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
likewise shewes that the great designe of the wicked against the godly is frustrate which is to deprive them of all comfort if they could p. 139 140. c. If consciousnesse to our selves of the sincerity of our conversation will lessen and sweeten troubles consciousnesse of hypocrisie must needs imbitter all troubles p. 142 143 Man that is borne to troubles as the sparks flie upward exhorted to get an upright heart and so an excusing conscience to comfort him in all troubles p. 144 145 What kind of joy 't is that conscience raises in the soule in times of trouble for righteousnesse sake p. 147 148 c. What we should doe if walking sincerely we do not for all this finde our consciences raising sweet joy within us in all our bitter troubles for righteousnesse sake p. 155 What we ought to doe if we doe finde the joy of our sincere course p 156 157 The sweet joy which ariseth to us from conscience testifying our sincerity should cause us to keepe on in our sincere way p. 160 What sorrow 't is which conscience as an accuser for hypocrisie causeth in the soule p. 162 163 c. IV. Proposition That there be speciall times and occasions for the declaration of sincerity which ought to be observed and answerably to declare and shew our selves p. 177 Personall occasions for the declaration of sincerity p. 181 Personall occasions from the world for the declaration of sincerity p. 181 182 Personall occasions from the flesh for the declaration of sincerity p. 183 Personall occasions for the declaration of sincerity from the Divell p. 185 Domesticall occasions for the declaration of sincerity 186 187 Sociall or symmachicall occasions for the declaration of sincerity p. 189 190 Nationall occasions for the declaration of sincerity p. 191 192 The reasons why God in the course of his providence brings about speciall occasions for the declaration of sincerity p. 196 I. That the world and the divell may see that Gods people are indeed sincere p. 196 197 II. That God may hereby admirably advance his owne glory p. 199 III. That God may admirably adde to the torture of the divell his children p. 201 IIII. That the joy of the upright may be augmented in this life and in the life to come p. 202 The application of this fourth and last point 203 Men which through wilfulnesse and such as of weaknesse passe by speciall occasions for the declaration of sincerity blamed p. 203 204 When men wilfully passe ly speciall occasions for the declaration of sincerity p. 204 205 The causes why men wilfully passe by speciall occasions for the declaration of sincerity p. 206 Their sin is very great which wilfully shun speciall occasions for the declaration of sincerity how this appeares p. 207 208 Such as passe by speciall occasions for the declaration of sincerity out of weaknesse are to be blamed of which see 4 sorts p. 209 210 Some ignorant of what is right others of the time when that which is right should be stood for p. 210 211 The dangers which ensue by being ignorant of time or judgement p. 211 212 Some through carnall feare passe by speciall occasions for the declaration of sincerity p. 213 What such should doe for the cure of this evill p. 214 Some through carnall perswasion passe by speciall occasions for the declaration of sincerity and how this evill may be cured p. 215 216 Some out of carnall pitty passe by speciall occasions for the declaration of sincerity and how this evill may be cured p. 216 217 Seeing there be speciall times for the declaration of sincerity we should diligently observe them and how they may be knowne p. 218 219 As we are to take notice of speciall time occasions for the declaration of sincerity so we are to take hold of them and how we may doe this aright p. 221 222 Encitements to take hold of speciall times and occasions for the declaration of sincerity p. 224 God cals for it p. 224 Conscience cals for it p. 227 Church and State cals for it ibid. Soule and body will else severely smart for p 228 2 COR. 1.12 For our rejoycing is this the testimony of our conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity not with fleshly wisdome but by the grace of God we have had our conversation in the World and more abundantly to you-wards NO grace how glorious soever in the eye of man goes for good weight in the eye of God without sincerity The greatest man in the world weighed in the Ballance of the Sanctuary without this will be accounted too light for Heaven 'T is a very needfull subject then that this Text plainely profers to our consideration And as excellent in it selfe as needfull to us is sincerity 'T is the precious extract of all graces and to call this a grace is too little 'T is that which gives to every grace its due lustre in the eye of God and to call any thing a grace in man without this is too much 'T is the glory of all graces as the Sunne is the glory of all the Starres 't is the vitall blood of the soule which that it may runne in the veines of you all unto your eternall happinesse have I chosen this Text to insist on 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 c. No condition is trucly joyous without and no condition is truely dolorous with sincerity If a man be never so rich never so honourable yet if not withall sincere there is no true joy in such a man he laughes but in the midst of laughter his heart is oft times sad and his conscience spoiles his sport On the other hand if a man be never so poore never so much oppressed which is the deadliest and the most opposite enemy to joy of all yet if that man be sincere his heart may be as full of joy as it can hold for all this as you may see in these words read For our rejoycing is this the testimony of our conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity c. Paul and Timothy have beene sincere servants of Jesus Christ for the good of his Church amongst the Gentiles and in this they had transcendant comfort in the midst of all the misery they met withall 'T is not misery but sinne that robs the soule of joy Let a man labour to live sincerely and then let men and divels doe what they can or will such a man shall never be bereaft of joy he shall have joy in poverty joy in disgrace he shall have joy in prison as much as in liberty and much more So had Paul and Timothy which made them thus bravely breake out in the midst of misery For our rejoycing is this the testimony of our conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity not with
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
an accuser acquiter and comforter was in Adam before his fall As long as Adam obeyed the commandement of God there was no cause that conscience should accuse him but as soone as he disobeyed Gods commandement conscience flew in his face as appeares by his flying from the face of God Which plainely shewes us this truth that conscience was in Adam before his fall but did not begin to accuse ' til Adam began to sin Secondly conscience say I is a naturall power which the joule of man hath c. Now whether this power be in the understanding onely or partly in the understanding and partly in the will I finde controverted amongst the learned My opinion I here humbly lay downe but I undertake not to state and determine the controversie This power we speak of I conceive to be a reflect act of the practicke understanding onely transcendently seconded by the power of the holy Ghost Saint Iohn confirmes the first that it is a reflect act of the practicke understanding onely where speaking of this power in the soule saith And hereby we doe know that we know him if we keepe his Commandements 1 Iohn 2.3 That is as if Iohn had said We doe view our waies by the word of God which is an act onely of the understanding and finding them to be in some measure levell with that holy rule we have this comfortable reflection backe upon our soules that our faith is not a fancy but a faith which worketh by love and so sincere and saving which reflection is no other as I conceive but an act of the understanding collecting a divine conclusion from divine premises He that keepeth Gods Commandements knoweth God savingly that he may safely conclude but I doe keepe the Commandements of God this I know for I have viewed the Commandements of God and my life by them and therefore I know that is I am assured that I truely and savingly know God which is no other but that power in the soule which we call conscience The Apostle Saint Paul I conceive confirmes the second that it is a reflect act of the understanding transcendently seconded by the holy Ghost where he saith My conscience bearing me witnesse in the holy Ghost Rom. 9.1 That is my conscience transcendantly seconded and assisted by the holy Ghost doth strongly testifie to my soule that I am full of bowels towards my kinsmen after the flesh and could doe any thing or suffer any thing for their good The order according to which the holy Ghost strikes in with conscience is this The understanding makes a double proposition one grounded in the word of God the other in the heart of man as thus He that keepeth the Commandements of God truely loves God this proposition is grounded in the word of God but I doe keepe the Commandements of God this is grounded in the heart of man And then drawes a conclusion from both therefore I doe truely love God This conclusion whilst holy and drawne from divine premises to wit the word of God and the grace of God in the heart of man the Spirit of God strikes in with the soule in making this conclusion and assists the weake soule so that he concludes thus with strong confidence that he truely loves God and not onely secretly assistes but seconds and saies the same thing to man that his owne spirit doth Then is fulfilled that of the Apostle the Spirit beares witnesse with our spirits that we are the Sonnes of God If the premisses be corrupt which the understanding makes for the minde makes propositions suitable to the light that is in it from which to argue the goodnesse or badnesse of man then the Divell that lying spirit strikes in and seconds the soule in that corrupt conclusion which he collects from corrupt principles concerning himselfe So that now the deluded soule is peremptory and wiser then ten men that give a reason in these is fulfilled that of the Apostle Their minds and consciences being defiled Thirdly I affirme conscience to be a naturall power which the soule of man hath above all unreasonable creatures c. Bruite beasts have no conscience and yet they better serve God in their kind then many of us which have conscience Bruit beasts want reason and therefore are not capable subjects of conscience and yet against reason and against conscience man ofttimes does worse then a beast Fourthly 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 bear witnesse with or against him By the former part of this description is shewed unto us what conscience is according to its being in the soule It is a naturall power c. By the latter part of this description is shewed unto us what conscience is according to its office in the soule The office of conscience according to the description here given consists in two things First conscience compares a mans waies by some rule Secondly Conscience beares witnesse with or against a man according as a mans waies agree or disagree with that rule First say I conscience compares a mans waies by some rule If the understanding be enlightened with the truth to wit the word of God then conscience compares the waies of man by a perfect rule to wit the word of God But if the understanding be inlightned with naturall and morall principles onely then conscience compares a mans waies according to these principles only and so by an imperfect rule For 't is my judgment with submission to better that conscience in every man followes that light which the understanding holds up unto it This I know that a man may and often doth goe against conscience but conscience goes not against that light which the understanding holds up unto it A man may outwardly say this or that contrary to the light of his understanding but conscience inwardly speakes at the same time according to that light I will further cleare this unto you by an apt example Paul you know zealously persecuted the Church of God and his conscience for ought that I can finde never checkt him but doubtlesse rather acquitted him for it I meane as long as he remained unconverted And the reason I thinke is sufficiently rendred where 't is said that he did it ignorantly That is according to that light which his understanding held up unto him he thought he did God good service in sheading the blood of his Saints which me thinkes makes manifest what I say that conscience still followes the light of the understanding The Apostle Paul persecuted the Church of God and yet obtained mercie because saith the text he did it ignorantly hee did out of conscience as I may say shead the blood of the Saints But now the most men have received the knowledge of the truth therefore if now men persecute the Saints of
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
no doe not iudge so uncharitably it may be this man hath meat to eate which ye know not of It may be he hath his conscience testifying within that he hath walked in all uprightnesse and is not such a one as the world hath censured him to be and this makes him reioyce in the midst of all troubles 'T was wonderfull to Nebuchadnezzar to see the three children walke in the fiery furnace as if they had been walking in his stately walkes because he was not aware that they haâ—… such a divine comfortable companion as they had So 't is wonderfull to blind worldlings to see men so chearfull in suffering for trifles in religion as they call them and the reason is because they know not that divine comforter conscience which is continually within them unto them a feast This is to walke sincerely to be tender to obey all Gods will and this conscience tels the soule in the midst of all the troubles he undergoes from men of corrupt minds and large consciences and this language of conscience being attended with the glorious power of the holy Ghost as a comforter this soule cannot but reioyce though bleeding upon a Pillory groaning upon a Racke dying upon a Crosse and condemned by wise men for a foole in standing out in such small matters Secondly as this doctrine tells you blinde soules the reason why some are so chearfull under great troubles for small things so it tels you that are a little more growne in hypocrisie and wickednesse that your designe against the godly is frustrate The maine designe of the divell and his children in all the troubles he puts them to is to deprive them of all ioy and comfort to make their being upon earth hell which is a place without all consolation Now this they can never doe for as much as they cannot deprive them of the peace of conscience and ioy of the holy Ghost which goe hand in hand in an upright heart True it is if all the ioy of the godly did consist in outward things as wicked mens ioy doth then possibly they might serve the godly as God will one day serve them to wit utterly strip them of all consolation but the least part of an upright mans ioy consists in externall things his prime ioy is within from conscience and the holy Ghost which keepe company alwaies with it and these two all the wicked men upon earth nor all the Divels in Hell cannot suspend muchlesse silence from speaking comfort to an upright heart Conscience will still say this within that he which so walkes as before mentioned is upright when men and divels without say that he is an hypocrit a dissembler and not worthy to live And the Holy Ghost will still second this language of conscience by speaking over the same againe in such glorious expressions and with such sweetned words will the spirit of God beare witnesse with the spirit of man that doe what you will to this man he will still notwithstanding all rejoyce Cast him into prison nay cast him into a dungeon a dirty dungeon as Jeremies was nay cast him into a fiery Furnace into a fiery Furnace heat seven times-hotter then ordinary Give his backe to the smiters and his cheeks to them that plucke off the haire as the Prophet speakes Isa 50.6 doe what you will to him yet you will never deprive him of his joy As long as breath is in his nostrils conscience will comfort him and when this is gone by thy cruelty he will be in fulnesse of joy and in the fuller by how much the more cruelty thou hast inflicted on him The joy of conscience is proportioned to what we suffer for conscience as the afflictions of Christ abound in us so shall our joyes both here and hereafter And therefore doe not breake your sleepe and your braines to plot mischiefe against the upright for they will have more joy in suffering cruelty then you can have in inflicting it You doe but lessen your owne joy to encrease theirs The more terrible you are unto them the more shall the testimony of conscience be attended with a glorious Spirit of consolation which will make them rejoyce and be exceeding glad under all that you can inflict and this will exceedingly vex you Thirdly this doctrine will acquaint you with this truth That if consciousnes of sincerity will lessen and sweeten troubles by giving joy to the upright in the midst of them consciousnesse of hypocrisie and unsoundnesse must needs imbitter all troubles and make them more pressing and piercing upon you that are halters and time-servers this was that which Iobs friends drove at in all their discourses with him to bring him to sorrow doubly and trebly for as much as all his outward miseries were attended as they conceived with inward rottennesse intimating and that truly that it must be so and will be so with all hypocrits when conscience is once throughly awakened to tell them of their unsoundnesse under afflictions What a terrible sting will this be to a man in poverty when his conscience shall tell him Thou hast shuffled and shifted basely to get wealth and yet by all thy unjust waies thou canst skarce keepe a cue above a begger This blunt language of conscience will be such an addition of sorrow to poverty as will exceed the pressure of poverty when at greatest What a sting will this be to a man in disgrace when his conscience shall tell him Thou hast beene a time-server one that hast studied to humour and please men more then God that thou mightest get honour and keepe honour in the world and yet for all thy dog-like fauning and flattering thou stinkest in the nostrils of all and art cast unto the dung-hill as unsavory salt What a sting will this be to a man in sicknesse and death when his conscience shall tell him that he hath beene but an out-side Christian all the daies of his life a man zealous about humane inventions and bodily exercises to give God the outside and carelesse to worship God in spirit and truth this close language of conscience will paine a man more then any sicknesse or death can doe This was that which stung Balaam worse then death that his conscience told him he had beene but an hypocrit all his life This made Judas hang himselfe after he had sold his master for money for as much as his conscience told him then strongly that he had beene but an hypocriticall follower of Christ from the first to the last And thus would every rotten wretch doe or worse in every little trouble if God should not admirably step in and restraine and hinder so terrible is the sting of conscience when it testifies against a man and such deepe additions of griefe it bringeth to the soule in every calamity Sharpe arrowes and coales of Iuniper conscience shooteth and kindleth in the soule of man in every trouble when it testifieth against him as the