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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A58032	The hue and cry of conscience after secure sinners; or The alarm of conscience in order to the discovery of hidden guilt by John Ryther minister of the gospel	Ryther, John, 1634?-1681.	1680 (1680)	Wing R2439; ESTC R218576	38,947	164

smiting him A● David his Heart smote him when he cut off the Lap o● Saul's Garment Tende● Consciences find this inwar● smiting either upon th● commission of Evil or th● omission of Good Ah! now how did Joseph's Brethren's Consciences smite them It is set forth by the poor Publican smiting on his Brest And sometimes with Ephraim's smiting upon his Thigh O now Sinners reflect upon their Sins as tha● word No Man repented and said what have I done 5. It is set forth by bringing again to mind which is the proper notion of Reflection Remember and shew your selves Men Isa 46.8 and bring it again to mind O ye Transgressors Therefore we have frequently such Expressions Remembring their evil ways 1 Kings 8.47 and if my People shall bethink themselves These are properly the Reflex Acts of the Mind and Conscience 6. It is set forth by Accusing The Conscience draws up an Accusation against the Sinner as here Joseph's Brethren did it Reflects when it Accuses We reade of the Gentiles who only had the Law of Nature and yet their Consciences did accuse them 7. It is set forth by Condemning which is higher than Accusing it passes Judgment as well as it witnesses If our own Hearts condemn us 1 John 3.20 God is greater than our Hearts viz. our Consciences We may spell out of all these some things of the nature of Reflection of Conscience Second Inquiry is What this awakened Conscience reflects upon For we must understand that Conscience doth never bear false Witness for in this case the voice of Conscience is the Voice God Conscience's Testimony holds true in the case of Joseph's Brethren 1. Conscience in a day of Affliction reflects upon matters of Fact It may be at the present commission of the Sin the Sinner takes no notice of it in an hurry and huff of Temptation all is forgotten O! but there is 〈◊〉 Book of Remembrance that Conscience keeps and all your Sins are registred there and though it be a sealed Book at present you know not ●ow soon it may be opened and you judged out of it according to what you have ●one O how many Sinners may now deny matter of fact but when Conscience ●hall be awakened to lay it ●ome and charge them plain●ith it saying as Nathan to David Thou art the Man Then there will be no denying of it The witness of ●●es own Conscience is an ●deniable Testimony Cain ●ould not deny this Testimony therefore his Guilt cri'd all that meet me will slay me 〈◊〉 aoh could not deny this Testimony I and my People are wicked Judas could nodeny this Testimony I have sinned in betraying innocent Blood The People of God could not deny this Testimony when they cried out Our Iniquities testifie again us c. 2. Conscience doth no only reflect upon matter o● Fact but upon Circumstances and Aggravations of the Fact Conscience when awakened becomes tender and calls every particular Circumstance to remembrance that did heighten or any way aggravate the matter and thus did they in the Text Wherein lay the aggravation of the Guilt You have heard hinted before I that we saw the anguish of h●● Soul and he besought us yet we would not hear 1. They saw the anguish of his Soul and yet their Eyes did not affect their Hearts 2. It was their Brother too 3. He besought us 4. They would not hear All of them great Aggravations Saw it The anguish of a Brothers Soul A beseeching Brother and would not hear Deasned their Ears to his lamentable Cries O how do their Consciences Reflect upon all these There are several things that Conscience when awakened reflects upon with reference to the Circumstances of matter of Fact 1. Sometimes Conscience tells the Sinner it is against Light Thou hadst so much Light as to conceive this before commission that it was a Sin that it was a Violation and Transgression of an holy Law and says Conscience this thou knewest yea this thou knewest before-hand and yet contrary to the discovery of this Light thou didst run violently into it and rebelledst against the Light as Job's phrase is Job 24.13 2. Sometimes Conscience tells the Sinner he hath sinned against Resolutions and this is an aggravating Circumstance O how often says Conscience hast thou broken thy serious Purposes and Vows when it may be you have been in imminent dangers and distresses Now Conscience registers and records the very Resolutions of poor Sinners it being privy to all the secret Purposes When some of you are at Sea ready to be swallowed up of the Belly of Hell as Jonah phrases it O then you pray to God and purpose against Sin if God will bring you off with your Lives at this time Or it may be others of you at Land upon a supposed Death-bed O if God will spare you How do you resolve against Sin yea against those Sins that sting your Consciences most But alas after all this do not you break your Bonds Now Conscience books all and at one time or other will remember you of all these things 3. Sometimes Conscience in its Reflections tells the Sinner of sinning against its Warnings and Dictates To sin against the dictates of Conscience is a very great Aggravation O Sinners how often hath Conscience warned you As you love your Peace as you love your Souls as you will answer it at the great Tribunal of God that you go not on in such a Course or that you commit not such a Sin at your Peril says Conscience but not withstanding all this the Sinner blunders on I tell you Sinners from the Lord there is never a Warning an awakened Conscience hath given any of you but it will rise up against you another Day either here or hereafter 4. Sometimes Conscience in its Reflections tells Sinners of their sinning against its Reproofs which is an aggravating Circumstance To run into Sin after long reproved hence you have that terrible word Proy 28.1 He that being of ten reproved hardens his Heart shall suddenly be destroyed and that without remedy O says Conscience is not this thy Case Hast thou not often been reproved Have not I often reproved thee and God often reproved thee and Ministers often reproved thee Yet hast thou gone on c. And will not every Reproof walk in your Consciences another day that you sin against now 5. Sometimes Conscience in its Reflections tells Sinners of sinning against Mercy which is another aggravating Circumstance How many Mercies says Conscience have you sinned against sparing Mercy at Sea and at Land preventing Mercy preserving Mercy O what a life of Mercy hath thy Life seen Nothing but a Series of Mercy a large Tract of Mercy a Line of Mercy and yet thou hast sinned against all This will grieve thee another Day when thou shalt have all thy Mercies as well as Sins set in order before thee Thirdly Conscience reflects upon the dishonour Sin brings to God as well

THE HUE and CRY OF CONSCIENCE AFTER Secure Sinners OR THE ALARM of CONSCIENCE In order to the Discovery of HIDDEN GUILT The Heaven shall reveal his Iniquity and the Earth shall rise up against him Job 20.27 Thou hast set our Iniquities before thee our secret Sins in the light of thy Countenance Psal 90.8 By JOHN RYTHER Minister of the Gospel LONDON Printed by J. D. for Iohn White at the Three Bibles in the Minories 1680. TO THE Serious and Impartial READER THe present Day cannot but be looked upon to be an evil Day even by those who have but their Eyes half opened That which makes a Day evil is the Sin of the Day which brings on the dangers of the Day and God's threatnings to cause our Sun to go down at Noon and to darken the earth in the clear Day And I will turn your Feasts into Mourning and all your Songs into Lamentations and I will bring up Sackcloth upon all Loins and Baldness upon every Head and I will make it as the mourning of an only Son and the end thereof as a bitter Day Now when the evils of our Sins abound among us and the evils of God's Threatnings impend over us it is a seasonable time to contribute to a check of the one and to a preventing of the other which must be by some awakening or searching Calls and Crys to sleepy and drowzy Consciences which is the sole Design of this small Treatise Three sorts of Readers it is like to fall into the Hands of 1. Of awakened or it may be startled Consciences but half awakened Or 2. Into the hands of such who are sprinkled from an evil Conscience Or 3. Into the hands of such whose Consciences are seared Now for the first of these I would offer some things to serious Consideration 1. Whatever thou find'st here to concern thee do not put it off Know is a renewed Call of God to thee and say as in that case Lo this we have fearched Job 5.27 so it is hear it and know it for thy good Or as it is in the Hebrew for thy self Know it to a practical and profitable improvement of it Dost thou know what thou mayst find in following the Search Hadst not thou better search Truth to set thee upon a diligent search for Guilt that hath laid long hid than let God find it out to thy shame sorrow and confusion of Face O be not thou troubled that thy Conscience is startled and begins to fly in thy Face Know now it is a Call of Christ Ephes 5.14 saying Awake thou that sleepest and arise from the Dead and Christ shall give thee Light Little do Sinners know the danger of putting off Christ's renewed Calls 2. Carry what concerns thee in this Treatise to God in Prayer Conviction looks well when it puts upon Supplication O this is the great Reason why so many awakenings by the Ministry of the Word or by Providential Dispensations die and come to nothing because they are not prayed over O how hard is it to bring guilty obstinate Sinners upon their Knees We find when Ephraim bemoaned himself and lay under Conviction he then presently fell on praying Jer. 31.18 Turn thou me and I shall be turned for thou art the Lord my God O Sinners know that such Convictions as are not attended with Prayer will but prove aggravations of your Sin and Guilt another day As soon as ever God had wrought throughly upon Paul it was said Behold he prayeth Prayer is the first breath of the new Creature 3. What concerns thee here consider it well weigh it in the ballance of the Sanctuary prove whether it be according to the standard of the Sanctuary Poor Souls hear much and it may be reade much but this marrs all they consider little Now it is the considerate Reader that is the profitable Reader Consider what thou readest 2 Tim. 2.7 and the Lord give thee understanding 1. Consider the Word thou hearest and thou readest shall judge thee at the last Day All thou hast heard all thou hast read shall come in as witness against thee And canst thou stand before such a Testimony 2. Consider thy own Conscience in that Day will be a thousand witnesses And canst thou then lift up thy Head when the Books shall be opened Rev. 20.12 and amongst the rest this sealed Book of thy own guilty Conscience where thy Iniquity that hath been sewed up shall be brought to light Job 14.1 and thy Transgression that hath been sealed up in a Bag shall be openly detected and discovered 3. Consider the Day is bastening upon thee that the iniquities of thy heels shall compass thee about Psal 19.5 O how wilt thou poor Sinner be entangled and perplexed with thy Sin and Guilt Some understand by Heel the last part of a Mans life towards his Death And doth not such a day hasten upon you O what work will Guilt make in the Conscience in a day of Distress consider by Joseph's Brethren 4. Consider how thy Conscience consents as thou readest Is not this true says Conscience Hast not thou found and felt it so says Conscience Is not thy Conscience put to silence as thou readest Consider that the Truths are commended to thy Conscience 5. Consider how sad it would be for all thy awakenings all thy touches all thy impressions all thy Convictions to be lost at last O Sinners how will such be condemned out of their own Mouths Can these be lost and your Souls saved of all your losses you may reckon these among your grea est losses 4. What concerns thee here remark and remember you may read much and remark little and this marrs all you read this remarking is Conscience taking Notes and making Animadversions upon Truths You do not bring your Consciences to reade Books say as you reade O my Conscience mark this this nearly concerns thee You know Men mark and observe what concerns them The second sort of Readers this little Tract may fall into their Hands are such who are sprinkled from an evil Conscience upon whose Door-posts the Blood of the Paschal Lamb is sprinkled who with Paul daily exercise themselves in all good Conscience both towards God and Man 1. O do you reade and bless God that you have to all Chalenges and Questions the answer of a good Conscience that you can silence all your Objections and Accusations by Faith in the Blood of Christ and can sing that triumphant Song even in your Militant State Rom. 8.33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's Elect c. Can every one say so can every Professon say so can every Child of God say so Are there not many that have been a long time learning to sing this Song and have not learnt it to this day 2. Let this be your care to preserve the tenderness of your Consciences You may by guilt Sirs benum your Consciences as you find by what