testimony of conscience with them at the great day of account That in simplicity and godly sincerity we have had our conversation in the world Under the old covenant God had a Tabernacle of witnesse which was the inner Court where the Arke was in which the Law was to give testimony against the Israelites when they did evill So God hath now under the new covenant a Tabernacle of witnesse and this is the inner Court to wit the heart where conscience is to give testimony against us when we transgresse And therefore let us set a watch upon our hearts and tongues and hands and intreat God with David to hold up our goings in his pathes that our foot-steps slip not Psal 17.5 I note this because I see multitudes live as if there were neither conscience nor God nor Divell Heaven nor Hell The speech of the Prophet of old may I sitly here make use of Men were then so audaciously wicked that the very shew of their countenance did testifie against them they declared their sinnes as Sodome and hid them not Woe unto their soule saith God they have rewarded evill unto themselves Isa 3.9 Thus may I say of multitudes amongst us now The very shew of their countenance doth testifie against them The wanton eye the fiery eye the drousie walling eye the burly Malmsey nose the painted face Anticke postures gestures and fashions doe all as Iobs wrinkles in his face testifie against thousands that they little lay to heart this doctrine That conscience can speake and tell all their doings to God Proud Hamans time-serving Doegs drunken Nabals whorish Iesabels scoffing Ishmaels declare their sinnes as Sodome and hide them not and as for conscience turne him off with a glasse of Sacke and a Play-house But let me say to these wretches with the Prophet Woe unto their soules for they have rewarded evill unto themselves You have made a long blacke bloody bill for conscience to open against you the last day of this Terme to wit at death which shall be tried the first day of the next Terme to wit as soone as you are out of the body and then will conscience give testimony so strongly against you that if you would give ten thousand Rivers of Oyle nay if you would give the fruit of your bodie for the sinne of your soule it shall doe no good the cause shall goe against you and sentence shall be past upon you and then shall you know by woefull experience the meaning of that place Rom. 2.5 But after thy hardnesse and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thy selfe wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgement of God Wherefore three things I would give in counsell to you all seeing conscience can give testimony concerning the simplicity or hypocrisie of mans waies suspend him not sleight not his language but give diligent attention to what he saith Let us not stop the mouth of conscience seeing he can speake and tell us what we are Many there are that labour to stop the mouth of conscience when he tels them plainely of their sinnes and to destroy that divine power which conscience hath to speake in them and to them The Apostle Peter gives us a hint of these where he saith Scoffers shall come in the last time and shall say where is the promise of his comming For this saith he they are willingly ignorant of that by the world of God the Heaveni were of old 2 Pet. 3.5 When conscience told those scoffers that would live in their sinnes and scoffed at the day of judgement saying where is the promise of his comming that God made the world by his word and drowned it quickly by his Word when it was overspread with wilfull wickednesse and therefore you have like cause to looke for like swift misery for as much as you are so wilfully and desperately wicked This sharpe and plaine language of conscience they could not indure and therefore willingly laboured to darken this divine light and to silence this faithfull House-Chaplaine Thus 't is with many sinners now Conscience now and then delivers stinging language to their soules for such and such sinnes and then they set to lift this faithfull Monitor out of his place and because they cannot possibly doe this being so immediately inducted by God they strive to gagge his mouth and kill him by running wilfully into wickednesse against all checkes and reproofes of conscience and friends as men desperately resigning up their soules to the divell because God will not humour and satisfie them in their owne waies and so ship wracke faith conscience soule and all for ever That which oft-times followes upon this is selfe-stabbing selfe-drowning selfe-hanging selfe-poysoning and the like This is crying wickednesse and incurable wickednesse 'T is crying wickednesse to strive to gagge and kill conscience 'T is Dei-cidium to murder God Conscience is no other but Gods Vicegerent in the soule or rather Gods judiciary presence in the soule So farre forth therefore as a man wilfully doth injury to this he doth commit high treason against the King of Heaven 'T is to stab the Judge of all the world as he sits upon the Bench speaking Law and Justice which very nature abhorres as desperatly divellish And 't is incurable wickednesse for 't is to destroy the first medium of conversion by which the holy Ghost workes in man to gagge and kill conscience The first thing that the Spirit of God doth when he come to convert a sinner is to convince his conscience and to make that sting him for his sinnes and then stirre him up to long after and to seeke for Christ and then gives faith in Christ and so saves the sinner Now he that strives to silence conscience undermines his owne salvation in the very foundation and first stone thereof He doth wilfully and wickedly prevent his owne soule of all the good that God doth in this way to bring sinners home to himselfe Thou doest little consider O desperate wretch what great wickednesse thou committest that strivest to gagge and kill conscience Thou committest double murther in a spirituall sense which is murther of the highest kind thou doest murther God and thine owne soule And therefore I beseech you all to take heed of this practice Seeing God hath given conscience ability and parts to speake let him speake freely though he speake never so sharply and plainely and doe not check him 2 Nay doe not sleight him which is the next thing I would a little presse upon you A man that can speake and speake to good purpose though he be an enemy we so farre honour him as to let him speake out fully what he hath to say and not turn away the eare from him give but this honour to conscience Many deale with conscience as Felix did with Paul he willingly heard Paul a while concerning the faith of Christ but when he came to reason of righteousnesse temperance and judgement to come
faithfully in these then he puts a long white robe upon them and palmes in their hands great spirituall dignities that so they may be knowne to all to be such as came out of great tribulation as John saith Rev. 7.14 This doctrine findeth fault with two sorts of persons viz Such as of wilfulnesse and such as of weaknesse neglect and passe by speciall times and occasions for the declaration of sincerity Men wilfully passe by speciall times and occasions for the declaration of sincerity when they shut their eyes and will not take notice of such times out of some selfe-respect The Prophet Isaiah speakes of this fort of men where he saith Let favour be shewed to the wicked yet will he not learne righteousnesse in the Land of uprightnesse will be deale unjustly and will not behold the Majesty of the Lord. Lord when thy hand is lifted up they will not see but they shall see and be ashamed for their envie at the people c. Isa 26.10,11 God gave speciall times to this generation of men to mend their manners and to declare uprightnesse in their conversation to his glory but though this speciall favour were shewed them yet would they not so much as set about to learne righteousnesse to acquaint their deluded conscience with what was right and to be practised by them God in a very majesticall manner lifted up his hand against them to crosse and curse them in their corrupt waies and all to this end that they should behold it and take shame to themselves and breake off from their unrighteous courses and they wilfully shut their eyes that they might not behold the Majesty of God against them God gave them of his rich favour speciall times and opportunities to declare uprightnesse and they made them speciall times and occasions to declare their pride and rottennesse There is an iron sinew in the will of men naturally and therefore let God give never so faire opportunities and occasions to them to shew themselves for him and for his righteous waies yet they will not bow and stoope unto it This iron sinew was in the necke of Saul and therefore God called his sinne in not slaying all the Amalekits when he gave him a speciall opportunity thereunto stubbornnesse and Rebellion God saw more into Sauls sinne then he or many of us could imagine He look'd upon Sauls will in sparing Agag when he might have killed him and God saw that Sauls will was resolutely set to doe this what ever hypocriticall plea he made for himselfe and what ever expresse charge he had to the contrary God gave to Saul there a speciall opportunity wherein to declare his sincerity and he as a selfe-willed wretch made it a speciall time wherein to declare his hypocrisie to his utter disgrace and ruine both of soule and body Pride and malice are the cause why men wilfully passe by speciall times for the declaration of sincerity God gave to Herod a speciall time wherein to declare sincerity by causing that promised branch to spring out of the roote of Iesse in his time which roote was thought to have been quite dead Here was such an opportunity given Herod to declare his love to Christ by protecting and countenancing of him as was given to no Ruler before him and he out of pride and malice as one that could not endure that there should be any other King of the Jewes besides himselfe sought with all his policy and might to kill him so farre was he from using all his regall power to protect and fence this choice branch from spoilers God gave likewise to the learned Scribes and Pharises speciall occasions for the declaration of sincerity by causing him that was the wisdome of God to converse amongst them and to speake as never man spake and to doe those things which never man did that so they as Iohn the Baptist according to what they had heard with their eares and seene with their eyes might magnifie him and labour as Gods faithfull Ministers in their place to bring all men to believe on him and follow him and they out of pride and malice used all their craft and might to crush him in the shell to nip him in the very bud to cloud his glorious sunne as soone as risen that none might see his light and walke in it Such wretches as these who wilfully shunne speciall times and occasions for the declaration of sincerity must be told this That their sinne is very great and answerable shall be their punishment unlesse they repent That your sinne is great appeares by the example of Saul sinning in this very kind God gave him a speciall occasion to declare his sincerity to him when he gave all the Amalekites into his hands he wilfully taking his owne course and pleasing his owne humour you know how God calls this sinne viz stubburnnesse Rebellion rebellion parallel to Witch-craft Rejecting the word of the Lord. God will no otherwise account your sinne who now wilfully passe by occasions and opportunities of declaring your sincerity to him He will account your practice stubbornnesse and did any man ever stout it out with God and prosper He will account your practise Rebellion and did ever any man play the rebell against God that was not hangd and quartered He will account your practise a rejecting of his Word and for this God will certainely reject you You know well what heavy punishment God inflicted upon Saul for this sinne he stript him of his Kingdome nay he stript him of the holy Ghost ten thousand times more worth then his Kingdome and gave him up to an evill spirit to be vexed and whorried headlong into great sinnes and great miseries Pares peccato supplicio pares and according to this proceeding of divine justice must you looke to be dealt withall God offers you now golden opportunities to declare your sincerity to him by killing all Amalekits every sinne in your soules which are more abominable to him then ever was the Amalekits and to the killing of all he promiseth you his assisting of all he promiseth you his assisting grace as he caused his victorious arme to goe along with Saul and if now you wilfully spare some one Agag some fat of the Kine some sinnes that bring you in pleasure and profit looke for Sauls sauce to such sweet meats God will take his spirit utterly from you and give you up to your owne hearts lusts to commit wickednesse with greedinesse to the aggravation of your condemnation Secondly the doctrine in hand Est debilitas culpabilis sicut excusabilis finds fault with such as passe by speciall occasions and times for the declaration of sincerity out of weakenesse under this head foure sorts of persons are to be reproved First such as through ignorance passe by speciall times and occasions for the declaration of sincerity Many men in place have often by the providence of God speciall occasions and times put upon them for the