testimony of conscience with them at the great day of account That in simplicity and godly sincerity we have had our conversation in the world Under the old covenant God had a Tabernacle of witnesse which was the inner Court where the Arke was in which the Law was to give testimony against the Israelites when they did evill So God hath now under the new covenant a Tabernacle of witnesse and this is the inner Court to wit the heart where conscience is to give testimony against us when we transgresse And therefore let us set a watch upon our hearts and tongues and hands and intreat God with David to hold up our goings in his pathes that our foot-steps slip not Psal 17.5 I note this because I see multitudes live as if there were neither conscience nor God nor Divell Heaven nor Hell The speech of the Prophet of old may I sitly here make use of Men were then so audaciously wicked that the very shew of their countenance did testifie against them they declared their sinnes as Sodome and hid them not Woe unto their soule saith God they have rewarded evill unto themselves Isa 3.9 Thus may I say of multitudes amongst us now The very shew of their countenance doth testifie against them The wanton eye the fiery eye the drousie walling eye the burly Malmsey nose the painted face Anticke postures gestures and fashions doe all as Iobs wrinkles in his face testifie against thousands that they little lay to heart this doctrine That conscience can speake and tell all their doings to God Proud Hamans time-serving Doegs drunken Nabals whorish Iesabels scoffing Ishmaels declare their sinnes as Sodome and hide them not and as for conscience turne him off with a glasse of Sacke and a Play-house But let me say to these wretches with the Prophet Woe unto their soules for they have rewarded evill unto themselves You have made a long blacke bloody bill for conscience to open against you the last day of this Terme to wit at death which shall be tried the first day of the next Terme to wit as soone as you are out of the body and then will conscience give testimony so strongly against you that if you would give ten thousand Rivers of Oyle nay if you would give the fruit of your bodie for the sinne of your soule it shall doe no good the cause shall goe against you and sentence shall be past upon you and then shall you know by woefull experience the meaning of that place Rom. 2.5 But after thy hardnesse and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thy selfe wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgement of God Wherefore three things I would give in counsell to you all seeing conscience can give testimony concerning the simplicity or hypocrisie of mans waies suspend him not sleight not his language but give diligent attention to what he saith Let us not stop the mouth of conscience seeing he can speake and tell us what we are Many there are that labour to stop the mouth of conscience when he tels them plainely of their sinnes and to destroy that divine power which conscience hath to speake in them and to them The Apostle Peter gives us a hint of these where he saith Scoffers shall come in the last time and shall say where is the promise of his comming For this saith he they are willingly ignorant of that by the world of God the Heaveni were of old 2 Pet. 3.5 When conscience told those scoffers that would live in their sinnes and scoffed at the day of judgement saying where is the promise of his comming that God made the world by his word and drowned it quickly by his Word when it was overspread with wilfull wickednesse and therefore you have like cause to looke for like swift misery for as much as you are so wilfully and desperately wicked This sharpe and plaine language of conscience they could not indure and therefore willingly laboured to darken this divine light and to silence this faithfull House-Chaplaine Thus 't is with many sinners now Conscience now and then delivers stinging language to their soules for such and such sinnes and then they set to lift this faithfull Monitor out of his place and because they cannot possibly doe this being so immediately inducted by God they strive to gagge his mouth and kill him by running wilfully into wickednesse against all checkes and reproofes of conscience and friends as men desperately resigning up their soules to the divell because God will not humour and satisfie them in their owne waies and so ship wracke faith conscience soule and all for ever That which oft-times followes upon this is selfe-stabbing selfe-drowning selfe-hanging selfe-poysoning and the like This is crying wickednesse and incurable wickednesse 'T is crying wickednesse to strive to gagge and kill conscience 'T is Dei-cidium to murder God Conscience is no other but Gods Vicegerent in the soule or rather Gods judiciary presence in the soule So farre forth therefore as a man wilfully doth injury to this he doth commit high treason against the King of Heaven 'T is to stab the Judge of all the world as he sits upon the Bench speaking Law and Justice which very nature abhorres as desperatly divellish And 't is incurable wickednesse for 't is to destroy the first medium of conversion by which the holy Ghost workes in man to gagge and kill conscience The first thing that the Spirit of God doth when he come to convert a sinner is to convince his conscience and to make that sting him for his sinnes and then stirre him up to long after and to seeke for Christ and then gives faith in Christ and so saves the sinner Now he that strives to silence conscience undermines his owne salvation in the very foundation and first stone thereof He doth wilfully and wickedly prevent his owne soule of all the good that God doth in this way to bring sinners home to himselfe Thou doest little consider O desperate wretch what great wickednesse thou committest that strivest to gagge and kill conscience Thou committest double murther in a spirituall sense which is murther of the highest kind thou doest murther God and thine owne soule And therefore I beseech you all to take heed of this practice Seeing God hath given conscience ability and parts to speake let him speake freely though he speake never so sharply and plainely and doe not check him 2 Nay doe not sleight him which is the next thing I would a little presse upon you A man that can speake and speake to good purpose though he be an enemy we so farre honour him as to let him speake out fully what he hath to say and not turn away the eare from him give but this honour to conscience Many deale with conscience as Felix did with Paul he willingly heard Paul a while concerning the faith of Christ but when he came to reason of righteousnesse temperance and judgement to come
the troubles they underwent For our rejoycing is this the testimony of our conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity we have had our conversation in the world I think the Psalmist points at this truth too where he saith Vnto the upright there ariseth light in the darknesse c. Psal 112.4 By the darknesse I conceive he meanes troubles and injuries from wicked men which because they are more vehement then many other troubles are the mercies of the wicked being cruelties the Psalmist else-where calls them the sorrows of hell as here he calls them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the darknesse now in this darknesse though the darknesse that is very sharpe misery yet there ariseth light in it by light I conceive is here meant comfort and joy from conscience giving testimony concerning their uprightnesse as attended with the spirit of glory and of God as Peter calls the holy Spirit of consolation If you conceive not this Scripture plaine enough to consent with my Text read Davids language in the seventh Psal 10,11 My defence is of God which saveth the upright in heart God judgeth the righteous and God is angry with the wicked every day As if David had said This is my comfort in the midst of all the troubles and feares I am in that my conscience tells me my conversation in the world hath beene lead according to the dictate of an upright heart no way injurious to these sonnes of Belial which labour to be every way injurious to me and therefore I am sure that God which is alwaies a defence unto the upright will be a defence unto me God considers the waies of the upright and smiles upon their soules to their great consolation when the world frownes this I sinde by experience but rotten wretches God is continually angry with and this he will first or last I am sure make them to know with a witnesse Salomon likewise consents to this as a truth to wit That the testimony of conscience concerning the simplicity of mans conversation will yeeld him joy in the midst of troubles as we may collect from his language Prov. 15.23 A man hath joy saith he by the answer of his mouth When a man upon every occasion speakes sincerely conscience within cheares and comforts a man whatsoever followes upon plaine dealing to the outward man 'T is me thinkes as if Salomon had said Let a man speake sincerely upon all occasions and he shall be sure to finde his conscience comfort him in the midst of all troubles that may follow upon it Troubles are either naturall or accidentall Naturall troubles I call such as man is borne unto by reason of sin By the fall of Adam man is horne to troubles as the sparkes slie upward Iob 5.7 to troubles in body in soule in husband in wife in children in servants in kindred in friends in substance in all things that are given man for his good To the just as well as unjust come troubles in all these onely here is the difference consciousnesse of simplicity and sincerity sweetens all those to the godly whereas the wicked must swallow them in their full bitternesse That conscience which tells a man that in simplicity and godly sincerity he hath had his conversation in the world will also tell him that all troubles in the flesh shall worke together for the good of his Spirit and that God will give strength to beare them and a seasonable deliverance out of them and this sweetens these bitters That conscience which tells a man that in simplicity and godly sincerity he hath ordered his conversation in the world will tell him also that 't is a wise and gracious Father that doth thus and thus afflict him yea conscience now and then shewes the soule the bright beames of Gods smiling countenance that he may see that 't is indeed a reconciled father which doth afflict and this like Jonathans honey revives much and fetches life in swooning fits under great troubles That conscience which told Iob that he was sincere told him also in the midst of all his troubles that his Redeemer lived and he should see him with his fleshly eyes moreover it told him that when God had tryed him that she should come forth as gold This sugared his bitter potion and sweetned every bitter drugge he took The like may be said of David his conscience told him that he was upright and this conscience told him also that God was his God Thou art my God and I will praise thee thou art my God and I will exalt thee Psal 118.28 and that God would light his candle and enlighten his darknesse * Ps 18.28 that is turne all his sorrowes into joy and his troubles into advantages and this made every burthen easie Thus we see that consciousnesse to our selves of the simplicity of our course yeelds comfort in all troubles for sinnes sake which I call naturall troubles Troubles caused by religion and religious walking which I call accidentall troubles because by accident not of its proper nature religion exasperates wicked men against us these I conceive my text principally points at and as for all these though the fiercest kind of troubles and therefore called by David the sorrowes of hell yet if a Christian hath but the voice of conscience with him that he hath walked simply sincerely in the world this will keepe his head above water though these waves be never so tempestuous this will make a man sing in a dungeon at midnight as Paul and Silas did this will make a man smile in fiery flames as many of the Martyrs did this will make a man alwaies rejoyce in the midst of all sorrowes as sorrowfull yet alwaies rejoycing 2 Cor. 6.10 Sorrowfull alwaies were the Apostles of Christ such hard usage they alwaies met withall from the world for the Gospels sake and yet in the midst of all joyfull because of that sweet peace which their consciences spoke unto them that they were not such as the world judged them to be but were simple and sincere in life and doctrine and so this Scripture sounds the same in sense and substance with my text For our rejoycing is this the testimony of our conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity not with fleshly wisedome but by the grace of God we have had our conversation in the world You have seene now in what troubles the testimony of conscience concerning a mans simplicity will rejoyce a Christian I will in the next place shew you what rejocying 'tis that the testimony of conscience will yeeld a man in trouble Joy is either sensuall or spirituall Sensuall joy is a meere and naked joy in the creature so farre as it pleaseth the senses Of this joy speakes Solomon where he saith that he with-held his heart from no joy Eccl. 2.10 That is any thing that might delight any sense he got to him he had men singers and women singers and all the delights of the sonnes
sorrow to all that be in it because a river of Brimstone from an everlasting fountaine runnes to it so heaven which is begun in joy upon earth to wit in the hearts of the upright 't is everlasting because fresh streames of consolation continually come from an everlasting fountaine to wit God God alwaies seconds conscience in him that is sincere with such a glorious power as Saint Paul calls it that though he be alwaies in sorrowes for Christs sake yet he is alwaies rejoycing As sorrowfull yet alwaies rejoycing 2 Cor. 6.10 You may many waies cause sorrow to an upright man but yet joy will live in all and outlive all his sorrowes You may set on fire the body of an upright man and consume that but you can never set on fire his joy and consume that You may various waies kill a sincere man but you can no way kill his joy as long as he holds fast his integrity The joy that conscience gives to the soule of man upon testimony of his sincerity 't will live in fire 't will live in water 't will live in this land 't will live in any land famine cannot starve it plague cannot infect it the sword cannot murther it the racke cannot teare it 't is very healthy 't is long-lived 't will never die 't is from heaven and will abide with the soule untill he come to heaven and then will be consummated to give full solace to the soule for ever If then thou wouldst have joy to sticke bythee in health in sicknesse in peace in warre in plenty in famine in honour in disgrace in liberty in bonds in life in death and eternally after death walke so that thy conscience may say that thou art simple and sincere in thy conversation The Scripture stayes not here but calls divine joy unspeakeable and full of glory As that joy which just men made perfect inherit is beyond conception so that it cannot enter into the heart of man to conceive of it so that joy which conscience gives to upright men in troubles 't is beyond expression the tongue of man cannot fully expresse it I doe not affirme that the heart of man cannot fully conceive it though possibly it may be so 'T is joy unspeakeable strong stronger and more vehement then the joy of worldlings when Corn and Wine and Oyle increase and yet 't is hard to expresse how much joy an earthy heart hath in great earthly increase 'T is joy unspeakeable sweet so that he which tastes of this joy tastes no more sweetnesse in sensuall things then in the white of an egge 't is sweeter then the Honey or the Honey-combe that is sweeter and more pleasing to the soule then all the delights of this life to the carnall heart and yet 't is hard to expresse how sweet and pleasing sensuall delights are to the carnall heart of man 'T is joy unspeakeable pure as David saith that the feare of the Lord is cleane so I may say that the joy of the Lord which he gives to man upon the testimony of conscience concerning his sincerity 't is cleane that is 't is pure unspeakeable pure and holy What was said of the generation of Christ that may be said of the generation of divine joy Who can declare his generation saith the Scripture of Christ so may I say Who can declare the generation of divine joy 'T is begotten in the heart as Christ was in Maries wombe to wit by the holy Ghost 't is shead abroad in the heart by the holy Ghost 't is continually nourished and cherished by the holy Ghost It fils the heart full of holy thoughts the mouth full of holy words and the hand full of holy deeds It is immediatly from heaven and makes a man have his conversation in heaven whilst on earth 'T is joy unspeakeably precious a dramme of it is more worth then the world a damned soule in hell would give ten thousand worlds if there were so many for the least droppe of this cooling comforting liquor to asswage his scorching torments but for a moment It hath heaven in it with which what can be compared for worth 'T is joy unspeakeable and full of glory The smiling face of God which is more glorious then the Sunne may be seene in it so diaphanous is it 'T is joy unspeakably lasting whereas all other joyes die when man dies if not long before this joy lives as long as the soule and God lives Labour then so to live that conscience may testifie before God and you that you are sincere and so leade your soules into that unspeakeable joy which will make you unspeakeably happy I have now a word or two to you which walke sincerely and uprightly in this world so I shut up this point If you doe not yet finde experimentally the truth of this point to wit your consciences causing you to rejoyce in the midst of your troubles by alively testifying your integrity to you then by prayer plead your integrity to God and intreat him so transcendently to second conscience with his glorious power which worketh in us that your hearts may be revived under every pressure for pieties sake Thus David was forc'd to doe sometimes to wit pleade his integrity to finde the benefit of it in troubles for God will be sought unto for every good thing though we be never so sincere Let integrity and uprightnesse preserve me for I waite on thee Psal 25.21 David you see was put to it to plead his integrity to God to obtaine the benefit of it in troubles and thus must we still doe if we finde our hearts to droope in troubles although we are conscious to our selves of our upright and innocent conversation Say Lord thou knowest that I have walked uprightly as concerning this thing and that about which I am troubled and therefore doe thou stand up in my heart and second my conscience by the Almighty power of thy holy Spirit and make it speak peace so lively and so gloriously within mee that I may rejoyce in this tribulation for thy sake that I may finde my integrity as a cordiall to me to keepe me from fainting in my mind and from stretching out tongue or hand to iniquity If you finde the comfortable testimony of conscience reviving and rejoycing you in your troubles then blesse God with David that he hath enabled you so to walk in this wretched world as to have the voice of conscience with you that you are sincere 'T is of God that we walk uprightly a moment did not he stand by us and watch over our deceitfull hearts and uphold our goings in his paths wee should shew our selves hypocriticall wretches in all our wayes God is my strength and power and hee maketh my way perfect Psal 28.32 When the lively testimony of conscience concerning Davids integrity had rejoyced and raised his dull spirit then he tooke wing and made his soule mount up to heaven like an Eagle to magnifie God
which had beene such strength and power to him as to make his way perfect that is sincere and so capable of deliverance from his insulting enemies God is my strength and power and he maketh my way perfect David would not appropriate the praise of his upright and innocent conversation to himselfe as if he by his own wisdome strength and goodnesse had made his way perfect and upright he had through experience of the rottennesse of his owne heart and his aptnesse to declare it if God had not beene a speciall strength and aide unto him in his conversation and therefore doth he so humbly and imitably say God is my strength and power and he maketh my way perfect 2 Sam. 22.33 he inabled me so to walke as to be capable of the accomplishment of his promises of defence against and victory over ungodly men and no wisedome strength or goodnesse of his owne Thus let us humbly doe when we feele our hearts leape within us as rejoyced by the secret testimony of conscience concerning the integrity of our carriage in this or that matter of weight and triall that we were put upon Thou wast my wisedome strength and power O God to guide and enable me to walke uprightly in such and such hazardous matters my heart is deceitfull and full of base feare and if thou hadst not stood up as a mighty God in my weake spirit I had beene over-borne with fleshly feares and selfe-respects to the wounding of my integrity and thy Gospell and glory blessed be thy name that didst enable me to looke over all by ends to thy glory and to acquit my selfe at the time of triall answerable to my upright purpose and resolution 't is of thee to will and to doe good and unto thee I give all the glory This is the good way to have God stand by us still and so mightily to guide us in all our waies that we shall keepe faith and a good conscience to our grave and so consequently our joy which is the life of our lives This was upright Iobs sweet carriage as we may guesse by his language Though I were perfect yet would I not know my soule I would despise my life If I were for holinesse as just men made perfect in glory yet whilst a soule so holy is in a body so diseased I could not take any pleasure in my life Thus to interpret these words is to give us a hint and more that Job was extreamely overgone with impatience under Gods hand which is the worst that can be said upon this place I thinke there may be hinted this unto us if the other be the maine scope that Job saw all the integrity and uprightnesse he had or possibly could be had was from God and that he had no reason to boast and magnifie himselfe what ever his endowments were Lastly if you finde by comfortable experience the truth of my doctrine your sincerity causeth joy and rejoycing in our soules then hang upon God for perseverance in a sincere way that your joy may abide and still more and more increase as the light of the Sunne unto the perfect day You have tasted of the sweetnesse of a sincere way and therefore you should zelously follow God to keepe you on in it as long as breath is in your nostrils that you may never loose your grapes your first-fruits of the holy Land your taste of heaven untill you come to the full fruition of it 'T was Davids prayer often and let it be yours though he were sincere that God would make his heart sound in his statutes There is much rottennesse in the best heart and this will breake forth in a mans life to the dishonour of God and the wounding of his conscience and robbing of his joy if he be not still with David hanging upon God by prayer for more and more uprightnesse and for further and further cleansing of an unsound heart Things that are apt to bend and become crooked we are every foote rectifying and straightning them and labouring to strengthen them so that they may abide straight and so be still fit for use and service You know to what to apply this if I should not tell you to the heart of man Flattery or violence will turne you aside from your sincere walking if you doe not humbly seeke God still with David to make your heart sound in his statutes and to be still with you to uphold your steps in his paths You will ship wracke conscience and all the peace and joy you have by it quickely as Peter did if you grow confident of your owne strength and doe not feare alwaies and depend upon your God for ability to doe every thing uprightly And therefore leane not to your owne understanding as Salomon said to his sonne nor to any parts else you have to steere your conversation if you would maintaine the integrity and uprightnesse of it but renounce all in your selves and begge God to make you runne and not be weary and to deliver you from backsliding in heart and life to make you faithfull to the death and to give you at last the crowne of life This counsell that you may carefully follow thinke on these two or three things The peace and joy of a good conscience is better then the greatest preferment in the world and the losse of it is worse then the losse of thy life in the cruel'st way that man can invent Thou wilt loose a little heaven and create within thy heart a little hell which will last till the marrow of thy bones be consumed and thy moisture turned into the drought of sommer in the day that thou turnest aside from thy sincere course and setst conscience against thee The joy of an acquitting conscience is unspeakable and full of glory and so the sorrow of an accusing condemning conscience is unspeakable and full of terrour 'T is sorrow unspeakeable strong What God said to the woman after she had turned aside from the upright way of the Lord that may I say of all the seed of the woman when once they turn aside from their upright conversation Vnto the woman God said I will greatly multiply thy sorrow Gen. 3.16 Sorrow multiplied is to have sorrow upon sorrow as Paul useth the expression to the Philippians Phil. 2.27 As in child-bearing there is pang upon pang and these returnes of pangs grow still stronger and stronger till the wombe be discharged of her burthen so say I to you in the day that you turne aside from upright walking God will greatly multiply your sorrow you shall have sorrow upon sorrow pang upon pang by an accusing conscience and these pangs shall still be stronger and stronger till you have humbled your soules throughly for your halting and got your consciences sprinkled with the blood of Christ The sorrowes which God distributeth to his when they turne aside from sincere walking they are sorrowes fetcht from hell and those sorrowes of all
like a roaring Lyon seeking whom he may devoure saith the Apostle A thousand wiles hath the Divell to corrupt our simplicity and he is more laborious about this then about any designe against the soule of man The divell is not so laborious to make a breach upon a mans faith or patience or the like as upon a mans sincerity because he knowes that every breach made upon this is a stab to the heart which wil kill the soule for ever if God do not admirably cure it If labour will accomplish this designe the divell will not neglect that he goes about seeking whom he may devoure If terrours and affrightments will accomplish this designe the Divell will roare like a Lyon against a mans soule as if he would teare him to pieces and suddenly throw him into that bottomelesse pit without all redemption If flattery will be more prevalent then terrour to bring about this designe the divell will transforme himselfe into an Angell of light and promise us all the Kingdomes of the World to winde us about to him 2 And as the divell is laborious about this designe so he hath many Apostate children such as have lost that good that they seemed to have and these as their father being more like their father then any of all his children beside labour tooth and naile not onely passively by example but actively by promises and threatnings especially in these last daies to turne aside soules from simplicity in doctrine and manners and by their divellish craft have turned away many so that many have made shipwracke of faith and a good conscience and are gone in the way of Balaam the sonne of Bosor that arch hypocrit studying and labouring to mischieve Gods people for preferments and honours in the world speaking lies in hypocrisie having their consciences seared with an hot iron And therefore 't is but needfull and seasonable that I exhort you to looke to your spirits and take heed of these bitter rootes that ye be not defiled by them Remember what God saith by the Prophet Ezekiel When the righteous man turneth away from his righteousnesse which he hath done and committeth iniquity all the righteousnesse which he hath done shall not be mentioned but in his trespasse which he hath trespassed and in his sinne which he hath sinned in that shall he die Ezek. 18.24 And if once you wax weary of well doing and decline sincere walking all thy former integrity shall not so much as once be mentioned to thy comfort but to thy terrour often shall it be by way of upbraiding mentioned to thy conscience here and to the aggravation of thy condemnation hereafter as one that hast tasted of the powers of the world to come of the sweetnesse of the spirit of grace and yet after this hast grieved opposed and done despight against it Having therefore put your hand to the plough looke not backe having begun in the spirit doe not end in the flesh having begun to order your conversation sincerely and uprightly so continue unto the death what ever you undergoe in life All afflictions for righteousnesse sake shall be tollerable comfortable and at last augment your crowne They shall be tollerable when at height for no triall shall be above your strength God is faithfull by whom you are tempted who will with the temptation shew a way to escape 2 They shall not onely be tollerable but they shall be also comfortable when at the very height For as the afflictions of Christ abound in you so shall your consolations abound by Christ as the Apostle saith The prereception of bitters makes sweets the sweeter 3 Finally they shall be profitable to augment your crowne of glory in the life to come Blessed are ye when persecuted for righteousnesse sake for great shall be your reward in heaven saith Christ And this reward shall come quickly which addes to the worth and excellency of it Behold I come quickly and my reward is with me wherefore hold that fast which thou hast that no man take thy Crowne Revel 3.11 FINIS 2 COR. 1.12 For our rejoycing is this the testimony of our conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity not with fleshly wisedome but by the grace of God we have had our conversation in the world and more abundantly to you-wards THâ—… second proposition now in order to be handled is this That conscience can give testimony concerning the simplicity or hypocrisie of a mans conversation Pauls conscience gave testimony with him that in simplicity and godly sincerity he had behaved himselfe in preaching and living in life and doctrine as a faithfull Minister of Christ ought to doe So likewise his conscience bore witnesse with him concerning his sincere and holy desires towards his brethren and kinsmen according to the flesh I say the truth in Christ I lie not my conscience also bearing me witnesse in the holy Ghost that I have great heavinesse and continuall sorrow in my heart for I could wish my selfe were accursed from Christ for my brethren my kinsmen according to the flesh Rom. 9.1 Iobs conscience also gave testimony concerning his integrity Let me be weighed in an even ballance that God may know mine integrity By this and many such like expressions of his 't is most plaine that his conscience could give testimony concerning his conversation what it was whether good or bad Davids conscience did the like Thou O Lord shalt judge the people judge me O Lord according to my righteousnesse according to mine integrity that is in me Psal 7.8 A large induction of particulars to this purpose might easily be made but I rather take another way to confirme this point The truth of this point I conceive will be better confirmed and opened by setting before you what conscience is and then you will plainely see what conscience can doe and doth doe in the soule of man Conscience is better felt then defined for ought that I can yet finde among the learned Conscience is a part of the understanding in all reasonable creatures determining of their particular actions either with them or against them say some Conscience is a reflection of the soule upon it selfe say others Conscience say I is a naturall power which the soule of man hath above all unreasonable creatures to compare his waies by some rule and according as his waies agree or disagree with that rule so answerably to beare witnesse with or against him First conscience say I is a naturall power c. My meaning is conscience is an ability wherewith God indowed the soule of man by creation as with other gifts and abilities for his comfort it he walked well for his terrour if he walked ill We may not imagine that conscience came not into the world untill after Adams fall this were to suppose Adam in Paradise to be a man without conscience Conscience indeed as an accuser and condemner came not into the world untill after Adams fall but conscience as
Psalmist useth the expressions in relation to the hypocrit the man concerning whom I here treat of Psal 120.4 Wherefore I would exhort all you that are unsound at heart to beg upright hearts at the hands of God that you may walke uprightly and so have the testimony of conscience with you to rejoyce you in all your troubles You labour by hooke and by crooke to get wealth to stand by you and to comfort you in troubles and this will prove gravell in your bellies to torture you as Salomon affirmeth so farre will it be from comforting you in troubles The testimony of conscience concerning your sincerity is better then all the wealth in the world to stand by you and to revive you in troubles You flatter and faune turne and wind shuffle and shift to get great men to be your friends to stand by you and to comfort you in troubles and alasse their favour is a vapour as unconstant as the wind Walke sincerely and conscience will be a faithfull friend for you to the death yea after death in judgement If thou hadst the favour of all the Princes in the world yet could not they procure for thee a dram of comfort in sicknes in death or in judgment conscience in all these times can and will procure for thee not onely drams but flaggons of consolation if thou walke sincerely Conscience is an incomparable friend or foe in sicknesse death and judgement The blindnesse and folly of man above all other creatures is much to be wondred at he hunts after things which are not as Salomon saith to be comforters to him and takes no paines to procure that which will indeed be stable and abiding comfort to him in all states Riches and honours and friends all the things of this life they are called by Solomon things that are not because they are not such things as the blind heart of man conceives them to be he thinkes they are sufficient to make him happy and they are not so The least fit of sicknesse will non-plus all these things for reviving the soule Vaine man like that foole thinkes that he hath comfort enough for many yeares that is for all his life when he hath great revenews in the world and therefore sings a requiem to his soule as if there needed no other thing to the tranquillity of the Spirit throughout a mans life but wordly things and alasse these things are not abiding but still upon the wing ready to flee from us and if they were abiding yet they are not satisfying and therefore Solomon calls them vanity and vexation to the Spirit Conscience is a lasting friend and a substantiall friend to the spirit of man A friend that hath such waters of life which will revive the soule in the greatest extremities and he is a fountaine made by God that will never wax dry So that the soule as long as she keepes her selfe sincere shall never be without a spring of joy boiling up day and night within her And this joy is not a low prised commodity a thing little worth 't is called in Scripture a joy of the Lord such a joy of God as is the strength of man When the Levits had opened the Law unto the people their consciences were awakened and smote them so that they wept saith the text and weakened and unfitted themselves for the duties of the day and therefore the Levits were faine to comfort them that conscience might take hold on something to worke joy in them which is the strength of the soule unto the duty of thanksgiving which was the speciall worke of that day As an accusing condemning conscience secretly consumes spirits and strength of soule and body and when attended onely with a legall spirit begets such a horrid griefe in the heart of man as unfits for the highest and noblest service of God So an acquitting conscience doth exhilarate and revive the soule and as being attended with an evangelicall spirit begets such a joy in the heart as tunes strengthens it unto all divine duties especially unto thankesgiving which is the highest hardest divine lesson that can be played upon the heart of fallen man but makes the sweetest melody in the eares of God of all divine lessons committed to man to learne If thou then wouldst be a sweet singer in Israel a man apt and able to that which God most loves walke so that conscience may still be an acquitter within thee if this accuse and condemne thee 't will put every string in thy heart out of tune consume thy spirits make thy living a continuall dying yet death undesirable Secondly divine joy is called in Scripture an exceeding joy I am exceeding jayfull in all our tribulations saith Paul 2 Cor. 7.4 The joy which conscience gives to an upright man in all tribulations for uprightnesse sake is an exceeding joy a joy that doth farre more take content and delight the soule then any other joy can doe so the Apostle explaines this clause by that which goes before it in the same verse I am filled with comfort saith he I am exceeding joyfull in all our tribulations Conscience gives such a joy to the soule in tribulations that sils the soule with comfort which is more then all the sweets and delights of this world can doe The delights of this life they doe not reach the soule of man they reach no further then the externall senses so farre are they from filling the soule with comfort and yet they doe not fill nor satisfie these neither for the eye is not satisfied with seeing nor the eare with hearing nor the nose with smelling nor the tongue with tasting nor the hand with handling 'T is but a tyring and not a satisfying joy that all outward things bring to the outward senses That joy which onely the externall senses bring into the soule Salomon calls madnesse as not worthy of the name of joy because it reaches not the spirit of man as rationall but as meerely sensitive The joy which conscience brings into the soule doth not barely reach the soule but it filles it and satisfies it My soule shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatnesse my mouth shall praise thee with joy full lips when I remember thee upon my bed and meditate upon thee in the night watches Psal 63.5.6 If thou wilt live all thy daies with the joy of a bruit with a meere sensuall outside spiritlesse vaine vexing joy then thou needs not take paines to order thy conversation sincerely to get thy conscience to testifie w th thee but if thou wouldst live all thy daies in the joy of a man that beares the Image of God then must thou strive so to walke that conscience may beare witnes that thou art sincere The Scripture doth not stay here but calls divine joy everlasting which is an attribute so high that it leads us necessarily to the originall to wit God who is everlasting As hell is a place of everlasting