men thou hast honour enough if thou hast this peace Rom. 2.10 To every one that doth good glory and honour and peace Mark how it is accompanied namely with glory and honour But shame and confusion and dishonour is upon all them that have it not III. Examination Whether we have a quiet conscience COncerning a quiet conscience I propounded three things 1. What it is 2. How it differeth from that quiet conscience that is in the wicked 3. The examination whether we have this quiet conscience yea or no. The two former we have handled already namely What a quiet conscience is and How it differeth from that quiet conscience which is in the wicked Let us passe on now unto the third namely to an examination of our selves whether we have a true quiet conscience yea or no. A quiet good conscience is such a marvellous blessing that it cannot possibly be but we must like it and wish O that we had it Let us then examine our selves and see whether we have it or no. Many have peace and quietnesse as hath been shewed alreadie arising from false grounds they have peace of conscience because they know not what belongeth to trouble of conscience or if they know that a little as some of the wicked do yet they do not consider that sorrow which one â—â—y will burst in upon them and sink them uttâ—rly Let us trie then our peace by these notes I. Iâ— the quiet of our consciences be good it is such as we have carefully sought for at the mercies of God in the bloud of Jesus Christ when being pinched with the burden of our sinnes we did fly to the promises of God to seek comfort to the bloud of Christ to find ease and to get assurance of Gods favour If our peace come not this way it is naught and we were better to be without it then have it It may be we speak peace to our selves but doth the Lord speak peace to our consciences I will heare what the Lord will speak for he shall speak peace to his people and to his saints but let them not turn again to folly for that will break all their peace O go to God then and heare whether he speaketh peace to your consciences whether it be God in Christ reeonciling the world to himself that speaketh it to you It is not true peace without we have sought for it at the throne of grace without it be peace of Gods making Now the Lord speaketh peace to his people who come to him for peace three wayes 1. He speaketh peace to them by his word This speaking is thus When the word promiseth peace to those who walk by such a rule and they walk by that rule then Gods word speaketh peace to their souls The rule is set down Gal. 6.15 In Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing nor uncircumcision but a new creature and then followeth As many as walk according to this rule peace be upon them 2. God speaketh peace to his people in their consciences This speaking is thus When the conscience can say I am in Christ I am engraffed into Christ then the Lord speaketh peace by the conscience peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus so also when the conscience can say I hunger after righteousnesse I truly mourn for sinne I desire in all my wayes to please God Thirdly God speaketh peace by his Spirit This speaking is thus When the word hath spoken peace by the promise and when the conscience speaketh I am thus and thus qualified and therefore I have peace then the Spirit of God cometh in and witnesseth Yea you say right peace belongeth unto you indeed and I say Amen to it When the Spirit of God doth say thus then the Lord speaketh peace to the soul The fruit of the Spirit is love joy peace Peace is the fruit of the Spirit it speaketh it to the soul breedeth it in the soul Now beloved examine your selves Is your peace of this stamp do ye seek it of God and get it in the bloud of Christ Jesus do ye get it by the word and by your truespeaking conscience and by the holy Spirit of God If ye get it on this wise then it is true peace of conscience indeed If ye get it by your own vain hopes and by your good meanings c. this peace will not hold alwayes when your consciences come to be awaked your peace will all vanish away and be no more This is the first note to try and examine your selves by II. If our quiet and peace of conscience be good it is accompanied with such a life as is agreeable to the will of God it avoideth sinne as the thing that disturbeth the peace How can any man have true peace of conscience when his life doth not please God but provoketh his wrath against him It cannot be that he should have true peace who in his heart doth regard sinne There is no peace to the wicked saith my God No whereever true peace of conscience doth inhabit it dwelleth with godlinesse of life and unblamablenesse of conversation as the Apostle Peter joyneth them together 2. Pet. 3.14 Wherefore beloved seeing ye look for such things be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace without spot and blamelesse Mark the words In peace without spot and blamelesse If ever we would be found in true peace we must live without spot and blamelesse A wicked mans conscience may seem to have peace and tell him he hath served God This day I have paid my vowes saith the conscience of the whore but this is a rotten and deceitfull peace True peace of conscience is ever accompanied with such a kind of life as is agreeable to the will of God in his word III. If our peace be good it will make us endure to heare any point in Gods word with joy and delight A wicked heart can heare points of mercie and comfort with joy so long his peace lasteth Every man that calleth upon the name of the Lord shall be saved If we confesse our sinnes God is just to forgive us our sinnes If any man sinne we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous Whoever shall confesse that Jesus is the Sonne of God God dwelleth in him and he in God Such points as these a wicked heart can reade with delight though if they were truly opened and expounded they would yield him cold comfort yet he can heare them with delight in the lump But if a searching point or some terrible point cometh he is afraid to heare that Ahab had a quiet conscience but onely when Michaiah did preach Felix had a quiet conscience no doubt yet he trembled to heare Paul preach of death and of judgement Acts 24.25 One would have thought that Paul a prisoner should rather have been afraid but Paul had true peace of conscience and therefore he could think and speak of death with
man hath a conscience and the reasons why God hath given us a conscience the light that it acteth by the offices of it and the affections of it Now from all these proceed two other adjuncts of conscience 1. A quiet conscience 2. An unquiet conscience A quiet conscience COncerning a quiet conscience three things are to be considered 1. What a quiet conscience is 2. How it differeth from that quiet conscience which is in the wicked 3. The examination whether we have this quiet conscience or no. I. For the first What a quiet conscience is It is that which neither doth nor can accuse us but giveth an honourable testimony of us in the course of our lives and conversations ever since we were regenerate I put that in too for 1. we do not begin to live till we be regenerate and 2. we can never have a true quiet conscience till then Such a quiet conscience had good Obadiah I fear the Lord from my youth saith his conscience This was a very honourable testimony that his conscience gave him Such a quiet conscience had Enoch Before his translation he received this testimony that he pleased God Haymo saith this testimony was the testimony of Scripture Gen. 5.24 where it is said that he walked with God This is true but this is not all The text saith not there was such a testimony given of him but he had it and that before his translation but the testimony of Moses was after his translation Therefore it was the testimony of his conscience that bore witnesse within that he pleased God So that this is a quiet conscience which neither doth nor can accuse us but giveth an honourable testimony of us in the whole course of our life and conversation Now to such a quiet conscience there be three things necessary 1. Uprightnesse 2. Puritie 3. Assurance of Gods love and favour First uprightnesse is when a man is obedient indeed Many will be obedient but they are not obedient indeed not humbled indeed not reformed indeed What it is to be obedient indeed ye may see Exod. 23.22 But if thou shalt indeed obey his voyce and do all that I shall speak c. Mark that is obedience indeed when we do all that God speaketh and are obedient in all things This is an upright conscience when the heart is bent to obedience in all things An example we meet with in Paul I have lived in all good conscience before God untill this day His conscience could not accuse him of any root of wickednesse and corruption allowed and cherished in him That is an upright conscience Hast thou such a conscience as this My conscience can truly bear witnesse there is no sinne I favour my self in allow my self in but condemne all strive against all Thus David proveth that his conscience was upright If I regard iniquitie in my heart the Lord will not heare my prayer The regarding of any iniquity will not stand with uprightnesse A second thing required to a true quiet conscience is puritie Though our heart be upright and stand generally bent to the Lords will yet if we be guiltie of some particular sinne this will hinder the quiet of our conscience Therefore saith Paul I know nothing by my self that is nothing to accuse me no corruption no root of unbelief reigning in him Infirmities he had many and frailties he had many and he knew them but be knew nothing to accuse him Whatever was amisse in him his conscience told him he used all holy means against it If thy conscience can truly say thus also of thee then hast thou a truly quiet conscience Thirdly Assurance of Gods love favour and pardon Though we have fallen into great sins yet our consciences may have quiet if we can be truly assured of Gods love and favour in the pardon of them The Apostle proveth that the sacrifices of the law could not purge away sinne but onely Christs bloud can do it His argument to prove it is this Because those sacrifices could not free a man from having conscience of sinne they could not purge the conscience but Christs bloud can After assurance of pardon in Christs bloud conscience can no more condemne for sinne how many or how great soever the sinnes were which have been committed These are the three things required to a true quiet conscience Furthermore a quiet conscience implieth two things 1. A calmnesse of spirit 2. A chearfull merry and comfortable heart These two I mean when I speak of a quiet conscience 1. A calmnesse of spirit or a quietnesse of mind not troubled with the burden of sinne nor the wrath of God nor terrified with the judgements due unto sinne This quietnesse and calmnesse of spirit is promised to all them that truly hearken unto Christ and obey him Who so hearkeneth to me shall be quiet from fear of evil 2. A chearfull merry and joyfull heart When our conscience giveth a comfortable testimonie of us it cannot but make our hearts joyfull This is our rejoycing the testimony of our conscience saith Paul The comfortable testimony which his conscience gave of him made him to rejoyce A wicked man cannot truly rejoyce no though he be merrie and joviall and laugh yet his carnall estate is a snare he can have no true joy but the righteous sing and rejoyce Prov. 29.6 No mirth like the mirth of a good conscience All other joy is but outside painted seeming joy That is onely true joy that is rooted in the comfortable testimonie of an upright good conscience which telleth a man his peace is made with God and that whether he be in sicknesse or in health God loveth him whether he live or die he is the Lords Thus ye see what a quiet conscience is How a quiet conscience in the godly differeth from the quiet conscience that is in the wicked THe second thing propounded to be considered about a quiet conscience is How it differeth from that quiet conscience which is in the wicked 1. I confesse that the wicked seem to have a very quiet conscience Many thousands of carnall people seem to live and die in quiet Look into alehouses lewd houses into all places who so merrie and brisk and heart-whole as they say as they who have no saving grace Yet 2. this quiet conscience in them must needs differ from the quiet conscience of the children of God Certainly the Lord will not give the childrens bread unto dogs neither will he smile upon their souls neither doth he pardon the sinnes nor accept the persons of the ungodly And therefore if they have a quiet conscience it must needs differ from that in the godly Must not copper needs differ from gold And we who are the Lords messengers must teach you the difference They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the profane Now the question is this Wherein lieth the difference between the quiet conscience
do not condemne us we may be confident to stand before all the judges and kings in the vvorld yea we may have confidence towards God saith the text And as conscience is supreme in bearing of witnesse so also it is supreme in commanding All the commands of it are powerfull and supreme it will not be slighted it bindeth kings and princes Nay though God himself command the contrary yet can we not disobey conscience without sinne By this it appeareth that when conscience doth witnesse its witnesse is supreme when conscience commandeth its command is supreme 2. Conscience as it is supreme in witnessing or commanding so it is impartiall in judging It respecteth no persons no estates but accuseth the richest as well as the poorest the greatest as well as the meanest It made great Belshazzar so to quake that the joynts of his loyns were loosed and his knees smote one against another Dan. 5.6 It made great Felix to tremble to heare Paul speak of righteousnesse and of judgement Felix thought to scare Paul but conscience scared Felix So on the other side it is impartiall in excusing It will give evidence of the good works of the poorest in the world as well as of the wealthiest Art thou never so mean thy conscience will be as ready to excuse thee if thou hast done well as if thou wert the greatest It is impartiall in its office Others it may be dare not or will not accuse but conscience spareth none no not it self Though its accusations do load and burden and torment it self yet it will do its office 3. Conscience also is faithfull in its office and sincere It alwaies speaketh of us as it thinketh It may be deceived and mistaken for a time but it never speaketh contrary to what it thinketh It is a faithfull and sincere witnesse of our thoughts words actions and courses whether they be good or evil so farre as it is illightned by Gods word It ever giveth evidence aright it never flattereth nor condemneth any without a cause It is a faithfull and a very upright witnesse Others may dissemble with us and commend us and applaud us when we are naught and call us good men and good women when we are nothing so but this will tell us plainly how vile and sinfull we are and if we say we are good when we are not it will tell us plainly we lie He that saith I know him and keepeth not his commandmentâ— is a liar Mark though he say it yet his conscience giveth him the lie It is faithfull again in excusing It beareth witnesse of every good dutie we perform and of whatsoever good is in us Though all Jobs friends spake evil of him and God himself by his outward judgements seemed to condemne him for a wicked man yet still his conscience like a faithfull witnesse did not forsake him nay it offered to reason with God himself I would reason with God I know I shall be justified and I will never forsake mine innocency till I die Still his conscience stood for him and excused him Thus on both sides conscience is a faithfull and sincere witnesse it will not be corrupted to speak otherwise then it knoweth the matter is 4. It is most privy to what it doth witnesse It is more privy to what we have done then all the world It can say more for us or against us then all the world Thou knowest all the wickednesse that thy heart is privy unto saith Solomon to Shimei 1. Kings 2.44 The use of all this is Seeing conscience is so supreme so impartiall so saithfull so privy we should take heed how we do any thing that might give it advantage against us If we were to appear before an earthly judge to answer for our behaviour and should have a companion present continually with us marking every thing in us telling us of every fault and witnessing it against us unto the judge how carefull would we be of doing any thing that might give him advantage against us Lo we have conscience as a continuall watch-man espying out all our wayes setting down whatever we do amisse checking us for it for the present and one day accusing us before God and setting all things in order before our faces Oh how should we then labour to get into Christ Jesus that our consciences may be purged in his bloud and study all our life long to keep peace and friendship with them Wo be to them who live in their sinneâ— They will need no other witnesse to come against them to condemne them for ever but this witnesse conscience which lieth continually in their bosomes This I have spoken for the office of conscience which is to bear witnesse either with us or against us Now the parts of this bearing witnesse are first its single witnessing secondly its judiciall witnessing By single bearing witnesse I mean that conscience beareth witnesse what we have done and what we do and what we intend to do and what we are By judiciall bearing witnesse I mean that conâ—cience doth passe sentence on the same whether it be good or evil whether it be concerning the action or the person First therefore of the single bearing witnesse of conscience And that is about three things 1. What we have done 2. What we intend to do 3. What is the frame and bent of our heart 1. It beareth witnesse what we have done what in our childhood what in our youth what in ouâ— riper age what openly what secretly Those things which seem to be forgotten conscience will remember them to us Like a writing in marble though it may be filled and choked with dust and covered with rubbish yet when that is done away and the stone svvept clean then the vvriting vvill appear legible so though mens deeds may for the present seem to be forgotten yet they are vvritten in their hearts vvith a pen of iron and the point of a diamond as Origen observeth upon Jer. 17.1 Novv the thoughts and careâ— of this life put them out of our minds but the time vvill come vvhen all vvorldly businesse shall cease and the onely businesse shall be to look into the records of conscience We use to say Conscience hath a very good memory The chief buttler had forgot his promise unto Joseph but his conscience remembred him of it two years after I remember my faults this day saith his conscience Adonibezek had forgot his cruelty but his conscience brought it to his mind As I have done so God hath requited me saith his conscience 2. Conscience beareth witnesse of what we intend and purpose to do whether against God or man It will testifie every purpose and project of the heart though it be never acted though it die in the heart and never come to light Men little think of this Tush saith one I never did such a thing though I once intended it or had some thoughts â—bout it Mark those very thoughts
answer That this expression for conscience sake may be taken two wayes either 1. for conscience of the commandment of God and love to it and so none but Gods children do obey for conscience sake and so it is meant when Paul speaketh of being subject for conscience sake and Peter speaketh of suffering wrong for conscience sake Or secondly for conscience sake that is when conscience it self inforced by scar compelleth one to do a thing or not to do it As we say My conscience will not suffer me Thus carnall men come to church for conscience sake and pray for conscience sake c. that is Their conscience driveth them to these duties and will not be quiet without they perform them Secondly Sith a mere naturall man may have a conscience stirring him up to good as well as the truly godly it will not be amisse to give you the difference The difference is in three things 1. A godly mans conscience siniteth him and stirreth him very kindly so that he melteth before God When David had numbred the people the text saith his heart smote him The word signifieth it smote him kindly gave him a loving blow made him spread forth himself before God A wicked mans conscience giveth him a dead blow a churlish and sullen blow 2. A godly mans conscience stirreth him reciprocally He stirreth up his conscience and his conscience stirreth up him he speaketh to his conscience and his conscience speaketh to him The stirring is reciprocall Commune with your hearts What hast thou done O my soul Thus and thus have I done saith the soul Whereas a wicked mans conscience speaketh to him but he cannot endure to speak to his conscience his conscience stirreth him but he hath no will to stirre his conscience nay he doth all he can to keep it quiet But the godly as his conscience smiteth him so he smiteth upon his conscience I smote upon my thigh saith Ephraim The godly when conscience stirreth them they stirre it and provoke it to speak out all it hath to say Commune with your own heart and be still They are still to give it full audience and call upon it to speak on What hast thou more to say Conscience 3. A godly mans conscience stirreth him to good and he is resolved to go to the utmost of what conscience stirreth him unto that with Job his conscience may not reproch him all his dayes for not following it Whereas it is otherwise with the wicked 3. The third use is this Seeing conscience is appointed by God to be our guide and our counsellour it should be our practice in every thing we do to ask counsel of conscience whether we were best do it or no. I say that conscience is Gods oracle Whatsoever we are to do we should as David enquire of Gods oracle May I go this way to work or shall I take an other course Heare counsel and receive instruction saith Salomon that thou mayst be wise at thy latter end Conscience is a faithfull counsellour heare it It is the great mercie of God that thou hast such a privie counsel Thou canst go no where but it is about thee to advise thee Therefore as Rehoboam said to his green heads What counsel give you so say thou to thy conscience What advise givest thou Conscience in this case my carnall friends counsel me thus and thus mine own carnall heart and lusts would have me go this way but Conscience what counsel givest thou 4. The fourth use is to reprove the custome of most men who with Ahab refuse the counsel of that one true wholesome prophet and have foure hundred other counsellours who will give counsel as they would have it They regard not this good Michaiah they slight the counsel of conscience their lusts and their carnall reason and flesh and bloud are their counsellours The counsel of conscience they say is not good at this time as he said of Achitophels They will heare conscience at another time but not now But take heed for if you reject the counsel of conscience it is because the Lord hath a purpose to destroy you The Adjuncts of conscience which shew themselves in the discharge of this dutie of judging and counselling THe adjuncts are of two sorts 1. such as respect consciences abilitie to discharge its duty 2. such as accompanie conscience in the discharge thereof Of the former sort are foure 1. An illightened conscience 2. An erroneous conscience 3. A doubting conscience 4. A scrupulous conscience Of the latter sort are two 1. A faithfull conscience 2. An unfaithfull conscience First the illightened conscience is such a conscience as is in it self rightly informed by Gods law and doth direct and judge aright in matters both concerning our generall and particular calling both towards God and towards man And this illightened conscience is a great blessing of God 1. because it is the proper effect of the law of God 2. because it is a very great advantage to a man in the whole course of his life when a mans conscience is illightened to direct him in every case what he is to do If an illightened conscience be so great a blessing then be thankfull to God for it if ye have it and use it as a blessing Some have it and use it not as a blessing The devils have it as a curse many vvicked men have it as a curse It maketh their sinnes the greater Like as a colour the more light shineth upon it the greater it is green is more green and white is more white and red more red c. So it is with sinne the more light thy conscience hath the greater is thy sinne thy drunkennesse is more heinous and thy swearing and the like by how much committed against more light Oh therefore make use of the light of thy conscience as David did Thy word is a lump unto my feet and a light unto my paths What follovveth I have sworn and I will perform it to keep thy righteous judgements Mark when his conscience was illightened he bound himself to follow the directions thereof 2. Is an illightened conscience such a blessing O labour to get it be not without it for a vvorld Thou wert better walk blindfold over narrovv bridges and planks better vvalk in the dark through a place full of downfalls and marlpits then walk without a conscience illightened He who walketh in the darknesse knoweth not whither he goeth John 12.35 O labour therefore to get a conscience illightened It is true a man may have an illightened conscience and yet go to hell but this is most certain without an illightened conscience a man cannot go to heaven And if thy conscience be something illightened yet labour for more light It will prevent many a stumble save thee from many a knock Thou knovvest not vvhat case thou mayst be in vvhat difficult straits thou mayest be put unto
is great If I have not given my bread to the hungry or if I have rejoyced at the misery of mine enemie then let it be thus and thus to me His conscience absolved him as clear of those sinnes Nay the conscience of a child of God doth not onely absolve him from the guilt of those sinnes which he never committed but also from the guilt of those sinnes which he hath committed against God or against man It can tell him he hath truly repented and truly been humbled and truly got pardon Ye know David had committed divers sinnes yet when he had humbled his soul before God and obtained pardon his conscience telleth him as much and absolveth him Psal 103.3 Blesse the Lord O my soul c. who forgiveth all thy sinnes Nay though a child of God have many infirmities dayly and hourly yet his conscience doth absolve him It is no more I that do it saith his conscience but sinne that dwelleth in me If I distrust it is no more I for I fight against it If I be overtaken by any weaknesse it is no more I for I laboured against it and do bewail it III. A misliking conscience THe third part of consciences office in things done is to mislike if we have done ill There be imperfections in the best obedience of Gods dearest servants What I do I allow not saith Paul His conscience misliked something done by him But that mislike of conscience which now I speak of is of things that are ill done that is not done in truth and sincerity Thus it is in all that are not renewed by the holy Ghost The office of their conscience indeed is to mislike what they do When they have prayed their conscience can mislike it and say I have not prayed with a heavenly mind a holy heart When they have been at a Sacrament conscience can truly mislike it and say I have not been a fit guest at Christs table c. When they are crossed and tempted their consciences truly mislike their carriage and say I do not fight and resist but readily and willingly yield to every invitation to evil Do ye not think that Jeroboams conscience misliked his altering Gods worship his innovating religion his making Israel to sinne do not ye think his conscience misliked him for these things Do not ye think that Nabals conscience misliked his griping and Doegs conscience misliked his slandering and Pashurs conscience misliked his opposing and misusing Jeremie and the old prophets conscience misliked his lying Who would have thought but Balaam said well Whatsoever the Lord saith unto me that will I speak and I cannot go beyond the commandment of the Lord to do lesse or more no not for Balaks house full of gold who vvould have thought but that this was well said yet his own conscience could not choose but mislike it being not spoken in sinceritie Many a man hath gone for a Christian twentie or thirtie years and every one liketh him and yet it may be his conscience hath disliked him all the while IV. A condemning conscience THe fourth part of consciences office in this behalf is to condemne if we have done evil and contrarie to Gods law Conscience hath an office not onely to mislike us but also to condemne us nay it will hasten more to condemne us then God We see it in Adam When Adam had sinned his conscience condemned him before God did he knew he was naked that he had made his soul shamefully naked his conscience condemned him for an apostate before the Lord came to passe sentence upon him Nay it condemneth us oftner then God God will condemne a sinner but once for all viz. at the last day but conscience condemneth him many thousand times before that Many men and women who do seem godly in the worlds eyes God knoweth how many of them have condemning consciences in their bosomes for all their civilities and formalities and crying God mercie and patched up hopes many who would say that man were uncharitable who should condemne them for such and such who it may be find conscience within so uncharitable and saying plainly Ye are so like the conscience of Pauls heretick who is said to be condemned of himself I. This serveth for the praise of the justice of God That he may be just when he judgeth the Lord needeth no other witnesse against us but our own consciences they make way for the just judgement of God Ye may see this in this portion of Scripture which we have in hand wherein is shewed both that God hath appointed a day wherein he will judge the world vers 16. In the day when God shall judge the secrets of all men according to my Gospel and then in the verse going before the Apostle sheweth that now in the mean while every mans conscience maketh way for this just judgement of God their conscience bearing witnesse and their thoughts in the mean time accusing or excusing one another At the last day every man shall be judged according to his conscience a child of God according to his a carnall man according to his The Lord shall absolve all his children and their own consciences shall absolve them The Lord shall condemne all the rest and their own consciences shall condemne them This is the book that every mans life is set down in Every passage of conversation both of the godly and the wicked is recorded dayly in this book And according to what is written therein will the Lord judge every soul at the last day as Rev. 20.12 The dead were judged out of those things which were written in the book according to their works The Apostle there speaketh prophetically and putteth the past time for the future they were judged that is they shall be judged So that ye see that by the judgement of conscience way is made for the just judgement of God II. This should be a means to keep us from sinne and to keep us in a holy life for according to our works so will be the evidences of our consciences whether they be good or evil We had need to take heed what we write in our consciences for according to what is written there so shall we be judged Therefore if any sinne standeth upon record in our consciences we had need get it blotted out by the bloud of Christ Repent be humbled beg for pardon rest not till thou seest this debt-book conscience crossed and thy sinnes stand there cancelled and discharged THus I have shewed you the offices of conscience about things heretofore done Now let me shew you the affections of conscience in the discharge of these offices Ye have heard that conscience hath foure offices in things heretofore done 1. an office to approve 2. an office to absolve 3. an office to dislike 4. an office to condemne The two former when we have done well and lived well then the office of conscience is to approve and absolve The
departed out of your bodies This is unavoydable to all that live and continue in sinne Though for a while ye live in mirth and pleasure and securitie and conscience letteth you alone though like Nabal to day ye feast and make merry yet there is a conscience within you an Abigail which to morrow will tell you of it and then your hearts will die within you and be like stones as cold and as heavie as a stone within you As Samuel met with Saul Because thou hast forsaken the Lord the Lord also hath forsaken thee so conscience will find you out However for a while ye slight and neglect it or else perhaps suppresse it yet it will find you out as Eliah did Ahab and then ye will say as he did Hast thou found me O mine enemy yea I have found thee Thou hast sold thy self to work wickednesse in the sight of the Lord thou hast been a profane beast thou hast runne against heaven and against God and Christ and thy life hath been full of rebellions c. now I have found thee out The day will come when thy conscience shall be like Jobs messenger Ye know what news the messengers brought Job first news of one great evil and then of another greater and then of a third worst of all cattel and goods taken away servants dead sonnes and daughters dead I onely am left alive to tell thee So I say the time will come when conscience shall thus report Thy pleasures are dead thy profits are dead thy comforts are dead thy heart is dead thy soul is cursed and must die for ever and I onely am left alive to tell thee And then he shall crie out Cursed was I that ever I was born and cursed be the womb that bare me and the paps that gave me suck Then shalt thou mourn at the last when thy flesh and thy bodie are consumed and thy conscience shall say How have I hated instruction and my heart despised reproof I have not obeyed the voyce of my teachers nor enclined mine ears to them that instructed me Such dolefull messages conscience will bring in one day and then it shall hisse like a snake in thy bosome Know now that for all these things thou shalt come to judgement And so thy conscience shall bray thee like a fool in a mortar as it were with a pestill and it shall pounce thee and beat thee and distresse thee for evermore This is the moth that getteth into the cloth and doth eat it When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquitie thou makest his beautie to consume away like as when a moth fretteth a garment This will make thy face gather blacknesse and thy spirit be overwhelmed for evermore I must adde another use yet For all this is the law and untill ye be in Christ ye are all under the law the curse of it the rigour of it And we are bound to tell you how ye shall find it if ye do not submit to the righteousnesse of Christ But though we do preach the law yet we do preach it in the hand of a mediatour saith Paul Gal. 3.19 a terrible killing law but yet in a mercifull hand in the hand of a mediatour to drive us to seek for mercie and therefore The third use shall be to call upon you to be humbled and to see that there is no living for you in your sinnes Go and stoop to Christ Jesus who onely can purge your guiltle consciences by his bloud I beseech you consider ye who yet abide in your sinfull estates and are yet in the flesh I beseech you consider what the event will one day be If ye will not look out your consciences will find you out at the last and then wo be to you Your consciences will make all things grievous and bitter to you even those things which in themselves are most sweet and good When ye heare of heaven of mercie of the bloud of Christ these will but encrease your miserie conscience will say You have no part in them When you heare the word any promise or comfortable passage in it your conscience will say Yea this is my miserie I have no share in these things This will be a hell unto you and will torment you before your time This will also make all outward good things bitter unto you When you see wife and children and friends then conscience will whisper and say I shall not have these long ere long I shall have none but damned companie When you see your goods estates and the like conscience will mutter Alas ere long I shall be in a place where a drop of water shall not be afforded me to cool my tongue When you see the light and other comfortable objects O wo is me I shall shortly be in a place where I shall see nothing but darknesse utter and everlasting darknesse Conscience will make your afflictions intolerable your sicknesse intolerable your death-bed intolerable the face of death intolerable I beseech you brethren consider these things you that have not felt a troubled conscience untill this houre Ye hardly know yet what it is ye will know it to your sorrow if you do not consider it There is a phrase in Ezek. 30.24 where God saith he will make Pharaoh grone with the gronings of a man deadly wounded So it will be with you if you will not hearken and submit to Jesus Christ conscience will make you grone with fearfull grones O wo is me I am undone without hope without remedie Consider this therefore and be wise before the things which concern your peace be hidden from you And let me the rather exhort you to this in regard of the danger of the times The Lords wrath is gone out and his judgements do flie through the earth and his plagues do fall on every side of us What will your guiltie consciences do now oh you can never endure them Ye had need of purged consciences now lest ye be quite comfortlesse in the day of visitation How miserable is their case who want the peace of conscience in the time of distresse When troubles and afflictions are without then how grievous is it to want peace and comfort within When Gods mortall arrows are in your bodies then to have the arrow of his wrath sticking in your souls this will adde sorrow to sorrow and make your estate much more uncomfortable and unsupportable Beloved peace of conscience is good at all times but it is most precious when calamities fall on us Then to have the peace of a good conscience that may bring us good news from heaven that all is well within all peace there this is such peace as all the world cannot give nor sell nor buy Never more need of the peace of conscience then now As one said of the books of faith There be abundance of books written of faith buy them all up saith he ye will need every one
of them ere long So may I say of whatever may forward the peace of conscience Buy it purchase it get it as much peace as you can possible ye will have need of it all ere long Take heed of troubling your consciences or clogging them with guilt lest the Lord cast you off and lest ye be hardned and so ye perish from the right way Do not think thus O we are believers and have no need of such threatnings He who is certain of his salvation knoweth assuredly he should be damned if he should go on in sinne without repentance This If is true enough If the righteous forsake his righteousnesse all his former righteousnesse shall be forgotten And Wo is me saith Paul If I preach not the gospel In the state of innocencie there was use of threatnings so is there now in the state of grace The Lord threatned Adam in innocencie If thou eat thereof thou shalt die the death Job was awed by threatnings not to lift up his hand against the fatherlesse for saith he destruction from God was a terrour to me My flesh saith David trembleth for fear of thee and I am afraid of thy judgements Let us have grace saith the Apostle whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear Why for our God is a consuming fire For be it that Gods children that is all believers shall never fall finally away yet this threatning is one of Christs instruments whereby he keepeth them from falling and they also may tast of much bitternesse if they grow indulgent to their corruptions O therefore take heed of this curse that your consciences may not dog you with the guilt of sinne and the apprehension of Gods wrath You will never be able to bear it much lâ—sâ—e in the time of affliction O it is good being in a drie house when a great tempest is up and it is safe being in a good harbour when a storm bâ—â—teth hard A good conscience is good at all â—imes but O how sweet then When Jonah fell into affliction the want of peace in his conscience made him look upon his affliction as upon hell as though he had been in the belly of hell They who follow lying vanities forsake their own mercies saith he Mark his conscience dogged him with his fleeing from God and forsaking his own mercies Ye see he was miserably distressed by it till the Lord did deliver him Be charie then of conscience and get it purged that it may speak peace to you in trouble 4 Questions NOw I have declared unto you What a troubled conscience is What is the cause of it and wherein it consisteth How many degrees there be of it How the troubled conscience of the godly differeth from the troubled conscience of the wicked the miserie of a troubled conscience and What a deal of mischief it doth one especially in affliction now I should leave this point but that there be sundrie questions to be answered about it I. Suppose a man be rid of this trouble and have peace of conscience how shall he maintein it and keep out troubles from it II. Whether and how the peace of our conscience dependeth upon our care and obedience III. What manner of obedience it is that peace of conscience doth depend on IV. If a man have no peace but onely a burdened conscience what must such a man do to be freed from it and to attein true peace I. Question How a man may keep peace of conscience I begin with the first Suppose a man have peace of conscience what must he do to keep and maintein it I answer First We must labour to prevent troubles of conscience by taking heed that we do nothing contrarie to conscience We must not be drawn by friendship or credit or the love of any lust to do that which conscience forbiddeth Nothing should be so dear unto us as the peace of conscience nothing for the love of it should make us do ought against our conscience How miserable are those comforts delights satisfactions which we get to our selves in such courses as our own hearts do condemne However they seem comforts for a while and contentments for a while and delights for a while yet at last it will appear that miserable comforts are they all Nothing that we get in any evil way will chear and comfort us in a time of need What said Francis Spira at the time of his death when seeing his wife and children about him and thinking on the goods and estate which he had got for them by denying the truth which he had before mainteined against the Romish errours he cried out in the horrour of his conscience How terrible is the sight of these unto me However before they had been comforts to him yet now he could not endure the sight of them O thought he I recanted for your sake I yielded to superstition and it was long of you Therefore he abhorred now the sight oâ— them Wretched is he that alloweth himself in any course which his conscience findeth fault with It is a good rule the Apostle giveth Blessed is he that condemneth not himself in that which he alloweth that is Blessed is he that hath not a condemning conscience that alloweth not himself in any course wherein his conscience doth condemne him So that if we have peace of conscience and desire to maintein it let us never allow our selves in any course that our conscience may condemne us in That is the first answer Secondly If we will maintein our peace we must labour to have our hearts grounded in the assurance of the love of God alas it will fail us else and leave us in trouâ—le and perplexitie in time of greatest need Observe how the Apostle joyneth love and peace together 2. Cor. 13.11 The God of love and peace be with you If he be the God of love to us it is sure enough he will be the God of peace also If we know once that God loveth us then we may set our hearts at rest As long as we doubt of his love our conscience can never have true peace And therefore if we would maintein true peace of conscience let us labour to be assured of Gods love Thirdly We must use the exercise of faith in applying the bloud of Christ we must labour to purge and cleanse our consciences with it If we find that we have sinned we must runne presently to the bloud of Christ to wash away our sinne We must not let the wound fester or exulcerate but presently get it healed As there is a fountain of sinne in us so there is a fountain of mercie in Christ set open for Judah and Jerusalem and for every poore soul to wash in As we sinne dayly so he justifieth dayly and we must dayly go to him for it As every day we runne into new debts so the Lords prayer teacheth us every day to beg forgivenesse We must
they were convicted of their consciences their consciences dealt honestly with them and told them the truth that they were wicked sinners themselves This is the naturall goodnesse in conscience 2. A renewed good conscience I call it a renewed good conscience because when a man is renewed all the man is renewed all his mind and the spirit of it is renewed Ephes 4.23 That ye may be renewed in the spirit of your mind If the man be renewed all the mind must be renewed and therefore the conscience must be renewed too for the mind and the conscience ever go together nay conscience is mainly seated in the mind and therefore if the mind be renewed so is the conscience and if the mind be defiled so is the conscience To them that are defiled is nothing pure but their minds and consciences are defiled Mark When they are defiled they are defiled together so when they are washed and renewed they are washed and renewed together Now this renewed conscience is either perfect or defective 1. Perfect I mean not perfect in every degree of goodnesse For so no mans conscience in the world is perfect But I mean perfect in every part and condition of goodnesse 2. A defective good renewed conscience is that which faileth in some conditions of goodnesse We call it a weak conscience which is apt to be polluted and defiled again 1. Cor. 8.7 Their conscience being weak is defiled This is a defective good conscience a conscience renewed but imperfectly renewed I. To a good conscience that is soundly renewed five things are necessary 1. Knowledge of Gods will and that which doth follow the true knowledge of his will namely true humiliation and fear By nature the conscience is blind and sturdy and venturous and therefore it is necessary that it should be illightened to understand the will of God and to presse it and again it is necessary that the heart should be humbled or else it will not stoop to Gods will and it is necessary also that this holy fear should fall upon the heart that it may not dare to transgresse S t Peter being to speak of a good conscience premiseth all these as necessarie thereunto First he adviseth that Christians have knowledge to be able to give a reason of the hope that is in them and then that they should have meeknesse and fear for to do it with meeknesse and fear saith he having a good conscience Mark Knowledge and meeknesse and fear are required to make a good conscience without them the conscience cannot be good By nature we are all blind and stubborn and fearlesse of sinning and therefore till we be cured of these evils our consciences cannot be good 2. The second thing is a watchfulnesse and warfare against sinne This is required too to a renewed good conscience By nature we are drowsie and carelesse and secure and do not stand upon our guard to wage warre against our lusts and the desires of our flesh and so long our consciences can never be good and therefore this spirituall watchfulnesse and mainteining warre against sinne is required to the having a good conscience That thou maist warre a good warrefare saith Paul to Timothie having faith and a good conscience 1. Tim. 1.18 19. Some who seemed to have a good conscience because they did not maintein this holy warfare against sinne and the flesh they have lost it Therefore this is another requisite required to a good conscience 3. The third is tendernesse of conscience By nature our hearts are seared and dead and unclean and therefore we must get us tender and pure hearts if we would have good renewed consciences The end of the commandment is love out of a pure heart and good conscience and faith unfeigned 1. Tim. 1.5 See how the Apostle compoundeth them together a pure heart and a good conscience We must get our hearts purged and quickened that they may be sensible of the least evil and then our consciences will be good and be as a bridle to hold us from evil A hard heart and a good conscience can never stand together 4. The fourth is the cleannesse of conscience by the washing of Christs bloud This is the main and the principall of all Yea indeed the bloud of Christ is the sole and onely cause of a good conscience I would not be mistaken I named indeed other causes Knowledge and Humbling and a holy Fear a Combat against sinne and Tendernesse but I do not mean as though a good conscience were partly beholding to them and partly to Christs bloud For it is wholly and onely beholding to Christs bloud for its goodnesse his bloud is the onely price of it But my meaning is this That though Christs bloud be the one onely cause of redemption yet in the application of redemption the Lord useth all those forenamed graces while he applieth it to the conscience Therefore this now I adde The washing of Christs bloud this is chiefly required to the goodnesse of conscience We have two places of Scripture to prove it The one Heb. 9.14 How much more shall the bloud of Christ purge your consciences from dead works It is that onely can do it The other text is 1. Pet. 3.21 The answer of a good conscience towards God by the resurrection of Jesus Christ Where the Apostle first giveth this title to a renewed conscience to be called a good conscience Secondly he nameth the cause that maketh it to be good the power of Christs resurrection When the resurrection of Christ Jesus is powerfull upon us then conscience becometh good 5. The fifth is quietnesse By nature nothing is so fierce and violent if it be once awaked as conscience is O it is unspeakably furious Thus is conscience by nature and therefore it can never be good untill we get it appeased with the assurance of the pardon of our sinnes and so true peace and comfort established in it This is the reason why the Scripture joyneth a good conscience and faith so often together as 1. Tim. 3.9 Holding the mysterie of faith in a pure conscience It cannot be a pure or good conscience if faith be not held in it As long as the conscience is not underpropped by faith the conscience must needs be in a wildernesse Perhaps my sinnes are imputed unto me perhaps they are pardoned Perhaps they are covered perhaps not As long as the conscience lieth under these uncertainties it cannot be firm and soundly good indeed therefore we must labour for assurance of pardon by faith Thus much of a good renewed conscience that is perfectly and soundly renewed II. Secondly There is a good conscience renewed but not soundly renewed very much as yet defective and imperfect The former conscience is called conscientia firma a firm conscience This is called conscientia infirma an infirm conscience Rom. 15.1 We that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak This infirm conscience is a good
Christ Jesus hath sealed up a new covenant in his own bloud conscience is freed from that former Rom. 3.28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law For though justifying faith never be without the sincere doing of the law yet the deeds of the law have no influence into justification Conscience is freed from seeking justification thereby Thirdly the conscience of the regenerate is freed from the rigour of the law They are bound in conscience to use the law as a rule of their life and in sinceritie to obey it but are not bound by the gospel to the rigour of it that they are freed from and so they are not under the law but under grace I grant that all carnall people who are yet out of Christ do all lie under the rigour of the law and as long as they submit not to Jesus Christ nor get into him they are bound in conscience to keep it though they cannot They cannot sinne in one tittle but conscience will condemne them before God They shall be condemned for every vain thought for every idle word for every the least sinne for every the least lust for any the least omission of good They lie under the rigour of the law and they are bound in conscience to keep it and they shall be countable for every transgression because they are under the law But the conscience of the regenerate is free from this rigour because they are under grace and therefore they are delivered from the law The Lord hath deliverd them by the body of Christ and therefore they are not bound by the gospel to all that obedience that the law in rigour requireth Fourthly the conscience of the regenerate is freed from the curse of the morall law For though the law doth condemne yet their conscience needeth not fear it because they are in Christ There is no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus which walk not after the flesh but after the spirit Indeed those that are not regenerate not ingraffed into Christ they are still in the mouth of the gunshot the law doth condemne them and they have no shelter and their conscience is bound by it and they shall find one day that by it their conscience will condemne them to hell It may be now for the present their conscience is quiet and they choke it and so it letteth them alone yet they are condemned in conscience and one day they shall find it But the regenerate are by Christ freed in conscience from all this condemnation Thus farre we grant But the Antinomists and I know not what Marcionites would have more They cannot abide to heare that a regenerate person is bound to any sincere obedience to Gods law as the rule of their life They crie out against the morall law as once the Babylonians did against Jerusalem Down with it down with it even to the ground O ye do not preach Christ if ye talk of the law Beloved these are drunken opinions fitter to be preached among drunkards and Epicures and monsters then among the peculiar ones of God The law of God doth bind the conscience of all the people of God so that they are bound to make it a rule of life Nay the Scripture calleth it Christs bond whereby he bindeth his people to him The Kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his Anointed saying Let us break their bonds and cast away their cords from us Tush we will not be tied by his laws nor be so precisely strait-laced with such commandments as these Here the laws of the Lord are called bonds and cords Gods people are bound to him by them But the wicked they stand out and refuse to be bound Now if the law be called a bond I pray what bond is it but of conscience It is not a bond like a prisoners fetters to be put about their legs This is a spirituall bond that bindeth the conscience But let me prove it to you by arguments There be sundrie arguments to prove it First That which hath power to say to the conscience of the regenerate This is thy dutie and this must be done that bindeth the conscience But the law of God hath power to say thus to the conscience This is your dutie Who can tell better then Christ When ye have done all these things that are commanded you say We are unprofitable servants we have done that which was our dutie to do Mark He speaketh of Gods law things commanded now the law is nothing else but a â—atalogue of those things that God hath commanded us When ye have done all these things saith our Saviour know it is your dutie Here ye see the law hath power to say to the conscience This is your dutie But ye will object We are under faith and do ye tell us of law I answer as Chrysostome answereth out of Paul Do we then make void the law through faith God forbid Yea we establish the law See how the Apostle doth abhorre this thought God forbid saith he As if he had said Farre be it from me to teach such an abominable doctrine No no we establish the law Heare what Christ saith himself Think not that I am come to destroy the law I am not come to destroy but to fulfill it O thought some If we believe in Christ then we hope we shall have done with the law No no saith Christ ye shall as soon pull the heavens and the earth out of their place as disannull one tittle of the law Secondly That which hath this authoritie that the breach of it is a sinne bindeth conscience but the law hath this authoritie that neither regenerate nor unregenerate can transgresse it but they sinne therefore the law bindeth their consciences For the regenerate and all are bound in conscience to take heed of sinne Whosoever committeth sinne transgresseth also the law David was a regenerate man yet when he had defiled Bathsheba I have sinned saith he Joseph was a regenerate man yet confesseth if he should transgresse the Lords commandment he should sinne How shall I do this great wickednesse and so sinne against God But ye will object This is old testament What of that I hope you will not take up the old damned heresie again of the Cerdonians and Cainites and Apellites and Manichees and Severians and other such cursed hereticks condemned by the Church of God Their heresie was To hedge out the regenerate from the old testament And S t Augustine proved it against them That the morall law of God was ever the rule of obedience and shall so continue with the gospel to the end of the world and every transgression thereof is sinne The breach of the ceremoniall law was a sinne once but now it is not because once it bound the conscience now it doth not But the breach of the