Selected quad for the lemma: conscience_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A39261
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The necessity of serious consideration, and speedy repentance, as the only way to be safe both living and dying. By Clement Elis, M.A. Rector of Kirkby in Nottinghamshire
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Ellis, Clement, 1630-1700.
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1691
(1691)
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Wing E566; ESTC R171929
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98,541
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214
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that they grow insensible of their danger And not only so but they can find much Pleasure too such as it is in serving their lusts nay and whilst they do so can flatter themselves with a foolish conceit that all 's well enough with them And just so may a man in a swoon or in any stupifying Disease be insensible that he is in danger of death and a man in his sleep may not perceive that the House over his head is on fire Yea he may have many pleasant Dreams in the midst of his danger and a Mad-man may take pleasure in his madness and yet he 's as mad as he that thinks such a Pleasure to be a Comfort Such a comfort may an impenitent Sinner have in his wicked life whilst his sins keep him too busie to think of his danger But whenever he shall begin to think seriously which such a one is very unwilling to do and which unwillingness of his is a manifest sign that he can find nothing Comfortable in his present state else would he be more willing to think of it he will find his pleasure quickly vanish Let him apprehend himself in present danger of dying and let him think whither Death is about to convey him and what he can plead if he shall be called to the great Iudgment and then even his uncertainty of what shall become of him or what he shall find in another World will soon detect the vanity of all his present Comforts But now on the other side how sweet and pleasant are the thoughts of that happy person who hath repented unfeignedly of his Sins and walks before God in the ways of his Commandments with a perfect heart He lives in a constant friendship with the Father of mercies and God of all consolation with the Blessed JESUS in whom he is reconciled unto the Father and who hath said unto his Disciples Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you John XV. 14. Hence was Abraham called the friend of God Jam. II. 23. Now saith Christ I say unto you my friends Be not afraid Luke XII 4. This is the penitent man's comfort he is at peace with God and there is no condemnation to them that walk not after the flesh but after the spirit Rom. VIII 1. Yea he hath this comfortable Promise v. 28. All things work together for his good Were there no more in it but this That the Penitent is freed from the fear of Eternal Punishment and that his Sins are forgiven that he is free from the stings and smartings of a guilty Conscience which is now purified and healed certainly this alone is so great a comfort that no man of any sense can think he can get too soon into such a condition Is it not an exceeding comfortable thing to a man that he can go about his honest business or lawful refreshments and quietly after all betake himself to his rest without the angry rebukes of his own Conscience and without any dreadful apprehensions of God's being displeased with him Is it not very comfortable to be confident of God's love and favour of his fatherly blessing and of his special care and providence Is it not very comfortable to be able in the Psalmist's words Psal. IV. 8. to say after all the hard labours and troubles of the day past I will both lay me down in peace and sleep for thou Lord only makest me dwell in safety Let it thunder and lighten let the winds blow and the waves beat let all the World be in tumult and confusion the Penitent is got into his safe Harbour his strong Tower his inviolable Sanctuary Let mens Tongues be whetted like Swords let the Devil and his suborned Tools bring thousands of Calumnies and false Accusations his own Conscience still acquits him and his rejoycing is this the testimony of his conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity he hath had his conversation in the world 2 Cor. I. 12. Let dangers and Enemies encompass him round about on all sides his God is his Protector and who saith he can hurt me if I be a follower of that whch is good 1 Pet. III. 13. Nothing can separate me from the love of God which is in CHRIST JESUS my Lord Rom. VIII 39. Finally So long as he lives he can rejoice in hope of the glory of God yea and glory in tribulation also Rom. V. 2 3. And when he comes to dye he can without any disturbance take leave of this World and triumph over Death saying O death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory Blessed be God who hath given us the victory through JESUS CHRIST our Lord 1 Cor. XV. 55 57. I have fought a good fight I have finished my course I have kept the faith henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness 2 Tim. IV. 7 8. Is it now possible that any one can make too much haste to get into this comfortable Condition No man that considereth aright his Duty his Safety or his Comfort can think it at any time too soon to repent SECT II. The Sin of DELAY THough it can never be too soon for a Sinner to repent of his sinful course of life yet I dare not say that it can never be too late a man therefore cannot make too much haste because he knows not whether any other time after this will not be too late and because the longer he delays it the more cause he hath still to fear that it will be so Indeed every delaying of this Duty is sinful and therefore look how long it is delay'd so much always in one sense it is too late because it was not so soon as it ought to have been or not soon enough to prevent a Sin It hath been already proved that it cannot be done sooner than it is our duty to do it because it is our duty at all times and we ought always to be doing it and therefore if it be delay'd at all we do it later than in duty we were bound to do and that 's too late in respect to God's Command It hath also been proved that it cannot be done sooner than it is our interest and near concern to do it because we can never be safe nor enjoy any true comfort till it be done and therefore again if it be delay'd at all it comes later than we stood in need of it and that 's too late in respect to our own welfare God all the time we delay it wants his right the honour due unto him and we all the while lose much good our safety and comfort and so in both respects it is too late if it be at all delay'd But now it may be be too late too I will not say in a worse but to us in a sadder sense that is we may drive it off so long that it will be too late to repent at all and till there be neither time nor power left us to
plain from those Excuses men are wont to make for themselves when they have Sinned What is it which they commonly plead for themselves but this That they did not think it to be a Sin That they hoped there had been no great evil in what they did If they had thought there was so much evil in it they would not have done it Now if they speak truly 't is plain that they had not been tempted but through Inconsideration And indeed it is hardly imaginable how the number of wicked People should be half so great as it is were it not for this that they consider too little what they do We cannot think that in a Christian Church people should live many years and yet never hear of the things which are daily taught therein and yet these are enough one would think to make them fearful to live Wickedly and to arm them sufficiently against all Temptations were they duly considered When we hear how strictly a most Iust Good Almighty and Omniscient God hath forbidden all Wickedness upon pain of Eternal Damnation and how the same Great God hath Commanded Holiness and encouraged us to it with the Gracious Promises of Pardon for all past Sins and Acceptance of Weak if Sincere endeavours and performances of Duty through JESUS CHRIST and for his sake of the reward of Eternal Life How were it possible for us for the sake of a little short and often filthy Pleasure for the shadow of Honor or for a little dirty and uncertain Wealth and all but for a very few Days to venture upon Sin did we ever consider things Seriously No we see it that when men are at any time awakened into serious consideration by some sharp Affliction by an apprehension of some great and imminent Danger or Sickness they can despise all these Temptations and resist them and if when the Danger Fear or Pain is over they are again enticed by the like Baits 't is only because through their ease their consideration is fallen asleep again So plain is it that the greatest advantage that any Temptation can have over us is that which we give it by not considering things as we ought to do 5. Nothing more certainly ruines us eternally than Inconsideration and that both because it keeps us in Ignorance and hinders us from that Exercise of Grace which by Faith in CHRIST JESUS should bring us to Heaven Inconsideration holds us ignorant both of God and our selves and so never well understanding because never throughly considering what we hear and read what we see and feel the Goodness and other Attributes of God our obligations to him and dependance on him on the one side nor our own needs our weakness and miserable condition when our selves alone on the other side we rush on blindly and boldly and the more blindly always the more boldly too fearing nothing because we see nothing and seeing nothing because we will not open our eyes to see and consider what lies plain and visible before us A prudent man foreseeth the evil and hideth himself but the simple pass on and are punished Prov. XXII 3. A wise man feareth and departeth from evil but the fool rageth and is confident Prov. XIV 16. They consider not that they do evil Eccl. V. 1. The harp and the viol and wine are in their feasts but they regard not the work of the Lord neither consider the operation of his hands Isa. V. 12. They consider not in their hearts that I remember all their Wickedness Hos. VII 2. The ox knoweth his owner and the ass his master's crib but Israel doth not know my people doth not consider Isa. I. 3. Again Inconsideration hinders all those Exercises of Grace whereby through Faith in CHRIST we might escape Death and be prepared for Life Eternal Who can Repent of the Sins which he hath not duly Considered with all their aggravations He that examineth not himself often he that never reviews his Conversation nor inquires into the temper of his own Heart is like to prove a sorry penitent He that considers not the Law of God knoweth not wherein he hath Transgressed and he that considereth not his own Life cannot lay his Sin to Heart He that thinketh not much both of the vileness and danger of his Sin will hardly bring his heart to be sorry for it or to hate it Whilst we are secure and careless how we spend our days what can be expected but that we lie still in our Filth and hold on confidently Dishonouring God to our own Destruction I hearkned and heard saith God but they spake not aright no man repented him of his wickedness saying What have I done Every one turned to his course as the horse rusheth into the battel Isa. VIII 6. Who can have any Comfort in his life past that considers not how he hath spent it whether Sinfully and Vainly or Virtuously and Piously Who can chear up his Soul in God and rejoyce in the Lord Who can arm himself against the Terrors of Death and in hope expect the great Judgment to come who never yet cast up his account nor considered what he hath been doing all his days nor how far he is run in arrear with God How shall an unconsidering man ever be able to say with St. Paul Acts XXIII 1. I have lived in all good conscience before God unto this day Or as he again 2 Cor. I. 12. Our rejoicing is this the testimony of our Conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity we have had our conversation in the world Who can be thankful to God for all the Mercies he hath received and all the wonders of his Goodness vouchsafed to him in all the parts of his life that hath not consider'd them well Who can improve the Blessings of God to God's Honour and the good of himself and others that seldome thinks of them What obligations to God can we be sensible of in all the great things which he hath wrought for us whilst we mind them not How can we live and act any otherwise but loosely and irregularly running headlong into all wickedness and upon any danger so long as we consider not what a God we have over us and what Rules he hath given us and how much we are concerned to observe them For want of considering it is that we do all things at random without any regard to the Ends or Consequents of our Actions Our Love our Fear our Desire our Hope our Trust our Obedience are all misplaced we keep to no Rules nor tye our selves up to any Laws we omit our Duties to God our Neighbours and our own Souls we commit things abominable and hurtful dishonourable to God and destructive to our selves most unbeseeming both our Nature and our Profession against our own comfort and happiness we consume our Time in Idleness Folly and Vanity because we Consider not for what we live nor whose we are nor what we are to account for And by