THE HUE and CRY OF CONSCIENCE AFTER Secure Sinners OR THE ALARM of CONSCIENCE In order to the Discovery of HIDDEN GUILT The Heaven shall reveal his Iniquity and the Earth shall rise up against him Job 20.27 Thou hast set our Iniquities before thee our secret Sins in the light of thy Countenance Psal 90.8 By JOHN RYTHER Minister of the Gospel LONDON Printed by J. D. for Iohn White at the Three Bibles in the Minories 1680. TO THE Serious and Impartial READER THe present Day cannot but be looked upon to be an evil Day even by those who have but their Eyes half opened That which makes a Day evil is the Sin of the Day which brings on the dangers of the Day and God's threatnings to cause our Sun to go down at Noon and to darken the earth in the clear Day And I will turn your Feasts into Mourning and all your Songs into Lamentations and I will bring up Sackcloth upon all Loins and Baldness upon every Head and I will make it as the mourning of an only Son and the end thereof as a bitter Day Now when the evils of our Sins abound among us and the evils of God's Threatnings impend over us it is a seasonable time to contribute to a check of the one and to a preventing of the other which must be by some awakening or searching Calls and Crys to sleepy and drowzy Consciences which is the sole Design of this small Treatise Three sorts of Readers it is like to fall into the Hands of 1. Of awakened or it may be startled Consciences but half awakened Or 2. Into the hands of such who are sprinkled from an evil Conscience Or 3. Into the hands of such whose Consciences are seared Now for the first of these I would offer some things to serious Consideration 1. Whatever thou find'st here to concern thee do not put it off Know is a renewed Call of God to thee and say as in that case Lo this we have fearched Job 5.27 so it is hear it and know it for thy good Or as it is in the Hebrew for thy self Know it to a practical and profitable improvement of it Dost thou know what thou mayst find in following the Search Hadst not thou better search Truth to set thee upon a diligent search for Guilt that hath laid long hid than let God find it out to thy shame sorrow and confusion of Face O be not thou troubled that thy Conscience is startled and begins to fly in thy Face Know now it is a Call of Christ Ephes 5.14 saying Awake thou that sleepest and arise from the Dead and Christ shall give thee Light Little do Sinners know the danger of putting off Christ's renewed Calls 2. Carry what concerns thee in this Treatise to God in Prayer Conviction looks well when it puts upon Supplication O this is the great Reason why so many awakenings by the Ministry of the Word or by Providential Dispensations die and come to nothing because they are not prayed over O how hard is it to bring guilty obstinate Sinners upon their Knees We find when Ephraim bemoaned himself and lay under Conviction he then presently fell on praying Jer. 31.18 Turn thou me and I shall be turned for thou art the Lord my God O Sinners know that such Convictions as are not attended with Prayer will but prove aggravations of your Sin and Guilt another day As soon as ever God had wrought throughly upon Paul it was said Behold he prayeth Prayer is the first breath of the new Creature 3. What concerns thee here consider it well weigh it in the ballance of the Sanctuary prove whether it be according to the standard of the Sanctuary Poor Souls hear much and it may be reade much but this marrs all they consider little Now it is the considerate Reader that is the profitable Reader Consider what thou readest 2 Tim. 2.7 and the Lord give thee understanding 1. Consider the Word thou hearest and thou readest shall judge thee at the last Day All thou hast heard all thou hast read shall come in as witness against thee And canst thou stand before such a Testimony 2. Consider thy own Conscience in that Day will be a thousand witnesses And canst thou then lift up thy Head when the Books shall be opened Rev. 20.12 and amongst the rest this sealed Book of thy own guilty Conscience where thy Iniquity that hath been sewed up shall be brought to light Job 14.1 and thy Transgression that hath been sealed up in a Bag shall be openly detected and discovered 3. Consider the Day is bastening upon thee that the iniquities of thy heels shall compass thee about Psal 19.5 O how wilt thou poor Sinner be entangled and perplexed with thy Sin and Guilt Some understand by Heel the last part of a Mans life towards his Death And doth not such a day hasten upon you O what work will Guilt make in the Conscience in a day of Distress consider by Joseph's Brethren 4. Consider how thy Conscience consents as thou readest Is not this true says Conscience Hast not thou found and felt it so says Conscience Is not thy Conscience put to silence as thou readest Consider that the Truths are commended to thy Conscience 5. Consider how sad it would be for all thy awakenings all thy touches all thy impressions all thy Convictions to be lost at last O Sinners how will such be condemned out of their own Mouths Can these be lost and your Souls saved of all your losses you may reckon these among your grea est losses 4. What concerns thee here remark and remember you may read much and remark little and this marrs all you read this remarking is Conscience taking Notes and making Animadversions upon Truths You do not bring your Consciences to reade Books say as you reade O my Conscience mark this this nearly concerns thee You know Men mark and observe what concerns them The second sort of Readers this little Tract may fall into their Hands are such who are sprinkled from an evil Conscience upon whose Door-posts the Blood of the Paschal Lamb is sprinkled who with Paul daily exercise themselves in all good Conscience both towards God and Man 1. O do you reade and bless God that you have to all Chalenges and Questions the answer of a good Conscience that you can silence all your Objections and Accusations by Faith in the Blood of Christ and can sing that triumphant Song even in your Militant State Rom. 8.33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's Elect c. Can every one say so can every Professon say so can every Child of God say so Are there not many that have been a long time learning to sing this Song and have not learnt it to this day 2. Let this be your care to preserve the tenderness of your Consciences You may by guilt Sirs benum your Consciences as you find by what
as upon the Fact and the circumstances of the Fact When Conscience begins to be enlightned and awakened O then it begins to think what dishonour Sin hath brought upon God for as Sin brings guilt upon the Soul so it brings dishonour upon the Name of God And thus David's Conscience reflects Against thee against thee have I sinned this laid uppermost on the Heart of David He sinned against his Soul he sinned against his own Body he sinned against Bathsheba he sinned against the whole Church of God but of all says he Against Thee against Thee have I sinned O says Conscience to the Sinner how hast thou opened the Mouths of the Enemies of God and his People to blaspheme and caused the Ways of God to be evil spoken of Thou hast wounded and stabb'd the Honourable and Blessed Name of God and should not the Honour of that God that created thee be dear to thee who hath preserved thee in a thousand Dangers and hath provided for thee in a thousand Wants should not his Honour lie near thy Heart Did not this make Joseph say How can I do this Wickedness and sin against God Fourthly Conscience when awakened reflects upon Times and junctures of Time in which Persons have sinned There is a great deal in the Time of Sin as well as the Act of Sin to reflect upon Therefore it was taken notice of in that black Brand upon Ahaz 2 Chron 28.22 This is that King Ahaz that sinned more and more in the time of his Distress O what a monstrous thing was it to sin then There are three Times that Conscience takes special notice to reflect upon when we sin in them 1. A time of common Calamity when God's Judgments are abroad To sin when God is smiting for Sin when God smites on and Sinners they sin on They returned not unto the Lord that smote them O now cries Conscience did not you commit such a Sin in the time of the Plague in the time of the Fire How durst you sin when God's Sword was drawn and sheathed in the Bowels of so many thousand Sinners This was to sin when the Judge was upon the Bench. And while he was passing Sentence against poor guilty Malefactors and O what impudence was this in Sinners 2. A time of Personal Affliction This is a Juncture of Time for an awakened Conscience to reflect upon and tell you of when any of you have laid under the Hands of God and what then to lift up your Heel against God This is not only Sinning but daring Sin and Conscience takes notice that that was your Sinning Time which should have been your Humbling Time for Sin 3. A Time of receiving eminent and particular Mercies from God then to Sin against God O! how will Conscience take its opportunity and tell you of it another Day For Hezekiah to sin against God when God had so lately raised him up and recovered him from a Sentence of Death O what will Conscience say to this when Hezekiah comes to be humbled for it What! for David to sin after God had brought him through all his Dangers and Difficulties and put him in possession of the Kingdom for him to say Thou hast made my Mountain strong and I shall not be moved O how will David's Conscience reflect upon this another Day 4. When God hath graciously visited the Soul with smiles of his Love then to sin Conscience will be sure to reflect upon this To return to Folly after God hath spoken Peace O! how will Conscience tell thee of this another Day and tell thee what Disingenuity and Ingratitude there was in it Is this a time to sin Is not this like a foolish People to requite the Lord with evil for so much Good as you have received from him 5. To sin after thou hast humbled thy self for Sin this is a time Conscience will Reflect upon What will Conscience say to these things Is this thou that lately wert upon thy Knees bemoaning thy Sin before the Lord What thou who hast so lately confessed and acknowledged thy Sin and now running into Sin yea into the same Sins you have mourned over and repented of O! how will Conscience sadly animadvert upon these things in the day of its dealing with you poor Sinners Fifthly Conscience when awakened will Reflect upon lost means and seasons of Grace Christ considered this when he preached that doleful Sermon to Jerusalem O! Luke 19.29 that thou hadst known in this thy day the things that concern thy Peace He knew it would cut to the Conscience to tell them of lost Seasons and lost Advantages for Heaven and Eternity And indeed this makes up much of the Torments of Hell These Reflections upon the last motions of the Spirit last convictions of Conscience last Sermons Ordinances and Sabbaths Nay when God comes to awaken Conscience how doth it reflect upon these things in this present Life As one said when a Ministeâ— came to comfort her Call Time again call Time again Implying she thought it was as impossible to apply Come for t to her as to call time again So poor Sinners how sad will this be for you another Day to cry Call Sabbaths again Ministry again a day of Grace again motions of the Spirit again Alas Sirs now you think these things may be dallied and trifled with and it is indifferent whether you lay hold of such opportunities to improve them or no. O but when they are gone how will these things sting A Man who hath been under good opportunities to arrive at a great Estate in the World and when he is brought by his bad Husbandry and Prodigality to Penury and Poverty O! how doth he then Reflect upon himself if he be sensible and upon his fair Opportunities that now are past recalling O then what a Mad-man was I What fair Opportunities have I lost Thus it is in this Case with Guilty Consciences when awakened O what a fair way was I once in for Heaven and eternal Life What Seasons had I to enrich my Soul in Grace O! what a Fool was I that had so many Prizes put into my Hand and had not an Heart to make use of them these will be sad Reflections Sixtly An awakened Conscience will Reflect in a day of Affliction upon the sad Effects and Consequences of Sin what Sin brings along with it what follows and treads upon the Heels of it 1. Sad effect of Sin Conscience reflects upon is God's displeasure O! who can bear it Angels could not it cast them out of Heaven Adam could not it cast him out of Paradice He drove out the Man Nay the most holy Servants of God could not bear it It made David cry out Psal 38.3 There was no rest in his Bones because of God's Anger Nay more It made the Lord Jesus Christ cry out when he endured it for our Sins My God my God why hast thou forsaken me And says Conscience can you bear it
Sins They are most dangerous because they go a great while undiscovered and the concealment of them often is an occasion of being hardned in them and putting off Repentance for them God often makes use of Shame upon discovery of some secret Sin to be a means to lead to Repentance 5. The longer Guilt lies hid the louder will it roar in the Conscience when discovered thus you see it did with Joseph's Brethren O now their guilty Consciences roar upon them though it had been hid so long O what work will Sin make in thy Conscience when it shall walk there after thou thoughtst it had been buried twenty or thirty years O then who would not stand off from secret Sins Third word of Counsel O then repent of sin if guilt stay behind after the Fact be committed Is it not then high time that your sin should be blotted out upon your Repentance I must tell you Sinners the guilt of sin is upon your Consciences until your Repentance You lie under Guilt if it be twenty years after What thâ— you have escaped the Revenging Hands of God hitherto yet the Guilt is upon you and that binds you therefore you see Repentance and Remission of Sin goes together O poor Sinners until you sincerely Repent all your Guilt is upon you Yea it is marked before the Lord and O how sad is this to have the guilt of all thy Sins that thou hast committed to this very day upon the back of thy Soul Fourth word of Counsel O then flie to the Blood of Chrâ—â— Guilt will walk in your Consciences when once awakened until the Blood of Christ be sprinkled upon them Until you by an eye of Faith behold the Lamb of God who takes away the Sins of the World What though Guilt hath laid long upon you What though the Sin be of old standing yet the Blood of Christ takes it away It cleanses from all Sin Heb. 12.24 new or old great or small Inormities or Infirmities sins against Light or sins against Love O then come Sinners come to the Blood of Sprinkling Fifth word of Counsel is O then do not lie long in your Guilt To fall into Sin is dangerous but to lie long when fallen is much more dangerous These Bâ—â—â—â—en of Joseph's laid long in their Sin and Guilt O poor Sinners when you fall by Sin make haste to get up by Repentance 1. What if you should be hardned in Guilt and do you not run the hazard of being hardned in Sin when you lie in it It may be before you commit it you think you may repent of it when you will but alas you may soon be hardned through the deceitfulness of Sin Dr. Preston speaking of the deceitfulness of Sin O says he Sin in the first temptation to the Sinner seems little commit but this once and thou mayst afterwards repent of it and thou needest never commit this Sin again But alas says he every Sin committed leaves the Spawn of another Sin upon the Soul and after once the Soul is easily led into another Act until it be hardned through the deceitfulness of Sin 2. What if you die in it You may lie in it and die in it O what if God say such a word to you in your Guilt unrepented of as he did to those Jews You shall die in your Sins O is not this a dreadful thing to die in Sin You think it sad to die in Debt to Men what is it then to die in Sin which is debt to God with all your sins upon the back of your Souls What if thou diest an unpardoned Sinner art thou not damned if thou hadst ten thousand Souls And O what a venture dost thou run that liest in Sin 3. O do not lie in Sin The longer it is laid in the harder it will be to repent of The longer a Sinner lies in his Fall the harder he is to Rise As the larger a Disease is upon a Person the more difficult is the Cure A Man feels not at first when he lies upon the Ground but if he lies a while he grows stiff and can very hardly rise Thus it will be with a Soul that lies long in Sin O then repent speedily of Sin GEN. xlii 21. Therefore is this Distress come upon us WE are now come to the second part of the Text viz. The Reflection or Accusation of Joseph's Brethren their Consciences now being awakened by their Affliction they now jointly draw up this Conolusion and Indictment against themselves O Therefore is this Distress come upon us 1. We have the Reflection it self O how quick was Conscience now What quick work sometimes doth sence of Guilt make O now they cry out with an Asseveration Verily we are guilty c. 2. We have the occasion of this Reflection viz. Their present Distress Now they were under Affliction For their being all this while in the hand of Joseph was an unknown Business to them Their distress and strait was great and now they as one Man conclude for their guilt this Distress was come upon them The Truth the Text presents us with is this In a day of Affliction Gonscience is very quick and active in its Reflections This is a profitable Truth and worth inquiring into such Days as these when so many are hardned in their sins Poor Sinners ruffle it out and stout it out against God in a a day of Prosperity O who but they with Pharaoh saying Who is the Lord Thus he swaggers it out but stay until an Hand of God be upon him and then you will find him of another mind O then Send for Moses to pray for me Then he confesses I and my People are wicked Thus the Prophet Jeremiah makes the wild Ass an Emblem and that very fitly of a wicked Man in his prosperous condition running on in Sin As the wild Ass snuffs up the Wind at her pleasure Jer. 2.24 All Counsel all Instruction all Advice is lost All that seek her do but weary themselves But stay until her Months of Affliction and Distress come and then they may be spoken with In their Months one shall find them O now Conscience begins to talk with them and call them to a serious debate concerning their past lives and Transactions God often sets Conscience to discourse with Sinners in the day of their Distress We have plentiful Instances of this Truth in holy Writ You may find it proved of the worst of Men as well as of God's own People The case of Gain what a quick Reflection was that of his All that meet me will slay me His sin and guilt walked in his Conscience Abel's Ghost as I may say he haunted Gain's Conscience Alas Who was in the World to slay him It was only the conclusion of his guilty Conscience Ahab had sinned highly against the Lord he was a Non-such for a Sinner 1 King 21.24 There was none like unto Ahab which did set himself to work wickedness
smiting him Aâ— David his Heart smote him when he cut off the Lap oâ— Saul's Garment Tendeâ— Consciences find this inwarâ— smiting either upon thâ— commission of Evil or thâ— omission of Good Ah! now how did Joseph's Brethren's Consciences smite them It is set forth by the poor Publican smiting on his Brest And sometimes with Ephraim's smiting upon his Thigh O now Sinners reflect upon their Sins as thaâ— word No Man repented and said what have I done 5. It is set forth by bringing again to mind which is the proper notion of Reflection Remember and shew your selves Men Isa 46.8 and bring it again to mind O ye Transgressors Therefore we have frequently such Expressions Remembring their evil ways 1 Kings 8.47 and if my People shall bethink themselves These are properly the Reflex Acts of the Mind and Conscience 6. It is set forth by Accusing The Conscience draws up an Accusation against the Sinner as here Joseph's Brethren did it Reflects when it Accuses We reade of the Gentiles who only had the Law of Nature and yet their Consciences did accuse them 7. It is set forth by Condemning which is higher than Accusing it passes Judgment as well as it witnesses If our own Hearts condemn us 1 John 3.20 God is greater than our Hearts viz. our Consciences We may spell out of all these some things of the nature of Reflection of Conscience Second Inquiry is What this awakened Conscience reflects upon For we must understand that Conscience doth never bear false Witness for in this case the voice of Conscience is the Voice God Conscience's Testimony holds true in the case of Joseph's Brethren 1. Conscience in a day of Affliction reflects upon matters of Fact It may be at the present commission of the Sin the Sinner takes no notice of it in an hurry and huff of Temptation all is forgotten O! but there is 〈◊〉 Book of Remembrance that Conscience keeps and all your Sins are registred there and though it be a sealed Book at present you know not â—ow soon it may be opened and you judged out of it according to what you have â—one O how many Sinners may now deny matter of fact but when Conscience â—hall be awakened to lay it â—ome and charge them plainâ—ith it saying as Nathan to David Thou art the Man Then there will be no denying of it The witness of â—â—es own Conscience is an â—deniable Testimony Cain â—ould not deny this Testimony therefore his Guilt cri'd all that meet me will slay me 〈◊〉 aoh could not deny this Testimony I and my People are wicked Judas could nodeny this Testimony I have sinned in betraying innocent Blood The People of God could not deny this Testimony when they cried out Our Iniquities testifie again us c. 2. Conscience doth no only reflect upon matter oâ— Fact but upon Circumstances and Aggravations of the Fact Conscience when awakened becomes tender and calls every particular Circumstance to remembrance that did heighten or any way aggravate the matter and thus did they in the Text Wherein lay the aggravation of the Guilt You have heard hinted before I that we saw the anguish of hâ—â— Soul and he besought us yet we would not hear 1. They saw the anguish of his Soul and yet their Eyes did not affect their Hearts 2. It was their Brother too 3. He besought us 4. They would not hear All of them great Aggravations Saw it The anguish of a Brothers Soul A beseeching Brother and would not hear Deasned their Ears to his lamentable Cries O how do their Consciences Reflect upon all these There are several things that Conscience when awakened reflects upon with reference to the Circumstances of matter of Fact 1. Sometimes Conscience tells the Sinner it is against Light Thou hadst so much Light as to conceive this before commission that it was a Sin that it was a Violation and Transgression of an holy Law and says Conscience this thou knewest yea this thou knewest before-hand and yet contrary to the discovery of this Light thou didst run violently into it and rebelledst against the Light as Job's phrase is Job 24.13 2. Sometimes Conscience tells the Sinner he hath sinned against Resolutions and this is an aggravating Circumstance O how often says Conscience hast thou broken thy serious Purposes and Vows when it may be you have been in imminent dangers and distresses Now Conscience registers and records the very Resolutions of poor Sinners it being privy to all the secret Purposes When some of you are at Sea ready to be swallowed up of the Belly of Hell as Jonah phrases it O then you pray to God and purpose against Sin if God will bring you off with your Lives at this time Or it may be others of you at Land upon a supposed Death-bed O if God will spare you How do you resolve against Sin yea against those Sins that sting your Consciences most But alas after all this do not you break your Bonds Now Conscience books all and at one time or other will remember you of all these things 3. Sometimes Conscience in its Reflections tells the Sinner of sinning against its Warnings and Dictates To sin against the dictates of Conscience is a very great Aggravation O Sinners how often hath Conscience warned you As you love your Peace as you love your Souls as you will answer it at the great Tribunal of God that you go not on in such a Course or that you commit not such a Sin at your Peril says Conscience but not withstanding all this the Sinner blunders on I tell you Sinners from the Lord there is never a Warning an awakened Conscience hath given any of you but it will rise up against you another Day either here or hereafter 4. Sometimes Conscience in its Reflections tells Sinners of their sinning against its Reproofs which is an aggravating Circumstance To run into Sin after long reproved hence you have that terrible word Proy 28.1 He that being of ten reproved hardens his Heart shall suddenly be destroyed and that without remedy O says Conscience is not this thy Case Hast thou not often been reproved Have not I often reproved thee and God often reproved thee and Ministers often reproved thee Yet hast thou gone on c. And will not every Reproof walk in your Consciences another day that you sin against now 5. Sometimes Conscience in its Reflections tells Sinners of sinning against Mercy which is another aggravating Circumstance How many Mercies says Conscience have you sinned against sparing Mercy at Sea and at Land preventing Mercy preserving Mercy O what a life of Mercy hath thy Life seen Nothing but a Series of Mercy a large Tract of Mercy a Line of Mercy and yet thou hast sinned against all This will grieve thee another Day when thou shalt have all thy Mercies as well as Sins set in order before thee Thirdly Conscience reflects upon the dishonour Sin brings to God as well
Memory turns over the whole past Life of a Sinner O says Conscience in the day of Distress Didst not thou commit such a Sin at such a time in such a place Dost thou not remember it And didst not thou think thou shouldst never hear of it again though I told thee and warned thee to the contrary but now I am come to call thy Faults into remembrance this day In a day of Affliction Conscience is our Monitor and Remembrancer It remembers the Sinner of two things 1. Of his past Convictions 2. Of his broken Resolutions And it is upon this account that Repentance is called A remembring of our evil ways You have Sinners committed many a Sin and forgotten it and buried many a piece of Guilt in the grave of Oblivion and because you had forgotten these things you thought God had forgotten them too and Conscience had forgotten them but you will find your selves mistaken When a day of Affliction comes then Conscience will remember you of all and set all in order before your Eyes David calls some of his Psalms Psalms of Remembrance To call to Remembrance So Conscience will sing you a sad Song of Remembrance as I may say it will remember some of you how often you were Drunk and where how often others of you have been Unclean and where with all the Circumstances of matters of Fact Secondly Because in a day of Affliction Conscience is awakened at other times it is asleep and so cannot be quick and active Men lull Conscience asleep with their Enjoyments or with their Affairs and Employments but now in a day of Affliction the Lord takes them off these They then are at leisure to reckon with their Consciences as they awake they begin to call themselves to an Account Afflictions are great Awakeners It may be the poor Sinner is like Peter asleep between two Souldiers when the Angel came and smote him So Conscience doth with Sinners O! how quick is Conscience with them when they are awakened O! what a sleepy Fit for three quarters of a Year did David fall into until God made use of Affliction to awaken him Joseph's Brethren what a Lethargy were their Consciences in for many years together until this Affliction awakened them And so How did Manasseh his Afflictions awaken his guilty Conscience Thirdly Because a day of Affliction is a day of serious Consideration Men go on inconsiderately in the Ruffe of their Prosperity while they are as I may say in their hot Blood but when they consider with themselves better then they change both their Minds and Courses I considered my Ways Psal 119.59 and turned my Feet to thy Testimonies But now What brings in this day of Consideration Is it not a day of Affliction In a day of Adversity Eccles 7.14 consider What brought the poor inconsiderate Prodigal to a stand and so to a return was it not a day of Affliction His consideration is exprest by this He came to himself Now Conscience being awakened Sinners begin to come to themselves and then they say Jer. 8.6 What have I done Whither have I been going O! what will follow upon this Course of mine what will be the effects of this Sin and Guilt If Men did consider these things and ask their Souls such Questions how would it be a means to stop them in their carreer and course of Sin O now 1. A Sinner begins to think how he hath dishonour'd God 2. How he hath displeased God 3. How he hath wounded his own Conscience 4. How he hath led others into Sin by his example 5. How he hath aggravated his Sin by sinning against Mercies and Deliverances These and many more Considerations are called over in the Conscience when awakened in a day of Distress and Affliction Fourthly Because a day of Affliction is a Day that puts the Sinner upon a diligent search O how quick is Conscience upon the search Now Sinners are set upon searching trying their ways with the Church Let us search and try our ways and turn again unto the Lord. Lam. 3. This put Heman upon a diligent search I communed with my own Heart Psal 77.5 6. and made a diligent search As the Woman did seek for her lost Groat did sweep the House and lighted a Candle So now the Soul in a day of Affliction seeks and searches for this Sin and the other Surely says the awakened Conscience there is some Provocation there is some Wedge of Gold some allured Thing some right Eye some right Hand which puts the Lord upon contending with me and upon thus afflicting of me Thus Josepb's Brethren they search and find out their Guilt in the day of their Distress and Affliction Fifthly Because a day of Affliction is a Day of plain and impartial dealing with ones own Soul We are prone to be Partial at other times and flatter our selves but now Conscience being awakened it deals faithfully as the Matter requires O! now Conscience in the day of Affliction tells the Sinner a plain story Sinner thou hast sinned and thou canst not deny it and thou must repent of it or else perish to all Eternity Except you repent you shall likewise perish Now this is a plain Sermon and thus did Joseph's Brethren Their Consciences in their Affliction told them a very plain Story We are verily guilty concerning our Brother c. And ah Sinners had not your Consciences better be plain with you now than be plain with you in Hell O what plain Sermons doth Conscience preach to the Damned You will not many of you bear plain Preaching now But O remember what a plain Preacher Conscience will be when awakened in a day of Affliction Now we come to the Improvement of what hath been said upon all the Doctrinal part Application Is it so that Conscience is so quick and active in a day of Affliction Then 1. Learn we hence that many Souls have great cause to bless God for Afflictions They may say with David Before they were afflicted Psal 119.67 they went astray Joseph's Brethren for any thing I know had died under this Guilt if God had not brought them into this Distress Had not Manasseh cause to bless God for his Affliction They were blessed Bryars he was caught 〈◊〉 Hath not the Lord oâ—ened the Ears of many by Affliction and commanded â—hem to return from Iniquity Yea great Persons when they have been bound in Fetters Job 36.8 9 10. â—nd holden in Cords of Affliction then God sheweth â—hem their Work and their Transgressions that they have exceeded O! what a Mercy was it to the Church when God hedged up her Ways with Thorns Is it not a merâ—y to be kept from drowning 〈◊〉 a Pit though it be by a Thorn Hedge How many â—inners had gone on in Sin â—nd had been drowned in â—ell if God had not stopt â—hem by a sharp Thorn Hedg of Affliction O! What would have become of the Prodigal in
prove a Remedy Will not this make the Wound to bleed so much the more To run into sinful Company when wounded in your Consciences will not this inflame the Reckoning Is not this to run so much the more upon the score with God O Sinners let me tell you all these Arrears must at the long run be reckoned for 2. Others they run to lawful Comforts and Enjoyments and so labour to stifle the Reflections of their guilty Consciences 3. Others they run to their lawful Employments as Cain did to build Cities so some go to their Trades to their Shops on purpose to drown the convictions of their own guilty Consciences 4. Others go to their sinful Recreations Carding and Dicing and Gaming 5. Others make Charms of their Duties and Forms as Papists go to their Pater Nosters and their Ave Marys nay may not this piece of refined Popery be in the Heart of such as call themselves Protestants But alas all these cannot bear down an awakened Conscience when God sets Guilt on The Third Use Is a word of Exhortation to poor guilty Sinners O! then yield an Ear to the Reflections of your own Consciences Many a Man's Conscience cannot be heard by him it checks him and chides him and reproves him but yet all this while the Sinner stops his Ear as the deaf Adder of which some write That she claps one Ear to the Earth and covers the other with her Tail O hear Sinners then what Conscience hath to say Hearken to the Preacher in your Bosoms Turn you about Sinners once before you die and listen to this Preacher 1. Sinners if you will not hear it now you must hear it whether you will or no hereafter And O how sad will it be to hear it there Where the Worm never dies and the Fire never goes out This Worm is the guilty Conscience which Sinners must hear in Hell if they will not hear it here Guilty Consciences preach in Hell and the Sermon is as long as Eternity it self Maak 9.44 and happy were the Damned if they could run away from these Sermons O Sinners you cannot stop your Ears in the other World against your guilty Consciences as you do in this 2. Sinners hearken to the Reflections of your own Consciences for your hearing them will be in order to the getting of your Sins pardoned Its Reflections are in order to your Repentance and your Repentance will be in order to your Remission They are both put together and preached in the Name of Christ together And would not you be glad to have your Sins pardoned Would not you be glad to have your Sins washed away in the Blood of Christ Would not you be glad to have this heavy and insupportable burden of Guilt removed off the back of your Consciences Are your Sins gone over your Heads as a Burden yea as too heavy a Burden for you to bear and would not you rejoyce to be led to Safety and Rest under all your Loads and Pressures 3. Be sure you attend to the Reflections of your Consciences for the Rod joyns issue with Conscience the Rod sets Conscience on work and they preach the same Doctrine Therefore we are called and strictly charged to hear the Rod. It may be Sinners Mic. 6.9 God hath tried other Preachers and they have done little good to make you sensible of your Guilt then God commissions these Preachers Conscience and the Rod. If a Man cannot come abroad and hear a Minister then Affliction shall preach to him at Home Now the Rod is assistant to Conscience Job 24.13 the Preacher in your Bosoms 4. Sinners be not deaf to the Reflections of your Consciences this is to sin against your Light nay to â—ebel against your Light And is not this sad and the guilt of this Rebellion you will be charged with another day 5. Poor Sinners Be not deaf to the Reflections of your own Consciences usually God follows such with his severest Judgments 1. Sometimes Temporal Many times God makes that threatning good upon such I will wound the hoary Scalp of every one that goes on in his Trespasses Psal 68.21 If Men will walk on in their Sins contrary to all checks and convictions of Conscience let them look for some severe blow of the Hand of God upon them sooner or later for tho the Sentence be not speedily executed it is not said it never shall Tho Execution day be for a while deferred yet it will come 2. Spiritual Judgments which are the worst and saddest of Judgments Many times Sinners deaf to their Consciences are given up to a seared Conscience to a reprobate Mind to vile Affection to their own Lusts to hardness of Heart And is not the judicially hardned Sinner the half-damned Sinner The Second Branch of Exhortation is To such as have Reflecting tender Consciences O then bless the Lord for such awakened Consciences It is a greater Mercy than you think of to have such a Monitor and Remembrancer in your Bosoms 1. Is it not a Mercy to be way-laid in a sinful Course To be prevented in Sin To be stopt in a Carreer and full Gallop for Hell This this is the end why God sets Conscience at work with a poor Sinner Had not many poor Sinners run headlong to utter Destruction and Damnation else May not many a poor Sinner say to Conscience as David did to Abigail Blessed be the God of Israel 1 Sam. 25.32 33. that sent thee this day to prevent me from shedding innocent Blood When thou hast had rebukes of Conscience hast thou not said Numb 22.34 as Balaam to the Angel in his way to stop him If my way be perverse before the Lord and displease thee I will get me back again And is not this a Mercy 2. Is it not a Mercy to be raised to Re entance after falling into Sin The Sinner's Sinning is his Fall the Sinner's Repentance is his Rising And are not all Conscience's Reflections when it is awakened in order to Repentance as hath been already hinted and is not this a Mercy to be pluckt as a Firebrand out of the midst of the burning O! how doth Conscience give many a pull at some Sinners to get them out of the Fire lest it should prove the Fire that never goes out 3. Is not this a Mercy to have thy Soul lie in the way of a Pardon Canst thou O poor Sinner expect Remission without Repentance Hast thou any Promise for it in all the Bible Produce it if thou canst O! whoever told thee so but Satan and thy own deluding Heart Do not all Offenders that receive Pardons from their Princes receive them upon their Knees Whither is it thy awakened guilty Conscience would send thee but to the King of Israel that Merciful King with Sackcloth upon thy Loins and an Halter about thy Neck in order to the receiving of thy Pardon Third Branch of the Exhortation O then bless the Lord for days of