essary to conform unto such burdensome and beggarly
ceremonies, as are many ways inconvenient, and occasions of sundry evil
effects. His principal reason is,(240) That the apostles, by direction of
the Holy Ghost, and upon reasons of common and perpetual equity, did
practise themselves, and caused others to practise, yea, advised and
enjoined (as matters good and necessary to be done) ceremonies so
inconvenient and evil in many main and material respects, as the
ceremonies enjoined and prescribed in the church of England are supposed
to be; whence he would have it to follow, that to suffer deprivation for
refusing to conform to the ceremonies of the church of England, is
contrary to the doctrine and practice of the apostles. _Ans._ These Jewish
ceremonies in the use and practice of the apostles, were no way evil and
inconvenient, as himself everywhere confesseth, whereas, therefore, he
tells us,(241) that those ceremonies were abused to superstition, were of
mystical signification, imposed and observed as parts of God's worship,
swerving from the general rules of God's word, not profitable for order,
decency, and edification, offensive many ways, and infringing Christian
liberty, he runs at random all the while; for these things agree not to
the Jewish ceremonies, as they were rightly used by the apostles
themselves, and by others at their advice, but only as they were
superstitiously used with opinion of necessity by the obstinate Jews, and
by the false teachers, who impugned Christian liberty. So that all that
can follow upon Mr Sprint's argument is this: That notwithstanding of the
evils and inconveniences which follow upon certain ceremonies in the
superstitious abuse of them by others, yet if, in our practice, they have
a necessary or expedient use, then (after the example of the apostles) we
may well conform unto them. Now, all this cometh not near the point which
Mr Sprint undertaketh to prove, namely, that granting the controverted
ceremonies to be, in our use and practice of the same, many ways evil and
inconvenient, yet to suffer deprivation for refusing to conform to the
same is contrary to the doctrine and practice of the apostles. And as
touching the comparison instituted betwixt our controverted ceremonies,
and these antiquated ceremonies of the Jews, practised and prescribed by
the apostles after the ascension of Christ, and before the full
promulgation of the gospel, many evils there be in ours, which could