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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A07213	The tribunall of the conscience: or, A treatise of examination shewing vvhy and how a Christian should examine his conscience, and take an account of his life. By Henry Mason, parson of St. Andrews Vndershaft, London.	Mason, Henry, 1573?-1647.	1626 (1626)	STC 17613; ESTC S112441	37,697	74

qui peccatorum suorum memoriam exuunt Chr. hom 2. in psal 50. pag. 1003. D. were vsed to forget their vertues and remember their sinnes not as men now a daies saith he doe vse to doe who put their sinnes out of their remembrance And heereupon he aduiseth vs not long after in the same Sermon (c) Annon codicē domi habes in quo quotidianas rationes scribas Habe item codicem in conscientia et quotidiana peccata scribe c. Chrysost ibid p. 1004. D. Hast thou not a Booke in thine house saith he wherein thou writest thy daily accounts Haue also a like booke in thy conscience and write therein thy daily transgressions I meane saith he when thou layest thee downe vpon thy bed bring forth thy booke and take an account of thy sinnes And to like purpose speake many others as may further be seene in the next rule following 3. The time which learned and wise men haue allotted for this worke is especially in the euening or at night because that time is a time of vacation and leisure For in the day time wee haue our trades to follow and our markets to make and our Law-suites to attend on and our friends to talke with and our families to prouide for and one businesse or other will euer be comming in the way and interrupt vs but the night is a time of priuatenes and retirednesse when occasions of the world being ouerpassed we haue the more freedome to conferre with our soules To this purpose it is that Dauid tooke the night time to meditate in (a) Psal 119.55 I haue remembred thy name O Lord in the night and haue kept thy Law And that time he tooke to lament his sinnes (b) Psal 6.6 Euerie night saith he I make my bed to swimme and water my couch with my teares And that time he tooke also to examine his soule in (c) Psal 77.6 I call to remembrance my song in the night I comune with mine own heart c. And that time he biddeth vs also take for the like purpose (d) Psal 4.4 Commune with your owne heart vpon your bed and be still Vpon which words of the Prophet we haue this note giuen vs by St. Chrysostom (e) Post coenom inquit quande ilis dormilum quande estis decubituri et nullo praesonte multae quies et silentiū et nen ine interturbante profunda tranquillitas excita iudicium conscientiae Quande neque amicus interturbat nec famulus irritat nec turba negotiorum vrget tunc vitae interdiu astae rationē exigite Chryso Expos in Psal 4.4 pag. 26. C D. What meaneth this saith hee that he saith Commune with your bearts vpon your beds c. And he answereth It is this After supper time when ye are going to sleepe and are ready to lye downe on bed and haue great quietnesse and silence without the presence or disturbance of any then erect a Tribunall for the conscience And a little after When neither friend doth disturbe thee nor seruants prouoke thee nor multitude of businesses doth presse thee then take account of thy life what thou hast done in the day time before And the same Father in another place (f) Quū in lecte tuo iaces nec quisquam est quā tibi negotium facessas antequam somnus irrepat libellum in mediū produc et peccatae tua teeum reputa dicens apud teipsum Numquid hodier no die vel sermone vel opere peecaui Chrysost Hom. 2. in Psal 50. pag. 1004 1005. When thou laiest thee downe vpon thy bed and no man is by to disturbe thee before sleepe come on bring forth the booke of thy conscience and recount thy sinnes with thy selfe saying to thy selfe HAVE I THIS DAY OFFENDED IN WORD OR DEEDE He addeth (g) Viurne tempore id faciend● spacium non habes verum et Praesectorum metus et sodalium collequia at negatiorum eura et alendae prolis fludium et vxoris procuratio as parandae mensae sollicitucle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Idem Ibid. pag. 1005. In the day thou hast not time for this worke but feare of Superiors conference with friends and care of businesses and forecasting for education of children and prouision for wife and preparation for diet and a thousand things beside doe distract thee And to like purpose S. Basil (a) Complete iam die ommique opere cùm corporis tum spiritus etiam absoluto 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Basil to 2. de Instit Monarc in fine pag. 396. C. When the day saith he is ended and businesses are past before rest or sleepe it is expedient that euery mans conscience should be iudged of his owne heart c. And Dorotheus saith (b) Docuerunt nos saepe patres nostri qúe pacto purgemus nosipsos per fingulos dies vt scilicet in vesperam perscrutemur nobiscum quomedo transactam diem exegerimus et rursum manè quomodo noctē c. Doroth. to 1. Biblio Patrū edit Graecol Doctrina 11. pag. 814. that it was a rule from their forefathers how men ought to cleanse themselues that in the euening they should question themselues how they had passed the day and againe in the morning how they had passed the night And Bernard (c) Sedeat iudicaus iustitia stet rea et seipsum accusans conscientia Neme te plus deligit neme te fideliùs iudicabit Manè praeteritae noctis fac a teipso exactionem et venturae diei tu tibi indicito cautionem Vespere diei praeteritae rationemexige et superuenientis noctis fac indictionem Bernard de vita solitar ad fratres de Monte Dei pag. 1029. D. Let iustice sit and iudge let the conscience stand impleaded and accusing it selfe No man loueth thee more nor no man will iudge thee better In the morning exact an account of the night past and impose vpon thy selfe watchfulnesse for the day to come In the euening require a reckoning of the day past and lay an iniunction for the night comming And in like manner speake other spirituall Masters who vndertake to prescribe rules of a religious life whereby it may be seene how they doe generally agree vpon it as a receiued Principle that euery night men should take accounts and examine themselues for the day past but in the two last authorities we may further note that besides the accounting at night for the day past they require also a reckoning each morning for the former night And surely that is not to no purpose for euen in the night reserued for rest there do many times passe thoughts affections purposes yea and some actions also which as they doe well deserue censure so may easily be forgotten if they be deferred till multitude of businesses the day following haue bred a confusion in the memorie 4. It is a very fit time for this worke when we haue beene about some important businesse

tedious to our vntoward nature I haue thought it necessary in the very entrance and as it were by way of Preface to consider what Inducements a reasonable man may haue to bestow his paines both in learning and in practising of this duty And for the inducements beside the speciall vses and benefits that may be reaped by it whereof I shall haue fitter occasion to speake hereafter when the nature and conditions of it be first laid downe and declared it will be sufficient I suppose for this place to consider of some generall motiues and they be these two especially first Precept and secondly Practice By Precept I meane such commands as God hath imposed vpon vs in Scripture for the doing of this worke and by Practice I meane the examples of wise men who haue gone before vs in the vse of it together with the exhortations and encouragements by which they animate and prouoke themselues and others to the practice of it By the one of which it is commanded as a necessary duty and by the other it is commended as a profitable worke that may stead vs in the wel-ordering of our life and by both these any reasonable man but especially euery wise Christian may bee induced to vndergoe this worke not doubting but that he is in a good way in which so many wise and good men haue gone before him and assuring himselfe of comfort and successe in that businesse which God hath enioyned him To come then to the Point I. The first inducement to this worke is Gods Precept or Commandement such as that is (a) 1 Cor. 11.28 Let a man examine himselfe and so let him eate of this bread and drinke of this cup. And that of the same Apostle (b) 2 Cor. 13.5 Examine your selues whether ye be in the faith proue your own selues And that againe (c) Gal. 6.4 Let euery man saith hee proue his owne worke or examine his own worke for the d 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 same word is vsed in this place and the former And such also is that rule of Dauid (e) Psal 4.4 Commune with your owne heart vpon your bed and be still Vpon which words Saint Chrysostom commenteth to this purpose What is this that he saith Commune with your owne heart c Why Dauid saith he speaketh to this effect After supper when ye are going to sleepe f 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. set vp the iudgement seate of the conscience and of it require an account and what euill counsell ye haue taken in the day time either deuising deceit or circumuenting your neighbour or entertaining of any corrupt lusts those when ye haue produced and broughs them forth and haue set your conscience as the Iudge to these wicked thoughts strike them thorow and g 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysost Exp. in Ps 4. pag. 26 C. take reuenge vpon them II. The second inducement is the practice of good men mingled with their exhortations and encouragements to this worke In which kinde and for which purpose 1. We first reade in Scriptures of Dauid that he practised himselfe what he preached to others He that said vnto others Commune with your own heart c. saith of himselfe (h) Psal 77.6 I call to remembrance my song in the night I commune with mine owne heart and my spirit made diligent search And in another place (i) Psal 119.59 I thought on my waies saith hee and turned my feete vnto thy testimonies In which words we may by the way note two things First the acts that Dauid did doe and they were hee thought on or considered his waies and hee turned his feete vnto Gods Commandements .i. he did goe on in the way of Gods Commandements doing what God did command him Secondly we may note the order that Dauid obserued in the doing of these acts and that was hee first thought on his own waies and then he walked on in Gods Lawes that is first hee examined and then he reformed his life And heerein he hath left vs a paterne for our practice that if we meane to amend our liues wee also must first begin with the examination of our waies And the like both practice and paterne wee haue in the afflicted Church in the Lamentations of Ieremie For there the Church taught by the Prophet thus encourageth each other (a) Lam. 3.40 Let vs search say they and try our waies and turne againe to the Lord implying that examination is the ready way to conuersion and amendment 2. We reade in the writings of the Ancients that religious people haue beene accustomed to keepe a day-booke of their actions and out of that to take an account of their life b Ad cuius latus quum appensum cingulo breuem libellum conspicerem didic● eum quotidie cogitationes suas in eo notare basque omnes nuntiare Pastori solitum Climac Gradu 4. extat tom 6. part 2. Biblioth Patr. pag. 251. Climacus telleth that in a religious house whereinto he came he found one who had a little booke tyed at his girdle in which he wrote all his thoughts that keeping a memoriall of them he might besides his owne care shew them to his spirituall Father c Non solum autem illum sed et alios quàm plures id facere ibidem prospexi Clima ibid. Nor was it this man alone that did vse this course but I found saith he very many others to doe the like And in the processe of the same discourse he aduiseth men who are carefull of their saluation to obserue the like order telling vs a Optimus ille Trapczita est qui quotidie vespere lucrum ac detrimentum omnino cōputat Qund scire manifestius non potest nisi horis singuli● in tabulis omnia denotet Clima ibid. pa. 255. B. that he is the best Banker or Tradesman that euery day in the euening taketha perfect account of his gaines and his losses Which a man can no way know better then if euery houre he note all things downe in his tables And to like purpose (b) Chr. in Ps 4. pa. 26. in Mat. Hom. 43. pag. 397 398. prope finem S. Chrysostom (c) Serm. Commonitor de Abdicatione rerum in fine pag. 246. B. de Instit Mon. in fine pa. 396. C. S. Basil (d) Moral lib. 25. cap. 6. S. Gregorie (e) De vita solitar ad fratres de Monte Dei. pag 1026 1029. S. Bernard and others moe of those ancient Worthies doe aduise and encourage religious Christians of their time to a daily examination of their consciences that in the morning they should thinke how they haue passed the night and in the euening how they haue spent the day And this daily care and continuall accounting with their soules was as wee may well suppose one chiefe reason why those times did so farre out-goe and exceede ours in zeale and deuotion But