9. Some offences may be called personall, when a person committeth them in his private carriage, that is, when his way of eating, drinking, living, &c. offendeth others, although he hath no medling with them, but live retiredly: Some again are more direct offences (as the first are indirect and consequential) that is, which flow from men in their publick actings, or in their mutual converse with others, which have more direct influence to offend.
10. Offences may be distinguished as they hurt folks either by pleasing them in their corruptions and strengthening them in what is sinfull, or when they hurt by irritating and stirring up corruptions to vent. In the first respect, too much gentlenesse in admoni∣tions, rashnesse or imprudence in commendations of what is good in one, or extenuation of what is evil, corrupt advice, and such like, do offend: Thus Io∣na•…•…ab offended Amnon, 2 Sam. 13. and Eli his sons. In the last, sleighting of men, wronging of them, or not condescending to remove a wrong, or to vindi∣cate our selves, if there be a supposed wrong, doth grieve and offend; so do evil-grounded reproofs, or unadvertent admonitions that are not seasoned with love, hard reports, &c.
11. We may consider offences with respect to the party offended; and so, first, we offend friends in ma∣ny respects, whom, it may be, we would not desire to grieve, yet unadvertingly we stumble them, and hurt their spiritual condition by unfaithfulnesse to them, carnalnesse in conversing with them, siding with their infirmities, and many such like wayes. Or, second∣ly, they are enemies, or such to whom we bear no such respect, these also are scandalized when they are provoked through the carnalness of our way to judge hardly of us, or of Religion for our sake, or to follow some carnal course to oppose what we carnally do, when we irritate them and provoke their passion, &c. and thus men in all debates are often guilty, whether