HEAVEN upon EARTH In the serene Tranquillity and calm Composure in the sweet Peace and solid Joy of a good CONSCIENCE sprinkled with the Blood of Jesus and exercised always to be void of offence toward GOD and toward MEN. Brought down and holden forth in XXII very searching Sermons on several Texts of Scripture to that purpose Wherein many weighty and momentuous Cases of CONSCIENCE greatly influencing a tender Christian walk are Soberly Solidly Succinctly and Satisfyingly Discussed Several of which are not readily to be met with in the Wriâ—ngs of other Divines on this Subject By that Learned and eminently Conscienscious Minister of the Gospel Mr. IAMES DURHAM Some-time Preacher thereof at GLASGOW 1. Pet. 3. v. 16. Having a good conscience that 〈◊〉 they speak evil of you as evil doers they may be ashamed that falsly accuse your good conversation in Christ. EDINBURGH Printed by the Heir of Andrew 〈◊〉 Printer to the Most Sacred MAJESTY ANNO DOM 168â— ERRATA Courteous Reader PLease ere thou read to correct these few escapes of the Press as page 12. line 36. read grossest for greatest p. 22. l. 36. r. inclination p. 26. l. 20. r. dictateth p. 30. l. 22. r. as for its p. 33. l. 29 delet no more p. 57. l. â— r. of â—ascination l. 2. d. conceat l. 20. r. on for one p. 61. l. 22. r. first for 2d p. 74. l. 4. r. thought p. 75. l. 29 r this for all p. 87. l. 21. r. ordinary p. 99. l. 10. r. thus for think p. 104. l 37. r. only for any p. 119. l. 28. r. not left p. 136 l. 2. r. ere for if p. 142 l. 26. r. persons for people p. 15â— l. 34. r. consideration p. 151. l. 4. r. censor p. 156. l. 29 d. divine p. 182. l. 15 put a point after testimony p. 195 l. 34. r. bâ—ings p. 204 l. 30. r. as for is l. last r. is for s p. 234. l. 20. r. rational creature p. 235 l. 4. r. concerning them by self-examination p. 256. l. 4. r. some way for some nay l. 25. r. had for hand p. 270. l. 5. r. as if he said p. 303. l. 3. r. our selves l. 10 r. repentance p. 308 l. 4. r. allowed p. 309. l. 7. d. full p. 311. l. 11. d. so p. 325. put after sacrifice p. 338. l. 12. r. observe more especialy p. 342. l. last r. persons p. 343. l. 1. r. their for his p. 344. l. last r. them for it p. 348. l. 20. r. a mistaken law p. 353. l. 8 r. he l. 18. d. is p. 358. l. 29. r. creature p. 361. l. 6. r. for making p. 364. l. 8. r. fain Any other lesser literal escapes mis-pointings or misplacings of some very few parentheses as thou wilt pardon so thou wilt easily correct GEneroso virâ— amico suo multis nominibus plurimum Colendo Domino Alexandro Durhamo Domino de Largo Clarissimi Authoris Filio Germano ex multis quos illi Deus gratiosé dederat liberis nunc tantum superstiti qui defunctum patrem virum illum non tantum apud Nostrates sed etiam apud Exteros Celebrem vere magni nominis quamvis non passibus aequis pro suo tamen modulo in vijs Domini serió sequitur egregias has de Conscienscia Conciones Conscionatoris consciensciam tenerrimam plane divinitus illuminatam suaviter spirantes in sinceri amoris tesseram perpetuae observantiae testimonium D. D Johannes Carstares TO THE READERS And more particularly to the Inhabitants of the City of GLASGOW THE Micro-cosme or little World Man a notably curious Compend and â—abridgement as it were of the larger one and the great Master piece of all the visible works of GOD wâ— when he came from under the haâ—d of the Omnipotent Creator in the first Edition a little Model and Representation of the Divine Perfections having impressed on him that blessed and beautiful that amiable and admirable conformity to the Image and likenesse of GOD wherein consisted the preheminency of His Nature above that of all other Creatures in the Visible â—r Sublunary World being one of the great excellencies that a created nature is capable of and a clearer ray of Divine Majesty then his dominion over the other Creatures and which only made him capable of the enjoyment of God as being that which assiâ—ilated to him and brought him to the nearest approaches to Glory All the faculties and powers of his Soul carried this glorious Character vâ—vely ingraven on them His Body also had somewhat of the same Image stamped on it tho not in respect of its figure and shape or natural uâ—e but as an esseâ—l part of his nature it was interested therein by a participaâ— on of original righteousnesse For it was mans person that was made holy tho his Soul was the first proper Subject of that con-created habit and principle of holinesse yet his body as I said as an essential part of his nature did participat thereof by a peculiar communication of that holinesse to 〈◊〉 as far as it was to be influential on moral operations and hereby were the Parts and Members of his Body in that state of innocency and integrity made Instruments and Servants unto righteousnesse and holinesse His Understanding was a lamp of clear and pure light without any the least measure or mixture of culpable darkness or ignorance it was able clearly and distinctly to represent all objects competent for him to know with wonderful readinesse and facility His Will was to say so straight as a rush without any the least sinful crook oâ— sinister byass inclining only and perfectly to that which was good and altogether averse from every thing that was evil there being a thorow agreement betwixt his will and the will of God so that he willed whâ— he willed and â—illed what he â—illed All his Affections moved only and constantly towards right and commanded objects and that with perfection of regularity in all their motions His Memory was of strong retention neither knew he while he remained such what it was â—o forget any thing that was suitable and incumbent for him to remember His Conscience was in excellent case â—o reflect and there being no ground for any challenge reproof or 〈◊〉 it did only commend and applaud in a word it did most faithfully and exactly act the part of God's Deputy following his orders punctually and precisely and so was keeped in an indisturbed calm and perfectly serene tranquilliâ—ie The Members of his body were servants only to righteousness and with holy â—lacrity subâ—erued the soul in all its operations But ah the entring in of cursed sin made a sad sorrowful and stupendious Caâ—astrophe setting oâ— fire as it were the whole coâ—e of nature and putting its very foundations some way out of course and deplorably deâ—acing the curious stately magnificent beautiful and glorious Fabrick of this little 〈◊〉 Man quite vitiaâ—ing and corrupting all the faculties powers and parts
conscience in all things willing to live honestly Heb. 13. v. 18. And if at any time the Conscience of the Christian be defiled and wounded by new contracted pollution and guilt and challenges begin thence to arise and to disturb the peace and sweet repose of the Soul there would be on all such occasions fresh believing applications made to the blood of sprinkling that thereby the heart may be sprinkled from an evil conscience and the Conscience purged from dead works to serve the living God and endeavours would be renewed in the strength of grace to walk more tenderly without offence toward God and toward men toward which these Sermons abound with varietie of choice and excellent directions and helps Thirdly and more particularly we would study to have our Conscience well and throughly informed by intimat acquaintance with the minde and will of God revealed in the Scriptures of truth as to all things that we are called to believe and do so that it may be in case to discharge its office and dutie aright whether in Dictating or in Testifying or in Iudging an ill informed Conscience especially where there is any zeal or forwardness strongly pusheth and suriously driveth men to many dangerous distracted and destructive practices hath not this driven men to kill the servants of Christ as himself foretold and in doing so to think that they did God service did not this hurry on Paul before his conversion to persecute Callers on the name of the Lord Jesus and to make havock of the Church by drawing and dragging the disciples both men and women bound to Prison and by cruel persecuting of them even to strange cities compelling them to blaspheme so exceedingly mad was he as himself confesseth against them O! what terrible and tragical things hath this set men on to do and what mâ—d work hath it made in some places of the world beside many lesser impertinencies extravagancies and disturbances in particular Christian Societies Fourthly We would endeavour to have the Conscience deeply impressed with due and deeâ— vâ—neration aw and dread of the Majestie of God the supream Lord of and great Law-giver to the Conscience whose Laws and Commands are only properly directly immediately and of themselves obligatory thereof because the Consciences and Souls of men are properly subject only to God and because the Law of God written in the hearts of men and in the Scriptures is the only rule of Conscience and moreover because men cannot immediately judge the Conscience nor know they the secret motions thereof and finally because he can only inflict spiritual punishment on the sinning Conscience all the Laws and Commands of men in what ever capacitie are only obligatory of the Conscience mediatly indirectly and consequentially viz. in so far as they are consistent complyant and agreeable with the Laws and Commands of the absolutely supream Law-giver or not repugnant thereunto for certainly he hath not given a dispensation to any power on earth Civil or Ecclesiastick to countermand his coÌ„mands or to enjoyn obedience â—o commands contrary to or inconsistent with his own whose commands are immediately and inviolably binding of the Consciences of Superiors and Magistrates though the greatest Monarchs on earth as well as of Inferiours and Subjects all without exception being Inferiours and Subjects to him Yet such Laws of men as do either press or declare the Commands and Law of God and make for the conservation and observation thereof oblidge in Conscience because such Laws as they are such participat of the nature and force of the Divine Law and because the Law of God doth directly and immediately command subjection to the Superior Powers therefore even in reference to theâ—â—njust Laws and such as are repugnant to or 〈◊〉 with the divine Laws Subjects are oblidged in 〈◊〉 not to reâ—use obedience to them out of any contempt of lawful authority let â—e to discaâ—m anâ— renounce the same as some poor seduced and deluded persons do in these dayes â—ther ouâ— of ignorance or humour or misguideâ— zeal to the great reproach of Religion not to admit 〈◊〉 any thing that mâ— have in it the 〈◊〉 appearance of offence and scandal that way because the contempt oâ— lawful authority and the â—andal of others are in themselves sins against the Law of God yet still as no â—eer humane laws do directly immediately and of themselves as I said bind the conscience so neither hath God given a power to any of the Superâ—our Powers on earth to enjoâ— obedience to commands that are cross to his own â—njunctions which all are oblidged indispensably to obey And therefore it is not only sâ—range but even stupendious for any Christians especially such as pretend to be Protestants confidently to assert and bolâ—â—o publish to the world as Mr. Hobbs doth in his Leviathan a book designed by him as I have been informed to complement Cromwel against the writâ—rs own Conscience such as it was p. 168. That no private man is judge of good and evil actions in a Common wealth under civil Laws and that the meaâ—ure of good and evil actions is the Civil Law of actions civilv good why not but of actions simply good and evil as his assertion carries whâ— what reason or shâ—dow of reason God never having given noâ— assigned such a rule we may thus throw away ouâ— Bibles as the rule of good and evâ—l aâ—ions and all betake our selves to the Civil Law as the only Rule and the Legis lâ—tor the alone Iudge since he may as well divest a man of humane nature and un-man him as deprive him of a privat Judgement of discretion or of a private discreâ—ive Judgement in reference to his own actions the soâ—er exercise whereof is no assuming to himself in â—he least the capaciâ—e of a publick Judge and it at any time in any thing relaâ—ing to â—is 〈◊〉 acts this Judgement of private discretiâ—n fall to thwart the Law or publick Judgement he advenâ—es on that cum pericâ—lo or on his peâ—l but it cannot in reason utteâ—ly rob him of it since as is said he can as soon cease to be a man or a rational creature as to have that quite denyed him or taken from him to what end or purpose should he be priviledged with this above brutes iâ— the exercise of â—t shall be for ever suspended in the Members of Kingdoms and Common-wealths as almoâ— all men in the world are what sound and Orthodox Divine or sound Christian Lawyer ever taught such Doctrine The learned doctor Ames tellâ— us in the 4. Co olary and very last words of his first book of Cases of Conscience that Interpretatio Scripturae vel judicium â—scernere voluntatem Dei pertinet ad quemlibet in foro conscâ—tiae pro 〈◊〉 And page 169. of the fore-cited book the same Hobbs sayes That he who is subject to no civil Law sinneth in â—ll that â—e doth against his conscience yet â—t is not so with him who liveth in a common
short in his duty which would quite mar a legal Testimony of Conscience or the Testimony of a legal good Conscience Thus Paul hath a good Conscience Rom. 7. 22. Even when he is wrestling against Sin and crying out in the fight O! miserable man that â— am who shall deliver me from the body of this death For he findeth himself delighting in the Law of God after the inward man and that his design is to be honest and single for God It is not so much the challenge of Conscience as that there should be ground for it that affeâ—eth and troubleth him when he thinketh with himself what may I and must I be before God when Conscience taketh notice of so many things to be amiss in me It is from this ground I say that Paul comforteth himself that he alloweth not himself in that which he did and reckoneth his Evangelically good Conscience and his sincerity to be his renewed part and as such sideth and taketh part with it and condemneth the un renewed part A 4th Property or Character is taken from a Believers walking in reference to his challenges This is not the mark that he wanteth challenges but it s drawn from the influence that challenges have on him Which comprehends three different Characters 1. A Gospel good Conscience taketh quickly and easily with a challenge and is soon troubled and melted 2. It is made quickly to loath and conâ—emn it self for sin and so Conscience and the man agree well together when Conscience sayeth to him thou art a Sinner thou arâ— lost Justice must be satisfied and thou canst not do it he sayeth so likewise 3. When challenges put yet further at him and pursue him yet harder and closser the good Conscience makes him â—ee to the Blood of Christ and sets him a seeking of pardon from God in the Court of Grace when the man is some way condemned in the Court of his own Conscience and then he obtaineth peace even in the Court of Conscience For when God speaks peace in and through Jesus Christ the Conscience also speaks peace and thus though the man hath not a good Conscience in a Law sense as I said before yet in a Gospel-sense he hath and he mindeth to keep friendship with God and with his Conscience though he cannot quiet pacifie and satisfie it in a Legall way yet in a Gospel way he may And this is even it that the Saints have in their appealing to their Conscience for the great ground of their peace viz. The sincerity of their Practice and their fleeing to Christs Blood to the Blood of sprinkling for quieting their Conscience in the croud of challenges for their short comings and failings in practice and that very warrantably from the Word of God whoever sincerely take this way though they have challenges of Conscience they have yet notwithstanding a good Conscience Such a Conscience challengeth by the Law yet absolveth by the Gospel challengeth on account of the Rebellion of the Law in the Members and yet absolveth in respect of the Law in the mind it condemneth the man as loathsome in himself and in his own duties and righteousness and yet absolveth him as founding his peace on Christ and sinking and putting to silence all challenges and accusations in that Blood of Sprinkling that speaking Blood that hath a cry to out-cry the loudest cryes of the most clamorous and guilty Conscience And what can be justly said against this since Christ's Righteousness is perfect and Gods promise faithful and Christs Blood of force and efficacy to quiet and give the answer of a good Conscience But it may be asked hâ—re May not a natural un-renewed person or a hypocrite have the Testimony of a good Conscience or how far may his Conscience be good and wherein lyeth the difference betwixt his good Conscience and the Believers good Conscience I know this is a piece of the Spiritual pride and vanity of many of you to boast of a good Conscience and really it would make a tender Conscience some way to loath to hear you speak so confidently of it I shall therefore in the First place Answer to the Question how far the Conscience of a natural man or an hypocriâ—e may be good and then shew you how and wherein it is defective and what are the differences betwixt it and the Believers good Conscience For the First I would say this in generall in the First place that we are not now speaking of slâ—epie erring dead and hardened Consciences the Testimony of these is little worth neither is every thing Conscience that many men think to be so Conscience must act according to the word else it withdraweth it self from that due subordination it standeth in to God and to his Law Conscience is oblidged to abide and stand by Gods Testimony but God is not oblidged to stand by its Testimony we would therefore beware of mistakinâ— Conscience more particularly in the 2d place a natural man may have something like a good Conscience and may come the length of these four Steps according to his light â— He may have a negative good Conscience that is a Conscience which doth not actually challenge him yea a Conscience that hath no gross thing to challenge him for he is it may be no Murtherer no Adulterer he defigneth no Oppression nor deceit in his Dealing c. and on this ground he possibly thinketh that he hath a good Conscience though he hath no positive Testimony of a good Conscience all this while 2. He may someway have a good Conscience in respect of such or such a particular act in respect of being free of a challenge on account of a wrong design of doing such or such a thing or in respect of moral sincerity and ingenuity such as was in these men that followed Absolom in the simplicity of their heart and in Abimelech who in taking Abrahams wife meaned no evil noâ— any thing but what was lawful and therefore he saith That in the integrity of his heart â—e did it that is he had a moral honest design and was free from grounds of challenge about what others might have been ready to charge him with as to that action 3 He may come a great length as to the duties of the second Table of the Law so as he may not wrong his neighbour in word nor deed he may design no mans hurt he may wish evil to no man thus very probably it was with that Pharisee who came to Christ and said All these have I keept from my youth the poor man speaks as he thought not knowing the Spiritual meaning and extent of the Law Therefore when he is bidden sell all and gâ—ve to the poor he went away grieved he had no gross sinister design it 's also said that Christ loved him or pitied him as a civil man And It s indeed on this ground that meerly civil men so much magnifie and cry up their Conscience and place all
their Religion in that being much darkened and insensibly prejudicat as to their Light when they come up the length or near the length of that light Conscience speaketh and giveth its Testimony accordingly and they have thence a sort of peace but it is not the peace of a truely good Conscience 4. A natural man or a hypocrite may come a great length in respect of the external duties of Religion and may have a kind of a good Conscience in that respect as he may pray and have some moral sincerity in it and â—o as he would â—ain have a hearing and would some way have his heart praying â—ay he may have a kind of delight in approaching to God as it s said of those hypocrits Isa. 58. 2. He would â—ain know what is Duty and what is Sin and he doth not deliberatly thwart with his light in this respect Paul sayeth of himself before his Conversion that as touching the righteousness of the Law he was blameless and Rom. 10. 1. He beaâ—eth the Iews record That they had a zeal of God but not according to knowledge and what I pray was this but Conscience un-informed in and ignorant of the righteousness of God from which ignorance of Christs righteousness and of the way of coming to him it came to pass that they went about to establish their own righteousness So then the natural man or hypocrite when he hath come the length of some honest meaning is disposed to think that he hath done very well and that he hath a good Conscience yet though he may have a good Conscience in some respect or in these respects mentioned and the like yet to have it simply and positively from solid and good grounds giving him a good Testimony is impossible and the reason is because he hath not the Word going along with his Conscience in reference to his whole carriage and in referrence to the principles motives ends and designs of his actions testifying for him and therefore I say he hath not the Testimony of a truely good Conscience For the next Question Wherein is this Conscience defective and what is the difference betwixt it and a believers good Conscience Or how may it be known as differing from an honest Gospel Conscience Answer 1. In respect of its rise there is a defect in the Judgment for if the eye be blind if the understanding be dark the Conscience must be so too They have saith the Apostle of the Iews a zeal of God but not according to knowledge and being ignorant of the righteousness of God they go about to establish their own righteousness However zealous they were of God or others such may be yet they are ignorant in three thingâ— 1. In the extent and spiritual meaning of the Law supposing for instance that a man keepeth the Sixth Command when he is not guilty of any gross act of Murther and the Seventh when he doth not actually commit Adultery or Fornication not knowing or considering that a look arising from the flame of lust within is a breach of that Command and so proportionably in other Commands Even as the Pharisees conformed the Law in the meaning thereof to their own practice and not their practice to the meaning of the Law 2. They are ignorant of the way of Gods righteousness and of that which giveth the Conscience solid ground to speak peace many if they have an honest meaning in their praying reading of the Scripture waiting on publick Ordinances if they put their bodies to some sort of pennance or be ready to give if it were the half of their estates to have their souls safe and if they have a sort of seriousness in all this think that all is well with them and that they have a very good Conscience if this peice of ignorance were well discerned never one soul out of Christ would have peace because none out of Christ have solid grounds of peace for none have their hearts sprinkled from an evil Conscience but these that are in him 3. They are ignorant of their particular case they know not what sins they are guilty of nor what Conscience sayeth of them they think it speaketh better things to them then indeed it doth some guess at it some mis-interpret it and some repeâ—l it whereas if they were soberly reflecting on and impartially looking to their manner of proceeding in every thing they would see that they mistake their Conscience exceedingly This then is the first defect viz. a defect in the Judgment The 2d Is a defect as to singleness and sincerity in the natural mans best condition such are never single when at their very best even when they are most serious in Prayer they are but going about to establish their own righteousness when they fast and give alms and the like it is that they may have some ground for a good opinion of themselves or that others may have a good opinion of them being always acted from selfy motives and for self-ends A 3d. defect Is the want of unbyassed Affections these being partial and byassed will put the man to reason and dispute for the silencing of his Conscience and this eye not being single the whole body is full of darkness Affections being inclined or sweyed to this or that side they will seek to â—way Conscience to that side they incline to This is it that maketh some to follow after and to haunt the company of those who are erroneous in their judgment notwithstanding that they have good reason to the contrary laid before them from the Word of God which they reject and that without challenge being quite byasâ—ed and prejudged in their affections thus many natural men lay this for a conclusion that so much only is Holiness and that no more is needful and what is more is but superfluous niceness and so they prejudge their Conscience by that 4. It is defective in this that it maintaineth not its peace nor answereth its challenges from Christs blood it is not sprinkled with clean but with foul Water to say so it may be it putteth the man to take on some resolution or to come under some vow as to somewhat that it may be is no commanded duty of Religion not hath any valuable influence upon it or he will as it were sprinkle his Conscience with his tears thus many will grant that they have sinned but withall they think and will be ready to say that they have a good heart or a good meaning or that such and such a man well esteemed of hath such a sin and is as guilty as they are or that many have had such siâ—s who yet have gone to Heaven on such and others the like pitiful grounds they found their peace and by such silly shifts they seek to quiet their Conscience yea sometimes from the consideration of the possibility of pardon many conclude confidently that they are actually pardoned We shall forbear to say any thing further at this time God
bless what ye have heard through Jesus Christ. SERMON IV. ACTS 24. 16. Herein do I exercise my self to have alwayes a conscience void of offence toward God and toward men A Good Conscience is an excellent and very soveraign Cordial to be carried about and along with us in all conditions and more especially in afflicted ones but as excellent things are usually come at with the greatest difficulty so is it in this matter there being so many so various and so great difficulties in the way of taking up the nature of it aright and in the attaining and maintaing of it and there being so very many who claim to it most unwarrantably and unjustly though poor deâ—uded Souls they are disposed to think that they do so on good and warrantable grounds all which make this Doctrine concerning the exercise and practice of a good Conscience to be exceeding difficult and tickle Ye may remember the point we spoke a little to last day was That Believers ought and when they are right will have it for their exercise and study to have a Conscience void of offence toward God and toward Men whence we drew this Use That it is an evidence of a sound Believer when right and in a good frame even to be thus exercised a tender lively and good frame of soul â—ay be known by this that the person aimeth sâ—ngly and endeavoureth seriously to have a Conscience void of offence In clearing of this Use there are some Doubts that arise on the one side when Conscience speaketh good to a person without a warrand in which case it is very dangerous to take direction from it and some Doubts arise also on the other side when Conscience doth challenge and condemn when there is no ground for it something therefore must be spoken for clearing and solving both the one and the other The last thing we left at was That seing some natural men civil moral men and hypocrites may think they have a good Conscience that they are right and have the testimony of it how shall that testimony be discerned or wherein doth it differ from the testimony of a truely good Conscience that giveth a Believer ground to draw this conclusion from it that he is real and sincere in the work of Grace For clearing of this matter relating to these Consciences that speak good when there is no ground for it There are two sorts of persons that fall here and are thereby culpably accessory to this delusion of and from their own Consciences 1. Some fail in mistaking Duty and the rule of Duty supposing that to be an acceptable duty which is but the shadow and appearance of duty and this makes all self righteous-men and legal-hypocrites who thwart not the dark or dim light of their Conscience but rather follow and comply with it to think that they have a good Conscience as it was with Paul before his conversion A 2d sort are these who take with sin but think that they have a good Conscience and on this ground their Conscience speaks peace to them though it hath no warrand to do so supposing themselves to be Believers on that ground Conscience speaketh peace to them when it hath no warrand nor are they Believers indeed And thus alace many that are reputed by themselves and others to be Believers fail these are presumptuous hypocrites as the others are legal hypocrites and this kind of Conscience may be called a presumptuous Conscience that speaketh peace and applyeth mercy when it hath no ground for either In answer then to the Question we shall give some differencing Characters or characteristick differences betwixt the Believers good Conscience and these other sorts of Conscience some whereof agree more to the one sort and some more to the other and some to both but take them together The Characters are these 1. A really good Conscience is not easily attained nor maintained it putteth a man to considerable exercise â—re he come at it and to no less how to keep it Herein do I exercise my self c. saith the Apostle security and negligence are no good tokeâ—s there are these two things that a man of a good Conscience is exercised in 1. To prevent the ground of a challenge from his Conscience by endeavouring to give it no offence against which the presumptuous hypocrite sinneth who fancieth that he hath peace and it may be thinketh much of it and yet is not troubled nor taken up how to prevent the giving of offence to his Conscience nor his meeting with a challenge from it the legal hypocrite also sinneth here in bounding and limiting his Holiness to such or such a small measure of it without so much as aiming any further 2. He is exercised to satisfie his Conscience when it is offended hence is the application to the blood of sprinkling the exercise of repentance the self-loathing and sharpness of challenges that Conscience hath with it until it recover even such exercise as will in a manner break the bones and turn the moisture into the drought of summer as it is Psal. 51. and Psal. 32. this good Conscience cannot look on sin and not be troubled and therefore they who ordinarily and habitually can look on sin without trouble or sorrow and judge it a very easie business to quiet and stop the mouth of their Conscience who speak peace to themselves when lying still under guilt unrepented of and unremoved carry about with them a shrewd token of no good Conscience The 2d Character whereby it may be known is the mean and way that a man taketh to quiet his Conscience when it is wakened A good Conscience as it yieldeth a man peaceand testifyeth well concerning his state so that peace riseth not so much from this that he hath no sin as from his flying to Jesus Christ for the pardon of sin he may have peace as to his sincere and universal aim at Holiness and as to his honest and serious endeavour to abstain from every known sin as it was with David Psal. 18. 20 21 22. but as to the satisfying of Divine Justice he hath hath no peace but in resting on Christs satisfaction alone for though his way may be and is good in respect of his single following of duty for he readeth prayeth meditateth c. yet corruption in a great measure polluting all these works and duties of his as to the acceptation of them on their own account and for themselves he finds that they are in some respect but dead as wanting much of the soul and life of them neither can he have peace till he betake himself to Christs blood though he were communicating every day praying every hour c. yet he hath no peace in these till Christs blood speak peace as we may see in David who though he had peace intimated by Nathan yet is not thorowly quiet for all that and therefore he prayeth Psal. 51. Cause me to hear the voice of joy and gladness
there is no healing of his wound till a word from God himself do it It is on the contrary an ill token when a Conscience seeth sin and can speak peace to it self on this ground that there is mercy in God and yet never applyeth the blood of sprinkling to purge it from dead works nor seeketh to have the Word spoken as it were from Gods own mouth and on the other side the legal Conscience will make amends to God will give him Sacrifices enough and perform many duties to him looking for his acceptance only on account of these and that is as ill a token but a good Conscience resteth not on any of these but though it hath the sacrifice of a broken and contrite spirit to offer to God yet it doth not rest on that nor on any duty but is put beyond these to rest on Christ and on his Sacrifice Purge me with hyssop c. saith David Psal. 51. And this is a clear and certain differencing mark even to consider well whereon Conscience resteth for peace after a challenge and to make sure that it resteth thus on Christ. A 3d. Character is That a good Conscience will both challenge and speak peace at one time it can stand up and defend it self against a challenge thus when the Law on the one hand comes and charges it with many defects in duty and denounceth wrath against it because of these it will humbly take with them and yet on the other hand in the very time it can betake it self to Christ and produce a word of peace that it hath ready at hand from him this we may see in Paul 1 Tim. 1. 13. I was says he before a blasphemer a persecuter and injurious but I obtained mercy It is an evil token when men either have only challenges and no peace or only peace and no challenges at all as it is also an evil token to offer to maintain peace by shifting challenges or to give over pressing after and maintaining of peace by giving way to challenges But it is a good token when Conscience can take kindly with and be humbled under challenges and yet debate against them so as to keep and maintain peace and can give a warrand for its doing so which is indeed a great practick in Religion we may see a clear instance of this in Ioâ— who saith chap. 7. 20. I have sinned what shall I do unto thee O thou preserver of men where he acknowledgeth that he hath sinned and cannot make amends and yet chap. 27. 4 5. he saith with holy boldness and peremptoryness My lips shall not speak wickedness nor my tongue utter deceit God forbid that I should justifie you till I die I will not remove my integrity from me When God speaketh or seemeth to speak wrath his angry countenance driveth him not away from him though saith he chap. 13. 15. he should kill me yet I will trust in him but I will maintain mine own ways before him and vers 16. an hypocrite shall not come before him The Hypocrite or legal man giveth it over when he is thus put hard to it â— though it be easie for him to presume while the Law and Wrath break not in yet when the Law cometh Sin reviveth and he dieth as it is Rom. 79. it is easie to have peace so long as God speaketh not down-right against it but when he cometh to set all a mans sins in order before him he will with Iudas run and hang himself rather then abide that tormenting Conscience of his terribly denouncing war and wrath from God against him A 4th Character is That a good Conscience will love to entertain and welcome a challenge but an ill Conscience cannot abide nor endure a challenge and if it could it would have Conscience always silent and quiet when yet it should not be quiet neither hath it any ground to be so He who hath a good Conscience is glad to have sin discovered and Conscience kept waking he thinketh a sanctified conviction of sin a valueable mercy and the reason is because he aimeth not so much at this to have peace in himself as to have a good and solid ground of peace betwixt God and him and to remove what may mar it whereas the Hypocrites great design is to have peace on any terms and by any means and therefore when a challenge cometh closs and home to him it is quite marred It is on this ground that a tender soul will designedly aggrege sin and even foster a challenge as David doth Psal. â—1 Against thee thee only have I sinned whereas a Saul will defend his own sinful practice and seek to shift the challenge as we may see 1 Sam. 15. 10. yea I have keeped the commandment of the Lord saith that proud Hypocrite A 5th Character or Difference is That a good Conscience maintaineth its peace both from the Law and from the Gospel and will needs have peace in some measure in respect of both else it will not be satisfied The evil Conscience again taketh its peace from the one and not from the other and so taketh a wrong rule or ground for founding and trying of its peace An honest man that hath a good Conscience hath respect to the Law and will not thwart it yea the challenging and condemning part of it is welcomed and the threatnings of it have influence on him to make him fear and as he respecteth the Law so he respecteth the Gospel and looketh well to Believing Repentance Self-searching Examination Meditation and to his manner of performing these and of all his other duties that none of them come in the place of Christ or get any thing of that which is his due and though he seem to himself to have faith in Christ if he endeavour not to have Holiness going along with it he dare not speak peace to himself But on the contrary the legal man or law-conscience if it be in good terms as he supposeth with the Law it looketh not to the duties of the Gospel whether the man be indeed fled to Christ or be in good terms with God through him and on the other hand the presumptuous Conscience when it heareth the Law and the threatnings thereof it â—ome way tusheth at these and under pretext of betaking it self to Christ it teareth as it were away the Law and this mistaking halving and dividing of the rule maketh many men think that their Conscience speaketh good to them when it doeth not so but hath rather ground to speak evil and wo. And in the by ye who think ye have good Consciences try them by this mark if ye walk humbly under Conscience-convictions taking with them and if they be welcome to you as well as a word of peace A 6th Character or Difference is That a good Conscience is holily jealous and suspicious while an evil Conscience is presumptuously confident and bold we say a good Conscience is suspicious and therefore is often putting
that 's behind in that respect and sayes with the Apostle Phil. 3. according to his measure Not as if I had attained or were already perfyt one thing I do forgetting these things that are â—ehind and reaching forth unto these things that are before I press towards the mark for the 〈◊〉 He is so taken up with pressing desires and endeavouâ— to be forward that any thing he hath attained he is not much taken and far less vainly tickled with it as these proud Pharisees were with their giving of almes The attainment that many offer as an evidence of their honest willingness and their pleading for it with their proud boasting of it is a shrewd evidence of their real unwillingness in so far as they sit down contenâ—dly with what they have attained and press not at 〈◊〉 to be forward as it becomes those to do that are far behind The truly willing honest man sees so great a deal of his way before him that he scarce endures to look back on what of it is past he is ready to think and â—ay I have so many things to do for God that I someway forget all the good turns that I have done as to sitting down with them or boasting of them 6ly The seriously willing man can never be fully satisfied with any victory he hath obtained over his corruption or out-gate from it nor dare he rest on it Neither hath he peace till he come to look to God in Christ and to the hope of outgate through him I thank God sayeth the Apostle Rom. 7. through Iesus Christ our Lord and then followes the conclusion so then with my mind I my self serve the law of God but with the flesh the law of sin And Chap. 8. 1. There is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Iesus who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit This character hath three branches 1. The man that is wrestling with and groaning under the body of death loves well and dearly the hope of an outgate and now and then longs to have the pins of his tabernacle loosed and to be fred from that evil neighbour and troublesome guest of indwelling corruption and it is unexpressibly sweet and refreshing to him to look to that desirable day when he and it shall finally part company 2ly He hath never the settled hope of an outgate but when he looks to God through Christ he looks to God and thinks himself eternally oblidged to him for his giving Christ to deliver him and he looks to Christ for strength to stand it out in the battel and for obtaining a full and final out-gate in the close and at last And 3ly A man that hath this willingness It highly commends the free grace of God to him it makes Christ very lovely to him and withall it makes sin to be exceeding sinful in his own eyes he loves Christ well because he hath the hope of an out-gate through him and he loves grace well because the poor man who is wrestling and warring with his corruption and often plunged in the puddle and mire by it hath through grace the hope of a final out-gate from it and it makes sin to become out of measure loathsome to him and the higher Christ Jesus and his grace are exalted the more vile and abominable is sin in his â—ight O! but it be safe for the Soul to ride at anchor betwixt these two We shall only add That this sincerely and honestly willing man is one that hath two parts in him and as he hath two parts so he labours to give every part it s own due and unless this be done there is no keeping of peace and calmness in the Conscience if a man should look on himself as wholly renewed it were rank presumption having still a remainder of corruption in him And if being a sound Believer in Christ he should look on himself as wholly unrenewed It were gross unbelief Therefore he attributs to corruption its due and is humbled for it before the Lord and he acknowledges the grace of God in him and any honest protest against â—in attributing it to grace and gives God the praise of his grace after Pauls example who sayes Rom. 7. I thank God through Iesus Christ our Lord so then with my mind I my self serve the Law of God and with my flesh the law of sen He takes with it that with his unrenewed pâ—t he serves the law of sin so that he was not come at perfection in holiness and yet asserts that in his mind he serves the law of God yet so that he served not the Law of God as of himself or in his own strength but as renewed and assisted by grace For 2 Cor. 3. 5. He sayes Not that we are sufficient of our selves as of our selves to think any thing but our sufficiency is of God He acknowledges that of himself as of himself he sinned and could not so much as think a good thought but as renewed and that not as of himself but aâ— of God he served God his sufficiency being allenarlly of him who enabled him to any thing that was good and as it is 1 Cor. 15. Not I but the grace of God in me the same man that sayes he cannot so much as think what is good as of himself that he can do nothing yet sayes I can do all things through Christ strengthning me Philp. 4. 10. O strange This way of distinguishing is both a notable evidence of a man that aims honesty at peace and is the way to peace of Conscience and otherwayes if it be neglected whilst Christians have corruption in them they can never have solid peace SERMON I. Heb. 9. v. 13. 14. For if the blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh 14. How much more shall the blood of Christ who through the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God IT is the great business of Christians to walk so as they may be in good terms with their Conscience that from no untenderness in their way there may be any just ground of challenge at least none such as may wound the Conscience and break or marr the peace and tranquillity of it before God or disturb or interupt that sweet serenity and distinct calmness of a spiritual frame of soul that he allowes on believers in him who are exercising themselves to have alwayes a good Conscience But alace its not all professors of Religion It s not all gracious Christians that win at this who I mean serious Christians partly throw the unmortified remâ—nder of corruption still dwelling in them and partly through their own unwatchfulness fall often into such sins as defile the Conscience and obstruct the clear light and serene tranquillity thereof when in any measure attained and therefore it is no less necessary to know
Saints by the falling but of some hot scalding drops of Gods fatherly wrath and displeasure have been brought neer the length of wishing rather for strangling though mercifully keeped from it and made to abhorre it then life As it was with non such holy Iob who looked on death a violent death as an easie matter be what it was to be under the sense of wrath and to be set up as the mark for Gods arrows to be shot at the venome whereof to his apprehension drunk up his Spirits though all the while he was kept up in the faith of his interest in God and of his love to him To his purpose Human heavily complains Psal. 88. I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up while I suffer thy terrours I am distracted If it be sometimes done thus in the green trees even the greenest what shall be done in the dry Now the Conscience is in a special manner the receptacle of all the terrors of God it must therefore certainly be a very ill thing to have an awakned ill Conscience If an ill and unpurged Conscience be silent and a sleep it s in some respect worse for it hath this black and dreadful awakning abiding it and the longer it sleep and keep silence the the wakning will be the more terrible and its cryes the lowder It s all the while of its silence and sleeping treasuring up more wrath whereby the poor wretch will be payed home with multiplyed increase of terrour and horrour O! that ye knew how evil a thing how very evil a thing it is to have a Conscience not purged from dead works a Conscience not sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ as no stranger can intermiddle with the joy of a mans Spirit who hath a good Conscience a Conscience sprinkled and purged by the blood of Christ so no man can to the full represent to you the exceeding terribleness of the terrour of an evil Conscience when awakned by the wrath of God pleading and pursuing a quarrel with the Soul which quarrel he is infinitly powerful to avenge It would be very suitable to be often enquiring at our selves what is become of the quarrel and what solid ground of peace and confidence towards God is there We will all most certainly and inavoidably be put on this great tryal O! suffer not your selves to be so far deluded as to think that a silent and stupid Conscience is a good Conscience and hath no danger with it which is as great folly as to think that a feeless and benummed member of the body is thereby in â—o danger nay the danger is so much the greater 2ly Observe That though all men naturally be under thiâ— evil of an unpurged Conscience yet in the covenant of Grace God hath laid down a way how sinners may get their Consciences purged This is the Apostles scope in both these scriptures even to lay a solid ground for the consolation of Believers and for a high commendation of Gods grace viz. That by application made to the blood of Jesus there is as a real purging of the Conscience from sin win at as there was access made to persons ceremonially unclean by these sacrifices and washings under the Law to external Church-priviledges being ceremonialy cleansed thereby which is not so to be understood as if the sin committed had never really and actually been so as the purged Believer should neither remember it nor repent of it that is not at all the meaning of the Doctrine but it is to be understood legally that as to the removing of the guilt of sin and as to his having peace with God and in his own Conscience it is purged so as sin cannot stand in the way of his expecting Gods favour nor simply in the way of his delighting himself therein more then if it had never been though the man be the debitor yet there is a way laid down in the Gospel covenant to declare him free even as a man that has plaid the dyvour or bankerupt though he cannot simply and in all respects be made as if he had never been so yet by anothers paying of the debt he is before the Judge acquited and is reckoned free of the debt as if it had never been contracted or owing and as to any effect that might in law follow on it to his prejudice just so is it here with the sinner that flees to the blood of sprinkling and the word purging sufficiently holds it out especially when it is joyned with coming with boldness and confidence to the throne of God for if it should be said to such a sinner how canst thou how darst thou come to God with such confidence that hast an ill Conscience through so much sin He answers Let us draw near or come having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience So that as to a confident approaching to God and application of Christs righteousness persons who have made application of the blood of sprinkling may come to God with as much holy and humble boldness as if the Conscience had never been defiled and pollured and the experience of the Saints who in this way have found peace and confidence is a great evidence and confirmation of the truth of it 3ly To come a little nearer We may Observe in the negative That there is no way for a man that has once had his Conscience defiled and polluted with sin to be cleansed and purged from it but by the blood of Christ If we look through this 9th Chapter from the beginning and the following 10th Chapter We will find that the Apostles scope is to prove that it is not the blood of Bulls or of Calves nor any one or all of these ceremonial Sacrifices washings or purgations that can do the business as he more particularly cleareth v 9. of the 9. Chap. Where the Apostle insinuats That though God appointed many means and midâ—es of purgation yet if there had been no more but these they could never have effected the perfyting of a man as pertaining to the Conscience It s only the blood of Jesus that hath this effect And this one reason will confirm it viz. That there is no other thing but the blood of Christ that can satisfie Gods justice and remove the quâ—rrel that is betwixt him and the guilty sinner it s he only in whom God is well pleased he is our peace and there is no name under heaven given whereby a sinner can be saved but the name of Iesus And till God be satisfied the Conscience cannot be quiet seeing then that nothing can satisfie Gods Justice buâ— his blood there can nothing purge and satisfie the Conscience but it Therefore David prayes Psal. 51. Purge me with hysop and I shall be clean Where he allâ—ds and looks to the blood of Christ that was â—ypifyed by the sprinkling of Blood with a bunsh of hysop under the law as the Apostle doth here As the Use of this Doctrine
considering that the best and most disceâ—ning men may be mistaken in their application of these evidences to us neither is it the end of Conference to be a ground of peace when in the mean time there is no solid course taken how to get our debt payeâ— and the justice of God satified our main yea our first work would be to be take our selves to the Cautioner and to the blood of sprinkling under the conviction and sense of sin and guilt and then we may profitably reason our selves and admit of the reasoning of others for help to quiet our Conscience and unless there be actual fleeing to Christ and to his blood preceeding and going before words of comfort or direction spoken whether in private or in publick This word of God declares them to be null and voâ—d as to any advantage to us 4ly Observe That when nothing can pacify an evâ—l and defiled Conscience nor purge it from dead works the application of the blood of Christ by faith can and will purge that Conscience and give peace and quietness to it with holy and humble confidence and boldness in coming and drawing near to God as if in some respect it had never been defiled by these dead works of sin It s the Apostles great scope and design here to press these two which are the two branches of the Doctrine 1. The sufficiency of Christs blood as the price that â—atisfies divine Justice and quiets the Conscâ—ence for when the Conscience gets this blood applyed to it by faith it has no ground to crave any further satisfaction to the justice of God whose deputy it is as if something were owing that blood as a full and condigâ— price satisfies for all the debt How much more sayeth the Apostle here shall the blood of Christ purge your conscience from dead works The 2d Branch is that which followeth upon â—his as a native use of it That a Belleâ—er who hath fled to Jesus Christ after the committing of sin and hath actually applyed his blood to the Conscience may have quietness in it and go with boldness and confidence to God and may on this ground maintain his peace in some respect as if he had never sinned So â—uos the Apostles scope if we look to the 19. v. of Chap. 10. and forward Having therefore brethren sayeth he boldness to enter into the holiest by a new and living way â—y the blood of Iesus let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of saith having our hearts sprinkâ—ed from an evil conscience though it hath been polluted before This is one of the rarest pearls and richest Jewels of the Gospel one of the excellentest priviledges of a Belâ—ever and one of the noblest and notablest exprâ—ssions and evidences of the grace of God and withall the great prooâ— of the reality and efficacy of the satisfaction of our blessed Lord Jesus viz. That when the Conscâ—ence of the poor Believer is confounded and in a manner put on the wrack with many challenges for sin he may mâ—ke application of Christs blood and on that ground have sweet peace and tranquillity of Soul For further clearing of this We shall 1. lay down some grouâ—ds for its confirmation And then 2ly make some â—se of it As for the first of them to wit some grounds to confirm it Take these few shortly 1. If by the application of Christs blood there be solid peace made up betwixt God and the sinner it will necessarly follow that the application of the blood of Christ will â—urge the Conscience and ought to be ground of peace and quietness to it For sayeth Iohn Epistle 1. Chap. 3. v. 20. God is greater then the heart or Conscience and sayeth Paul 1 Cor. 4. 4. Though we know nothing by our selves yet are we not hereby justified but â—e that judgeth us is the Lord This is sound reasoning God hath nothing to say therefore the Conscience ought to be satisfied But it is clear that by the application of Christs blood solid peace is made up betwixt God and a sinner As Rom. 5. 1. Being justified by saith we have peace with God through our Lord Iesus Christ There is no standing controversie nor quarrel â—onger then by faith the blood of Christ is â—led unto and applyed Iohn 5. 24. He that heareth my word and believeth on â—im that sent me hath everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation He shall come to judgement to be absolved but not to be condemned for as it is Iohn 3. 18. He that believeth on him shall not be condemned And Rom. 8. 1. There is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ And 1 Iohn 5. 12. He that hath the Son hath life c. This being the over word of the Gospel it will follow that the Conscience of a poor sinner that is fled to Christ for refuge hath good ground of peace and that there is no ground to the Conscience â—ormentingly or anxiously to challenge And this is indeed no small matter and yet no presumption after a sinner hath fled to Christ to quiet himself and to be at peace on this ground A 2d ground of confirmation is the experience of all the Sainâ—s recorded in the Scripture after their faâ—lings and fallings into sin what hath quieted them may also quâ—et us for there is but one way of making peace with God and the taking of that way workes as to the main alike to all Now it s this way that hath quieted them it s the same faith in all and alike precious 〈◊〉 in all as to the kind because it hath the like precious substantial effects in all It is this therefore that must give quâ—etness and boldness to us That which quieted them was a look an often renewed look as guilt was of new contracted through all these types and shadows to Christ all of them had their original and actual pollutions whereby their Conscience was some wâ—y defiled and disquieted yet through application of Christs blood they wan to peace Purge me sayes David Psal. 51. with â—ysop and I shall be clean c. Even when the Conscience was writeing his lybel and he was under challenges for his guilt he had the faith of his interest and attained peace through application of the blood of Christ that was to come signified by purging with hysop For that ground stands sure which is laid down Act 13. 38 39. Be it known unto you therefore men and brethren that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins and by him all that believe are 〈◊〉 from all things from which ye could not be justified by the law oâ— Moses There is indeed as if he had said a large and long 〈◊〉 and Inditement that Sin and tâ—e Law and the Conscience have against you but be it known unto you that through Iesus Christ remission of sins is preached to you and that through saith in him ye are justified and fred
pathetick exhortation by way of conclusion that Believers would make use of and improve these advantages and priviledges in a confident approaching to God Let us draw near saith he v. 22. in full assurance of faith But because there are two things that readily stand in the way of Believers their coming to God he casts in two requisit qualifications of their coming for removing these obstructions and to let us see that though he allow of the well grounded confidence of faith yet he doth not allow of carnal presumption in approaching to God The 1. thing that stands in their way is carnalness and deceit of heart and the qualification which he requires for removing of it is in these words Let us draw near with a true heart Which is not to be understood of a simply siâ—less heart but of a sincere honest and upright heart a clean heart loathing and working out the remainder of pollution and impurity for it s opposed to an unclean deceitful and hypocritical heart otherwayes the next words of sprinkling and washing would not be added But because 2ly Believers win not in this life to that perfection in purity and sincerity but still they are conscious to themselves of a remainder of deceit impurity and hypocrisie to be and abide in them so that if they have no more but the testimony of their own purity and sincerity to look to it will be but as one leg to walk upon in their drawing near to God They might therefore object alace We have but little if any thing of a pure and sincere heart he answers this by adding the second qualification Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water Which is as he had said wherein soever ye be unclean and defiled and whatever be your impurity deceit or hypocrisie come to the blood of Christ that ye may be sprinkled and washeâ— thereby and then come forward and draw near to Goâ— in full assurance of faith In a word he would have them coming and coming in sincerity and whatever lamented over and loathed deceit and hypocrisie or uncleanness they find in themselves he would not have that keeping them back because there is an efficacy in the blood of Christ to purge away both the guilt and filth of sin and to procure welcome to such as are sincere and single in purifying their heart and way though they be not perfitly pure but many degrees removed from it and because thereof are under many quarrels from God and challenges from their own Consciences he would have such making use of that blood for removing all quarrels and so to come forward This Phrase of having the conscience sprinkled is an allusion to that which we have Exod. 12. v. 7. and 13. Where the Lord being to smite all the first-born of Egypt to prevent the falling of the stroak and plague on the Israelites he appoints them to kill a Lamb and to sprinkle the Lintel and Door posts of their Houses with the blood thereof that when the destroying Angel passed thorow to smite the first-born of the Egyptians he might pass over their houses that were so sprinkled and the force of the allusion is this Mans Conscience in a natural estate is like that destroying Angel and as Israel be-sprinkled the door posts of their houses with the blood of the Paschal Lamb so he would have them to be-sprinkle their hearts with the blood of Christ as Chap. 9. 14. and 12. v. 24. And then their Conscience will not smite them to their hurt but they shall be past over as the Israelits were passed over by the destroying Angel In the words then these two are clear 1. That the Conscience of a person un-reconciled to God is a mighty fearce and terrible pursuer ready to seize on him as the avenger of blood did on the Man-slayer or as the destroying Angel did on the Egyptians And O! but it be a dreadful thing to be obnoxious to Gods wrath and to the challenges accusations throws and pangs of a Conscience that hath just ground of a quarrel against a man who hath nothing wherewith to answer its challenges and accusations 2ly That the efficacy of Christs blood is such that it is able to purge the Conscience of such a man that fleeth to it and to fence and guard him against the wrath of God and the challenges and accusations of his own Conscience so that as it hath no just ground to pursue so it being Gods Deputy it cannot neither will pursue him as Gods enemy it having no warrand from him as its Soveraign to do so but as the sprinkling of the houses of the Israelits with the blood of the passe-over Lamb preserved them from being plagued or hurt by the destroying Angel so there is an efficacy in the Blood of Jesus Christ to purge and pacify the Conscience of the person that in good earnest hath believing recourse to it to preserve him from the stroak of Gods justice and wrath and from the pursuit and accusations of his own Conscience I say when it is had recourse to actually applyed and made use of by Faith We cleared and confirmed these two Doctrines or two Branches of the same Doctrine the other day and now we come to the Use of them which is Fourfold 1. For Information and Direction 2ly For the commendation of the bargan of free Grace 3ly For the consolation of Believers in Christ. And 4ly For advertisement and warning to others For the First Use Ye may see here a main lesson of the Gospel and from this ye may hear glad and joyful tydings to a tossed and troubled Sinner whose Conscience is pursuing him like an armed man nay the Conscience is more terrible when awakned then any the greatest army of men But behold here there is a way to win to peace under these tossings and troubles and to a calme in the midst of that terrible tempest and storm to an escape and deliverance from the hot pursuer and avenger of blood as it were a city of refuge to flee unto even the blood of Iesus Christ that speaks better things then the blood of Abel even that blood of sprinkling that speaks peace when it is applyed by Faith In prosecution of this Use we shall a little clear thâ—se three 1. What a sinner lying under the lashes of his Conscience coming to this blood may expect 2ly How he may attain that which he may warrantably expect 3ly when he may and ought in a more especial manner to make use of it As to the First viz. What a Conscience-tossed and troubled sinner may expect by fleeing to the blood of Christ Gods rich and liberal allowance on him is drawing â—ear to him with full assurance of faith coming to him with confidence and boldness as a Father in all his worship-addresses and applications The meaning is not That the sinner under a quarrel fleeing to this blood hath no ground of humiliation
which the Apostle holdeth furth Philip. 3. 9. Where he sayes That I may be found in him not having mine own righteousness which is of the law but that which is through the faith of Christ He supposeth justice to be pursuing him and that nothing he can do for himself will divert justice its persuit nor secure him against it That he is a lost and gone man iâ— himself he rests not on the discovery of his lost estate but seeks to be found in him not having his own rigâ—ousness which is by the Law but the righteousness whiâ— is by faith in him This is the ground that gives peace with God and should quiet the Conscience but wheâ— the sinner hath taken this way if the Conscience be not yet quieted and calmed there is something further necessary as first the actual renewing of that application to Christ to get not so much a new pardon as a new extract of that pardon which he received in his first fleeing to Christ that by this renewed application of faith to the blood of sprinkling he may also quiet the Conscience so that when the man is fled to Christ and at peace with God if he have not peace in his Conscience he is to cast a renewed look to the promise and to act faith of new on Christs blood to hold it furth as it were unto and to lay it before his Conscience taking with his sin yet holding still by it that he is fled to Christ and on that ground making use of the promise for the renewed pardon of sin through his blood in this respect faith is called Eph. 6. 16. A shield Take unto you sayeth the Apostle the shield of faith whereby ye may quench all the firy darts of the devil when the challenge is cast in on the Conscience it as it were burns the Believer even as a firy or poysoned dart thrown into a mans body burns and inflames it But faith goes to the fountain of Christs blood to the covenant and promises and draws out of these wells of salvation bucketfulls as it were to quench it or when a challenge comes in backed with temptation it makes use of the promise and blood of Christ to answer it and so faith is as a shield or targe to kepp the dart and beat it back it makes the Believer say I cannot satisfie for this sin but here is a promise of pardon to the man that is fled to Christ and to the blood of sprinkling as I am and makes use of Christ in the promise for renewed intimation of pardon or for renewed pardon as new guilt is contracted And thus he is keeped quiet that the challenge wins not in so sar nor goeth so deep as to sting him in his vital parts to speak so the heart of his peace and quietness is keeped still alive tâ—ugh he be in quick and sharp exercise under the challenge 2ly Because challenges will not soon nor easily be got removed nor the Conscience quickly and without difficulty calmed as we see in that fore-mentioned instance of David Psal. 51. There is need therefore of continuing in the fight and of drawing conclusions from solid and undenyable premises and grounds to quiet the Conscience and ward off challenges so as they may not wound and quite marr peace as Paul doth Rom. 8. 1 2. It might have been said to him Thou hast been complaining of a body of death and that with thy flesh thou servest the law of sin and is not that a grievous challenge against thee It is true as if he said But there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ That is the making use aright of the targe or sheild of faith But to put the matter out of doubt he goes on and subsumes and draws the conclusion for the words are applicative to himself and spoken with a considerable regard to his own particular exercise set down Chap. 7. I by faith am fled to Christ for resuge and so am in Christ and therefore there is no condemnation to me and indeed when ever challenges come in from sense and Conscience put through other or mingled together as it were blown upon by temptation which will pursue the Believer hardly It s needful to reason from the grounds of faith to ward off the blow and to queit the Conscience And this though it be a reflex act of faith which does not justifie yet it serves to reason the Conscience into peace and calmness and there is need of faith acting thus reflexly though not as I said to justifie yet to bring home the peace and comfort of Justification and renewed extracts and intimations of pardon 3ly It s necessary that Believers quiet themselves positively by comforting confirming themselves In the faith of what the promise speaks and in the hope of what they have to expect The difference betwixt the former and this is that in the former we draw home answers from the grounds of faith to ward off the dint and bitterness of challenges but that is not enough throwly to calme and settle the soul therefore the latter is also needful that the soul positively draw in peace and consolation to it self by believing Which as it is Philip. 4. is able to guard the heart and mind through Christ Iesus and we conceive this to be Davids exercise Psal. 51. Where by exercising his faith on the promises and on the blood of the Messiah to be shed and by wrestling for the intimation of pardon and peace he labours not only to get his Conscience calmed but even filled with consolation and because the promises are often somewhat wersh and tasteless to say so if not seasoned and quickned by Gods voice going along with them and putting favour and life in them This is the voice of joy and gladness which he would so fain hear Therefore the Believer insists with God thus to be-sprinkle his Conscience and as he looks to the righteousness and blood of Christ for Justification so he looks to it for calming of the Conscience and this is in effect to be beholden to free grace as for pardon of fin so for peace and calmness of Conscience without which any other thing will not do the turn As for the 3d. thing proposed to he spoken of viz. The times or seasons or the cases wherein the Believer may and ought in a special manner to make use of his liberty and boldness in drawing near with full assurance of faith There is no question but a Believer who hath made use of Christ for pardon of sin and Justification may also and should make use of him and his blood for the sprinkling his Conscience that he may come to God with boldness and confidence and there is no case wherein a Believer may not aim at this but more especially he should in these cases As first when he is fallen into more gross guilt as David was psal 51. 2ly When that gross guilt and grievous sinning is
excellency and efficacy of it shines furth in the tenderness of the Person that applyes the remedy to such a loathsome sickness and otherwayes insutable desease or by any other hand but Christs Having sayeth the Apostle such an high Priest over the house of God â—et us draw near The Physician is Jesus Christ himself his blood is the cure and he also is the applyer of the cure and O! how very tender dexterous and simpathizing is he he even excells in such cures to admiration He is a high Priest that is holy harmless undefiled separat from sinners and higher then the heavens He is holy and harmless himself he loves these qualities and is able and willing to work them in these that come to him and such an high Priest became us He is one that hath compassion on the ignorant and such as are out of the way who was in all points tempted as we yet without sin That he may from his own experience the more kindly and strongly simpathize with his People and succour them in all their temptations an high Priest that is touched with the feeling of their infirmities The aâ—king of the least finger or toe in his mystical body stounds up as it were to the very heart of him who is the head thereof And Chap. 2. It behoved him to be made like to his brethren that he might be a merciful and faithful high Priest c. 4ly The excellency and efficacy of it appears in this even in the exceeding great freeness of his applying this cure There is no more required but to come and receive it to come however unclean and be sprinkled with his blood to confess the debt of guilt and draw out an extract of the discharge by virtue of his payment thereof And if there be any pollution in the Conscience any challenge or sore whatever it be he furnisheth the remedy and cure freely and frankly Now a Word to the 2d thing viz. The necessity of this blood of sprinkling If it be so as we have said if it be so virtuous and efficacious is there not here an encouragement for the guilty to flee to this blood and is there not a necessity to make use of it a very pressing and vehemently urging necessity for as it was not possible for the man slayer to stand with safety before the avenger of blood out of the city of refuge so no more can the guilty sinner stand before his own Conscience and far less before the Tribunal of God Who is greater then the conscience till this blood be fled unto and till he get his Conscience sprinkled with it And therefore seeing ye have Consciences and guilty Consciences many sins on your score and though the Conscience now sleep it will most certainly once awake and turn a hot and hard pursuer far beyond what ever any avenger of blood was and the longer that it sleep it will pursue the harder and seing Christ Jesus is as a city of refuge to whom ye may now flee and be sase Consider O! consider these words of the Apostle of the Gentiles Acts 13. 38 39. Which we in the name of the Lord say over again to you Be it known unto you men and brethren that through this man is preached unto you forgivenaess of sins and by him all that believe are justified from all things from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses And it is the great end and design of the Gospel â—o proclaim the mercat of grace and to make this offer unto you sinners freely seing I say all this is O! takewith and be humbled under the sense of your guilt from which ye cannot be pessibly delivered any other way and come forward and make use of it And be-think your selves seriously I beseech you if this day of salvation be sitten and if this offer of grace be despised your Conscience may and will certainly waken upon you yea warr upon you most terribly and ye will never get it quieted but if ye will now in time imbrace and make use of the offâ—r We dare confidently say to the commendation of Gods grace and of the efficacy of this precious blood of Iesus Christ that the sinner can never lay before Christ that sin with what ever aggravations of it nor the disease how filthy and loathsome soever it be but the blood of Christ applyed by faith can aboundantly satisfie Gods Justifie for it and pacify and purge the Conscience from the guilt and defilement of it And if God be pacified the Conscience being his deputy dar no more challenge and pursue to death no more then the avenger of blood could the Man-slayer when once got within the city of refuge or the destroying angel who smote all the first-born of Egypt could or did destroy the Israelits whose houses were be-sprinkled with the blood of the passe-over Lamb. The 3d Use is For strong consolation to Believers in Christ And it is threefold 1. Under the rise of a challenge when the Conscience pursues because there is here a city of refuge to run unto A Mediator for sinners A shield or targe to keep off such a Daâ— and to quench or ward off the deadly wound of it Let us make the supposition and blest eternaly be God through Jesus Christ it s but a supposition What if this had not been How dreadful would the very apprehension of a challenge let be of the vindictive wrath of God have been 2dly To the sinner that flees to this city there is strong consolation in this respect that he shall be made welcome and therefore the Believer needs not skar to make use of Christ nor to come to this blood of sprinkling for he waits for imployment and its the more to the praise of his exquisit skill the moe be cleansed and cured by him through the vertue thereof ye may therefore come and not only so but come with full assurance of faith of attaining whatever ye want and would have Come therefore Believers boldly to the throne of grace that â—e may find mercy and obtain grace to help in time of need as on this ground the Apostle exhorts Heb. 4. 3ly These that have fled to this City of refuge may quiet themselves they are at peace with God and with their own Conscience their peace is as sure as Gods Covenant that cannot be annulled nor altered is And as Christs purchase is of worth and efficacy if the covenant of grace be firm and sure and if this blood of sprinkling be of value and efficacy they have certainly solid grounds of peace and consolation and therefore we exhort Believers in Christ on all occasions to flee to this city to renew your applications by faith to Jesus Christ and after every defilement to be-sprinkle your Consciences with this blood and then comfort your selves in it and bless God who allows such large and strong consolation on you and the Mediator who hath purchased it for you by
of his soul and body which by the exact and exquisit symetrie and harmonie thereof through the image of God concreated with him made him while it remained in its integrity incapable of all such motions or actions which should be subservient unto or complyant with any thing contrary unto or different from it His Understanding the leading facultie and the eye as it were of the soul became an abysse and dungeon of darknesse covered all over with fogs mists and clouds of ignorance errors and mistakes so that becoming of a spiritual and holy man a carnal and corrupt man He did not receive neither could he know savingly the things of God he became quite blind having losed his viâ—ive faculty as to all spiritual discerning His Will the ruling and governing facultie utterly losed its rectitude and became crooked froward perverse rebellious and obstinat strongly inclined and bent to evil to all evil only to evil alwayes and constantly to evil and altogether averse from every thing truly good willing that which God nilled and nilling that which he willed His Affections turned all mutinous disorderly disturbed and confused furiously rushing on prohibited objects as the horse rusheth into the battel and what movings of them were toward any commanded object these were altogether irregular not so much as one of them moved toward any such object purely or primarly because it was a thing commanded His Memory quite losed its reâ—entive facultie as to the remembring of any thing spiritually good in the way it should have been remembred it became in that respect as a leck vessel all such things slipping and running through and out of it His Conscience being deâ—ed and made guilty became clamorous unquiet challenging and accusing boisterous and stormy filling him with horrour and when not stupified and benummed with spiritually Lethargick Security or Cauterized pâ—ing him upon the rack and making a kind of hell in his bosome so that he was Magur â—issabib terror round about even his own Burrio and tormenteâ— All the members of his body were yeelded to be the weapons of unrighteousness to sin So that all the faculties and powers of his â—oul and members of his body were on the suddain up in armes in hostility and rebellion against God proclaiming and waging war with him and on the matter blasphemously bidding him a defyance O! â—ad and sorrowful revolution in and on the Little world Man Heu quantum mutatus abillo God made him upright but he sought out to himself many inventions wo to us for we have sinned and the crown hath fallen from our head And by the loss of our original righteousness and the corruption of our whole nature with the innumerable actual sins and transgressions that flow from thence we bear alas a great deal more of the Image of the Devil and of the Brute then we do of the Image of God The re-introduction restauration and renovation of the pristine beautiful conformitie to the glorious Image of God with their reconciliation and justification through his satisfaction to divine justice in some of the universally lapsed and losed posterity of Adam even all the elect and gifted ones to the Mediator to be redeemed sanctified and saved by him in order to the capaclâ—ating of them to enjoy fellowship with God forefaulted by the fall and that by a new Creation the very splendor and glory of the whole Creation was the great earâ—nd and bussiness for which Christ Jesus came into the world who being the head and foundation-stone of this new Creation hath graciousâ— undertaken to prepare sanctifie and glorifie his mystical body or all the elect given to him by Iehovab which he accordingly effecteth and bringeth to passe by regenerating them by sanctifying them and by carrying on this work of sanctification in the growth and gradual advances thereof till it be perfected and consummated in glory whereby the Image of God in men is again renewed and restored both in their souls and bodies respectively in a good measure now in this life and shall be perfectly in the life to come where as they shall all see him as he is intuitively face to face and enjoy him fully and immediately without any the least moments interruption through all eternity so they shall be like him perfectly like him according to Creature capacitie resembling him to the verie â—fe All the faculties and powers of their souls partake of this renewed work The Understanding being savingly enlightned the will rectified the Affections reduced â—nto order the Memory strengthned and the Conscience much cleansed and calmed and put into a capacity as to accuse and condemne so to excuse allow and absolve as there is just ground for either and they put to make it their great bussiness about which they allow themselves to be exercised alwayes to have it void of offence toward God and toward men which Conscience with the concerns thereof being the great Tâ—eam and Subject of these choice searching and savoury Sermons wherein if there be any thing that doth not so fully answer expectation let it be imputed to the writer from his own mouâ—h whose copple was so verie incorrect that the fitting it for the view of the world hath caused no smal labour to me I need say the less of it only in general I would humbly offer these few things First we would above all things look well that once we have a good Conscience not only Morally that is when Conscience iudgeth it self bound to owne Gods â—evealed will for its rule and when it impelleth or pusheth the man to act according to that rule and withall the more ordinary disposition of his will is 〈◊〉 comply with these impulses of his Conscience which may be where there is no special or saving grace but Graciously so which necessarily pre-supposeth a state of regeneration and the hearts applying it self by faiâ—h the gift of God to the blood of sprinkling which both purgeth and â—acifieth cleanseth and calmeth the Conscience which speaketh better things then the bâ—ood of Aâ—el yea hath a cry ablâ— to out-cry the loudest cryes of the most clâ—morous and guilty Conscience and is that wherein all disquieting challenger and â—ccusations for sinâ— are only â—afely sunk and and put to silence so as they shall never again swime above and raâ—k to the final sorrow and shame of such as are led through graâ—e to take this course with them as the now-sunk and any other way silenced challenges of most men and women will once most certainly rise on them and speak at a high rate against them never any more to hold their peace from grievously galling and gnawing accusations For to the unclean and unbelieving nothing is pure but even the minde and conscience is defiled Secondly The Conscience being thus made good we would endeavour by all suitable means to keep it so that we may be in case on warrantable and good grounds to say with the Apostle We trust we have a good
Christian walk according to Conscience 〈◊〉 these seven particulars 1. A man that would walk according to Conscience must have a respect to all sorts of Dâ—ties in Words Thoughts and Actions for Conscience will challenge for an idle word and for a â—inful thought to Simon Acts 8. 22. says the Apostle Pray God if perhaps the thought of thy hearâ— may be forgiven thee which saith that sinâ—ul thoughts may have influence to 〈◊〉 the Conscience and that a man who wouâ—d keep peace in his Conscience should dispense with himself in none of these 2. A man that would walk according tâ— Conscience must extend Duty to all particulars oâ— everâ— kind to every Thought every Word and every action â—or according as Conscience when in case is pleased or displeased in every one of these in publick in private in secret in 〈◊〉 or smaller Duties or â—ins so it will accuse or â—xcuse so then as Conscience regardeth alâ— Duties and kinds of them so it regardeth every particular of every kind 3. A man that would walk according to Conscience must aim in his Christian walk at the highest degree in every one of these though he come short yet he must not dispense with himself in his short-coming in any of them for instance as he must love God so he must endeavour to love him with all his strength soul and mind and as he must be holy so he must aim to perfect Holiness and to purifie himself even as he is pure in this respect the least defect will give Conscience ground of a challenge and if he in the least but indirectlâ— dispense with himself in it it will breed a quarrel 4. Walking according to Conscience tyeth a man to be in this aim and design always so as it alloweth of no inâ—ermission as for instance to study Holiness in this or that condition of life and not in another or under the cross and not in prosperity but as the word is here in the Tâ—xt he is always to exercise himself in this study and though a man should live many years with a Conscâ—ence void of offence if he begin at last though iâ— be but now and then to take undue liberty Conscience will take notice of it and challenge for it because the Word the superior of Conscience taketh notice of it 5. To walk according to Conscience extendeth it self to all circumstances and qualifications of Duty it looketh not only to the matter of duty that it be good but that it be spiritually prâ—secute in all the circumstances of it it will look to the mans aim that it be single and if it be not so it will find fault it will look to his manner of doing whether he be spiritual lively tender zealous c. in what he doeth and it will look from what principle he acteth from the strength of Grace or from a gift from his own Strength or from Christs and it will look to what is his end or aim as I just now said whether he be bringing forth fruit to himself or to God whether his end be to please men and to have their approbation and applause or to glorifie God and to approve to him whether it be to stop the mouth of his Conscience or to honour God Conscience taketh notice of these for founding its accusing or excusing and in this it differeth from all Courts among men it will accuse and condemn where they will absolve contra 6. Conscience will put a man to take notice of all the means opportunities and helps whereby Holiness may be furthered and if a man come short in the use of any mean it will put him to run the back trade as it were and to take with the guilt it will say Man whether mightest thou not have had more knowledge having had so many opportunities to hear and learn having had such and such Ministers and Christian friends to advise with and to be instructed by as the Apostle hath it Heb. 5. 12. Ye might have been teachers of others by reason of time and means and yet ye have need to be taught the first principles c. To have a Conscience void of offence it is necessary to use every mean to further us in the knowledge of Gods will and to attain to the practice of it 7. Conscience will look especially to what use we make of our Holiness and to what we lay before Conscience to answer its challenges whether we bring our good Mind our Prayers External Performances and our following of Ordinances to stop the mouth of it and to â—ilence the challenges and quench the fire to say so of Conscience or whether we bring the blood of Iesus Christ that blood of sprinkling if we compare Heb. 10. vers 2. with vers 22. and Heb. 9. vers 9. with vers 14. we will find this latter way and â—ot the former to be the only safe way These sacrifices that are offered year by year continually can never make the the comers thereunto perfect but having a high-priest over the house of God we may draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water These gifts and sacrifices could not make them that did the service perfect as pertaining to the conscience but the blood of Christ who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God purgeth the conscience from dead works to serve the living God and though the Conscience will challenge a Believer where there are defects in the foâ—mer rules yet it is quieted and satisfied where there is serious and suitable application made to and of the sufferings and satisfaction of the Redeemer iâ— so be he dispense not with himself as to his short-coming in them and if the use that he makes of his Holiness in the largest extent and highest degree of it be not to found his righteousness thereon but to honour God thereby in gratitude to him to edifie others and to evidence to himself the soundness and reality of his believing and gracious state This sheweth the vast extent of Holiness and what it is that men are called to and thereby we may also see that many sadly mistake Religion and what that perfect walk is that a Christian ought to have before God and we may say on the whole if this be to walk according to Conscience then cerâ—ainly not many but very few walk according to â—t which is a lamentation and should be for a lamentation The 2d Use is â—or tryal If a Believer when he is in case and right will have it for his exercise to walk so as he may have a Conscience void of offence toward God and toward men then this will be a differencing mark betwixt a Believer and an un-believer the one singly aimeth and seriously endeavoureth to have a good Conscience and to walk so as in nothing he may offend his Conscience The other haâ—h no such design
to hazard on sin to neglect Prayer and other duties yet they would consider the terrour that followeth ane evil Conscience and how it breedeth and breweth a hell within their own Bosom There is then a necessity an absolute necessity of a good Conscience that quarrels be not and abide not betwixt God and us for ever 3ly For some Helps or Directions to keep a good Conscience and we wish we were all in a posture and frame of Soul to meet with to receive and make suitable Use of them 1. Endeavour to have light and clearness in the matters of God and what concerneth your own good Let every one be fully perswaded in his own mind as it is Rom. 14. 5. It is not possible that ye who are grossely or very ignorant can keep a good Conscience ye know not when ye sin nor when ye do duty aright yea although ye may do duties or things good on the matter the want of knowledge maketh you want the Testimony of that good Alace that many wise and rich men that can speak well of the things of this world should be quite ignorant of the things of God and many of you would think shame of it if we would point you out 2ly Advert and take heed to what Conscience sayeth The truth is most men take heed to what may further their designs in externalls to what their wit and reason carveth out to them and to what their own light thinketh or as it were overly sayeth is right and presently step to it and never ask what science well informed from the word sayeth This maketh many men say and do in their haste that which they repent of afterward Therefore ye should learn to put Conscience to speak consult not with your designs nor with your wit and reason only nor mainly but retire and consult seriously with your Conscience Commune with your heart and be still stand in awe and sin not as it is Psal. 4. 4. Consult not with Flesh and Blood let not their advice come in betwixt God and you and finally determine you but reason with your selves think this and this our inclination sayeth and this and this our overly light sayeth but we will put Conscience to it and hear what it sayeth and yet it 's but an inferior Rule and therefore we should not take every thing from Conscience without ground but hear what the Superiour Rule of Gods Word sayeth And this is a right circle wherein ye should turn your selves even to try your Light by bringing it to Conscience and then to try your Conscience by putting it to give a reason from the Word 3ly Be exceedingly aware to thwart with your Light in the least thing and abstain from every thing that seemeth to come in tops with it For Conscience is a very tender thing if we stand not in awe of Conscience we may provoke God to give us up to do what we will and to send us Like lambs to feed in a large place Therefore I say again beware of thwarting in the least thing with your Light and your Conscience 4ly As ye would hear what Conscience sayeth before ye do any thing so when ye have done it ye should consider how ye carried in it according to your Light and whether ye have had a good Conscience in such a thing both as to the matter and the manner and put your Conscience to speak to that and hear what it sayeth concerning what is done There would be in this much singlenesse for if the eye be evil it will make the whoâ—e body full of darkness Hence Paul putteth a good Conscience and Sincerity together 2 Cor. 1. 12. If we should speak never so many good words and do never so many good â—hings on the matter if we be not singly minding Gods honour in them they will not be acceptable The want of Sincerity will be as the dead â—ie in many a mans pot of Ointment of called for duties that will make it cast forth ane evil and stinking smel the savour of a good Conscience will sure be wanting where singleness is not or where Conscience is made subordinate to our carnal Interests Many may have a resolution to do such and Duties who yet make these to keep level with carnal designs and interests It 's impossible when men come not as new born babes to drink in the sincere milk of the Word that they can profit let be grow thereby 6ly Be frequent and serious in making humble and believing applications to the Blood of Christ to the Blood of sprinkling that thereby your Consciences may be sprinkled and purged from dead works for the great ground of your pâ—ace is not your seriousness and sincerity but his satisfaction many of our works and duties alace want life and if they be not sprinkled with the virtue of his Blood they will be but as so many dead weights on the Conscience and indeed there can be no truly good Conscience whatever else be if this be neglected Let then these that would be at a good Conscience make use of these directions and helps and they shall doubtless come the better speed Now we are sure that this is the Truth of God to wit That we shoold indeavour to have and to keep a good Conscience in all things and alwayes toward God and men which a very Heathen were he present with us would not contradict and it is very useful for you though it may be some profane wretches will be ready to say What needeth all this niceness And as it is a Truth and a most concerning Truth so nothing will make your life more truly cheerful and comfortable And if it be neglected or slighted all your Knowledge all your Disputs about Religion all your Tastings of the good Word of God all your Prayers or what else ye can name will be to no purpose And seing it is so very important and concerning a Truth we leave it on you before God and put it home to your Conscience to make it your exercise to have always a good Conscience void of offence toward God and toward men We mind not to come back again on this Text nor to touch on the rest of the Doctrines at first proposed from it what we have said being principally if not only designed and most if not all the other Doctrines being one way or other reached in the Prosecution of these that we have at length spoken to The Lord graciously blesse what ye have heard SERMON I. 1 PETER 3. 21. Not the putting away of the filth of the flesh but the answer of a good Conscience towards God COnscience is in it self a most excellent Gift of GOD given to Men having an excellent nature being waited with many Rare and choice Uses and Advantages throughout their whole Life and when it is rightly used it is one of the special Freinds that men can have on earth and one of the great things that this Gospel and the
Apostle 1 Peter 2. 19. Or if he give a cup of cold water to â— disciple in the name of a disciple he shall not lose his reward Matth. 10 42. Thus two persons come to Church to hear the word the one out of Conscience in obedience to Gods command and from love to fellow ship with him in his ordinances and the other for the fashion and because its the custome or that he may eschew from his own Conscience the construction and accusation of his being a grâ—sly proâ—ane and it religious person or on some such other sinister account the one hâ—th in so far ground of peace and the refreshing Testimony of a good Conscience the other not 5ly Conscience must be satisfied in this Question in whose strength was the duty undertaken was it in the strength of Christ and was he depended on for assistance in the going about of it for it is not enough that the duty be gone about and he some way acknowledged in it unless he be also believingly depended on for strength to inable to the suitable performance of it 6ly What was your end in undertaking and prosecuting of such a duty or action whether was it some self-end or the glory of God and the edification of others as in your eating and drinking do ye eat and drink to satisfie your appetit only or mainly or to enable you to serve God and to do good to others in your station and capacity In your seeking such and such gifts from God by prayer whether is it that ye may bestow or consume them on your lusts as Iames sayes some do Chap. 4. 3. Or is it that ye may be helped to adorn the doctrine of God in all things The proposing of a right end is a main ingredient in every action and hath great influence on your peace We preach not our selves saveth the Apostle 2 Cor. 4. 5. bâ—t Christ Iesus the Lord We are as if he had said in our preaching not seeking our selves but him nor our own praise or applause to our selves but his glory and exaltation and this had much influence on his peace and joy Conscience must be also satisfied in this by any means 7ly After what manner was the action or duty gone about was it in sincerity and singlenesse in a spiritual way was the inner and new man exercised in it suppose the duty for instance to be prayer was it gone about in the Spirit was Grace acted in it and were ye serious lively humble tender reverend servent c. in it 8ly Was there nothing wrong in the action or duty no mixture of corruption with the actings of Grace no selfinesse mixed with your singleness or at the best was there not some mixture of other ends with the main end Which though it do not simply make the action or duty condemnable and to be rejected especially when taken with and mourned for and Christ made use of for the pardon of it yet it will considerably weaken Conscience its Testimony and the joy resulting from it in so far as these sinful mixtures aâ—e 9ly Were ye stretching your selves to the yondmost in the performance of such an action or duty to have it right as to all the former requisits Was there nothing left undone that might and should have been done Was ye not only aiming at the right end but according to your light endeavouring to take every way and make use of every approven mean for the compassing and bringing about of that end Now if we will all seriously reflect and look about us how few how very few are there to be found who can answer these questions affirmatively in any acceptable measure Who alace can say they have done all they should or even might have done as to matter and manner from right principles and motives to a right end That they have used all means without omitting any that they have given all dillgence That they have made use of Christs strength and been single and sincere c. in their performances And yet when all this is some way done ye must yet answer one or two Questions more ere ye can have solid peace and joy from the good Testimony of your Conscience 1. Whether were ye proud and conceity in the performing of such and such duties For if that dead Flee come in on the doing of the best duties it will make all to stink and yet oft-times Christians spoil their duties and very much deprive themselves of the joyful Testimony of their Conscience even when they have been right for matter and manner by their being vain conceity and proud of them 2ly Whether have ye washen your best duties in the Blood of Christ For if this be wanting it will greatly marr your peace and joy Now I would again ask you if ye can say that your duties have been conform to these requisits If not how is it that ye are so secure and can alleadge that ye have a good Conscience or how can you so confidently expect peace and joy from â—ts Testimony or think ye nothing to prostitute and as it were to make a bachel of this excellent thing the Testimony of a good Conscience as if ye could take it up in a manner at your foot Ah! is there nothing that can make a crack in or a breach upon your peace of Conscience ye will possibly say that ye have all sinned if so how can ye have peace to ly down in sin It is true the simple having of sin when it suitably affects should not quite marr and bereave a person of the Testimony of a good Conscience where Grace is in the truth of it and there is sincerity and singlenesse in endeavouring to be in case affirmatively in some measure to answer the questions before proposed but the utter neglect of these things a conniving at them and indifferency whether the requisits be or not a not wrestling and striving in the strength of Christ against sin and to get duties suitably performed in the same strength a not seeking to have mens best duties washen as I said in the Blood of the Lamb cannot but quite deprive of the Testimony of a good Conscience and altogether obstruct the peace and joy that flow from it A Believer indeed not allowing himself in his short-comings in these things called for and making frequent application to Christ for strength to do better and for pardon of what is wrong and walking humbly in the sense of his failings and short comings may have peace even though in many things he fail and come short and though there be some mixture of corruption going along with his grace and of hypocrisie with his sincerity in his best duties As we may see in the Apostle Paul Who had a law in his members which he most sadly bemoans Rom â— rebelling against the law of his mind Even when he had this Testimony of a good Conscience and much peace and joy resulting from it But a secure
honestly can never be separate from a good Conscience Neither would we have you thinking when a Christian miscarrâ—es in his Conversation that he can never recover a good Conseience There are two wayes whereby a Believer may come to quietness in his Conicience 1. By the exercise of Sanctification which prevents a Challenge and that is it which the Apostle speaks of here and Acts 24. 16. and it is that which we mean in the Doctrine 2. When he fails and miscaries there is a recovering of quietness and of the Testimony of Conscience by the exercise of â—epentance and Faith sprinkling the Conscience with the blood of Jesus Which flows not so much indeed from the mans holiness and tenderness for preventing of a Challenge as from Justification and the right that the Soul gets to pardon of Sin thereby wherein the Blood of Christ removes the Challenge and quiets the Conscience and a Soul may have the one of these when to its sense it wants the other or hath indeed but little of it It may have some comfortable clearness of interest or at least the faith of it when it has in some respect an ill Conscience as we may see David had Psal. 51. So upon the other hand we conceive it is not impossible for a Believer to have some tenderness and a testimony thereof from his Conscience when he is much in the dark as to his interest in God 2ly From Pauls knitting of these two together viz. A good Conscience and the qualification of it an honest walk Observe That such as would confidently assert and assume to themselves this Testimony that they have a good Conscience would do it on well qualified grounds and evidences therefore the Apostle here does not content himself simply to assert it and generally wherever he asserts this he holds out something of his practice shewing thereby that he was not mistaken nor presumptuous in his asserting of it If we consider the extremities that men are disposed to run into in this matter some too soon and too easily assuming to themselves this Testimony of a good Conscience others again in a manner shuâ—ing and shifting all things that may give them clearness as if it were impossible to be win at We will find that there is good reason to qualify it thus so as the golden mediocrity or raids betwixt these-extreams may be duly observed More particularly It may be asked here what is the qualification or evidence whereby a person may clear and prove that upon good and solid ground he assums to himself this Testimony of a good Conscience and may not scrupulously reject it The Apostle holds it out in these words willing to live honestly and ye may take it in this Observation That a firm and settled serious purpose of universal holiness and honesty in our life and walk hath great influence on the peace and tranquillity of our Conscience and is a good evidence of a good Conscience and withal a choice companion that waits continually on it I put these three together as included in the words in all things Willing to live honestly The latter words respect the former the design being as broad as the effect and the former prove the latter the study of universal holiness a willingness to live honestly 1 then we say That this universal honest design is the companion of a good Conscience it waits alwayes on it or a good Conscience and this go together he that hath a good Conscience is honest in his walk and he that is honest in his walk hath a good Conscience 2ly We say that it is an evidence of a good Conscience for if they only have this good Conscience who are honest in their walk then where this honest walk is there must be a good Conscience 3ly We say that it hath much influence on a good Conscience it s in some sort a procurer of it in which sense a good Conscience is an efect of an honest walk so that the more honest a man be in his walk the more quietness will he have in his Conscience Because the Doctrine is very broad and affords much profitable Use I shall first clear it Then 2ly confirm it and 3ly make some use of it and remove some practical doubts that may arise from it 1. Then for clearing the Doctrine by parts in it we take in these threeingredients to make up the evidence of a good Conscience 1. That a mans walk be honest 2ly That it be an universal honesty in all things 3ly That there be an willingness or hearty purpose towards universal honesty whereon the great stress of the quietness of a persons Conscience lyes viz. The sincerity of the purpose or a heart-willingness And we may consider all these either negatiâ—ely so that without this evidence there cannot be a good Conscience or positively so that where this evidence is there is a good Conscience For the First What is an hoâ—est walk 1. We conceive it is not that which most men count honesty viz. For a man only to think or fanâ—y himself to be honest a mans own apprehension is not the rule of his tryal but that which will abide the tryal before God 2ly Honesty here looks not to absolute perfection and such as hath no defect it is a thing that is not ruled and measured by our will but by Gods will revealed in his word though it come not up the full length of that which his revealed will calls for And we conceive that it doth more particularly consist in these four 1. That on the matter it be in things allowed and approven of God For there neither is nor can be any honest living except our supposed duties and our practices be allowed and commanded of God and here a good intention or an honest mind if the thing thwart the word of God will not prove honesty because as to the matter it is not right as Paul shews Rom. 10. Speaking of the Iews their zeal 2ly That there be an honest end else though the action be good on the matter if our end be sinister or selfie it will marr the honesty of the action Thus Christ sayes Matth. 26. 10. of that good woman She hath wrought a good or an honest work on me which he clears to be so from her end in that she poured this ointment on my body she did it for my burial It was not out of vanity and oâ—tentation but from an inward hâ—art-respect to me and at least in Gods design she hath been fore-signifying my burial 3ly Honesty takes in rectitude or straightnesse in the manner of our going about the duty For if the manner be not right as well as the matter the action will not be honest The word honestly as we shew signifies honorably pleasantly desirably worthiâ—y as that word Matth. 26. 10. doeth Now a thing cannot be commondable and worthy if it be not right for the manner it s but hypocritical Therefore it s said of the
how a defiled Conscience may be purged and how we may recover losed calmness and peace then it is to know how a good Conscience may be win at for indeed if all our peace and tranquillity of Conscience depended on our own holy walk only it would be but a heartless and comfortless work to speak of a good and calm Conscience on that ground but this is the great the very great advantage that we have by the Gospel of Grace which as it shews the way how to prevent a quarrel from and so a wound unto the Conscience so it shews the way how a quarrel and controversie drawn on may be removed and this is the thing that now we would speak a little to from these words wherein the Apostles scope is to hold out to the Iewes the weakness of their ceremonial worship sacrifices and washings and the sufficiency of Christs sacrifice to do their business and to bring them from resting on that ceremonial worship to rest upon Jesus Christ alone and one of the arguments that he makes use of for this end is That no legal or ceremonial worship or service could make him that did the service perfyt as pertaining to the conscience as he sayes v. 9. None of these things could give a man peace before God and his own Conscience but that on the contrary the blood of Iesus Christ is able to purge the conscience from dead works And to bring a man that is in a state of peace and freindship with God after he hath sinned and thereby defiled and wounded his Conscience back to that same peace and calmness that he had before he sinned and make him in some respect as quiet and calm as iâ— he had not sinned And therefore the blood of Christ must be infiâ—ly preferable to all these ceremonial sacrifices puâ—gings and washings which probably they inclined to joyn with him In the words read the Apostle illustraâ—s and confirms the efficacy of Christs blood by comparing it with the ceremonies of the Law obviating an Objection which is this The ceremonies of the Law had a good use and why then will ye cry them down He Answers they had an use as they respected Christs Sacrifice that was in due time to be actually offered and as they â—ed it and also as to a ceremonial cleansing or holiness but they could not as pertaining to the Consciâ—nce make a man perfyâ— And sayeth he if these ceremonies had an efficacy as to the outward man and making ceremonially and externally clean or holy how much more shall the blood of Christ be efficacious to the cleansing of the Soul and inner man If the ceremonies of the Law had an efficacy toward the admitting of a man to external ordinances how much more shall the blood of Christ have an efficacy to purge the Conscience from dead works and to take away the sting and guilt and the defilement also of sin and to make it quiet and so to capacitat the man to be adâ—tted to real fellowship with him in his ordinances That the comparison may be the more clear he uses â—ere a threefold distinction 1. Of a twofold uncleanness one of the flesh or outward man another of a mans Sâ—ate and Conscience before God The first related to the mans practice and made him that was ceremonially unclean to be thurst without the camp and to continue so till he was legally cleanâ—ed The second marred the mans peace before God The 2d distinction is of a twofold Court wherein this uncleanness is charged upon the man The one is a Court wherein the mans flesh iâ— as it were judged and that is by men according to his external prosession the other is a Court wherein his spiritual 〈◊〉 is judged and that is his Conscience In the first Court if the moral Law charged him not with guilt it was not asked whether his Conscience was guilty or not but he was on his outward cleansing admitted to Church priviledges but the second Court which is called the Court of conscience looks not aâ— things as they appear before men but as they are before God and therefore will challenge when men do not challenge The 3d. distinction is of a twofold Sanctification The first is that of the flesh spoken of v. 13. And that is when a man is made externally clean or holy whereby he is admitted to the congregagation The other is that which is inward which admits not only to external Church-fellowship but to real internal-fellowship with God and to peace and calmness of Conscience Now for quieting the Conscience and for giving a man peace he tells them that though these external ceremonies admitted him to the congregation yet they did not purify his Conscience but that notwithstanding of all these the quarrel was not taken away before God and so they could not be the ground of inward peace nor bring it in to the mans soul and Conscience but that its the blood of Christ which only doth that and therefore his sacrifice is more excellent then all these ceremonial Sacrifices sprinklings and washings for it admits a man to peace with God and gives him quietness in his own Conscience To leave the comparison then We have in the latter part of these words which we intend to insist on a notable effect and the great efficacy of Christs blood in purging of the Conscience holden forth in these particulars 1. It is implyed That the state of a mans Conscience by nature is this viz. It is polluted and defiled by dead works 2. That the great mean whereby the Conscience is purged and made clean is the blood of Christ. 3ly The end wherefore the Consciences of men are made clean is that they they may serve the living God 4. The proof and demonstration of the efficacy of this blood in these words of the former part of the verse The blood of Christ who through the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God Is taken from the excellency of the sacrifice of the preist and of the altar whereby the sacrifice was sanctified We shall in passing Observe a few things that may make way â—or clearing of the words and for that which we chiefly intend to speak to from them And 1. Observe That the state of mens Consciences by nature is That they are polluted by dead works which are such works as are to be repented of as the Apostle sayes of them Heb. 6. 1. Whereby he plainly insinuats that sins are called deaâ— works for three reasons 1. Because of a dead principle they proceed from they flow from man that is dead by nature as to any spiritual life dead in sins and trespusses and even the sins of Believers themselves are such as proceeding from them in so far as they are not quickned and renewed 2ly Because of their demerit and that which they deserve which is eternal death final continuance wherein doth at last most certainly bring on eternal death 3ly Because though a
house beside it We will not say but many filthy things may be in a pure Conscience but it does not comport wel with them nor digest them They are as lukewarm-water to a mans Stomach that he cannot keep but must needs vomit up again and he is sick till he do so 5. It s a good token of a pure Conscience when the man cannot endure to be at a distance from Christ but hath many errands to him would fain be near him yea would fain abide constantly with him as well as in him by Faith when he would ly beside him as beside the Fountain to be bleatched there so to speak because he kâ—ws that no sooner wil he go from him but his Conscience will be defiled and he loves so well to be clean and loves Christ so well that makes him clean that he likes well to be always near him This is a good token of a person that hath a pure Conscience Because as it betokens a great loathing of filthiness so it betokens a great respect to Christ on this account as to the maker and keeper of the Conscience clean and on the contrary it s a very evil token when persons will pretend to a pure Conscience when yet they will not go to the Fountain for a very long time if at all and when they go if we may speak so they scarce give their Conscience a dip or a little sprinkling or syning as we use to speak but they are away and gone again But a serious tender and purged Soul will no sooner perceive a â—oul stain or spot but it repairs quickly to the Fountain of Christs Blood to get it washed out And O! but its precious to him and he never thinks himself to be right and well but when he is there and near to him It s true he cannot alwayes be in Prayer or in other Duties of Worship yet he endeavours to be in the habitual exercise of Faith corresponding with him for attaining and keeping a clean and undefiled Conscience SERMON II. HEB. 9. v. 14. and 10 v. 22. How much more shall the blood of Christ who through the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God Chap. 10. v. 22. Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water IF we knew what sort of Consciences we naturally have and were suitably sensible of the evil state of them it would be to us as good News from a far Countrey to hear how they may be gotten purged and made good and how little soever men think of this now and how ever easie they fancy it to be to get their Consciences solidly quieted and calmed there is a day coming when sleeping and secure Consciences will be awakned and when it will be found more easie to endure the greatest toil and the most exquisit torment on earth then to wrestle with and to be closely pursued and constantly haunted by the terrours of an evil and awakned Conscience which will roar against men as a lyon and tear as it were the very caul of their heart Then O! then they who would never be perswaded before to believe what an evil and defiled Conscience is nor what the benefit and advantage of peace with God and in the Conscience is shall be made to their eternal prejudice to know the truth of both In both these places now read in your hearing the Apostles scope is to commend the transcendent worth and matchless excellency of Jesus Christ and the incomparable efficacy of his most precious blood from this noble notable and non-such effect of it viz. That when nothing else can lay or allay the storm and tempest of an evil Conscience nor purge it from these defiling dead works this blood can do it to purpose and effectually when applyed by Faith when no legal Sacrifice nor washings that sanctified only to the purifying of the flesh could reach perfyting the comer thereto as pertaining to the conscience as it s said Chap. 9. v. 9. Neither could deliver him from an evil Conscience and give him confidence and boldness in drawing neer to God over the belly of many quarrels and grounds of challenge the blood of Christ can as it is Chap. 10. v. 22. We left the other day at speaking somewhat to that natural pollution that throughly affects the hearts and Consciences of all men before they be by the blood of Christ purged and the Apostles taking such pains to hold out this shews plainly that it is a matter of greatest concernment to Christians to know the way how to get their Consciences purged from that deep defilement of sin wherewith they are polluted for is it not his manner to insist in any thing that is not of concernment to the people of God who will readily from the sad and doleful experience of their own pollution be induced to think that this truth is such and ought to be esteemed so by them 2ly Observe That there is nothing that Christians should more aim at and endeavour more to be in the practice of then to be following that way whereby they may get their Consciences purged and more particularly these who have had their Consciences again defiled after that they were once purged no main infected with the Borch or plague hath more need of cleansing from it then the man whose Conscience is infected and defiled with the dead works of sin needs to have it purged from them by the blood of Christ. We shall but very briefly to make way for that which we would mainly be at hint at two or three Observations from both these verses now read put together first then Observe from Chap. 10. v. 22. That a Conscience not purged by the blood of Christ is a very evil thing which we will find to be a very sad truth if we consider the unpurged Conscience either as it s awakned or as it s not awakned but asleep which is ill both ways It s ill if it be awakned and the terrours of God be fresh upon it who can express or adequatly conceive the terribleness of such a case The spirit of a man may sustain his infirmity and wrestle through many crosses but a wounded a wrath-wounded spirit or an ill Conscience rouzed by the terrours of the Almighty God who can bear This hath made some with Iudas the trai tour rather to choise death a violent death inflicted by their own wretched hands on themselves then life whereby they have desperatly run themselves under the wrath of God to the full O poor silly miserable shift and evasion to flee from some smaller fore-parties as it were of the wrath of God on earth into the very strength and main battel of it eternally in hell this is infinitely worse then to leap out of the water into the fire Nay some of the most eminent
We would have the â—aith of this great truth well fixed and riveted that every mans Conscience whether awakned or not is still deâ—iled and polluted till it be cleansed and purged by the blood of Jesus Christ as bodily or outward exercises profit not as to this So the mouth of the Conscience will not be stopped till it get of this blood So that if it should be said Who will lay â—ny thing to the charge of â—ods elect As it is Rom. 8. The Conscience will answer I have many things to lay to their charge till that sweetest word that is â—ubjoyned be spoken to it for stopping its mouth it s Christ who died shedding his blood or rather is risen again then and never till then will it be quiet In further prosecution of the Use of this Doctrine We wold have you to know that there are four wayes that men are ready to take for cleansing and purging of the Conscience some one and some another of them which are all if there be no more ineffectual for reaching the real purgiâ—g and solid satisfaction of the Conscience which ye would therefore be aware of As 1. Some endeavour to divert their Conscience and to seek a Suspension of its purâ—ing the quarrel against them pretending some other uptaking business as Felix did Acts 24. Who finding himself beginning to tremble at the Apostles searching and powerful discourse and unable to stand before his own awakning Conscience he seeks as it were a Suspension from it for a time saying to the Apostle and to 〈◊〉 Conscience on the matter Go thy way for this time and I will call for thee when I have a convenient season Hence when some persons are in heaviness or in some â—it of exercise of Conscience they will 〈◊〉 to some 〈◊〉 and â—cund friend or to some game 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—way oâ— possibly to a four hours to drink it down and the devil is as busie to 〈◊〉 on the divertionâ— if there be such a friend to make a visit he helps them to 〈◊〉 it over and to bâ—nish that melancholâ—ous 〈◊〉 and so to bring the person to bear down this trouble of his Conscience as a silly despicable fancy and as if it were for their good to do so I beseech you beware of binding up your Conscience thus else it may grow worse on your hand it s even as 〈◊〉 a man that hath a sore and aiking hand should cut it off or as if a part of his flesh were pained and he should clap a hot burning iron on it and yet this is a way that is very frequently taken by men who cannot indure to converse with their disquieted Conscience and therefore they labour to quash and quench any begun exercise in it whether under sickness or any other cross dispensation or at a Preaching or Communion It may be that many of you have had some such thing and it hath been driven or it hath worn away and ye cannot tell how 2ly Another way is also too ryff and ordinary and that is by seeking to stop the mouth of Conscience by some other thing then by the blood of Christ hence some under terrible convictions will promise and vow iâ— they drank excessively before that they will do so no more That they will not go to such a Tavern nor to such a company for this and that long time some will it may be after the committing of such or such a grosâ— sin vow noâ— to eaâ— flesh on such a day of the week throughout their whole life they will it may be vow to be more religious but so soon as the conviction or trouble is over they remain still the same and their Conscience lets them alone they take their own sinful latituds and are found to have been all along and still the same old carnal men because they aimed nor singly at peace with God through Christs blood but for the â—ime to stop the mouth of their Conscience 3ly Some seâ—k to compense the Conscience or to compense sin to the Conscience and not to purge it they will it may be take some pennance on themselves and this is it that leads not only Papists to their pennances whippings pilgrimages c. but many ignorant Protestants to make peace with their Conscience by a covenant of works They will pray and seek after tears in prayer they will invite in a manner themselves to mourn they will give some thing by ordinary to the poor and set themselves to amend some things for the time to come and yet the defilement and pollution of Conscience â—yes on still unremoved because they never be-took themâ—elves to the right fountain to wash at to the blood of Christ to be purged Hence the Iews ordinarâ—ly betook themselves to their sacrifices and legal waâ—hings and purifyings when they sinned if they brought a bullock calf lamb or a goat they thought they had done enough and therein had a sort of peace sâ—ch as iâ— was but sayes the Apostle it was not that which made them 〈◊〉 as pertaining to the Conâ—cience none of these nor all of these could purge or truely pacâ—sy it because they could not take away the quarrel betwâ—xt God and them and thus many professors of the Gospel betake teemselves to external ordinances or outward performances of duties and rest on these I do not condemn nor diswade from these duties which are good in themselves because commanded by God but your resting on them and would have you to put a difference betwixt founding your peace on them and the founding of it on the blood of Christ applyed to the Conscience by faith O! seek not thus to bribe the conscience for as it will not be boasted so neither will it be bribed 4ly There is another way that being rightly made use of hath its own commendableness in it which is when persons are under some trouble or disquieâ— of Conscience they betake themselves to Conferâ—nce it may be with some exercised Christians holding ouâ— their case to them for some ease and quietnesse which as I said is good and commendable in it self and may through Gods blessing do good if the end be to be helped thereby to go to the fountain of Christs blood and wash there but it s our fault when in the use of this mean of conference we seek to have our Consciences quieted by arguments while in the mean time the blood of Christ is not by faith had recourse to for cleansiâ—g and calming of it I suppose the ablest of men whether privat Christians or Ministers of the Gospel were speaking to us never so convincingly and comfortably and were holding out evidences to us sound in themselves of a good stare if as I just now said there be not believâ—ng application made to the blood of Christ for taking away the ground of the quarrel betwixt God and us there is no reasoning nor evidence whatsoever that will or can give a well grounded peace to the Conscience
they had payed their own debt and â—atisfied justice in their own persons had that been possible and if on â—his bargan and transaction all his sufferings are buâ—lt then sure there is in Christs death a most solid and sufficient ground of peace and quietnesse to the Conscience of a finner that hath fled to him and closed with his â—atisfaction even as solid and sufficient as if he had payed the debt himself For it were blasphemâ—e to imagine such a covenant so laid down and for such an end and not to be most real and effectual for reaching the end This covenant being most sure and this being the end of it as it is â— Cor. 5. ult viz. To make him sin for us who knâ—w no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him by the same covenant and good will of God Father Son and Spirit concurring to lay down this way of Salvation Christ was made sin for us not against his will but with his will for he was most willing to undergo the work as is clear from Psal. 40. compared with Heb. 10. And this was the reason or rather end for which he was made sin for us even That we might be made the righteousness of God in him That he being found the sinner and dealt with as the sinner we might be declared righteous not as if we had never sinned but that by imputation of his righteousness and Gods gracious accepting of it for us we are reckoned free as if we had payed the debt our selves in our own persons and if the covenant betwixt God and the Mediator had a real effect on Christ Jesus the Cautioner if he really took on our nature and in that nature suffered and payed our debt if our iniquities in the punishment of them did meet on him As it is Isa. 53. The Lord laid on him the iniquities of us all If he drank the bitter cup that we should have drunken and satisfied justice for us then sure the covenant must have a real effect on the other side as to us and we have good and sufficient warrand to believe that God will accept of that satisfaction for believing sinners that lay hold theron for making their peace and that he will as really keep that part of the bargane viz. To mâ—ke the application of Christs satisfaction forth-coming to them as he did the other in exacting that satisfaction from him as many as are now before the Throne are joyful witnesses and glorious Monuments of the reality of this part of the covenant and indeed there is no more legality to speak so in the impuâ—ing of our sin to Christ then there is legality in imputing his righteousness to us in giving us absolution and declaring us righteous through him for there was no ground for justice to have any claime against Christ but the will of God and the covenant of Redemption wherein Christ undertakes the debt and there is no other ground for making his purchase forth-coming to the sinner that by â—aith layes hold on him It s the same blessed design that carries on both parts of the bargan And now putting all these together may we not most confidently say that there is notably good ground for quieting of the Conscince of a sinner that by faith betakes himself to the blood of Christ and that such a sinner may with well-grounded Confidence hope for and certainly expect pardon and absolution as if in some respect he had never sinned We cannot now insist to speak to the Uses of this Doctrine only from this we may clearly see 1. How much sinners are oblidged to God and to the Mediator Jesus Christ and how poor sorry and miserable a life and how comfortless and cursed a death we should have had if he had not laid down a way for purging the Conscience from dead works even this excellent and wonderful way by his own most precious blood And therefore defiled and guilty sinners would endeavour to make this Doctrine very dearly welcome as Paul doth is 1 Tim. 1. v. 15. When in a transport of holy admiration he cryes This is a faithful saying worthy of all acceptation that Christ came into the world to save sinners O! Believers in Christ prize his grace highly and bless him heartily even with all that is within you that ever the thoughts of this way of relief for lost sinners were in his blessed heart 2ly Since it is most certain that naturally we all have evil Consciences through the debt of sin and defilement of dead works and that through the blood of Christ if we flee to it by faith and take hold of his satisfaction we may get our Consciences purged and our debt as certainly payed as any mans debt is who hath in his Charter-chist the discharge of a Sum he was once owing Then let me beseech you for the Lords sake to make this your great work to get the application of this blood made to your Consciences and to have it on good grounds made sure that ye have by faith made application of it that ye may not live and die in a conjectural and guessing uncertainty about it O! How mightily momentuous and concerning to you through all eternity is it to have your defiled Consciences sprinkled with that blood if it be of concernment to you to have access to lift up your heads with joy and your faces with boldness in that day when the hearts of many shall fall them for fear of those things coming on them and their knees shall smite one against another when their faces shall gather paleness and they shall weep and houl desperatly without all hope Then doubtless it is of your concernment of your incomparably greatest concernment to get your Consciences sprinkled with this blood otherwayes be assured live as ye will and die as ye may this defiled ill Conscience will cleave to you as a girdle doth to the loins of a man and it will yell and roar on you with unconceavable terror and torment It will then be known and acknowledged by many to their everlasting shame and loss and to their endless terror and torment that there was a greatly concerning truth in this Doctrine viz. That the only way how to get a defiled Conscience purged from dead works of sin is by the blood of Jesus Christ. A SERMON on Heb. 10. v. 22. Let us draw near with a true heart in ful assurance of faith having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water THe confident approaching of sinners to God is the great design of the manifestation of his Grace in the Gospel and that they may boldly though humbly draw near unto and have communion with him is the great fruit of Christs purchase the Apostle discoursing here to these Hebrews of the excellent advantages which they had in and by Jesus Christ whereof he gives a short summary and abridgement v. 19. 20 21. drawes thence a
and repentance for sin nor of challenges on that account these may and should be where the blood of Christ is made use of and applyed by faith to the persons Conscience They will not marr this confidence and boldness nor full assurance of faith that we speak of but rather further it as is clear from the drawing near of the Saints to God recorded in the Scripture As for instance in that woman spoken of Luke 7. 38. who weeps and weeps so abundantly that she washes the Lords feet with her tears yet she draws near to him with confidence nay this drawing near with full assurance of faith doth not remove all fear looking on fear as it carries along with it the consideration of the infinit distance and dis-proportion that is betwixt the majesty of the great God and a finit seckless and sinful creatures nor that holy awe and fillal reverence that is due to him and well consistent with this full assurance of faith nay inseparable from the lively and kindly exercise of it But it supposeth these Four 1. That the Believer fled to the blood of sprinkling may boldly go to God in prayer as if his friendship with him in Adam had never been broken as the Apostle insinuats v. 19. while he sayes Having therefore brethren boldness to enter into the hollest c. There is a liberty and boldness as I just now said allowed him to call God Father as if the former covenant had never been broken by a Son turning a Rebel and Traitor The covenant of grace under the bond of which he is brought as Gods confederat making the relation to him as neer strait kindly firm and sure as it was in that other with considerable superadded advantages 2ly That he may meddle with and make use of the promises of pardon of sin of sanctification of throw-bearing in affliction of quickning of peace of comfort c. according as he stands in need with confidence and may draw near with full assurance of the faith of Gods faithfulness as to the performance of them in his own measure manner and time so that if the Believer could as fully and strongly exercise his faith on the promise as he hath warrand to do he might with as much confidence and fulness of assurance cast himself on them â—s Adam in innocency did on the promise of life in the first covenant because the blood of Christ applyed by faith giveth as real just and legal a right to the promises of the covenant of grace as Adam had to the promise of life by the covenant of works the condition of that covenant viz. perfyt holiness and obedience is fulfilled by Christ in our name and room 3ly That the sprinkling of the Conscience by the blood of Christ giveth the Believer a well grounded hope of heaven of eternal life and of glory even of all things that are contained in the promises Therefore Heb. 6. 11. The Apostle exhorts Christians thus Shew furth the same diligence to the full assurance of hope to the end and be followers of them who through faith and patience have inherited the promises The lively application of faith to Christs blood reaches to the full assurance of the hope of all that is contained in the promise and if the promise be a solid and firm ground and if faith lean realy and strongly to it hope may well expect the great things in it 4ly The Believer who hath his Conscience sprinkled with this blo◠〈◊〉 expect full and through publication of absolution and justification in the court and before the tribunal of God at the day of judgement as the divine historian gives ground of hope Acts 3. v. 19. And in the court of the word and of his own Conscience here in this life He hath ground with the Apostle Rom. 8. to say nay triumphantly to boast and bid an eternal defiance to all that would offer at it Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods elect It is God that justifies who is he that condemneth He may say that indeed he was owing and a debter once but they cannot crave payment of and satisfaction for the debt from him now because by the blood of Christ he is acquit For it is Christ who hath died yea rather is risen again who is at the right-hand of God making intercession for us The believing elect making the right use of this blood of this most precious blood of Jesus Christ may humbly and confidently expect all these things from and by it O! great and glorious expectation As for the 2d thing how or after what manner or by what means this unspeakably excellent priviledge of drawing 〈◊〉 with full assurance oâ— faith with holy boldness and confidence to obtain all these great things may be attained and win at It is answered in the words going a little before Having therefore boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Iesus let us draw near c. It s supposed 〈◊〉 That there be a fleeing to Christ for satisfying of divine justice 2ly That application be made to him for â—ging pacifying and satisfying the Conscience 〈◊〉 it is with the Conscience in this case as it is with the Sea after a great storm which after the ceasing of the storm will fro some time have its waves much tossed and 〈◊〉 in great agitation so after divine justice is pacified and â—almed â—o speak so by the Souls fleeing to Christ for satisfying thereof there may remain still for a while shorter or longer as he shall think fit some raging as it were some trouble tossing and agitation in the Conscience of the Believer as we may see in that instance of David who after the prophet Nathâ— had made intimation of pardon to him yet is still in considerable disquiet and agitation of his Conscience as the 51. Psal. gives us an account Now as for the attainin of calmness tranquillity and peace to the Conscience we would say that whatever is necessary and requisit ing the application of Christs righteousness for making of our peace with God the same is needful to calme and give peace to the Conscience What is that will ye say See Rom. 4. 5. To him that worketh not but believeth on him who justifieth the ungodly his faith is counted for righteousness which being joyned with the words in the text sayes that the way to this peace and calmness is first not for persons to staift or refuse their debt but to take with it 2ly To renounce and disclaim all possibility to satisfie divine justice themselves 3ly To flee to Jesus Christ and through virtue of his satisfaction and blood and the covenant of his grace to rest on him for pardon To believe on him tho someway ungodly who justifieth the ungodly For it is not enough to take with our debt and to quite and renounce the covenant of works except we actually rest on Christ by virtue of the covenant of grace This is it
waited with great aggravations as in that Ps. Davids sin is aggravated mightily by him and yet he makes application to Christ over all that guilt and all these aggravations of his guilt 3ly When the Believer hath through his folly relapsed in sin which is not spoken to give a liberty to sin God forbid wo to them that make so cursed an use of such blessed doctrine but to the commendation of Gods free grace and of the worth and efficacy of Christs blood and for the incouragement of lost sinners that would fain be at Christ for pardon and peace for as long as the blood of Christ hath efficacy and worth and as far as the promise extends it self as long and as far may the Believer reach his faith for coming up to boldness and confidence although for his humiliation and keeping humble he may possibly never win at not recover his former confidence and boldness yet looking to the grounds of faith and hope he may and ought to study to streach his faith to the attaining of it 4ly He may and should thus endeavour confidently to draw near to God when challenges are quick and very sharp yea when the challenges of Conscience are sharpest and most peircing though challenges were as so many troups of horses rushing in on him and the Conscience were like a Lyon rampant standing with his claws ready to to tear he may and should humbly taking with guilt step to confidently and make application of the blood of sprinkling and indeed this is the very time when in a special manner he should do it as it was in the case of the man-slayer when he was most hotly pursued by the avenger of blood that was the very time when he was called to flee and with greatest speed to the city of refuge and the allusion is made to this purpose Heb. 6. 18. That by two immutable things sayes the Apostle Wherein it was impossible for God to lie we might have strong consolation who are fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us When may they have consolation and strong consolation even when they are fleeing with the greatest haste to the clay of refuge it s then that the gates of the city are cast widest open to them when was it that David made his most earnest and humbly-confident addresse to God for the joy of his salvation even when blood-guiltiness was stareing him in the face and when his very bones were in a manner broken and when to his own sense his grace was very much if not altogether gone and when he had as is were forefaulted his right to consolation yet even then he comes foreward draws near to God humbly maintains his interest in him and pleads for former manifestations upon the grounds of graceâ— 5ly The Believer may and ought thus to make humbly-confident application to God throw Christ when he finds to the great grief of his soul an exceeding in-disposition to duty when his praying repenting hearing c. goe not with him as he would fain have them if there be a real fleeing for refuge to the hope set before him he may and should even in that case step forward and draw near with humble boldness hence David Psal. 51. Prayes not only for consolation but for the lively exercise of grace while he sayes to God Creat in me a clean heart renew a right spirit within me and uphold me with thy free spirit The sense of sin and exercise of repentance being real and serious the exercise of faith is then surely native and will readily looking to Jesus go over all that comes in the way of it In a word it s then when the humble Believer may draw near with full assurance of faith even when he hath the real sense of his sin and danger and flees unto Jesus Christ for refuge he is then warranted to run to the city of refuge and may confidently go on in his errand viz. To get pardon of sin renewed consolation restored and his spiritual frame righted It s no doubt a foolish conceit and a prejudicial mistake for troubled sinners first to seek after peace and then to make application to Christ or to think that first they must have all the requisits of a good spiritual frame and grace in the liveliest exercise before they adventure to draw near to God with confidence I grant these are very desirable and the souls desire after them very commendable yet if the Believer resolve never to draw thus near till he be as he would be when shall he do it What if David had stood and stuck at that Psal. 51 He might have been keeped a-back and so been unwashen all his dayes but knowing the way of Gods Grace and the nature of his gracious covenant made with his people he steps humbly yet confidently forward in the exercise of faith out over the sense of guiltinesse and all the aggravations of it over relapsing in sin over in disposition and over many sharp challenges all taken with and lamented over and makes all these together as so many earands to God The 2d Use serves to commend the bargan of free-grace and to hold out the excellency of this blood of sprinkling which may also mightily encourage the Believer to step forward In prosecuting whereof I shall 1. speak a word to the efficacy of this blood of sprinkling And then 2ly a word to the necessity of it as to us For the first To wit the excellency and efficacy of it it may be seen in these four 1. In the noble and notable effects that it produceth or that come by it even all the great things contained in the promises touched on before such as pardon of sin grace to subdue it friendship and peace with God fellowship with him conformity to him the hope of heaven and glory the sweet serenity tranquillity and peace of the Conscience it s as a hiding place from the wind and rain and a covert from the florm yea even as the shadow of a great rock in the midst of a weary land when the soul sorely beaten with the storm of challenges and of the apprehensions of wrath comes under the shadow and shelter of this it presently finds ease and repose what shall I say what can I say words here may be swallowed up from this proceed all the glorious priviledges of the people of God possessed and expected in hand and in hope 2ly It s excellency and efficacy appears in this That it hath procured these things to sinners to them that had an unclean and polluted Conscience for who is it I pray that may thus draw near to God with full assurance of faith It is not such as never had an evil Conscience but such as having an evil Conscience flee unto this blood and get it sprinkled therewith it s these who had their Consciences defiled with dead works and came to it and got them purged from these dead works 3ly The
this his own most precious blood But some tender and exercised Soul will belike here Object and say Is it not presumption for me to comfort my self under challenges for sin I answer no Thou taking with the challenge and being humbled for the sin that is the ground of it and betaking thy self to this blood of sprinkling for pardon and purging because the Apostle commands thee to comfort thy self and sure he commands none to presume To whom I pray is it that he speaks here Is it not to them that have an evil conscience at least in part and what sayes he to them Let us draw near in full assurance of faith and on what ground Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience When the Conscience through guilt challengeth we are called to flee to this blood and having sprinkled it there with we have warrand to draw near and it is not presumption to do so nay resting on Christ and comforting our selves in him under challenges taken with argues strong faith wherein he hath great complacency and whereby he is much glorified for presumption will never stand before an evil Conscience nor credit Christ when Conscience sharply challengeth So that if ye come by this new and living way it is not presumption to lean to Christ but that is presumption to lean to any other thing nay the more humble boldness and confidence there be under challenges it argues as I just now said the more and the stronger faith because it s the more sickerly founded on the covenant of God and on the blood of Christ and it gives God most glory when the difficulty is greatest It is no great practique to calm the Conscience when there is no storm but then indeed it is so when there are many waves and billows of challenges and discouragements rising and swelling high in the way to go over all these and to grip hard to this rope cast out by him and confidently though humbly and in fear to make use of this remedy which he hath graciously proposed It will never be accounted presumption by him for serious souls to take to themselves Gods allowance on them which is strong consolation to them who are hotly pursued and flie to this city of refuge but it may very readily be accounted presumption to cast at his allowance he knows well who hath the tongue of the learned when to give a word of consolation and to whom and we are not to be wiâ—er then he The 4th Use is for advertisement and warning to others who are not Believers but ly still in unbelief and slight our blessed Lord Jesus O! what a dreadful disadvantage and premunire to speak so will ye fall under your condition is fearful beyond what words can express or thoughts fully comprehend Though your Conscience sleep now It will up upon you and the longer it sleep it will to speak so waken the hungrier and gâ—aw the soreâ— This O! this is your great prejudice ye make your selves obnoxious to the fearce wrath of the Almighty God and to the biteing challenges and tormenting accusatsons of your own evil Conscience which will be more terrible to you then if hills and mountains did fall on you the one will be called and cryed for as a favour in comparison of the other it will in that day appear that an evil Conscience was and is a dreadfully evil thing and ye will have this aggravation of your guilt even the dispising of the Redeemer and of the dear price of his precious blood paved for the Ransome of Sinners of the Physician that offered perfectly at his own cost to cure you and of the Cautioner that offered freely and frankly to pay your debt â—nd this will wait upon you to make the prickings and peircings the woundings and stoundings the gaâ—lings and gnawinâ—s of the Conscience moâ—e deep and intoâ—lerable Therefore let â—e in the name of the Lord who is in earnest with you and we desire according to our measure to be in earnest with you warn you to flee from the wrath to come O! know that ye have Consciences and that they as I said before will once awake and when they shall begin to be rouzed O! but they will challenge and accuse in a dreadful manner lay your account to meet with such un answerable challenges and confounding accusations and if there be no other ground whereon ye can with safety bottom the eternal salvation of your immortal Souls but the righteousness of Christ If nothing can possibly purge and pacify cleanse and calme the Conscience but coming to and washing at this fountain of the blood of Christ O! come in time if ye cannot wash your selves put him to it as David doth Psal. 51. when he cryes wash me cleanse me purge me wash me throughly from mine iniquities It will be no excuse I assure you it will be no plea nor apologie for you in the great day to alleadge that ye could not do it since he offered himself as a fountain to wash at and to wash you all in particular that hear me this day and is doing so very seriously just now if you will imploy and put him to it Consider that sad word Ier. 13. 27. Wo unthee O Ierusalem wilt thou not be made clean when shall it once be it is not canst thou not make thy self clean but wilt thou not be made clean To wit by me who am able to do it and offer to do it freely if thou beest but honestly willing This will be the loud and terrible voice wherewith God and the Conscience will in that day cry to many a man and woman that lived under the Gospel and had this offer Wo to thee thou wouldest not be made clean Thou wouldest not make use of the blood of Christ of this blood of sprinkling when it was in thine offer Thou wouldest not come to him that thou mightest have life Thou wouldst not-take him for a Physician to heaâ— thee but chose rather to ly still wallowing in thy filthiess and to rot away and die in thy sores and wounds then to come to him to be cleansed and cured by him though he offered to do both very freely amongst all the wâ—es that will be denounced then and executed against sinners those against professing Christians who lived under this Gospel and refused to come to Jesus Christ for Life and neglected so great a Salvation will be the loudest and most terrible the woes of Choraâ—in and Bethsaida and of Capernaum will be more inâ—ollerable in the day of judgement then those of Tyre and Sidon yea theâ— those of Sodom and Gommorrah How yet more terrible and intollerable suppose ye will be the wo and judgement of them that live now under the clear and bright Sun-shine of Gospel-light Let me therefore once more earnestly beseech and obtest you in the Name of the Lord by the love you profess to bear to your own immortal Souls to take with your sin and to flee and speedily to flee to this city of refuge set open before you least the avenger of blood the great avenger of this despised and trampled on blood of the covenant this blood of sprinkling over-take you if you seek not to draw near to God by this new and living way but live and die under your defilement and at distance from him Wo upon wo wo upon wo will eternally take hold of you FINIS Exod. 22. 28. Ps. 82. v. 1. 6. Iohn 10. 34 35. Math. 22. v. 21. 1 Pet. 2. v. 17. Rom. 13. v. 1. 5. 1 Pet. 2. v. 13. 14. 15. Tit. 3. v. 1. â— Tit. â— v 1 2 It would be adverted here at what time the Author preached these Sermons least several of his instances should not seem so pertinent It was when temptations to these things were strong This was in a time when places of power and trust were sought after offered and embraced under the Usurper * The Black-stone is a Seat whereon in some of our Universities young Scholars use to be set ordinarily not without great botâ— reluctation and fear when they are to â—e examined publickly by all the masters anent their proficiency in learning
Conscience for abstaining from such and such a practice only from long custome of doing so from the example of others or from loathness to displease them or only from dis-inclination to or aversion from the thing which they will not readily abide by if any considerable suffering whether of emergent loss or cessant gain be met with on account thereof whereby it comes to pass that Conscience and truly Consciencious persons are expoâ—ed to contempt and scorn Some standers by and lookers-on taking occasion to think and say that such persons have all the while been acted by no real principle of Conscience but only by humour or at best by the example of others to the great reproach of Religion and the holy profession there of and such as have a natural and unreasonable prejudice at all serious godlinesse and tendernesse of Conscience ly at the wait to fish and catch all advantages so fortifying themselves in their prejudice and are ready to draw their conclusions not only nor so much against the particular persons as against the whole generation of conscientious and godly people yea against godlinesse it self and tendernesse of Conscience their prejudice prompting them to think and say We alwayes thought that sort of men were not truly conscientious and godly whatsoever they professed and now we see and find them to be so and that we were not mistaken but in the right when we thought them to be such they are all such all of a piece acted by no true principle of Conscience but by humour peevishnesse or some such thing notwithstanding of all their high floun pretensions of Conscience for let them but be put a little to it and all their Conscience-pretensions will be quite relinquished and evanish and they will be and do like others which gives ground to sober and truely conscientious persons to think that it were better and more for the advantage and credit of Religion and of the real pleas of Conscience that it were never pretended in such things where it is only pretended I will not I dar not say but a truly conscienscious person may by the more closse approaches of trouble and suffering on the account of some particular debated practice or forbearance be put upon more narrow and exact inquiry into and examination of the grounds reasons of that practice or forbearance And may after such inquiry and examination come from more clear light to have different apprehensions about the thing from what he had before Though the clearnesse win at which is waited with the eschewing of trouble and suffering would be holily jealoused and suspected and brought to the light of the Word to be thereby scrutinously accuratly and impartially tryed least self-love in such a case bribe as it were and byass the persons judgement and light 2dly When Conscience is pretended in minute small petty and comparatively inconsiderable things while in the mean time little or no Conscience at all is made of but vast and unlimited latituds are taken in the most momentuous and weighty things of Religion as the Pharisees pretended Conscience in tithing the smallest herbs as mint anise and rue while in the mean time they passed over without making any bones of them Iudgement and the Love of God which is straining at gnats and swallowing of camels 3dly When Conscience is pretended for mens tenacious adhering to human traditions while in the meantime they make no Conscience of making void the Law of God as the same Pharisees did for which out Lord with holy severity inveigheth against them 4ly When Conscience is pretended for not shedding the blood of Innocents and yet notwithstanding the same things are adventured on and wickedly per-petrated when they come in competition with mens worldly wealth or preferment or with the gratifying of great ones in order to the former as it was with Pilat in the matter of condemning Christ of whose innocence he was throughly convinced and accordingly did thrice over hear publick testimony to it yet when he was told that if he did let him go and condemned him not to death he was not Cesars friend he forthwith proceeded to the condemnatory Sentence and delivered him to the persecuting and murdering Iews to be crucified and poor wretch he imagined that the silly shift of washing his hands in water would wash and purge his deeply â— filâ—d Conscience from the guilt and pollution contracted by shedding of that innocent and most precious Blooâ— buâ— it stuck faster to and was more stiffly barkned on his Conscience then to be so easily washed off with such poor and pitiful shifts do such men think or fancie to pacifie their Consciences and to purge them from the defilements of the greatest most clamant and horrid crimes If Pilat had any real demurr in his Conscience about the thing as very probably he had his counteracting it on so base and unworthy accounts and then foolishly fancieing that by such an empty ceremonie as washing his hands in water he could be washed from the guilt of so aâ—rocious a Crime were high aggravations of it 5ly When men pretend Conscience as the reason of their not committing the least sin nay of their not doing somethings that are very debateable whether they be sins or not while in the mean time they make no Conscience to stretch furth their hand to â—ay with an high hand to adventure on the commission of sins that are incontravertably very great and gross as the Pharisees pretended Conscience for their not going to the Iudgement Hall least forsooth they should be defiled and so unfitted to eat the Passover who yet made no scruple maâ—ciously to embrew their wicked hands in the blood of the person that was God and typified by the Passover 6ly When Conscience or a conscientious regard is pretended for divine institutions and ordinances meerly and mainly from pickque and prejudice at the most tender and conscientious persons as if their warrantable and consistent practices were the grossest violations and greatest viâ—ifyings of them and plain inconsistencies with a just regard for them How often thus did the Scribes and Pharisees quarrel with our Lord and his Disciples as breakers and profaners of the Sabbath because of somethings done by him and them thereon not in the least in-compatible with the sanctification thereof as if they themselves had been more tender of the due observation of the Sabbath then either the Disciples or their Lord and Master was 7ly to give no more instances when Conscience is pretended for keeping and not breaking of sinful engadgements vowes and oaths wherewith men have rashly bound themselves As suppose a man should rashly vow and swear that he will be avenged at the highest rate on another because of either an imagined or real a lesser or greater injurie done him and as Herod sware very inconsiderarly and rashly that he would give the dancing daughter of the incestuous Mother Herodias whatever she should ask of him even to the
of all our carriage and particular actions and so it is looked on as some way different from us hence it is called a Testimony the testimony of our conscience Hence also a man will appeal to his Conscience and it doth when in any measure in exercise impartially and incorruptly bear witness and a manâ— Conscience will speak against him as if it were at all no part of him neither can he command it silence however then we call it It 's a power deputed in the soul of man by God taking orders from Him and fâ—om His revealed will and word and accusing or excusing the man as He directs It 's called Prov. 20. 27. The candle of the Lord it is above man in its sentencing and accusing and will not be commanded by him To clear it yet a little further there are in Conscience these Three things 1. There is the laying down of some ground such as the Law or the word of God by which it puts a man to tryal which is That we call the major or first proposition of the Argument As we may see in Iudas when his Conscience wakened it layes down this ground which is done by light he that is guilty of innoceat Blood hath broken the Law of God and may expect horrible Wrath. 2. There is an assuming which is the minor or second Proposition of the Argument or the Assumption if the man be guilty of such and such sin As thus But I Iudas am guilty of Innocent Blood and have broken the Command of God and this the Conscience by it's Testimony confirmeth Then 3. It draweth the Conclusion and speaks forth the mans Lot and gives out his Doom what he may expect as in the present instance thou Iudas mayest expect horrible Wrath from God this Conscience applyes and layes home unto him every Conscience hath these Three in less or more The way of Conscience its Reasoning and Concluding is different from a mans Knowledge and Light For a man may see Sin and not be touched with it It dâ—ffers likewise from the memory For a man may remember that which affecteth him not It differeth from Self-examination for that if it be meeâ— examination brings a man only to know that he lyes under such and such Sins so and so circumstantiaâ—ed though it make use of all these Three as it's Instruments yet it goâ— beyond them and hath a Pricking Stinging Paining Power It Accuseth Sentenceth Smiteth and sharply Censureth Whereas before Conscience act it's part a man may look often on his Sins and yet but overlook them And as to things that are right Conscience doth not only or barely look on them but it hath an approving Testimony which proveth comfortable there is such a thing as this in every one of you which will let nothing pass but more or less will take notice of it and either accuse or excuse you for it As to the 2d The use of Conscience or the Ends wherefore God hath put this in Men and Women which I shall draw to Three heads that may be as so many Reasons of the Doctrine 1. He hath done so for this end that by it he may keep up his Soveraignity Power and Terribleness and keep men under the awe and dread thereof For this which is called Conscience will make the stoâ—est to tremble it will Write and Impress so vâ—vely and deeply these great Truths that none shall be able to blot them out that there is a God that there is a Judgement to come and that all will be called to Reckoning which none will get eschewed It will fix and fasten such self-convictions on Sinners as will make them un-avoidably condemn themselves So Iohn 8. 9 10. When the Scribes and Pharisees bring a women taken in adultery to Christ intending thereby to trap and insnare him He sayeth He that is without sin amongst you let him cast the first stone at her Whereby their Consciences were made to bear such faithful Testimony against them and to carry such terror with it that they were all forced to steal away one by one and yet they needed not to have thought shame on account of any thing we hear men could have challenged them for But Conscience had such an awe and force on them that there was no resisting of it Scripture-history does also tell us that such is the power and force of Conscience when it is awaked that it will make the knees to smite one against another even of a Belshazzar and will make a Gouernour Felix to tremble A Second end is That God may hold Men and Women at their duty in going about these things which are commanded and prescribed by him and in abstaining from forbidden sins For if there were not some awe from Conscience what extravagancies would they loosly run into who have no fear of God and of his Word And thus Conscience hath a force to put men to duty in these respects 1 It discovers Duty and holds it before them when the Lord hath commanded to Pray read the Scriptures to keep the Church and wait upon Ordinances dispensed there to keep holy the Sabbath day c. Conscience puts a man in mind of these and when he neglects any one of them will say to him thou shouldest be in another place or about other work so when Davids heart smote him it helped him to see his Duty 2. There is an obligation to Duty laid on by Conscience so that the man cannot shift it he cannot he dare not say such a thing is not my duty for Conscience beareth it in and layeth it on him convincingly 3. There is an efficacy in Conscience to pouss to duty from this comes that restlesness and disquiet that is often in Men and Women when duty is omitted that they can have no peace till it be gone about 4. Conscience inviteth to duty by promising peace upon the performance of it On the other hand Conscience hath influence to restrain from Sin 1. By discovering such and such a thing to be Sin and though the Soul would notwithstanding endeavour to digest it yet Conscience makes a challenge to go down with it 2. By threatning the Sinner when it 's warning is neglected and not taken telling him that he shall repent it one day and that it will make him repent iâ— 3. By taking away the sweetness of Sin and leaving a sting in place of it as when Achab killed Naboth it said Hast thou killed and also taken possession And from this arise challenges and fears of the execution of threatned Judgements which quite mar the comfort the man expected in the enjoyment of such and such a thing in all which it keeps a majestick and stately divine way becoming Gods deputy and bears witness for him against the Sinner A 3d. end is To abbreviat as it were Gods process in judging men to justifie and clear him and to make way for his Sentence whatever it be 1. It conduceth 〈◊〉 it were to
up to strong delusions to believe lies because they receive not the truth in love why may it not also be just with him judicially to harden them in their unjust prejudice who without all reason take up and entertain the same against godliness and the godly by suffering some of them to slide sometimes into errors and mistakes by which they come in his righteous judgment to be so â—ar plagued as to think that now they have reason for their prejudicâ— and iâ— may be to say we thought them always to be such and such persons and now we see and find them to be so who 〈◊〉 more weight on the practice of any then on his Word and who will be ready to cry more out against an infirmity in a godly person then in others and more then they can be prevailed with to fall in love with their grace how many a corrupt and wicked man hath justified and maintain'd his own bad practice from some failing in the Saints not to excuse their sin but rather thereby to blind himself and to put out his own eyes more In the 4th place according to the method proposed take a word or two of use And 1. May not this instruct us that all Flesh is Grass that when we look to our selves we should be humble and that there is need great need of fear and trembling in our Christian walk whoever they be that dare to abuse this Doctrine anent the Saints infirmities mistakes and errors to foster themselves the more securely in their liberty of sinning God shall if continued in one day make it turn to the aggravation of their guilt and to the heightning of their judgment and however for the time they heighten their sin exceedingly in proposing the Saints faults to follow them and not their grace and vertues whereas this is the genuine and kindly use that all should make of them to be watchful to walk in â—ear aâ—d to take heed lest we also fall considering that if it hath been done â—o in the green tree what may we fear who in comparison are but dry trees if the Lord shall leave us as justly he may to follow our own councils it would become us to wonder that we go not wrong and further wrong and to look well that we be not vain of our own standing The 2d use serves to teach us that we should not take every thing to be right where of for the time we may have a sorâ— of perswasion neither that which many good people may think to be right God hath given us another rule that should be looked to and walked by as Soveraign â—nd infallibly regulating according to which we should regulate our own and the Consciences and Practices of others Therefore 3ly Learn hence so much the more accuratly and exactly to put every thing to proof and tryal that we may see whither it be so in very deed as Conscience dictateth By all means let Conscience be laid to the rule of the Word let us betake our selves and our Conscience to the law and to the testimony and if it speak not according to these it is because there is no light in it at least in so far and if even Believers may thus err and mistake O! how much more and more sadly may others who sleep on in their security without fear of being mistaken and of going wrong in matters of greatest and most lasting moment let be in lesser ones putting nothing seriously to the trial and will yet notwithstanding boast of a good Conscience The 4th use serves to teach Believers and all of you that ye have need to walk near God and in closs and constant dependance on him not simply lipning or trusting to your own council or Conscience but to him for direction and guiding The 5th use Serves to exhort Believers to be very thankful and to take it for a great and singular mercy when their Conscience challengeth them for sin and stricks in closs with that which is the Spirits work Iohn 16. 8. I will saith Christ send the spirit and he shall convince the world of sin O! but be it a merciful profitable and comfortable thing when God helpeth you impartially to search out sin to hear the Conscience it 's impartial verdict of it and to be kindly and deeply humbled for it and to flee to the blood of sprinkling for the pardon of it use 6th See here the necessity of knowing Gods mind better and of understanding his Word better otherwise we may err and go wrong and not know it Let me say in a word that it will be impossible to reach and attain the scope of this Text if we study not to know Gods Word and his mind in his Word better The ignorance that is amongst us may prove a great Rise Occasion and Cause of many sad mistakes and errors if the Lord in mercy prevent not Let God bless this Word and make it to have it 's own use for our edification and warning SERMON VI. ACTS 24. 16. Herein do I exercise my self to have alwayes a conscience void of offence toward God and toward men THe great Scope of these Words is to point out that holy Precisness Accuracy and Circumspection which was in Pauls walk and ought to be in the walk of all Christians And that is to endeavour to have alwayes a Conscience void of offence toward God and toward Men. The Doctrine that we insisted on last was this That Christians ought to endeavour so to walk that in nothing their Conscience may have a Challenge against them and when we came to speak of the use we proposed Four The 1. whereof was for Information and Direction how to carry in a Christian Life and it is in a Word so as in nothing we may thwart our Conscience either in ommitting any Duty or in comitting any sin The 2d use was for tryal as the Words bear out Pauls attainment and his comforting himself on this ground that he alwayes exercised himself to keep a good Conscience Whence we shew that it is a good Mark of Sincerity when a man is taken up how to keep a Conscience void of offence and several Doubts and Questions were occasioned in prosecuting of this use which we endeavoured to clear and answer But because we see that such Questions are almost endles and know not if it would be to your Edification to propose moe of them we have resolved to break them off abruptly and shall only speak somewhat in answer to an Objection or Question which cannot well be passed by and it is this Can that be a mark of Sincerity to endeavour to have a Conscience void of offence seing even Believers may often have ane evil Conscience How then I say can it be a mark of Sincerity and of a sound Believer to have a good Conscience In Answer to this we shall First shew how Believers may be said to have an evil Conscience 2. How it is not
refused to give answer to either by Dreams or by Urim or by Prophets so as not to give them clearness by one means nor another neither from his Word nor by their Conscience as calling them to such or such a particular thing it is no marvel that in such a case men be in the dark and that Conscience keep it self silent Yet 2dly For clearing the Matter further ye would consider two sorts of Causes that this proceedeth from some whereof are Culpable and sinful on our part procuring this as a just punishment of some former sin or of some present evil and sinful frame other some are soveraign on Gods part yet tending in his secret providence to promote some designs of good to the Person of a Believer as to these Causes that are sinful and culpable on our part we shall instance them in four or five Cases As 1. When there is a sinful Ignorance in the Persons who desire to be clear in such or such a particular Through that their ignorance they are not in case clearly and distinctly but rather very darkly and confusedly to propose the matter to their Conscience so that their Conscience cannot give them a distinct answer For Conscience is as I said before as a Iudge and our Light is as the Informer and as a Judge cannot well decide in a matter when the Case is confusedly proposed to him so no more can Conscience when it wanteth Light And hence oftentimes persons in whom there is some zeal and good affection are left much in the dark because to speak so they know not the Laws and Practiques on which Conscience proceedeth Therefore Rom. 14. It 's said of some that their Conscience was weak because their Light was weak and dim A second Case is When men in seeking the Answer of their Conscience do bound and limit it They either do not fairly and fully propose the Case to Conscience or they come not to it with ane absolute submission supposing it to be throughly informed by the Word concerning the thing they would have clearness in and therefore they take the Answer in part or but a part of the Answer and suppose the rest or leave it to Conscience to be determined as when men first resolve to do such or such a thing and leave only the timeing of it to their Conscience Here the Conscience may be limited and made indistinct in it's Answer because it is prejudged and left free It might possibly have been somewhat not alâ—gether unlike this that was in the rest of the Tribes of Israel their asking of God about the War against Benjamin Iudges 20. 18. Where they do not say at first shall we go up or shall we for-bear but first they say who shall go up A third Case is When Conscience is provoked by mens former miscarriages then it may be silent and not answer Now the Conscience may be provoked these â—wo wayes amongst others 1. When People use not ordinarily to consult Conscience but at some particular and solemn times only and when they are brought to some pinch or put to a stand but as for the ordinary course of their Life they follow Inclination or a common Light without advising with Conscience In that case when such persons come to advise with Conscience and to seek clearnesse from it about such a thing the Lord may say to them as he did to his People Iudges 10. 19. Go and cry to the gods whom ye have chosen go advise with them or as Elisha said to the King of Israel 2 Kings 3. 3. What have I to do with thee get thee to the Prophets of thy father and to the Prophets of thy mother Even so if Conscience be passed by and miskent by People in the ordinary course of their life it will readily misken and slight them when they are in a strait and come to seek Counsel and Clearness from it and will on the matter say to them ye followed the counsel of flesh and blood in your ordinary walk and course of life therefore in this particular I will not answer you go and seek Clearness from them whom ye use to consult 2dly Conscience is provoked when me have formerly thwarted with some clear intimations or answers of Conscience and have some way detained the truth in unrighteousness making as it were a Prisoner of it and setting a guard of corrupt affections about it when such come again to enquire at Conscience what they shal do in this or that particular they may justly get such ane answer as is given Prov. 1. 24. Because I called and ye refused I stretched out my hand and no man regarded but ye set at nought all my counsel and would none of my reproof I will laugh at your calamity they shall call but I will not answer I gave you answers before and ye thwarted with them therefore when ye seek again ye shall get none And hence floweth much blindnesse and be nummednesse of Conscience in men and women because they put out the eyes thereof and frequently repell and beat back what it sayes or answers so that it becometh cauterized and the feeling of it weareth almost if not altogether away and it speaketh very little or none at all to them being so much baffled and blunted with many repulses We may add this Third way how it is provoked and that is when it's askings are slighted It asketh us why we do such and such a thing and forbear such and such another and we slight what it saith and ly still in sin Is it not just that Conscience pay us home in our own measure and refuse to answer us when we ask it A Fourth Sinful Cause on our part of the silence of Conscience is When men come not singly and in a Spiritual Frame to Conscience to seek it's answer and advice but either have anâ— Idol sâ—t up before their eyes and are almost already determined in the thing or else they bring with them some one or other lust unrepented of Hence it comes to pass that though they think themselves submissive in that particular and possibly may some way be so yet not being absolutly submissive in all Conscience keeps silent To the former the Lord some way sayes as he did to these men by the Prophet Ezekiel chap. 14. 2 3. Son of man these have set up their idols in their hearts and put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their face should I be inquired at all by them When men come to seek Light and bring their Idols with them the Lord that speaketh by the Conscience will some times in that case not suffer it to speak a word The other is like that which we have Psal. 66 8. If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear my prayer When men come in a profane temper and frame of Spirit to God and are not single and as I said absolutely submissive Conscience will not answer For Conscience
with flesh and blood but also with principalities and powers and spirtual wickednesse in high places yet hath this for his rejoycing the testimony of his conscience c. Not to insist on the Connection We have in the words these Four things 1. Pauls continued chearfulnesse notwithstanding his formerly mentioned 〈◊〉 This is our rejoycing 2. The ground and rise of this spiritual and solid joy that no affliction can remove from him The testimony of our conscience in his affliction and tribulation he taketh a back-look of his way and findeth his Conscience noâ— simply speaking but testifying good on his hehalf telling him that though he and his fellows were accounted deceivers and unknown yet they were true and well-known c. As it is 2 Cor. 6. v. 8. 3ly The extent or amplification of this ground 1. More generally we have had our conversation in the world which is to be restricted to Pauls Conversation after his Conversion in his Ministry and otherwayes For though a natural man may have a blamless visible Conversation yet it is not such as a renewedman hath for the ground of his rejoycing 2. More particularly he not only had a good Conversation as to the general tract of his Life but in his carriage towards the Corinthians in particular with whom he had been so much and so long conversant and more abundantly to you-wards what ever they might through the suggestion and instigation of false Teachers have been disposed and ready to upbraid him with yet he had the Testimony of his sincerity and integrity as to what all the world could say of him which he alleadgeth and more abundantly towards you Partly to shew his distinctnes in searching his Conscience not by the Lump to speak so but as to the several parts and pieces of his Life and partly to obviat an Objection or Calumny that might arise among them wheâ—e his conversation was most and most carped at 4ly We have the Characters whereby he confirms this Testimony of his Conscience or the qualifications of it whereby his confidence of having it is confirmed Which are Four The 1. whereof is negative not by fleshly wisdom Not seeking my own ends nor my own good in a carnal way neither by carnal reason prosecuting the work of the Ministry The other three are positive The 2. Is simplicity that is a holy singlenesse in reference to the end He was a straight upright single man and in nothing double The 3d. is That is was in godly sincerity And this not only as it 's opposit to gross hypocrisie and dissimulatiion but as it differs from meer moral honesty he walked not only in a civil moral honest way as meerly moral and civil men use to do in their Barganings and other Dealings but in godly sincerity doing every thing as in Gods sight as he sayes of himself Chap. 2. v. last We are not as many who corrupt the word of God but as of sincerity as of God in the sight of God speak we in Christ The 4. Character whereby he proves that he had this Testimony and was assured of it is that he did not what he did by his own strength or by the strength of nature but by the grace of God Which shews as we said before that this Testimony reached no further then from the time of his Conversion The first of these positive Characters or Evidences shews the singlenesse of his end The second shews his singlenesse in the way of prosecuting that end The third shews the principle whereby or where from he acted it was not carnal reason that gave him counsel nor nature that strengthned him but Grace In these words then we have First A short and sweet compend of a Christian and comfortable life and of the advantage of a good Conscience 2. We have the way how to attain and how to entertain and maintain the same The Apostle in a word being now put to it and having both Foes and Friends on his top he taketh a back look of his Life and reflects on what was his carriage towards all men and towards the Corinthiens more particularly and finds his Conscience testifying for him as to both and on this Testimony of his Conscience well proved and made out he quietly settles and joyfully cheaâ—eth himself Having already spoken of what use should be made of Conscience before and in the time of our doing any thing we have now chosen these words to shew what use should be made of Conscience in reference to what is past Not to stand on every thing that might be observed from them we shall astrick our selves to this scope viz. To point out the right use making of Conscience it 's sense and Testimony of our Way and Actions after they are past and the Duty of a Believer in trying his bygone course of Life and every part thereof as to Conscience it 's Testimony of it or as to what Conscience can say concerning it 1. Then Observe but in passing That Conscience can signify it's mind to a man concerning his Actions and Conversation of a long time past so that though he hath been in such a Countrey among such a people about such and such an Action many years ago Conscience reflected upon hath a facultie to speak so of signifying it's sense thereof as of every other Action of his Life much of Pauls time was now past and a part of it in the Ministry at Corinth yet looking so far back his Conscience gives him this Testimony Which will be further clear if we consider first The experience and practice of the Saints in attesting their Conscience in past and in long since past Actions Naâ— we suppose there are few or rather none at all but their Conscience will sometimes challenge them for aâ— evil Action that is by their hand and that for a considerable time Iosephs Brethren are a famous instance of the truth of this Now if it can Challenge or Accuse it can also Excuse and Approve a man and testify for him when he hath done well For excusing is as extensive in a good case as accusing is in an evil 2. It 's clear also from the Office of the Conscience which as we shew is not only to dictat and to be an observing companion but to be a Judge which supposeth for ordinary the thing to be past Therefore 1 Iohn 3. 22. both the condemning and absolving of the heart is spoken of Which inferreth that the Conscience called there the heart hath a way of re-cognoscing of and passing Sentencâ— on a mans way and actions not only while they are a doing but when past 2ly Observe which is that we mainly intend to speak to That it is a main piece of a tender walk and of the practice of â— Christian to be reflecting on his bygone way and trying what Conscience sayeth of it not only as I have often aid to deliberat and advise with Conscience before and to carry Conscience along in
clear command yea as its the neglect of a notable mean for the suitable performance of all other duties so that wherever Prayer Repentance Hearing Reading c. is commanded This is also on the matter commanded And as many duties as are commanded of as many breaches of these commands are we guilty when this duty is neglected Considering that when ever we are commanded to do any duty we are commanded also to use all the means that may further us towards the suitable performance thereof And this being a special mean requisit to the right performance of every duty it is therefore commanded in every other commanded duty We may inâ—ance it in the observation of the Lords day This helps a man to begin it aright It goes along with him in all the duties of the day and when it s over and by it helps him to discover his â—ailings and short comings and his actings of Grace where it is and spiritual attainments in these duties and to be accordingly affected and the neglect of it is à breach of the Lords day both before and after and in the time of publick or privat or secret duties of worship called for on that day and so proportionably in other duties 4ly We may look upon it In respect of its being a nursery of all sorts of evils it harbours end entertains Lusts it hardens the heart strengthens security it cherisheth hypocrisie It brings on formality and impenitency It as it were locks up in presumption and carnal confidence It wears men out from under the aw of God and from under all due respect to Conscience The man that makes Conscience of Self-examination will be afraid of a challenge but he that uses not and cares not to examine himself pulls as it were the bridle out of his own head runs at random gives himself up and layes himself open to every sin and temptation without fear of challenges And if ye will look well about you and observe narrowly will ye not find that the man that rusheth impetuously into a course of sin as the horse rusheth into the Bâ—ttel is very readily he that quite neglects and despiseth this duty of examination of his way by his Conscience or before the Tribunal thereof And when I pray are persons most tender or untender Is it not when they are most impartial or most partial in this work of setting themselves down to take a serious review of their case and way and â—illing themselves before their Conscience to review the sentence thereof As for the 3d. thing proposed to be spoken of viz. The causes of this so abominable and groâ—ly sinful neglect they may easily and soon be found out if we knew and considered what a nature we have so very averse from true holinesse yea the more sublimely holy and spiritual that duties be the more averse naturally are we from hem as its much easier to bring a man to the profession then it is to bring him to the power of Religion So is it much more easieto bring a man to the practice of many external duties thereof then to the practice of this one inward duty It being as it were a â—neding knife to Corruption bringing a man to strick at the very Rooâ— and Life of it and it being as it were a setting of him on the Black-stone He is the more averse from it We may add to this the consideration of the influence that the Devil hath on us in this neglect who knowing well how prejudicial to him to his kingdom and interest and how advantagious to the sinner this duty is he labours mightily to hold all in confusion and to keep the soul fast asleep as that which contributs much if not most to the gaining of his point for he knows by experience very galling to him that self-examination awakes a man and gives him a view of himself and puts him to think how he may be rescued from this destrover and therefore he doth in a special manner hate abhore and set himself against it And though he will suffer a man to do many other Religious dutâ—es yet he labours by all means to keep him from this duty because it helpâ— much through grace to make him cast out with himself and his own way and so makes Satan in a manner hopeâ—esse of him More particularly we may assigâ—e these causes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from peoples own practice The 1. whereof is 〈◊〉 that many men and women live so that their life cannot abide the tryal He that doth evil saiâ—h the Lord Iohn 3. hates the light neither 〈◊〉 unto the 〈◊〉 teaâ—t his deeds should be reproved It s no wonder that a Malefactor desire not to come before the 〈◊〉 and it s as little wonder that a man or woman that liveth a sinful and evil life deâ—ire not to come before their Conscience Hence it is that many dare not go to their Conscience because it never speaks good but evil to them as indeed it hath no other reason and on that account they even hate it As Achab did the Prophet Micajah of whom he said I hate him because he never prophesies good but evil to me And that they will rather consult Flâ—sh and Blood their own inclination and affection then their Conscience in a particular because they dread it will speak evil to them especially when they know that there is something palpably wrong in their way for in that case they conclude it will gloum on them and gall them and even prick them in the quick A 2d Reason is Because folks make not this work of self-examination habitual to themselves but delay and put off time till their case become so ravelled and consused that they are afraid to medle with it And though they should they grow heartlesse and out of hope to get it righted just like men that cannot indure to adjust their accounts which they have suffered negligently to run long on and into great confusion A 3d. Cause may be this which respects Believers in Christ that even where persons make Conscience of their wayes there is a kind of foolish precipâ—tancy and haste making They being disposed to think that examination of themselves takes up much of their time and that it is better to spend it in prayer or in reading then that way Not considering that its much better to have some little thing of Religion solid then to have a great bulk of many duties without solidiâ—y or with very little of it These are like to the builder of a house who rickleth up stones without Square and Ruâ—e and without Morter which possibly falleth and cometh down ere he come at the top of it A foolish haste to be forward makes our work in Religion to be oâ—tentimes very unsolid Alace â—ts not what bâ—lk we have not how soon we come to have it but what solidity and sickernesse we have that will give us peace comfort oâ— joy Our common proverb holds true here That work
beeâ— hearing a Sermon resting on the 〈◊〉 performance when in the mean time they never discerned what it was to perform these duties spiritually they fancy that they are not guilty of breaking the first 〈◊〉 if they have not down-right worshipped any other God but the true God and know no spiritual 〈◊〉 that they are not guilty of murder if they shed no manâ— blood and know not that rash anger is 〈◊〉 breach of that command and murder before God and so in other commands 4ly When providence seems to countenance some particular in mens hand and it goes with them they are ready to think in that case they have the Testimony of their Conscience and so speak peace to themselves as we see in Micah when he has made his Teraphim Ephod and molâ—en image and meets with a vagrant Levit coming along who 〈◊〉 to stay with him Now sayes he I know that the Lord will do me good sâ—ing I have a Levit to be my Priest He looks on providences furnishing him with a Priest as Gods approving of his making these images we will also find in Rachel and Leah two instances of this Gen. 30. Rachel in her barrenness gives Bilhah her maid to Iacob and when she had brought forth a Son she sayes God hath judgeâ— me and beard my voice But Leah when she hath given her maid to him is more express and clear while she sayes after Zilpahs bringing forth a Son God hath gives me my hire because I have given my maid to my husband It is very rare for people when they seem to be countenanced in such or such a particular that they have a great mind for so to reflect on their way as not sadly to mistake there may be something of this even in Believers in so far as they have unmortified corruption in them all which sayes that we have great need and are so much the more concerned to study to be impartial and single in grounding the Testimony of our Conscience that we mistake it not For providence counâ— us in a particular will not if there be no more prove us to be right in it God not having given us that as our Rule to walk by but the law and testimony by which the Conscience being well informed and giving its Testimony accordingly that is the alone Testimony which can yield solid peace and joy For the 2d thing viz. Some false grounds even beside these that men use to rest upon we shall name these four that are very unsound and unsicker and they are implyed in the Text. The 1. is implyed in Godly sincerity for clearing of which ye would take notice that there may be a moral sincerity in mens practices that is not godly sincerity which is opposit to more gross counterfeiting and dissembling This we find to have been in Abimelech Gen. 20. who said to God In the integrity of my heart have I done this The man said not one thing when he intended another this moral sincerity will not prove a solid ground of the Testimony of a good Conscience therefore we see that God plagues Aâ—imelech notwithstanding his moral honesty and sincerity it is true it may extenuat and in some respect excuse a mans fault as it does Pauls persecution who did it ignorantly and out of unbelief and the Iews their zeal which was not according to knowledge but as the thing it self was not warrantable so no such thing can be a solid ground of peace therefore the Iews zeal does not warrand them in that they did nor Pauls persecution to be no sin as neither the one nor the other nor both of them together warrand these spoken of 1 Iohn 16. who in killing the servants of Christ thought they did God good service the matter must be right otherwayes there can never be ground for a good Testimony of the Conscience There is somewhat of this kind of sincerity in many Merchants and Tradesmen which makes them if they be any way morally honest in their dealings to think that they have Religion enough and sufficient ground for a good Testimony from their Conscience but alace this will not do the business nor obtain such a Testimony it is not sure for nought that Paul puts in this word for a ground of his Testimony Godly Sincerity The 2d False ground is implyed in these words not with flâ—eshly wisdom wherein ye may take notice 1. that there is a fleshly wisdom providence or policy whereby many men square their actions and wayes so as the mean they pitch on may reâ—ch their end and they may carry the matter so smoothly and handsomely as not openly to offend though they make but little Conscience in the choice of means but it s not from a principle of Conscience it is but worldly wisdom which will come to nought 2ly Ye may notice here that though this may keep a man sometimes from outward trouble and in a sort of quietnesse of mind and may yeeld him some ground of expectation to gain his point yet it will not give him solid peace nor be the ground of a good Testimony from his Conscience â—ndeed where a tender well informed Conscience rules and bears sway natural wisdom is a serviceable and useful hand maid but when a man designs a good end to be compassed by fleshly wisdom without consulting Conscience in it though he should succeed it will never give him peace Therefore when Paul comes to Corinth to preach the Gospel he declares that he will not preach nor disput to make a shew of his learning or scholarcraft nor to draw peoples respect and applause to himself as the false teachers did but with holy simplicity he plainly iâ—structs them in the knowledge of the truth and reproves impartially their faults and so commits the suâ—cess to God Thus a Minister may sinfully follow this rule or guide of fleshly wisdom to come by a good end to wit the keeping of people from casting at his Ministry these false teachers that were in Corinth who did not it may be preach gross errours and might possibly think they had some good end yet in their preaching through much fleshly wisdom they â—ought themselves and made it their great work to gain the peoples respect and applause by conniving at their â—aults rather than to profit them and to gain their Souls wo wo to such Ministers who wink at the sins of their hearers that they may infinuaâ— themselves on them and court their favours but closly to our point we say that though men should have never so good an end fleshly wisdom and carnal policy will never minister ground of a good Testimony from their Conscience unto them A thâ—rd false ground is implyed in these words But by the grace of God viz as the principle of his actions and walk which insiâ—uats first that there are some good things which men may do not from a principle of grace but it may be from a meerly moral principle of
natural mans performances were never so specious and splendid yet before God they are but dead like a carcase that wants life So that though the greatest heap of prayers and of other duties should be found with a meerly natural man they are but like to these Apples which as its storied grow at or about the lake of Sodom Which appear beautiful to the eye but so soon as they are touched with the hand they presently fall into ashes so the very best of natural mens works how shineing soever are but dead works before God Therefore by the way ye would know that there is a great difference betwixt dead works and living works And that there are many things that present fair are pleasant to look upon which yet defile the Conscience ah How many men and women are there even living in the bosom of the visible Church who are in as great danger from and by that which seâ—ms at first blush to be somewhat as by that which is reâ—ly and obviously nothing all such works are but empty shews counterfiâ—s and very cheats they have no Soul 〈◊〉 Lâ—fe in them being 〈◊〉 destitute of any 〈◊〉 principle or end however the world of proâ— of Reâ—igion do to their own ruine place all their Religion in them If we consider the influencing effect of these dead works on the Conscience We find it here to be that they pollute and defile it as a clear Spring is mudded and defiled by the soul feet of Beasts going thorow it even so is this Dâ—vine thing the Conscience defiled by sinful 〈◊〉 in it which make it to become as it were a cage for every unclean and haâ—eful Bird or rather as a hold of every â—oul Spirit these Lusts as so many â—oul Spirits swarming in it pollute and defile it whereby it becomes qâ—ite another thing Whence we may draw these two Observations The 1. Whereof is That dead works or sins continued in do polluâ—e and defile a manâ— Conscience They make as I just now said a clean and 〈◊〉 Conscience to become polluted and filthy so that yeâ— ever saw a face more full of foul spots more deformed by them then the Conscience is polluted by these dead works defiâ—ing sins Therefore is this word to purge the Conscience used there which is rendred to cleans Ephes. 5 26. That he might sanctifie and cleanse his Câ—urch and as simpolluâ—es the man in all his powers and fâ—culties so proportionably it polluts him in his Conscience which is deeply polluted before it be purged and cleansed by the blood of Christ For clearing of it Consider that there is a threefold pollution that follow◠〈◊〉 in the Conscience 1. In respect of a mans State 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 before God it makâ—s him legally unclean as we use to say of a Murderer or a Thief or any 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 when found guilty by an Assize that such a person is filed so a man by committing of sin is 〈◊〉 guâ—lty obnoxious to punishment Iyable to wrath even the eternal Wrath of God because of it This is a legal Pollution or defilement 2. In respect of a mans present peace and tranquillity of Conscâ—ence for though he be in a justified and clean state and hath it may be win at clearness of his interest in God and to peace and tranquillity in his Conscience so that his peace hath run as a clear smooth and still River or Stream the letting in of sin is like to the driving of a herd of Cattel thorow a clear running Stream whereby it is mudded and troubled so that in stead of Peace there come in disquieting Challenges and in stead of clearness much confusion as we may see in the sad instances of several of Gods Saints as particularly in David after his fall who therefore Psal. 51. prayes to be washen from this filthiness both from the guilt and from the pollution of sin and for peace That God would restore to him the joy of his Salvation 3. In respect of a sinful propension and inclination to more sin which follows upon every sin so that by frequent falling into sin the very nature as it were of Conscience is altered that of a loather of sin it becomes a lover of it and licks it up as a Dog doth his Vomit and with the Sow that was washen returns to wallowing in the mire as the Apostle speaks 2 Pet. 2. ult When a person is seemingly washen and returns to the same sins that he was given to before his Conscience becomes so filthy that it can digest the filthiest and most loathsom sins it can swallow them down and glut them over to speak so and never challenge nor quarrel for them In this sense the Apostle says Tit. 1. 15. To the pure all things are pure but to these that are defiled and unbelieving there is nothing pure but even their mind and conscience is defiâ—ed The man that follows a course of sin his Mind and Conscience is defiled not only in respect of contracted guilt and in respect of the want of peace and comfort But also in respect of utter indisposition for duty and of a sinful inclination to more sin so that it becomes hardned and cauterizâ—d There is such a contagion in sin that it defiles and pollutes the Conscience all these wayes that whereas it was before pure It becomes now like a person that hath the Botch and many Boils and putrifying Sores running in him Only we would distinguish here betwixt this pollution of Conscience as it is total in an unrenewed man and as it is partial in a Believer a Believer may be defiled in Conscience when he is offended and stumbled so as to be tempted by the example of others to do some thing wherein he is not clear as some were 1 Cor. 8. verse 7 and 10. His Conscience is thereby mudded jumbled and troubled and his peace marred yet he hath not a total and universal defilement of Conscience And therefore the effects of that uncleanness pollution and defilement follow not totally and universally oh him I shall only say for Use of this 1. O! that ye knew what an abominable thing sin is and how dreadfully dangerous it is thereby to defile and pollute the Conscience which is the most noble thing in you sin would sure be more abhorred and fled from It s really a wonder that men should love dead Works so well when there is no Botch nor Plague so infectious and contagious so hurtful and destructive to the Bodies as it is to the Souls of men 2 This we may also see that it s no marvel that men who are given to sin be hard to be wakned and reclaimed for continuance in sin makes the Conscience full of holes as it were that all slips and falls thorow it or as the Apostle speaks it makes the Conscience to become cauterized fenseless and feelingless as the flesh is that a Chirurgeon designs to consume away so I say continuance in sin deadens and
eats out the very life and feeling of the Conscience though it will be found to be a Conscience still and a Conscience that will speak and speak aloud one day albeit in Gods righteous Judgement it be silent now 3. We may also see here the reason why many persons are so very filthy that sin becomes a delight to them so that the sin that others could not sleep with they cannot sleep till they get it committed because thorow a custom of and continuance in sinning their mind and Conscience is defiled 2ly Observe That a man before he be purged by Christs Blood hath his Conscience wholly defiled Not only in part as we said of the Believer but wholly before he be in Christ and be purged by his Blood he is like that wretched Infant described Ezek. 16. 5. which description sets forth to the life what these people were before God entered in Covenant with them cast out in the open field to the loathing of their persons unsalted and unswadled with their navils uncut wallowing in their own blood and having no eye to pity them And thus are all men and women without exception before they be in Covenant with God they are wholly in a state of irreconciliation and enmity with God whose Law does not only condemn this and that work or deed of theirs but all of them as but dead works Their very state and person is condemned their peace if they have any is no solid peace none of Gods peace for there is no peace nor ground of peace to the wicked sayes my God Isai. 57. Their inclination is wholly depraved and corrupted all their Thoughts and Imaginations are evil only evil and continually evil as it is Gen. 6. 5. and as that often cited emphatick word is Tit. 1 15. To him that is defiled and unbelieving there is nothing pure Every practice of his the use of every thing is to him impure and his very mind and conscience is totally defiled And this will be yet more clear if we consider 1. The case that the man is in who is not in Christ he is without God without hope under his curse and the condemnatory sentence of his Law and can a man possibly have a clear Conscience that is under Gods curse and hath the Sentence of his Law standing over his head unrepealed Therefore he is said Iohn 3. to be condemned already and to have the wrath of God abiding on him 2. If we consider that a man in this condition is under the dominion of sin he is a captive of it and of the Devil at his will as it is 2 Tim 2. 26 So that there is scarce any motion or temptation to sin but he hearkens to it and complys with it his heart is open to swarms of lusts and as a Cage to unclean and foul Spirits Legions of Devils in a manner haunt him Now if such a man can have a clear Conscience ye may easily judge and yet such is the state and condition of every man by nature and therefore when Christ speaks of the Renovation of a man he sometimes calls it the casting out of the Devil importing thereby that every man in nature is a common receptacle as it were to Devils The 1. Use of this serves to teach us how we ought on the one hand to loath the state of Nature and how on the other hand we ought to love and long after a state of faith in Christ Jesus by whom only our natural state can be changed Is it not a wonder that so many rational men and women can live and ly still in their Natural state without minding or looking after a change Considering that this stands recorded of and against them That their very mind and conscience is defiled and that with dead works and that all who are not in Christ are so defiled vile and abominable that the most stinking dunghill is not so loathsom as the Consciences of such persons are O! What heaps and dunghils of Lusts what pudles and myres what kennels and sinks of pollution and noisome and poisonable filthiness are there What noisom and poisonable sins are drunk down with pleasure as so much sweet Wine all which are kept in retentis by the Conscience never one of them is forgotten though for the time the Conscience by its silence is supposed to have forgotten them yet it will set them all in order marshal them all as it were in rank and file against the persons who shall be found out of Christ in a most formidable manner it will not suffer one sin nor so much as one aggravating circumstance of any sin to be forgot It will bring forth all and charge them home furiously and irresistably This in Gods holy Justice will be the use of Conscience to all such persons It s not like a Conduit or Pipe that takes in at the one end and le ts out at the other but like a standing sink that still retains all that comes into it O! then what a foul and filthy bag to speak â—o is the Conscience of many a man and woman So that no Botch Bovl or Imposthume hath such vile filthy and abominable matter in it as it hath O! what a noisom and viâ—ely stinking smell will that putrid matter send forth when God pricks it This should make you all to loath living in your natural state and to long without lingâ—ing to be out of it It s like that many take it ill â—o have such things said or thought of them but I assure you all that are out of Christ whether ye have a more full or empty purse about you you have this filthy bag full of sin within you and while ye securely heap sins upon sins ye are treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath and of the righteous judgement of God The 2 Use serves to let us see what a poor and sory ground the most part have for their peace of Conscience we may in truth wonder how it comes to pass that many of you can have any peace having such a puddle of filthiness within you If it be true that your mind and Conscience is defiled which are the best things ye have and one day will clearly and convincingly make discovery of the truth of it O! how much hypocrisie and presumption will be found to be among you in stead of true and solid peace with which ye have nothing to do so long as these Whoredoms and Witch-crafts to say so of filthy sins are with you unpurged away by the blood of Christ. The 3. Use serves to demonstrat and clearly to hold forth the absolute necessity of Jesus Christ and the transcendent worth and matchless excellency that is in him that even when a man is thus defiled and polluted by sins these dead works there is access by his blood to get the Conscience purged and this is the thing that we would mainly point at from these words and which we intend God
willing afterward more largely to insist in not only the necessity of coming to Christ but of knowing certainly that ye are got out of black Nature into him and have gotten your Consciences purged by his Blood Think ye it a small or little concerning matter to be lying in a â—est house where thousands dy at your right and left hand and not to know if ye be cleansed To have the Plague in your bosom and not to know whether ye be cured of it or oâ— not and yet such is the state and condition of all of you while ye are in corrupt Nature And if ye would as ye are mightily concerned have some Evidences whereby ye may be helped to know if ye be as yet purged from this total pollution there are some things that may be gathered from this Verse to that purpose And 1. Did ye ever know and acknowledge your Conscience to be defiled It can hardly be ex-expected that a man having such a Botch and Plague running on him can think seriously of let be seriously seek after washing before he know that he is thus defiled and thereby in such a depâ—orable state I speak not now of what gracious change may be wrought in some persons more early and in their younger years nor how secretly and little discerâ—ibly the work of Conversion may be wrought in some that are come to age But I speak of Gods more ordinary way of dealing and reclaiming and converting of sinners When Paul speaks of himself Rom. 7. He tels us that He was alive once without the law he was a clean man as he thought and in his own eyes before the Lord discovered Sin and wakened a Challenge for it in his Conscience But when the Commandment came sayeth he sin revived and I died Now can we think with any shadow of reason that after God called him effectually by his Grace that he had more of a 〈◊〉 nature in him than he had before sure no but the body of death the corruption of his nature was now clearly discovered to him and became loathsom Challenges came to be quick and sharply piercing and his Conscience began to be touched with the lively sense of its own Defilement he was before alive or rather seemed to himself to be so but now he became a dead man in his own esteem as he was most really before the gracious change was wrought and sin to his sense revived and he as to any account of his own righteousness 〈◊〉 O! siâ—s do ye understand this Doctrine We are afraid that many of you do not understand it at least in your own experience and for as abominable as corrupt nature and sin is that yet ye are â—leeping securely in it and are often returning with the Dog to lick up that â—ile vâ—mit It s a very shrewd and evil token of a defiled and unclean Conscience where there was never any Challenge for nor any the lest kindly sense of its defilement and pollution 2. Was the Conscience ever waâ—hen with the Blood of Christ for alwise till that be it is defiled and polluted Did ye ever find your Conscience 〈◊〉 polluted that ye could not get lived with it 〈◊〉 ye was made to run to the fountain opened up in the house of David for sin and uncleanness spoke of Zâ—ch 13. 1. â— suppose several of you have had now and then your own Challenges for sin but what course 〈◊〉 ye to 〈◊〉 did ye strive to close and stop the mouth of your Conscience by betaking your selves to passe â—ime and to good company as ye use to call it looking on such exercise as too many do as a fit of Melancholy or did 〈◊〉 go â—ther to betake your selves for silencing your Conscience to Prayer and Reading good in themselves only without going to the Blood of Christ That will not â—e an evidence of a clean and purged Conscience but there must be a bringing of iâ— to the Fountain to Jesus Christ to be cleansed and calmed Thus it was with Paul Rom. 7. who when he saw his pollution even in but a small remander of it and was challenged for it Rom. 7. Câ—yes O wretched man that I am â— who shall deliven 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the body of this death and subjoyns I thank God 〈◊〉 Iesus Christ our Lord He can quiet himself no where 〈◊〉 nothing but in Christ It is a good token when persons can admit the thought of no other way of cleansing and â—ing their Consciences but by bringing them to Christ and his Blood especially when the sense of 〈◊〉 and the â—aith of the efficacy of his Blood hath brought 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 bring them to him as the Fountain 3. We would ask you if the effect of a clean Conscience has followed your betaking of your selves to Christ and that is a clean Life and honest Walk and Conversation for a purged Conscience will have a purged and honest Walk following on it and if men have once gotten a cleansed and purged Conscience they will be very cheary of it and loath to pollute it again and their great work will be to live so as they may not pollute it But â—h how few how lamentably few have attained to this effect There are many purgings of Conscience which are like the sweepings and garnishings of that house spoken of in the Gospel that made it ready for the Devil to re-enter into with seven spirits worse than himself many after Light and transient touches of Challenges become more hardned and presumptuous more secure and carnal than they were before and their Conscience digests as it were greater sins better and more easily than it had wont to do and it fares with them according to that Proverb 2 Pet. 2. â—lt often cited The Dog is returned to his vomit and the Sow that was washed to wallowing in the mire Their corrupt and filthy Nature being still to the â—ore they fall a licking up that which formerly they seemed to have vomited out and return to their former louse carriage 4. What discord and war is there with any remainder 〈◊〉 it be yet come to a remainder of corruption and pollution that is bâ—hind What resenting and loathing is there of it If the Conscience be purged and endeavoured to be keeped pure new defilements will be very unwelcome Guests and exceedingly troublesome to your peace The bond womans Son to say so must not abide with the free-womans in the house but must be cast out and will be endeavoured to be cast out While a man is in black Nature sin is at home and any motion to sin is entertained and even in a manner invited and wowed but when a man comes to be renewed in his staâ—e and Grace gets the dominion his great care and work is to get the remainder of corruption cast out and if any thing of it come back or stay still within that he cannot get cast out he loaths it and cannot bear with it nor dwell satisfiedly in the
from the challenges of the Law and from the terrours of justice and of the Conscience even â—rom all things from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses outward means and misâ—aken law Christ being miskend and past by cannot give freedom but by Christ Jesus ye may have freedom A 3d. Ground of conâ—irmation is taken from the consideration of the excellency of Christ Jesus and the efficacy of his blood from the consideration of the excellency of the Person who steps in and 〈◊〉 his blood for a ransom which being applyed the Conscience ought to be quiet and should not to speak so have a face to lay any thing to the Believers charge And this is prest in these two Scriptures on these grounds How much more shall the blood of Iesus Christ who through the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God purge the conscience In which words we have three things to hold out the excellency of this sacrifice 1. The excellency of the sacrifice it self it s a Sacrifice without spot all these Sacrifices under the Law were but types of this Sacrifice and there was alwayes something to be said of them which argued their imperfection but no such thing can be said of his He was never polluted by his wonderful conception by the Holy Ghost he was kept free from the least tincture or touch of that pollution that all Adams Sons and Daughters the Mother of the Lord not excepted descending from him by ordinary generation are defiled with and so was a sacrifice against which severe justice had nothing to object being most exactly conform to the Law of God to the Covenant of Redemption transacted betwixt Jehovah and the Mediator on which this is mainly founded but he was compleatly satisfied therewith as we may see Psal. 40. 6 7â— Where he is brought in saying Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire all these things were rejected as having no equivalent value or worth in them for aâ—oneing and satisfying provocked divine justice as is clear from the beginning of the following 10. Chap. and down-ward Where the Apostle cites improves and applyes the words of the 40. Psalm Then I said lo I come in the volumn of thy book it is written of me I delight to do thy will O! my God And sayeth he v. 10. By which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Iesus The good will of God willing such a thing and accepting thereof makes that we are thus purged and made clean But 2ly Beside the excellency of the Sacrifice we have the excellency of the Preist that offered it O! what pertinent and powerful reasoning doth the Apostle use Heb. 7. To prove the excellency and pre 〈◊〉 of Jesus Christ our great high Priest above and beyond all the Levitical Preists These Priests were temporal he is eternal They were but servants he is the Son They were consecrated without an oath he with an oath according to the order of Melchisedeck They offered many Sacrifices and often He offered but one Sacrifice and buâ— once as it is v. 27. of that 7th Chapter and chap. 9. v. 28. and chap. 10. v. 12. and 14. Whereby he hath for ever perâ—yted them that are sanctified And sayeth he such a high-Priest became us who is holy harmless undefiled separaâ— from sinners and made higher then the heavens 3ly There is the excellency of the Altar on which the Sacrifice was offered up and the Altar is as the Lord sayes that which sanctifies the sacrifice This was the God-head of our blesâ—ed Lord Jesus He through the eternal spirit offered up â—imself Though as man he had a beginning yet as God he had no beginning and through the God-head he offered up his humane nature which had its worth and efficacy from the divine nature to which it was united in his blessed person in these three the worth value and transcendent excellency of this Sacrifice is held out The Sacrifice it self is Christ as man offered up both in his body and Soul The Altar on which it is offered which makes the Sâ—crifice savour so very sweetly to God to be of such value and worth and to be so highly acceptable is the eternal spirit the God head of the second person of the glorious dreadful and adorable Trinity Therefore Acts 20. 28. God is said to purchase or redeem the Church with his own blood not with silver or gold or any corruptible thing as Peter sayes and the Priest is Christ God and man in one person He is the Sacrifice in respect of his humane nature The Altar â—n respect of his divine nature giving value and virtue to the humane nature For though his humane nature was in it self unspotted yet being as such a finit creature the divine nature to which it was united in his person did add thereto such a value as made it in this respect to be of infinit worth and value and he was the Priest in respect of both natures as God man and Mediator for sinners Now these three being put together what imaginably can be more desired for quieting the Conscience then may be had and is here Especially iâ— we add the nature of Christs offices and his continuance in them Having such a High priest over the house of God a Priest living for ever to make intercession for all that come to God by him let us draw near with full assurance of saith For he who cloathed himself with the vail of our flesh hath â—orn the vail and taken down the pertition wall that was betwixt God and us and by his sufferings hath made a new and living way to us through it into the holy of holies and from this that sweet word follows which we have 1 Iohn 2. 1. If any man â—in we have an advocat with the Father Iesus Christ the righteous A high-Priest that hath offered himself in a Sacrifice to satisfie divine â—ustice and a high Priest that lives for ever to interceed for the application thereof hence also most comfortably follows that he is able to save to the uttermost these that come to God through him able to save them from sin from wrath due for â—in from challenges for â—in from unbelief and disquietness of Conscience and to give solid and perfyt peace The 4th and last ground of confirmation which we shall name is drawn from the consideration of the nature of the covenant of redemption in the reality legality efficacy and extent thereof in reference to sinners if there be such a Covenant and paction betwixt God and the Mediator transacted to speak so â—n the eternal counsel of the God-head wherein it is agreed that Christ shall come into the world and take on the sins of the Elect who shall all in time in due time flee unto him for refuge And that they upon their fleeing to him shall have their sins pardoned and that his satisfaction shall be accepted for them as really as if