for the
doing of it, were indeed to make ourselves the servants of men. Far be it
then from us to submit our necks to such a heavy yoke of human precepts,
as would overload and undo us. Nay, we will stedfastly resist such
unchristian tyranny as goeth about to spoil us of Christian liberty,
taking that for certain which we find in Cyprian,(76) _periculosum est in
divinis rebus ut quis cedat jure suo_.

_Sect._ 3. Two things are here replied, 1. That there is reason for
adstricting of our practice in these things, because we are commanded to
obey them that have the rule over us, and to submit ourselves, Heb. xiii.
17,(77) and to submit ourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's
sake, 1 Pet. ii. 16, and that except public constitutions must needs be
obeyed, there can be no order,(78) but all shall be filled with strife and
contention. _Ans._ 1. As touching obedience to those that are set over us,
if they mean not to tyrannise over the Lord's inheritance, 1 Pet. v. 3;
and to make the commandments of God of no effect by their traditions, Mark
vi